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[A Normal Life] Don't Drink the Milk
Title: Don't Drink the Milk
Fandom: Vampire Diaries
Universe: A Normal Life
Relationships: Damon Salvatore + Mason Lockwood (platonic); Jenna Sommers/Alaric Saltzman
Summary: Mason finally decides to play tabletop RP with Damon - except, the game Mason chose is a bit unusual by Damon's standards.
Notes: This one-shot doesn't match up with the main story. Frankly, I'm not sure it's even 100% canonical, considering it's roughly S2 (Richard Lockwood is out of the picture; Sheena moved back to town with Mason and Jules; Alaric and Jenna are dating, etc), but I wanted to develop Damon's close circle of friends, since they're wildly different from Stefan's close circle.
After the gang had returned home - to the quiet of Mystic Falls - Damon decided to host a tabletop game on Thursday evenings. Mom and Dad had always humored his "eclectic" tastes growing up, but Damon suspected that Dad had just preferred board games to drugs. (Plus, as Stefan had once lamented, "I can't afford crack if I'm spending all my money on D&D.")
In high school, they'd wasted whole evenings with homemade booze and local football games, but age had given them wisdom. They were far too old to drink to their hearts' content just to cheer on the local team - and besides, Alaric had to stay sober whenever he attended. Else, as Mason had once said, "You know some parent's going to complain about him being a terrible influence." Good role models were so hard to come by these days.
Their junior year of high school, Damon had stumbled upon a D&D manual, intending to uncover some additional secrets about magic and alchemy. Instead, much to Mom's dismay, he had just discovered another timewaster, one that was far grander than any game.
Mason had never gotten the appeal - especially after his curse had been triggered - but he rarely complained about his friends' hobbies. Instead, he arrived with beer, watching as Damon, Jenna, Sheena, and sometimes even Alaric and Lexi wrestled over make-believe aliens and traveled the galaxy to far-off planets. Sometimes they switched genres, and they traveled across the US on the fabled Oregon Trail (and of course, Alaric always died from dysentery. Always.)
"Aw, come on, gringo," Lexi had teased him once, leaning forward and holding out a 20-sided die. "Don't you want to join the Bastion?"
"I think I'll pass," Mason said with a slight grimace. "I don't really mesh with space cowboys."
Damon rolled his eyes. "You also hate vampires, superheroes, giant robots, and pretty much everything else we've played." If Mason didn't enjoy tabletop RP, he could just say so. Damon's feelings weren't so delicate that he'd crumble because his best friend didn't share his interests. "Either you give this a try, or you tell us about something we've missed along the way."
Considering that Damon had either played or moderated most tabletop games in Mystic Falls, Mace probably just hated the game. So when Mace pulled out a thick, hard-bound book labeled Whitehazel instead, Damon raised an eyebrow as he reached for it.
"Welcome to Whitehazel, the 1950's horror game where your characters wake up one morning in an idyllic town where everything is absolutely, completely perfect..." Damon whistled softly. "So you just wanted period horror?"
"That's not all," Mace said with a grin. "It's period horror, but all our characters are from the present. The mystery's in figuring out how they got there, how they're gonna get out, and if they can drink the milk."
Alaric folded his arms. "Drink the milk?"
"It must be like, rat poison," Sheena said, wrinkling her nose. "Astaghfirullah."
Jenna laughed softly, leaning into her boyfriend's shoulder. "Hey, we could give this a shot. Day, can we re-use our space cowboys? Mace can roll a new guy up."
"Don't see why not," Damon agreed, skimming the pages carefully. While he had certainly never heard of Whitehazel before, if this was the game that piqued Mason Lockwood's interest, he would certainly humor his friend's wishes. (Besides, at the rate Alaric was going, the space cowboys were about to die.) "Ric, you good with switching it up?"
Alaric raised his glass of bourbon in acknowledgment. "My doctor will live to see another day."
Mason snorted. "Unless he drinks the milk, you mean."
With Damon's best friends, tabletop RP was pretty abbreviated. Since they were either graduate students; high school teachers; or medical school students; they didn't exactly have whole evenings to devote to make-believe in the same way Stefan and his circle did. Damon usually whipped out quick scenarios, intending for his friends to finish in a couple of hours. Each session would end on a cliffhanger - and depending on their mood, they played in whichever world suited their fancy.
Some weeks, they tired of playing make-believe, and Lexi would tell their fortunes. If she wasn't feeling the spirits, then Mason introduced them to another card game he picked up at the bar. This week - with their new game Hazelwhite - Damon had to think on the fly as he guided Mace through character creation.
He didn't have a scenario ready for their first walk through Hazelwhite, nor did he quite understand the game mechanics. They only needed two six-sided dice; the rest were "cool, but unnecessary." Right now, Damon wished he had Stefan's creativity. Stefan would've had a scenario just by mulling over the pages and applying a book or a TV show to---Well, Mason wouldn't notice if Damon stole from a TV show for their first time, right?
"So your character wakes up in their bedroom," Damon started, rocking gently in his seat as he wove the story together from the cobbled bits in his brain, "How it's decorated is up to you - but your character knows something's off. For one thing, the radio's announcing that it's 1955."
"My cowgirl notices that her phone's not working, right?" Jenna asked, staring down at her character sheet.
"Well, it works. Until the battery goes out, and then she can't buy a charger."
Jenna scowled. Damon ignored her as he continued, "Point is, they're up, and they've got pamphlets that welcome them to Whitehazel. It's got the basic info, yada yada, so you tell me what you do next."
Alaric promptly said, "My cowboy's looking for Jenna. He'll yell in every lawn if he has to."
Mason bit on his lip to keep from laughing.
Damon shot him a confused glance. "What?"
"It's... it's just nice to take part in this, man," Mace admitted, after Jenna's and Alaric's characters start to re-enact some strange form of Romeo and Juliet (and accidentally wake up the entire town in the process). "I know this isn't my thing - it's more yours - but there's only so many games I can watch before I feel weird."
"You've been backseat playing for about a month now," Damon pointed out, leaning back in his seat and crossing his legs. "About damn time you got your feet wet."
"Yeah, but you're my little nerd. I can't just join you without it being weird."
"Damon?" Lexi piped up, once Jenna and Alaric accidentally encountered the local policeman, "What happens once Ric drinks the milk?"
"Uh." Damon quickly consulted the book. "Alaric's dead. Or, well, Hazelwhite-dead. You'll come back to life in the next session."
"What, already?" Alaric scowled.
"I think that's a new record," Sheena admitted, shaking her head fondly at him. "You were just starting to survive the tutorials too."
Mason couldn't contain his laughter any longer. He held his stomach as he howled with rich laughter - the kind Damon hadn't heard in forever - before he manages to contain it long enough to say, "Dude, you're worse than Romeo. And you just re-enacted it too."
Damon snickered softly, burying his face behind the book so Alaric couldn't see his face. "He did warn you," Damon called, rolling a die to determine everyone else's fate. "Ric just had to trust the milkman."
For a guy that could protect the town just as well as he could, sometimes Alaric lacked common sense. And decent judgment, if he trusted milkmen this easily even after Mace's warning.
Jenna giggled. "Oh Romeo... you should've seen that one coming." She exchanged giggles with Sheena, and before Damon quite knew what was happening, the entire room couldn't control their amusement.
Even with Mason tipping the player balance in their favor, Alaric just had to go and die on them. Again. If this was any indication of Ric's real-life skills, Damon figured he should probably - maybe - get a new bodyguard.
Fandom: Vampire Diaries
Universe: A Normal Life
Relationships: Damon Salvatore + Mason Lockwood (platonic); Jenna Sommers/Alaric Saltzman
Summary: Mason finally decides to play tabletop RP with Damon - except, the game Mason chose is a bit unusual by Damon's standards.
Notes: This one-shot doesn't match up with the main story. Frankly, I'm not sure it's even 100% canonical, considering it's roughly S2 (Richard Lockwood is out of the picture; Sheena moved back to town with Mason and Jules; Alaric and Jenna are dating, etc), but I wanted to develop Damon's close circle of friends, since they're wildly different from Stefan's close circle.
After the gang had returned home - to the quiet of Mystic Falls - Damon decided to host a tabletop game on Thursday evenings. Mom and Dad had always humored his "eclectic" tastes growing up, but Damon suspected that Dad had just preferred board games to drugs. (Plus, as Stefan had once lamented, "I can't afford crack if I'm spending all my money on D&D.")
In high school, they'd wasted whole evenings with homemade booze and local football games, but age had given them wisdom. They were far too old to drink to their hearts' content just to cheer on the local team - and besides, Alaric had to stay sober whenever he attended. Else, as Mason had once said, "You know some parent's going to complain about him being a terrible influence." Good role models were so hard to come by these days.
Their junior year of high school, Damon had stumbled upon a D&D manual, intending to uncover some additional secrets about magic and alchemy. Instead, much to Mom's dismay, he had just discovered another timewaster, one that was far grander than any game.
Mason had never gotten the appeal - especially after his curse had been triggered - but he rarely complained about his friends' hobbies. Instead, he arrived with beer, watching as Damon, Jenna, Sheena, and sometimes even Alaric and Lexi wrestled over make-believe aliens and traveled the galaxy to far-off planets. Sometimes they switched genres, and they traveled across the US on the fabled Oregon Trail (and of course, Alaric always died from dysentery. Always.)
"Aw, come on, gringo," Lexi had teased him once, leaning forward and holding out a 20-sided die. "Don't you want to join the Bastion?"
"I think I'll pass," Mason said with a slight grimace. "I don't really mesh with space cowboys."
Damon rolled his eyes. "You also hate vampires, superheroes, giant robots, and pretty much everything else we've played." If Mason didn't enjoy tabletop RP, he could just say so. Damon's feelings weren't so delicate that he'd crumble because his best friend didn't share his interests. "Either you give this a try, or you tell us about something we've missed along the way."
Considering that Damon had either played or moderated most tabletop games in Mystic Falls, Mace probably just hated the game. So when Mace pulled out a thick, hard-bound book labeled Whitehazel instead, Damon raised an eyebrow as he reached for it.
"Welcome to Whitehazel, the 1950's horror game where your characters wake up one morning in an idyllic town where everything is absolutely, completely perfect..." Damon whistled softly. "So you just wanted period horror?"
"That's not all," Mace said with a grin. "It's period horror, but all our characters are from the present. The mystery's in figuring out how they got there, how they're gonna get out, and if they can drink the milk."
Alaric folded his arms. "Drink the milk?"
"It must be like, rat poison," Sheena said, wrinkling her nose. "Astaghfirullah."
Jenna laughed softly, leaning into her boyfriend's shoulder. "Hey, we could give this a shot. Day, can we re-use our space cowboys? Mace can roll a new guy up."
"Don't see why not," Damon agreed, skimming the pages carefully. While he had certainly never heard of Whitehazel before, if this was the game that piqued Mason Lockwood's interest, he would certainly humor his friend's wishes. (Besides, at the rate Alaric was going, the space cowboys were about to die.) "Ric, you good with switching it up?"
Alaric raised his glass of bourbon in acknowledgment. "My doctor will live to see another day."
Mason snorted. "Unless he drinks the milk, you mean."
With Damon's best friends, tabletop RP was pretty abbreviated. Since they were either graduate students; high school teachers; or medical school students; they didn't exactly have whole evenings to devote to make-believe in the same way Stefan and his circle did. Damon usually whipped out quick scenarios, intending for his friends to finish in a couple of hours. Each session would end on a cliffhanger - and depending on their mood, they played in whichever world suited their fancy.
Some weeks, they tired of playing make-believe, and Lexi would tell their fortunes. If she wasn't feeling the spirits, then Mason introduced them to another card game he picked up at the bar. This week - with their new game Hazelwhite - Damon had to think on the fly as he guided Mace through character creation.
He didn't have a scenario ready for their first walk through Hazelwhite, nor did he quite understand the game mechanics. They only needed two six-sided dice; the rest were "cool, but unnecessary." Right now, Damon wished he had Stefan's creativity. Stefan would've had a scenario just by mulling over the pages and applying a book or a TV show to---Well, Mason wouldn't notice if Damon stole from a TV show for their first time, right?
"So your character wakes up in their bedroom," Damon started, rocking gently in his seat as he wove the story together from the cobbled bits in his brain, "How it's decorated is up to you - but your character knows something's off. For one thing, the radio's announcing that it's 1955."
"My cowgirl notices that her phone's not working, right?" Jenna asked, staring down at her character sheet.
"Well, it works. Until the battery goes out, and then she can't buy a charger."
Jenna scowled. Damon ignored her as he continued, "Point is, they're up, and they've got pamphlets that welcome them to Whitehazel. It's got the basic info, yada yada, so you tell me what you do next."
Alaric promptly said, "My cowboy's looking for Jenna. He'll yell in every lawn if he has to."
Mason bit on his lip to keep from laughing.
Damon shot him a confused glance. "What?"
"It's... it's just nice to take part in this, man," Mace admitted, after Jenna's and Alaric's characters start to re-enact some strange form of Romeo and Juliet (and accidentally wake up the entire town in the process). "I know this isn't my thing - it's more yours - but there's only so many games I can watch before I feel weird."
"You've been backseat playing for about a month now," Damon pointed out, leaning back in his seat and crossing his legs. "About damn time you got your feet wet."
"Yeah, but you're my little nerd. I can't just join you without it being weird."
"Damon?" Lexi piped up, once Jenna and Alaric accidentally encountered the local policeman, "What happens once Ric drinks the milk?"
"Uh." Damon quickly consulted the book. "Alaric's dead. Or, well, Hazelwhite-dead. You'll come back to life in the next session."
"What, already?" Alaric scowled.
"I think that's a new record," Sheena admitted, shaking her head fondly at him. "You were just starting to survive the tutorials too."
Mason couldn't contain his laughter any longer. He held his stomach as he howled with rich laughter - the kind Damon hadn't heard in forever - before he manages to contain it long enough to say, "Dude, you're worse than Romeo. And you just re-enacted it too."
Damon snickered softly, burying his face behind the book so Alaric couldn't see his face. "He did warn you," Damon called, rolling a die to determine everyone else's fate. "Ric just had to trust the milkman."
For a guy that could protect the town just as well as he could, sometimes Alaric lacked common sense. And decent judgment, if he trusted milkmen this easily even after Mace's warning.
Jenna giggled. "Oh Romeo... you should've seen that one coming." She exchanged giggles with Sheena, and before Damon quite knew what was happening, the entire room couldn't control their amusement.
Even with Mason tipping the player balance in their favor, Alaric just had to go and die on them. Again. If this was any indication of Ric's real-life skills, Damon figured he should probably - maybe - get a new bodyguard.