deleons | The Stuck in an Elevator Meme

The Stuck in an Elevator Meme

Looks like we'll be here a while.

This one's pretty self-explanatory! Who knows why you came to this building, but it looks like the elevator is on the fritz, and whoever you last stepped into it with will be your companion for the next who-knows-how-long. Hopefully they're not a murderer. Have fun!

Directions:
1. Post a TL, blank or with a starter, with your character name and canon in the subject line.
2. Tag around to other TLs!
3. Have fun, be respectful, follow typical DWRP rules.
4. Spread the word if you feel so inclined so more can join in on the fun!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Oh, of course Gansey didn't lean on how important and busy the two of them are to insinuate anything. Of course there was no intent to apply pressure. The tone of his phone call was perfectly innocent and pleasant, just like it sounded, with no extra layers of meaning.

Whelk isn't sure if Gansey thinks he's an idiot or a lifelong plebian. Either way, his impression of the little jackass worsens yet again.]

I need a cigarette. [Muttered under his breath as he pushes his dark hair out of his eyes; then, louder:] Your phone is working. I'm sure you can find better ways to stay entertained.

Are you going to smoke in the elevator?

[He has a hard time veiling his disapproval behind anything this time, smile replaced by two highly raised eyebrows instead. Whelk really isn't terribly concerned with being professional right now, is he?

[Gansey tilts his head again, and that loaded smile returns to his face - but his expression overall doesn't withhold much displeasure at this point.]

Excuse me, professor, but I hope I haven't done anything to offend you. I was simply making my way to my advisor's office.

[God give him strength.]

No, I'm not, and no, you haven't. But neither of us are here to socialize, so let's not pretend otherwise.

[He needs to pull himself together. Hopefully that works as a nice, neutral answer, enough that Gansey will leave him the hell alone and he can clamp down on the chaos in his skull.

After all, this could be an opportunity of sorts, couldn't it? If Whelk plays the role of a normal person having a normal conversation... he might be able to pick Gansey's brain about any ley line details that haven't made it into his notes. It's galling, but Whelk can't exactly let his pride lead the way on this.

With a heavy sigh, he squares his shoulders and schools his features into what he hopes is an apologetic look.]

Pardon my tone, I - suffice it to say this hasn't been a morning worth discussing. [Nor have any of his mornings in the past seven years been worth discussing.]

[Just as if he were a mirror, Richard Gansey squares his shoulders and schools his features, although his look is obliging, not apologetic. He has nothing to apologize for. He politely inclines his head.]

Nothing to pardon. Not much pleasant about being trapped in an elevator is there? [His smile becomes a little more relaxed, but his mind is sharp like a bear trap. There's something strange about the atmosphere in this elevator.

[Maybe he's just feeling a bit claustrophobic. Maybe they both are.]

If your phone isn't working, you're free to any of my books-- Ah, well. Aglionby's books. They're from the library.

At least one in there about Latin's influence on the Welsh language. There are more loan words than I would have expected - though, surely you must know that. [He laughs a bit, and it's not unfriendly. He should try to relax if Whelk is going to.

[~~He kind of wishes he hadn't brought up Latin, considering he wasn't in class on Friday.~~]

[This kid can really babble with the best of them. Whelk's already on the verge of tuning him out by the time he finally hears a hook into the conversation he wants to be having, but he catches it just in time.

Welsh.]

Welsh? [His sidelong look is impressively casual, considering how his heart rate has picked up.] That's an obscure choice.

Ah. Not for my studies. [Now, there's a smile with some authenticity to it. Gansey isn't a stupid kid, but he has no reason to think that one of his teachers would have any problem with what he's studying. Some might write him off as crazy, naïve, perhaps just as some silly kid with a silly hobby. But there's no danger in sharing his Glendower obsession. It isn't a secret. It never has been.] Do you know anything of Welsh history, Mr. Whelk?

The Romans did have some influence in Southern Wales before the empire fell. Perhaps you've come across Caerwent in your studies?

[The only notable Roman civilization in Wales hasn't much to do with Glendower, but he's trying to find a common thread with Whelk's interests. Surely a lover of Latin would have some interest in Roman history, right?]

Mm. History is just a necessity of studying dead languages, not a particular point of interest for me.

[Despite how completely he's just brushed off all of Gansey's excitement, Whelk isn't going out of his way to be rude this time. Speaking frankly about his own personal interest in academics is, in fact, downright intimate for him.

He meets Gansey's newly bright gaze with a stare that's much too incisive for the neutral energy he's trying to project.]

Why Wales?

[Gansey, perhaps foolishly, takes Whelk's interest in his quest at face value.]

I'm looking for something from Wales.

I chose Henrietta, you know - well, you know I wasn't in your class until this year, at least. [Another laugh, but he's not faking cordiality this time. His expression reflects Whelk's - looking into the dark mirror, or so the expression goes. There's a fire in his eyes now.]

Owain Glendower. Do you know the name?

[Here it is. Now Whelk has Gansey moving in the right direction. And he's got no earthly idea how all this connects to the ley line so opening up this conversation was the right move.

Yes. Yes.

Whelk's mind has fallen eerily silent. He could laugh out loud over this unexpected stroke of luck but doesn't even want to waste that much time with maintenance undoubtedly on their way.]

Yes, but only the name. [The "go on" is clearly implied in every line of his expression, his posture - for the moment, Gansey has Whelk's undivided and rapt attention.]

[Is it really luck when you could have just asked all along, Whelk?

[Gansey's smile is wry and knowing, almost as if there's a joke between them that only he knows the punchline to. But it isn't a joke. It's his passion, his life's work, and something that he's never been known to hold back about when asked. However casual he may sound, his voice is still weighted with excitement when he says:]

He was a King. The last true Prince of Wales. He led a rebellion against the English in the early 15th century. Unsuccessful, of course, but...

That's who I'm looking for. Here, in Henrietta. [He says it as if waiting for the inevitable reaction. Whether it will be interest or disbelief - perhaps a mix of both - he feels prepared. This is a conversation that he's had many, many times before.]

[Aha. The words themselves sound like madness, but so does everything involved with the ley line. To Whelk, Gansey's little speech sounds like the key he was lacking when he first tried to jimmy the ley line's lock open.

Does Glendower possess the power himself and use it in aid of others? Does he simply guard it, or pass pieces of it on? It doesn't matter. He's linked to the power of the ley line, that much is obvious, and Gansey has decided he's the center of everything.

Looking into his handsome face now, the unnatural confidence in his crooked smile, the glowing health of his complexion which can only be gifted by an extremely fortunate life, Whelk believes that Gansey would be the first one to uncover this information. But life's heart-hollowing unfairness can be hacked, and this time Whelk will make sure he does everything right - Richard Campbell Gansey III will not be the first to unearth Glendower himself.]

Is that so. Any leads yet?

Henrietta itself.

There’s a ley line that crosses through here - that is, a path of supernatural energy. They’re all over the world, but given the legends of where Glendower was taken after he died, it’s Henrietta’s that I’m concerned with. The town itself is more charged than half the places I’ve traveled.

If he’s here - and I suspect he is - it has to be on that line.

[His smile then should show clearly the difference in motivation. It’s exceedingly genuine, no longer wry, but filled with a desperate passion.]

This is my life’s work.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The Stuck in an Elevator Meme

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject