behindcloseddoors | Recent Entries

WHO || Spike, Wynn, Dumage, the baddies [Closed]
WHAT || Spike and Wynn enact a daring and stupid plan to pull Dumage out of danger
WHERE || NYC
WHEN || 2016, directly after this
HOW || Actionspam

[ As promised, Wynn meets Spike at the airport, to take him on a private plane back to New York where he just came from. He isn't particularly chatty on the way, although when they've landed, he turns back to regard him. ]

I'll ask one more time if you're certain of this, Sir Spike. It is your decision, but I will trust your word.

Firewall - Les Friction

WHO || Elena and Myri [Closed]
WHAT || Elena pulls over to the side of the road on the way back to the Castle.
WHERE || On a dark road heading back from London
WHEN || After investigating Elena’s burglarized apartment
HOW || Actionspam

[Elena slams the door to the car, holding her head in one hand as she leans against the vehicle’s frame for a few long moments before she starts to take a few slow steps away and down the road. She can’t lie to Myri, and she knows that, as far as this is concerned, she’s cornered. The only thing she can do other than answer her question honestly is to snap and tell her to drop it, and she can’t do that. They’ve both been through a lot today, and the last thing she’s going to do is hurt the one person in the Castle that loves her the most.

She doesn’t say anything, doesn’t even look back at her right away. She just listens for the sound of her friend following after her because she can’t imagine Myri just watching helplessly from the car. That’s never been her way.]

♬ Ordinary World; Red

WHO || Vi, Lucia, Wynn [Closed]
WHAT || Wynn speaks privately with Vi
WHERE || Knights HQ
WHEN || Sometime before the castle attack [backdated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

Lucia sleeps soundly, tiny lips puckered into a bow, one arm flung above her head in a rebel salute. It's those pockets of time that Vi allows herself to slip outside for a few moments of solitude, uninterrupted save for the steady hum of the baby monitor.

One night she returns to find Wynn standing in the doorway, staring into the room, eyes steady on the fragile and vulnerable new human, impossibly tiny and still so strong. She doesn't want to interrupt, but says softly, a knowing smile on her lips, "I do that too sometimes."

For the first 27 years of her life, her interest in babies was precisely zero. When a parent asked if she'd like to hold their baby, she would politely decline and then back away from the baby as if she'd encountered a pit scorpion in the woods. Something about babies made her deeply uncomfortable. They were little blobs of barely-human, unable to communicate in anything but gurgles, poops, and caterwauls.

And then Lucia happened.

She tears her eyes away from the daughter she had brought into this world, somehow safe and sound and vibrant and looks up at Wynn, tears welling in her eyes as the smile slips away. "I don't think I can do this anymore. Not right now."

Her tears cause his brow to furrow slightly, as he turns to regard her for a long, silent moment. She can feel his concern, but also his patience, and it's clear that he's waiting for her to go on, rather than attempting to prod her into further explanation.

He places one hand on her shoulder, the firm weight of his palm conveying his sympathy.

"I can't leave her." It's as simple as that. The idea of leaving her daughter, who she knows without any doubt or worry will be safe here in the castle, makes her chest seize up in panic.

Lucia was born with only one surviving parent, Vi can't turn her into an orphan without first being around long enough to convey just how wonderful of a person Luthir was. She's too young right now to take in all the stories that Vi tells her about her amazing father and her incredible uncle and the wonderful, wild woman who would have been her aunt; more stories about lost friends and family than the ones still living.

Her eyes drift back to the baby, oblivious to her mother's heartache. "Not while she's still so small."

"I understand," he says quietly, and it's apparent that he really does, that he doesn't blame her for her decision, and that it's, above all things, her right to decide.

It's heartening, that Wynn isn't condemning her choice, and it stems her tears, keeping them from spilling over as her eyes flutter shut for a beat.

"Are you disappointed?" She joined, after all, to fight, not man the Dragon's Light like a school nurse. Sitting out isn't following any of the tenants of the knighthood, she won't be fighting injustice and evil while nestled safe in the castle.

And while she realizes that her lifespan means she could be fighting for and alongside Wynn for centuries, she hasn't been alive long enough to learn how to think outside of the present. Everything for Violet is still right now, and she can't leave Lucia right now.

"How could I be?" He lowers his hand, but only so that he can look at her more fully. "Raising your child is no less heroic a task than any before the rest of us. Consider all she may grow to be." He smiles slightly. "You need only look at her mother and father to guess."

Her own returning smile is weak, but it's definitely a smile. Wynn's faith in her it tremendously important and the fact that he thinks being a mother is just as important as being a knight is so deeply uplifting.

"God, she's going to be such a nerd for nature," she remarks, tone light regardless of how down she still feels. "Thank you, Wynn, for everything you do for us. I can't imagine being able to raise her anywhere else. You were so important to Luthir and you're so important to me..."

She trails off, but it's clear she knows he'll be just as important to Lucia, effectively her grandfather, she just doesn't know how to phrase that without delving into feelings she's not sure he reciprocates. But Vi being Vi, she blurts it out anyway.

"You're like a father to me."

He certainly doesn't look taken aback or offput by the confession – on the contrary, his expression warms, and he places a hand on her shoulder. “Then you need not thank me, for doing what any father should willingly do for his young.”

Her heart flutters and her mouth turns up in a smile, faint but like sunshine in how happy that answer makes her, even as she quips, "Your young, you make us sound like your little baby silver dragons."

She glances up at him, squinting slightly. Fred Jr is descended from a dragon and he's Wynn's great-great-great-- no, that's impossible. But at the same time, why had it never occurred to her? Still, she unintentionally mirrors their very first conversation when she asks, "So, personal question, can I ask it?"

holding onto heaven (acoustic) - foxes

WHO || Buffy, Michael
WHAT || Buffy gets a surprise visit
WHERE || London
WHEN || January [backdated]
HOW || Actionspam

[ Considering that her best friend lives in a shitty hotel in London, presumably Buffy gets out every now and again. The Holly House doesn't even have its own parking lot, so she has to park up the block where she can find a space.

It's en route back to her car that she would get the distinct feeling that she's not alone. It's not the menacing feeling of being watched, but a strange sensation, as though someone were announcing themselves without words.

When she looks across the street, she'd see him, standing in the trellised entrance to a tiny roadside garden. he's dressed just as before, his expression mostly neutral, making it difficult to discern exactly what he's here for - but presumably, the Archangel Michael doesn't show up for matters that are less than grave on some level.

After catching her eye, he simply turns, hands digging into the pockets of his jacket, and heads into the wintered garden, a clear invitation. ]

♬ gin and juice - snoop dogg

WHO || Sam, Will, Rose, Fiona, Faith, Bruce All-hungry the Idol. [closed]
WHAT || Stoner thanksgiving
WHERE || NYC hotel
WHEN || Thanksgiving
HOW || Actionspam

[ After a successful mission, in which the team found the source of a mysterious illness created voracious pseudo-zombies and stopped the plague from spreading further, they brought the Idol that caused all the chaos back to their hotel. Having been forced to abandon their amazing Thanksgiving dinner of Chinese takeout (really Sam wtf salad), they took turns passing the Idol around and stuffing food into its ever-hungry maw, to fulfill the terms that will allow the curse to be finally broken... after 12 hours of feeding.

Luckily, having a near-infinite supply of food is no problem when Fiona can summon food and drink. And she... also summons a tray of pot brownies that everyone partakes in, whether they realized it or not.

:D ]

♬ the end where i begin - the script

WHO || Emma, ??. [closed]
WHAT || Emma tracks down the mysterious figure causing trouble on Andres Isle
WHERE || Andres
WHEN || After this
HOW || Actionspam

[Emma runs off after the figure, who she can catch a few glimpses of as she moves through the trees - enough to see that they are, in fact, wearing a hood. And that they disappear into a ramshackle, seriously questionable looking shack up ahead. ]

♬ the good and the bad guy - my brightest diamond

WHO || Kyplena
WHAT || Kyp & Elena head to Andres to try to rescue Thomas.
WHERE || Andres Isle
WHEN || September 19th, 2014
HOW || Actionspam

[ It's been a long road.

Months of being on the run from people who suspect the worst of them, all as Elena gears up for exactly this moment, might make it a little surreal once they actually get here. But as she pointed out to Kyp, she's never going to be more ready. It's his idea to keep an eye on outbound travel from Andres, and to usurp the identity of two Andresian nobles traveling to France on their private yacht for a weekend. While he insists they should simply kill the couple to ensure that they won't be discovered and find a way to alert Dimitris, Elena readily talks him into simply leaving them under a sleeping potion procured in England, in a closet of their penthouse, where someone is bound to find them in the next few days. Enough time for them to get to the island, and do whatever it is they need to do.

Kyp pilots the yacht all by himself, wearing Aldus Laurent's fancy captain's hat as he does so, sporting the man's face even at sea. ]

Land ho.

hit the floor - linkin park

WHO || Myri, Mark, Dumage [Closed]
WHAT || On the even of war, Myri seeks out her friend
WHERE || Knights HQ
WHEN || Sept 18th, night
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

As Myri makes her way through the halls of the Dragon's Hide a little bit after the meeting disperses, she hears voices as she approaches Mark's room. It's not hard to make out that the other one is Dumage (listen 25), and the two seem to be practically sniping back and forth as she comes to a halt before the closed door.

"You know," Mark is saying, all the patience drained from his voice, his teeth sounding clenched. "One day? All of this is going to catch up to you. And then I'm going to be more than happy to stand there and laugh you all the way to the door."

Dumage's usually smug tones are laced with something almost menacing as she responds: "That's never going to happen. Whatever else you are, you're not a complete fool. What do you think is going to happen to you if you speak up? Don't act as if you don't know precisely what's waiting for you. And what that means for everyone you care so much about." She emphasizes the word with derision, and Mark rebuts instantly.

"You don't know me as well as you think."

WHO || Mars! [Closed]
WHAT || Mars awakes in the basement of the testing facility
WHERE || Luckman Industries computer-aided enrichment center, Germany
WHEN || June 2nd [backdated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

Mars has no idea what's transpired, given that for him, he was just about cast mage hand when suddenly he blinks and ... finds himself alone. In a dark, dingy room that looks like it's falling apart, an abandoned basement cell of some kind where various testing parts are scattered around the room - large red buttons, darkened turrets, and a bunch of rubble here and there. The door barely looks like a door, and high above, the ceiling looks in danger of caving in.

♬ devil inside (cover) - london grammar

WHO || Sark, Nicholas St. Andrew, Audrey Petersen[Closed]
WHAT || Sark severs ties with the Children of Chaos
WHERE || London, England
WHEN || April, 2014 [backdated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread, don't worry about maintaining tagging order.

Sark's employment with the organization known rather heavyhanded-ly as the Children of Chaoas has certainly been... profitable for him. And for Nicholas St. Andrew, charismatic leader of the organization itself, who has paid him exorbitant amounts to 'recover' various artifacts for him, ostensibly in the private collections of others around the world. Individually, there seemed little worth noting from the sort of things being collected, but a pattern began to emerge that was difficult to ignore: sacrificial daggers, scrolls and tomes to fill a library, several stone and ivory altars...

Sark's returned from one such job - recovering three sacred ancient urns - and is sent up to see St. Andrew in his office.

♬ tired of you - foo fighters

WHO || Kyp & Elena [Closed]
WHAT || Laying low after escaping the castle
WHERE || A motel room, England
WHEN || After all this June 7th (night) onwards [backdated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

[ It's been almost too easy. Speeding their way beyond London, they stopped to jack somebody's car at one motel right on the edge of the city (something Kyp was appallingly skilled at), and took it out of there to travel to the other end of London. The motel they've picked is crapalicious, hardly the kind of place anyone would look at twice. Kyp recommends Elena wait in the car since he can still shift, and he comes back with the keys, tossing her a pair of sunglasses to put on while they head into the room. ]

WHO || Rafael, Buffy
WHAT || Raf & Buffy find a hotel while laying low from Iscariot
WHERE || Outside Venice, Italy
WHEN || June 8th, 2014, morning.
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

Hunted by Iscariot, disheartened by revelations, and without a place to stay after finding Rafael's house burned down, Raf, Des, and Buffy found a hotel right outside Venice to stay at, paid in cash, and settled in for a few hours of sleep. Des demanded his own room, so Buffy & Rafael are sharing (2 beds). Fucking exhausted and drained, Raf sets down the keys and sits on the edge of his bed, rubbing his nose with his thumb and forefinger, and then flopping backwards.

♬ Out of My Mind - James Blunt

WHO || Elena, Kyp
WHAT || Elena busts Kyp out of the dungeon
WHERE || Knights HQ > ??
WHEN || June 7th, 2014, evening.
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

[Her visit with Helen had at least calmed one of the worries on her mind, and Elena couldn't lie and say she didn't feel bad about speaking to her, dumping her thoughts on her, only to turn around and go forward with what she was about to do next.

At least she wouldn't be dragging anyone else down with her.

She went back to her room, wrote up a note, and stuck it in an envelope, writing Myri's name on the front. If all went well, she'd be walking out the front door, leaving it for her at the front desk. If not, they'd be locking her up in a cell next, or worse.

But no matter how she looked at it, she couldn't let him die, and she couldn't leave Thomas to continued horrors. If she died, it would be for a good cause, and almost no one would miss her.

The world would simply be rid of one more creature that it hated.

She assumed the relief guard's form, in a moment when she was alone, copying his face, body and clothes (disguise 41), Myri's letter and two smoke grenades tucked away in her pockets. She arrived for the switch in shifts a little early, only about ten minutes or so, just enough that she hoped it wouldn't seem strange, but would give her enough time to get the keys and get them out. With luck, she could be Elena, he could be anyone else in the Castle, and they could leave before anyone knew otherwise.

Well, until the real Edain showed up.

Elena opened up her mind as she headed down the hall toward where the guard was posted, trying to calm the thumping in her chest. If she could read the man she was replacing, that would make this easier. At the same time, she reaches out to Kyp, the doppelganger that she had once considered a friend.

Now she didn't know what he was. It didn't change the fact that she didn't want him to die.

Awake?]

♬ i would for you - nine inch nails

WHO || Elena & Wynn [closed]
WHAT || Elena goes to speak to Wynn about Kyp
WHERE || Knights HQ, the Round Table room
WHEN || End of May, a couple of days after Elena's party
HOW || Actionspam

[Elena doesn't know what she's doing, but her feet seem to be moving of their own accord.

This is her problem, and she can't help but feel as if she's the root cause for it all. Too many people's happiness, people that she loves, is at stake. She needs to fix this, however she can, and there are only a couple of ways to do it.

But first, she has questions. And she might only be able to get them from one person unless the tries scouring the minds of the other knights of the order.

And she's not sure she's ready to go that far. Or maybe, she just doesn't want to hear. What they say out loud is bad enough, sometimes.

So pretty soon, she's outside the door to Wynn's office, knocking lightly on the door. Wynn has always been an intimidating presence for her, and today is certainly going to be no exception.

♬ keep on wanting - the fray

WHO || Myri & Spike [closed]
WHAT || Myri share her discovery with Spike
WHERE || London, England
WHEN || mid-april, after dis
HOW || Actionspam

[Myri asks Spike to come with her, and they check out a car, which she lets him drive, directing him to take them towards London. As they ride, she studies him in the darkness, before finally saying:] I... meant to ask as well, how you were feeling. I heard people talking about what happened.

WHO || Vi, Finnick [Closed]
WHAT || Vi has to speak to Finnick
WHERE || The castle
WHEN || Idk ambiguous April time
HOW || Actionspam.

[ vi is oddly nervous. she was nervous telling myri, too, but finnick is a different fish. get it? fish? because he's a sexy dolphin... anyway, moving on. pacing in front of his room and armed with a bottle of wine and a pair of glasses, she finally pauses long enough to knock on his door. normally she would barge right in because fuck knocking and doors and manners, but this time she is knocking. ] Lemme in, Fish, I come bearing gifts.

♬ lovers eyes - mumford and son

WHO || Myri, "Finnick" [Closed]
WHAT || En route to the castle, Myri is stopped by a familiar face...
WHERE || The Chicago-O'Hare Airport
WHEN || Immediately after this
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

[ The Chicago O'Hare Airport is bustling as usual when Myri arrives. They haven't often had to use completely public transportation but since she's going on her own, it'd be silly to fly privately. However, that means Amaranth is going to have to fly cooped up... ]

♬ the fleecing - pedro the lion

WHO || Des, Azrael [Closed]
WHAT || Des learns some unfortunate things
WHERE || Chicago
WHEN || Sometime during the trial, immediately following this [backdated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

AND SUDDENLY DES FINDS HIMSELF... on a roof. Above what looks like is still Chicago. There's a bit of a chill wind out but it's still November, not the arctic chills of January, so they can deal. Azrael releases himself instantly and moves to sit on the ledge, looking down at the city.

♬ ghost in my head - niva

WHO || Archer, ???? [Closed]
WHAT || Archer vs. the Hourglass
WHERE || The hotel to ???
WHEN || An hour after this
HOW || Actionspam.

Wherever Archer is, whatever Archer's doing, an hour after flipping the glass over, the sands will run out.

And he'll disappear from wherever he was, as if a giant icy black hand had just reached down and enveloped him. And he needs to make a Fortitude save of 15+ to not pass out instantly from the chilling darkness suddenly swallowing him up.

WHO || Elena, Kyp, Spike
WHAT || Elena takes some lessons from the doppelganger
WHERE || Chicago, the Waldorf hotel
WHEN || July 13th, onwards, evening
HOW || Actionspam

[ With a surprising amount of overall support from the team, Elena gets the opportunity to return to the Waldorf without having to sneak around her teammates, to continue her 'doppel-lessons' from Kyp.

Of course, she doesn't get to go alone, and Spike has volunteered to play guard dog. The hotel is relatively quiet as they arrive this fine evening. ]