Open apps at amatomnes and his writer wanting all the cast mates.

[placeintheworld]

...Congratulations you might possibly have secured the scariest person I can think of. You get a gold star and a slice of cake.

[He never stops smiling however, or sounding utterly sincere] You know maybe instead of looking for all the friends for that Eurotrash vampire and his blonde bimbo girlfriend you could consider working on that other thing we were discussing?

[Lindsey, Darla is hard. Lilah is hard. Evil ladies are really hard to find. No bosses either, besides what honestly makes you think that Marcus would want to talk to you? Plus didn't Darla also screw you over? Nobody likes you Lindsey.]

I'm hearing your reasoning behind that. [He doesn't break a stride]

You're so dead set on this plan you've cooked up with Dawn's player then you damn well better step up your game as far as finding me some allies. I'm not gonna sit here and do nothing.

[Always way too many good guys. Always. :| and he's too bad to be one of them.]

Comments

[gotmadskills]

You could've had all kind of bad girl in your corner, then you decided you were gonna truth and justice it up for the girl who gave me a round trip ticket to Deadtown. Got no one to blame but the guy in the mirror.

[placeintheworld]

I needed to do something to prove that moron that I could still do something with my life and that he was an idiot after calling me like that.

[Lindsey's voice is hard] Besides I'm willing to be one way or another I could still convince you.

[hart_or_hand]

At least your mun isn't scheming to try and bring people you hate into your game. Like Eurotrash and Morgan. Seriously, I don't need any more problems there.

[Oh, Linds, stop sulking. And you know full well you don't completely hate Lilah. And you were still working with Angel when COMPASS snagged you.]

[placeintheworld]

At this point I just want a power base for when the inevitable happens.

[His eyes narrow]

[hart_or_hand]

You mean when Angel starts causing trouble?

[placeintheworld]

Among other things.

[gotmadskills]

Could be. Guess we'll have to see if your chips are on red or black when I get back for Buffy hugs.

[placeintheworld]

...Not planning anything in advance?

[Boldly. But perhaps someone who is skilled in reading people might be able to tell he is talking big talk.

Bold. It's been a long time since he's worked on his own. At least he had Eve before and now..] It's not like I need you. I can work on my own. I've done it before.

[And he smiles a nasty smile, but there's all these good guys and one psychopathic redhead...not a good set of odds.

Hard watching them pretending to be family but.]

[matriarch]

[ a slow smile spreads across darla's face. ] I've always loved a man of action.

[placeintheworld]

[Oh that's -

His heart pounds. Still. Still after all of this. But he smiles. It looks real, very real. You taught him well.]

I'm a regular cowboy, always riding rough. [He smiles.] Lone ranger and all that.

[matriarch]

Mm. Cowboys. [ the smile stays. lindsey has always been her favourite toy. ] I wouldn't have it any other way.

[ after all the changes that have fallen upon them - or more specifically, her - there's a comfort in lindsey being as loyal as the first day she laid her eyes on him. he's a smart boy; she's always liked that about him. ]

[ there's a pause. ]

And what has my cowboy been up to? [ stealing from the poor, hopefully. ]

[placeintheworld]

[You know what they say about "Getting them young." Getting them naive. Finding just the right guy who had been trying to set himself up safe and secure before losing his heart and then...

He wants to move closer but he doesn't. She might run away again. It's a struggle.]

I went to hell. Got brought back. Got grabbed again by somebody different.

[Making plans.] Waiting for the right moment to take what's mine.

[matriarch]

[ when life throws you lemons, give them hell. darla knows a thing or two about being stuck in a permanent hell on someone else's terms. ]

Taking something that requires the assistance of allies? [ never ends well. never, ever, ever. and with the involvement of a mundane, it's sure to never work in the favour of someone like lindsey or herself. ] Working with people, Lindsey. It only ends one way.

[placeintheworld]

[There is something incredibly bitter in Lindsey's gaze then. It's probably because said mundane just fixed it so he found out Angel had him killed after half his castmates refused to tell him. It's probably because this is Darla.

It's probably because working with mundanes is always a bad idea.]

In this case I think it'd be big enough to warrant people to toss in the way of the authorities if they decide to come after me. Bodies.

[matriarch]

[ angel is a big doody head, anyway. ]

[ there's another long pause as she appraises him. ]

You've changed. [ and darla's pleased with it. ] For the better. It makes me wish I was around to see it.

[ she glances down, the only sign of her being anything but smug about their conversation. her eyebrows are raised, her tone of voice anything but sad, but this small gesture indicates that not being around isn't something darla ever had on her bucket list. /throws pity party. ]

[placeintheworld]

[...Praise? She never praised him. Thanked him, held him, listened to his words of love and adoration but praise?

He's a good dog however.]

You've got my writer all excited. She's been hoping to drag one of you off to my happy little hell dimension in the hopes that we can work out our issues.

[Have a nasty smile] She doesn't understand that we don't really have any issues.

[gotmadskills]

Not really a make plans kind of girl. I just roll with what comes up...it works out better that way.

[placeintheworld]

...You and I have that in common.

[matriarch]

And to be resurrected for the fifth time. Or the sixth. I've lost count on how many times this body can be turned to ash before it finally crumbles beneath my own fingertips.

[ it's the debbie downer of darla's situation, all this death and it possibly not being permanent. being a yo yo between life and death, or undead and dead, has given her a migraine. ]

Happy doesn't exist for people like us, Lindsey.

[placeintheworld]

[Once he would have argued. Instead he leans close. She's going to listen to him damn it. She's going to listen...] I was being sarcastic.

[He hesitates, putting a tentative hand on her shoulder]

It doesn't exist for anyone.

I think hell messed me up a lot more then I was willing to believe. [He swallows] Can I miss you?

[matriarch]

[ darla glances up at him, eyebrows furrowing together. no one misses a ghost. no one misses her. ] And if I say no?

[ he'll just do it anyway, won't he? while darla pretends she cannot remember what having that temporary soul felt like, it drove her to her final grave, and that's one thing she knows she'll never properly shake. it's a weakness even she had given into. or maybe, at the end of the day, the possession of a soul is someone's greatest strength. ]

[placeintheworld]

[There's a small note of triumph. He reaches for her. He's the one leaning in close, trying to tempt her. He's learned so much can't she see? Can't she see?

He whispers in her ear.] I'll try not to show you how much I'm heart broken.

[His heart aches.] I'll always miss you Darla.

[His voice is soft.] ...I'll always miss you.

[matriarch]

[ at the end of the day, it's a human who craves her instead of a vampire. darla's not quite sure if that's hilariously sad; it's the opposite of what she's always wanted. and maybe it's because she's been so alone for what feels like centuries that she allows lindsey this small slip of something she'd never really give him. there's nothing left for her to lose, after all. ]

And I will miss you. [ whether or not she's being serious or playing with him is one thing she's leaving up in the air. lindsey's a true ally, not quite as close as her right hand man drusilla, but he doesn't drive her crazy with his nonsensical musings. and his loyalty and admiration is one thing she particularly loves about him. ] Sparing you all those years ago was one of the best choices I ever made.

[placeintheworld]

[His heart thuds a little faster]

I'll be honest I thought -

[He can't. He might never see her again.]

I would have gone all the way for you.

[If you had wanted to turn me, if you had wanted to kill me, if you had made me....]

Whatever you had wanted. I would have done it.