all_inclusive | Entries tagged with zz: dawn summers

Any entries earlier than this were pre-reboot.

It's been awhile since Dawn has been in the hotel. She's been home, living her life, growing up. She's had two birthdays since she was last here. She's fought a few big bad's and helped save the world at least two more times. That's the thing with apocalypses in her world, they always come in the plural rather than the singular. One ends and another begins. And you can never quite see them coming until you're smack dab in the middle of one. Sometimes evil is stealthy like that.

Thwarting the destruction of the world is what got her lost in an alternate dimension in the first place. Then, as she used her key power to punch her way between worlds, she unlocked the door to the hotel and can't seem to step back out of it.

Of course, her first order of business is to check for Buffy. Some things never change. Her attachment to her sister is one of those things. No matter how old she is, no matter how many years of college she completes, she'll always be Buffy's little sister. She's accepted that. She's grown to love that. Which is why she's sad to find that Buffy isn't here anymore. She remembers her time here from before. Buffy had been here then. Now Dawn's alone.

After a quick shower and change of clothes in the room that she used to share with her sister, she makes her way downstairs to the cafe to grab some food (she's starving, okay?) and then to the library where she used to work beforehand because books make almost all things better. Maybe she can get her job back. She does get her job back. Then she checks out a book.

She makes her way out into the gardens and sits in the grass. She opens her book and gets lost in another world.

Occasionally, one might find her concentrating very, very hard, trying to get her key power to work, trying to see a thinning of the veils between dimensions and punch her way through it. There are no portals here, not that she can see, not like what she could see in the other hell-ish dimensions. She's as stuck as anyone.

Yeah, reading is good.

the_dawnster

This nineteen year old is pacing through the hallways, stopping at each door on every floor whether it's a personal room or a room to another world. She knocks on the door and if someone answers she'll explain her dilemma. If no one answers, she'll be peeking inside whatever rooms are unlocked. If a room is one that leads to another world, she'll step inside and call out the name of the person she's looking for before going to try the next door.

One by one the people from her world had been disappearing. Dawn could cope with it as long as she had her sister her. But now that Buffy had been missing for a few days, now that Dawn literally could not find her anywhere, well... her usual vibrant nature was drastically muted. She felt very alone and she was not okay.

She's practically vibrating with energy, barely able to keep herself from completely and entirely freaking out and shutting down. If she could find the door that leads to her own world she would go through it and never come back. But even that has proven difficult.

Sadly, being left behind is not a new occurrence for her. It happened all the time at home. Between everyone having their lives to live and occasionally saving the world, sometimes she got lost in the shuffle. There was a difference though, between being left behind at home where she knew all the people and all the rules and being left behind here where things were still so uncertain. Dawn, sadly, didn't do being alone very well.

It's later, after she's exhausted every door and every room and spoken to too many people to name in her search for her sister than she winds up sitting on the floor in the hallway outside Harvey's door like a stray cat who's suddenly hanging around for no reason at all. Without her sister here, he's the one she's closest to. He's her friend. Of course she'll gravitate toward him.

notgivingyourmoneyback

September 9, 2014 | Starting in room Human/Non-Human then moving on to Prom Night

Dawn stumbles into a room that's supposed to give one superpowers and Harvey manages to find her there. They get bored in that room, so Dawn cajoles Harvey into taking her to the prom since she never got to go in high school.

PG-13 | Snark and Harvey's language.

concierge

A large sign placed prominently in the Nexus lobby reads:

The Nexus Hotel
proudly presents the
MARDI GRAS MASQUERADE BALL

Event Location
Nexus Dining Hall
8 PM - 2 AM

Masquerade dress recommended, but not required for all guests

The Dining Hall's central table and chairs had been removed to create a dance floor wide enough to accommodate fanciful masquerade costumes. On one end had been placed a long bar providing free drinks, and on the other a small chamber orchestra providing the music for dancing. The entire room was bedecked in gold bunting and twinkling candlelight, and masks were available for those guests who hadn't brought their own.

the_dawnster

[ OPTION ONE - library ]

It wasn't so much work as it was one of her favorite past times. Some might think it boring that Dawn had actually sought out a job in the library. Librarians were notoriously boring, weren't they? Luckily, Dawn had never known that stigma when she was younger; but she had known one Rupert Giles. Not only was a he pseudo father figure, but he was also one of the coolest, bravest, strongest and smartest people she had ever known... and he was a librarian. Even when he wasn't a librarian he was definitely one with the books.

Dawn had always liked to read, something she had often chided her older sister over. Buffy had never been big on reading. But even more than cracking open a good YA fantasy novel, Dawn had gotten her penchant for ancient texts and the like from Giles. At this point, she might as well be a professional creepy ancient text transcriber. No really, that should be a profession. But since it wasn't, she was glad that when she had inquired at the library after work, they had hired her.

She's in the massive room almost every day whether she's working or not. Sometimes she's filing books away or reorganizing them. Sometimes she's sitting on the floor tucked in a corner with a book on her lap. Sometimes, when she's come across one of those creepy ancient texts, she loses herself in transcribing it. Like Alice down the rabbit hole, she has to tear herself away in order to come back out into reality again.

[ OPTION TWO - beach door ]

If anyone was good at finding a warm beach, it was a California girl. The Beach Boys even wrote a song about it! So did Katy Perry. So have lots of people. It's like a beach radar full of sunshine, warmth and sandy ocean goodness that Dawn would have to really fight to resist. In this case, she would leave the actual fighting to her older sister. Buffy was the Chosen One, after all. She who makes sacrifices for the betterment of mankind.

So Dawn dons her swimsuit, a cute bright yellow two-piece that was magically in her closet when she had hurried back to get clothes for warm weather once she had found the door. Over it she wore a sheer brown sundress and on her feet were some yellow flip flops. She grabbed a bag with everything one could possibly need for the beach in it; towel, sunscreen, sunglasses, bottles of water, etc. Last, but not least, she found a big floppy brimmed hat and a book and off she went.

On the beach, she found the perfect spot in a reclinable chair under an umbrella. Dawn made herself comfortable and cracked open her book.

[ OPTION THREE - human/non-human door ]

Dawn often walked through the hallways when she was bored, opening random doors and peeking inside. If it wasn't immediately evident what was inside a room, she might venture in a few steps. Her curiosity always got the better of her when she didn't know something, it seemed. Giles would have said that knowledge was power. Or maybe one of her professor's at Berkeley said that. Or maybe that phrase was from one of Xander's cheesy combat movies he liked so much. In any case, Dawn's quest for knowledge often got her into trouble.

Such was the case when she opened one door and found a forest. It was actually a pretty forest, scenic and perfect with the sunlight from above peeking through ancient tree tops that towered majestically above everything. Squirrels scampered up tree trunks. Birds fluttered from branch to branch singing songs that echoed throughout the forest. There was the sound of running water in the distance, a lake maybe, a waterfall... it was serene, but curious.

Taking a few steps in, she could just make out the mountainous area and the waterfall through some of the overgrowth. Waterfalls were a rare enough sight that she lingered long enough to hear the door shut behind her. She turned, twisting and pulling on the door to no avail. It was stuck. She turned back around, somehow taking up more space than she previously had. Imagine her surprise and her horror when she found that she had been transformed into something all too familiar to her.

"Oh come on, universe! Rinse and repeat? Really?" She screams, one hoof kicking at the door to no effect. She waits a very long time for someone else to come through the door. And when they don't, Dawn goes over toward the sound of the waterfall, muttering under her breath. Eventually that door had to unlock. In the meantime: waterfall.

ooc: Feel free to do one or more options. I don't mind multiple threads. :)

praiseandglory

This was, definitely, an odd place. But not, probably, a bad place.

Porthos had been exploring the building for the last couple of hours, and that was the conclusion he had come to. A huge, sprawling building that would have seemed more like a particularly vast hôtel particulier than a hotel to him, but there was no denying the fact that it was open to all sorts of people. And not quite people, for that matter.

Most of them, people and not quite people alike, tended to stare at him a little, probably because he cut such a dashing figure in full Musketeer regalia, fleur-de-lis, hat, boots, sword and all. Aramis would have been jealous.

But it was all quite a bit to take in, so after snagging an apple from the buffet in that place called the Bistro (odd name, that), he found himself headed outside to find a place to sit and munch on the fruit. A few minutes of fresh air, and a chance to let it all settle into his mind.

Including the most pressing problem about this place: how to leave it, and return to Paris. Never let it be said that Porthos could be kept where he didn't want to be.

concierge

The fog had begun near the dusk hours, coating all the plants and flowers in the garden. It settled, heavy, and blanketed everything with a new cover that was only matched in mood by the graveyard that had unearthed itself from the grass and the moss. Names were etched on each gravestone, but the most unnerving part was that every few steps, if you stopped and listened very, very carefully, you might hear a knock of a human hand against hard wood. It was almost as if the dead were being called upwards.

The maze stood normal, but inside around the corners, there were things lurking and waiting.

Outside might have become frightening and gloomy, but the contrast to indoors was stark. Inside, carved pumpkins lit with candles turned the ballroom and restaurants into amber-lit abodes, costumed partygoers twirled to the music played by the band in the lobby (while the DJ had set up in the conservatory). Candy and small hors d'oeuvres circulated on the trays of immaculately clad waiters and though outside it was stormy, foggy, and spooky, inside was a delight of themed drinks, delicious food, and the manic and half-crazed mood of people in the midst of their fun.

The party for Halloween had begun.

And there was no telling when it might ever end.

powerof_water

October had finally come. Maybe it was stupidly cliche but Adam had always liked this time of year and liked the spike in power he had when so close to Samhain. There wasn't anything else like it, no other points of the year when his power surged quite so much and he thought if there was a way back to his own version of New Salem, it would be during Samhain. He had missed his window of opportunity last year but this year, he sought to be prepared well and early on.

To that end, he'd camped out in the library with every magic book he could find, pouring through spells to see what he could find to open up a portal between worlds. It was slow business, considering it was never a good idea to mess with the unknown quite that much but Adam had to find a way to harness his power without the use of the Master tools which were, as far as he knew, locked away back in New Salem away from his reach.

The Nexus itself seemed to be a collection of ley lines, a convergence of magical power and if there was a way for him to tap into that and ride with the natural flow of magic here instead of fight against it, Adam thought there was a way for him to send that power channeling back through the door home and toward his enemy. He had to assume that Black John was still at large, even a year later, but he hoped that the stories he'd heard from other people about time suspending while in the Nexus held true; otherwise, he was sure that everyone and everything he held dear had already been destroyed by this point.

No, he had to keep faith that being in the Nexus hadn't affected the climate of things back home. Otherwise, the cloying guilt that Adam often felt about how much he loved it here and how much he did not want to go back and face his fears would rise up and swallow him completely. For the most part, Adam did love the Nexus. He loved Bella and he loved the other friends he had here and the safety far outweighed his desire to save New Salem. This attempt to launch an attack through the Nexus on Black John was a last-ditch attempt, a Hail Mary, and he did so with the knowledge that if it failed, it would have been all he could do. He would have tried, at least, and failed instead of not trying at all.

"Ugh, I've never been good at the theoretical," he muttered, gathering up his books and heading down to the pool where there was a large enough quantity of water for him to work with. Flipping to one of the spells, Adam lifted his hands and murmured the incantation while gathering up a perfectly-smooth sphere of water, testing the bounds of his control as it grew bigger and bigger.

If he could do it with a pool, maybe he could do it with the ocean itself.

[[Catch Adam either near the pool or in the library or in the corridors between the two. He looks a little frazzled.]]

rangerbecket

Raleigh spends most of his days in the hotel now. He pops back in to his own world from time to time to see what's going on and to suit up but the door has been blocked for him for a week or so now and he doesn't know how to get it un-stuck. It's a little troubling. While he's enjoyed his little breaks here and there, he's not the kind of guy to just blow off duty and especially not something so important as being a Ranger.

So tonight he's at the bar, nursing a scotch and contemplating just tossing it back and ordering another. He isn't drunk enough yet to forget how guilty he feels and the more he drinks, the guiltier he gets. He runs a finger along the edge of his glass and decides just to throw it back, letting it burn a path down to his stomach.

The truth is, he likes it here. He has friends and stability and a girlfriend in Buffy and he's so much happier here in the Nexus than he is back home. But being back home is important. It's not happy all the time, sure. It's usually dangerous. But it's his purpose and it's what he's meant to be doing and now he can't get back there.

Maybe he can figure out how to get back later but for now, he'll drink.

whattingawhat

It's an average, normal sort of day for Buffy. Late morning finds her at the gym going through what is clearly a routine for her. She starts with yoga then proceeds to pummeling a training dummy. Once she's exhausted from that, she heads back toward her room and showers.

The afternoon will find her stopping at the Bistro for a latte and a bite to eat. From there, she begins patrol, otherwise known as security and her job at the hotel. She's forgone carrying the scythe simply because it scares people and she's found little reason to need her scythe in the halls of the hotel. She saves it for suspect doors.

Overall, her manner is unhurried, content. Buffy has settled in here; Dawn is doing well and Buffy can pop through the door to her San Francisco any time she'd like. The hotel is a welcome reprieve, a little bit of welcomed boring and a fresh start all at once.

chuisle

One would think that after three and a half weeks, Angel's mind would've been put at ease, but it hasn't. He's still worried, still afraid that if he looks away — even for a second — she'll be gone again. Vanished, just like she did in his office. He's gotten into the habit of opening doors they haven't been through yet first, peeking through them to ensure he isn't going to lose her to another world, before he lets her pass through them.

The man has something of an obsessive personality, whether he feels like admitting it or not, and keeping a constant watch on Cordelia has become his latest obsession.

It's not that Cordelia isn't sympathetic to his worries -- she is. She gets it. Considering what happened she gets why he needs to keep an eye on her. But there's keeping an eye on her and there's following her constantly like a little puppy. Kind of adorable at first but at some point? After a few weeks? It looses some of the shine.

So after what has to be the 100th time he's paranoidly watched her go through a door Cordelia whirls around to face him, her lips pressing in annoyance.

"You don't have to keep doing that, you know? The whole following me around, making sure I don't go poof into thin air thing."

He comes to an awkward, abrupt halt, bracing his hands on the wall by the door frame to avoid crashing into her.

"I'm not doing that," he tells her, but they both know that he's doing exactly that. It's like their initial training sessions all over again; Angel trying really hard to be chivalrous without coming off as insulting or suffocating, but doing so in spite of his best attempt not to. (His Old World upbringing clashes sometimes with his New World existence — and his paranoia.)

Only this time, he won't quit following her instead of teaching her to do nothing but stave.

She gives him a look at first. One of her patented 'I don't believe a word you're saying, who are you trying to kid?' looks. "That's exactly what you're doing." It's not the first time he's been a little overbearing for the sake of trying to keep her safe. And again, it's not like she doesn't appreciate the sentiment.

( But it's still frustrating. )

ooc | Cut for length. BLACK = Angel, PINK = Cordelia (visiongirl). Open for run-ins with either one of them!

oneguyinaunitard

( Spoilers for Spider-Man 2 inside )

the_dawnster

As if not being home wasn't bad enough, Dawn has been getting sicker and sicker by the day. She'd barely even been out of bed in a week. This morning she had rolled out of bed feeling just a little bit better after having slept for twenty-four hours straight. She had shuffled her way through a shower that only added to her feeling better. Wearing a white tank top with a purple glittered star on it and some purple pajama pants, she combed through the tangles in her hair and picked up a blow dryer to start working the heat through her hair. Today would be a straight hair sort of day, no curls because she didn't have the energy for it. As her hair dried, the steam slowly filtered away from the mirror, giving her a better image of herself in the reflection.

She dropped the blow dryer. Blinked. Looked again. Blinked again. Squinted her eyes. How could she see things behind her? Through herself? She looked behind her, just to check and make sure that she was seeing what was behind her through herself. Then she looked back to the mirror. She lifted her hand, seeing the bathroom counter through it. Her heartbeat thudded loudly in her chest. So loud that she swore she could feel it throughout her entire body inside and out.

And this is what had her barreling barefoot through the hotel hallways looking for Buffy or Angel or Peter or yes, even Faith who had no idea who she was. The ghostly see-through girl calling out as she ran from one place to another until she couldn't run anymore. "Buffy?" Each time she rounded a corner or hit a new floor or corridor of the hotel she called out. "Buffy!" She might run into people and apologize before she hurried on her way to find her sister. Or she might stop to talk if anyone wanted to.

Eventually, tired and spent, she would end up plopping down on one of the couches in the lobby, a box of kleenex beside her and a book in her lap. The couch could be seen through her and every once in awhile she lifted her hand to look through it at things, trying to gauge whether it was getting better or worse. Her eyes were puffy from crying. Her nose was red from sniffling. She was generally a train wreck of a person right now. But she figured anyone would be if they were slowly disappearing.

the_dawnster

March 3rd | Buffy & Dawn's Room

Dawn reacts to feeling like she isn't real again. Conclusion: Faith has brain damage.

All ages | Completed scene

votecrowley

For the first time since he'd died and gone to Hell (for real, not any of those blunders that came after) no one was actively attempting to separate Crowley's head from his shoulders, and he really appreciated that. Being a demon was a dangerous existence, and it became even more so when your chosen occupation involved stepping on a lot of other demons to maintain it. It was true that as King of Hell he had more protection than most, but the amount of enemies went up exponentially with that promotion. That is to say, everyone was an enemy, and even if your employees didn't have the smarts or the guts or even the desire for the job they still got treasonous little ideas swimming around in their heads from time to time, and it was a requirement to crack them open if that was the case.

And now he had Abaddon, who was not only immortal, but incredibly irritating. He'd almost like her if it weren't for the fact she was gunning after his job, and his life.

He was aware of other universes and other worlds, not that he ever intended to go to any of them - he was fine in the one he was in, more or less. Besides, from what he understood you had to be all-powerful, like Death, or have some sort of key, like the one to Oz, to get to any one of the millions of fancy little spots in the universe worth going to. But this hotel presented itself to him, almost like a gift. Once he had ascertained that this was, truly, some sort of pocket universe existing beyond his own realm, and not some incredibly elaborate trap to kill him (so elaborate he would in fact be pretty flattered at all of that effort) he did the first thing any respectable demon would do: he looked for the bar.

Sitting at the counter and armed with three fingers of scotch (not Craig; that's the only reason he knew he had not stumbled accidentally into a deserted, angel-less Heaven (though that would also have been nice, and endlessly amusing, because)) Crowley turned to the nearest living, breathing, upright creation, which presumably was also equipped with a brain and the faculties for speech. "And how long have you been here, then?" he asked, bluntly. He could be a very charming, subtle creature when he wanted to, but that usually wasn't as fun.

chuisle

"Uh, Nina?"

This wasn't right. He knew the hotel — his hotel — like the back of his hand. He could walk the corridors blindfolded, even those in parts of the building that they had barely inhabited before the great move to the Law Offices of Wolfram & Hart. And while the Hyperion had managed to avoid sustaining heavy damage or infestation like a majority of the buildings in Los Angeles, hell wasn't nearly this well-kempt. Especially not where his former mailing address was concerned. The carpets were vacuumed, the floors had carpets, mirrors and glass polished to a glare-free shine...

Not only did he appear to be in the wrong hotel, but the wrong dimension, and that was a problem. A big one.

This was the last thing he needed, whether it be an actual case of dimensional displacement or some trick the Senior Partners were pulling on him in retaliation for overthrowing the Lords. Not that they needed an excuse to meddle in his life. They were the masterminds behind his newfound liveliness in spite of what the heavy glamour that hid his humanity from everyone had to say about him. Angel was alive, but it was important that everyone still believed he was a vampire.

It's like he told Wes; there's only one way to get out of hell. Act like nothing's changed.

Which was why he stared at what he could see of the buffet table across the way, but made no move to approach it. Eating actual food in public? Dead giveaway. (No pun intended.)

He should probably find shoes. Somehow, walking out of his room in nothing but a t-shirt and sweatpants had topped his list of poorly thought out life choices this morning.

slutbomb

Too good to be true, that's what this place is.

Or that's what Faith decides on her third pass through its halls. Through the lavish reception area, past that long as hell dining room table, and then the stocked buffet table -- Faith had stuck to the walls and the shadows, playing recon for almost an hour.

"Swear to god I'm not making a twins joke..." She mutters to herself as she steps out in full view, choosing to invite whatever trouble might come her way. Sure, maybe she'll sample some of the food just sitting out for the taking. Peek into some rooms, maybe try to find the head. She'll wind up at the bar, though, asking if the tender accepts euros. Long day like this one means she's definitely going to need a drink.

Or ten. Then she can figure out if this is a vacation on a platter or some kind of wacko fever dream she's got to fight her way out of.

talking_fishbone

Hiccup was plenty used to weird. After all, he’d grown up amongst vikings too stubborn to move away from their inhospitable spit of dragon-infested land. Then he’d lived three years on a magic island that was prone to changing at a whim as it played host to gods, men, and manifestations of insanity.

This? This was a whole new level of weird.

Not the breakfast bar. That was fine. In fact, it was really good, especially the ready supply of bacon. The change of location was the strange part, as well as the change of faces that came with it. Wandering the hall, Hiccup had seen a few familiar and unfamiliar faces alike. The lack of recognition or population made it pretty obvious this wasn’t the Island in one of its changeable moods, but that only answered one of several questions as he mulled over his toast, eggs, and coffee.

When he’d arrived in the lobby this morning, he’d been readily presented with a hotel key that unlocked a very big, luxurious bedroom as well as a new smartphone. It was as if this place, wherever it was, had plans to keep him here for the long haul. He wasn’t sure if he was particularly thrilled about the change, but never let it be said that he wasn’t adaptable if necessary.

Wrapping up some more bacon in a napkin for Toothless, he stood up, neatly avoiding a collision with someone else with the same idea. “Sorry! Excuse me!”

the_dawnster

She had been told not to explore without her sister. Of course, Buffy was overly protective of Dawn in this place where they knew very little about their surroundings. And maybe since overly protective was her sister's default in regards to her, Dawn should change that to supremely protective. But Dawn had a habit of not listening to her sister and doing her own thing. She was older now, a college student even, and didn't really think most people here even knew what 'the key' was or how they could try to use it.

This is what has her standing at an open door, peeking inside in excited wonderment. She hasn't quite stepped in yet. Mostly, she's just looking in and marvelling at the sight of the Brontosauruses drinking from the lake, their long necks curving and dipping down or rising high up over the ground.

“This is so freakin' cool...” She murmurs to herself, on the edge of stepping in, but also something holding her back from fully doing so. She saw Jurrasic Park. Plus, there's that little voice of her sister in her ear telling her to be careful, not to go off on her own, not to speak to strangers, yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah and so forth.

All Inclusive

Reboot Marker

OPEN | did you fall from a shooting star ; one without a permanent scar

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Gathering: Masquerade Ball

OPEN | did you fall from a shooting star ; one without a permanent scar

Not, probably, a bad place

All Hallows Haunt and All Must Have Fun

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it sleeps with just one eye & awakens the moment that you leave.

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Like shadows in the faded light, we're invisible.

You're not real...

and not a single denim-wrapped nightmare in sight

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Listening to the fish

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