apocalypsehowcomm | (mingle) It must be party time

Entry tags:

(mingle) It must be party time

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!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Stephen would pour his beer out on the spot if he knew what kind of temptation it is — as it stands, he merely clinks at the bottle with the tip of a fingernail. He isn’t awfully surprised that Harry would have a variety of options to choose from. A man like this—in profession, demeanor, enthusiasm—probably has an arrangement of tales waiting to be spilled.]

I definitely never mistook you for a bourgeois lady on a boat.

[Very specific.

And then the options come; “the pale” seems like the proper choice for a man interested in the mystical and metaphysical, based on the name alone. But even Stephen isn’t immune to the draw of the wacky fourth choice.

I mean, come on. Who wouldn’t ask about that?]

Oh, I want to hear about that last one. How and why.

Aha. My tale of triumph.

[ well, you asked for it doc - wacky story it is. ]

Before I arrived here I was working a case where men from a local company union were suspected of killing a man via hanging. As part of my interviews, I had to visit the Union's boss and get his testimony. Problem is, the route to his office was being guarded by a man. His name was Jean-Luc, but the people had another name for him: Measurehead.

Measurehead was two meter tall behemoth, but more than that? Dude was an extreme racist. I'm talking eugenics race science, next level racist. Had a whole categorical system to break down his judgments of every race out there. If the guy on the street was an every day worker, then he was the CEO of racism.

[ he takes a sip and clears his throat, then sets the drink down to have use of his hands for the story. ]

I had to push a button to get into the union office and Measurehead was in the way. Peace was never an option. He presented me a choice: either I subscribe to his race science and become his disciple, swearing fealty as his new bitch, or I best him in single combat.

The battle was fast. [ he closes his fists and throws a punch at the air. ] I landed a jab to his jugular, the one part of him not built like a brick wall, and then! [ he uncurls his fists and waves his slanted hands in front of him. ] Then I did a 360-spin kick to finish the job - disco inferno!

[ a final smirk is shot as he sits back down, taking his glass in hand again. ]

And that, Dr. Strange, is how I single-handedly defeated racism.

[ RHETORIC [Formidable: Success] - To be clear: you didn't contribute *anything* related to repairing the societal toxins at the core of racism, and Measurehead neither changed nor learned anything from this encounter about being less of a bigot.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Easy: Success] - But you did kick his ass and conquered him *physically*. If you can't reason with a bigot, then it's better to punch them. ]

[Well, he’s not disappointed. It’s a wacky story with a lot to pick apart and question, until the whole thing turns into a spider-webbing network of questions that could lead down any number of rabbit holes.

One: how did the overall investigation go? Two: is Harry much of a fighter? A 360 spin kick is no small feat. Three: disco inferno?

But perhaps overshadowing all of that is a sense of disbelief, as though he’s being told a tale with pieces of it exaggerated, yet he doesn’t think that’s the case. Why should he doubt it? In the grand scheme of things, Stephen himself has dealt with, ah, “wackier.”]

The man sounds like it had it coming. That said—

[Maybe this is the real sticking point for him.]

—is this an example of an everyday case for you? Or just one that was particularly [off the wall] eventful?

Wouldn't know. [ he shrugs, taking a sip of his drink. ] I lost my memory a week before coming here.

[ you know, normal things! ]

[Not entirely normal.

Though Harry would be the second he’s spoken to with the issue of memory loss — the first being another man from his world, far less talkative than present company.

Even so, it’s unexpected in a way that makes his brows lift.]

So is asking “what happened” a moot point?

[ LOGIC [Trivial: Success] - That much you have pieced together. Unfortunately for you.
DRAMA [Easy: Success] - Sire, may I advise a white lie? It would not make a promising impression onto your new friend if he learned you got *shitfaced*, so to speak. ]

Uhh, yeah, yeah I don't remember how I lost it. Really weird that. [ ahem- ] It's retrograde. I can form new memories, but everything from my past is gone more or less.

It's... not as bad as it sounds, so don't worry doc. You should tell me a story next.

[“Not as bad as it sounds” is a very dubious statement, even if it only exists to move the conversation forward and encourage Stephen to share his own tale. But “not as bad as it sounds” and retrograde amnesia do not go hand-in-hand when one has a medical background — much less one that focuses on neurology.

So Harry is going to have to endure Stephen shifting into Doctor Mode, at least a little.]

Here comes my medical opinion: that’s not exactly something you should brush off. Retrograde amnesia is usually a consequence of major head trauma, and even if it’s not a temporal lobe problem, an ICP build-up could have the same effect, or worse.

[Assuming it isn’t psychogenic, which would be another can of worms altogether.]

Have you been properly looked at by ADI’s medical department?

[buddy you need an MRI]

[ LOGIC [Medium: Success] - He makes a valid point, medically speaking. You should get more information on your condition to make informed decisions on your state of being.
VOLITION [Easy: Success] - Listen to him. This is good advice, coming from someone who cares. ]

How about you give me your *sorcerer* opinion instead? [ initiate eyeroll, *whatever* man. ] I'm fine! I solved a complicated murder case and several subcases attached to the case, and did it in a week. Does that sound like something a person with major head trauma could do?

[Did Harry roll his eyes at his medical advice? Oh, the old Stephen Strange would bristle at that. The new, magical Stephen Strange only exhales lowly.]

Fine. You’d prefer to hear a story? I can tell you how many patients end up in the emergency room every year, blatantly ignoring the signs and symptoms of hypertension following a concussion, and—despite cognitively functioning normally for weeks—suffer from a hemorrhagic stroke.

[Do you know the mortality rates of a hemorrhagic stroke? he almost asks, but decides against it. Inform, not terrify; basic tenants of bedside manner.]

My sorcerer’s opinion is just as relevant. The body and the spirit are entwined. You are both, and you should take care of both, Harry.

Doc, got to say: you're being a real bummer right now.

[ SUGGESTION [Legendary: Failure] - It may put his mind at ease to know that this isn't so much head trauma as it is self-inflicted. At the very least he'll get off your back and stop being such a buzzkill. ]

Because you're harping on it so much - I do know what caused it. In fact all evidence points to *me* causing it, intentionally. Therefore, there is no need to further investigate or worry about the underlying health issues.

And besides, the end of the world is coming anyway! A doom prophesied to wipe out all civilization, end culture as we know it, and burn the world in inferno. So what's the point in worrying about strokes?

[He hardly knows how to reply to that — or which to even reply to first.]

You have a sharp investigative mind. You just told me you solved a murder in a week, alongside other cases simultaneously. If you had a stroke and died, that would be a huge detriment to our chances of actually preventing said apocalypse.

[And generally, Stephen doesn’t want anyone to die. He feels as though that should be the obvious answer.]

Why would you intentionally give yourself amnesia?

--How should I know why I did it, I have amnesia!

[ DRAMA [Challenging: Failure] - A most audacious and obvious lie, even a stupid idiot baby could tell you are dishonest. You cannot hesitate or let your voice crack so easily sire!
SUGGESTION [Trivial: Success] - Get him off this subject! Pronto! ]

Ugh, can we please get off the amnesia topic? This topic is lame and I don't like it. Better topics, now.

[That is definitely the defensive unsteadiness of a man lying. And Stephen, who likes to dig his heels in, considers calling him out on it, if not for the fact that they’re now pushing the boundary line that divides medical versus non-medical prying. There must be a reason—none of them justifiably good, mind—to have done what he did, and it must have been either unavoidable, very pressing, or plain stupid.

He doesn’t say anything at first, just looks at him for a moment with his head balancing what counts as overstepping, and what doesn’t.

Kind of a moot point, in the end, for a man who doesn’t like to parse words.]

I’ll change topic if you promise to drop by ADI’s medical department sooner rather than later.

[ he pauses, clicks his tongue, then childishly- ] Ok, mom, I'll go.

[ whatever! he's not going to go, but if it gets him to drop it. ]

Now tell me some cool wizard stories.

[Little does Harry know that he has signed himself up for periodic hounding, for the express purpose of making sure he does what was promised.

But for now, Stephen slowly allows Doctor Mode to recede, acquiescing just enough to give cool wizard story options.]

I can tell you about the time I was stranded on Mt. Everest, or when I was caught in a time loop with a dark entity, or how I dissolved into a complete non-existence for five years.

[Neatly sorted from bad to worse, even.]

Take your pick.

[ CONCEPTUALIZATION [Challenging: Success] - The mountain story sounds low-concept, but the time loop and non-existence dissolving are exciting!
INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - Dark entity! The dark entity one!
LOGIC [Challenging: Success] - You are also deeply curious about how he didn't exist for five years, for... well you know why. ]

I'm going to go with dark entity time loop. Deeply para-natural sounding.

[Ah, that one. Stephen figures some context is in order, and he takes another drink before launching into it, looking at Harry as he explains.]

I should start with saying that I used to be able to manipulate time. I was the guardian of a very powerful— [He gestures at his chest where the Eye of Agamotto would hang; a gesture that probably only makes sense to him.] —stone that allowed me to cast spells influencing the flow of time accordingly. Dangerous stuff, only to be used if extremely necessary.

[One can assume that this tale probably falls into the Extremely Necessary category.]

I’m not the only sorcerer where I’m from. I come from an entire group of them, all devoted to the mystic arts, and all willing to do what’s necessary to protect the Earth from magical threats. But there was a group that splintered off from us sometime before I joined, seeing things differently. They wanted to summon a primordial entity called Dormammu from the Dark Dimension, a place where time doesn’t exist, to our reality. The idea was that Dormammu would usher his dimension into ours, subsuming it completely.

They believed that living in a dimension without time would ease human suffering. That time in itself was a curse, because it leads to loss. To everything and everyone being temporary. Transient.

[To Stephen, it’s laughable to think the human experience is human at all without knowing that all things will, eventually, end. And yet he simultaneously understands that fear — it drove him, too. It sometimes still does, knowing how easy it is to unravel reality.]

We tried to stop them, but they managed to weaken the magical shield protecting the planet. Dormammu arrived, and he was… terrible. Powerful. None of us could hope to defeat him.

And so I chose a second option. I used the Time Stone and trapped both of us in a loop. I would ask to bargain, and he would deny me. And kill me. Again, and again. And again. But it was futile, because the time loop would reset with me arriving again, and asking to bargain.

To an entity who had never experienced time before, you can imagine how infuriating it was to be trapped for an eternity. Eventually, he couldn’t take it any more; he agreed to leave Earth and return to the Dark Dimension if I severed the spell. So I did, and he kept his word.

[Stephen spreads his free hand, as if to say, “ta-da”.]

Earth was safe. From him, at least.

Edited (typos for days ) 2021-09-16 02:40 (UTC)

[ INLAND EMPIRE - As he starts, a sudden craving for popcorn to munch on during this arises within you. Unfortunately, none is available. Instead you listen, contemplating as he orates with the flair of a less-than-seasoned storyteller.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Easy: Success] - Loss cannot be tied to time, in the same way correlation is not causation. Time, like any other measurement, was created to make sense of a chaotic world.
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Easy: Success] - A man who controls time versus a being for which time does not exist. He introduced the concept to this monster knowing it would be rejected. Remarkably clever, on a mechanical *and* thematic level.
HALF-LIGHT [Challenging: Success] - Repeatedly being asked the same thing, again, and again, and again, when the asshole asking knows well what the answer is? Oh yes, dark entities loathe that sort of shit. She hates it too and she's *much worse* than a creature from a dark dimension.

INLAND EMPIRE - And so the tale draws to its end. What do you have to say? ]

Wow.

...Man I wish I had popcorn for that! You seriously saved the world? That's insane, but in a good way. You sound like you come out of the pages of a fantastique science-fiction novel. Fitting for Doctor Strange!

[ LOGIC [Challenging: Success] - Hm, this reminds you of *another* magical user who you know. One who spoke of people with powers saving worlds before. Could there be a connection between him and Wanda, beyond both being magical practitioners?
RHETORIC [Challenging: Success] - Before you ask that, you should ask a more pressing question on your mind. And, to save you the trouble: no, he will not trap you in a time loop, please do not ask him that. ]

Damn. [ a quick mutter to himself, before he bounces back: ] What would you have done if he didn't crack? Would you have just... kept looping for all eternity?

[So much of his life revolves around instances and experiences that sound “insane” these days. It’s almost surreal, that some years ago, he would not have thought himself possible of any of it. Would not have believed in any of it.

That question earns another drink before he answers.]

Yes… we would still be stuck in that same loop, while time moved on for the rest of the world. I’d have to have a little faith that everyone still left on Earth would find a solution, eventually, to the problem.

[It was a risk he was willing to take, but also the worst case scenario he’s glad never came to pass. Dying for an eternity sounds terrible, thanks. Not to mention the Time Stone would be needed elsewhere, for another problem altogether universe-shaking.]

I’m just glad it never came to that.

[ VOLITION [Easy: Success] - His willpower must be tremendous, to be ready to endure an eternal damnation on that level in the worst case scenario.
ENDURANCE [Easy: Success] - Not just in mind, but in body too.
INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - And in spirit. ]

Damn Doc. You're insane. [ he raises his glass to him. ] I dig that. Very disco of you to save the world and all of time. It's a good thing you're here with us, even if I'm sure you'd rather be back home.

I don't think I have a story to beat yours, so you win tonight.

[Insane. Maybe he’ll take that as a compliment. Or just a prerequisite of his job.]

It was never a competition. And I still want to hear about that murder case of yours someday.

But in the meantime— [Here’s a question that’s been clinging to him!] —why’s everything “disco” to you?

[ he blinks, taking in the question, and makes an 'ah' ]

I see you've never heard of the word. 'Disco' means cool. But like a next level cool. So cool it could obliterate the world with how cool it is. It's also a type of dance music that everyone gets drugged up to.

[ a nod - he's glad he could teach stephen a new word today. ]

[Wh— okay.]

No, I know what disco is. New Wave’s eccentric cousin.

[Ha.]

So if disco is equated to “cool”, does that make you a fan?

[ ENCYCLOPEDIA [Challenging: Failure] - Whoosh, right over your head. ]

I am! I even started a nightclub before I got here. A little side project while I was solving a murder. Had a lot more fun with it than the murder solving really.

[Harry makes it increasingly difficult to stay on a singular conversational subject, he’s realized.]

How did you have time to start a nightclub in the middle of an investigation?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject