A Problem Like Maria, Solved. [closed/open]

[protagonized]

i - Blame the New Guy (3 May - locked to Lancelot and Faolan)

It turns out that putting a bounty on the head of a mostly harmless human stalker is not the best course of action when one is a Guardian representing the Night Council, particularly during the elections. Simon's made an even bigger mess of things than usual, it seems. Or at least that's the impression he got from Lancelot's reaction to the news.

"Daryl assured me he wasn't going to hurt her," Simon says for what feels like the twelfth time. "He just wanted to get information that I could use to get her off me." To blackmail the blackmailer. That was Eames' idea, though Simon isn't going to mention that to either of them. He's deep enough in the shit as it is without bringing a fae into things.

ii - Will Wonders Never Cease (7 May - locked to Daryl)

Simon has been expecting the worst for days now. It's hard not to, given his own overreaction and the reactions of those around him. So when he finally hears from Daryl that the job is done, he's mostly expecting there to be a body involved.

He certainly didn't think it would end up like this.

"And she just...agreed to stop?" He's completely dumbfounded. "What did you do to her?"

iii - Matinee Idol (13 May - OTA)

It feels strange to be around normal people. Simon has become so accustomed to being surrounded by the supernatural world in almost everything he does that even doing something as simple as going to the cinema with some friends from Uni and taking in Hollywood's latest semi-annual installment in one of its most venerable superhero franchises seems...wrong, somehow. It's a feeling he can't seem to shake afterwards, as he and the others loudly debate the merits of each member in the pantheon of heroes and how they'd stack up against each other in a fight. It's hard to compare hypotheticals when he personally knows people with powers just as fantastical as the ones dreamed up on screen.

After a while, his friends decide to continue the discussion at another pub, but he makes his excuses and stays behind, scowling at a mostly-untouched pint. The movie was supposed to take his mind off of things, and it was only making them worse.

iv - Choose Your Own Adventure (Anytime - OTA)

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Comments

[protagonized]

"Hm?"

Simon is miles away and it takes him a moment to snap back to reality. The pub is full of bodies on a Friday night, but the smell of vampire is hard to miss. Is he that easy a mark?

"Exams," he lies. Well, it's half true.

[emotioneater]

He doubts it's only that. People always seem to have a myriad of troubles on their minds. Frankly, the vampire finds that to be exhausting. "Just look at it this way. In a hundred years, everyone will be dead, so what difference does it matter anyway?" He shrugs blithely. Cooper, that is not the way to make someone feel better.

[protagonized]

Simon just snorts humorlessly. "Well, that's great for them a hundred years from now but perspective isn't all that useful in the short term." He still has to survive the next two months, much less the next century.

"Besides," he says pointedly, "Technology being what it is, we could all live to a hundred and fifty. Or they could be, I don't know. Vampires." He laughs like it's all one big joke.

[emotioneater]

Cooper smiles, not quite managing a laugh. So, that's the way he wants to play it, fine. He lets the vampire reference pass him by, looking completely unphased by it. He takes a long swig of his beer instead. "If you want some perspective for the short term? Worry. Worry for everything that is and everything that will be in your life. Eventually, you'll get sick of worrying 'n relax. Or you'll have a mental breakdown. One of the two."

[protagonized]

"That's cheerful." Simon raises an eyebrow. What is the vampire's problem?

Well, obviously he was hungry and cruising for blood donors. But beyond that.

He takes a drink of his own beer and sighs. "You're a fucking riot, you know that?"

[emotioneater]

Cooper's problem? Well, he's sure there's more than a few people who have a theory. Really, he's just got more attitude than any one person should be allowed to have. "Thank you. The only person I seek t'amuse is myself."

What else was he supposed to do with centuries of time? Take himself too seriously and walk around with a gloomy expression like some vampires seemed to do? That wasn't for him. "All kidding aside, you're too young to have that many worries. At your age, things tend to work out on their own."