[ semi-closed ]

[revlon]

Who: Peggy Carter (revlon) & Various
What: Overflow for the winter gala and general catch-all for January
When: mid-Dec and all of Jan
Where: South Outpost, more to follow
Warning(s): N/A

[ captcha is the devil so the party is moving on. also: the mysterious jan plot will likely go in here. ]

Comments

steve rogers | gala

[revlon]

cont.

[ She smiles quietly as they sway in a slow circle. It isn't naivety to want to believe the world isn't as terrible as it seems; maybe it's blind idealism, maybe there's no room for that anymore. The war can drum a lot of things out of a person but strengthen the resolve of other qualities in spite of it, too. ]

No, [ she says after a moment. ] I think the real question is what it's the start of. Nothing good, maybe. But we've gotten here in the middle of the story. Whatever's on the horizon has been brewing long before any of us woke up, I think.

[america]

Hm. You're right.

[ Steve's heard the tales told in both cities now, Olympia's kingdom versus Wyver's. The recent sickness plaguing (quite literally) both cities was met with suspicion and tension from both sides, aimed at the newly arrived refugees. Everything lies on a very thin wire with each city likely waiting for the other to make the first move.

Steve's just afraid the group of them, lost and without their original homes, are likely to get caught in the crossfire and there will be very little he can do to help. ]

And that - the not knowing, it makes me a little nervous.

[revlon]

[ The song ends and Peggy sways to a stop as the crowd around them erupts into polite applause for the band. Her focus, however, is entirely on Steve — she smiles up at him and it's a little more mischievous. ]

Knowing things is my job, darling. [ She's teasing, she hasn't gotten to the bottom of anything nearly as well as she'd like. But she intends to keep at it. ] Don't worry.

byerly vorrutyer | gala

[revlon]

cont.

[ She hums softly in lieu of a laugh, and slants her gaze over at him. ]

Yes, [ comes the slow answer. ] But I meant — what makes you think I'd be interested in what you're offering? Especially since you mentioned trades.

[vorrutyer]

[ A cheery, casual shrug. ]

Nothing you'd miss. A bit of money in return for my information, now and again. Just enough to keep me happy. Perhaps a bit of protection sometimes - it's a dangerous world out there, especially for gadflies like me who have no muscles to speak of. Certainly no trades that would prick at that conscience of yours.

[revlon]

[ Peggy's expression remains unchanged, her tone nonchalant. ]

Yes, but you still haven't said why I'd be interested. Gossip is one thing. Information — good information — is another.

john watson | gala

[revlon]

cont.

eggsy unwin | gala

[revlon]

cont.

[ Too much heart for the job isn't necessarily a bad problem to have. (But likely Peggy learns to compartmentalise her emotions more strictly as the Cold War spins on. Except she never lived the years written in the history books of Steve Rogers' future. That life isn't hers anymore.) It makes it difficult, it means chasing matters with the heart when the head should rule, it means getting into trouble — but better feel too much than nothing at all.

She's learning to open herself back up. Being here, strangely, has helped. She has no office to bury herself in, not in the same way. She trusts her friends here far more than her colleagues with the Guard, rather than the other way around. It's a curious thing but she doesn't regret it, feeling her way through this new chapter in her life. Fraternising with another agent from another agency in another England! Imagine. ]

I should have known you have a little sister. [ They're still dancing, the song has wound down from something upbeat to an more relaxed tune and they slow to match. It makes conversation a little easier, at least. Talking about family isn't something she does often (or at all) but as an acquaintance in El Nysa told her not too long ago: Christmas is for remembering. ] We haven't known each other for very long, but I do know she's lucky to have you. What's her name?

[tailorable]

[ He ducks his head, sheepish over being read so easily — and the compliment that follows. It's something that Peggy genuinely means (and he knows it), so the words hold greater worth than they would from others. ]

Quality over quantity, Peggy. [ teasing, but their time together has been illuminating, however short it may be. Everything about him brightens when he discusses his sister, coloured by fondness rather than longing, though he misses her terribly. ] Her name's Daisy. She's only two — from my mum's second marriage [ A throwaway statement so he need not explain the large age difference between them, lest he has to discuss Dean Baker in detail. Shithead. ] — but I reckon she'll be wild.

[ if she's even somewhat similar to him, that is. Then, his warm smile remains in place as he asks —] What's your brother like?

[revlon]

[ He speaks of his sister with such clear affection and it just confirms what she'd said a few seconds ago. And Daisy is a lovely name, she means to say as much, but then he asks after her brother and she — well, her expression doesn't falter much, she supposes she invited this line of questioning. And it's not so terrible, speaking about him nowadays. Better that than to pretend he never existed at all.

Still, she does take a moment to consider the question. How to begin? They'd been on such opposite paths when they last saw one another. She wishes he was able to see who she grew up to be. ]

Michael was wonderful. [ It's simply said, with a smile and warmth to match Eggsy's despite the use of that one word: was. ] And you wouldn't know it looking at him, but he was funnier than he let on.

steve trevor | gala

[revlon]

cont.

[ It's a good request to make. Everyone has their angle to every story — and everyone carries their own perspective, they were all somewhere else. It helps piece together the whole picture. The way this man phrases it means he knows the implications and she can appreciate that sort of thoroughness. ]

It was a deliberate attack. [ They dance away from the locals; he's leading, but Peggy might just be adding the slightest bit of suggestion in how she moves so that they're in a more secluded part of the dance floor. ] A bomb went off in the marketplace and released a poison gas — that's where the sickness started. [ Biological warfare isn't unknown to her; there was talk of it during the war, she's aware the Pacific theatre likely saw more of it than the European front. ] There was a video transmission from a member of the local group who claimed responsibility but it also accused several other refugees of helping them, albeit without their knowledge. Then it became something of a manhunt all throughout Olympia.

[ Peggy relays this all quite calmly, not like someone sharing gossip, but with the air of a woman who is at ease when it comes to giving a report. ]

The Royal Guard was tasked with arresting anyone who might have ties to the group in question. It was difficult to pinpoint what was real and what was just rumour; people were afraid, you understand. There was the threat of another attack — which never came, but no one knew it at the time. The Institute and the Sanctuary were working on treating the sick, containing the disease, and trying to find a cure. Then finally, someone caught the supposed ringleader — they called him the Shady Man — and got a confession out of him and some hints towards a cure, although it didn't matter. He chose to be taken dead rather than alive.

[ "He" was an android. Which was baffling enough for someone like her, someone from 1947. ]

Not long after, everyone was evacuated south to Wyver so Olympia could be — sterilised, for lack of a better word. Even though Wyver had been struck with the same disease, they weren't suffering the same food shortages we were up north, so it was the right call. Empress Simwe and King Shanrian struck a truce to make it happen and we're still reaping the benefits of that tonight. [ A pause. ] Although how long that will last, I can't say.

[dianano]

[ Steve takes the hint to lead her somewhere they won't be overheard, his face growing more and more sombre as he listens to Peggy's account. The way in which she tells him what she knows sounds very much like a report he would have given to his superiors. Perhaps that's just the way she is, but he'll keep in mind her way of sharing recent events with him.

Poisonous gas - isn't that all too familiar... It seems like Steve can't escape it, wherever he goes. ]

The Shady Man? [ He almost wants to laugh at such a title, but it's no laughing matter when a disease which threatened to wipe out communities is at the center of what they're discussing. ] Did he confess what drove their group to attack? Why they'd endanger both cities? [ If they really represented a side, wasn't it a huge risk to harm their own citizens, or did they simply not care? Or were they from somewhere else entirely? ]

[revlon]

[ She shakes her head at that, lips curved in — well, not quite a smile, but it's something close. Less warm, more wry. ]

To my knowledge, they believe both cities deserved it. [ Her brow quirks, the dance brings her in closer to him so she can murmur, ] "For the greater good." As if any of us who are even vaguely familiar with history haven't heard that rhetoric before.

harry hart | gala

[revlon]

cont.

[ The genuine delight that blooms across her face when she spots him is clear enough — the feeling is quite mutual (and she's also, at this point, had just enough whiskey to be relaxed). Mr Henry DeVere is one of the more curious friends she's made in this place, not necessarily because he himself is curious (although he is, the incident in the alley is still a strange one) but because there's a comfortable understanding between them that she can't define. But that's all right. They come from similar walks of life, their conversation is always interesting and poignant. Often a man of his age and bearing in the mid-twentieth century wouldn't give her the time of day but he's never once condescended to her, even let her take the lead when it came to a backalley brawl.

It's so refreshing. The mysteries between the lines can be put aside for an evening. ]

Gladly, Mr DeVere. [ Peggy takes the offered hand with a smile, stepping out with him in a flutter of burgundy velvet. ] I have absolute confidence in your abilities — especially given our conversation about how dancing has changed since my time. I trust a waltz is still a waltz?

dirk gently | gala

[revlon]

cont.

Yes, of course.

[ Of course, she says, as though it's a given. The fact that he asks, the fact that she clarifies, means that it isn't always. That's the sad state of the world and what it means to be a person who tries their level best to see the hope in it all the same. It's hard to do; often in her line of work, she's found herself wondering what the point was — more so during the war. Years and years and years of feeling like you were fighting a losing battle but you jump into it regardless (literally, in her case, parachute and rifle and all), not for yourself but for those you love. Your country. Because it was the right thing to do. And working in intelligence means being in the right place at the right time at all times. Or trying to get one step ahead of it.

She doesn't say that. She can't. As far as most people here are aware, Peggy Carter did her duty behind a desk during the war like hundreds of thousands of young women and went on to be a secretary after. But it's never been about the commendations and it's never been about her. It was simply what needed to be done.

All this to say (or not say) that she understands. Of course. ]

A lot of people might not see it that way, but the fact that you do says quite a lot, Mr Gently. I try to do my bit as best I can and I've always found perspectives like yours to be quite inspiring.

[ Her brother. And Steve Rogers, of course. ]

[cacoethical]

What, really?

[Dirk is genuinely both surprised and pleased at that. It isn't the reaction he usually gets -- not that people condemn him for it, exactly. Usually it's just a lot of eye-rolling, though he supposes that has a great deal to do with the precise situations in which he finds himself expressing these sorts of thoughts. It doesn't help if the person to whom he's speaking is already put-upon.

The very great irony, of course, is that he has his own history with the intelligence community. It isn't a good one. It isn't one he's in a position to be proud of -- though his own utter lack of agency means he doesn't have to be ashamed of it, either. If he's anything in respect to it, he's simply afraid. It's a constant, low-grade fear that never quite goes away, as much a part of him now as anything else. That history, needless to say, is fraught.]

I mostly just think I've got no choice, really. Or rather, I have a choice but the alternative isn't a very nice one.

[He's done it before. Could do it again. Sink back into it, let the panic take him over and operate based on that, reactive and animal. Still. He smiles at her almost shyly, caught off-guard by the compliment.]

And I'm sure your bit is a good... bit. The bit that you do. I've always said that it says quite a lot about someone if they're even willing to try.

[revlon]

Well, [ she says, the word riding on a breath of laughter, ] I've never been one for sitting around and twiddling my thumbs.

[ Far from it. She'd tried, once upon a time, convinced it was the best decision. But looking back, even before she'd been recruited by the SOE and jumped headlong behind enemy lines, she still was trying to do her bit with codebreaking. Desk work will always seem tame by comparison but it wasn't nothing, either. Turns out she'd been staying true to form all along.

Peggy glances back out to the grounds, still smiling a little. ]

Maybe that's why I joined up with the Royal Guard here. Going on patrol can be rather dull but it's better than being a secretary. [ The way she says it is meant to imply that was her job before waking up on Thesa. ] Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. But I doubt there's much of a demand for answering telephones here.

claire fraser | gala

[revlon]

cont.

[ She huffs out a breath, almost a laugh, almost amused. But that seems misplaced here, even if the other woman is shooting her a smile. ]

Believe me, I'm familiar with the consequences of waiting too long. [ She studies her for a moment then adds, voice wry, ] How much have you guessed about me and Steve?

[nineteenfortyfive]

Without judgement? I may have an additional twenty years on me, but I do remember living with the two of you as if it were yesterday.

[She'll give Peggy time to reconsider as she stabs some various things on her plate with her fork.]

ocelot | gala

[revlon]

cont.

[ She looks amused. ]

I don't know if "peace and quiet" is what I would call the past few weeks.

[shashka]

You wouldn't? We've been lucky enough that we've just dealt with cleaning up after everything. No mysterious illnesses, and an uneasy truce holding everything down.

[ it's at this moment that he decides to do something a little fancier, giving her a twirl. ]

It all seems pretty calm to me. But then again, I am from the Soviet Union.

sandy hawkins | gala

[revlon]

cont.

[ Their drinks arrive and Peggy helps herself, a manicured nail tapping the side of her glass to mark the thoughtful silence that follows. Then — ]

Am I allowed to ask after those circumstances, Mr Hawkins?

[granularity]

Sure.

[ He takes his own, sipping at it very cautiously since he's not much for drinking.
Too many years where falling unconscious had consequences. ]

Ask away. Whatever you like.

bucky barnes (616) | gala

[revlon]

cont.

That's really what matters.

[ Her childhood Christmases were full of warmth and family. Less so when the war came, when rationing came and bombs fell from the sky. ]

I know plenty who want to keep Earth traditions alive here. Our memories are all that's left.

[godwins]

S'what they say, anyway. [ A small part of him still thinks, with no evidence but his own cock-eyed experience, that someday Steve— his Steve— would wake up, and fix everything, like he always had. Like the time when the Red Skull got the Cosmic Cube and rejiggered time so that the Axis Powers took the war, and New York went crooked. Or the time with the German wizards, and the hell dimension, or...

But Steve wasn't here, and there was nothing Bucky could think to do but cooperate. And remember. ]

But they're worth something even if they're not.

[ Otherworld or no, Peggy had been through the war. There were things she understood. ]