you and i are friends of empty graves

[assembles]

Who: Steve Rogers & OPEN 
When: Throughout September 
Where: Farhill Mining Camp; the Horizon 
What: Following his decision to perform some light sabotage on a military base, Steve has to do some jail time out at the mining camp.  
Warnings: Mention of child labor; will edit to add if anything else comes up! 

[ Open starters can be found below! Reach out to me on plurk at demonology or discord at demonology if you have any questions! ] 

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[assembles]

[ The use of his full name throws him for a loop, though only for a second. To be honest, it doesn't feel that out of place coming from Astarion, so Steve doesn't actually correct him. It's still his name even if it's rare for anyone to address him that way.

It's not like it's any secret why he's here at this point. Not that he's been making a point of it with the kids because he'd like their lives to stay as close to normal as they can under the circumstances, but he's got no reason to hide it. He was already caught. ]

I infiltrated their base in the mountains north of Aquila and did some... light sabotage, you could say. [ He shrugs again, as if this is a normal thing to admit to. ] I heard about the new tech they debuted in the Badlands and wanted to do something about it. [ His expression briefly hardens and he lets out a sigh before taking another bite of his lunch. ] It should have never fallen into their hands in the first place.

[ancunin]

[ Astarion stares at him for a long moment. ]

And... you did all that by yourself...?

[ He's not exactly incredulous. That's just... a lot. Even if he's calling it 'light' sabotage. Well - it really must have not been that bad if all they've done is made him work with the children miners. Right?

He narrows his eyes, curious. ]

No? Why not? They've only used it to defend themselves.

[ Thorne did attack first. Working at Rio Enterprises hasn't exactly turned Astarion into a pacifist, despite Viktor's refusal to make weapons, or anything that might be a weapon. ]

[assembles]

[ Steve is pretty sure that he could have done a lot more damage with the proper demolition tools, but that would have also escalated things a lot. Most of the people in that base probably would have lost their lives, and the government couldn't have ignored that, even if it was a Summoned behind it. Who knows, they might have locked him up and thrown away the key. ]

No, not by myself. You'll see Jesper around if you spend enough time here.

[ He cranes his neck, but doesn't currently see any sign of Jesper, and he's hard to miss since he towers over all of the much younger workers here.

With a glance back to Astarion, Steve shrugs. ] And a few other Summoned helped in more indirect ways. [ Not that he needs to start listing off names.

Maybe he shouldn't be surprised at Astarion's next question, and yet there is a brief pause as Steve takes it in. He's not wrong, exactly; the military force here does have a right to defend itself and its people. But... ]

The disc launchers they were using aren't something they just came up with. They developed them with inspiration from a machine that they seized when those rifts were opening up, sending in stuff from our worlds. Geralt and I took down the machine, but we couldn't stop the military from swooping in and taking it away.

[ Long story short: he felt responsible in some way for what came next. ]

[ancunin]

[ Astarion's eyes narrow slightly, in a way that might give away actual concern at the mention of Jesper. Oh, he likes Steve well enough, but Jesper - he has a soft spot for the young man, thanks to their centuries long vision. As for any other names - he might like to know who, just for the sake of gossip, but he doesn't actually care enough to question him. Besides, he understands a need for discretion.

He stares at Steve, still unconvinced. ]

Look, if it'll make those in Thorne think twice about sending curses or plagues or what-have-you over the border, I am perfectly fine with a little technological thievery. [ It's not like any of their people were hurt. ]

But - to each their own...

[ Another thing for them to agree to disagree on. ]

[assembles]

[ Astarion's sentiment isn't one that would earn him any sort of ire in the streets of Cadens, or maybe even in Libertas. The Free Cities and Thorne have been at odds for much longer than any Summoned has been here, and already the new king has made it clear that he intends to keep up that conflict.

But for Steve, it really isn't that simple, just black and white. There isn't necessarily a clear enemy here; both sides are equally culpable. ]

I know that even the Summoned in Thorne aren't its biggest fans, but that's more about the monarchy and the people in power. I just can't accept the idea that unrelated civilians might get caught up in the crossfire, and using tech that's from one of our worlds.

[ He shrugs, not seeing the need to explain himself much further than that. The damage is already done, and he's hardly the only Free Cities Summoned who wanted to take the military down a peg. Clearly, given that he'd earned the help of quite a few with this scheme.

Maybe Astarion has a point and Steve will regret what he's done whenever Thorne finds the means to retaliate, but in the current moment, he's willing to stand by it. And serve out his punishment on top of that. ]