Mingle - Emergency Potluck

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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

[crushed_pearls]

"Fuel," Erin answers simply. "Maybe company for that place's master, but mostly, fuel. It ran on passion, not Glamour but something like it enough for government work. I don't know how or why I got picked, only that somewhere back on my Earth there's an original running around that doesn't know I exist. Which is...fun. I hope her life is going better."

It is.

"As for the Mask, no one knows, or if they know they're not talking. It's been just me. There were Lost on the ship but they were Masked wholly, and this is the part of the story where you get real upset about me, 'cause I tanked attention off them by being real open."

[comedyequalstragedy]

He nods, considering. Not like the old Masters then, but close enough to make his skin crawl. He nearly comments on it, before Erin opens her mouth again, and...

Gilbert places his head in both hands.

"I would like you to time two minutes before you speak again, so that I may look back on this moment as the last before I was inflicted with a permanent headache."

[crushed_pearls]

Erin is whole-ass silent for two minutes, with metronome precision.

[comedyequalstragedy]

"Thank you."

Always can trust one of the musical types to have perfect timing. It's why he asked.

"Alright. I'm braced. Proceed with headache infliction, at your leisure."

[crushed_pearls]

"Least I can do. We didn't have a Winter...another Spring, couple Autumns for awhile, and a courtless youngblood taken just after his Homecoming. Poor bastard." Okie truly was there too. He deserved better. Erin's hands slide into her pockets, and she turns away as if to gaze out at the woods. "...Some things are more common knowledge than others. The Courts I told nearly everyone about, trying to make our culture make any kind of sense. Had to do that a lot back home too, everyone asks the pretty lady at the bar what her deal is. Pledges...a bit more scattered. Lieutenant Tayrey knows, you can pick her out by her greeting 'peace and prosperity', my little sister Ruby knows, she's the short lass with one eye. Daisy Tonner, the blond Welsh woman with the absolutely rancid vibes, she's in, I've been working on her dreams for months and months and months." Erin falters, for a moment. "...Valdis. The belle of the potluck, reserved, dark hair. Funny as hell. Same deal, dream pact. Few folks know about iron, not too many. And all of 'em know about the idea of the Mask."

[comedyequalstragedy]

At his temple, near the curls of his hair, the glazing on his porcelain crackles. Then after a moment, he raises both eyebrows, looking around for a moment as if he's waiting to be struck by lightning.

"Hm. Bad. This will make keeping us concealed... difficult."

In the same way that Kilimanjaro is a bit of a steep hill.

"Pledges, the courts, the mask, iron, oneiromancy... Is there anything you didn't tell them about? Please tell me that you didn't tell them about the Neighbours."

a little after Gilbert leaves

[stonecoldtop]

In a moment when she's a little more out of the way of the crowd of people, George approaches.

"You seem the sort of person one ought to get to know," he says by way of greeting, "I'm George, you've already met my more secretive friend"

Which is why he's a) not asking about her Mask, and b) skipping the more formal introduction.

[crushed_pearls]

"The gods of nightmare," Erin murmurs. "...They know. There was no avoiding that one, Gilbert, not...I needed help to not lose what's left of my mind in that iron box. They had to know."

It's almost a plea.

[crushed_pearls]

"Erin," she introduces back; the winged Lost pops a picture perfect curtsy, minus the skirt given that everyone new is wearing work pants right now. "Charmed. Gotta beg your forgiveness in advance, it's been a rough...more than a year. And. Well."

She did enter the party by faceplanting off the hearse.

[comedyequalstragedy]

"Fantastic. The people are not Lost to every outsider and are in fact just a bit turned around. And if you had sworn them to secrecy, I imagine that'd be the first thing you'd tell me."

A long, deep, whistling breath.

"I'm not anyone of any rank, Erin. I don't know what to do to clean this up. I'm good at making phone calls and getting people where they need to be, and that's about it. But it can't... the cat can't stay out of this bag. I have-" a person to protect- "we have to corral this."

[crushed_pearls]

"Mm. And the trouble with asking them for help is that'd raise general suspicion as it is. But honestly you may just be able to get away with going stealth. Just don't pop the flashy Mirror tricks or you're sunk, people know those too well from me. Size-changing, turning into a forklift." She snorts a small laugh. "...The forklift incident was a good one. Freed a lot of people from durance vile."

[stonecoldtop]

"That's quite alright, we all have our ups and downs after all. I'll reserve judgement on your character until you're in an up."

His voice is light and carries humour, but the stone of his face doesn't shift. He figures his expression won't matter so much in this conversation, given the blindfold.

"Are you arriving from the same place as most of the others?"

[umm_shafaqat]

"You're kind to worry, doctor. But I am as well as I can be, bradycardia and all."

[crushed_pearls]

"We shared an immediate prior association, yeah. It was. Bad." Behold Spring's most eloquent daughter. Erin's wings snap, and she has to smooth them back into place by hand, frowning in worry about herself. "A lot of backgrounds though. People not from Earth at all, f'rinstance - shocking number of 'em from space actually. Like. A shocking number of people from space. I was friends with a doctor from Starfleet for a bit? Like. The Starfleet? The one you're thinking of. That one."

[comedyequalstragedy]

Gilbert suddenly barks a laugh, sudden as a plate shattering. Then settles immediately back to his neutral, like it never happened.

"I'm not planning on popping any tricks in front of anyone. I'm not a children's birthday magician. Especially nothing they're going to see. But you understand that we might not be able to 'go stealth', right? The dots are there, and begging to be connected. I'd really feel better if you could at least talk to your people about not blabbing to every Tom Dick and Harry they meet."

[notinflictthem]

Hawk snaps his fingers, "bradycardia- that was going to be my next guess. And the name of a swell B-Girl in San Francisco," he jokes. So long as it's taken care of, that's fine by him.

"Anyway- I think we were at the part where you find me rakishly charming? Does that sound right?"

[crushed_pearls]

"Consider it done. That said, there's some wrinkles. A few came packed with eyes that See." Erin turns again to face Gilbert, her expression solemn. "Daisy will know for the asking, probably already does, and Valdis too. Scent for the one, esoteric senses for the other, there's no Mask or Contract that's ever gonna shake Valdis. You'd do better to request her discretion yourself, she'll understand your need and appreciate that you approached her. Ruby...you might be able to shake Ruby off by strengthening the Mask, I'm not sure. Ylva picks up on scents very easily, but as far as I know if you can shake a wolf you can shake Ylva. She's the shy lass with the pointed ears."

She's thinking about something. Thinking hard.

"...One more, but I'm gonna have to make a request about them."

[comedyequalstragedy]

"Hm," is all he comments on 'there's no Mask or Contract that's ever gonna shake Valdis', which to those that know him better know as the acknowledgement of a challenge.

He finally lifts his head up again, gesturing with one of his hands.

"Go on, I'll hear it."

[stonecoldtop]

... He knows this one, he knows he does, just give him a second to put it together.

"That's Star Trek, yes? Interesting. From my understanding the idea of the fictional being real somewhere is a lively topic of debate, but not one anyone would expect to find a concrete answer to."

[umm_shafaqat]

"Are you a rakehell, dear Gilda?" Keziah teases, "All about wine, women, gambling, and song?"

[crushed_pearls]

"She was really sanguine about it," Erin muses. "Just went 'neat, parallel reality' and skipped an existential crisis that would have killed me dead from stress. But...she went missing awhile back." Erin 'looks' away, shoulders slumping. "...It was a rough place. Hard to imagine the spring ever coming, there."

[notinflictthem]

"Oh you've got me to a T. Like I'm staring right into a mirror."

He grins, "they tried to get my picture next to it in the dictionary, but I don't photograph well. Film just murders my charms."

[crushed_pearls]

Erin is entirely too focused on how to say this carefully to realize she set this man up for the challenge of his lifetime.

"...They're a youngblood, been hard done by. One I've offered my friendship and trust to. I'm in a bit of a spot here, 'cause the thing is...I'm breaking that trust to tell you how to recognize them, and I'm doing you wrong if I don't. So I'm gonna ask, son of December, that you give them your grace and patience, maybe see what you can do to look out too. Play along if they're trying to prank you. I don't like it, but..."

What is there to do?

[comedyequalstragedy]

.........

"I'm sorry- are you actually asking me to go along with being pranked?"

[umm_shafaqat]

"Lucky me, then, to get to experience you in the flesh," she replies in a low voice.

"You said you were a surgeon..." she hums thoughtfully. She traces a path on his hand with one index finger -- up his pinkie, across his wrist, and down along his thumb. It's left unsaid for now, but that focus on his hands is probably meaningful... "Where did you learn?"