Mingle - Emergency Potluck

[pumpkinhollow]

Pumpkin Hollow Community Bulletin

Main Nav | Permanent Bulletin | Calendar |

WELCOME POTLUCK

Greetings, residents! Those more observant sorts among you may have noticed a large influx of very crowded ferries. In order to welcome our new residents en masse, Town Hall is holding a potluck in Town Square. Please bring a dish if you are able and make a new friend!

All of our newest arrivals need only bring themselves. We look forward to welcoming you all into our community, and may your lanterns always be lit.

This event is open to all! In light of our new influx of prospective players following the Great Sail Migration, we've decided to offer a small public event to tide everyone over until the TDM this weekend.

Comments

[amourtician]

"I heard of the ship, yes, dear," Anzu says, and for a second he looks troubled. "Would'st thou be relieved to know I felt no ill wind come, save nu, ah," he spreads his hands, to indicate the isle in general, "the usual for here? Which, between thee and me, is only hardly worse than any small town out in the boonies. Merely gloomy, davka the unconsummated deaths."

He looks at Dimitri very seriously for a moment, judging whether he wants to get into how strange this place feels to him. He decides against it. Now's maybe not the time.

Instead, he says, "the wildlife here is ordinary enough, bar some ... ah, novelties. But feh. Most of such, perfectly harmless if thou give'st them space and try not to steal their offspring."

OOC: davka here used to mean "despite".

[amourtician]

Anzu smiles, beatifically, as Hawkeye kisses his hand.

"Art thou not charming," he says, softly. He glances at Lev, who nods, and picks up his stick. He doesn't look like he objects, though he's blushing scarlet and seems to be momentarily struck speechless.

"We're still by the Oak and Iron, ziskayt," Anzu says to Hawkeye. "Hast thou any better suggestions? The inn's walls are not particularly soundproof, I'm sad to say."

[amourtician]

Anzu laughs, and says, "would'st thou believe it, darling, if I said I'd be fascinated to hear about representative democracy? I've been on the Talons Ghetto Commune committee ... ah, nu, we call it the Gecko, since calling it anything dignified takes too much time. Feh! I suppose it's rather like the Great Assembly of old, except secular and mostly concerned with the rubbish bins being emptied on time and the trams not running people over."

He grins; he's clearly proud of how his city's faring these days.

"Cities are complicated, yes," he says, and his gaze grows wistful. "Cities are alive, and they all have their own habit, and each is different from her sister. And sometimes, a city has not various faces, but many heads, like a zmey. Our Talons, across the river from her is the old capitol of the Empire. But 'til the commune rose up, they were held to be one and the same city. Well, feh!" he snorts, "by the ones on the other side. But even our Talons, the Talons I see is not the Talons of my neighbour. Even if I be an extreme case, since most of what I see is sickrooms and hospitals and the good place."

[notinflictthem]

"Careful, say it too loud and you might have competition," he jokes, beaming at Lev all bashful. He certainly wasn't blushing when they were flirting in his clinic.

"I have an apartment downtown, above my clinic," he offers, "can't have missed it, it's the door with my name on it."

[hereticofthewilds]

"Don't want to look inside. Want to be inside. Watch."

Elsie, oblivious to what Ari's searching for, dematerializes herself into the shadow within the tree. Her voice still carries clearly from inside.

"Like this!"

[300kgbackpack]

"Yeah, best not to jinx it." Even if you don't expressly believe in all that, it still bears stating. Don't go around putting that out into the world. "Makes sense though, wantin' somethin' better if you get the chance. That's what this place is for me, so maybe some future'll be that for you."

[theresalwaystheview]

"Coming into a lot of new people on the tail end of a massive blizzard certainly didn't do the food stores any favors, but all in all, I really think it could have gone far worse."

Bart makes an effort to cover up the way that Max's assurance that his help is appreciated, and that he himself is as well, hurts something in his chest. It isn't that he doesn't think he's worth the time and kindness, but that a pattern of behavior in those around him seems to contradict the idea in others' eyes. It's a problem that he has no idea how to address without sounding terribly petty. So he just offers an unsteady little smile, and nods. "I would like that very much. If you'd like something to start from, I do like fruit sweetness, and there was this grain-based biscuit that I quite liked when we briefly stopped in a place known more for its unleavened fare. It was made with berries in the meal."

[tehilim127_1]

Civic pride, that's a feeling she recognizes deep in her bones; where she lives, one might say.

(The good place takes her a moment; the euphemisms she's more used to are house of honor, house of rest, house of (eternal) life. The cemetery.)

"Many heads," she says with appreciation, "that's about the size of it. You could say New York has five, one for each of the boroughs." Plus the mostly-invisible sixth, but that's a whole other story and actually encompasses all five of the mostly-material ones regardless. "Some of them used to be towns of their own, and then they sort of merged. Kind of like London -- does your world have a London?"

[graphomaniac]

Lyubov frowns, in Erin's direction but not precisely at Erin, and considers her words carefully.

"I'm, nu, unsure what thou mean'st by the unendurable," she finally says, slowly. "I assume it might have aught to do with thine obscured eyes. But thou speak'st as if thou assumest I know what thou know'est, and nu, like. I ... don't."

She ducks her head and looks down at the grown, sheepish and feeling somehow like she's being disrespectful.

"I mean not to be blunt. But like, I seek ... clarity in this matter, since thou need'st mine help, or at least my counsel."

[crushed_pearls]

"It's alright, I broached the topic. Though in the spirit of clarity," Erin flickers a ghostly smile, "the eyes were me. Sold 'em, worth it, though if you've ever got an in on a new pair I'm in the market. That said...I was being pretty literal when I said 'unendurable'."

Her voice gets...

Distant.

"In His wisdom the Lord gave us the power to die. That gift can be stolen. The things I went through aren't possible, should have killed me. And anyone like me went through something like that, something...yeah."

[astrogator]

'Citizen Elsie?!' Her voice rises in alarm. 'How did you do that? How did you get inside the tree?'

Tayrey's not afraid of what she's seeing, only worried about Elsie, because phasing into a tree surely can't be very safe.

[worstorganplayer]

Snakes doesn't believe, but eh, in this place, who knows.

He nods thoughtfully. "Yeah. I'll keep hoping, anyway. Sometimes that's all you can do, I guess."

[thelatechrisfreeman]

"That's the multiverse for you," Chris replies, with all the world-weariness of someone who has dealt with a lot of alternate dimension, past universe, time bending multiverse weirdness.

[maximumcake]

"I promise, I won't let you forget." It's not like Max is very good at hiding his reactions even when he wants to.

"That's okay, I've always been a big fan of teeth. I don't question it."

[amourtician]

Lt Tayrey reminds Anzu of no one so much as the youngest of the Nostalgines, the Red Guard irregulars during the long years of revolution—and thus he's charmed, and a little wistful. So much so that her elaboration on the standard handshake barely registers, when usually it'd be front and centre.

"If thou'rt comfortable with it, Lieutenant Tayrey, I think I'm quite all right with a little formality," he says. He does note to himself that she comes from a place with similar careful gradations of formality and the implication of formality. Well, that's a comfort. One less strange cultural gap to trip over, one less excuse to fall on his face.

"The Holy Tongue is used daily, but not for mundane matters," he says to her question about the nature and use of Hebrew. "Many know just the basics, plus a the roots what made it into the current vernaculars. Certainly, I can teach thee enough to understand the labels."

"As for my first language—" he pauses, and smiles in a sort of preening way, allowing himself a bit of vanity. "Well, nu. Much like thee, I speak several. My mother tongue and first language is the same—Yiddish, if we're not hair-splitting about dialects, and ah, sabesdiker-loshn if we are, in which case my first language is the literary standard. And I know several languages of the nations, though there, too, the line between dialect and language is not always so clear."

"And I'm called Anzu Menelikov, Lieutenant. Doctor Menelikov, if thou prefer'st formality, and Anzu Tamiratovitsh if thou find'st professional titles a touch too formal."

He has a hunch that insisting on familiar forms might just alienate the young lieutenant.

[astrogator]

Tayrey nods eagerly, committing all the information he has just given her to memory, especially the names. He has several, too, it seems, and she's curious about the significance each carries - if that Tamiratovitsh is a family name, an inspiration name, a name chosen, or something else entirely. Carrying so many herself, and having shifted all at once from "Citizen Kittredge" to "Apprentice Tayrey" at what she considers the most formative turning point of her life, she can't help but take an interest.

Yet it's a question for another day. If he's agreeable. Should they get to know one another better. There's a fine line between taking an interest and prying, and her experiences have taught her to be cautious about it.

Instead, she focuses on the languages. 'I'd appreciate it very much if you taught me a little of your Holy Tongue, Doctor Menelikov' she says brightly. 'And-' she hesitates, but it's only momentary, '-in my culture we rely on fair contract. That is to say, if someone gives you something of value, you give them something in return. So you both benefit, and you're on equal terms, no unspoken debts. If you're to teach me, I'll pay, or else I could teach you some of our Sector Standard in return, or trade in goods.' All perfectly reasonable, offering as much variety as she can in the hope he'll find something acceptable.'

sure! wrap <3

[astrogator]

The unexpected compliment touches her. She's so used to criticism, to people not understanding what she truly means, what she stands for, why she does what she does.

She gives him a soft smile. 'Thank you,' she tells him. 'I value that, very much. And you? You're a man of principle, and you're kind, without being weak. That matters. This place might prove good for us both.'

[lordoftheozarks]

"I see..." Erik studies the bowl carefully. He can see the bubbles, and hear them too. Those tiny organisms are hard at work and they don't suspect how short their lives will be, do they?

But, he wonders, is it possible that even these small organisms will come back to life on this island? There's an interesting thought. 

"Can it not be used at all if it's dead?"

[300kgbackpack]

Too much spooky shit to discount it.

"Gotta keep movin' or whatever's comin' will catch up." He nods in reply. "Should get back to it, though. Left my kid with one of the neighbors but she's prob'ly getting antsy by now. You gonna head back or just hang out here for a while?"

[worstorganplayer]

"Yeah. I'll just finish looking around and then I'll go back too," Snakes says. "You'd better get back to your kid."

[amourtician]

Anzu smiles at John, and takes Lev's hand, holding his other hand out to John.

"Come on then, darling," he says, "I see a couple of handy side-alleys, if thou wish'st not to walk too far. Or, nu, we could go elsewhere altogether—I'll let thee take the lead, since I have no idea what exactly might make thee feel, ah. Less exposed. And thou'rt welcome to take mine hand or not, as thou wish'st."

His tone is gentle and concerned; it's clear he won't be offended if John's not the sort to find comfort in touch. But there's also a faint high-strung note there—he's worried.

It's not a precise worry, targeted at something in particular. It's more a general kind of worry, his own instinctual wariness. Maybe the potluck with its noisy crowds is getting to him more than he'd assumed.

[amourtician]

"Also living above thy practise, nu?" Anzu says, "Hah! A man after mine own heart. I was rather surprised Dr Watson prefers to walk to work. Thy practise will do just fine, dearest."

[OOC: Shall we timeskip to the practise, fade to black, other, third option? Wait for Lev to say something, as well?]

[blindwatchersees]

Now, what do we have here? A spirit? Horns usually mean ‘spirit,’ unless they mean ‘Minotaur.’ Or occasionally a wood elf with a little too much daring.

In any case, Music now has an old man tap-tap-tapping her way with a gnarled wooden cane grasped tightly in one hand.

“I don’t know why, but potlucks always make me think of beans. Specifically, a bean dish I’ve never tasted, one I’ve only seen in my dreams and don’t know the name of. Why do you suppose that is?”

[battlebyballad]

She's started conversations in stranger ways.

"Many dreams, I find, are abstractions of the mundane, so perhaps it's a mirror to some other bean dish from some past potluck? Or maybe a truly silly bit of prophecy."

[blindwatchersees]

“Oh, those are the only good prophecies, the silly ones. I don’t think it’s a mirror, though. The elf in the mirror, he didn’t have many thoughts on beans.” He says this like it’s supposed to make sense.