bakerstreet | Scenarios for your morning

Scenarios for your morning

the random scenario meme

comment with your character.
respond to others
lbr — no one uses rng. just go wild, and maybe kinda sorta pick from the scenarios below?
post picture prompts OR write starters OR whatever!
have a grand ol' time

TYPES OF SCENES
① Action → Gun fights, bar brawls, fights to the death are all possible scenarios.
② Angst → Characters suffer emotionally or physically from relationships breaking up, death, injury, etc. Hurt and comfort themes are included.
③ Crack → Genderswaps, super powers, sudden compulsions are all possible outcomes.
④ Fluff → Something that is devoid of angst. It's light-hearted and might have the overtone of romance.
⑤ Gen → General fun, things that didn't fit in the other categories.
⑥ Sex → First times, kinks, even dubcon are all possible themes of sex related scenarios.
⑦ Your choice → Think of your own scenario, choose one of the above or make a combo even!

ACTION.
① Zombies → It's the zombie apocalypse, lock and load!
② Bar brawl → You had one too many drinks, said something wrong, and now you're being asked to take it outside.
③ Chase → You're caught in a high speed chase.
④ Gun fight → You're caught in a big shoot-out.
⑤ Fight with a friend → You're fighting with a friend, all out.
⑥ Interrogation → You're being interrogated for some offense you've done.
⑦ Aliens → Aliens are attacking and you're not going to take your probe laying down!
⑧ Final battle → This is it. The battle that will end all the fighting for you. Will you win? Will you get that peace you want?
⑨ Training → You're not actually fighting, just training for the inevitable.
⑩ No hope → You know this fight has no hope. It's not going to end well for anyone involved, but you can't turn away.
⑪ Sneaking in → You're stealing a diamond or sneaking in to kick some bad guy butt, but whatever it is, you have to practice stealth.
⑫ Blue wire → You're faced with a bomb that needs to be disarmed.
⑬ Fight for honour → You've been disgraced or someone you care about has, so it's time to fight for honour.
⑭ Showdown → Time for a cowboy-style showdown. Whoever draws the fastest wins.
⑮ War → You're caught in the middle of a war here. Remember to keep your chin up and keeping fighting.
⑯ Apocalypse → The apocalypse finally happened and now you're left to scavenge and fight for whatever is left.
⑰ Sabotage → It's time to sabotage someone's plan! How is entirely up to you. Do you set up a bomb in their toilet? Do you double cross them at the last minute?
⑱ Big damn hero → You know you have to handle this one alone, so that means disarming or knocking unconscious the person who wants to join you.
⑲ Fight club → You know the rules... you're in an underground fighting ring and you're fighting with all you've got.
⑳ Threaten → You've just been sent here to rough them up a little, threaten them into behaving.

ANGST.
① Injury / illness → Your character has become injured or ill! To what extent is the mun's choice.
② Last moments → You character has been gravely injured and this is their last chance to say their last words.
③ Depression → Your character is depressed, what actions they take is up to the mun.
④ Betrayed → You character has been betrayed by the other. How do they react?
⑤ Tortured → Your character is being tortured and needs rescuing or at least a sympathetic ear to help him through it.
⑥ Jealousy → Your character is feeling jealous and must deal with it, how will they do it?
⑦ Breakup! → This relationship has gone as far as it can, it's time to breakup.
⑧ Broken → For whatever reason, the character is broken, mentally or or physically.
⑨ Fight → You can't even be in the same room as your friend or lover without arguing anymore.
⑩ Lost → You lost the biggest fight of your life and now all you can do is try to pick up the pieces.
⑪ Worst nightmare → Whatever you fear the most is now real or maybe you're just trapped in a dream together, but whatever it is, it feels too real.
⑫ Addicted → You're addicted to something, alcohol, drugs, sex, whatever. It's destroying your life and you can't do anything to stop it.
⑬ Hurt you → You're being forced to hurt someone you love either by betraying them or even being forced to shout things you don't mean. It's for their own good in the end though.
⑭ Separation → You were forced to leave this person for their own safety and while you've been miserable without them, you really didn't mean to run into them again... maybe it was by accident or you were watching them from afar this whole time.
⑮ Becoming a monster → You are slowly changing, becoming a monster: vampire, zombie, demon, something you can't recover from and no-one can help you.
⑯ Frozen → You are entirely helpless, frozen, to stop some kind of disaster.
⑰ Prison → You were very bad and now it's time to pay the price by turning yourself in or maybe the law just finally caught up to you.
⑱ Fear → You're not sure why, but you are suddenly terrified and you can't deal with it. You need help.
⑲ Hated → You are now hated by the person you loved the most.
⑳ Down and out → You're living on the streets, you've hit rock bottom, and you don't know what to do.

CRACK.
① Sexswap → Uh-oh, you're suddenly the opposite sex!
② Forced confessions → No matter what it is and no matter how hard you resist, you're going to be compelled to spill some deep dark secret!
③ Mind-reading → You've suddenly got the ability to read minds!
④ Animal → You're suddenly part animal or transformed into an animal!
⑤ Awkward pick-up lines → You're compelled to use bad pickup lines on whoever is closest!
⑥ Back in School / Graduated → You're suddenly back in school! Or if you were already in it, you've aged and long since graduated!
⑦ Vampires, werewolves, and zombies, oh my! → You're suddenly a vampire, werewolf, or zombie! Maybe even a demon or a devil, whatever creepy crawly you can think of. What do you do now?
⑧ Ghost → You're suddenly a ghost or at least invisible. What are you going to do with this new ability?
⑨ Awkward conversations → So did you just fart or what? Any conversation goes, as long as it's embarrassing and awkward.
⑩ Crossdressing → For whatever reason, you're suddenly dressed in clothes of the opposite sex.
⑪ Suddenly naked → Oops! Your clothes are suddenly gone.
⑫ Suddenly a kid → You're a kid again! Have fun with that second childhood.
⑬ Fortune cookie → You've suddenly received a note with something that will happen in the future, either precise or vague.
⑭ Super power → And suddenly you're like Superman! Any power goes.
⑮ Bodyswap → Somehow you've changed bodies with the other person.
⑯ Back in time → Somehow, you wound up in the past again. Do you try to correct something or just sit and wait for time to jump? Maybe it jumps to various points in your life or maybe you actually think you're back in the day. Have fun, run wild with the idea!
⑰ To the future → Is it everything you've dreamed? Is it horrible? Whatever happens, you're here to witness what happens to you in the future. Either you take the place of your future self or you're just there to watch. Might cause some confusion if people start seeing double though...
⑱ Angels, mermaids, and fairies! → You're not necessary something dark or evil. You're just something different. How do you deal?
⑲ Locked in a closet → For some reason, you're locked up in a closet with someone else. Do you make nice and try to figure your way out or what?
⑳ Finger trap → You're caught in a Chinese finger trap... with somebody else! You can't figure out how to get loose either... have fun with that.

FLUFF.
① Cuddling → For whatever reason, characters feel like being close and cuddling.
② Pillow talk → After the main event, characters are up for some pillow talk.
③ Celebration → Anniversary or some other big event is taking place and characters want to celebrate!
④ Love confession → Someone has finally decided to confess their love and today is the day!
⑤ Appreciation → You feel the need to show appreciation for that person closest to you, even if it's just a pat on the back.
⑥ Apologies → You made a mistake and now it's time to make it up in some way you know the other can't refuse!
⑦ Get back together → Why did you break up again exactly? Whatever the reason, it was a huge mistake and you both know you can work through it.
⑧ Date night → You've planned for a wonderful night together and you can't wait to get it started.
⑨ Family → You've either found out you're pregnant or you've already got that addition to your family.
⑩ Marriage → You're just about to get hitched or maybe you're enjoying your honeymoon. Maybe you've been together for years now! Whatever the case, it's time for that next big step.
⑪ Meeting again → It's time for that happy reunion finally!
⑫ Love at first sight → For whatever reason, you are now insanely in love with the first person you set eyes on.
⑬ Flirtation → You can't resist to do a little bit of harmless flirtation all of a sudden.
⑭ In the snow → Look outside! It's a winter wonderland, so why not go out and play in it?
⑮ Engagement → You've planned it all out and now it's time to finally pop the question.
⑯ Friendly games → You've set up the game station or board games for a friendly competition!
⑰ Gift → Time to give that special someone a gift just because.
⑱ Recovery → You're taking care of someone who's just recovered from some illness or injury.
⑲ Healing → Time to help mend that someone who's been through hell and back.
⑳ Better than ever → You've finally got everything you've ever wanted here. What is your ideal life and who does it include?

GEN.
① Nice meeting you → It's your first time meeting this person! You bumped into each other on the street, in a bar, at work... whatever!
② Drinks → You're out for drinks! Or just chilling at home with some beers. Wherever!
③ Lost → You're lost and you kind of need help finding your way to where you're going. A little help with directions?
④ Costume party → You're at a costume party, both of you are wearing masks. Do you keep the anonymity or take it off and see whose company you've been enjoying?
⑤ Wrong number → Oops, actually you didn't mean to call that person...
⑥ Drunk → You're already drunk! Drunk dialing, stumbling into someone, showing up unexpected... what type of drunk are you anyway? Aggressive, loving, happy? How does the other react?
⑦ Old friends → you haven't seen this person in a long time!
⑧ Rivals → you're suddenly rivals! Or maybe you have been all along...
⑨ Problems → you've got a problem with each other, just got in a huge fight, whatever. Try to work it out!
⑩ What are your intentions... → This person? They're dating a close friend, family member, etc. You need to find out if they're going to hurt them! Or you need to discuss your friend/family's dating choice.
⑪ I saw you → you saw the other person doing something bad and you need to confront them about it.
⑫ Sorry but no → the other person has feelings that you just don't share. They don't necessarily have to be romantic... maybe you just don't agree with their sudden desire to quit their job and start a business making tiny, fuzzy teddy bears.
⑬ My hero → you need to tell this person how much they mean to you. They've been your best friend or your role model your whole life and they need to know.
⑭ Enabler → you're enabling the other (or each other) to do something bad, really bad. Addiction, stealing, killing, or just any other self-destructive behavior.
⑮ Cooking → Time for an impromptu cooking lesson!
⑯ Oh, sure, I remember you... → It's that awkward moment when someone comes up and seems to know you, but you have no idea who they even are!
⑰ Rescue! → One of you was in trouble, but you came to the rescue!
⑱ Boss → One of you works under the other. Is your relationship good? Are you scheming things? Or do you hate each other?
⑲ Perfect crime → You and the other person have just pulled off the perfect crime... or you're planning to! What are you doing? The heist of the century, an assassination?
⑳ Movies → movie night! Maybe it's a sleepover. Whichever the case, it's time to eat a lot and have fun.

SEX.
① First time → it's your first time together or your first time ever! Enjoy the awkward times!
② Bondage → You and your partner decide to experiment a little with ropes or handcuffs or whatever you'd like to tie your partner up with.
③ Rough / Aggressive → Your characters want it rough.
④ Romantic → Slow and gentle, meaningful, that's how characters want it.
⑤ Dubcon → Character A wants Character B and it doesn't really matter if Character B wants it as bad or not.
⑥ In public → Characters feel like taking a risk and doing it in a public place.
⑦ Roleplay → Naughty nurse fetish? Pirate kink? You and your partner decide to try it out now!
⑧ Healing → You've both fought hard or gone through a rough time and it's time to get some R&R in.
⑨ Last time → This is the last time you're going to this because you're breaking up or maybe your lover is running off to sacrifice their lives in some heroic way. The possibilities are endless, but you better make this one count.
⑩ No strings attached → You're just friends with benefits. Nothing wrong with that, right?
⑪ Anonymous → You met in a restroom or bar, any location of your choosing, but you don't even know each other's names.
⑫ Toys → You're eager to try something new, so why not toys?
⑬ Aphrodisiacs → You've been slipped a strong aphrodisiac somehow and now you absolutely cannot control yourself.
⑭ Show → You're putting on a show by either doing it right in the club or filming it for a bunch of people.
⑮ Ménage à trois → It's time for that threesome you've always dreamed of.
⑯ Non-penetrative → Frottage, handjobs, whatever you want to try out.
⑰ Controlled → You are under mind control and must do whatever your lover asks of you.
⑱ Hatesex → It's not just rough or aggressive, you absolutely cannot stand each other.
⑲ Extreme → Fisting, knifeplay, whatever you can think of so long as it tests the boundaries.
⑳ Fantasy → This is just a fantasy, a dream, and you know it, but what is your ideal fantasy and how willing is your partner?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

[But.

But the moment of recognition was electric. The only thing that kept Eli from immediately acting (grabbing the nearest glass, breaking it, taking the sharp shards and ripping Victor's throat apart) was the fact that he currently wasn't Eli Ever, or Eliot Cardale. Currently?

Currently he was Everett, a young aspiring student majoring in something-or-another involving finance and business floating about some useless party for some contrived reason, and there was enough EON in the general vicinity to drown Merit. Here they were, in some city, unable to be themselves (unless it was intentional...?) because of too many bystanders, interlopers, people who'd want to interrupt, and if Stell showed up out of nowhere to get between them - again - Eli would be furious.

He could take a glass, smash it, and cut Victor's throat. He probably will try in a second, definitely would the moment they find somewhere better to be. But for now. For now he approaches Victor, smiling that one smile that he used when reflecting the light of the sun (the one which Victor had never liked.)]

I don't believe I've ever seen you around here before.

- go fuck yourself.

[ ... it's not like he can just ignore eli. it's not like he tried, either, but that's besides the point. the fact of the matter was that it's kind of difficult to kill him in plain sight. furthermore: he truly was just here to enjoy some time off. mitch told him he hasn't seen the sun in six days, maybe he should get some vitamin d. syd was fussing over him.

so he took a walk outside, and then this happens.

victor prides himself in being able to control his emotions. his fingers flex slightly on the glass, the only sign of his impulse to kill. to redirect his energy, he swirls the whiskey in his glass, too much of the peat for the night for his liking. and then there was eli, worse still, wearing a face he thought he'd had the better sense for more than half a decade or something to discard. apparently not.

so he tersely replies to him. the barkeep scoffs, shaking his head watching them; mistaking eli for another hopeless romantic come to try their luck at the bar. victor notes that there are three bottles within his reach should eli attack. the angle of the bar looked promising, he can bend him over and split his neck in half with a broken bottle.

plans, miseries. he drinks his whiskey churlishly. the amber of it, he notes, remembers, certain colours when the sunlight hit his hair. he used to be so mesmerized with it, and he can't really say he isn't, not anymore, even in the yellow lights of the bar dimming the room. did he come here with a friend? someone to replace serena with? he doesn't know, and not knowing irritates him. ]

[Eli's smile broadens. It's a friendly, almost flirtatious smile. Almost. On enough of the demure side to be slightly shy, the helpless romantic going for someone older. More tired. Dangerous in a way Everett never was. There's two bottles within reach. If Victor moves, he can smash one over Victor's head if need be, and, if God is merciful he'll cave in Victor's head with it. And afterwards, he can plead self defense afterwards.

Everett's comforting, going back to old habits that never quite fit, but, once almost could've, should've, maybe would've. He'll miss being a student. But it would be worth it for this.

His smile goes from friendly, almost flirtatious to something a little...sheepish. The mawkish student rebuffed by the dangerous older man, but, nevertheless, shooting his shot yet again. It was always easier when he had someone to pretend for.]

Don't be like that. [Then, to the bartender.] I'll have what he's having.

[ that smile doesn't belong to him. it's repulsive. it's repulsive and boring. it's not what he wanted from him. where are you, eli? is a constant refrain in his head, the rather ill-fitting mask on his face making a mockery of his attention. times like these he can understand what made eli call him dead, or possessed by the devil, the victor he knew long gone - whatever that meant. he can't say he understands it well. but what man wouldn't, faced with such a terrible dilemma ...?

eli takes from him, as he always does, as he makes his order. shoots his shot like he needs to. the scars on his chest ache. in a withering voice, he tells the bartender, ] He'll pay for my tab.

[ blue eyes look at him with barely concealed contempt. he wants to act like a gentleman so badly, victor will let him. make use of that little act that he insists on presenting. ]

[His eyes crinkle in feigned mischief, the sort that fools the bartender, would fool Angie (Angie, and Eli doesn't know if he misses her or misses the him that he had been when she was alive, and he doesn't know if he wants to know the answer or not, but it's a question he sometimes turns in his head, at leisure, when alone) and never fooled Victor.]

All of your debts will be paid.

[Odd phrasing, maybe, but he has to resort to something a bit less specific when putting on a show - for the bartender, for anyone else, for Victor, and Eli lets himself imagine shoving his head down onto the counter and then- all their debts repaid. Rest in peace, amen. But all in good time.

(Without realizing it, Eli's fingers graze his shirt, the edge of where a scar would've been, should've been, there and gone again.) He holds his hand out.]

Everett. [Handshake?]

My hero.

[ said caustically. laying it thick. he hates that smile on his face, too -- one for the masses. tame and smooth. victor wanted to cut his throat open. see, there's nothing there. to croon softly over blood as it seeps through his hand and eli heals himself to who he ought to be.

the hunger for it is palpable. immense. he almost misses him introducing himself - then he offers his hand.

he's well aware they're playing at a truce. but there's a danger in taking what eli offers. he knows him too well, his form probably screaming how badly he hates not getting what - who - eli owes him.

victor taps his fingers against the glass. slides the glass to his right hand where his fingers are blackened from permanent markers; a habit he can't shake. ]

Victor.

[ empties his glass. belatedly realizing - eli has the upper hand, he can't get drunk. all of this is ceremony. the realization annoys him but he shows nothing on his face; he is a carefully hewn marble statue. only the fact that he returns the glass and doesn't ask for another - a sign of his concession to eli. minor, but necessary. he can't be drunk around him. bad idea.

anyway the memories that come with it aren't good either. ]

[Victor slides the glass away. Eli's smile broadens, ever so slightly, a hint of Eli peeking out from behind the carefully constructed mask of Everett. But that was Victor. He always had a knack for drawing him out, even when hiding was far smarter, easier, better, more rewarding. But like knows like, like calls to like.

He hates it, and how thrilling it is to be seen.]

Victor. [He repeats it like he heard it for the first time, like it's a name foreign on his tongue and not one of the most familiar sounds in the world.] Victor. [He repeats it again, just drawing it out. Like he's memorizing the sounds of it, making it his own.] What brings you here, Victor? For me, I like going to places like here to think. To be. [To be a mirror, reflecting someone else's light.] It's reassuring being part of a crowd. Wouldn't you say?

[ that he has his attention is more intoxicating than anything else he'd drank all night. more addictive than anything else. yes it came at the cost of conceding a minor defeat, but he recognizes eli's attention on him, and it feels electric. small inconveniences, he'll put up with, if it meant for a huge payoff like this. worth it, in the end; but so very few things are worth it for victor nowadays, all of them centred onto one person.

fingers tap the surface of the bar as everett here savours his name like he has a right to it; he wishes it were something that'd make him choke on it immediately. goodness, how awful eli was in pretending to be someone else. small talk that meant nothing. why people fall for it, he doesn't know, but victor can't relate to most people either, and never bothered to try to begin with. angie was forever ago. angie was also dead. he liked and understood her but he never liked the way she took eli's attention, never had to try to drag him away from him. a jealousy that he hasn't let go of, though victor would never call it as such; only that it's inconvenient, when she was around, as much as he was fond of her. ]

Must be nice, having some kind of freedom. Can't imagine you're busy.

[ the bar is suddenly unbearable. screens blaring the latest game, fans too loud as they shout during a goal. ]

These days, not as much as I'd like to be. [The absence of God's hand on his own, the certainty and purpose that he had before, the nagging feeling of unfinished business- said unfinished business breathing and walking and talking right next to him. What if God was playing God? What if He brought the two of them together for a purpose? And that purpose would be a great deal easier to attend to if they didn't have one too many civilians around them- killing an EO was returning what should be dead to the ground. Killing a human was a sin. Amen.]

But I can't complain. [He wove in a little bit of a laugh into his voice. Not to charm, no, he wove it in the same way he'd weave a scalpel into Victor's throat.] It gives me time for reflection. Meditation. I think it's so important to take a few moments out of our lives to really consider why we are here for and what our purpose is. Wouldn't you agree, Victor?

[ "not as much as I'd like to be," eli says, and irritation flashes over his face just slightly. if that were the case then he ought to have come to him sooner. the ridiculousness of his vendetta against EOs meant that eli was fully busy with his self-righteousness agenda to even realize that victor was also busy chasing after him. the inconvenient knowledge that victor has to rank beside his priority with religious-induced fervour is unfair, because eli makes it clear that he's ranked less.

victor is petty and feels justified in his annoyance. the laugh doesn't help. it serves to remind him eli's priorities, a blade to the throat that barely kisses skin. if he really meant it, he'd tie up loose ends with him.

reflection my ass, victor thinks sourly. ]

- No. That kind of meditation is only for children and idiots alike.

You'd think that after all these years you'd grow out of it. [ slightly letting his disappointment bleed in his words, not pretending, pretending. he wishes he had his drink, still, instead of just rawdogging reality right beside him with a man he can't touch but owed him everything. ]

[The warmth bleeds out of his facade of a face, but by now no one's paying attention to either of them. There's the big game- someone scored a goal. Eli doesn't care. He knows just enough about it to fake caring, but earnestness was something he was better suited to playing - the young scholar, in pursuit of knowledge, something like that. Which he still is, or likes to think he is, just-

Set on a different path.]

And I thought you'd grow out of pretending to be who you are. [Victor, still alive.] But here we are. You still think you're Victor, and I'm pretending like I'm seeking a purpose I already know.

[ oh. yes. come back to me. victor eases in his presence, pleased to have found eli once more. pleased that he is here, waiting. if he knew what happiness was he'd recognize it as such. as it stands, where eli drops his mask, victor pays attention to him keenly, drawn to the lack of warmth. he might've even smiled if he were feeling generous enough; the slight upturned curve of his mouth threatening to break into something genuine. ]

I don't know how you do it, [ he says blithely. paying more attention to the screen, the sounds, the game. anything but him. chasing the high of having drawn blood; lording over him how he'd lured him out. ] letting such delusions drive you full time.

Good for you, Everett. Idealism is the province of the young.

[ someone cuts in. a beautiful woman with eyes for everett; dark-haired, slightly tipsy in order to be brave. she wants to get to know him. wants to chat, if the two of them were available - ? ]

- I'm not, but he is. [ victor's smile is thin and cruel, a knife to the ribs with the blade left in. ] Have fun.

[ blue eyes meet eli's gaze. tell me what you really want. he turns to leave, knowing he has eli's attention; knowing eli has to make a move. ]

[He doesn't know who he hates more at the moment: the girl for interrupting, or Victor for having dragged him out from hiding and forcing him to make a choice. The smart thing to do would be to indulge the girl, let Victor escape, track him down later and kill him at leisure. That would be the merciful thing to do. With his abilities, he can't die; with Victor's abilities, he'd have to overcome the pain to break his neck. But he knows pain.

But Eli's eyes rake Victor's fucking form as lightly as he dared while pretending his name was fucking Everett, and then he turned to the girl.

He had missed Angie, or, rather, how he had felt when he was around her. And there was that momentary temptation to chase that high, but he could tell that the girl barely had two brain cells, let alone the ability to smack them together and spark an idea.]

Give me a moment, Victor. [Then, to the girl:] I'm sorry. But if you give me your phone...? [A real number of a fake one? To be determined. Everett's served his purpose. Once he fucking kills Victor (and Eli will enjoy this) he'll head to the next town over and start anew once more.]

[ he turns around with a smile, as if to say that he ought to take his time with her, knowing full well that he's frustrated. but every bit of time he gets to inconvenience eli is a good time for victor ...

... besides, he's not going far. the place was crawling with EON agents, some rather poorly hiding the fact that they're undercover and some not. he doesn't know what they're here for, clearly not him - eli has some other mission - but he doesn't intend to get wrapped up in these affairs either. neither does he want to make any moves that will take away eli's time with him, and giving him an opening to lash out and kill him. that is a messy, involved, personal affair - not for EON to stick their hands into. it's for him to spend with eli only, on their terms.

so victor just moves across the pub, where there are pool tables. he grabs a pool cue from a rack, picks a table where he can keep an eye on eli, and plays. he's decent enough at it, and pool's a game that requires very little socializing, so he's happy enough to insert his asocial self to a game. as he waits, each time he strikes a ball, he glances over at the bar, looking at how everett is struggling to keep the peace between himself, a girl, and eli who wants to rip off his mask so badly it aches. he hopes everett gave her a fake number.

(it occurs to him he doesn't have eli's number. whatever. not important.)

(but he feels slighted by this knowledge, and he intends to have mitch work for him later. anyway it's his fault that he's in this position.)

he leans over the table and makes a strike. what now, eli? ]

[Victor smiles at him; Eli smiles back, a little sheepish, like a junior who'd just been indulged by his senior, and he fantasizes about Victor's back and knives. But only for a moment. Everett is a well worn mask. Not his usual sort of name, but - change or die, and as he cannot change most things about him, a name, a mask.

He hates Victor. He hates him, in the same way the oceans resent the moon. But Everett smiles at the girl, and she's got some inane name like Breeleigh- she says it was her aunt's name and her grandmother's name put together in some convoluted fashion-]

That's a pretty name. [He thinks he says.] There's something to be said for tradition. For remembering those who came before us. [Some inanity like that. And she smiles in the mildly drunken way that women do when a handsome man says something nice about their name. He's not listening, not exactly.

It's reflex, but his eyes are drawn to Victor like the ocean is pulled by the moon, watching as he leans over the table and he wonders, for a moment, what it would be like to hold him down and watch the air seep out of his lungs, watch Victor struggling to breathe? Or would he punish him before he could get that far. A wolf ripping out his throat, and would he let it?

Breelyn (was that her name?) says something. He smiles and says something back and gives her a real enough name. Everett has contacts. Eli also has contacts and they're two different things. Both things he's prepared to shed at any given moment. Victor has his attention. He really wish Victor didn't. He's asked what he's doing. He says he's a college student, studying poetry. Inane fucking poetry. His hand tightens, not in a way that whatever-her-name could tell, a little tick. He made quite a few promises. If she doesn't shut up, he'll regret making those promises with himself, with God. His eyes drag down Victor's leg and then back to the girl. The child. The idiot.]

[ he feels eli's eyes on him, and victor feels like preening, showing off. he restrains himself. it's one thing to tease; it's another to frustrate him. it's a delicate balance to maintain eli's attention. he prides himself on working hard to attract it.

(if he'd been more aware he'd realize he never truly needed to work hard to get his attention to begin with. but victor doesn't really have that insight in himself.)

their eyes meet, ever so briefly, before victor turns back to the game, his opponents, names of which he'd already forgotten. he can see the tension in eli's form, can recognize his struggle a mile away even as he extends himself on the table to strike. one across the felted table, the cue hitting sharp and precise. pool is an easy game of interconnected moves, its machinations easy and simple enough for victor to make it a sport. he can imagine eli desperately wants to stab the cue right through his gut and leave it there, returning a scar for having left him just when things were going well. or maybe victor will return the favour and crucify him with it. leave a piece of it embedded on his side like the dark god he loves so much as a way of making things permanent. half the fun is trying to figure out what will kill him, what will give him pain. too many ways to inflict. even now, he briefly considers seizing his heart and making him collapse on the floor. he doesn't.

but he imagines the look of annoyance he'll give him, on his knees, a hand over his chest, and it ... satisfies. for now.

he meets his eyes again and smiles lazily at him. the moon and the tides. ]

[It takes a lot of self control to keep from reacting, which in itself was a reaction and a win for Victor. But it's not Victor he's trying to fool. Eli's trying to fool the girl, the bartender, anyone else paying attention. He's trying to fool EON. He's trying to fool himself, for what it's worth.

He tells himself that this is a choice that he is making. And that it is a calculated choice he's making and he could ignore Victor - he has, in the past, in a roundabout way in which all of his attention is fixated on the other man. All of it. But he did his best to make sure Victor knew of none of it.

So, he brushes the girl's cheek, says a few final words, orders another drink, and heads over to the pool table.

The girl, of course, follows, hanging on his every last word.]

Who's winning?

Me.

[ inevitable. the investment for victor isn't just in staying and winning; it's making a point. the girl hanging around eliot is -

- a nuisance, but predictable. eliot has the ability to make everyone like him. a siren in his own right. the fact that eli touched her face had him rolling his eyes, the sharp stab of ... anger making him want to walk off the pub and into the night like a child. it's all so predictable and fake. he can't stand it; he doesn't know how eli could. out of necessity, and given the chains he's accepted on EON's terms, perhaps this is why he could pretend a lot more easily than anyone.

he's close by victor. he wishes he could drink in his presence. danger makes him feel reckless, impulsive. eli has that effect on him; all of his inhibitions in a monstrous form.

he makes the strike at an eight ball, strikes two in the process, downs the ones that he didn't mean to take a hit. the collateral is unfortunate; it has the other people around him whistling low at his broken streak of victories. no matter. he has a better probability given his lead.

as his opponent takes his turn, victor watches eli as he drinks, his adam's apple prominent as he swallows. ]

Are you here to play?

[ simple, unloaded question. ]

I'm hardly as good as you are. [It's a non-answer, said self-aware, almost rueful. Almost coy. Avoiding the question. Letting it curve past him, much like that ball curving around Victor's strike and past it.

Eli just takes a moment. Admires the table. Pushes up his glasses- an affliction. He hates the glasses. They're as fake as he is. The girl, whatever her name is, is some rock orbiting them all. Bella?

It doesn't matter. Bella just says something about him being better than he thinks he is, and Eli flashes her a smile. Routine. Automatic.

Back to Victor, who is the only one who matters:]

But if you wouldn't mind an amateur. Next game?

[ the response that eli gives him is predictable, a non-answer he lets slide given the circumstances. what elicits a response from him is that nonchalant way he just smiles at the woman like the two of them are an item now. victor raises an eyebrow more about the fact that she's still around him and he hasn't let her down easy, glancing at eli as if to ask, really? ]

Next game.

[ easy enough to finish everything to give eli his full attention, after all. the woman talks to eli about - something, nothing, and while he's busy pretending to chat, victor grabs his glass, drinks from it, and sets it on the side of the pool table before making a play. ]

You're still paying for my debts. [ a reminder. in case he forgot, knowing that eli wouldn't. the taste of the liquor is still in his mouth, and victor licks his lips as he strikes the ball with the cue. ]

[And now it's his turn to stare at Victor, level, slightly unamused, a slight lifting of his eyebrow: really, Victor?]

But of course.

[He wouldn't, doesn't need that reminder, and they both know it. But still. Still, he makes inane chatter as she talks about poetry (what nonsense, poetry, poetry is in the way Victor moves, the way he strikes that ball, that core which he refuses to hide and likely can't hide, in that vital something which Eli wants to take and break) and he pretends to listen. He stares, a bit hard. She says something, sensing his attention drifting from him to somewhere else, an inevitable pull.

The moon and the tides.]

You're better than I thought you'd be. [This is begrudgingly said, but like knows like, and skill knows skill. It would be more inane to pretend otherwise.]

[ victor scoffs at that remark. at any other time, maybe if they'd been at their youth, he would've explained to him at length how much it is just a matter of geometry. how they could talk about this for hours and hours like they did back at lockland when it came to human bodies and medicine and science, victor rebuffing each mention of religion that eliot levels him.

this isn't that time, at least not anymore.

victor's opponent does note that he's pretty good - and offers to buy him a drink, instead of him stealing everett's, which he agrees to with a laugh. he gets a regular pilsen, watered down compared to what he was drinking earlier. good enough not to get him drunk. and where eliot had noted his skill earlier, victor is dragged into another conversation of a people who are just as interested in him.

which is fine. he lets himself be taken into their little social circle talking about pool, of all things. anyway everett's busy with ... bree. why does it matter? ]

[There's a way these things go. He makes inane conversation with...

Bree, yes. He makes inane conversation with Bree as Victor goes and makes inane conversation with his new friends, and the conversation is very inane and Eli makes a promise to the woman to look for her poetry. Really. And he dreams about cracking her head open with a pool cue- but Bree doesn't deserve this. It's not her fault. She's still human and Eli's...

Something else. Something else entirely, and that something else is what drives him to just helpfully turn to Victor, and lightly taps him on the shoulder, craving nothing more than to grab him and throw him to the ground.]

Sorry, are you still interested in a game?

[ it's probably just as well that everyone's busy with something, because eli being close to him almost had victor lashing out at him with a hand towards his neck. as it stands, the slightest bit of tension around the cue is eliot's signal that he's somehow gotten too close and victor unsettled by how close he is.

last time they were this close he kind of stabbed him. ]

Of course.

[ it's kind of difficult to say no to eliot. and, now that he's realized, it's a lot harder to lie to him considering he's looking at his face, even if he feigns something like no, i'm sick of you. what's he going to do? stalk him for the rest of the night?

there's a way these things go. eliot calls on him, of course he answers. he liked having his attention, and he's not about to concede that now. to bree - ] Hope you don't mind me stealing him.

[ she laughs, not understanding he means it. it's fine. ]

[His stomach aches, a phantom pain that reminds him that he was once human, and it would make Eli smile if he didn't resent Victor so. To that statement:]

It's fine.

[She's served her purpose, a barrier, a distraction, a filter to keep him from ripping Victor's arm off and having EON jump the two of them before they could see their business through. Being Everett is tedious. He'll have to get a new phone, a new name, soon.]

Like I said I'm more of an amateur, so you'll have to show me how it's done.

this came to mind first so you get this tag first

wow!!!

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