ph_logs | An Assortment of Happenstance (Random Events Wave 2)

An Assortment of Happenstance (Random Events Wave 2)

Pumpkin Hollow Community Bulletin

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It's been a while since the community board has been redone! The weather hasn't really been permitting long excursions into town square to do up the board, especially since the blizzard, but today is a clear day for once and Yorick is in a hurry to get it all set up for Merrymeet.

He helpfully posts a few announcements.

COMMUNITY GATHERING AT TOWN HALL TONIGHT

A community gathering is scheduled in Town Hall tonight for all new residents ("offworlders") to discuss their recent experience with a mass shared dream event. Locals who are native to Pumpkin Hollow will be present to listen, learn, and help make sense of this strange dream. The intent of the gathering is to ascertain the meaning of the dream and share details to create a bigger picture.

Sweet potato muffins will be provided, courtesy of Cecil. The meeting will officially commence at 6pm. Dress warmly!

MERRYMEET FLOWER QUEEN VOTING

Voting for the Flower Queen of our upcoming Merrymeet celebration is now officially open! Please cast your vote for one of the following candidates from our final pool of nominees:

Dahlia Leeds, town councilwoman and Historical Society leader.
Annabel Lee Whitlock, seamstress and chess extraordinaire.
Mary Dahl, shop employee and freelance theatrical performance artist.
Magne Kikiishi, Oak & Iron employee and Fight Club leader.
Zelda of Hyrule, captain of the Mipha's Grace.
Sally Boyle, chemist/herbalist and proprietor of the Blackberry Apothecary.

Merrymeet will be held on Saturday, Feb. 24th, so all votes must be cast by then. This year's celebration will also feature our first Flower Princess in a while, Bobbin Kaspbrak, escorted by her keeper, Eddie! She is a chicken. (Note: the last Flower Princess was Butter Poe, a cat. She will sadly be unable to pass on her crown in the ceremonial manner due to being a cat, but she wishes Bobbin the best of luck.)

[ Ballot Box ]

BOTTLE COLLECTION NOTICE

ALERT TO ALL CITIZENS: down on Tawny Beach there have been sightings of bottled messages washing ashore that appear to be addressed to various offworld citizens. Please scan the beach or check in with Jack's Marina Port Authority to see if there are any intended for you at your earliest convenience.

[ Those who go to the beach to investigate may find a bottle carrying curled parchment with their name on it. Within, they will find a letter from a loved one from back home. The messages read more like prayers or thoughts about their subjects, often in third person rather than second, but contain important insight about how the writer truly views the recipient that may guide them in this world. They are also obviously written in the handwriting of the person who sent them. It's unclear how they got here, but perhaps they can help. ]

After Yorick has long since walked away, another strange message also appears. Nailed to the bottom of the board haphazardly, a piece of twine with a large tooth tied to it and a piece of parchment. The text is written in a neat but jagged font, ink seeming to almost fray at the edges, outlining agreed upon terms for some manner of agreement. A shot that must be discharged within a lunar cycle, a soul to be taken from this plane by King Eligos, and a mandatory betrayal of trust. It is signed by both Eligos and Vika. A line in the terms is underlined.

For whatever purpose I deem fit.

Beneath the signatures a note is scrawled that reads,

"Never let it be said that syntax doesn't matter. You didn't think I was going to help you kill my own grandchild, did you?"

Those going to Town Hall for the community gathering will see that the Pine Devil skull that Vika had hung there is now shattered, and her notice gone. The Pine Devil is loose once more.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Four isn't enough to face the world in arms, First Aid." Vika gives him the bottle back, and returns to guiding him. "...I really wish you understood that. Humans might seem defenseless to you. Any number of tanks larger than like...nine...is a problem for me."

"Does it always have to come back to fighting? What about hiding and diplomacy? There must be some humans on your version of Earth that would be sympathetic to your plight..."

While First Aid is still working through this train of thought, the two of them finally reach the clinic. He hears the door open and, knowing Chris is on duty, calls out, "I'm okay! It was just an accident!"

"I don't like the sound of that," Chris grumbles, before looking up toward the door.

Their eyes scan the pair then jump to First Aid's face, and -- his visor is broken. No wonder Vika is here to lead him. Chris leaps up from the reception desk and cries out, "What happened?"

What kind of accident could cause this?

"I really do not understand why you're lying to Freeman," Vika grumbles. "...I got emotional and punched him in the face. Admittedly expecting that his optics and general head structure had been designed by someone other than, say, Walmart, but here we are."

" -- Exactly," First Aid insists, trying to ignore the oncoming bus that Vika just threw him under. "You didn't intend this, so it was an accident. And I'm really okay!" he tells -- the, uh, the wall behind Chris's desk. "It's just superficial damage. We just need to pop in a new visor like we talked about before and I'll be fine!"

In other words, he needs a completely new set of eyes. But it's totally just superficial damage!

Chris's own eyes go cold. "So hurting him isn't enough for you, is it, Vika? You just have to continue with the insults, too?"

They reach out, and take First Aid by the hand. Their voice is still a little flat when they say, "Come on. Let's get you into the back, and I'll clean you up."

First Aid should know that tone means that Chris is trying to keep their emotions under control. Vika probably wouldn't, though.

"I was surprised when he both understood and laughed at the first one and now I can't stop thinking of them." Vika looks away. "...I was outta control. Shouldn't have hit him. Pointless."

First Aid shrugs slightly, embarrassed. "She said my face looked like something built by Apple and all I could think about was how badly Ratchet would flip if he'd been there to overhear...it was funny." He gently squeezes Chris's hand, the other still occupied by his beach bottle. "Please don't be mad at her," he says quietly. "I was mashing on her buttons too."

Chris is already fighting with their anger, and hearing First Aid tell them not to be mad has the opposite effect. They stop at the door to the room where they'll do First Aid's repairs, and fumble a bit with the getting it open because they're so mad that their hands have started to shake. Their next words are sharp, tone harsh,

"What a surprise, Vika couldn't control herself. Got any other breaking news for me? Maybe about water being wet?"

They jerk the door open and usher First Aid inside. Then Chris turns a glare onto Vika.

"I try to help you, Vika. I try to understand you and defend you to others, and all that ever gets me is people I care about being insulted, hurt, and killed." Their voice shakes, too. "The next time you want blood on your hands like you're always so proud of, just come and beat the shit out of me. At least then, I won't have to deal with the aftermath of your latest round of bullshit."

They don't slam the door after them, but only just.

"Chris!" First Aid gasps, shocked. "Why would you say that? That --" He lowers his voice, very away of Vika, still standing on the other side of the door and clicking away. "That was completely unnecessary. I told you, we were both at fault."

First Aid will hear the very soft choking noise of someone trying very hard to swallow a sob. A shuddery breath. And then, the most exhausted that Chris has ever sounded:

"Soldier, I know you've been taught the tactical advantage of silence."

Next there is the soft clink of tools being pulled out of storage, the rustle of the soft fabric to protect the replacement visor being unwrapped from around it. Another set of breaths...

And when Chris's hands reach out to guide First Aid to lie down for the new installation, they are shaking ever so slightly. "There are still some shards. In the slots for your visor. I have to remove them."

First Aid controls his flinch, holding perfectly still as he listens to Chris move around the room. It's ironic; he once bragged to Jean about the acuteness of his hearing, even implied he could do surgery with his auditory sensors and touch alone. But now he feels almost completely helpless, unsure if he should even take the chance of reaching out to Chris when he might misjudge the distance and hit them instead. In the other room, Vika begins to slowly move around, still clicking away; Analog mewls, and her footsteps divert in his direction. Just to pet him, First Aid hopes; he's already been fed this morning...

It turns out that even if you have no tongue, hubris still has a bitter taste.

"...Here," he says quietly, holding out the bottle for Chris to take and put on a shelf somewhere before he lays down. "Be careful, please. You're scaring me."

A moment of silence, where Chris quietly takes the bottle. The gentle click of its glass against the wood of a shelf.

"I'm scaring you. And you scared me, coming in mutilated."

There's no click of forceps against the glass before one shard is pulled out. Then another. Then another. Then--

A pained hiss, a muttered curse word... and the soft 'pap' of a drop of blood hitting First Aid's face. He can likely feel the warmth of it for a moment. Then the hurried rustle of Chris's clothes as they draw away, and the rattle of the locking clasp on the first aid kit.

"Damn it." Then-- "I'm fine. Just rushed things and jabbed myself." More rustling as Chris bandages their finger.

When the next shard is removed, this time it's preceded by the metallic click of forceps on glass.

Edited (rephrasing the last line for a clearer repeat) 2024-02-12 07:25 (UTC)

"It's hardly a mutilation..." Again First Aid has to control his flinch, lying there helplessly while Chris fumbles with the first aid kit.

"...I'm sorry," he says meekly. "This is exactly what I was trying to avoid. I knew I'd need your help to fix this, but. I didn't want to upset you..."

Chris removes the final shard of glass that was still stuck. And they wipe away the drop of their blood. First Aid can likely hear the grinding of Chris's teeth as their jaw works against the urge to say something.

It takes a while for them to speak. Chris's voice is completely without affect, flat and emotionless, and they speak in short sentences. Like that's all they can manage. "You are my brother. You have been hurt. You have been blinded. Of course I am upset."

There are a few more sounds, but no more speech, as Chris gets First Aid's replacement visor -- replacement eyes -- attached and operational.

First Aid waits until his system's integrated the new visor and his vision's come back online, but as soon as it does he's reaching out gently catch Chris's hands, briefly checking the bandage on their finger before pressing their knuckles to the part of his face where his mouth would be, if he had one.

"I'm okay now," he says softly. "Just as good as new. You did a great job." The light behind his visor is a soft, fuzzy blue.

Chris's mouth wobbles for a moment, and then they lean forward to rest their forehead against First Aid's shoulder.

Very dryly: "The next time you two get into a scrap, I'm hitting you both with the length of pipe I've been saving in case your dad shows up."

"Yes, Chris." First Aid puts an arm around them, stroking their back. "I wasn't expecting her to actually hit me," he confesses quietly. In the moment he was too shocked to react, and then it was more important that he calm her down and get to Chris as quickly as possible...but the fact that it happened at all is starting to weigh on him, moreso than the actual damage done.

"I'm not going to give up on Vika. But I'll be more careful in the future."

"Just..." weary sigh.

~~'...learn when to stop being patronizing and shut the fuck up.'~~

"Just don't antagonize her for a while? Please? Even if she says something you think is 'wrong'. Please. I can't keep doing this."

It was more complicated than that, he wants to say.

If I don't help her, who will?

But Chris looks exhausted, and they're already so upset. First Aid doesn't want to add to that, he loves them. He's got a responsibility to look after them, too.

So he nods meekly and says, "Yes Chris," and keeps hugging them. Vika can stand to look out for herself for a while, he hopes.

Chris's shoulder slump with relief.

"Thank you," they say softly, and hugs First Aid back.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

An Assortment of Happenstance (Random Events Wave 2)

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