Cornelius "Corey" Drake (sandcastlegod) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2011-07-10 13:24:00

Entry tags:

antaeus, marlow, nicholas salem, plot-"lost generation"

Antiquing
The little voodoo shop off Rampart was packed full of aesthetically fascinating stuff. Corey couldn't resist. Besides, from what he knew of it, the religion itself -- if not necessarily some of the associated magical practices -- made a lot of sense to him. Pouring out the first sip of milk or wine, offering up shot glasses of rum... he could connect.

He picked up a book of voodoun iconography and dusted it off. Under it was another, dustier book, the leather cover all scarred. Corey picked that up, too, and opened it. Oooh, nice pictures! All sketchy and... bizarre. Not quite Escher or Geigeresque, but interesting. There were family trees the back sections, with hand notes. ...And then Corey spotted the name 'Nicholas Scratch of New Salem.'

Wasn't that Nick's father's name? His really disgusting babykiller-wannabe father?

"Celeste, how much for the freaky antique history-sketchbook?"
"What? Oh, that. I don't even know where that came from; it was Mom's. Let's just price it the same as the art books."
"Okay...I think I'll take it."

(Post a new comment)

	marlow 2011-07-12 02:36 am UTC (link)
	When Corey returns to the Champions headquarters, he'll find a tall, slim brunette sitting on curb. Alone. There was no foot traffic from any direction. She turned a smile on him as he approached. "Hello." (Reply to this)(Thread)

	sandcastlegod 2011-07-12 02:38 am UTC (link)
	"Hi," Corey says. He doesn't recognize her. "Are you new in the neighborhood, or are you hear about something?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	marlow 2011-07-12 02:47 am UTC (link)
	"I'm looking for Argo," she said, still smiling. "I'm Marlow." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sandcastlegod 2011-07-12 02:52 am UTC (link)
	"Oh, hi! I'm Corey Drake. Argo's out on a date right now, but come on in. I'm not quite sure when he'll be back." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	marlow 2011-07-12 02:59 am UTC (link)
	"I saw the fangirls when I arrived." She stood up and brushed off the back of the sundress she wore. "We had that problem too, but making them all think they gained fifty pounds usually works to chase them off for awhile. It did this time. Oh, I should tell you that I'm from the Defenders. I'm not a fangirl. I have a card and everything." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sandcastlegod 2011-07-12 03:07 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah. We get resurgences sometimes, but most of them have stopped coming now." He grins. "I've got a card, too. Come on in. So you're with Argo's brother... brothers... not sure of the grammar there." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

marlow
2011-07-12 03:14 am UTC (link)

"Yes!" She was pleased he connected it so quickly. "I'm with Titan on the Defenders. The Asgardians have lots of fans, so Dawn and I practice on them sometimes. We make it snow on them, or send illusions to scare them off, but they always come back."

She clasped her hands behind her back as she waited for him to open the door. "How do you like New Orleans. There is strong magic here. You can feel it."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

sandcastlegod
2011-07-12 03:24 am UTC (link)

"Well, commitment can be nice, sometimes. Not always. I, of course, am not a fanboy. I'm a devotee." He manages to get the door. "I didn't really get to talk to Titan much, but Andy's a great guy." And Corey has Andy's sword under his bed, but he doesn't even want to think about that mess right now.

"I like it a lot. Great culinary choices, and I'm not surprised about the magic thing. The vodoun religion is interesting, too. Not that different from what I understand. I'm a Nova Roman Traditionalist."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	marlow 2011-07-12 03:32 am UTC (link)
	"What's the difference between a fanboy and a devotee? They sound an awful lot alike. Although, you live in the same place with Argo so you don't have to jump a fence and run from the tiger." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sandcastlegod 2011-07-12 03:38 am UTC (link)
	"I'm not obsessed with him; he's a pal and a teammate. But I'm a Nova Roman Traditionalist, so he's also my god. And nobody's going to sic any tigers on me if they want dinner on time." He sets his books down on the kitchen table. "Can I get you something to drink? Eat?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	marlow 2011-07-12 03:51 am UTC (link)
	"I'd like that." She followed Corey into the kitchen and looked around. It looked cozy and warm. "Dr. Strange tutored me in Earth religions, but I find that living with gods and seeing them do things that normal people do isn't as awe-inspiring as they're supposed to be." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sandcastlegod 2011-07-12 03:56 am UTC (link)
	Corey grins as he pours some lemonade, gets some leftover chicken and potato salad out of the fridge. "Valid point of view, but Argo's inspiring enough for me. Doesn't always think things through, but that's not something we look for in our religion. Really, we're lucky when we've got one who isn't a total jerk." Anger flashes in Corey's eyes for a moment. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	marlow 2011-07-12 04:06 am UTC (link)
	She caught the expression and frowned. "Whose team has a jerk god? I've met a few of them and their members seem all right." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sandcastlegod 2011-07-23 12:10 am UTC (link)
	Well, Marlow was very nice. Which made what Corey was staring at all the more problematic. He closed the 'freaky antique history-sketchbook' and went to find Nick. Again. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	vicious_cycle 2011-07-23 12:11 am UTC (link)
	Nick isn't that hard to find if he's on base - which he is, at the moment. In the garage, where he spends most of his time when he's there. He glances up from the bike he's working on when he hears the door, standing and grabbing a towel to wipe his hands. "Not dinner time yet, is it?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sandcastlegod 2011-07-23 12:16 am UTC (link)
	"Um, no. Not yet. I wanted to talk to you about... Weird Stuff again. You know that little voodoo shop off Rampart? Beautiful girl named Celeste sells cool art and a bunch of stuff she inherited and doesn't always know much about?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vicious_cycle 2011-07-23 12:20 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, I know of it, anyway. Haven't been in there in a while. What's up?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sandcastlegod 2011-07-23 12:25 am UTC (link)
	"Bought this there," he says, handing the book to Nick. "It's all just aesthetically fascinating until you get to the back. Um, the page that says 'Harkness' at the very top is...kinda interesting." And the family trees will be there. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vicious_cycle 2011-07-23 12:32 am UTC (link)
	Nick takes a look, then spits off to the side in dusgust. "Yep, its all there, all right. Something important to this?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sandcastlegod 2011-07-23 12:37 am UTC (link)
	"Well, the thing is, I think I might know your cousin, and I don't think she knows she's your cousin. That name in the lower left-hand corner? Marlow? Argo's brother's girlfriend is named Marlow. I talked to her just today about... stuff. And she's a witch. So... um... if she's your cousin, is somebody going to try to carve things into her hands and....you know?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sandcastlegod 2011-07-23 12:45 am UTC (link)
	Corey listens and nods. "So she... probably needs to know about this, huh? Even though it....kinda sucks." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vicious_cycle 2011-07-23 12:49 am UTC (link)
	"If you want to keep her safe, yes. She'd need to know. Nicholas Scratch is still in hell, as are the Seven, far as I know. Mephisto - well, you never know. But she has enemies she's not aware of, and her blood is especially potent to family. And if you found out, sooner or later, they will too." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sandcastlegod 2011-07-23 12:55 am UTC (link)
	Corey listens intently some more. "Yeah. Thanks for the explanation." "Dude," he sighs with Corey earnestness. "The world is way too messed up." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vicious_cycle 2011-07-23 12:57 am UTC (link)
	"Most of the time." the typically cynical Nick replies. "What were you looking for out there, anyway?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)