abraxaslogs | ( open — august catchall )

( almost everyone. matt picks up on that but is wise enough to not ask. it's not his business considering they've just met but it's something he files away to remember for later. instead, he focuses on the rest of what she says. )

Yeah, this place is much smaller than New York and I've never lived anywhere but so it's — a change. Something to get used to. I don't know if I'm there yet but soon.

( hopefully. he smiles at her. )

You sound like you've been here for awhile.

I came to Cadens in... mm, February? Yeah, February. [ Not to Abraxas -- to Cadens. ] But I had friends here, so it was easier for me to adjust than for most people, I think. It was still a pain in the ass learnin' where everythin' was, though.

[ Julie's journey through Abraxas has been substantially different than almost anyone else's, save the one person left who she actually made the trip with. Technically, she's pretty sure she's still considered an illegal immigrant, if this world has such a concept. The Cities' government seems to be aware of her presence in Cadens, and they aren't pursuing her (as far as she knows), but to her knowledge, she's supposed to still be in Nott.

She wonders if Thorne has realized their absence yet. ]

But I was in the second group of Summoned ever.

You weren't originally in Cadens?

( he hadn't really looked into going from one region to another but he'd just assumed it was impossible or close to it for one reason or another. to hear that it's not is interesting. )

Where were you when you first got here?

Everyone from the first two groups was in Thorne. In the beginnin', they were the only ones who knew how. Solvunn and the Cities didn't work it out until people escaped here and blabbed all the details they could remember. Then they started grabbin' people too.

[ It's a much longer and more complex story than she lays out, but every time she drops it on someone without them asking for it first, they get overwhelmed and confused. Particularly because she doesn't hesitate to add all of her own opinions to the tale. She also doesn't elaborate on where she was between the escape and February. ]

There's a lot more to this world than any of the people in charge want us to know about or see. It's like fuckin' North Korea. Sure, you can visit, but God help you if they find out you wandered away from the tour group.

And they haven't found out about you?

( not that he was going to say anything, of course. it was just good to know that maybe he could get to a place he'd otherwise thought out of reach. if he needed to or wanted to.

but, that's for the future. )

Has something happened to other people that try and go from one region to another?

Which "they"?

[ She says it with a snort. The Cities' government? She's positive they know -- despite going out of her way to never interact with them or draw attention to herself, she has received addressed documents from them, same as the other Summoned. Her guess is that they figure it's better to have a fugitive who keeps a low profile than to possibly trigger a political event attempting to give her back. Cadens seems to want as many bodies as they can get.

Thorne, on the other hand... she can't say. All she knows is that they definitely hadn't known what she's actually capable of, or they never would have let her remain outside the castle walls. Whatever they saw that made them throw her in the dungeon, they clearly didn't see it all. ]

Things were a clusterfuck after the first two groups. Like, big time. Thorne treats theirs like gold now, but back then, it wasn't the case. At least not for everyone. Someone finally called their bluff and set everyone loose, gave us all the choice of where we wanted to go, here or Solvunn, or stay in Thorne. Most folks didn't need much more incentive to go through the portals.

Huh.

( he hadn't heard a lot about this but he'd been more focused on the here and now, learning what was going on right in front of him than what went on in the past because that hadn't been important outright.

but it's interesting to know that it seems like this place hadn't really had a handle on things at first. he wonders what changed and how it changed. )

You happier here than you were in Thorne?

Yeah, but I wouldn't say it's a fair comparision. I'd be happier anywhere than I was in the castle, even Solvunn. [ And while Matt can't see her, she also doesn't exactly sound like the kind of person who would enjoy living in a small farming ~~cult~~ community. ] But Thorne ain't just the castle, it's the whole kingdom too. And the town I lived in before I came to Cadens, I really loved.

[ Nott is a medium-sized city on the edge of Lake Circinus, and they may fall within Thorne's jurisdiction, but they function more or less independently. When a handful of Summoned, nearly all from the same world, showed up on their doorstep, the Lord of the city told them he would not allow the royal guard access to them unless they broke the laws. Sentiment toward the crown is mostly negative in Nott, and they prefer to be left to their own devices. They practice their own style of magic, and have their own special customs. They'd welcomed the Summoned, employed them and housed them. Julie loves Nott, and is willing to go out of her way to protect the people there. ]

But there were only a few of us there, Summoned. Just three, by the time we left. Most of our friends, the people we knew through the Horizon, or even before we left the castle, they were here. The isolation started gettin' to us, we were fightin', so we came here to be with the others. [ She sighs a bit. ] So, it's apples to oranges. If the people who're important to me weren't here, I wouldn't be either. But I'm happier with them than I was when I was practically all alone.

( he nods because that makes sense. despite the fact that some people he knows are off in solvunn, he doesn't know how good he'd do being there permanently. he's always lived around a city, always been around people and places so to move suddenly to a farm or something else so...quiet?

he doesn't know if he could do it. but if he needed to visit, it was good to know that he could. )

Honestly haven't heard much about Thorne. If I haven't been talking to people here, it's been people in Solvunn. Thorne's kind of this...unknown. I know people are there but I haven't really had much contact with them.

( so, he knows more about the free cities and solvunn than anything else. )

Sounds like it might be a good thing if you didn't like it as much as you say.

There's a couple decent folks there. They seem to pull people who got a background in magic, or at least people who do a lot of... studyin', I guess? Academic type stuff. They're the ones who focus most on the Singularity.

[ Julie only knows two people there, at least in terms of more than just acquaintances. Both of them have been helping her with magic. But issue lies far more with the people in charge. ]

I dunno. I'm kinda of the mind that there just ain't really a "good" option. All of these factions are dangerous. Some just more than others.

[ And the truth is, she fully believes the Free Cities to be the most dangerous. There are so many things about how they operate that strongly remind her of home, and that sends a chill up her spine. Thorne may be shitty, but she's convinced that their evil comes from being misguided, rather than actual deviousness. They wouldn't secretly create a humanity-ending plague, as far as Julie can tell.

Geralt and Sam have already found where the Cities did their experiments. ]

Yeah, I don't disagree.

( it doesn't make him nervous because he knows he can take care of and defend himself but that doesn't mean he wants something like a war or anything aggressive to happen. even if he can't shake the feeling that something might happen.

he sighs and sits back, tapping his fingers lightly on the table in front of them. )

Everyone faction is dangerous and we're just caught in the middle. Rock and a hard place. Not a very good spot to be in.

That's why the Singularity is important. Not just the magic, not just the Horizon, not even that it might be, like, the center of the whole universe or whatever. But the actual crater, the real one. For us, that's the safest place in this world.

[ There's a weight to her voice. This is something she is absolutely convinced of, despite the fact that she's never been to the real Singularity. She'd like to go, but it's almost impossible, especially without permission. The closest she's gotten outside of the Horizon was at the summit (as the area surrounding the Singularity's crater is neutral territory). ]

See, the crater is kinda like a -- I guess forcefield is a word for it? Not the best one, but. People from Abraxas, if they try and go in the crater, they just sorta... disintegrate? Evaporate? Somethin' like that. Pretty much instantly, except durin' the Dimming, when they can get further in before they die. That's like, a whole 'nother mess, this world is crazy as fuck.

[ She dismisses that for now, takes a drink from her mug. The Dimming is a legitimately insane tradition and she will not hear otherwise. ]

Anyway, that's what happens to them. But us, the Summoned? We just get kicked to the Horizon. That's how the very first group went there. They all got pushed into the crater and then fished back out a few weeks later. Their bodies were totally fine, like they just slept the whole time. If things get bad, that's how we stay safe. We go to the only place they can't.

That's good to know,

( if there's a space to go where other people can't be, then matt knows that there's going to be a reason for it. there'd been a reason for it the first time before the discover of the horizon so there'd probably be a reason in the future. )

Note to self, if things get bad, go to the giant hole and just get comfortable.

( despite his joking, it's good advice. he nods at her. )

Been through a lot of shit since you've been here, huh? Still sound like you're in good spirits.

You could put it that way. But compared to my world, anythin' they can throw at me here is a cakewalk, so.

[ But the way she says this suggests that she is not open to elaboration. Julie's version of Earth only barely exists now, and the end was not something easily recounted or spoken of. In her experience, trying to casually explain only leads to awkwardness and insincere apologies said automatically. ]

I mean, the stuff that's happened here sucks, don't get me wrong. I don't know many folks who are just rarin' to have to relive their worst memories and nightmares and shit. But it's manageable, I guess. Better'n the dungeon, at least.

This definitely wasn't on my agenda of places to visit before I kicked the bucket but —

( he doesn't really have much of a choice. he's here and he's resigned himself to the fact that he's going to be here. he sighs and sits back. )

There's a few people that are from the same place as I am which is...strange. That we'd all be in one place like this. I was aware of them but they didn't know me.

( and he uses that to his advantage. )

Yeah, that happens sometimes. Best we can figure is, maybe some stuff in certain worlds makes us better for them to pick? There were originally four of us from my world. [ Well, three, plus one... it's complicated and she's not going to clarify. ] It's just me and one other now.

[ Which is another very touchy subject. She has her theories on why the other two are gone, what made the Singularity toss them back into the void, but it's nothing she can say definitively. ]

Who's here from your world?

A lot of people from New York. Uh, Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark —

( people with one thing in common: the whole avengers schtick. he knows it's not a schtick but matt continues to not be their biggest fan. they do their thing, he does his. )

A lot of them are here in Cadens.

( a few in solvunn, a few in thorne. )

They don't know me and I only know of most of them in name.

Ohh, that world. [ Yeah, Julie knows most of them. Sam basically adopted her a year ago. ] So are you magical or a superhero?

[ Three years ago, that was a question she would have only asked on Halloween. Now it's just part of "getting to know you" chit-chat. But given that she has yet to meet a regular person out of Sam's world -- and she's met nearly all of them -- it makes sense to ask. ]

Super Counsel? Delivers closin' arguments at the speed of light?

Neither. Just a lawyer.

( he shrugs a shoulder, used to lying about things like this by now. the number of people who knew what he could do was small though it was growing. )

I just happen to exist in the same city as all that weird shit happened in, you know? I guess you could say I'm...a good lawyer. My win loss record isn't terrible and I don't look bad in a suit and tie.

There was this sorta joke in my world, about how awful it would be to live in a world with superheroes. Like you're just a regular guy goin' about your day, and Super Fuckface drops a car on you while he fights Godzilla or whatever. But you never see comic books or movies about the Joe Schmoes of those universes. [ Free Guy never made it to theaters in Julie's world. ] Anyway, I figure the world probably needs decent lawyers more than guys flyin' 'round and pickin' fights with aliens or whatever.

[ SORRY YOUR WORLD IS A CLICHE, MATT. Without even knowing specific events from his world, Julie can spout example after example cribbed straight from pop culture media.

She does seem to revise that statement after a moment. ]

Well, not just decent lawyers. Decent lawyers who work on good stuff. Not, like, the Giulianis of the world.

Yeah, that's definitely not me.

( the giuliani comment, at least. he wouldn't really classify himself as superhero either. vigilante was more his thing. the avengers could be superheroes and he would just...protect his side of the city. )

I got the building my office is in cheap because some superheroes decided to kind of blow up the city. Guess there's one good thing about it.

Y'all's world is probably one of the only ones where it's a good thing to live in the middle of nowhere. Hope they changed the Kansas state motto to "At least we ain't got collateral damage here". It ain't like we had anythin' else goin' for us.

[ Kansas really sucked. If she never sees another cornfield or hears another Wizard of Oz joke, she'll die happy.

Another round of ales gets dropped off, and she leans back in her chair. ]

So, what d'you make of Abraxas so far? The other Summoned?

Kansas, huh? Land of grass, corn, cows and tornadoes. Don't think I wanna end up there. I have to have a Starbucks on each corner of I start to shrivel up and die.

( don't ask how he was alive now with no starbucks and all. )

This place is...different. A lot different. But, I think that what's made it easier is the other people are willing to help. You didn't know a thing about me and you sat down, started a conversation. That doesn't happen often.

Closest Starbucks to where I'm from was about an hour away. [ YEAH, SHE KNOWS. IT'S HELL ON EARTH. ] But if it helps, I somehow accidentally got people to invent the frappuccino here. I've shown 'em TV and all sorta gadgets and food in the Horizon, but I gave one person a frap one time, and next thing I knew, they were out here gettin' Viktor to invent a blender. Swear to God I didn't mean for it to happen, but here we are.

[ This is actually an entirely true story. Julie remains miffed that the only modern invention people have clung to is frappuccinos. She supposes that she's just grateful it was a mocha one she'd shown Ciri instead of a unicorn one. ]

Mm, well, I like to get a read on everyone that I'm gonna have to be on a team with. And we are sorta like a team, all of us. There's only a handful of Summoned across the whole world here, and we all got more in common with each other than with these people. We're always gonna be the outsiders, so we gotta be willin' to work together if we're gonna make it.

An hour? Yeah, I wouldn't last. I'd just start walking towards this place and end up keeling over and dying right there on the street. Everyone would look at me and shake their heads, so sad over the man who lost his life because of no Starbucks.

( a very dramatic turn of events, for sure. good thing that he'd been able to find some kind of caffeine here to keep himself above water. )

I guess I can see your point. So, you've been over here talking to me and making judgments, right? Anything you're willing to share? What do you think?

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