aquaveiled: (himeka-619)
š”š¢š¦šžš¤šš "ate 12 sandwiches & napped" š¬š®š¢ ([personal profile] aquaveiled) wrote in [community profile] abraxaslogs2022-08-07 08:13 pm

[OPEN] Solvunn Meet & Greet

WHO: Anyone in Solvunn!
WHAT: Mingle Meet & Greet for new and old Solvunn Summoned!
WHEN: Early through Mid-August
WHERE: Primary Settlement: The Drunken Lamb and Gardsbruk Farm

[ ooc; This is an open log so feel free to jump in and make your own top-levels! You do not need to have CR with Himeka, Wanda, Nero, or Thor to stop by the farm, but you are free handwave a word of mouth to get your character there or to the tavern if needed. ]

i. The Drunken Lamb




If walls could talk, these certainly would. The Drunken Lamb, an old staple in the Primary Settlement is where many go to relax and chat after a long day's work. A cup of locally brewed ale and good conversation are a great way to pass the evening and some nights get livelier with heated arguments over local produce and game, and friendly contests over mead and cards. A few nights a week there may also be a musical performance by a bad or just an impromptu sing-along when someone gets the urge. Luckily if you're drunk enough knowing the words may not be necessary.

Don't forget to say hello to the there is an old ewe who hangs out by the front door, either outside or inside depending on the weather. Her name is Myrtle and if she spits on you it's considered good luck.

Though it is usually filled with locals, this evening has been set aside as a special gathering spot for the Summoned, old and new. A few locals will still be in attendance either out of habit or a curiosity about the commune's newest additions, but most of the patrons will be your fellow Summoned. As you enter the Tavern, you will be greeted by Wanda who hands you your very own "welcome goodie bag". (That is until the evening drags on. Later guests will find a table of bags with a sign that says "take one" because she can only handle so much.) In it you will find nice soaps from Wanda, a handwritten note that states, "Call upon Thor, the God of Thunder, and Nero, a slightly less mighty but still capable man, to move your heaviest objects about. Redeemable Once", a couple custom tea bags from Himeka, and an expertly drawn brochure explaining all you need to know about Solvunn in minimal detail, by the local acclaimed artist Nero. There is also one small slip of paper with a number on it. Be sure to keep it handy. Now you have been officially welcomed.

The atmosphere inside the tavern is warm, stone walls lit by torches and candles. Everyone is welcomed by the local tavern owner standing behind the counter. You're free to grab a drink or order dinner right away should you like. The tavern boasts some of the best mead and meat pies in the Primary Settlement. It's a great time to chat and get to know your new neighbors, but your hosts for the evening also have a few things planned.

If you want to try your hand at the tavern's beloved mead drinking contest, you are highly encouraged. Himeka has been the reigning champion for several months now, but Thor is a terrifying competitor in this own right. They will be facing off one another as well as taking on other Summoned who are also capable of making poor decisions. But worry not! If alcohol isn't your thing (or even if it is), there are a few card and dice games available for any patrons to take up and play with one another. There is also a knife throwing board on the far wall. Because you know knives and mead work well together. For the musically inclined, Wanda has created some simple instruments for anyone to give us an impromptu performance, or an instrument of choice upon request. Sing us a song, piano-man!

Towards the end of the evening, you'll find out that the number you received is actually a raffle ticket! You have a chance to win one of the following prizes...

  • A gigantic wheel of cheese from the Gardsbruk farm.
  • A bottle of ten year-aged ale, donated by the bartender.
  • A "date" with Thor.
  • A high-quality shawl by Wanda.
  • A knife with a leather sheath, made from the local blacksmith

If you want to put your character in for the raffle, please reply to this comment and we will roll for winners!

ii. Gardsbruk Farm




On the roads between the Primary and Secondary Settlements sits Gardsbruk Farm. A once thriving homestead servicing the community and housing several generations of the Gardsbruk family had fallen into disarray. Left to the care of Maeve and Declan Gardsbruk, the twins had initially hesitantly allowed the help of local summoned in their efforts to restore the farm, but now they are active and grateful supporters of the Summoned in the community. In recent months the farm has been seeing a burst of activity and vitality in the surrounding farmland, finally looking more and more like it once had in generations past.

Green pastures in the height of summer are sprinkled with some brown grass during droughts, but these rarely last more than a day or two. A few crops may be planted for family use, but the main stock of this farm is sheep.

And there are sheep! You may be greeted by up to two dozen sheep when you enter the grounds, though not all of the livestock may welcome your presence. There are a few rowdy goats that are wandering about too, and a large brown goat named Eli seems to be particularly discerning of residents. Be careful you don't upset him.

But why head out to this farm at all? Well, the Gardsbruk Farm has put on something of a Farmer's Market! Though such things happen frequently in town as is the nature of the community, this one in particular shows off not just the Gardsbruk's specific wares, but that of the Summoned that have been helping them out as well. Sheep are their main livestock so there are huge piles of wool available for purchase or trade. Getting your garments ready for the coming winter is a must! And if you'd like you can learn how to shear a sheep or you can even learn to spin your own woolen thread. A few shawls, hats, and tunics are on display as well--local artisans who made garments from the Gardsbruk wool, just to show how pleasant and durable it is.

If you're looking for snacks and you're not lactose intolerant (or feeling adventurous), then you needn't look further than the array of cheeses made from the farm's sheep, goats, and single bovine resident named Agatha. If you ask Nero nicely he may introduce you to his favorite roommate. If you want something to snack on right now, there are a number of rustic hand and whole-pies available for purchase, made by Himeka. They come in savory meat, cheese, and root vegetable varieties as well as more sweet honey and seasonal fruit pies. She may throw in something extra if you praise her cooking but she wants your honest opinion.

Of course with all the goats roaming about, this wouldn't be complete without goat yoga! Yes, goat yoga. Wanda will be leading those who are interested in a series of different stretches that she saw once on YouTube that will inevitably be interrupted by baby goats who would rather sit on you. Some sheep may get in on the action as well.

For those who are less inclined to finding peace of mind and want to hit something, a sparring ring has been marked off closer to the fields. Thor will be watching (and judging) participants as they face off one another in friendly bouts of hand to hand wrestling or with wooden swords and sticks. No magical powers allowed here! Though Eli may look like he wants in on the action. Be careful.

As the day turns into evening, the market itself will close down as a large bonfire is lit. Everyone still on the farm will be welcome to gather around, share hot ciders and ale, as well as roast some tasty treats on sticks. Food is always better on a stick. A time to wind down, share stories, and thank everyone for joining and being a part of what Solvunn has to offer.

You know. Other than all the weird gods and cult stuff.
actualwizard: (085)

[personal profile] actualwizard 2022-08-11 05:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[ As soon as she says that he knows. His eyes snap up to her face and he takes her in. She’s younger than his world’s version of her, but he sees it. His magic feels it. ] Mo- Wanda?

[ His voice is hesitant, he can tell there is a grief there, that’s evident in her voice and well, he knows her, sort of. She had a son named Billy…did the same thing happen in her world? ]
carmesi: <user name="berks"> (414)

[personal profile] carmesi 2022-08-11 05:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[no—

this kid, he shouldn't be here. he shouldn't know her name.

a collapse of synapses, of worlds tied to each other in red, of multiversal travel and universes where lives exist beyond her own. of herself, in so many different lives, with her children—her boys: adults, teenagers, children, babies— none for her to have.

this young man's face wields itself in clarity from the recesses of her mind. she had seen him before — one of many possibilities; one of many of her sons, or another self's sons.]


You can't be here.

[she grits out between teeth, right hand raised, fingers twitching, using her psionic powers to hold him in a vice grip.]

How dare you!

[splintered memories, splintered control; she is not in the state of mind to handle this, not when her grief cuts so deeply on the idea that she is not allowed her children. why won't the universe stop fucking with her?!]
Edited 2022-08-11 17:48 (UTC)
actualwizard: (220)

[personal profile] actualwizard 2022-08-11 05:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Well, really he should have known. Wanda might be his mother and he might love her and defend her to the death but, well. His Wanda has committed genocide before, so clearly just barreling in was not the right thing to do. Again. Somewhere in the multiverse his husband is facepalming.

If his magic had been at its full strength then her powers would have pinged off him without making a dent, as it was calling forth everything he had just kept her from holding him too tightly. He still couldn’t move. Which meant he couldn’t speak.

He took a deep breath and focused, he’d only done this with Teddy before, but he could probably get through to her. He focused his thoughts into her mind.
]

I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be here. But I’m not here to hurt you Wanda, I’m just summoned like the rest of you.
carmesi: <user name="berks"> (033)

[personal profile] carmesi 2022-08-11 06:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[it's unfortunate for billy, really, who in trying to get to her through a means that she would actually listen to him, he confirms something she doesn't want to admit is real. the way his powers pulse against her own, so familiar, balanced and in-tune—

no.

—i could never hurt you. i'm not a monster. and oh, how her other self's children had pleaded, had begged her not to hurt them. how realization came crashing down on her that she was not allowed this—would never be allowed this. she doesn't want another horrid reminder of the life she isn't meant to have.

what she does want is to have him out of her head.

red magic spools in her hands as, enraged by her own sorrow, wanda threads her magic to detach him from her mind. with a flick of her wrist, she raises the young man off the ground.]


Don't try to tell me what this is.

[always destructive, with a swing of her arms she throws billy into the barn (directly into nero's room, oops). she no longer holds him in a vice grip with her mental powers, but she does follow after, levitating off the ground, through the hole on the side, and landing among the debris of destruction in the room.

her hand poised over him, scarlet pulsating.]


You're not real. [and this time, anger gives way to pleading. she's imagining this, isn't she? isn't this another nightmare? a shaky breath follows, a whispered hiss.] Stop haunting me.
actualwizard: (Everyone keeps asking)

[personal profile] actualwizard 2022-08-11 06:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Well, shit.

It’s instinct more that it is actual conscious thought. Without powers that throw probably would have incapacitated him if not killed him.

The demiurge is not a power he taps into often, in fact he usually consciously keeps it at bay. But when life and death come into play he apparently has no control. He feels the power surge up, creating a barrier around himself. His eyes glow a bright blue and without a thought the power lashes out, throwing her across the barn and through the wall into another room. The blast he lets out takes out the roof of the barn but, he’s cognizant enough to put a barrier around the lower half and the animals. He’s not sure how this is going to go.

He flies in after her, a blue glow to match her scarlet.
]

I don’t want to hurt you.
carmesi: <user name="berks"> (433)

[personal profile] carmesi 2022-08-11 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[likewise for wanda, had it not been for her powers—the subsuming presence of chaos magic within her—then she would definitely have suffered a worse fate for that throw. her magic glows red under the palm of her hands as she stabilizes herself, just about reaching the end of thor's alcove of a room, swathes of red a shield as the blast of blue overtakes her.

well, so much for nero's at this point, right?

the boy does not desist, following after her, and wanda's just so tired. she needs this to stop, she needs all this noise to stop.

(she knew she should have cast the runes over the farm.)

a hand reaches forward, not to cast a spell, but to unbind one—the dark magic she's using to try and take the boy's powers casting a black-tar oil onto her fingertips, all through what's left of the darkhold's corruption within her. and yet—as she tries to pull this trick agatha had very well failed to use against her, wanda finds her throat constricting.

what essence of power she's consumed—it's familiar in a distant way. its not for her to take, it's not—

mom!

her magic falters; she sets her eyes on visions of her sons, and she's losing her source of flight. wanda spirals down onto a stack of hay, startled animals loud and stomping their hooves. she's not hurt—not really—as she tries picking herself up, on her knees and scraped hands, fingers curling into the ground. her powers are dormant now; she's just wanda, and she just can't—]


I can't— [gasped out] I can't breathe—
Edited 2022-08-11 21:35 (UTC)
actualwizard: (139)

[personal profile] actualwizard 2022-08-11 11:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Billy sucks in a breathe when he feels her try to siphon his powers and his magic fights back instinctively. It’s wrong and they both know it and it doesn’t work, rushing back at him as Wanda falls from the air landing in some hay.

She’s just Wanda now and Billy lands softly beside her, his power curling around them now in a benevolent shield now that the threat is gone. He reaches out, placing a steady hand on her back and hoping she doesn’t react badly to his touch.
]

Breathe, Wanda- mom. Just breathe.

[ She is mom, she’s always mom, it doesn’t matter if she’s from a different reality- she’s his mother and he’s always her son. ]
carmesi: <user name="berks"> (248)

[personal profile] carmesi 2022-08-12 01:07 am (UTC)(link)
[no, wanda does not react badly to his touch. in fact, she doesn't react much at all, other than the gasping gulps for air that she tries to take. his hand is warm, steadying, real—solid, not a figment of her imagination, and it doesn't grow icy nor clawed, like one of many nightmares she's had ever since she destroyed the darkhold in every universe.

tears stream down her face without realizing. to hear this young man's voice, billy, to be called mom.

—and she could not even deny it if she wanted to. his magic is so similar to hers, she can feel it, like it's ripping her spirit apart. when she had started to syphon it, it's not as if she couldn't have. rather, the familiarity had hit her too close, and her body simply rejected it. she couldn't do this, not to him— not to billy, not to her son.]


I can't do this.

[would that she would learn from past mistakes.

wanda wants to move past this, past a future where she doesn't hold on so tightly to the children she was never meant to have. but it's billy, and she's always loved the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, his toothy grin, his perfectly neat hair, and—]


I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
actualwizard: (120)

[personal profile] actualwizard 2022-08-12 01:39 am (UTC)(link)
[ His heart breaks as he watches her. He never wanted to cause her pain and he doesn’t know what to do. A flick of this thoughts and his magic disappeared but not before repairing the barn to what it looked like before they got to it. ]

I’m sorry. I can- I can go, if you want me to. I mean I can’t go far but- I can go away from here, the farm. I can stay away.

[ It would pain him to do so, she’s the only thing that’s even slightly familiar here and yet, he wouldn’t even hesitate it she told him to go. He really wished his husband was here. ]
carmesi: <user name="berks"> (435)

[personal profile] carmesi 2022-08-12 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
[it is far too soon for wanda to be able to graciously deal with this—what it means to tap into the love she has for her children, a love she hid into a prism of obsidian rock, a tomb for all that she's lost. she's promised others to not leave again without warning, as much as she wants to just go and hide— go away so that this billy could get to not have to do that for her.

she feels the pulse of his magic, raising her eyes as she stares in nothing short of awe that someone else can cast hexes so similar to her own. it's still so bizarre to her, so out of place.

her eyes are damp, welling with tears that stain her cheeks, as she looks at his face. what she wants are so many different things entirely—she is not equipped to withstand this on her own, not after all she's undergone. she's lost too recently, her nightmares continue every night, and her heart has not yet mended.]


I— I don't know. [she admits, a mutter, at the inquiry of what she wants. hesitantly, sitting up on her knees, she reaches up a hand to grab at his arm. it's a careful, scared touch. she's so afraid, and so overwhelmed, the frantic beating of her heart pulling at the stitching of wounds that have had no time to heal—wounds she didn't know were there at all. and she can't help but be fascinated, because though he looks different, she can sense it under the thrum of her fingertips: this is her son. and he's older, so handsome, wielding her magic—so perfect.] Billy...?
actualwizard: (I rise above or sink below)

[personal profile] actualwizard 2022-08-17 04:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He offers her a gentle smile and lets her clutch at his arm as if he’s going to disappear. He doesn’t know what happened to him in her world, but he knows their family and their luck and their story. He can make some educated guesses. ]

Yeah. Billy.
carmesi: <user name="berks"> (426)

[personal profile] carmesi 2022-08-17 04:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[wanda draws a shaky breath. her hand moves, from his arm, to his wrist, and then to his hand—she looks at it, turns it over in gentle movements. he's unfairly real, and it hurts wanda to think of him.

to think of billy and tommy, throwing toys at her to defend their mom, begging her not to hurt them.

family is forever — they had chosen her. why, then—?]


I need some time.

[is what she manages, quiet and uncertain, letting go of his hand.]

If— you'll give it to me.
actualwizard: (Default)

[personal profile] actualwizard 2022-08-17 04:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He’s nodding, already standing up and moving away from her as she drops his hand. ]

Take whatever time you need. I’m sorry I- I’m just sorry. Don’t- you don’t have to be okay with this. I can stay away.

[ He takes one last look at her before slipping out of the barn. The bonfire is still going but it’s been an eventful night, he’s just going to head back to where he’s currently staying and get out of everyone’s hair. ]