abraxaslogs | OPEN MINGLE: Time to Talk, Summoned!

OPEN MINGLE: Time to Talk, Summoned!

Who: Istredd, Wanda, and all the Summoned
What: Istredd and Wanda called people to the meeting to give an info dump, let people ask questions or share their own information, and then a hang out after with refreshments so people can chat after and make new CR or check in with old CR.
Where: Istredd's Horizon
When: Saturday, September 9th, at midnight so less attention given to them.
Warnings: Discussion of the game plots including all content warnings up to now like psychological thriller, horror, the cult kidnapping, gods being trouble. Abraxas is a wild place, friends.

HORIZON AND SET UP

The Lighthouse was described by Istredd in detail so people would know where to go. During this mingle, it will continue to shine and circle around like a normal lighthouse so people know where to go. His domain is unique for being essentially a tower of books. Shelves upon shelves of books and multiple floors. The only other detail before the talk starts is that there are five ravens who will be curiously watching everyone from a perch nearby. Your character may end up with a lapful of one of the two leosylphs who live here, one baby blue colored and the other one black with red eyes.

The main floor has been turned into a large meeting hall of a sort, although mostly in terms of having a large space full of chairs and a few tables if people wish to sit there. Your character can perch anywhere they want including up a floor. A key note about Istredd's domain is that people can easily morph chairs or create them in whatever form they'd want, so if you want them to have their childhood chair, go ahead. If they want a gaming chair, it'll show up automatically for them. His space is very intuitive. People can choose to speak either from the back of the room, as Istredd will do, or from where they sit/stand.

If your character wants to attend but not be noticed, they can intuitively use his Horizon to mask themselves/go invisible. Istredd will not call you out, Henry Creel.

After the initial formal talk and information gathering, Istredd will ease up the more formal atmosphere of the large hall and create a food and drink section against the walls. Wanda assists him in making this look nicer and homier. There will be extensive offerings but people can add any type of food or drink to this, it's up to them to modify it.

If your character would like to explore the library or get a beat to themselves/talk privately with someone, they can do that by wandering the floors. People will find that if they open a book it will appear to be empty at first, but if they think about their favorite book, the pages will fill in. It is entirely based on their recollection of the book so may not be entirely complete, but if their subconscious mind has memorized much of it, they will see what they need to in there.

They may also find that as they move through the floors, a 'reading nook' may appear in the corner that will instinctively know what they would feel comfortable sitting to read with. They can also 'lock' this room if they want to discuss something with another person and need privacy.

ISTREDD'S SPEECH

[Istredd will wait until it appears everyone has arrived or most people have and he will clear his throat to get their attention if they are already chatting with other people. He appears as he often does in Thorne, with very plain clothes in a dark shade of blue, serious and calm. He stands straight-backed, hands clasped behind his back. Istredd speaks in a very clear and calm way.]

Please sit or stand as you feel comfortable. If you want, you can create any chair you wish to sit in. After the initial conversation, food and drinks will be provided and you are free to add your own favorite dishes. This is intended as an information-gathering conversation. Last year, Sam Wilson hosted something similar to keep the Summoned informed, and a great many things have happened since. Wanda and I thought to do the same this year.

We posted on the network a breakdown of what happened with the kidnapping earlier this year. If you missed it, the general idea was that a cult from Solvunn took half of the Summoned and held us in a pit, where they were experimented on. The cult's intention was to try and take the connection the Summoned have to the Singularity, and what they believed to also be a connection to their gods.

It should be noted that Thorne tried something similar early on in the Summonings. Their experimentation also did not work, as far as we know. We thought it prudent to keep every Summoned informed of what happened in case something like this happens again. We have put forward from the Solvunn and Thorne conclave a request to our factions to allow us to have access to the island. We'll let people know what we hear.

I also put together a history timeline of the Summoned.

[He pulls out a blackboard with this list written down over it in clear readable words. He points to the February 20,078 section where the details about the kidnapping are written out in particular.]

If anyone would like to add notes or months I missed, please either write it yourself or let me know and I will add it. I am hoping to keep this an active timeline for us. This will always be available in my library here to anyone who wants it. We have also been given a pantheon of the gods from our friends in Solvunn that is also available in here.

I have been taking notes since I got here about general information that may be of interest to people when they arrive, including details about magic, the Singularity, and the factions. They're very broad but you can read it on this.

[He creates another blackboard to the side, also able for other people to make notes upon.]

I don't want to be talking this entire time, so instead I would like to invite people to share any findings or information they have that they think the whole group should be aware of, and also ask questions that could be answered or talked about. Please be polite with one another and understand there are some things we simply do not have the answers for as of now.

There are less than a hundred of us, and I believe it is important that we stay on the same team. Thank you. Feel free to eat and talk, or wander in the library.

OOC NOTES

Hey everyone, it's Dee! I am so sorry for the tl;dr. I have the headers below: Speeches (information sharing/tl;dr like mine), Questions (you can specify what exactly they have questions about), adding to the info dumps I have, and whatever else you think of.

If you want your character to speak/offer information but don't want follow-up questions, you can put 'OTA' or 'no follow-up' to indicate what your preference is here. If you put OTA people can reply with a sort of Q&A option, but the no follow-up idea is so that people can share information but not need to commit to that unless they feel like it.

And from there, mingle to your heart's content! Your characters can talk afterward, before, go explore the library, whatever you want, I support it. You can plan closed or open starters, follow your heart.

If nothing else, I want people to take from this mingle that their character can hear any of this information or see it in the library and have it from now on for your RP purposes, and take this opportunity to maybe make new CR/discuss all of this. Do as much or as little as you want! If you have any comments/concerns, please message me on plurk.

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Istredd doesn't 100% know where Michael stands but he thinks 'tolerates' is a pretty reasonable guess. He does let Istredd ask him for favors sometimes, usually sharing information, and they both had their suspicions about the Feywilds before they were invited. He annoyed Michael recently by asking if he could tolerate Lucifer living in Solvunn, and with Gabriel there now, it does seem like a disaster in the making.

Istredd is also dressed casually in dark blue and there is something intentionally unassuming about him. He would look very much at home in here as a nobody librarian, something he's used in the past before. Even with his height and striking eyes, he's managed to fade into the background. Nothing screams out special about him. Although the tilt of his head when Gabriel sweeps right past the Solvunn subject, and his sharp gaze, at least hints that he is paying close attention.

"Sure." He shrugs. "I was looking for a place to stay when I first arrived, and Lucifer decided I was an excellent placeholder as a roommate." A term that used to be a joke between them before Lucifer ruined it, outside of some teasing happening again. "We grew closer as shit went wild around us and became friends. He told me about his history and his reputation in your sphere, all the bad parts to see if it'd make me run."

Istredd finds that particularly amusing now, how Lucifer constantly tried to make him flee, and he only accepted it calmly. He is very, very patient, that much is clear in how he explains the situation. "And I fell in love with him." He says as if that is the most natural thing in the world, to love the devil, and to him it is. He also has no qualms about admitting to it. "After I nearly died in the Pit, it made him consider his own feelings, and we decided to give it a shot. We've been together since."

Istredd folds his arms and leans against a bookcase, raising his eyebrows. "I'm sure that all sounds boring at face value, but it involved a lot of pain and confusion along the way. It isn't easy for him, and I'm sure he hates you knowing about it."

Edited 2023-09-29 01:02 (UTC)

That's a lot more explanation than he'd been expecting, considering how utterly useless everyone else has been on filling in the details, though Gabriel is also not entirely sure what to do with this information now that he has it. It sounds... Normal. Understandable. Reasonable.

Romantic, almost.

And so, of course, he's slightly suspicious. Not of Istredd, exactly, but of Lucifer; Gabriel loves his brother, but that's both because of and despite all of his flaws. It seems hard to believe just yet that there's no ulterior motive here, even unintentionally.

But maybe there isn't. He's willing to entertain the possibility of being pleasantly surprised.

"Oh yeah, he definitely hates it." Gabriel remarks casually, because that's definitely how he feels about all of this. Casual. "I asked him about it and he pouted, then told me to ask Castiel. Who asks Castiel for gossip?" Honestly. What a terrible and petulant suggestion.

Istredd is used to pretty much any reaction to his situation with Lucifer. Everyone from his world is skeptical or horrified by it, and then there are the people from Earths who have devils of their own. Istredd doesn't have one of those but he probably wouldn't care if he did. He's very good at being logical about these things.

"He's probably trying to be annoying to Castiel, who doesn't love that we're together." The angels are all very childish when it comes to one another and Istredd's gotten used to it. "Castiel and I were captured together, we bonded closely, he trusts my judgment even if it's the opposite of his own." And that is why Castiel told Gabriel how much he trusted and respected Istredd. They had trauma bonding of the highest order. They lived through something terrible, side by side.

He curiously observes Gabriel though. "You're an interesting one though. I know his opinions of the others extremely well, he complains about them, but not you." Istredd finds that fascinating. It isn't that Lucifer is without the same anger about a brother who didn't follow him, but it's different with Gabriel. "You don't seem as angry at him either. Could it be I've finally found a brother who doesn't hate him?"

"Castiel doesn't approve? Can't imagine that." The sarcasm is dry, almost amused, because he can only imagine how Castiel felt about this when he first found out. Gabriel's almost sorry he missed that.

It's interesting though that Istredd and Castiel seem to have such a strong bond, and that isn't something Gabriel is overlooking, even if he's not quite sure what to do with that information just yet. He can imagine someone having the personality type to get along with both Castiel and Lucifer--neither of them would ever want to admit it, but it's not like there aren't similarities between them--but that's different from actively maintaining relationships with them. Just another interesting thing about this place.

But then the subject turns toward Gabriel, and he's not so interested in entertaining it. But too much denial is too obvious, so he just waves a hand dismissively. "I don't hate any of my brothers, Luci included. Even when I'm pissed at him." Which he is, by the way. Just not for the reason he's about to comment on. "He really hasn't talked about how great I am? Not even once?"

Clearly, this is terribly offensive, and he has no idea at all why Lucifer might've avoided the subject of Gabriel and their relationship.

Istredd chuckles, shaking his head. "He's respectful in that he's made it clear where he stands and mostly avoids talking shit about Lucifer directly to me. Lucifer's in a ceasefire with the Winchester group anyway." He doesn't know if Gabriel is aware of that. It is genuine too, the groups have left each other alone, especially with Dean now back from his demon situation.

Istredd is actually the catalyst for that situation, but it's not something Lucifer would admit to anyone else. He's gently encouraged Dean to talk to Lucifer about the mark, and then it's their problem.

"Oh, that's interesting." Istredd's gaze is the kind that seems to look right through someone's soul (or lack thereof) when he's fixed on them. "You sound just like him when he's avoiding a question. He likes to make jokes too." But Istredd can get away with that with his partner, less so with an angel he just met, so he's going to let it slide.

His sharp eyes turn away, so as not to bore through him forever. "This may surprise you, but Lucifer has several friends here. Not because he's charming and manipulative, mostly in spite of those things, but restarting here was good for him. It can be good for all of us."

He'd figured about the ceasefire, whether because of calling an official truce, deciding they had bigger problems to worry about than each other, or just because they were in different nations and it was too inconvenient to fight, but it's still good to hear it for sure. One less thing people are going to come crying to him to step into the middle of, with any luck.

Gabriel gives Istredd a flat look at the comment about using humor to avoid questions; it isn't threatening, or even a warning look, just an acknowledgment while still being unenthusiastic about being perceived. This is something he might have to get used to, if Istredd's got a lot of practice seeing through Lucifer, as although Lucifer and Gabriel aren't alike in every way they certainly share similarities. There was a time when they were very close, after all, and perhaps they still are.

He shrugs at the last comments, pulling his hands out of his pockets to help the gesture. "Doesn't surprise me. Luci's got a lot of good traits when he decides to let them out." He's not entirely convinced Istredd is being objective here about the charming and manipulative side of things, but maybe he is; either way, it doesn't matter. Lucifer was well liked in Heaven before everything went wrong, and Gabriel doesn't doubt that he could be here too, especially if he's found a place he feels he belongs. "Good to hear he's apparently coming around when it comes to humans, though. Maybe it's just our world's humans he's got a problem with."

Which would make... Maybe some sense, but Gabriel isn't posing the idea genuinely, more just a testing of the subject.

Istredd is also used to that exact flat expression, having worn Lucifer down over time, and a lot of grumpiness about being perceived. He's a perceptive man, used to quietly watching others and observing. He knows when to back off though, but it would be a mistake to think he won't circle back some day. It's in his nature. Lucifer said he's incapable of not meddling.

Istredd cannot be objective when it comes to Lucifer. He's head over heels and madly in love with him. No one should ever trust his judgment on the matter. He can dress it up with logic and rationality and he tries to, but he has a huge blind spot.

"I don't think he'll ever be able to separate humanity as a whole from your father and their issues, so it's easier to think of us as independent exceptions." Some humans are acceptable and not creations of God that he must worship. He can choose to care about them. It's different. "I have pointed out to him that he's involved with a human whether he likes us or not, so that's reconciled however it can be in Lucifer's complicated head."

Istredd didn't take it that personally that Lucifer hates humans; if anything the fact he cares about many of them despite himself is reason enough to feel special. He is very open about the two of them, more so than Gabriel might ever find his brother to be, who resists the topic because it makes him vulnerable.

"I'm barely considered human in my sphere. Mages are not like other people. We're born with Chaos magic in our veins and live for many centuries."

Edited 2023-09-30 23:13 (UTC)

Exceptions. Yeah, that makes sense; Lucifer's always had exceptions to just about everything, and it's not like he's the only one, as although most would vehemently deny it angels are a bit notorious for that sort of thing. The rules are absolute until they aren't, even for the footsoldier types, let alone angels more used to thinking for themselves the way Lucifer is.

Istredd's magic doesn't really factor in as far as Gabriel's concerned--he sounds just like any other powerful natural witch from Gabriel's world, like Rowena--though it does just add to the whole 'Lucifer has a type' thing. Which sure isn't something Gabriel had ever expected to be thinking about.

"Well, sounds like you've been a good influence on him." He remarks it lightly, and it's probably easy to tell it's more conversational than any particular belief in the sentiment, though he also isn't disbelieving in it. "What do you mostly get up to in Thorne? I've heard it's a little full of itself over there."

Istredd's content to let Lucifer as a main topic be put on the back burner for now. He is a good influence but so is Lucifer. That's something Gabriel will have to see in practice before it's believable, and he gets that. He's told Lucifer more than once that it's up to him to change and act differently, he's not his keeper that way. He's curious about Gabriel in general, like he is all the angels, and all the Summoned.

"It's very full of itself. It's a monarchy with an unstable ruler, they started this Summoning, and jailed the originals. Then they threw them into the Horizon without warning, experimented on one, and tried to execute someone else. So there aren't a lot of good feelings from any of us toward any of them."

That was two years ago but that's barely any time at all. None of the originals live there anymore, Yennefer is the closest to it, and she still isn't. But they keep being Summoned and stuck there and trying to make the most of it.

"It's very much a gilded cage. They give us food, clothes, and shelter, and they've begun to let us move around the country more." The implication being that they didn't really before so those limitations did exist. This is things doing better, and they're all details other locations have allowed their Summoned from day one. "We're not encouraged to get jobs or sustain ourselves, it's clear they want us to be dependent on them."

Istredd is very realistic and upfront about the situation in Thorne. No reason to sugarcoat it. It's not a pleasant experience. "Because of that I would say the Thorne Summoned are close-knit." It would explain why Lucifer became so close with some of them. Survival made them all do that.

Gabriel listens without interrupting, although it's only half out of respect and half because he's purposefully ignoring any emotional reaction he might have to any of that. But it's good to know what they're dealing with, at least, and it also gives Gabriel more context for how and why Lucifer might act in particular ways. The situation probably isn't one that sits well with him.

"Leadership's really playing with fire over there, huh." He remarks it offhandedly, but he means it. It sounds like Thorne is taking a hugely overconfident gamble when it comes to keeping control over their Summoned, and it's certainly only a matter of time before they lose it. The Thorne Summoned just have to be ready to take the opportunity when it happens.

"So what's the deal? What is it they actually want from you?"

"They really are. Either they're very stupid or very powerful, and I'd say probably a mix of both is the answer."

Istredd doesn't have a high opinion of anyone in Thorne. He thinks they are arrogant and ignorant, which are dangerous things to be in positions of authority. There are reasons the Summoned have talked about getting rid of the royalty, but for now, they're playing the game. Istredd has no interest in regicide, his priorities are elsewhere.

"We genuinely have no idea. I think they took us here originally because they wanted to get close to the Singularity. That's the center of magical power here, and only the Summoned can get close to it. They die if they try." And that is arguably a good reason to kidnap people from another dimension if you don't care about them and only your own goals. "But they haven't tried to make any of us use the Singularity for their purposes."

Technically Istredd and a group voluntarily did so to get them a casket of magical power in exchange for a visit to the Singularity. But they didn't ask him to do that, it was his request.

"You'll find that in all three to be true. None of our factions have forced us to do anything. Which is suspicious." Maybe he's as paranoid as Lucifer.

Hm. Creepy. Gabriel doesn't usually spend a whole lot of time pondering this sort of thing unless he absolutely has to, but his own paranoia has certainly increased in the last few years due to particular events, and so he can't help but be a bit unnerved about this.

"Maybe they don't need us to do anything. Maybe just being here's enough."

He doubts that the factions won't also have something active for them to do in the future, because why go through the trouble of Summoning people if you don't make use of them, but maybe that's just a bonus. It could be that their presence alone serves some passive benefit to the factions that no one is aware of just yet.

"I don't think the Free Cities and Solvunn planned on this. Thorne Summoned us first and after they tried to execute someone, two mysterious individuals, Elizabeth and Oliver, appeared and froze everyone, allowing people to escape to the new factions. My assumption is knowing Thorne would keep doing it, they used the spell too so there wasn't a power imbalance. It's only been two years, maybe they haven't decided how to use us."

By they, in this case he means the Free Cities and Solvunn. He thinks that Thorne planned this for far longer so they did have ideas in mind, but the other two is adapting to the situation. It's conjecture, obviously, but based on observation and a train of thought and experience. Two years is hardly enough time to decide what to do with all these strangers. Give them a decade and they might have a plan in place. Years are very fast to the long-lived, although Istredd's eighty-some years is nothing compared to Gabriel.

"Solvunn though thinks this is the work of the gods, so they are happy to have you all there. And who knows, maybe it is. We've only had a few run-ins with them."

The gods are frustrating for Istredd because he'd love to study them and try to communicate, but it is simply impossible from Thorne. And as Lucifer has teased him about, he hates having to count on other people to do things for him. He spent too many years as an independent scholar, able to do whatever he wished. Waiting on answers when he should be able to just do it is frustrating.

"Michael gave us the pantheon of gods from Solvunn, it was very helpful of him."

Gabriel is not so convinced by this idea, even if he's totally willing to buy that the faction leadership might not know what they're doing. Even if they're trying to keep up with Thorne, this is way too much effort to go through without any idea of whether or not Summoned are useful or not.

Then again, as much as Gabriel likes humans, they're definitely known to be... Kind of shortsighted. Impulsive. Not so smart.

He's also not so impressed by the gods thing, but that comes with the territory of being an archangel. In Gabriel's case it's not the disdain his siblings might have, but having spent a lot of time around gods--and even pretending to be one for awhile--they're just other people as far as he's concerned.

But that doesn't make Istredd's last comment any less funny.

"How mad was he about it?" Gabriel can't help but ask, and the grin on his face makes it obvious he doesn't actually mean 'mad', but more like how much did Michael sigh and roll his eyes in that conversation.

"About that? As far as I know, he wasn't, but he's a hard read as you know." Istredd doesn't know if Michael minded or not, he was willing to hear him out, although that was more about Wanda no doubt. "He's friendly with one of my close friends, Wanda Maximoff, and it was important to her too." Not really important to her in terms of getting it to Thorne, but she wanted to help, and she would have done it if he wasn't interested. One way or another, Istredd was getting that pantheon.

"I think he was more annoyed by me asking if he could tolerate Lucifer moving to Solvunn. But again. Hard read." Istredd could tell he didn't like that though, and Lucifer later sort of rolled his eyes at him over it. Istredd is a champion meddler, he can't resist.

"It's just an emergency situation, if we ever need to leave Thorne the way the others did. The question is where we'd go and I was curious, that's all." Meaning Istredd doesn't plan on them going there. He personally would probably like going to Nocwich more, but Lucifer permanently crossed that out. With the Free Cities still being tense because of Dean, it's trapping them into corners, and he's not going anywhere without Lucifer.

"The real question is whether everyone else in Solvunn could tolerate both Lucifer and Michael there at the same time. I'd go live in a cave, myself."

He's joking, but also not. He loves his brothers, and even when he's mad at them he can tolerate each of them separately, but together they would be an absolute nightmare. He didn't hang around for that in their world, and he sure as hell wouldn't do so here.

Still, the comment is overall light, as it's a problem for future, hypothetical Gabriel. And hypothetical everyone else, he supposes, but whatever, still not current Gabriel's problem.

Current Gabriel has also run out of questions for the moment, or at least ones that are both coming to mind and that he actually wants to know the answers to; some questions are better unanswered, after all, even to him. So he thinks it's probably time to be returning to the real world, but even he's polite enough not to just disappear, at least in this unique of a situation.

"Well, can't say I ever imagined meeting someone who's dating Lucifer--for so, so many reasons--but if I had, this would've gone better than expected." A compliment? A very low bar to reach? Yes to both.

"I doubt any of us would enjoy it." Michael and Lucifer least of all, and then everyone else in connection with it. He doesn't want to be in the middle of the two of them tense all the time either. Solvunn seems like a bad idea for them for other reasons too; too much temptation for both of them regarding the gods there.

This is a first meeting so Istredd does see it as them sort of testing the temperature of the situation. So far so good.

"You're not really what I expected either. I thought the rest of the angels were more like the other two." Not that he thinks Michael and Castiel would enjoy being compared to them, but they have a very flat reaction to things. They're not human in the way they talk and act. Gabriel and Lucifer seem to blend in better. It's not a bad or a good thing, just something to note.

"It was genuinely a pleasure to meet you, Gabriel. Feel free to stop by any time if you want." Istredd may feel comfortable approaching him out and about too, he has an easy way about him.

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OPEN MINGLE: Time to Talk, Summoned!

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and we can wrap here or on yours!