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

[itsjustabaddream]

"Mental health services, madam," Neil clarifies. He hasn't encountered many people completely unfamiliar with the concept, but she isn't the first. "Healing wounds of the mind. Everyone has them to some extent, and talking to someone who won't judge you and who has helpful advice is a good start. If you have nightmares as well, I can tell you more about the dream therapy."

[abhorrently]

Isn't that just what people do with their trusted friends, she thinks. Talking to each other, knowing there wouldn't be judgement. The idea of a pure stranger for it? Her skin would rather crawl off her bones.

"If you're already inclined to explain."

The smile on her lips is courteous, but surface level. If it sounds as unsettling as dealing with one's mental health, all she has to do is be polite and slip the pamphlet back to him at some point.

[itsjustabaddream]

"Of course!" Neil is immediately impassioned. "I have an ability called dreamwalking. It is a rare form of psychic ability which allows me to enter the subconscious, sleeping minds of others. Dream therapy, which is generally a treatment for clients with whom I've built a bit of trust, involves my entering recurring nightmares to derail the distressing dream and offer assistance or instruction on how to break that mental cycle. I also do this to help alleviate insomnia and address psychological trauma."

[abhorrently]

Yeah, that's definitely unsavory, as much as part of her wants to ask how soon he can start. The nightmares she knows, or a man she doesn't.

"Is there a...less invasive way to do all that?"

[itsjustabaddream]

"It does seem invasive, doesn't it? You're not the only one who's felt that way. As I said, I usually spend some time establishing trust beforehand. Most people don't want a random stranger marching into their raw, unfiltered mind. But a trusted advisor and confidante is a different story." Neil explains all this jovially, taking no offense at her concerns. "But the less invasive version is the counselling. I spent many years studying the best ways to manage various mental and emotional struggles, so I'd like to think I know how to help."

[abhorrently]

There's a look that crosses her face, something considering, before her eyes flick to those around. Busy, distracted - not close enough. Her voice lowers, to reduce the risk of being overheard.

"What if said struggles are...too much for you to handle?"

She can't openly speak of violence, not in these circumstances. But she needs to know that if she speaks, he'll take her seriously. How rare that still is. How rare it's still likely to be.

[itsjustabaddream]

Neil just smiles, folding his hands in front of him. "I have never encountered this issue."

[abhorrently]

For a pair of heartbeats, she just looks at him. Cautious, suspicious. Likely a look he's seen many times, on those that would hover at the door of the practice. And still, in the center of it, the spider's thread of hope.

"...are people allowed to come in when they would? Or does it have to be something very...scheduled?"

[itsjustabaddream]

"Preferably a schedule, but I take walk-ins as well. I work with Tarantulas on Friday evenings and Mary has her appointments every Wednesday but only for an hour. And I teach magic lessons on the weekends. Anything else tends to be fairly sporadic, so I'm fairly open." Cèsar hasn't made any specific plans yet, so that's still up in the air. "We'll sort something out, but do come by any time."

[abhorrently]

Magic lessons. If the conversation wasn't reaching so deep to begin with, she might have perked up at that, wanted to unpack what he did and make that connection. As it is, she turns the pamphlet over in her hands, thumb pressing on the crease.

"I'll come by. After I've settled in a little more."

And if it's terrible, she'll just leave and sort it out on her own. But...what she'd give to be able to sleep for a night through.