abraxaslogs | [ OPEN ] i know some places and i've seen some faces

[ OPEN ] i know some places and i've seen some faces

WHO: sam wilson and anyone/everyone.
WHAT: captain america cookout.
WHERE: sam's horizon domain
WHEN: third saturday of september (aka, about 3 weeks after the jailbreak)
NOTES: see below!

HELLO ALL AND WELCOME TO SAM'S CAPTAIN AMERICA COOKOUT!!!!

Over the last week or so, Sam has been going out of his way to contact as many people as he knows to invite them to a cookout at his place in the Horizon. He knows that after the jailbreak, a lot of people were separated, and this was his first thought on how to bring people together. The purpose behind it is simply because Sam thinks that the one thing all of them have in common, opinion on the Singularity and their situations aside, is that they were all brought here and can actually access the Horizon. He sees merit and use in coming together when they can, especially in ways that don't involve the politics of the land they're now living in. So, what better way to do that than around food?

The long and short of it is - this is a peace meal. Leave your issues at the door. Sam has very few rules and there is very little he will give in terms of what this cookout will entail, but three things he will make very clear:

1.) There will be no fighting at his home. You want to duke it out? Take it somewhere else. There will not be warnings or second chances. Don't be an ass.
2.) There is no meeting or serious reason for this cookout. Literally, he just wants people to come together who may no longer be able to see each other due to the travel constraints. It's meant to be fun. Come have fun. (he knows y'all know what that is, even when some of you pretend you don't). Bring food if you want to! There is also a kitchen (if you know what that is) and places to crash. Hope you like seafood!
3.) Anyone who can come into the Horizon is welcome. He'd love it if everyone came, so spread the word.

The cookout itself is set up out front, with picnic tables and chairs and fire pits and lights abound. There are tables set up near grilles if anyone wants to do any actual cooking outside, and a table (probably multiple) set up with sides and napkins and utensils. There are a variety of different places to go and sit and hang out while you're eating. Anything and everything you can want is available - food, drinks, yard games, music playing from out in the trees that will remain consistent unless someone tries to find the speakers and hijack the playlists, etc. If you can't find something outside, you're more than welcome to check the house.

All throughout the party, too, there will be a new friend. Red, as Sam fondly calls him, is a blood-red hunting hawk with silver in between the feathers. He can be found circling around Sam quite often, or perched on his shoulders, but also if you are out and about you can often see him checking up on anyone and everyone. He's a very curious little bird, and also pretty sassy, if you want to interact with him.

If you haven't, or have, been to Sam's domain before, feel free to take a look around. Anywhere is open (save for one locked bedroom) so everyone has open access, but most of the cookout itself will be located in the front yard.

OOC: This is mean to be an OPEN LOG, so leave your TLs or closed threads below! This party will last basically as long as people want it to, but the idea is for it to be an afternoon into the evening. Y'all have free reign save for destroying Sam's home, but if you have any questions, hit me up on plurk (disarmingly or disco (dai#3757). Sam's TL is below, and he will be bouncing around like the good host he is, but lets get a little party started.

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"Not with me. There are a couple of others I've seen here, but I don't think they want to be found." And unlike her, they weren't trying to go it alone, which was definitely the main reason for her craving somewhere a bit more stable.

[Thank you Sam. She truly appreciates your confidence in her ability to get Swole.]

There's supposed to be magic involved eventually! Though if I'm being honest, I'm a bit nervous that I won't be able to do that part quite right... Esti keeps talking about how it's going to involve learning to manipulate my 'aether' or something, but I'm not convinced I even HAVE any aether to manipulate...

[She shrugs dismissively. It's a worry, but not a very big one. Either it works or it doesn't.]

Guess I won't really know until I try, though!

[ That is a lie, probably, but he won't mention it. Not his place. He's been avoiding dwelling on his own reasons for bringing forth the girl. He hasn't even told Cirilla, though he knows he'll need to at some point. Just. Not right now.

He's quiet, eyes on her, considering what she's saying. It's interesting. It's interesting she thinks of it that way, that unmaking something is destroying a part of the Horizon as a whole. Is that true? He does know he feels an uneasiness at the idea of someone else fucking with his domain, uninvited, with the intention to destroy. More so than he should, given his understanding that it can all be recreated in a matter of minutes. ]

It was blank when we arrived. Untouched. We all felt...a desire to make. [ His suspicion, at first, had been that Thorne brought them inside to feed it with their creation. Why grant the prisoners access otherwise? Then he learned what they did to Relena. Now he isn't sure. What would happen if they returned this place to its blank slate? It must be possible for it to exist in that form. That was how they'd found it. But Julie's observation, whether she meant it to or not, is beginning to make him reconsider: what if the Horizon was not born out of the Singularity? What if its existence is owed entirely to their interlinked connection to it instead? If more and more of them are connected, would the expanse within the Horizon grow? ]

I don't know. [ His expression softens for a moment as he watches her stare across their little world, before he takes another drink. Shit. He's had too much to theorize over transcendental creations. Or not enough. One or the other. ] Some believe our connection to the Singularity is vital. That may have been part of Thorne's intention. So we have little choice but to defend it on their behalf.

True. That might be the smartest thing to do -- but when have people with a thirst for power done the smart thing over the one that will bring them closer to their goal, however foolish or dangerous it is?

[ Ciri shrugs, shaking her head and peering into her cup. It refills itself, now that she's figure out how to make things easily in the Horizon, and because she's too comfortable in her seat to get up for another bottle. ]

You laugh, but I'd advise you to be on alert no matter how welcoming your hosts seem. Who's to say when it might be politically convenient for them to give you up? Or when Thorne will lose patience with their neutrality?

I'm not pretending to be familiar with the nuances of this continent's politics, but I've lived through wars long enough to know that plenty of kings and high mages and their ilk would rather make your killer bear dance than do 'the smartest thing' even if it means to devour their own towns.

Vodka, at least, she knows. It doesn't have a distinct scent besides alcoholic, and she's not had it often, but it could have been something entirely unfamiliar. Not that it probably matters too much, in the Horizon. She could probably even change it if she wanted to -- but that'd be cheating, and this is a fair drinking contest.

Mostly.

"Hey! If you do that, I'm already behind." She pouts, and reaches out to grab the bottle from his hands to do the same. "We must start on even footing. Ready when you are."

[ Ciri snorts. ] Don't patronize me. We have science. Magic is often considered a science, I'll have you know.

[ So, actually, that is a helpful explanation after all. Magic and science, but being used in this way that is so foreign to her. It's like some sort of projection, but for entertainment? The whole thing seems so frivolous. But also... maybe fun. ]

So it's like a... large-scale morphotic projection. Of plays and performances? If Jaskier knew about such a thing, he'd be trying to get everyone on the Continent little bard boxes he could project himself into. Or would he want his works to be more exclusive...?

Ah. I can't say. You should show him this sometime.

I'm Himeka.

[ She taps her chest twice as a way of introduction, indicating who she's talking about. (As if that's in question!) ]

And this?

[ Might as well show off since Caroline seems interested. Himeka is, arguably, happy to be feeling more like herself, magics most definitely included.

She holds out her right hand, turning her palm up as she collects and compresses the "aether" in the air of Horizon above her palm, creating a swirling and excitable ball of light. ]

This is just conjuration magics. This, in particular, I usually just pull from the air since it's so plentiful and shift the elemental alignment.

That's. Admittedly, Geralt is not prepared for Kay to crush the plate into an entirely new object. (Is that how she creates in this place? He looks over at her cow creature, mildly alarmed at the thought that she may have crushed something into the beast as she's done to his plate.)

He looks back at her, then down at the...video tape. Geralt takes it with the sort of hesitance typical of a man who doesn't know what it is he's holding.

"Hm." He peers at it. The material is lightweight, not unlike half the items here. It's not a material he recognizes: hard and flimsy, but not brittle. As though it may be prone to bending or splintering rather than shattering. And while he often doesn't create in the Horizon beyond what's necessary, he reaches past her to pick up what was not there on the table a second ago: a plain white crystal that fits in the palm of his hand.

He offers it to her. "I'm sure you'll find use for it."

Geralt keeps watching, because that's just what he does sometimes. The unwilling. He seems to consider that for a moment before he glances off again.

"I hadn't realized some of us volunteered to fuck off to another sphere."

They're all unwilling, are they not? But perhaps some have found reason to start believing otherwise. He already knows Estinien seems to have grasped his so-called purpose here with both hands. Geralt has equally sidestepped that, which has left the elf none too pleased and also isn't his problem.

Kylo, at least, does not appear to give a shit that Geralt wants nothing to do with anything. Points in his favour, maybe. He's content with being ignored.

[Her eyes widen again, practically sparkling with delight at the sight of Himeka summoning her magic. Or conjuring, apparently.

She wants to do that so bad.]

And you can just do that?

[And she goes to touch it immediately, wondering if she can't use it herself.]

Unfortunately, that is in fact how Kay tends to create things here. It's just easier for her to conceptualize things into reality by using her hands, almost like she's sculpting with clay. Granted, she'd normally just use a chunk of unaltered ground and not someone else's pre-existing construct, but. She has low impulse control, OK?

She also hadn't been expecting this to turn into an exchange, but she's hardly complaining. "Wait, for me? Seriously?" She holds out her hands to receive it, the shape of it practically reflected in her widened, shining eyes. When she manages to look away from it, it's to flash another goofy grin up at Geralt.

"Heheh. Normally I'd make a rule of planning a heist to get my hands on something like this, but since you're already offering... Thanks!" She lifts it closer to her face to look at it more carefully, holding it between thumb and forefinger and peering through it like a kaleidoscope. "How's it supposed to work, anyway? You said something about a spell?"

Edited 2021-10-16 03:42 (UTC)

In all honesty, Geralt only means to show her in return, the crystal, so the keen shine in her eyes when she sees it surprises him a little. Not that it's unwelcome. If she finds some more value to it than he intended, all the better.

"Next time, I'll hide it just for you," he replies.

He tips his head. This is where his knowledge ends: when it comes to specifics of a spell. "I couldn't tell you more. I'm not a mage. But in here—" He gestures around them. "—I imagine you'll find your own method."

She may not have a megascope or the requisite spell, but she won't need one, in the same way he knows he won't actually need a...TV...to look at the contents of this tape she's given him. Such is the nature of a world with no limits.

[ She's starting to get the feeling that "mm" is his default answer to things. Something to keep in mind, she notes, as she turns the skewers over on the pans, making sure they get a good sear on every side.

Nevertheless, she doesn't look or sound particularly upset at the implication that she might have killed a man with a saucepan--if anything, they deserved it for sneaking up on her. While she isn't ignorant of the fact that being a Garlean soldier does not, by default, make anyone a bad person, she also accepts that by donning the armor they are also by proxy putting their lives on the line. Death is inevitable in war. Sometimes death by kitchen implements. (They just want to spare those they really can.) ]

There certainly are.

[ She won't argue against that point, having seen plenty of death herself, whether by her own hand or not.

But swords are good, reliable weapons that many classes choose to use. She, herself, uses a rapier at times, though not nearly to the proficiency of any proper melee disciplines. Geralt looks like the kind of man who would be, though. ]

What is your concern?

[ Himeka had been planning on asking, so she might as well once the opportunity presents itself. ]

[ He makes quick work of the remaining skewers, laying them out for her to sear. There's some curiosity watching her work the burners in the kitchen—blue flames licking, where he's used to an open fire. ]

I hunt monsters. [ It's put simply, as he tends to. ] For money.

[ There's some emphasis on that. That Witchers operate exclusively for coin is common knowledge back on the Continent, but out here—he's had more than one person presume he has some moral standing behind his profession. Some protective drive. He doesn't. Not really.

He stacks the last of the skewers on the plate. When he delves into Sam's fridge for a beer, it's with the ease of a man who's familiar with the house, the host, and knows he's welcome in it. Geralt does not examine this feeling too deeply right now. Instead, his attention returns to Himeka. ]

And you?

[ She too feels uneasy at the thought of someone else changing her domain, or even of changing too much herself. What if it was supposed to mean something, the world that was created for her? Sure, she could fill it with other stuff, but changing the core of it feels wrong. Dismantling it rings even worse, intrinsically bad, the same way that it might feel wrong to murder someone in cold blood, or hurt a child.

Maybe that's it. Something about this place makes it feel like it needs to be protected, cared for. Guarded. Is this what ancient temples and holy places feel like? She hates it. ]

It's been here a long time before we got here. Don't know why we'd need to defend it. Seems pretty capable on its own.

That remark earns Geralt another smile pulled taut. Quite. Ambrose certainly didn't seek anyone's consent before summoning them here, which (from Kylo's perspective) is just another insult added to the growing list of injuries he's suffered, being buffeted about by the will of the Force. Destiny. Whatever the power determined to cast him in role after role wants to be called here.

"Did you choose to be born?"

It's intended as a rhetorical question, as it would automatically be in most scenarios— but for all Kylo knows, Geralt did. His lips twist wryly.

"We didn't choose to be brought to this world. No. But we still have choice here. We decide what's important to us. What we want. What we can do to achieve those goals. And if what you want is nothing, why would that be a problem for me?"

"That he'd planned a picnic party for peace in a metaphysical dimension where none of us experience hunger, or that he invited you to it?" Kylo asks, his own attention drifting, following Kirigan's back to the gathering on Sam's lawn. How quaint it all is. But...

"It's no joke. In his mind, at least, this is the way to bring us all together and remind us that we have more similarities than differences."

Which is naive at best, and the expression on Kylo's face and the artificially flattened quality of his tone says it all. Still, it does provide a helpful opportunity to observe the trends and determine who, if anyone, might pose a threat— as well as a chance to glean what little information about the lands beyond Thorne's borders the other guests are willing or able to share. Sam's gathered quite the pool of resources to dip into.

"Perhaps it helps if you're originally from the planet Earth. Many of them seem to be."

"An entire world named for dirt."

It's funny—Earth, this gathering, the way Kylo describes it. Worth a smile, at least, which he now wears. It'll be gone again soon enough, but for now their company, wreathed so fearsomely in smoke and shadow, takes on a companionable shape.

"It's... simple," that's a charitable enough word, "yes, but he isn't wrong. There's a great deal we do share, and it's not the worst idea to to foster such comforting notions in a group of people so recently snatched from their homes and forced into servitude by their abductors." Not that he plans on being comforted, himself. "But our differences—those are much more interesting. Don't you think?"

[ Feels like he's been here forever, it slips his mind on occasion not everyone was there. For Ambrose's grand speech at the Singularity, for the snatches of information heard through the bars. A beat goes by. ]

Thorne believes something's changing that'll collapse the world. [ It's clear, from how he repeats it, that he's skeptical at best. He's heard it all before. World-ending prophecies and omens. (But then, what of the Red Riders, who Ciri believes so firmly is real?) ] Though they appear to have little want of us. For now.

[ Hence, the dungeons. He gives the smallest shrug. As much as he's avoided getting caught up, he also knows he can't in the long run. The question is what he wants to do about that when the time comes. More and more, the longer he stays, the more he talks to people, he finds himself with a reason to do...something. Reasons that aren't all to do with Ciri. ]

Oh- y-yes, actually. My domain is a library, one I used to work at. I don't think my memory's perfect but it seems to have most of the books I can remember reading through my life, and the ones from the Primary Settlement are much fresher so they're a lot more accurate. [He's quite proud, actually, of how good he's been at remembering all the myths and taking proper notes.] And I've got tapes, a-and tape recorders, too, I've been making audio files of them, a-and making transcripts, uh, those are more for my own speculative stuff but I like to think they're still pretty informative.

[Estinien glances to the side, though he snorts when Sam mentions Himeka being in the kitchen. Himeka is more adaptable than him, he thinks. She can enjoy himself with the opportunity presents itself - a concept which feels far away from him at the moment.]

If that the High Mage has said is true... then returning home may do little good, without first resolving affairs here.

[As much as he hates having been called here at such a terrible time, what good would it do to return and solve the problems at home, only to have the multiverse be torn apart by the actions of those who remain in Abraxas? He wishes he could know for certain that it's worth it.]

If Himeka and I are truly the only Scions present... 'twould fall to us to protect the others from the threats they cannot reach.

[That's the thing, ultimately. Estinien can't let go, not like this. He can't just decide it's not his business, that there are no good options, that there's nothing worth fighting for. He has to make a choice, to make a difference, on behalf of his allies that can't.

Remaining idle seems like it would be the greatest betrayal of all.]

Thorne don't seem to know jack about squat. They're talkin' outta their asses. Besides, it ain't like I never lived through the end of the world before.

[ She scoffs. Thorne seems to be basing their entire approach to the world on one specific guy who just... decides shit without ever asking a question. It's like letting a toddler run the household. ]

I dunno. I knew a few people upstairs, and they said they weren't told that much more than us in the dungeon. Like, you want people to save you, you're gonna tell 'em what the problem is in the first place, right? But they can't. It's bullshit. I half think they just stumbled on the way to bring us here and they're tryin' to justify it all.

[ A wry, quiet huff comes from him. ] Likely. But they believe the bullshit.

[ Like her, it's a hell of a thing to be told of another cataclysmic event on the horizon, when his own world's not just ended—it was born out of exactly the event Thorne describes threatens their existence. A collapsing of multiple spheres. If it happened once, perhaps it's only logical it can happen again, but he doesn't believe, either, something of that magnitude can be predicted or stopped. But it does serve as an easy excuse for a kingdom to grasp for power, redirecting an entire nation's fears. What else is new?

A beat, before he finally offers Julie her drink back: a trade for the bottle in her hands. If the cup is still surprisingly full, mm. He's not been paying attention, exactly, to how often he subconsciously refilled the thing. What is certain, though, is the yellow of his eyes has taken on a glassy quality few get to see in him, and that he's giving far less thought into what he chooses to say. ]

People have done worse for less. I've seen a century of the same fucking thing.

[ And now he's crossed entire spheres just for more of it. So. Everything he ever wanted. ]

"Fair point. I'll have to think of something really good to record on it," she quips, pocketing the crystal in the little supply pouch she has strapped around her waist. "Y'know, it's too bad we can't take some of the stuff we make in here back with us to the physical world... This would probably be pretty useful. And I could bring Moozilla back with me!"

Doesn't mean we have to believe it too. And all I know's is, if the Singularity is as powerful as they say, then it's fucking stupid of them to mess with it. The government and scientists started messin' with things bigger than humans, and now we're probably gonna go extinct.

[ She trades him back the bottle, taking a final gulp of punch before setting the cup on the ground at the leg of her chair. When she sits back upright, there's a stitch between her eyebrows that wasn't there before. ]

Wait, how old are you?

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[ OPEN ] i know some places and i've seen some faces

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