maskormenacelogs | Mexico shenanigans group log [OPEN]

Don't worry about him, [ Dorian idly responded, with a small frown. ] I plan on finding some way to convince Kaplan to come down here come hell or high water.

[ Because Dorian's heard about what's going on inside the hotel. He also knows that Billy doesn't have as much control over his magic as he thinks he does, what with Dorian's undignified death at the hands of a toilet. It's safer for everybody's sake if Billy just gets d own here now.

Dorian watches Gansey as he continues talking...and as his mood plummets. He still wants to know what happened on the submarine (kept us in luxury? The bare necessities were luxury???), but there's no use forcing Gansey into a depression, especially since he's the only one of Team Raven who Dorian currently tolerates (and he STILL eventually wants to find out what the hell's up with Team Raven). So, he listens, frowns, and then sighs in a petulant manner, with a little huff. ]

God, if I knew how depressing talk about the submarine would be, I wouldn't have mentioned it in the first place. Besides, now I worry that all this talk might end up souring the tequila. [ Keeping things focused on himself and his own self-interest, pure Dorian. ] Time to change the subject! Have any plans while you're in Mexico?

[ Gansey's head snaps up to look at Dorian. He's worried about Billy, too.

Sometimes Dorian seems unspeakably self-centered, and it's impossible to forget that he's the man from Wilde's story. Then at other times, he hints at a better nature that's surprising when it shows itself. This is one of those times, and Gansey files it away. This is the Dorian he wants to know.

The same one who's quick to give him an out from talking about what ails him, for which Gansey feels immediate gratitude. ]

I tried convincing him. He wouldn't hear of it, not even after what Kitty said. I tried again, then.

[ He reaches to fill Dorian's glass again, and gives him a little smile. ]

Easy plans. Try to forget the damned submarine, visit my old haunts and see if they're the same.

And watch the Network, I suppose. Wait for news. Yourself?

[ Hinting at a better nature that's 75% self preservation but okay, better nature, he can roll with that.

And oh. Her. Dorian can't help but wrinkle his nose a bit at the mention of Kitty. He didn't like her before and this 'rah rah, I'm suddenly a Communist' bit only makes him further dislike her. ]

You'll find that I'm annoyingly stubborn and not at all above being needlessly petty to get what I want. I'll ring him up and find a way to force him down here.

[ By threats of pure annoyance. Hey, whatever works! As Gansey fills his glass, Dorian matches that smile and, once Gansey's finished pouring, knocks back another shot. ]

Drink in the nightlife and spend some quality time on the beach. Two things that really, shouldn't surprise anyone. [ There's a brief pause. ] But to go back to a certain point, you have haunts in Mexico? Surely the ley lines don't have anything to do with Quetzalcoatl or anything like that.

[ Dorian MASSIVELY butchers the pronunciation of 'Quetzalcoatl'. ]

[ Gansey passes his collection of citrus wedges towards Dorian, and shrugs. ]

Ley lines criss-cross the globe, connecting important mystical sites - or it might be more accurate to say that sites associated with myth and magic are often located along ley lines, no doubt taking advantage of the energy they emit. I always knew that I was looking for a ley line, and Glendower. Which ley line was always the question. Teotihuacan was always a site that appealed.

[ Gansey leans back. Even with alcohol clouding his mind, this is still a topic about which he can wax lyrical. It's like he has his journal in front of him, with its notes on the pyramids and what, crucially, had not been found there. He, of course, mispronounces no part of this. ]

Quetzelcoatl did interest me for a while. Do you know one of his animals is a crow? It's the same family as the raven, and of course Glendower is the Raven King.

Unfortunately I never found a viable connection between the two. It was worth looking, but ultimately, I had to move on.

[ So he knew about Mexico simply because it was a possibility. Willing to consider Teotihuacan just because it had the potential of a ley-line. How interesting. But, Gansey mentioning Quetzelcoatl meant that Dorian took that as full invitation to be a mythological snob.

After all, when you've encountered goddesses, golems, banshees, zombies, you tend to read up on all sorts of folklore and mythology just to be safe. This is entirely his wheelhouse. ]

Odin's got ravens as well: Huginn and Munnin, thought and memory. [ Those words he doesn't mangle. ] Of course, if Quetzelcoatl didn't have a viable connection, Odin probably doesn't either. Irish mythology, however...ever thought of connecting Glendower to the Morrigan?

[ This is what Dorian loves. Just being so pretentious and talking pretentious with Gansey, like they're talking shop or something. ]

[ This is what Gansey loves, too. When it comes to myth and magic, Dorian is right on his level. It’s impossible to ignore that sort of interest in someone else. Dorian takes it seriously, and Gansey’s life has been full of people who didn’t. ]

I thought of Odin, too. I went to Iceland after London. That’s a landscape unlike any, right between two tectonic plates. I thought there was a chance…

[ But he shakes his head again. ]

Nothing. Didn’t feel right. And Ireland, Jesus, there’s so much to work with there. I’d give the Morrigan more credence if she wasn’t so aggressively female. And, of course, she’s a goddess herself. I’m looking for a warrior King who was served by Magicians.

[ A little pause, then, and he smiles at Dorian. ]

That’s not to put you off, though. I know there’s a story behind that proposal. Let’s hear it.

[ Dorian matches that smile and then launches into a full-blown myth geek talk. ]

If we fudge some definitions, we've got Cú Chulainn. Irish warrior, though the king part's not entirely accurate. Aided by the Morrigan a few times, cavorted with otherworldly women, here's our magicians. And we've got your birds, as the only way his enemies could tell that he was dead was when a raven perched on his shoulder. [ He pauses for a moment to let that sink in, smile even wider. Suck it, a plausible theory!

...that has a few holes in it that Dorian's going to address. ]

Of course, Irish isn't Welsh. And again, the biggest problem is the flexibility of the word 'king.' But I'm much more liable to go to bat for the Irish side of things over Welsh considering I met a banshee.

[ Gansey's smile doesn't leave, but the lift of his shoulder has an air of dismissiveness. He's not going for this connection, clearly. ]

The biggest problem is that he's not Glendower, Dorian. Glendower isn't a Welsh myth, easily confusable with an Irish demigod. Or actual god, depending on whether you believe Lugh is him or his father -

Anyway.

[ He waves his hand, pressing on. ]

I don't struggle for belief in Irish folklore, but I don't think Glendower is part of it. He's himself. Where other tales of magic interest me is in their usefulness in locating ley lines, since I know that's what Glendower's people are searching for. And also since finding the ley line was as important as finding Glendower, for me.

[ The voice in his head had spoken of both. The ley line and Glendower. He had always been sure of their connection. ]

I suppose that's where we differ. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if Glendower was tied to some already established folklore because that's just the sort of life I live.

[ he's dealt with goddesses, demons, golems, ghosts, banshees, werewolves, and a homicidal imaginary friend, why the fuck not, let's add Glendower to there, ley lines and fey folk and whatever the hell else, it's not like his life can get any weirder to begin with. ]

I could see someone mistaking him for that, I suppose.

But he's a historical figure. Tied to magic, yes, but with a mythology of his own. My search has been all about trying to find where he was taken.

[ He pauses for a moment, expression thoughtful. then he leans forward, bright eyes full of animation. ]

When he died, his magicians carried him along the ley line. Tying down...which ley line that meant, and then once found, exactly which part of it he may have been laid to rest upon...that's been the difficulty. I've never doubted the mythology itself.

At the risk of sounding like an idiot, isn't there a higher chance that the ley line is in Europe? It'd be damned hard trying to cart a corpse across international waters, even taking into account how far back Glendower died.

[ Especially taking into account how far back Glendower died...Dorian's not entirely certain about ancient embalming techniques. Of course, there's a high probability that Gansey's going to say "but magicians" which really means that Dorian should just cut him off right now... ]

Unless these mythical magicians did something. I still don't know what they would be capable of, by the way.

[ Gansey holds up his finger. ]

Sleeping. Not dead.

[ He leans back, idly pouring another shot while he talks. ]

I thought of Europe as well, of course, first of all. It's not for nothing I spent years travelling around, searching for any sign of him. But, look.

[ He takes the shot, and then fishes for his journal. He flips it to one page in particular, until he comes to a roughly drawn image superimposed over a map of the world. ]

These are the ley lines relevant to Glendower. You can see how they pass through the UK, connecting it to elsewhere. I didn't know which one I was looking for. I was only ever told, 'the ley line', and 'Glendower'. So it was a matter of searching, narrowing down possibilities, searching for clues that connected a place along any of these lines, to him.

That's what I found with Henrietta.

[ A little pause, while he leans back again. ]

And then of course there's the fact we found his daughter sleeping in a cave there. She seems reasonably sure he's close. I'm on the right track, I don't have any doubt of that now.

My point still stands, [ Dorian mutters, as Gansey flips to his journal. He's still not entirely sure how much of this is actually true and how much of it is Gansey having a conspiracy theory...but he has to admit, the entire thing's amusing in an odd way. He's so determined! Quite frankly, it's adorable.

and wait what hold the phone daughter in a cave, this just got even weirder, Dorian did NOT KNOW about that part. ] Let me guess, the magicians did something to her also?

Mmm.

[ Gansey nods. His expression isn't exactly happy, though - certainly not the kind of thrilled 'I told you so' that ought to come with this moment. ]

But it wasn't anything grand. They punished her, for the crime of being a witch. She's half-crazed from the experience.

[ He takes another drink. It's maybe a little more than half-crazed. ]

She lives with Blue now. At home, I mean.

[ This is not fun, let's go back to the fun bits. Dorian just kind of wrinkles his nose as he frowns because again.

Not fun. ]

Sounds lovely, [ in a tone that implies no, it is not lovely, not lovely in the slightest. ] So what, they kept her alive simply because?

They kept her awake.

[ Gansey's head rolls a little to the side. It's clear by now that the alcohol is taking a toll on him. He's all but lounging in his seat now. ]

Buried face down, in a tomb, never able to sleep, always aware. It was a punishment.

Even so, she managed to do good down there. She's a strange creature. Glendower's Magicians did that to her. Before you ask, no. I don't know why, and I don't know if he knew.

I think he was already asleep when they did it.

[ Dorian is less drunk. At least, less drunk than Gansey to know that Gansey, poor kid, is getting close to drunk. So, Dorian pours himself a shot, moreso something to do with his hands as well as giving Gansey the impression that hey, he's keeping up as well! Though he's not going to throw back that shot until he takes full advantage of semi-drunk Gansey to press him for information.

The question now is, what. ]

You run into all these fantastical things in your world. Ley lines, Glendower's daughter, magicians, Ronan's creation power...you're giving me a run for my money!

Edited (since I forgot whether Dorian knows the specifics of dreamness or not) 2016-04-05 03:11 (UTC)

[ That resonates with Gansey after just a moment's delay, like it took an extra few seconds to sink in.

Ronan's creation power? His eyes slide over to Dorian. ]

I've not run into magicians. Would be magicians, maybe.

What do you know about Ronan? That's a funny thing to say.

[ Dorian picks up the shot, like he's about to throw it back, but then stops, as he listens to Gansey talk. It's all very calculated, Dorian trying to give off the impression that he's drinking just as much, if not more, than Gansey. ]

Well, he made Henrietta, didn't he? I assume that he can do more than just birds. And besides, nobody in my world can do something like that, ergo it's fantastical.

[ It would take a heady amount of alcohol to bring Gansey close to betraying Ronan. His powers have put their whole group in considerable danger – danger that’s definitely not worth involving anyone else. Particularly (sorry, Dorian) when it’s someone that Ronan doesn’t trust. ]

I didn’t say that he could, actually.

[ He shrugs. ]

Look, if you have questions about Ronan, you should ask Ronan. He’s not the sort of man who’d thank me for discussing his business.

[ Dorian sighed, a bit dramatically, before giving Gansey an 'I'm not stupid' look. ]

I was there for the whole Henrietta saga, remember? That's the reason I became interested in your little boy band in the first place. I know Ronan made the bird, I just want to know what else he can make.

[ This conversation is clearing some of the fur in Gansey’s head. His drinks now lie untouched, and sharp hazel eyes settle on Dorian.

He has experience of people who develop interest in them because of Ronan’s powers. These experiences are not pleasant, and his instinct makes him protective. ]

Why?

Interesting or not, lots of people have powers here. What’s your stake in him?

[ What's your stake in him, really. Dorian can't help but frown, looking Gansey over. His stake is that there's more to the raven crew that meets the eye. He wants to know more about Gansey, what happened to make a relatively normal teenager go on a quest for dead kings...and what makes three other relatively normal teenagers (or at least, two relatively normal teenagers and Ronan) join the quest.

He doesn't know Gansey's deal—which he'd like to find out. And, which he's not going to tell Gansey. Plus, it's always good when you have someone with real power on your side...and though Dorian knows Ronan wouldn't help him in the slightest, getting Gansey might get Ronan by proxy. ]

I don't have a stake in him or anything like that. I'm just curious!

[ Just curious.

Yes, perhaps. Gansey fingers his glass, unsettled. ]

Well, you should ask him, then. I’m sure that’s what he’d prefer.

[ Actually, Gansey is sure he would not; he knows full well that Ronan and Dorian aren’t close, and that Ronan is very private anyway. He’d not answer this question. That’s exactly why Gansey won’t. ]

How long have you been waiting to ask that question, Dorian? Henrietta was a long time ago, and we’ve talked plenty since then.

[ Yeah, Dorian knows that if he asks Ronan, it's going to end up with Dorian punched in the face. Hence, why he's bothering Gansey.

And oh, this is just going to be a delicate answer, isn't it. ]

First you say I have a stake in him, now you're asking how long I've been waiting to ask a question, Christ Gansey. I might have first become interested in you because of Ronan but I'd like to think our friendship's evolved past that.

[ Deflection ahoy! ]

Mexico shenanigans group log [OPEN]

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