The Other Wordly meme

[memeticisms]

The Other-Wordly Meme

Words are magical things; they can have so many lovely connotations and varied histories.
Words have family trees just like people. They are linked to each other.
Some words are full of flavor and color and describe things you never suspected there were words for.
Words are why we're here.

The meme is simple: post a comment with your muse's name and canon in the subject line.
List any preferences you may have ("No Shipping," "No Smut," etc.), if you decide to leave the next step up to responders.
Responders (or original posters, if they so decide), go to the Other-Wordly blog and hit 'Random' until you get a word. Use the word as a prompt to write up an RP scenario. Do this several times, if you like. Mix and match. Have fun with it!
Don't stop with a word, though! Words can often have etymologies that are at odds with their current meanings. Words can shift connotations over time. Let your imagination carry you with the words as its wind.

Comments

[routinemercy]

[if you're good with that, yes! that'd be cool.]

[formersurgeon]

[Sure! Would Hal be in New York? Is he calling Joan from Wales to ask for help?]

[routinemercy]

[hmmm... we could have it be on Joan's home turf this time, sure!]

Sorry for the delay! Had to go back and read the old thread :)

[formersurgeon]

[ooc: Left this a bit open...if you'd like to have them meet up randomly, they can, or if you'd like to have him show up on her doorstep, we can do that, too :)]

It's been a few months since her trip to Wales, since meeting Hal and discovering that vampires and werewolves (and god knows what else) actually exist. A lot has happened since then. She's officially become Sherlock's partner and a consulting detective. The woman whose death sent Sherlock into a freefall of addiction turned out to be alive and a criminal mastermind, and they've defeated her. (It might be argued that Joan defeated her, and although she wouldn't disagree, she's also wouldn't put it that way herself.) She's also been keeping her eyes open, wondering about unsolved murders, missing persons, wondering how many of them might have been vampire-related.

In all that time, she hasn't heard from Hal.

She wonders about him, even worries about him. She could probably track down his number if she wanted to, but she won't. He has her number, and if he wants to contact her, he will.

np! Sorry for the delay on my end <3<3

[routinemercy]

He couldn't stay in Barry, or in the whole of Europe, really-- not after what he's done, not after losing Annie and Eve and Tom and even Alex. Hal kept Joan's number carefully folded in his pockets for months without really thinking about it. Until the day he had to flee. The day he realized that his brethren would never let him live as Hal. No, they want the monster. And they know just what to do to bring him out.

It's then that he remembers the woman in New York, the only human still alive who knows about him. It isn't a conscious decision, or even a very good one, and soon enough Hal finds himself at her doorstep after only a few days of searching. It seems Joan Watson and Sherlock Holmes are semi-famous in this sprawling mess of a city.

He knocks tentatively, with a shaking hand. And then keeps knocking. He can't really seem to stop.

No worries! <3

[formersurgeon]

Joan is in the living room, reading Applied Cryptography, when someone knocks on the door. And keeps knocking. She frowns, and puts the book aside and her glasses on top of it. Her first thought as she stands to answer the door is Sherlock. Maybe he forgot his keys. But, no, if he did that he could just as easily pick the lock. Is it Ms. Hudson making absolutely sure she isn't interrupting anything before she comes in to clean? No, she isn't due until next week.

So Joan has no idea what to expect when she opens the door, and is shocked to see it's Hal.

"Oh my god," she says. "What are you doing here? Are you okay?"

[routinemercy]

He knows as soon as she opens the door that he's made a mistake. He has no right to intrude upon her life, put her in unnecessary danger... but part of Hal can't deny how relieved he is to see a friendly face. And that's the part that leaves him guilt-ridden.

"I'm all right," he says quickly. "I... I shouldn't have come here." He pushes back from the doorframe, entirely intending to leave her in peace.

[formersurgeon]

"Hal, wait."

She steps forward, holding out a hand, intending to touch his arm and remembering at the last minute that's not the best of ideas.

"You're in New York, and you've gone through the trouble of tracking me down. You wouldn't have done that if you didn't want to see me. And if it wasn't important."

She steps aside, leaving the door open for him.

"Come inside."

[routinemercy]

"I couldn't stay in Barry," Hal manages, cursing inwardly at her forethought to invite him in. How can he refuse now?

"It's starting."

[formersurgeon]

"The war? Between humans and vampires?"

She glances up and down the street.

"Come on inside. You can tell me everything."

[routinemercy]

Funny, the way she says it. It almost sounds as if the humans are even proper adversaries in this. What was it Snow said? They won't know what hit them.

He steps inside, just enough to allow her to close the door, looking severely out of place.

"We're alone?" Hal can sense that for himself, but it never hurts to ask.

[formersurgeon]

"Sherlock's out at the moment," she answers, shutting the door. She turns to him.

"Can I get you anything? Tea, maybe?"

[routinemercy]

"Yes. Good." But he continues to stand there, staring at the floor, fingers twitching in a distracted way.

[formersurgeon]

She frowns faintly, reaches out and gently touches his hands to get his attention. She remembers what happened when they met, but he's clearly upset, distracted, and she wants to comfort him and bring him back.

"Hey. Hal."

[routinemercy]

"Mm?" He looks up when she touches him, but his hands only jerk back slightly.

[formersurgeon]

Good. She smiles faintly and squeezes his hands before letting them go.

"The kitchen's downstairs. Come on."

She turns and heads for the stairs.

[routinemercy]

And he follows, moving sluggishly as if underwater. Or in a dream. Nightmare, perhaps. He really, really shouldn't be here. But where else could he go? Where could he hide?

[formersurgeon]

She gestures for him to sit and makes her way to the stove. She puts on a kettle, then comes to sit with him.

"How long have you been in New York?"

[routinemercy]

Oh, but she knows the answer to that, doesn't she?

"Not long." In point of fact, only a day. Hal sinks down slowly into the chair, habitually scanning the kitchen for areas that might need a good scrubbing down. It's something he does when he's nervous.

[formersurgeon]

He sees a lot of them. The kitchen is generally a disaster area. The whole Brownstone is generally a disaster area, except for the once a week that Ms. Hudson comes to clean, and the once a month that Sherlock scrubs the refrigerator.

He answers her question, and she gets a lot more than just those words. She's pretty sure he came directly to see her. Which is touching, but also worrisome. She's human, has so little to do about this coming (or present) war, and yet she's the person he seeks out.

"Why did you leave Wales?"

[routinemercy]

"It's not safe there any longer." Hal's eyes are still flitting around, taking in the kitchen, his lap-- everywhere but in Joan's direction, really. "The Old Ones..."

He sighs. "If I hadn't left, I'd have joined them."

[formersurgeon]

"The Old Ones" sounds ominous, and Joan is all but certain that the reality is even worse than it sounds. He left his home to not succumb to the monster inside of him. She admires the hell out of him for that.

"Are there Old Ones here in New York?"

[routinemercy]

"Not yet." Shit. That isn't what he meant to say, though it is likely the truth. He tries again, tapping the fingertips of his right hand together in a pattern only he would understand.

"Until recently, they kept to themselves," he explains slowly. "I suppose one could say they were lying in wait. That... precluded major cities."

[formersurgeon]

"So...when they do show up here, it will be a really bad sign."

She nods slowly.

"But they haven't yet. So for the meantime you're safe."

Hopefully it also means they can come up with a plan.

[routinemercy]

Hal huffs out a small laugh. "I scarcely matter. But yes. It will, indeed, be a Really Bad Sign."