Gathering Post

[lcrpg_npc]

The Queen's official birthday celebrations might wait for the better, brighter weather of June, instead of the actual date just passed, but there was no lack of things to do in London this week, even if it was cooler and damper than the week before. St. George's day festivities were scattered throughout the city, competing with celebrations of the four hundredth anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Getting around the city could be even more difficult than usual on Sunday, with multiple streets closed off for the London marathon.

There were exhibits - everything from graphic design to a survey of Sicilian history to the influence of underwear. And the same level of diversity could be found whether you were in the mood for music, theatre, good food, or late night fun. There was something for everyone, and no matter your plans - or lack of plans - you never quite knew what you were going to find, or who might find you.



[Week long gp! Tag in, tag others, and check in daily to see who's joined in.]

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[prince_of_nymphs]

It was unsettling, and those eyes did leave him uneasy, but he did his best not to let it show.

Instead he rolled his eyes.

"You always have such grand things to say, but I think you're all talk, friend," Fin said, closing his laptop and gathering his things. "People like you, Crowley, you get them alone, and they're just cowards."

[sauntereddownward]

He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and then waved his hand. The cafe went silent as everyone but the pair of them froze in place. Cups half lifted, tea mid-pour, steps stopped mid stride.

"Now that was just rude," he said. "I joined you for a cup and you're being a wanker. Call me a coward," Crowley scoffed. "I think you may be the coward here, my dear. You're the one running away."

[prince_of_nymphs]

Generally, Fin was quite bold these days, but magic? Magic still made him nervous.

He went still, not sure what to do. Did he leave anyway? Would Crowley even let him?

"I'm hardly making haste," he said finally, choosing his words with more caution now.

[sauntereddownward]

"Then settle yourself and let's have a chat while we can hear," he said. "Tell me just how you have your spark under control. That must be incredibly taxing for you."

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin slowly settled back into his seat, then took another one of those slow calming breaths.

"I've taken up meditation- And yoga. The breathing and the clearing my head... It helps. It sounds like twaddle, but it works," he replied. "I've also learned to focus on the things that bring me joy. From the simple, to the more debauched," he added, gesturing at the laptop.

[sauntereddownward]

"But it rises up in you, doesn't it? It makes you vicious. Angry. Don't lie now. I know the prince of lies and I can always tell. And honesty is always the better way," he said. And he truly believed that. The truth could be so damning.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Everyone gets angry," Fin said quietly, glancing away. "I wont pretend I don't feel something inside when my anger takes hold. ...But I can control it. Lately I feel it coming and I know I can stop it if I just take a moment and calm myself."

[sauntereddownward]

"One day that won't work. One day you'll be unable to control it and you will unleash your fury. You could hurt someone. Kill someone. Don't you feel it? The rage just waiting to be let out?" he purred.

"You could. With me you could. You can't do anything to me that would be lasting..."

Crowley prided himself on his powers of persuasion. Yes, he could tarnish a million souls, and he could redirect traffic to create an odegra that channeled anger to all who drove on it, but what was sweetest was when he could get to just one person.

And he wasn't above using a touch of magic to be very, very convincing

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Fin said quietly, and for all he could still feel that pit of anger inside of him- He meant it. He meant it with all his heart.

Sometimes he was certain the only thing that heat inside of him was going to destroy when it finally broke loose was... Well, him. Like a bomb trapped in an iron box.

"Not even you, Crowley," he said after a moment, reaching out and touching the man's hair with cold fingers.

[sauntereddownward]

That was not the reaction he'd been trying for. Anger, yes. He wanted to see the revenant let loose in all its fury. What a beautiful thing that would be to see.

But instead he got a gentle touch and gentler words. It made him scowl.

"Don't touch me, you foul thing," he said, as if he weren't a foul thing himself.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Foul, am I?" Fin asked blandly. "A moment ago you seemed keen to have me beneath you, now I'm foul."

He smirked then, wetting his lips.

"I know what you want from me, but I'm not letting it loose. You think it would be fun- But I think you'd just be disappointed. You're not wrong, this thing is- It's a time bomb, and I know it'll go off eventually- But the only thing I think it's set to destroy is... Well, me," he admitted quietly, not quite as at peace with that as he wanted to be.

"That's why I'm doing all of this. The sex, the drugs... Everything. Death is coming, and I'm already doomed. ...So why not go out having lived in a way most wouldn't dare?" he shrugged.

[sauntereddownward]

"You're not going to die, my sweet boy. You're never going to die. You're going to walk around like this forever until someone shoves you in a box and buries you underground. Then you won't be walking. You'll be screaming in the dark. Forever," Crowley replied.

Then he shrugged.

"But I won't tell you not to live every day as if it's your last. Have sex, do drugs. Be wild. Because when it gets out...woe to London."

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin knew what he felt though, and it seemed like no one was listening. Never. No matter how sure he was, even when it was his own body.

Grabbing Crowley's wrist, he yanked his hand over his belly, willing the nasty creature to feel what he felt. Not something clawing to get out- But something devouring from within.

"I think- I think you're right, about what it is, but- I was damaged before it came for me."

He guided the man's hand up to the enchanted heart that sat deep in his chest, and allowed the heat to rise just enough that it began to beat.

"I don't know much about magic, but I know what a fight feels like. This heart isn't mine, it isn't human, and it's going to kill me before it lets that thing out."

At least that was Fin's current theory, one he'd been quietly sitting on.

[sauntereddownward]

Crowley couldn't hide his surprise. A heartbeat, an unnatural heart made of magic brought to life, that was enough to make him lift his eyebrows.

"Well...isn't that a problem," he said blandly, leaving his hand to feel the heart beating. "Maybe you will die after all. What an extraordinary thing," the demon marveled.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Sorry to disappoint," Fin said, letting go as he took a calming breath and forced that pit of hate and anger to calm again- The action slowing the heartbeat until it stopped.

In that moment Fin looked fragile, positively breakable, but the look was hidden in an instant.

[sauntereddownward]

"Well, then," Crowley said, pulling his hand away and wiping the feeling of the heartbeat away on his trousers. "Then go on and live every day as if it were your last. You may well be done for if that video goes viral."

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin shrugged. "I'm not worried about the video," he admitted. "I'm not happy about it, but it's not the end of the world. Maybe the end of my career, but I never thought that would last anyway. ...This magic of yours though- Perhaps that could stop? I wont lie, magic makes me a touch uneasy, Crowley."

[sauntereddownward]

"Oh? This?" he asked and waved his hand and the cafe exploded into noise and bustle once again.

"One would think you'd be accustom to magic by now."

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I just don't like things that- Never mind, you don't need to know what my fears are," Fin frowned, shaking his head.

He felt calmer now that time was moving around them, and he slumped lightly against the wall again, his arm draped back over the arm of his chair as it had been when Crowley had first come over.

"Going to at least offer to buy me a drink then?" he asked. "I mean, you offered to take me home and do dreadful things, I'm sure proper etiquette demands you buy me a drink first."

[sauntereddownward]

"And I do imagine there are connotations with buying a coffee for you," he smirked, well aware that 'get coffee' was a euphemism right up there with 'Netflix and chill'.

"Very well. Flag down the server and order what you like. We'll play the game of good manners."

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin did just that, ordering another latte, then turning his attention back to Crowley.

"So what would you do about this?" he asked, gesturing at the laptop. "Say I had a soul to sell you- Which I might, but I'm fairly certain someone else probably laid claim to it the first time I died... How would you fix it? I know how my manager intends to fix it. He's going to throw money at it until it goes away- And it'll probably work, money's quite powerful after all. ...But what would you do, hmm?"

[sauntereddownward]

"I'd make money off of it. It'll be on YouTube soon enough, no doubt. But so was Pamela Anderson, so was Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton. Sex tapes and celebrities go hand in hand. People will want to see it. They'll want you to talk about it. And you can. All the chat shows. Don't be sorry. Be accepting of it. Honesty is the best policy," he replied.

"Don't make it go away. Make it huge. Make it so huge that it's boring after a week or two. Then no one will care, no one will ask. People have memories as shot as...well, a YouTube clip, really."

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Stanley doesn't think I can play it that way- Because I'm a man, because my partner was a man," Fin replied, rubbing his jaw and frowning. "It's apparently fine to be queer, as long as no one has to see it."

[sauntereddownward]

"Bollocks. That's why you'll be famous. Acclaimed gay actor having gay sex in a gay video? The public will eat it up. And if it's lurid, all the better. People will flock to see your plays, and tune into all your shows just because they know what your cock looks like," Crowley said.

"Do trust me on this, my boy. If there's anyone who knows what the people crave, it's me."

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin seemed unsure, but eventually shrugged. "I suppose all I can do is see what happens. At the worst, it was all very fun while it lasted."

His coffee arrived, and he took a generous mouthful, letting the liquid warm his frozen insides.

"So where are we heading? Your place, I assume?" he asked, though for all he was playing along, Fin didn't truthfully believe they were going anywhere. He struggled to believe that Crowley's interest in him extended very far beyond attempting to make him go nuclear.