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

[falcony]

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.

Comments

[aquaveiled]

[ Now that gets a reaction out of her as she straightens her back and raises both of her brows. "Mages harness their magic through chaos"? Is that...akin to the way that some Thaumaturges may dabble with Voidsent? One can certainly gain an obscene amount of power that way, though at no small cost. ]

That sounds...dubious.

[ Not that she hasn't taken some risks of her own in her practice of magics. ]

We pull from the aether around us and manipulate it as necessary, although some are more inclined to some elements than others.

[ She wonders if that's the same thing, just by another name, or if "harnessing chaos" is really something else entirely. Mayhaps it is tapping into the void? To another ethereal plane?

For as congenial as it may appear to be sitting in the kitchen sharing stories, the subject has certainly changed. ]

A cataclysm?

[ That sounds...almost like the opposite of Calamity? At least that's how she processes it in the moment. ]

How long ago was this?

[gynvael]

[ Geralt raises an eyebrow in return. Dubious. That's not the reaction he was expecting. Does it? ] No more or less than what you're describing.

[ Though he doesn't especially believe in the inherent nature of one force or another. There is no nature. There's just people and what they choose to do. And most, in his experience, don't especially choose well. (But then, who in the hell is he to talk?)

He gives the bottle in his hand an idle wiggle that passes for a shrug. ] Over a thousand years. The spheres that collided were destroyed or the doorways otherwise closed. In theory, travel to another world like this—it shouldn't be possible.

[ In theory. Even without taking into account Abraxas, what Ciri has told him about her powers changes everything. There's a lot that's been thrown into doubt as of late, and while Geralt is not surprised—what's known of the Conjunction is pieced together by haphazard writings, historians, surviving elves and dwarves; an amalgamation of people who have their own agendas, their own reasons for interpreting the world how they do—it also means most of what he once understood is in question. Too much feels possible now, and not in a good way. ]

[aquaveiled]

Mages that have looked into the Void have oft regretted it.

[ She offers that clarification, if it can be taken as such. ]

Is "Chaos" all around you?

[ If that's what they understand then it must just be what they call aether, in that case. Which...given how he's describing the birth of his world, it's a sensible thing to call it. An existence born of chaos itself.

Over a thousand years...spheres that collided...

It all sounds much too similar to be a coincidence. She can feel her stomach sinking a bit as she thinks on it--the war between Mhach, Ampador, and Nym. The overflow of white magic, essentially wiping the realm clean. So much was lost. Not more than 1500 years ago.

Much too similar.

Himeka stares blankly forward and feels a sudden urge to chug from her beer--so she does. ]

"Cataclysm" does sound appropriate.

[ She swallows to clear her throat, biting off nearly half of the skewer in one go just to keep her mouth occupied. At least she can't start talking until she's mostly finished chewing it.

Much to think about...things that she wishes she had a few others to sort out for her. Both Himeka and Estinien have lamented the loss of their allies that are more equipped in dealing with these sorts of things, but it is really up to them. For all that Himeka is an expert in aetherial manipulate, it is purely skill based. Everything she's learned about the mechanics of it and how all these rejoinings happen--or don't--has been along the way. And she feels more equipped to sort this out than she has before.

Shit. ]

I've been through such a doorway before.

[ A slight shift. She feels the need to be helpful since he dropped this very unfortunate nugget of insight. ]

Though it was with no small amount of help.

[gynvael]

Mm-hmm. So they say. [ Geralt cannot feel it, exactly, so he doesn't know, but he believes it to be true given that no mage or druid has ever contradicted this fact. His Signs are different, even if it's a form of magic unto itself. Perhaps upon a different path he could've had his conduit moment and been taught, perhaps he'd know magic far more intimately—but what may have once run through his veins from his mother has long been stripped the moment he was handed over to the Witchers at the keep.

Himeka distracts him from the topic of Chaos and Aether. He studies her. There's something on her mind, something she isn't saying upfront. Which he's learned, in their brief time together, is rare for her. She looks like...frankly, she looks like how he felt when Ciri had told him the Red Riders were real and actively chasing her across dimensions.

When it comes to questions, Geralt either decides it isn't worth asking altogether or he will ask without preamble. At the moment, he chooses the latter. His gaze is scrutinizing. ] What aren't you saying?

[ What does she mean by such a doorway. One that shouldn't open? One that shouldn't be passed through? (Like Cirilla?) Shit. He takes a drink, too. A deep one. He already feels a distinct chill settling over him, but it's too late. This conversation has taken a sharp turn from casual chatter. And while normally Geralt doesn't care for casual chatter, he suddenly regrets leaving it behind. ]

[aquaveiled]

[ That makes infinitely more sense. Himeka nods, satisfied with the clarification. ]

Then we are the same.

[ At least in theory. Mayhaps the disciplines differ or...they become sort of masters of time and space and whatever else it is that G'raha managed to figure out in his time?

But aether is easy. What she doesn't want to say is, in part, because her thoughts haven't solidified on it, but also because she isn't sure she can do it justice. She's never been a wordsmith--just someone with a natural aptitude for magics. That's what she does and does it well.

...Maybe that's an easier way to do it? ]

...

[ Both G'raha and Emet-Selch had done so in their own explanations.

Very well--if their worlds are connected in the way she fears, it only seems fair that as a denizen he be privy to it.

But she has to finish her beer first--which she does. Setting the bottle side, she waves one hand in a circle to create one world--one Sphere of aether to float in the air. Beside it she creates another, mirror reflections of one another. ]

Normally someone can't go from one star to another in any sort of physical form. The aether that makes up the body just...can't, you know?

[ In between the two she paints an oval door out of blue light and suddenly a stream of gentle white light flows between the two spheres through the doorway. ]

But someone was able to travel to one sphere through the other in spirit and then create a doorway in which I was able to physically walk between the two shards in whole.

[gynvael]

[ In his mind, it only makes sense that the core of how magic functions is the same. Harnessing it might differ, but Chaos is Chaos—regardless of what it's called. Especially, he considers, if what they're told is true. About the Singularity being the source of it. He's yet to decide how much of that he believes.

Traversing worlds, though. He listens in silence, turning over her words in his head. Studying the illusion she paints in the air.

Feels like he's attending a lecture on theories of universe. ]

Your paths are still open. Crossing it whole is the problem. [ There must be some meaning to why she continues to call it a shard. As though each sphere is one piece of a whole. The term sticks to him, puzzling, but he sets it aside for now. Instead, he reaches out to drag a finger through the stream of light, disrupting the path. ] For us, the ability to cross is not in question. It's that we can't leave.

[ Not that it makes a difference anymore. After all this time, few would remember ever having been from elsewhere. The only ones old enough to do so would be the rare elf or vampire. ]

[aquaveiled]

[ Cannot leave? That...well, she hadn't considered that wouldn't have been a possibility originally because she hadn't realized there was another shard to travel to. But now that there doorway is open, she has assumed it would just stay that way. Ascians can travel to the different shards on their own, after all. The struggle is in getting a corporeal being through.

But is Geralt saying that even someone's aetherial spirit would be barred? ]

Hm...

[ A quiet and thoughtful hum as the path between the two "portals" dissipates entirely, leaving two now disconnected stars.

...Mayhaps it's because he is not of the Source? That his world is a shard or...rather, was created by a rejoining? A byproduct of aether crashing into aether--a Calamity may beget a Cataclysm.

Would Emet-Selch know of this? Should she ask? ]

So people have tried to leave your Sphere but to no avail?

[gynvael]

There isn't a known way to. [ It's more complicated than that, but it's what it amounts to. It is not a case of people finding a portal and not being able to pass. The simple fact is that there is no portal. One doesn't exist, or if it does, no one knows how to find it or create it or to use the path that spirals between these worlds.

Except Ciri. And the Red Riders, apparently, who are real and who may or may not have only been unable to find Abraxas because the Singularity is interfering with Ciri's Elder Blood. Who the fuck knows? Every thread he unravels about Ciri and her powers leaves more questions. In the end, is it important that he knows how her powers work or why? When what matters is keeping those who would use her for them from finding her? ]

It's only theory. [ He takes another drink. He isn't sure what to make of the idea of Himeka being capable of traversing worlds when no others can. It feels like a door he will regret opening and he isn't in the mood right now for that. He'll ask her another time. ] Kings and queens are more concerned with conquering the land beside them. Not the land that lies in some distant world beyond their grasp. For all their talk of saving the world, I imagine Thorne wants the same.

[aquaveiled]

[ No known way...

She wonders, then, what this whole experience must be like for him. Hells, what it may have seemed like to her had it happened only a few years prior? Before the First, before she was even aware of the existence of other shards and stars, let alone being able to travel to them. The world became so much bigger and more complicated. ]

It must have been shocking to end up in a place like this, in that case.

[ To say the least.

At that she can drink as well, raising her beer bottle a little bit before she returns her attention to the skewers. The little globes of aether fade away as her concentration shifts elsewhere. ]

Most can only be afforded to worry about what's in front of them and others cannot think beyond it.

[ Something she has learned in her own travels. It's truly the few visionaries that lead them forward--and she does not consider herself one of those. (Were she without the Echo, would she even make a good Scion?) ]

There's little reason for many of us to trust Thorne at the moment. Tossing someone in a dungeon makes it difficult to leave a good impression. Though I admit I thought there may be more chase given the effort they put into imprisoning us.

[gynvael]

[ Geralt shrugs a shoulder. Shocking is a strong term. He doesn't know if it's the right word, for what he felt. In truth, he's yet to examine how he feels. Maybe never will. He just dealt with it: being dragged to this world, surviving the days, keeping watch over the rare few he gives a shit about. How he feels is unimportant; it will not change where they are, what happened, what will happen.

Now he's here, in a ever-shifting plane, speaking to a woman with horns for ears and scales all over her body who seems more interested in cooking a skewer than her accolades and who apparently crosses spheres when no one else can. It is what it is.

His gaze remains casual, but something flickers within it for a second. Thorne is the reason Estinien would not stop hassling him, and it's not a topic he wants to debate. He understands why others believe different. He just doesn't appreciate being told he has to fall in line or else, or being pushed towards goals and promises he did not make. His reasons for doing what he does are his own.

But he's not one to sidestep for the sake of diplomacy. ] There should be little reason for us to trust anyone. No place will put the needs of those who don't belong above their own.

[aquaveiled]

[ By this point she's unsurprised the doesn't offer much of a response to her observations, which isn't exactly a rebuttal of them in her eyes, or a strong confirmation. Maybe it's somewhere in the middle? She'll have to see. She figures Jaskier would happily offer his own thoughts in colorful detail if she bothered to ask.

Geralt raises a point that she is about to agree with, then disagree with--so instead her mouth hangs open and she gives a moment's pause.

No reason to trust anyone? She...knows in theory that it should be true, but as someone who finds it all too easy to trust people, it's hard for her to abide by it regardless. What skepticism she has gained is likely far less than most people would adhere to as a safe normal. Geralt is likely far on the other end, isn't he, with a response like that?

But she's seen that in action too, hasn't she? People too afraid or unwilling to take action for the good and safety of others. And yet...she's also met so many amazing people who do just that. ]

Mmm...

[ It's her turn to offer a hum in reply as she finishes off her second bottle of beer. (There will absolutely be a third one.) It's the quietest and most thoughtful she's been the whole time in between the short breaks where cooking really did take her full attention. ]

It likely sounds foolish and naive to say otherwise, wouldn't it?

[ She shrugs then, setting the bottle aside. ]

But I'm sure there are people that do put the needs of those who don't belong above their own--even in Thorne.

[ Would Anatasia be one of those? She'd offered kindness to Estinien, Eponine, and herself when she could have offered none. ]

I may have even met one of them. It just matters if others would follow.

[ With that, she shoves a hefty piece of the skewer in her mouth as she goes back to the ice box to retrieve yet another drink. ]

Are you empty?

[gynvael]

[ The pause while Himeka thinks it over appears to bother him little. Geralt drinks his beer, though at a slower rate than she's doing. (That'll change later.) Eventually, though, he does hit the bottom and he doesn't hesitate to reach out for a second when she offers. ]

People, maybe. [ He isn't disagreeing. It's equally naive to think everyone believes the same. But he's not referring to individuals. ] Not nations.

[ There's a difference, to him. How do you lead a kingdom if you tell your people the outsiders are more important? How long would you even last? Relena told him once the people of Thorne were desperate, and he believes her. It's rarely cruelty that drives anyone. Just fear and desperation. He doesn't think Thorne is the only one. The Free Cities hoards its armies like a jealous dragon. Right now, at best, he expects to be left alone, the summoned pushed aside to fend for themselves. And he suspects that can only be the case for so long, before something arises. They aren't only lost upon this sphere. They can do what those of this world cannot, reach places that shouldn't be reached. Know things no one else does. They are different.

He's seen too many times where that's led.

Though he's aware of who Himeka is referring to. Jaskier told him, back when the only information he had trickled down from the bard. She might've been kind. But— ] And what happened after you met her?

[ The question is pointed, not a curiosity. Because he knows who found their little group in Hayle and who made the decision to deliver them back to the Castle. ]

[aquaveiled]

[ That, at least, she won't argue against. Nations as a whole will project one way or another, but it takes the people within them to enact real change. When that doesn't happen the status quo is maintained no matter how well-meaning a few may be, and that bodes ill for most others. She's seen it happen often enough...and she's also seen the tides be swayed. But not without no great amount of effort.

Politics is never easy. Himeka doesn't pretend to understand them well even if she's become familiar by nature of getting wrapped up in them. She's just the person they send in to fight the big monsters when no one else can, right? Or at least that's who she used to be. It's gotten more complicated. Maybe he can related to that a bit, being a Hunter himself.

She hands him the bottle as she sits back down. The nature of their conversation has shifted, but she doesn't particularly mind. ]

...We were still sent back to the Castle.

[ Himeka won't lie and knows that there would be a better ending--the one where Anastasia refused to hand over the refugees and stood her ground against the powers she had some clear disagreements with, clear enough she would share them with a group of strangers. ]

But she also could have sent us back with no food or warm clothing or without bothering to answer our questions.

[ Though Himeka fled Thorne as quickly as others, she doesn't hold any ill will against Anastasia of Hayle. ]

I won't pretend that I would have preferred not to be imprisoned again, but I understand that she may not have seen us as the point of contention to fight for between her and the current monarchy.

[ It's easier to accept when she is involved, at least, though she would have liked to have spared Eponine, no matter how quickly the girl had drawn both she and Estinien as the perpetrators of their escape attempt. Troubled girl. ]

Letting us know that she has issues with how things are going in the city...that's dangerous in and of itself, isn't it?

[gynvael]

[ It's strange, almost, to consider what Estinien is possibly after when even his close friend seems on a different page. Not that it matters to him—what others believe is not his business, so long as they don't bring it his way—but it's curious. Though he's considered before, after the fact, that Estinien had just stumbled on him that day in a shit mood, itching for a fight, and lacked the self control to walk away. It happens.

He doesn't yet open the bottle, his expression thoughtful. ] She could've. I don't doubt her sincerity. But choices still need to be weighed. And I can tell you she and the others will always weigh them in favour of their people.

[ Maybe their interests will align with some, maybe they won't. Geralt does not begrudge the woman's decision; it's only pragmatic. His point is that intentions are not enough. A kind hand only goes so far. There needs to be more, and right now he isn't sure of anyone who holds power that he can say it would appear they have good reason to go out of their way to help.

As far as he's concerned, the ones gathered here, they're on their own. He doesn't see that changing any time soon. ]

[aquaveiled]

[ She nods in agreement once again, just holding onto her bottle as well. The metal top still vexes her and she figures she will ask for assistance again once he opens his. She can be patient. ]

That's what a good leader is suppose to do, isn't it? Look out for the interest of their people?

[ Aymeric is a good leader, always willing to do what was best for Ishgard. But he played a long game and she can't imagine wanting to spend years slowly working ones way through bureaucracy until one is in a position to make lasting change. Even then it had taken heightened conflict and war to push forward. ]

I'm no politician...nor do I want to be one, mind you--but I feel like the mistake happens when they believe that the interests of their own people mean to be at the detriment of others. You can help without risking it all, at least in some respects.

[ She shrugs, tapping her fingers idly along the glass surface of the bottle. ]

Either way, I doubt she's the only one in the Kingdom of Thorne who feels that way. But I'm in no hurry to return and find out for myself. We still don't even know what the hells the Singularity is other than an ominous rock that vaporizes the locals.

[gynvael]

Mm. [ He takes her bottle and pops the cap as before. One day, Sam will demonstrate how the fuck these bottles work. For the time being, Geralt's willing to take on the task if only because he'd rather not witness another convoluted scheme out of her. Horizon or not, a kitchen fire would spoil the mood. ] That's why you aren't a politician.

[ It's not an insult. Geralt's got no lost love for politicians. Nor does he disagree that what she's saying is the ideal. He's simply never seen it applied, does not believe anyone who takes that route will not inevitably compromise far too much. But he supposes that's why Himeka is content fighting live vegetation instead of seating herself on a throne.

In that sense, he understands. ]

Doubtful anyone knows. [ Something like that is rife with opportunity for rumours and legends to spawn. If there's truth to any of it, he isn't sure any of them will ever know. ] If this world burns, they'll have done it to themselves.

[ In the end, that's where his concern lies: not in the so called end of days that the Singularity might cause, but in the much more probable destruction wrought by people who will raze cities over fears they don't understand. ]

[aquaveiled]

[ She doesn't even need to ask? How convenient! Himeka will gladly take the newly opened bottle back as well as take another swig. No slowing down now.

It's not an insult and she certainly doesn't take it that way, laughing lightly instead despite the somber turn the conversation has taken. ]

You're not wrong.

[ And she'll drink to that, too, which she does. The third beer does bring something of a happy warmth to her cheeks, at least. She smiles as she turns her gaze upwards, even as the gravity of his would-be prophecy settles into her bones. They feel a little hollow at that, but he's not wrong about that either.

The question is...what if they could do something to stop it? Does the fault then lie with them as well? ]

Then ours would burn too, wouldn't they? If what Ambrose said is true.

[gynvael]

If. [ His skepticism is clear, but it's rooted in a general unwillingness to buy in to the concept more than a lack of trust in Ambrose or Thorne. He thinks Ambrose is telling the truth, as the High Mage believes it, something which Jon had once confirmed. ] That's what they all say.

[ How many prophecies have their been now on the Continent alone? How many have come to pass? (How much of Ithlinne's prophecy is real and how much of what pursues Cirilla are simply those who lend it too much weight? It's hardly the first time prophecy has led men to do the unthinkable, and he's tired of it. He's tired of being caught up in things he doesn't even believe in.)

He drains more of his beer, letting the topic lay as it is. He's not interested in debating, not here, and he's said what he thinks. Beyond that—Himeka is free to make of it as she will. ]