[ closed ] avengers: civil dinner parties

[falcony]

WHO: mcu cast
WHAT: sam was there for the civil war. he's not about to let poor communication screw them all over again. (aka, sam's hosting a dinner for the whole family, no matter how awkward or tense it might be)
WHERE: horizon
WHEN: mid February

[ sam has hosted his fair share of abraxas-wide events, and has been a part of a fair number of family dinners himself. it's been a few months since he last hosted anything for the summoned at large, but the sudden appearance of steve, bucky, and peter have him thinking about his recent initiative. the way they're all being cut off at the knees by the lack of contact. he's only just now started building those contacts, only recently put the effort into keeping them up, but he's not letting this fall through the cracks. not when he hears about wanda.

so he sets a day, tells everyone when to show up. there's no reason to set up, no reason to set the table or prep the food - the horizon means it's all ready for him. all done up and cleaned and ready when they arrive. there isn't any specific reason for the meeting other than getting everyone in a room together, other than setting up safe, neutral territory for everyone to meet and get that first conversation out of the way. he knows tony will want to see peter, he wants to see wanda (and he knows steve and bucky will to), tony and steve will need to talk, and stephen...well. he needs to know all of them, doesn't he? they're a team, and if they're going to get through this, it's going to be together.

so they each get messages (or at least, tony and stephen both do - with tony's attached to a BRING WANDA, MAKE SURE SHE CAN GET INTO THE HORIZON), the food gets set out, and they will all eat. whether they want to or not. and sam is prepared to step in, if he needs to. ]




FEEL FREE TO MAKE TOP LEVELS EITHER OPEN OR CLOSED (DEPENDING ON THE THREAD).

THE ENTIRE HORIZON DOMAIN IS OPEN, AND SAM'S GOING TO LET PEOPLE WANDA/EXPLORE IF THEY WANT TO, EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER DINNER.

Comments

[piqure]

[ oh whoops he didn't mean to sneak up, minuscule as the reaction is. a sheepish shrug, ] I mean — yeah. I want to. [ is that? an offer? the assumption almost burst out, schooled only at the last second. ] I’m kind of without my suit, or my webshooters, and I'm wondering if there's different approaches to make things work in a similar way, since they're not where they need to be to make that stuff quickly —

— And I know magic is like, on a whole different level of what’s possible. [ its a perspective learned from very recent experience, witnessed and lived through and not at all fully understood. he shifts in his seat, pivots a bit more directly to stephen’s direction, seeming to take the other’s response as direct opening to talk about this further.

there’s a look, thrown up at strange and around them, at those divided into their own smaller conversations.

they all cast big, proverbial shadows from all that they’ve been through (soldiers, sorcerers supreme, witches, geniuses), and it’s impossible not to feel like you’ve got big shoes to fill.

this is no longer the local problems of a friendly neighborhood spider-man, after all. there's a looming need to catch up. ] I just — want to be able to do more things here. To be able to help more, or, or be part of the team. [ it’s an assumption he hopes is true. ] but — I don’t really know where to start. Do I start with theory? What’s magic theory even like?

[sorser]

[As always, Peter gives so much to work with in the breadth of a few moments. He considers him for a moment, closing his book and setting it down on the table.]

You’re already a part of a team. Magic’s not going to validate something that already exists.

[Just to make that clear. Peter might not have his suit, or his webshooters, but he still has everything else. A quick-thinking mind, sharp and needling with curiosity. A physiology of strength and dexterity that very few people can hope to match.

That said, he understands the request. There is never any harm in expanding one’s toolkit, and asking him to aid with magic feels like the obvious first step.]

I started with plenty of reading. [And no one was surprised.] The books in Thorne’s library delves into this world’s magic thoroughly, and if you’re looking for text on theory, then you’ll find plenty.

Hard to do when you’re not in Thorne’s castle, though. [Which is a hurdle, but one easily leapt over.] But there’s a way around that. How do you feel about a few regular lessons back at my domain?

[piqure]

Well, that's — you know... [ some weak defense, unneeded in response to the unexpected validation, dies idle in the throat and, finding no better place to look, peter looks down at his hands, thumb tapping against the other.

there's a leap in his throat, a knee jerk reaction to leap ahead and the equally rising reflex to hold the hopes back. but...despite what he's shared of what'll will inevitably happen, despite the multiversal mess he's described in scattered detail, the big red marks of mistakes streaked straight across spider-man's resume, doctor stephen strange says that one single, simple thing. you're already part of the team. ] Thanks.

[ simple and quiet and definitely moving on before his eyes rise back to the sorcerer, brows creasing in that needly focus when the suggestions start - reading, yep. library, yep, makes sense — only to widen substantially when the offer comes.

for a moment, he sputters, looks as though he may fall out of his seat with how he teeters on its edge. ] Wait — oh my god — really?

[ did stephen just! offer to teach him!! ] Yeah - yes, that would be so cool, are you kidding!

[sorser]

[He’s happy to offer that reassurance after meeting Peter in his Horizon domain for the first time, seeing waves of guilt and uncertainty wash through the young man as he explained the ordeal with multiple timelines, erased memories. It seems like the least he can do, confirming that yes, he’s part of the team — despite the mistakes made across the board (some his own). This meeting of grand superheroes is not actually all that grand; it’s imperfect, with messy people sometimes making messy mistakes, all while trying to do the right thing.

Honestly, he’s in good company with the rest of them.

Magic, though. Now that shifts the mood. Stephen actually looks dimly amused.]

Yes, really. I have a feeling you’re a quick study, if how easily you pulled apart the Sanctum was any indication.

[He has to give him a little bit of a hard time, though! No one is immune; but it’s joking all the same.]

Books are well and good, but mentorship goes a very long way. I wouldn’t have learned as quickly if someone hadn’t taught me, and so I won’t expect the same from others who want to put in the effort. We’ll arrange a time.

[piqure]

[ imperfect and messy, in the hopes of good intentions and what an apt summary that might be.

and yet, for the first time since getting here, peter feels elation more than dread, something like hope instead of guilt and his mind wants to sprint through the possibilities, the what ifs of this opportunity, attention finally slipping away from the fact that tony was still to show.

he tries to school a grin. ] Hey I mean - I put most of it back where it was supposed to be! ... Right?! [ he isn't that sure, actually, but the ribbing is well-earned regardless. ] But yeah okay, a time — that sounds great!

[ it occurs to him, then — he hadn't really considered the details of exactly how dr strange got the powers that he did — there hadn't been time or context before now, and his magic seemed so second nature to begin with. to learn that to some degree, it was through a mentorship...] So... [ a careful edge to his curiosity, wondering if he's treading on something he shouldn't be but pressing on anyway. ] So someone taught you all this stuff, too?

[sorser]

[Peter’s next line of inquiry is natural and it shouldn’t surprise him. But rarely does anyone ask where or from whom he learned his craft; he assumes they look at him as though he had always been able to summon portals, like he was born with Eldritch magic flickering at his fingertips and his fate pre-written.

So when he asks, though his curiosity is lined with respectful caution, Stephen actually does give pause. He doesn’t mind sharing, since it’s no grand secret of his.]

Of course.

[But... it’s a long and complicated story, especially at the start — having to explain why he sought out magical healing to fix his hands, why it was so important to him. He imagines that part can be glossed over as to not bog down the simplicity of the answer with over-sharing.]

The Sanctum—the real Sanctum—is connected to a place in Tibet called Kamar-Taj, where the sorcerers of our world train and monitor magical threats that could affect Earth. I found it when I was looking for a way to heal my hands.

[He’s sure Peter’s noticed them by now. His hands, laden with the faded scars of too many failed surgeries, running down his fingers in precise measurements.]

I was taught sorcery by several there, but the Sorcerer Supreme at the time… she was the one who gave me the most guidance. Who pushed me the hardest when I didn’t think I could cast even the most basic spellwork.

[Here, he leans in, just a little — faux conspiratorially, raising a brow.]

And let me tell you, when I first started? I was terrible at it.

[piqure]

[ peter, for his part, almost says you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want until stephen beats him to the punch and tells him and peter listens intently instead, one elbow on the table and eyes wide and leveled. ]

Wow, [ it shouldn’t be surprising, that stephen had a mentor, but maybe it still is. it felt oddly — nice. it made sense, if he thought about it. all those books, in his horizon. all those artifacts and all that knowledge and it’s just a different sort of view on academia after all. he wonders what those exams were like.

actually, in listening, peter realizes that he wasn’t too sure what doctor strange did before this — was doctor a made-up name? had he been an actual doctor??

politely, even if his eyes do drop to stephen’s hands, he’s quick to turn his attention back to his face, instead. he’s noticed, sure. maybe he even wondered. but he’d never ask. the same way he’d never ask about what happened to mister barnes’ arm, or how wanda really got her magic.

everyone had their stories and their proverbial weights. he had his, too, though it’s a fault of his own that most of his he wears right on his sleeve for everyone to see, only very poorly hidden.

it’s the conspiratorial lean that has him hinging slightly forward too, nodding right along even before he hears what the sorcerer says. there’s a flicker of doubt across his face — ] Really? [ it's hard to believe, genuinely. ] Did it take you a long time to learn? Or did it feel - like - instinctual? [ like, mayhaps, being bitten by a radioactive spider? ]

[ he could have a million and one more questions spilling out, though instead, it's just messy thoughts and honesty. ] But...you know, that's really cool, actually. I mean — what you did was always really cool, with the portals and stuff? And the whole - the whole astral form thing, [ don't do that again please,,, ] but — I don't know, knowing you weren't alone in learning all of that. [ there's a small smile, as he says so, seemingly pleased. ] It's just nice.

[sorser]

[Did it take a long time for him to learn? The answer is no, not compared to the others. He had flown through texts once he had finally got a handle on spell-casting. He had hounded his teachers until they were exasperated with his queries, always prying and questioning basic techniques. And his improvement was exponential, enough to where it dumbfounded than just a few. But that isn't the point; the point is that he started at nothing, knew nothing, and it was only a healthy dose of stubbornness and commitment that got him to where he is today. Talent only expedited the process.

The same can apply to Peter, who he thinks will catch on a lot quicker than he did. He has the advantage of a malleable Horizon and a far less cynical mind.]

I had to study and practice, just like everyone else. More than everyone else. Only then did it become instinctual. Before, it had been like hitting my head against a brick wall and hoping something would happen.

[He leans back again, quirking a small grin.]

But yeah, it's nice, knowing that everyone has to start somewhere. And it's even nicer knowing that I think you'll learn even faster than I did.