[ semi-open ] i'm gonna keep rollin' on

[falcony]

Who: sam wilson and various/ota.
When: march / into april.
Where: cadens, horizon, etc.
What: catch-all for plans, eclipse, event, etc.
Warnings: n/a but will be edited if need be!

various starters (both closed and open).
feel free to reach out if you'd like a specific starter!
disarmingly

Comments

OPEN. ( eclipse + player event. )

[falcony]

[ coming back to the cities feels a bit like returning to work after a vacation. a specific type of vacation, that is on the busier side rather than relaxing, but the feeling is the same. the concept, the understanding, the drive that happens when you know there is work to be done. the slightly amount of hesitance to find out what is there and what needs to be started, and then eventually the acceptance that is what you have to do.

so - sam gets to work.

which, as it happens, is the right response and the right timing to have. it's not all that much later ( in the grand scheme of things ) that the eclipse takes place, and sam immediately jumps in to help. during the entire twenty four hours ( because he doesn't slow down enough to sleep, and only collapses once it's over ) you can find him just about anywhere, at the city gates helping those last few stragglers return in from the dark, guiding any lost children or others around the city itself. if you ever wanted to see sam in his captain america voice, this would be the night - directing and organizing and probably confusing a few guards by how well he knows the city despite. not being a member of their team.

once the eclipse is over, though, sam will end up taking a day to sleep before he's back out at it.

unfortunately for him, that will be the exact period of time in which his calm emotion ability will be acting up just a bit. this means that over the course of the next two weeks (until about march 25th), sam won't just be calming emotions but instead absorbing them into his person, with a heightened focus on any negative emotions that your character may have. the effect will be temporary (usually a few hours), but it will leave your characters feels calm all the same.

some places that you will find sam throughout the month will include: the market where he is a regular, running errands for neighbors and picking up food and/or materials for magpie, his landlady; the universities as he now knows a couple of people who are either attending classes or are looking for work, and it keeps him curious enough that he'll come by and check in; his inn aka the inn that magpie owns that sam lives in, and tends to collect other summoned to live in as well; or various other places. he's a busybody, so he's not hard to track down if you're looking for him! ]

[bravers]

[One of Sam's good deeds happened to be in a certain Cadens alleyway, right as the eclipse happened. The populace, at first, were in awe of the spectacle. At first. There had been sounds of amazement, sounds of wonder, as well as brief flurries of conversation about the hows and whys of the eclipse, what the event actually was- and sheer wonder at it all.

At least, at first. As the minutes had turned into a half-hour, the brief conversations had started to grow anxious. Even before the first hour had truly passed, that anxiety was starting to turn to fear. People questioned- a first in whispers, but then louder and louder- if this was another attack(?) upon the capital, and disconcertingly, Cloud had picked up more than a few people openly discussing if this was Solvunn's doing.

Dispersing them hadn't been easy. Panic was starting to set in, and it made the citizenry less compliant and more forceful, more stubborn- and Cloud's unit not exactly playing ball with getting off their asses and doing something didn't help.

He'd found himself unsupported, not backed up in the slightest when it came to convincing the populace that they needed to go home.

What did help, though? Sam.

Cloud, personally, had been amazed. That this guy- who he'd pegged as a behind the scenes type, suddenly emerged from nowhere and started directing people, even motivating the rest of the guards to get up and start escorting people back to where they belonged before their panic and confusion could escalate.

...And he did it a damn sight better than he ever could. That was for sure.

So it's on a rare day off that Cloud finds himself entering the same broken down, beat up old building that he'd visited some time ago, to see him. ...To thank him, he guessed- and also- well, actually, to try and learn a little more about him.

Without ceremony, he bangs on the door.
And he waits.]

[falcony]

[ sam is...well, he's exhausted, yes. that's to be expected. he's getting to the age where a straight 30 hour day takes a toll, and for the next 24 hours he doesn't do much else other than sleep and clean his place. he's not sure what to think about the eclipse, not sure what to do or how to investigate it. the people of the free cities were curious enough about it, had rumors about the singularity and whispers about an eye, but sam can't help but think back on the last few months. on everything piling up, things acting at a faster pace than they ever had, just because the summoned were here.

he does remember seeing cloud that night, however brief it had been. once he's in captain america mode, it's hard to slip back out of it, and the guards had all responded well enough. he remembers making a note to try and catch up with the kid after, but with everything piling on, it had slipped his mind.

it's another day or so before sam is back up to speed, back to work and checking in with the people he's used to helping. which also means that it's a stroke of luck that sam's caught up back in his apartment when cloud comes by, hands deep into the back of his storage cupboard, either trying to find something or organizing something else. that's where cloud is going to find him, as he bangs on the door. sam, from across the room, calls out a it's open and finishes up what he's doing, looking over only once the door's actually opened up. ]

Oh- hey man.

[bravers]

[As he steps into the room, something strange comes over him.

It's... difficult, honestly, to describe. Kind of similar, at least in effect, to stepping out of an airship into the heat of a new climate- though there's no change in temperature in this situation to speak of, it's similar in the respect of stepping in something that envelops him utterly, permeates the air around him and-

It's a feeling, more than temperature. It's calm.
He doesn't overthink closing the door behind him. And he doesn't think twice about making his way through the apartment- through hallways and through doors and unseen areas of the apartment that normally, he'd bristle at even imagining himself exploring.

And as he stumbles upon Sam, he finds his voice relaxed, even.
He'd be suspicious if he even knew what was happening. Yet he does not. So...]

Came by to say thanks for what happened a couple days ago. ...That guy with the bird shield, that was you, right?

[A pause. And where Sam might expect, from his previous contact with Cloud, something cynical to follow...]

...It was really cool. And you really saved our asses. My CO would've lost his shit if they turned.

[falcony]

[ it's...not a relief, necessarily, that cloud does come inside and start moving through his apartment with none of the earlier trepidation. and it's not confusion either. if anything, sam feels...glad. proud, almost, which he also realizes isn't entirely his place.

still - cloud comes inside and seems to relax, and sam is glad for that. though...well, it's a strange feeling for him too, because sam doesn't feel that way at all, either. cloud enters the apartment and sam feels suddenly...haunted. heavy. cold. he blinks and pushes it away for now, turning to cloud when he makes it over and forcing himself through a smile (one that cloud probably can't read through even if he was looking). ]

That? Yeah- that was me. [ and, actually, sam thinks he remembers seeing him. there'd been so much happening that night he hadn't had that chance to say hi, and when cloud pauses he almost expects some snide comment about it to follow, but then he gets that and sam just feels himself smile - trying not to be taken aback by it, but unable to really stop himself, either. ]

Yeah? [ he grabs for a rag and wipes off his hands, turning to face cloud. everything feels a bit like he's wading through water, and the exhaustion hanging over him is a physical weight, but sam's pushed through worse (at least, that's what he tells himself).

so for now, he just kinda grins, crosses his arms over his chest and leans back against the counter. ] Nah- you woulda figured it out. I jumped in but I'm also used to that. Did the rest of the night turn out okay for y'all?

[endcaller]

[Fandaniel had observed the eclipse from the rooftops with fascination. The eclipse itself was not interesting, he's aware of such celestial phenomena, but the reaction had been. People were in such an uproar over a little darkness. How...cute.

A few times he'd conjured lights into his fingertips to lead lost families back to the main roads, just to get to know their thoughts on things. It had been during one of those moments when he'd noticed Sam taking a much more hands on approach, barking directions at people and trying to herd them to safety.

Now it's a few days later.

Fandaniel sits at the bar at the inn. He doesn't live here but since talking to Jesper he's dropped by a few times to listen in on the latest gossip.

He looks up as Sam walks past and smiles a hollow smile.]

Ah, the great hero walks among the commoners.

[falcony]

[ sam has been feeling...off isn't the right way to put it, necessarily, but off-step for the last few days. he's got theories as to why, most of them having to do with the eclipse. he's not sure what it is, though, or at least not yet. there's been some strange interactions, some weird heaviness, emotions that sam's usually been better about handling than he has, but it's all been manageable. and honestly, he's had an okay last day or so, which is part of the reason he's out in the tavern bar at all.

granted - he does live here, too. it's hardly a far walk. but he figures a drink might help him relax a bit and he knows most of the regulars by this point (which also means that if fandaniel has been by here enough times, he's most likely heard sam's name mentioned at least once or twice.)

the comment has sam pausing, mostly because it's...a little out of place. something about the tone. he turns and sees the hollow smile. ]

Sorry? [ he must not have heard him. ]

[endcaller]

[The grin widens, but never reaches Fandaniel's eyes.

He lost the ability to feel joy thousands of years ago. Or maybe he never had it to begin with.

What is there is amusement; cold, detached amusement.]

Was I being cryptic or does my voice not carry as far as I'd thought?

[Fandaniel shifts around in his seat to face Sam.]

I saw you during the eclipse leading the panicking masses to safety. Such a heroic sight! It nearly made me weep.

[falcony]

[ no, it doesn't reach his eyes, and sam feels something in his gut start to nag at him. something that is either off about the man across from him in general, or something he's trying to remember.

all the same, sam turns to face him fully, a sort of odd not-tension to him as his eyes narrow slightly. he's currently in the place of trying to figure out if that had been an insult or if this guy is just like that. ]

Just doing my part. [ and there is the feeling again - the uncertainty, the feeling in his gut tightening just a bit more. at the same time, sam knows he can be a bit more diplomatic, so he pushes the feeling away. ]

Sorry- don't know if we've officially met. I'm Sam. [ he'll even offer a hand in greeting, just to be polite. ]

[endcaller]

[Fandaniel reaches out and clasps Sam's hand in his gloved fingers.]

And I am Fandaniel. Don't worry if you haven't heard of me, I am still new to these parts, I'm afraid.

[falcony]

[ when sam gets to the point of thinking back on everything that happened over the course of these two weeks, he's going to wonder how he got as far as he did without realizing what was happening. how he didn't immediately associate the touch of it. it probably has something to do with the distraction that always follows, the immediate rush of so much else.

for now, sam just takes fandaniel's hand and shakes it, once. in the back of his mind he thinks oh, this guy but even that is pushed aside at the sudden, almost debilitating weight. the emotions that push through him make his knees feel almost weak, and before he actually has time to relax, sam is forcing a small smile. ]

No problem. Cool if I sit? [ his chest feels tight, something constricting around his ribs and throat. he forces himself to breathe through what feels like an unimaginable amount of dispair that rises around him, managing decently when he says- ] And don't worry, I uh- I'm usually better at meeting new people. Have you been out at the barracks?

[ he's doing his best and right now, he's still at a B. but that is also dropping. ]

[endcaller]

[Fandaniel feels a flicker of something and a weight seems to lift off his chest. It is not a welcome sensation.

What settles into its place isn't a light, airy feeling of pleasant calm. To him it feels like emptiness. It feels like where he once felt despair he now feels nothing.

He frowns slightly.]

I have been to the barracks, yes. I have been everywhere in the Free Cities in fact but have not spent long in any one location.

Which may be why we have not met.

It is hard to properly meet a phantom.

Ah well. No time like the present!