gynvael | abraxas:: INBOX

[ Shortly after a rather startling and infuriating conversation with a certain mage from a certain Continent, Ciri is extricating herself from the Horizon again and going to look for Geralt. Whether that is in person or if she'll have to go back into the Horizon to find him, it doesn't matter. Either way, he should be able to see her message. ]

Geralt. We need to talk.

Edited 2022-11-10 06:03 (UTC)

( the realization comes to him slowly, embarrassingly so. between the events leading up to libertas, to its destruction and then the joined scramble of helping, peter thinks he's been pretty neglectful in so much else. it's easy, in a way, to fall back to the habit of working alongside tony, to the grandeur that brings with it — big ideas and big hope, some selfishly stolen time they won't ever get back otherwise.

but there's a time and place to take the blinders off, as it were. sticking his head back into the proverbial sand of invention and losing track of everyone else equally as important won't do him — or anyone — any good and maybe that's what prompts this venture in the first place.

followed very closely by genuine curiosity — he hasn't been to geralt's horizon before. its the culmination of this that finds him within the courtyard of the keep that looks cool in ways that new york never really did: fantastical, old, evident history shoved into every nook and cranny.

he clears his throat: ) Geralt? It's Peter! Peter Parker? ( in case there's...more peters running around? maybe? )

Sorry for abandoning you in that place.

Would you come meet me in Horizon now that things are relatively calm again?

-Kyle

[ Julie knows that the dates don't exactly line up, and that Geralt still doesn't understand exactly what Christmas is, and also that she is skirting her own line of comfort in terms of clearly defined affection. That's the odd thing about their situationship, she finds -- the longer it goes, the harder it is to determine what might be too much, too close to a label. Christmas presents, or at least this one specific one, makes her feel like maybe she's putting too much of herself out there; she is keenly aware that she is going to feel like shit if he hates it, if only because she put a lot of effort into it.

But she can't just not give him a gift, considering she got everyone else gifts. And she really did spend a lot of time on this, on working it out and creating it. So she puts it in a box and wraps it along with the others, but she doesn't deliver it alongside Jaskier's and Ciri's.

Instead, she makes him come to her, in her living room where there is a real, traditional Christmas tree she conjured, lights and all. The smell of balsam is somewhat stark in the middle of the desert, and the sun is harsh for the winter. The only thing under the tree is a box wrapped in gold paper, which she hands to him before she sits back down. ]

I know it's not a holiday for you, but merry Christmas.

[ He promised to follow up and he also has another question, so this seems like the time to check in. ]

Geralt. I don't know how useful the information I have will be for you but we did all make it out. I have a question for you about something that happened early on.

You ever think about the first person to drink milk? Like, what the hell were they thinking?? Who just sees a weird sack of nipples on a cow and goes 'yeah, sure, I'll have a glass'

Hello, Geralt.
I’d like to ask you for some advice.
Did you have any parenting experience prior to caring for Ciri?

[ it starts off on sam's porch.

it's not the first time that sam's felt geralt there when he, himself, hadn't been present in the horizon. if anything, the fact that geralt does find himself there gives sam a kind of comfort he didn't realize he needed. that geralt felt comfortable to just be, that he didn't need the invite and knew he was welcome - it's silly, sam knows it, but it feels good. that if nothing else, he at least has that constant.

today, though, when he feels geralt wander onto the porch and take a seat, sam realizes a couple of things almost instantaneously: first, that it has been weeks since they've really caught up. they saw each other around christmastime, sure, but sam knew he was in a kind of mood and hadn't wanted to talk. second, he doesn't really have anything he was planning on doing today - which meant that not only was he free, but that there really wasn't a reason not to.

so, just a few moments after geralt has stepped up onto the porch in front of sam's house, sam will appear through the screen door; friendly, smiling, and holding two beers. ]

Thirsty?

Excluding the semi-recent time where many of the Summoned were trapped in the Horizon for up-to a few hours, have you heard of any records of someone's mind being permanently trapped?

[The messages begin appearing sometime after a couple of hours past their agreed meeting time (in that, Jaskier announced Geralt would join him at a certain time, and mostly presumed Geralt agreed he would be there at that time.) Witchers were not known for being punctual, but this was actually important to Jaskier. It was the first time he's really felt he's done something since... since he last held up the moniker of Sandpiper.]

I'm sorry, when I offered that invitation and you accepted, were you assuming it was optional? You know, Geralt, instead of faffing about all willy-nilly among Cadens, perhaps you could actually show appreciation to your deepest, most beloved, and most trustworthy friend? Do you recall how we came to this world together? And how I have forgiven you for several transgressions up to this point?

Well I'm beginning to rethink my stance. I don't think I shall forgive you for this at all. Do you know how hard I've worked on this? For weeks! Even longer than weeks, because of the planning! And corralling about a bunch of cads to make sure the work is on time! And moving an entire gigantic statue? Do you even know how many nights I've slept in Libertas since beginning? I bet you haven't even noticed my absence!

Every blade of grass was grown, personally, by me. Do you really think Libertas has ever supported a natural garden in its entire existence? And trees! Do you think trees grow on trees, you fucking nut? It took days just to grow a single tree. And then we had to basically invent an entire fucking aqueduct which could cycle the water through the park --

And here I thought it would be a wonderful moment, sharing this with you. But I see your closest compatriot's work is not worth at least sending a note that you'd be late. Oh, no. Why would you bother? It's not like we can send bloody messages into each other's heads!

I really do not believe I will ever forgive you for this. This was important to me. This was one of the most important things I think I've ever worked on, and you could not even show up to give it a disinterested, cursory glance before leaving.

White wolf? More like shite wolf. Your next song is going to be the most derogatory yet. I will never let you forget the day you made me feel like a bit of shit smudged underneath your heel.

You know your buddy's kind of fucked up, right? He's setting off my demon radar.

I've seen wings like those, and Singularity or not, they don't come naturally. Something's up. But you already had an inkling, huh?

[If Geralt can smell demon blood off of Nero -- not enough to know what it is, but enough to tie him to Dante -- then it's not unfeasible Dean's smelling a bit funky, too.]

Edited 2023-02-14 08:49 (UTC)

I know you got enough to worry about right now
I don't even know if you'll get this but

I crossed the line
I think it might be

I think I

[ it comes in the middle of the night - a time sam probably shouldn't be awake, but is, and probably will continue to be. truth is, he hasn't actually reached out because he figured there was enough going on - with jaskier as worried as he is, with julie asking after him and the singularity. he trusts that he would know if something were really wrong, or at the very least he would hope, and that had been enough.

until, you know, it's the dead of night and sam is anxious. things are happening, but not fast enough. information is being uncovered, but not fast enough. they have an idea, a general direction, but-

except that he can't get hung up on the buts. he has a job to do and that is what he's doing. and if that happens to also include finally breaking down and sending what he knows will most likely be geralt's hundredth check-in request, well. he will just have to deal. ]

GONNA NEED PROOF OF LIFE, MAN
I KNOW SHIT'S BAD, BUT ANYTHING'LL DO

How you holdin up

[ there were several iterations that yennefer very nearly reached out with, moments and ideas and comments that ranged from explicitly angry and frustrated to nearly begging. in the end, yennefer doesn't even know what it is she's trying to accomplish with this message. doesn't know what good it will do.

but jaskier had said he is dying and she finds she hasn't quite moved on from that. from that idea that this could really be it.

the message, when it is finally sent, is as fractured as her thought process. tones ranging across the board, but she has to say something. ]

They are invoking the god Nikodaemus, of mirages and reflections.
We now have a way to dispel the magic protecting the island.

You ~~must hold on~~-
~~Please-~~

Stay alive, Geralt. You have to.

[ By now, she's spoken with several of the returning Summoned. Healed them. Asked them questions. One thing they've all made clear to her is that Geralt is no longer trapped. He's with them, out there.

Other than the intercepted message she got, she hasn't heard from Geralt the entire time. Which she was okay with. She knows he tried to reach out to others. Spoke to Jaskier. Julie saw him, through Ciri's eyes. She didn't want to make things worse by clouding his head any further.

But he's free now. ]

Where are you?

[He might recall her asking about fringe colonies before, which probably makes this feel awfully familiar– ]

Do you think it's possible for us to separate ourselves from the factions?

Edited 2023-04-13 18:45 (UTC)

Dean's alive.

The dark woods, outside the roadhouse. They're from Purgatory. I didn't make them - Dean did.

He's still here.

Just a small note in case anyone outside of Thorne was interested. A certain mage's birthday is today. She never celebrates it, so she likely would not appreciate me saying so, but I'm doing it anyway.

Geralt

he's definitely a demon, the kind from his sphere

I need your help

Have you ever been set on fire before?

Sing loud and proud, the song of the seven,
Be you halfling or gnome, be you dwarven or elven...

I don't suppose this rings a bell in you, Geralt. Does it? Any mention of the Seven? Now that I think about it, I may be grasping at straws of hay here. It could have simply not circled your -- well. Circles.

[Only seconds after this.]

Geralt. Do you wanna tell me why your dead friend's tellin' me he's not a demon? And -- oh yeah, that he's alive? Seriously, man?

Edited 2023-08-08 01:21 (UTC)

So, fun story
Guess who your buddy Istredd's dating

Geralt.
Remember that head you threw at me?
Well I looked right at it, very much alive, and very much here.

late october.

horizon ! lmk if this works ok!

nebulous time space after ill omens

christmas morning; you have to thread with me to get the present, non-optional

no subject

1/???

no subject

horizon.

no one's favorite braintext guest