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Tweak says, "Women and children first!"

Sam Winchester (tallerthanthou) wrote in marinanova,
@ 2013-09-16 17:49:00

Entry tags:

:mingle, bak chang, bro strider, buffy summers, charlotte charles, daniel osbourne, dirk strider, elena gilbert, helen magnus, hikaru hitachiin, ianto jones, jack harkness, jake english, james watson, jean-luc picard, jessica hamby, lacus clyne, lelouch vi britannia, lyle dylandy, martha jones, miranda lotto, rebekah mikealson, rogue, sam winchester, sookie stackhouse, sougo okita, terry mcginnis, yuuki kuran, zero kiryuu

[Day 237] Relationship Issues Group Therapy mingle
[The relationships group therapy attendees will all get a message telling them to report to The Winery in Sector 2. Sadly for them the alcohol is locked away, but there is an assortment of food and non-alcoholic beverages along the bar for consumption. Many of the tables have been cleared out and the chairs rearranged into a circle with booths along the edges for more intimate therapeutic discussions.

And don't forget the party favors! The wardens have left some helpful games and activity ideas to get them started. There's a bowl full of folded slips of papers with various questions.]

How many people have you slept with? Do you regret any of them? Why?

How many relationships have you been in? Why do you think that is?

What was your longest relationship? Most serious? Shortest? Most casual?

Why did your last relationship end?

What do you look for in another person?

Are you happy?

Who is your ideal mate?

What was the biggest problem/complication in your previous or current relationship?

What do you need out of a relationship? Sexual experience?

How long have you been single between relationships? Why do you think it was so long/short?

What is the best way to break up with someone?

Do you believe in soul mates? Do you think you have or will meet yours?

Would you rather spend your life with one important person or several acquaintances? Why?

Are there any similarities between the people you've been with? If so, what are they?

Do you have trouble making choices? Give examples.

Do you think with your heart, your head, or your genitalia? Are you satisfied with this behavior?

Do you have trouble relating to people? If so, in what way?

[In addition to the questions there are cards with various prompts. One explains the game, I Never. Another suggests people pair off and roleplay they are in a relationship and then deal with various scenarios like what do to if one partner flirts with someone else or comes home late without calling.]

Who should do the dishes?

When is it appropriate to discuss getting blue bands/having sex?

When should you move in together if ever?

What do you do if you suspect the other is keeping secrets?

What do you say if your partner comes home with a haircut you don't like?

How do you respond if you find your partner crying?

How do you decide how to spend your time together?

Your partner's family doesn't like you. What do you do?

One of you is critically hurt. How does the other respond?

Your friends don't like the person you're with. What do you say to them? What do you say to your partner?

One of you wants sexual relations and the other does not. How do you balance your needs?

How do you communicate your desire for a particular sexual desire to your partner?

It is your partner's birthday. How do you prepare?

At a party your partner leaves you to socialize with others. How does this make you feel and how do you respond?

How do you show your affection?

(OOC: Mingle style. You are not limited to the questions, scenarios, or games listed above. Assume there are more! I recycled a lot of this from last time so if someone was in this group twice they can feel free to notice, but assume there are lots of questions and prompts, so they probably didn't see them all.)

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	foreverjack 2013-09-20 09:22 am UTC (link)
	[Jack sits back in his seat, folding his arms across his chest and shutting his mouth mulishly. There's a high colour on his cheeks and it's obvious how much this is costing him, but he is not going to have this conversation across a circle of chairs with a roomfull of people looking on.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

readystopwatch
2013-09-20 09:36 am UTC (link)

[There's a very obvious touch of panic in Ianto's expression, because all he can think is he's done something horribly wrong without realizing it, something Jack is keeping secret from him, or maybe it's something Jack's done but either way all he can think is that it must have been bothering him for some time, to suddenly erupt like this. He's fidgeting nervously, at a loss for words and desperate for some sort of answer here.]

Did I do something wrong? [Quiet and worried and sad.]

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

foreverjack
2013-09-20 09:41 am UTC (link)

[That gets Jack talking, even if he's still not really revealing anything.]

What? No, of course not!

[He purses his lips, hating this so, so much, the urge to let out all this stuff he's been keeping hidden for so long getting stronger and stronger. In the end he sighs and says unhappily:] Look, can we go outside? Or at least over there?

[Beginning to realise he's not going to be able to hold out forever, and if he's going to spill, he wants to make this as easy as possible for Ianto. Which means not telling him across a circle of people.]

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	readystopwatch 2013-09-20 10:00 am UTC (link)
	[Ianto nods and follows Jack to the corner of the room, silent and worried. They're more or less out of ear shot of the rest of the group now which does nothing to ease his apprehension. It must be something bad, if Jack doesn't want anyone else to hear.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

foreverjack
2013-09-20 12:06 pm UTC (link)

[Jack pushes right into the corner and stands with his back to it, looking (literally) cornered and unhappy.]

I wasn't going to tell you. Ever. But I can't - I can't--

[He waves his arms distractedly.]

I don't know what they've done to us today but I'm losing control of my mouth. It keeps coming out with things I don't want it to however much I try and reign it in.

[He's pretty much just gabbling now, desperately trying to put off the inevitable.]

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

readystopwatch
2013-09-20 02:42 pm UTC (link)

[Now Ianto is really beginning to worry because its clear that whatever this is he underestimated it. He doesn't think he's ever seen Jack like this, and it scares the hell out of him. He wants to tell him to stop, not to say anything but he can't. All he can do is find Jack's hand and hold it, wanting to let him know its okay even though he suddenly thinks it isn't.]

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	foreverjack 2013-09-20 03:22 pm UTC (link)
	[He grips Ianto's hand, hard enough to hurt, grateful beyond measure for the silent reassurance, even if Ianto can't possibly know what he's reassuring him about. He gulps, face pale, eyes huge and dark and fixed on Ianto's face. He can't hold the words back any longer.] I watched you die. Back-- out there. I held you in my arms and I watched you die. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

readystopwatch
2013-09-20 07:01 pm UTC (link)

[Ianto hears the words, but its like Jack's speaking some sort of foreign language he can't quite seem to process. He's gripping Jack's hand too tight and still staring at him and none of what he's saying makes any sense at all, except in a horrible way its all also so perfectly clear.]

What are you talking about?

[He can barely get the words out around the tightness in his throat.]

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

foreverjack
2013-09-21 08:45 am UTC (link)

[Now he's started, he can't stop himself and it all comes flooding out, in a harsh, painful whisper.]

There were these aliens, the 456. They were threatening the Earth, threatening everyone, and you and I went to confront them because what they were demanding was just... unacceptable. [He's still fighting it, still trying not to reveal everything.] And they gassed the whole place. You died, in my arms, and there was absolutely nothing I could do.

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readystopwatch
2013-09-21 09:36 am UTC (link)

[Ianto takes an involuntary step back as the words keep pouring out of Jack's mouth, hand slipping numbly out of his. It's still not sinking in, because its too big to be real, but he can feel something starting to build beyond the numb incomprehension. It's all some horrible joke, or its not real or it happens in some far distant future at the end of his life.]

When? [He manages. They've only just helped the Doctor move the Earth before coming here, so how long after that? How much time does he have left?]

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	foreverjack 2013-09-21 10:33 am UTC (link)
	[He swallows.] Three months? Maybe four? [Whispering, as if that'll make it any better. He really, really hates that Ianto's let go of his hand, that he's lost even that one point of contact between them. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	readystopwatch 2013-09-21 11:04 am UTC (link)
	[And all at once it hits him, the enormity of this because he knows that look on Jack's face, knows he isn't lying. He can feel real panic starting to build along with the shock and confusion and all he can think beneath it all is that this is real, and oh God he's going to die. He wants to scream.] You've known this whole time? [Another involuntary step back.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	foreverjack 2013-09-21 11:42 am UTC (link)
	[He nods, helplessly, because there are no words for this. And Ianto's moving away, fading away from him like he did back there in Thames House, and once again, there's nothing he can do. He tries, anyway.] It might be different for you. Divergent timelines and all that. It might not happen. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

readystopwatch
2013-09-21 06:49 pm UTC (link)

[There's anger now, along with the fear, and Ianto can't help focus it all in on Jack because its either that or scream at the entire world. Anger that he hid this, anger for telling him now, for not being able to protect him, for letting him die and now, especially for that comment because they both know it's not true. His voice is shaking with it.]

Don't. Not when we both know perfectly well that you're always going to let me die if there's even a tiny chance it might help you save the world. [He doesn't have to add fuck you to the end of that statement. They both know its there.]

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	foreverjack 2013-09-22 09:12 am UTC (link)
	[He opens his mouth to say that's not true, and then shuts it again because perhaps it is? It's what happened with Steven after all, even if Ianto doesn't know about that, or even that Steven exists at all. He just says softly, helplessly, because it feels important to clarify:] That's not what happened. There was nothing I could do! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	readystopwatch 2013-09-22 09:39 am UTC (link)
	Then what happened? [Theres a challenge to his voice because he needs to know even though it terrifies him all at the same time.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

foreverjack
2013-09-22 03:41 pm UTC (link)

It all went wrong. [His voice shakes as he finds himself back in that room, desperation running through his veins.] We went there to threaten them, to scare them off. But they called our bluff. They killed everyone in the building. I tried to bargain with them, tried to surrender - anything, to save you. But you were already dying. We both were. We died together.

And then I... came back. Without you.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Anyone who wants to get in on/react to this drama tooootally can! readystopwatch 2013-09-22 05:14 pm UTC (link)
	[Ianto isn't hearing the part about Jack scrambling to save him or that desolation in his voice as he recalls waking up alone. There's only one thing he can really focus on here.] So I die because your bluff went wrong? Not saving the world or keeping you safe but because you don't think a plan all the way through? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

foreverjack
2013-09-23 05:03 am UTC (link)

[It tugs at his heart in horrid, painful pulls.]

Yes.

[Whispered, accepting full responsibility. It had been Ianto's own decision to go with him, but that's never going to stop him feeling responsible.]

It was pointless and futile and didn't help anyone.

[Putting it there, baldly, because that's the thing that tears him most about the whole thing. If Ianto's death had meant anything, if he could have felt that Ianto would have been proud of laying down his life to save people, he might not have spent the next six months (plus) of his life in utter despair, trying to forget.

But he's not saying any of that, not yet. It's not going to help at all.]

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readystopwatch
2013-09-23 10:00 am UTC (link)

[Ianto can feel tears building, and blinks furiously. There's a horrible tightness in his chest and he can't seem to catch his breath properly as a horrible thought occurs to him.]

So what, all this, [A gesture that seems to include their whole prison.] The closeness, agreeing to be exclusively with me is just you trying to make yourself feel better because you didn't get it right the first time around? [And somehow that's the worst part of all this so far, the realization that Jack has been trying to fix things because he knows he won't get to at home, not because he suddenly cares.]

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foreverjack
2013-09-23 11:07 am UTC (link)

No. No! That's not – it's not like that!

[All right, it is, a bit. Or at least, that's how it started, combined with the wristband rulings. But it's grown to be so much more than just that. He stares at Ianto, breath hitching as he reaches out hopelessly for him.]

It made me realise how I felt about you. Ianto, please...

[Don't do this. Don't slip away from me again.]

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

readystopwatch
2013-09-23 11:28 am UTC (link)

[He's still so angry, furious at everything but there's that tone in Jack's voice and that look on his face and here he is, standing just out of reach and unable to make himself move even though suddenly all he wants is to be held and told its going to be alright. He's lost any attempts to control the tears now, and he can't make himself say anything or move because underneath it all he's so desperately scared, terrified even and all he can think is I don't want to die.]

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	notrosesshadow 2013-09-23 07:19 pm UTC (link)
	[Martha had been watching both Ianto and Jack for a while now. She was trying not to listen, but things were heated and now Ianto looks beyond upset, and Jack is freaking out and... she finally steps forward.] Jack? ... Ianto? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

foreverjack
2013-09-24 07:37 am UTC (link)

[He can see the tears rolling down Ianto’s face and he feels utterly wretched because he knows this is completely his fault. Not his death – though honestly? He feels pretty damn responsible for that anyway – but him knowing about it, him having to find out this way? That’s down to him, and he’s regretting every second of it.

He’s so focussed on Ianto that he doesn’t even notice Martha coming over till she speaks. He stares at her, remembering that she doesn’t know either, yet, and the idea of the sheer effort involved in telling her, too, is exhausting enough to overcome the unnatural desire to get the revelation off his chest. So he just stares at her, arms dropping wearily to his sides.]

This fucking therapy has a lot to answer for.

[It comes out as a snarl but it’s clear the anger’s not directed at Martha. It’s equally clear, however, that he’s not going to come clean about this unless she asks him directly. If she does, of course, then he’s going to be bound to answer.]

((OOC: I had a great long response to this typed out and then my fucking work computer network (which is completely up the creek) went and lost it! Arghhhh!!))

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readystopwatch
2013-09-24 08:05 am UTC (link)

[Ianto nods miserably, choking out in a quiet, lost sort of voice that Martha is easily close enough to hear,] I don't want to die.

[And maybe its the simple act of actually voicing that fear but suddenly he can't bear to be so far away from Jack and stumbles those last few steps forward into his arms. He's sobbing, loud and ugly and so hard he can't breath and he can't tell if its that or fear that's making him shake so hard.]

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notrosesshadow, 2013-09-24 09:52 am UTC

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