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The Underground Mods ([personal profile] undergroundmods) wrote in [community profile] undergrounds2017-10-09 09:30 pm

Five Years Later...



A lot can change in five years. Students who were at Redbright have now started their careers. People have moved out, moved in, started a new life together or apart. Some move on from the city while others return to it. But while the lives of its residents continue to grow and change, London remains as it has ever been: a focal point for magical power.

A tentative peace
The last five years have not been without conflict, both internal and external. The vampires have played with the politics of in-fighting and backstabbing. The werewolves have overthrown their leader and chosen a new alpha. The witches have suffered one scandal after another. And the fae have quietly engineered a small change here, a personal revenge there, until finally with Redbright and Hillingdon acting as neutral parties a peace agreement was reached between Circle Daybreak, the Islington Nest and the East End Pack. Their territories are still beholden to the same rules (e.g. vampires are still forbidden to enter East End territory and vice versa) but they are no longer in open conflict. Small steps, perhaps, but positive ones.

A delicate balance
The year is 2022. The balance of power in the city is now evenly split between the East End Pack, Islington Nest and Circle Daybreak, thanks largely to the rise of the werewolves and the new President Laura Roslin who simultaneously holds the post of Werewolf Representative.

Samantha Okeke lost her position as Witch Representative following allegations of corruption, and has been replaced by Diphylleia "Dee" Absin, a much more co-operative member of the Night Council. While Samantha has retained her title of Mother of Witches, there are rumours that she lost her powers during a confrontation with a powerful fae. Circle Daybreak firmly denies all such speculation.

The connections between the Redbright Institute and the Hillingdon Clan have grown stronger since the former is now perceived to be a more neutral force rather than tied to the Night Council, although Hillingdon certainly still has the less clean-cut image of the two.

Meanwhile, the Seelie and Unseelie Court have largely withdrawn from public life in the mortal realm except in isolated corners, though they claim the right to go where they please throughout the city. Consequently, there are no barriers preventing travel between the realms, which seems for now to be an acceptable compromise.

And after all, politics is the art of compromise.

Looking ahead
All in all, the vampire and fae presence in the city has reduced as the vampires move around and the fae decide that if they're invited it can't be that great a party anyway. The number of witches has recovered thanks to an amnesty allowing those who were once members of Circle Midnight to return (though the faction itself has not reappeared).

The biggest change that has been noticed first by staff at the Redbright Institute however is the increasing number of meta humans, in particular young meta humans, being discovered in the city. Often these are humans with no knowledge of the supernatural developing their powers for the first time. The reason why has yet to be discovered...
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[personal profile] falsify 2017-10-20 06:33 pm (UTC)(link)
He's considered killing Bill a lot, it'd be easy too, it's not like Eames is one of those old timey fae who care about honour and doing things Right. The right way is the way that gets it done.

Still, it was worth saying out loud. If he couldn't lay a hand on her maybe they'd find something decent or she'd see him for what he really is, but he's not expecting much on her side. One of the things that's always frustrated him about Nancy is just how blind her love is.

"Fine," Eames waves it off and shakes his head, "forget I said anything."
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[personal profile] specifiercity 2017-10-20 07:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Arthur sighs (again) and shakes his head. There's a comment about how Bill can hit Nancy but Nancy can't protect herself with a bit of incapacitating magic brewing in his head but he doesn't let that out either. He just tilts his head and regards the mess of a girl standing in their kitchen.

"What do you want?"
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[personal profile] stauncherhearted 2017-10-20 08:48 pm (UTC)(link)
She didn't have the energy to fight with either of them, so when Eames drops the idea of a charm, Nancy is incredibly thankful.

"what I want?" She blinks at them. "I... I want to be with him, for the rest of my life. I don't want him to hit me- I want to marry him, to have his children. I want a family, a real one." Bill wouldn't marry her, and he didn't want children. That was the good thing about him being arrested when he was- he wasn't around to find out that Nancy had been pregnant at the time.
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[personal profile] falsify 2017-10-20 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)
"You're not--" Eames frowns and looks aside at Arthur, his expression almost pained. Looking back at Nancy, he just looks sad and tired, "you're never going to have that with him, some part of you must know that."

And that's to say nothing of what a man like him would do to a child in his home. She's living in a fantasy, and Eames is just going to accept all over again he'll never be able to make her see the reality of her life.
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[personal profile] specifiercity 2017-10-20 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Arthur leans on Eames gently, just a subtle movement from someone else's perspective. This is hard for both of them but he knows it must be really hard for Eames.

"What makes you think he'll ever stop hitting you?"
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[personal profile] stauncherhearted 2017-10-20 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Nancy looks at them both. They're right. she knows that deep down, but she can't say it, can't recognize it on the surface level.

"he's changing! He's already so much better than before he was arrested- without Fagin to fuck it all up he's so much better. and maybe just maybe, when he knocks me up again, he'll change his mind. Now that Fagin ain't around to..." she makes a vague gesture.

"We could have our happily ever after." She had clung to that idea for years and years. it would take a lot more than Eames and Arthur to change her mind about that.
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[personal profile] falsify 2017-10-20 09:36 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm sorry, I can't. I can't do this." Eames stands, unsure of where he wants to go, but he can't be around this. He's exhausted and stressed way the fuck out and upset and he doesn't know how to be calm about.

"I'm not going to sit here and pretend it's not fucking delusional of you to believe that." Eames shakes his head, jaw tight in anger, "I've seen the two of you-- I know he loves you, but love isn't enough on its own."
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[personal profile] specifiercity 2017-10-20 09:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Arthur stands too and puts his hand on Eames' back, trying to be soothing and supportive. "He's right. We can't help you until you realize that you can't fix him."
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[personal profile] stauncherhearted 2017-10-20 09:54 pm (UTC)(link)
It's so good to hear that Eames has recognized the love that Bill has for her. It's so often gone unrecognized or appreciated.

But Eames is going to leave again and so is Arthur and she needs them here. "It should be! He saved me, and I can do the same for him, I know it. If... if cursing him is going to be the only thing that makes you see that I'm not delusional, then do it. You'll see."
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[personal profile] falsify 2017-10-20 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Eames looks at Arthur a little helplessly, he doesn't even know what to say to this. There's literally nothing he can do to make her see this for what it is; certainly nothing he can say in a morning that'll compete with a lifetime of Bill and Fagin.
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[personal profile] specifiercity 2017-10-20 10:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Arthur rubs Eames' back, pressing his lips together in sympathy. "I just know that I personally don't want to keep enabling you to go back to him. Sure, cursing him sounds like a good idea, but the curse is going to get lifted and he's going to go back to what he was doing before."
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[personal profile] stauncherhearted 2017-10-21 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
Nancy presses her own lips together, and dabs at her eyes again. "If I decide to leave him- sometime down the road- would I have your support? Could I come to you then?" It's clear this is hard on them, seeing her. She doesn't understand quite how hard it is for them, not by a long shot. So perhaps boundaries would be good. She can't see them.

But when she was ready? She needed to know she'd have someone there for her. Else what good would leaving him really be?
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[personal profile] falsify 2017-10-21 11:33 am (UTC)(link)
The thing is, she won't. He knows she won't. Even if there would be a day that she'd decide she couldn't be with him anymore, he'd kill her long before that day came. One day he'd hit her too hard, or she'd fall and hit her head, or any other myriad of things, and she'd be dead and gone.

"Yeah, of course." He says it emphatically, because as doubtful as he is it'll ever happen, god does he want it to.
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[personal profile] specifiercity 2017-10-21 11:52 am (UTC)(link)
It's the first time she's ever mentioned the possibility of leaving him, which makes Arthur equal parts wary and hopeful.

"In a heartbeat," he adds after Eames, dropping his hand from Eames' back so he can go lean on the counter. He's still so tired.
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[personal profile] stauncherhearted 2017-10-21 03:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Nancy nods again, her eyes closed. All her makeup from last night is long since cried off. "Thank you. That's... all I think I need. Right now, anyway. To know I've the support in you two." She glances at the best pup that wasn't Bill or Bullseye, "Three, even."

She'd have to be blind, not to notice how tired the gentlemen were. "Go back to bed, you two. Let me make breakfast. Then I'll get out of your hair. Let me take care of you two, for taking care of me." Plus, she was a really great cook at this point now. Since Bill returned, she'd been working extra hard to make sure they had some damn good meals. Especially now that her boyfriend could appreciate real food on a level that her ex could not.
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[personal profile] falsify 2017-10-21 05:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Laying down sounds really good right now, Eames honestly could fall asleep any time now. He's still not... He's not happy but he's been mollified some. Enough not to start a fight or make any more snide comments at least.

He looks at Arthur, thoughtful, and puts a hand on his leg. "What do you think?"
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[personal profile] specifiercity 2017-10-21 07:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Arthur sighs, looking at Eames and then at Nancy, worn out and obviously ready to go back to bed. "I think if you have somewhere to go, you should go there, and if you don't we can help you find somewhere or put you up in a hotel or something. We all need to just get on with this day, and if we go back to bed we're probably not getting up for a few hours anyway."
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[personal profile] stauncherhearted 2017-10-22 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
Nancy nods. Now that it was daylight and she was sober (a fact she'd fix as soon as she possibly could) she could think properly. Best thing was to go home and pretend nothing happened, truthfully. Have great makeup sex anyway. Profit.

Besides, the New Moon was only a few days away, so Bill would be a bit more docile.

"I have somewhere I can go." Maybe she'd spend a few hours at Dodger's flat. "You two go to bed, then. I'll get dressed and head out. Then..." Then they wouldn't speak, until she decided to leave him.

If she decided to leave him.

Well. They could pretend it was a departure on better terms now, right?
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[personal profile] falsify 2017-10-22 03:10 pm (UTC)(link)
They could pretend, sure. And Eames will go back to accepting he'll never see Nancy again, the life he was living last night where he'd managed to stop thinking about her entirely.

"Yeah," he says after a long moment, too tired to protest if he wanted to, "yeah, sure."
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[personal profile] specifiercity 2017-10-30 12:10 am (UTC)(link)
Arthur doesn't know that this is for the best, but it feels like it right now. At least she'll leave them alone for the time being and they all understand each other. He just can't imagine waking up and having her still be there, serving them breakfast like that makes any of this better.
stauncherhearted: (I'm sorry for how much I apologize)

[personal profile] stauncherhearted 2017-11-06 05:30 am (UTC)(link)
Nancy presses her lips together, the tip of her nose starting to sting again. No. They're going to do this quickly. She can't make this drawn out anymore, they've made that clear. When she's ready to leave Bill, she'll come to them. But until that moment, she'd never darken their doorway again.

Gods she was going to miss the both of them more than she could possibly imagine.

Trying hard not to let tears come to her eyes, Nancy nods. "Yeah- you two go back to sleep. I'll be gone when you wake up." Like she was never here.

But she was taking her jumper back.
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[personal profile] falsify 2017-11-06 12:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Eames sighs, not happy by a long shot but it's not like there's much else to be done here. He stands with a tired grunt, first looking down at Arthur and then to Nancy. Wondering a little if he should say or do something, but... He shakes his head and just starts toward the stairs.

"See you around, Bell."