[ open ] HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA (not you abraxas)

[princessvegas]

Who: Julie + Dean + open
When: July 4
Where: Julie's club in the Horizon
What: June sucked, it's time to party patriotically 🇺🇸 Dean's invite here 🇺🇸 no, the Americans don't care that it's not America, they're doing it anyway (just like real life)



[ Approaching Julie's club on this particular day, you can tell from the outside that something is going on. The pink neon has been swapped for red, white and blue, the pink carpet and velvet ropes changed to the good ol' stars and stripes. The front doors are wreathed in an enormous and very patriotic balloon arch, and they're wide open. American flags hang across the walls of the entranceway, and the music is what most Americans would recognize as July 4th standards.

Inside, Julie has obviously been incredibly hard at work, and the club has undergone its most massive changes to date. The entire first floor has been modified -- where there was once a dance floor and seating, there is now an Olympic-sized in-ground pool, dotted with a variety of American themed floats and balls. The glittering quartz flooring is all gone, now replaced with lush lawn grass, and sensible concrete wrapped around the pool itself. At one end, a truly enormous inflatable water slide can send you flying down from fifty feet in the air, just to land with a splash in the water.

How has she managed that height? Well, where there's ordinarily a roof, there is now only open sky, blue and picturesque with puffy white clouds lazily floating by. The sun is bright but never too hot, and incapable of burning anyone's skin. The only thing between the sky and the building are dozens of red, white and blue decorations, strung from the balconies to overhang the pool.

Don't worry if you weren't exactly prepared for a pool party! Julie, queen of not only parties but also wardrobes, has helpfully converted the warehouse part of the building for this very problem. Racks and racks of bathing suits and beach towels are available for use, with every conceivable style up for grabs. Trunks, one-pieces, string bikinis, banana hammocks, she's got it all! While many match the red, white and blue theme, all types of colors and patterns are present. Grab a towel from a stack, hop in one of the striped changing cabanas, then get to swimming. Don't forget your red, white or blue flip-flops and sunglasses!

Hungry? Well, Dean has you covered. On the lawn, Julie has provided him with a wet dream-inducing grill and every imaginable kind of meat to cook on it. Also in this section are tables and tables full of snacks, desserts and drinks, along with the full bar that is always present. The bartender, Steven, is always ready to make anything you could want. (He is dressed in what is best described as "Sexy Uncle Sam" -- in that it's a star-spangled wrestling singlet, a glittery red white and blue bow tie, an Uncle Sam hat and a small, fake white beard.) Plenty of picnic tables are present to eat at.

As the afternoon passes, the sky will gradually darken until it's black and clear, with a wide expanse of stars, the way Julie remembers seeing night from the empty prairies of Kansas. Between Dean and Julie, there is no shortage of fireworks; as proud Americans raised in places where there's little else to do, they are experts at blowing shit up in creative ways. The tables disappear and are replaced with blankets on the grass, meant to be laid on and shared. An incredible fireworks show rounds the night out, and only once the sky is calm again are people expected to leave.

Or pass out. Getting completely wasted is also an Independence Day tradition. ]

Comments

[itookashot]

Jesper can see that his laidback response has relieved some of the tension in Wilhelm and he's always been good at that. Making people feel at ease in the face of uncomfortable things. A personal talent for it! He is a soft soul, he already guessed that in the nightmare and he can see it now too. It reminds him a lot of Wylan, not that he needs any more reminders about his ex.

"Nah, they were full-out monstrous nightmares. Including creepy stalking monster." That did not show in their shared nightmare, but Jesper did witness it many times from there, so he knows what the deal is. He also helped the faction get rid of it. That's why this party was so needed. It helps him be less skittish of the Horizon, considering everything in his domain kept turning into dust. Not cool.

Jesper wills a drink into his hand, some kind of juice mixed with vodka, he hopes that people don't get as drunk as they ordinarily would off Julie's drinks for once. Or maybe they should! And then this will be even more of a party.

"That's sweet of you, love, but I'm fine. Nothing a few good distractions couldn't solve." Everyone was shaky for a few days but Jesper managed to make it work. It is very easy for him to bounce back, much easier than most people.

Jesper takes a moment to get a good look at Wilhelm now that they aren't in a terrible situation, his curious gray gaze perhaps a little on the direct side, but he is only looking. "You're new, I know almost everyone here. Tell me your name and story."

[ordinar]

In answer to Jesper's claim that "a few good distractions" is what they need, Wilhelm raises his cup like it's a toast. He really hopes the last week or so is not indicative of what life will be like around here. Restless nights and paranoia stalking him through the days, all his fears split open like some infected wound.

"So far, this is the best thing that's happened here," he says, looking around the scene of the party. With Jesper's eyes reading him so intently, it's hard to look directly at him. And...maybe it's the booze, maybe it's the loneliness, but his dark curls and warm brown skin and warmer smile turn his thoughts to Simon. He can't help it. As always, reminders of Simon ache in his chest, which means Wilhelm will be tipping his cup back again. Distractions, indeed.

"I'm Wilhelm. Or Wille, if you want." He tucks a strand of hair behind his ear, staring down into his cup. "I don't know if I have a story..."

Not one that he cares to share, anyway. One of the few things he likes about this place is that nobody knows who he is. Sure, the townspeople around the castle regard the Summoned with that air of awe he's never been comfortable with, but to the other Summoned he's just some kid. He'd like to keep it that way.

"I feel like everyone I meet here has, like...lived a life I can't even imagine. And I'm just sort of...here."

[itookashot]

Jesper has been here long enough that whenever he starts getting restless or annoyed at waiting around, something seems to happen that reminds him sitting around isn't the worst thing that could happen to him! Go figure. He would love to get into a fight. Usually the best cure for stress like this is a fight, and he's not given any of that.

"Well, I would say that because you're new this is the best thing, but we don't have a whole lot of parties. We did have a meet-up a bit ago to talk about the upcoming war, but that isn't really a party." Although it did have food and some chatting possibilities. Jesper also went to the Hunter gathering, but that's not the sort of thing everyone's invited to. "You must be in Thorne, otherwise I would've seen you." Jesper knows all the Summoned in Cadens, to be honest.

He decides to lie on his back on Wilhelm's blanket instead of look at him and think about Wylan, comfortable as can be invading his space. Jesper has that way about him, he sneaks into people's space as if they've known him for years. He has a guess what that means, just being here, as opposed to the group of the Summoned who have powers and history. He is definitely very soft in comparison.

"Well, you're not just anything, pidgeon." He's going to keep calling him by that nickname because it may be the aptest one possible for someone this sweet and clueless. "We only end up here if there's a reason for it. They don't snatch nobodies."

[ordinar]

With Jesper talking rapid-fire and the liquor lazying his brain, it's a little hard to keep up at first. He manages a sour grimace for the news that parties like this are rare, a nod for the hypothesis that he must be in Thorne. It's not that he's some insatiable party animal, but it's fun to lose yourself for a few hours. A scene like this provides a slice of normality in a wide expanse of the strange and unfamiliar.

When Jesper flops back on the blanket, Wilhelm scoots over an inch or two to allow him enough room. He swirls the ice in his cup, considering his words.

"That's what everyone says. Ambrose doesn't make mistakes." Still, doubt clings to his voice. He can't help but worry that he's bound to disappoint, even after he'd done what he could to assist his faction in preparing the spell to ward off the nightmares and the insidious things that used them as a doorway into the waking world. No matter the successes, he's only ever one failure away from proving wrong the powers that be.

But he'd prefer to move on from the subject. Aiming a perplexed look down at Jesper, he asks, "Do I want to know why you keep calling me pigeon?"

It doesn't necessarily sound like an insult the way he's saying it, but Wilhelm can't imagine how to spin it positively either.

[itookashot]

Jesper would say most of his days here have been good, outside of the occasional madness, but not really all that exciting. The only good exciting it gets is when they have the meet-ups and he likes the chance to meet others, like this. He also has a tendency to wander around the Horizon and stumble into other people's places out of sheer curiosity and boredom. His energy is a difficult thing to manage, despite using his powers all the time, he hasn't really lost it.

"Ambrose throwing half the Summoned into jail when he first snagged them certainly seems like a mistake to me, it did lead them to run away to the other factions." His tone is very, very dry. Jesper has not met the mage himself, he's only heard about him, but he believes he's bad news. He gets that sense out of him. "But if you mean in who he takes, well, that I'd agree with. There's always something special. Maybe you don't know what it is yet."

The kid could have powers he's not aware of, or maybe he's a secret prince (close guess). Jesper knows better than to think people are ordinary and that's it. Everyone has the potential to be more than that. He smiles at the question and tilts his head over to look at Wilhelm.

"I'm from a gang with the crow as our symbol. They're tough, intelligent, and never forget an enemy or a friend." Crows will find out who murdered one of them and go looking for vengeance. It's very apt that Kaz would cling to a creature with that in mind, and one that likes to fly and be free too. Also, likes shiny things, like a pack of thieves would.

"Pigeons are nice and sweet, which is what I thought when I saw you. Innocent. Kind." They used to think this was Wylan, but he's become one of them. He wonders if that was for the best, sometimes, but Wylan's father was always going to make it bad for him. Jesper smiles and playfully nudges him. "But other people use it to mean easy to pluck. Easy to steal from."

[ordinar]

From his expression, it's plain that he didn't know about Ambrose jailing any of the Summoned. At the comment that there's always something special, Wilhelm flicks his eyes away to watch nothing in particular but the thickening dark. All that's special about him is the family he happened to be born into — also against his will, he might add. Between the life of a royal and the life of...whatever he's supposed to be here, it's a close contest as to which he's least tailored to. He's lived with this feeling for years, like he's been forced into clothes that don't fit right.

Surprise pulls his gaze back to Jesper. It's also plain enough that he's never met anyone who was part of something as shady as, or as far to the edges of society as, a gang. Despite his best efforts to break free, he has lived in a bubble his whole life. The people who inhabit his pearly, iridescent little world are quick to purge any impurities. Scandal, bankruptcy, the wrong ideologies, all tucked away where they can't be seen. To him, gangs are things that exist in movies. A thrilling fiction, not anyone's reality.

"You're being kind to me," he protests as a counterpoint. Then he squints at Jesper in an exaggerated fashion, jabs an accusatory finger into his shoulder. "Unless you're just tricking me so you can jump me later."

He breaks character fast with a laugh, tipping back more of the concoction in his cup.

"Were you really in a gang?" The question is equal parts curious and incredulous. Jesper is maybe a year or so older than him, about the same age as August. (Though, to Jesper's credit, the comparison with his cousin ends there.) He tries to imagine his cousin, or any of the guys he surrounds himself with, in a gang, and the idea is laughable.

[itookashot]

This boy has not been around for long, that's for sure, he looks genuinely startled about Ambrose, but these things happen. It's a shame no one in Thorne has told him about their past struggles with Ambrose, but he doesn't know how things over there work. It may be in everyone's best interests to ignore it. Jesper would have already been in trouble or jailed in Thorne, he can't stay in one place that long. He doesn't care how nice a prison looks.

"I wouldn't have to trick you, pigeon, you're already so easy." Jesper smiles at him. He has such a soft spot for the innocent. Wilhelm is not wrong. Jesper is very kind, even to his marks, most of the time. Not that he has any currently. The only mark Jesper has these days is himself, trying to keep from his worst impulses.

His eyebrows go up and he laughs. "You think I'd lie about that?" Jesper used to lie about it, but in the way that he wouldn't use the exact word gang. It's very normal in Ketterdam, but he understood that outside of their corrupt little port city, it had a negative connotation. So he didn't reference it often. But now he stopped trying to hide a lot of his details.

"The city I'm from, it's full of gangs. There's no real way around them, unless you're rich, and then you're in a different type of gang, the merchant kind." And they are no less of a gang for having a nicer name and presentation. In some ways, they are the worst of the lot.

[ordinar]

Wilhelm puffs out a sigh. If he's annoyed, it's only because Jesper is right, and he can't help but be wounded in the requisite way of young men whose toughness is questioned. But that laugh of his acts as something of a salve, preventing him from becoming mortally offended. Look, he's even laughing in response.

"It's not that I think you're lying, it's just...I don't know, you're not what I picture when I think of gangs. But I guess I've never met anyone else who's been in a gang, so..."

He shrugs, as if this constitutes a complete thought. Then his curiosity continues, or maybe it's just a hunger for conversation so that he won't be alone. Maybe those are the same things.

"So what's your city like? It's not in America, is it?"

Those stars-and-stripes colored shorts are convincing enough.

[itookashot]

"No, I understand, my gang is far too attractive and interesting to be on the same level as most. We are the cream of the crop." Or they were in Ketterdam. The Dregs were rising up fast thanks to Kaz taking over and their daring job with the prison and then in the city itself. Other gangs will start seeing them as a serious threat now, because they are. He assumes Kaz will come for him if they end up in any serious threats.

Jesper likes talking with people so it's always easy to keep him chatting, and he likes Wilhelm, he's already decided that. He does have a weakness for sweet boys lost in a situation they didn't expect. He always thought that about Wylan, a displaced prince, dropped into the gutter.

"America, no. Julie and Dean are from there, they made this celebration." And he is just wearing the colors in order to be supportive. Plus he looks good in bright colors.

"Ketterdam is a port city, surrounded by water, it always smells like the sea. And often fish too. It's a bustling merchant place with both long dark roads where the clubs and underground go, and the bright roads to the academies and fancy shops. It's always alive, always bustling." If he sounds wistful it's because he is, a little. He has found a lot of things about this place he likes, but it's still not home. Nothing else ever will be.

[ordinar]

The remark about being far too attractive and interesting earns an eyeroll, but the effect is softened by a chuckle. Wilhelm shakes his head, knocking back his cup. By now, he's that level of buzzed where you begin to feel fuzzy around the edges, like you're floating away from yourself. It's a nice feeling.

"It sounds like a cool place." His expression falters sheepishly, as he remembers all the gangs that are supposed to be skulking around Jesper's city. That must mean it's a dangerous place as well. A place defined by a sharp divide between haves and have-nots. He quickly amends, "I mean, it sounds like it would be hard to get bored."

Because he can hear the wistfulness that colors Jesper's sketch of Ketterdam, he doesn't have to ask if he misses it. Wilhelm assumes everyone here is homesick in one way or another. Even him, who felt suffocated in his actual home. Who was left with the weight of all the things he didn't want, and the broken pieces of those he did want. But the point of the booze was to leave all of that behind.

"Especially if you're in a gang full of such interesting and attractive people." Grinning at his own joke, he raises his eyebrows at Jesper.

[itookashot]

Jesper grins at that eyeroll because he is always able to laugh at himself, that's just how to get about in life, in his opinion. Never take yourself too seriously. He can tell Wilhelm's getting tipsy, perhaps on the road to drunk, but it's all chosen in the Horizon. He's happy to be a safe space, everyone should be buzzed when they want to be buzzed.

"Impossible to get bored in. Even for me, who gets bored very, very easily." This is still true. Using his powers took some of the bite out of his addiction to gambling and adrenaline, but Jesper still likes excitement and adventure. That has always been true. He gets bored in Cadens sometimes, but he does know people who manage to make it interesting.

He winks at Wilhelm. "Well I've just traded being in an attractive Ketterdam gang for being in an attractive Summoned gang instead." They aren't an official gang, obviously, they're not organized that way, although his Cadens family is a little more so. But they are a group all connected in important ways. And they're all really, really hot. "When I first got here I asked everyone why we're all so attractive. I've yet to be proven wrong."

Meaning Wilhelm is too.

[ordinar]

He works out pretty fast that Jesper is flirting with him, but working out what to do about that takes an extra beat. Or two. He isn't used to the directness, and he wasn't expecting it from someone he's just met. Even Simon was more likely to call him an idiot than anything else, though he shaped it like a term of endearment.

Wilhelm can see him, a little bit, in Jesper's twinkling eyes and the perfect cupid's bow of his lips. He can see that hypothesis at work.

Then suddenly, he feels profoundly alone even though Jesper is next to him and the darkness around them is filled with other partygoers. But he shakes it off, because "yearning for one's ex-boyfriend" probably isn't the response anyone anticipates when they toss out a flirty comment. Forcing a laugh, he busies himself with his drink.

"Maybe that's what they're actually looking for when they summon people here," he jokes. He's not looking at Jesper anymore, but at the stars stretched overhead.

Maybe wrap here or on yours! On time for new stuff :)

[itookashot]

Jesper's always flirting, one way or another, no matter the age or gender of who he's talking to. He even flirted with Goro, for crying out loud. But he does like flirting with sweet boys who may not be entirely used to it, and at first, Wilhelm is reacting that way. He is a little surprised that the reaction seems to be distancing, wondering if Wilhelm is straight and doesn't appreciate being hit on. Which of course would be his prerogative, but it isn't obvious at first glance.

"That's exactly what I theorized. Maybe they thought people would like us better this way. It isn't an unusual observation, that the good-looking are treated differently. Or we stand out." Cold and calculating to point that out, maybe, but it is true all the same. He has yet to meet an ugly Summoned, that does not seem like it is a coincidence. "Or they just want something pretty to look at." Also an option.

He can tell Wilhelm's mood has shifted and he isn't going to guess at why anymore, it's not really Jesper's way to get too much into his head about basically anything he doesn't understand. He did just sit down here without an invitation after all. Jesper smiles warmly at him and slides back to his feet, even that movement very smooth. "Time to fly off to the next few blankets, pigeon. You stay sweet, you hear me?"

perfect :)

[ordinar]

As Jesper stands, all liquid, languid limbs, Wilhelm looks over at him in surprise. In the dark the flicker of disappointment in his expression is hard to discern. With the fireworks starting soon, he figured Jesper might stick around to watch with him. But of course he has plenty of friends to choose from, and Wilhelm is just some gullible kid he just met.

The way others tended to flock to him just because of his status always annoyed him, but the upside was that he always had someone to sit with at least. Here, though, he finally has his wish.

"Yeah, okay," he replies with a tight smile. "I'll see you around, Jesper."

Which is a stupid thing to say, he realizes as soon as it's out of his mouth. It's not like Jesper lives at the castle too. Nevertheless, he does hope that he can see him again.