Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, Saturday, All Day

[bigdamnprincipal]

Maybe it was climate change, maybe someone had wished a little too hard for warm weather, but it was very toasty this morning. Luckily, the moddable food and drinks had already been prepared for a summer theme with icy beverages, fruit plates, and loads of ice cream among the mix, and pop-up tents around the school lawn were providing some shade. At least you didn't have to ring in the summer term in the rain?

[Happy summer term, everyone! Going OCD-free because I don't trust the gateways to stay good.]

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[tellmehowstuffworks]

Yennefer was supposed to be summering in Nice.

Instead, last week she had received a class schedule in the mail along with a request for her syllabus, and her efforts to clear it up with that damned moose had resulted in something being said about her 'dimensional visa.' Yennefer hadn't even known she had a dimensional visa, but she wasn't about to risk it over some silly indentured labor, so, fine. She would teach the workshop. She could always pop back to France to drink wine in the sun and scam billionaires on the weekends.

But they couldn't make her like it, and they couldn't make her submit a syllabus.

[thatwaslucky]

Rey was pretty sure she'd only talked to Yennefer a couple of times before, but she had a distinct look. She did make her way over and asked, "Hi. Are you Yennefer?"

Had to allow for dopplegangers, other realities, and again only maybe talking to her twice.

[tellmehowstuffworks]

Yennefer paused in her furious texting of Jaskier to not drink that Riesling, she was saving it, to raise an eyebrow at Rey. "It depends on who's asking, I suppose," she said, because she was not putting in the mental effort to decide whether or not she recognized Rey.

[thatwaslucky]

"Rey," she said. "I was friends with Jaskier. If he's the one who was here before."

Again, alternate universes, etc.

[tellmehowstuffworks]

"Well," Yennefer said, as if she didn't live with Jaskier. "I suppose there's no accounting for taste."

[thatwaslucky]

"So you're the one who was here before?" Rey asked.

[tellmehowstuffworks]

"Unfortunately," Yennefer drawled, although she expected all the Yennefers would have said the same thing about all the Jaskiers. "Don't tell me you've been here this whole time. Although I suppose there are worse places." Her home dimension, for example.

[thatwaslucky]

"I have, though I take trips home," she said. "Are you still... hanging out with Jaskier?"

[heroic_jawline]

"You're a familiar face," Steve greeted with a smile.

[tellmehowstuffworks]

"I could say the same for you," Yennefer said, because she definitely remembered Steve. And his...everything. "It has been a while, hasn't it? I meant for it to be longer, but the moose apparently had other ideas," she sighed. Right. Manners or whatever. "How have you been, Mr. Rogers?" Yennefer, he didn't wear nearly enough cardigans to go around calling him that.

[heroic_jawline]

"I've been very well," Steve said with his unfailing politeness. "Tony and I are teaching paintball this summer. Are you teaching, too, or just back for a visit?"

[liartoldyouthat]

The orientation materials Ilya had gotten had been confusing, considering they had all been in English and the whole reason he was here was that when people talked in English at him too fast he defaulted to, "....okay," or similar and his reading comprehension wasn't much better, but he had managed to grasp that shirtlessness at the welcome event was something of a tradition, and he was more than happy to participate. Everyone he had seen on this island so far was hot, and he thought most of them were at least a little bit gay? This was going to be a very good summer.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve smiled at the newcomer. "Hello," he said. "I'm Steve Rogers. I teach here."

[liartoldyouthat]

What? What? Why was this hot ancient dinosaur of a man talking to him? Ilya looked around as if there might be someone else Steve was talking to while looking directly at him before he said, "Ah. Hello. Ilya." A beat. "Rozanov. I am...new." Obviously.

[heroic_jawline]

"It's a small island," Steve said, "I know you're new. Welcome!"

[thatsmysword]

Because someone was having a Year of it Henry hadn't been whisked off to Rattay this past break. He'd been waiting for it; hoping for it, honestly. But nothing.

It had just been him. And Pebbles. And Mutt.

And it was still him and-- well, Mutt, here at the picnic. "Come on then, Mutt! Fetch!" he called, tossing a thin branch across the lawn. "You can do it!"

The dog raced after it, barking loudly.

At least that all was normal.

[fears_no_one]

Had Flint entirely forgotten the purpose of a store was to have it open so people could buy things from it? Yes, yes he had.

But he'd read a good chunk of his inventory in delightful solitude.

"Henry," he said, nodding.

[thatsmysword]

"Flint!" Henry brightened somewhat. "What brings you to the picnic?" Beat. "Is it hunger?"

[fears_no_one]

"It is hunger," Flint admitted. "I ran out of bread."

[thatsmysword]

"Well, there's plenty," Henry said. "Hope you brought a bag or something to take some home with you."

[fears_no_one]

Flint laughed. "Have you done this before?" he teased.

[thatsmysword]

"Not recently," Henry offered. "But I didn't have any coin on me for the first bit of it. So I made sure I got extra helpings where I could."

[fears_no_one]

"I think they anticipate that," Flint said. "There's always plenty."

[thatsmysword]

"Aye, that was the odd thing when I first came here," Henry agreed. "Someone rich must be showing off."

[thatwaslucky]

The picnics were always good for food and people watching, and there were some that Rey hadn't seen in a while. She came down and took her place in what was somewhat of a usual spot, sitting in the shade beneath a tree, and watching what was going on.

[thatsmysword]

"Hullo, Rey," Henry called, striding towards her with Mutt yipping at his side. "How is life treating you?"

[thatwaslucky]

"Really good," she said with a very sincere smile. "It's been a while, how have you been?"

[thatsmysword]

"Ah, same as always," Henry said, with an idle chuckle. "Hopin' we get some more people with horses this go-about, mainly. I'm up to my neck in horseshoes."

[thatwaslucky]

"And that's good?" she checked.

[thatsmysword]

"It's not really good or bad," Henry allowed. "There's just not a lot of different orders at the smithy, most of all. I can start trying to make swords and everything but nobody around here is usin' 'em."

[thatwaslucky]

"I'd try one," she said. "I'm not sure I'd need to own it. Unless I brought one to the warehouse."

[thatsmysword]

"Isn't your light one... well, lighter?" Henry asked.

[thatwaslucky]

"Yes. But it never hurts to try something different," she reasoned.

[thatsmysword]

"If you come by the smithy sometime soon, I'll have a poke at that hilt yours has and see if I can forge something that won't be too unfamiliar to your hand?" Henry suggested.

[thatwaslucky]

"That would be wonderful," Rey said. "I've used enough weapons to be able to adjust pretty well."

[thatsmysword]

"When did you learn how?" Henry asked. "I'm not sure you've ever said."

[thatwaslucky]

"The lightsaber or weapons in general?" she asked.

[thatsmysword]

"Either?" Henry said. "Don't know the order you learned any in either."

[thatwaslucky]

"I stated using a staff when I was maybe twelve?" Rey said. "And then I've had a lightsaber since I was nineteen."

[mustbeawitch]

Lydia had to admit, her dress for today was not new. Scandalous, to be sure, but she was quite fond of the dear little strawberries on this one. Speaking of strawberries, she'd made herself up a plate of fruit to nibble upon while she looked for new faces. She'd already spotted one. He was, ah. Hard to miss.

[thatwaslucky]

"Sometimes I have to search you out just to see what you're wearing," Rey greeted her with a smile.

[mustbeawitch]

"La, this old thing?" Lydia asked, swishing her skirts a bit. "How have you been, dearest? I'm afraid we haven't caught up lately, since I let the Supper Club fall quite out of my head!" Oops.

[thatwaslucky]

"I've been great," Rey told her with a smile. "I got to experience my first Beltane."

And she shouldn't call it her first like there would be more, but she didn't think about that till after she said it.

[not_a_haint]

Caleb may not technically be a Fandom Novice anymore, but he didn't really feel like that was the case. He had faced down a little bit of the odd quirks of the island, and he was feeling pretty chill about the whole time travel thing.

And he'd gotten the hang of a number of the new-fangled gadgets. But he suspected he'd barely scratched the surface.

Still there was food and he wasn't inclined to pass up that opportunity.

[throughaphase]

Lexi was at the age where Kitty didn't have to have eyes on her at all times, so while she was doing cartwheels in the grass, Kitty was sitting at a table with a lemonade. And putting her hair up in a ponytail. And would definitely be giving in when she was asked for ice cream later.