(mingle) It must be party time

[forethinking]

Who: Ren Amamiya, Wanda Maximoff, you!
When: 12th of September
Where: Good Harbor Beach
Summary: Here's the barbecue log! Eating, playing games, having a bonfire and sleep-over on the beach!
Warnings: Alcohol? Ghost stories?



ɪ. ᴡᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ

Congratulations, you've made it to the Good Harbor Beach September barbecue! With the weather cooling, but still pleasant enough, it's a pleasure to have a hangout involving ADI's residents and those who live at Bonnie's. There are still so many people who don't know one another, and many to strengthen bonds with, so the hours your dearest Wanda and Ren spend cooking and flipping and seasoning are nothing but rewarding! Seeing people enjoying themselves is great and it's motivating for them to keep doing these encounters every now and then.

On the menu, we have:
- Burgers;
- Steaks with jacked potato sides;
- Ribs;
- Zucchini-and-Pecorino fritters;
- Several different salads, including ovcharska;
- Aubergine kebabs with charred onion salsa;
- Salmon yakitori;
- Takoyaki;
- Cupcakes
- Apples and honey;
- Cherry dumplings;
- Sarmale filled with rice;
- Bundevara (pumpkin pie);


For drinks, there's a selection of alcohol, as well as coffee, water, tea, and a variety of sodas. Take in the nice view, jump on the ocean, sink your toes in the sand and enjoy yourselves. There aren't any usable tables, but there are several blankets on the floor for your perusal.

ɪɪ. ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴀʀᴛʏ

With bellies full, now it's when the real fun begins. There are a few decks of cards being passed around, as well as one of their single tables now organized to a beer-pong competition. Individually, games such as Never Have I Ever, as well as Truth or Dare can be seen, and those who wish to use their skills for entertaining are more than welcome to do so.

A little bonding here, a little drunken chatting there, this is your time to shine!

ɪɪɪ. ᴀ ʙᴏɴꜰɪʀᴇ

With those who have a curfew to worry about in mind, a bonfire is lit, and a few tents are set around the beach (may have to be shared). If anyone's got a nice story, now it's the time to share it, or perhaps if anyone can play an instrument, it's about time to break it out of its case. The night will be lively until the early hours of the morning, and of course, mindful of those who couldn't stay up this late.

The next morning, everyone will be properly thanked for their attendance and tupperwares will be distributed with leftovers for those who'd like to take some food home, the beach will be cleaned impeccably and everyone will go their own way, hopefully with smiles and a new sense of unity and connection from the amazing night they've just experienced.

ɪᴠ. ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴏᴏᴄ ɴᴏᴛᴇ

(Please put in your top-level subject line or prompt line whether it's okay to threadjack! Just to keep things more dynamic, we encourage it!)

Comments

[bloodalwaystells]

Well, Jaeger isn't dismissing the possibility. While he's not angling for it, he wants to be comfortable. To try and connect with people again, because the truth?

He really is a very lonely man. He's been running for a long time, and he misses simple contact. He and Meredith seem to hit it off well, and mutual interests can only be a good sign.

"At the end of the month might be best, especially after we have a couple of paychecks under our belts. And once we've found out if we're going to Boston for business." There's still the option open for checking out the circus again at its next location.

He smiles a little, then, and runs a hand over his hair, smoothing it into place self-consciously. "But, I like the idea. I think it would be a good break from things."

[henchgal]

"I'll pencil it in on my calendar." She favors him with a warm smile. "And in the meantime, one of the nights when it's my turn to make dinner at my apartment, you should come over."

Since the incident with Jeff, she'd decided to let her roommates give opinions on guys. Both were discerning in ways she wasn't entirely.

[bloodalwaystells]

"I think that sounds great. You'll have to let me know when is a good time, I'm usually just working most nights so that would be a good excuse for a break."

And meeting other people would be good- there's still quite a few he's only seen in passing.

[henchgal]

"I'll ask the boys. They both need a little warning before someone comes over. They're anxious little fuckers."

She sounds fond of them even as she says that.

[bloodalwaystells]

"That seems to be rather standard around here," he observes with a brief chuckle. "I promise I'll be on my best behavior, for whatever that's worth."

[henchgal]

"I mean, it's a standard human...fuck, a people thing, there's just a real lot to be anxious about here, because there's so many unknowns. We're all out of our element, dealing with big scary things, so people end up protective of those they care about, and of themselves."

She leans in with a crooked little smile. "I think I'd almost be more scared of someone who ended up here who wasn't anxious at all, who was more comfortable here than they were back where they're from."

[bloodalwaystells]

He nods in agreement as she speaks, pausing to sip his beer but otherwise giving her his full attention.

"There's a lot of unknowns, and at least some of us are coming from very unstable circumstances. To put it generously. That makes the shift even more disorienting and disconcerting." The sun is warm enough to chase off the chill of memory, but his smile is small and crooked.

"Though, if I'm entirely honest...things do seem to be better here for me than they were back home. Which isn't to say things are fantastic here, just that home was a disaster." He shakes his head ruefully.

[henchgal]

"Do you want to talk about it?" It's a very casual offer; she's expecting him to either say no or to brush off the question. It's what most people here would probably do.

[bloodalwaystells]

Jaeger shakes his head. "I won't ruin your afternoon with the details, it's not a pleasant story. But I fell in with some bad people, when I was younger, and they...did not take it kindly when I decided to leave." That's enough without going into the gruesome details. Without the explanations for the delicate, intricate, almost lace-like scars crawling up his arms and the tightly buttoned collar hiding the scar around his neck.

But he can give her that much. He's already told her that he's a dangerous person, and their little hunting game at the circus went further than that. It seems like the least he can do for what he's already done and said.

"They put a lot of effort into trying to find me and I didn't want to be found. So I was living life in the run when I was brought here." He takes another sip of his beer, though this time to give himself a moment.

[henchgal]

She listens thoughtfully, and lets the silence hang for a moment instead of rushing to fill it, looking him over with a discerning eye. Shen she does speak, it's soft. "I bet you still have the habit of hypervigilance, after that. Even if you're not running here, you still sort of feel like you ought to be, huh?"

She remembers being kidnapped, and recovering from that, and this place isn't the same but...but she was kidnapped again here. You never truly rebuild a sense of safety, not completely.

[bloodalwaystells]

[He nods, quietly relieved at her understanding. It shows in the slight slump of his shoulders, the soft note to his ruined voice that brings it to barely more than a whisper.]

It's been strange. The organization...it doesn't exist here, that I've been able to find, so I'm probably safe but it's difficult to believe that, just yet.

And this world has its own dangers. But it's also a strange sort of relief, being able to just stop for a little while. To get to know people and know that they're probably not assassins or...innocent bystanders. People here know about awful things, and by extension the people that are involved in them.

[That last part is hard to admit, but it's the truth. This place, ADI, it's its own institution, its own power. He thinks even Conservators would hesitate to search him out here...though in town on the street might be a different story.]

[henchgal]

"I'm really torn on whether there is such a thing as an innocent bystander, after everything I've seen and heard. Like. I know I pretend very hard to be one, but that's a bullshit act like any other people build around themselves."

She lets out a soft, bitter huff that falls short of being a laugh.

[bloodalwaystells]

"People sometimes convince themselves that they aren't really seeing what they're seeing," he agrees, and his gaze goes out to the water. He'd certainly been guilty of that. As much as he'd like to claim innocence for the things he's been involved in...he can't.

And that hurts. But he has to accept it.

"But there are people who don't deserve to be hurt, just for being there at the wrong time. That, I do believe. Maybe it's idealistic of me, but...I think I have to believe that there's people worth protecting. Some days, it's all that keeps me going."

He looks back at her, and the impact of what he's just said hits him. He hesitates, then says, "I'm sorry. I said I wasn't going to bring up something like this right now, and...here I am anyway. I thought it was fair that you should know at least a little bit about me, about the kind of man I am, but I don't want to drag you down with it, either."

[henchgal]

"Jaeger, do you want to know why I was kidnapped, the first time? The time back home? Why someone took an interest in me?" Because it's only fair, if she knows who he is, he may as well know something about her. Maybe he'll change his mind, if he understands.

[bloodalwaystells]

He pauses, takes a long moment to look at her.

This isn't all about him, no matter what his anxiety and guilt try to tell him, and that stops him in his tracks. He's not the only one with scars, not the only one dragging his past like a boulder behind him.

It's important to remember that sometimes, no matter how much his fear and his shame try to convince him otherwise. He takes a slow breath, taking in air that smells like smoke and salt, and lets it out, steadying himself.

"Why were you kidnapped?"

[henchgal]

"Because an antihero wanted me to know that the man whose personal assistant I work as is one of the most wanted supervillains in the city of Hightower. He wanted to tell me, to see what I'd do when I found out. To present the evidence and make his case."

She shakes her head. "I'd known for months and kept it to myself all that time because the health insurance was good. When my boss showed up to rescue me, in his supersuit, he was surprised, too. He hadn't realized I'd figured it out already."

cw: mentions of murder, human sacrifice

[bloodalwaystells]

Jaeger pauses to absorb that, because...wow. Yes. That is a familiar story, and he gives it the serious consideration that it's due.

"I was 16 when I was first initiated into the Brighter Dawn Foundation. It felt like my entire life, because I'd been born into magic and I wanted my father to be proud. I believed I was special, important, and that I had a place with them because I was willing to be daring. To embrace anything that would further my status with them." It had still taken time before he'd started crossing lines. Before it all became more than just theoretical, became practical and applied knowledge. "I thought I was willing to do anything. But that...that came later."

Breathe in, exhale. Slow and steady and controlled.

[henchgal]

"It sounds like...just the sort of things you'd say, to manipulate someone. Telling them they're special, right?" She's heard of that sort of thing being how cult leaders get people to join up. Or superhero teams--there's one recruiting firm with the slogan Do you feel like you were meant for something more? that's aimed at powered teens and young adults.

Not much difference, on some level, is there?

"So the Brighter Dawn Foundation, they were the ones you were running from?"

[bloodalwaystells]

"Later, it all made sense, yes. That the higher ups were manipulating young mages, those that they could recruit. Not everything they did was horrible. It's never quite that way, you know? They had a reputation as a philanthropic company, dedicated to everything from social reform to protecting and financing the arts. Sure, security and retrievals sometimes got a bit dirty, but that was the world we lived in. I had to know these things to defend against them, to understand what kind of things would be used against me as a security mage."

The words start, and then they just keep coming. The whole thing feels shocky, distant, a flat monotone of facts and horrors that he can't quite keep bottled. He'd been very, very good at his job, and it hadn't always been clean.

"Then they murdered my father, and I found out that they were doing things I couldn't. I just couldn't. Control, exploitation, sacrifice. Murder. Dealing with things that don't belong in this world, that demand blood." He shakes his head and now he really does feel cold, hearing in the back of his mind a slow, heavy drip on a concrete floor, the rasp of his own breath after he's screamed himself hoarse, the ringing of delighted laughter and the stark white of a camera flash in the dark.

She'd liked to keep souvenirs.

"I couldn't be part of that anymore. So I got out. I ran."

[henchgal]

Meredith reaches out to touch Jaeger's hand. To try and help keep him grounded in the here and the now, rather than slipping away into the dark parts of that memory. "A bold, brave choice. A good choice. Here, you don't need to run, but it's good that you decided to, back then."

Her ring splints are cold, even though her skin is warm.

"Thank you for telling me. I'm glad I understand, now."

[bloodalwaystells]

Jaeger lets her touch him, and that's sort of a small miracle in his current state of mind. But her hand is warm, and it's something that's here, not there. This is a hand without a knife in it. That means the world to him right now, as he continues to try and keep his breathing steady. To focus on those things, the sand beneath his feet and the happy din of people chatting back near the grills and tables.

"I think this is the first time I've talked about it in a very long time. Everything that's happened. So...thank you, I appreciate it."

There's so much more to the story, but this is enough- It's the raw and bloody bones of all that's happened to him in his years of service.

"Like you said. I think it's going to take some time. But I want to move past that. I've been on the run for six years, and every year it feels like I lose a little more of myself, forget what it's like to actually have a life. I really do want to change that, even if I'm still doing the work. Just, to not be alone with it."

[henchgal]

"I'm going to sound like a hypocrite bringing this up, but there is a counseling department at ADI. And I bet they've heard similar stories, in level of Bad Shit if not in exact content and scope. I bet they'd be able to help you process, if you were willing to talk to them."

...she hasn't, though. Not about back home, not about the selkie incident, not about the circus. Like she said, she sounds like a hypocrite.

Her hand remains against his, her thumb running in slow, gentle circles.

[bloodalwaystells]

He nods quiet agreement.

"Now that I'm starting to settle in...I think it's probably a good idea. To at least try and work through some of it, especially if I'm going to be doing more of the same kind of work. It takes its toll."

He chuckles, then, rough and subdued.

"You know what's funny? I actually have a degree in Psychology, though I never went for my Master's. I guess right from the start, I knew something wasn't right, and subconsciously wanted to understand it."

[henchgal]

"That is kind of funny. Do you find yourself analyzing everyone else here through that lens?"

Even as she asks that, her smile...it doesn't so much dim as become performative, something to cover up her own fear of Being Known. Because she can't help but wonder what someone might see in her, if they looked below the surface.

[bloodalwaystells]

he catches that flicker in her gaze, the way the smile shifts from her eyes to something more like a mask, and notes it. It's only fair, he supposes: very few people like being peeled apart mentally.

"Not so much, honestly. When I'm working with people, it's nice to have that background for reference, but it's never been my main focus. If I felt more resonance with it, I would have continued my education and gotten my Master's, but it was really just to supplement the work I was already doing. Security and magic are both very demanding fields and understanding people a little better...it definitely doesn't hurt."

It had seemed like a good fit, and had worked out well for him.