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

Father Mulcahy | M*A*S*H w/CRAU | OTA

[lovethyneighb_or]

“Oh, my.”

Air. Space. Food. Grass, and trees, and birds hung in the branches, it’s…

… he finds it hard to believe. Between the Captain’s illusory worlds and Number 2’s liberal application of hallucinogens, he’s… it’s almost too good to be true, isn’t it? Even if he is dead; even if this place is faltering, it’s still a living place. He hasn’t heard birdsong in… in many years.

And look.

Company. Food. There’s some strays from the recent voyage here, like him, although he finds himself hesitant to talk to both the locals and the passengers he seems to have arrived with. A hand goes to his chest, in the spot where his silver crucifix should be. At least he’s settled in enough to have put in for a new pair of glasses.

Mulcahy hovers at the square’s edge, picking at his plate while he observes the ongoing mingle, everyone recognizing one another and no one to recognize him.

It’s a lovely party.

[restingslasherface]

Behold, Father! There's a little shark-toothed dude - Korean, possibly? The resemblance is uncanny - that is offering forth a tray of sushi and Vibrating. There's a baby chicken on their shoulder giving you the sort of staredown one normally gets from Russian mobsters. "Welcome, comrade, welcome! Can I offer you the catch of the day?"

They really just vibrate like that huh? The tray is steady as stone, somehow, while the rest of them is attempting to escape Samsara by sheer speed.

[lovethyneighb_or]

…

…

…………………………

Mulcahy wonders if, somehow—just, somehow, by the same indescribable forces of luck and chance that have been so present in his life these last many years, and despite the entirely Victorian nature of the town—he has ended up on the opposite side of the line.

But frankly, he never believed in the war anyway, and far be it from him to reject such earnest hospitality. Very earnest hospitality.

“Oh! Why, yes! What is it, cod?”

[restingslasherface]

"There is also crab!" Jean indicates the Crab In Question, quite delighted that the new faces seem enthused about sushi. They Are Going To Get A Good Grade In Citizen. "Agent Jean, comrade, First Mate aboard the fishing vessel Mipha's Grace under Captain Zelda. This is, hahaha, hahahahahah, HAHAHAHA wow that is getting worse, ahem, this is our catch!"

[lovethyneighb_or]

.................... Nonspecific, thank you!

"... I see!" Mulcahy will politely take a piece of sushi and inspect it carefully to see if anything moves. Failing that, down the hatch it goes!

[graveling]

Cue corpse. The approaching individual is not blinking or breathing and is pale as...well, he's damned pale, that's all. And he doesn't seem to remember to smile until he's right up on Father Mulcahy, his face shifting slowly, muscle-by-muscle into a smile that doesn't last, as if his face is too heavy to hold it.

"You're one of the guests of honor. Standing off on the edge isn't a good way to meet folks." His voice, a low rumble.

[lovethyneighb_or]

Mulcahy appraises the stranger. Notes the unique things. It’s not an unkind gesture; it’s all the same as if he’d been noting someone’s standout outfit, a stranger meeting a strange stranger. The undead (and he figures he must be, Mulcahy’s seen many cadavers that looked just the same) doesn’t scare or unsettle him; especially since one of his old friends had been the Ancient Fuelweaver.

For his part, Mulcahy offers a warm (if wan) smile.

“Perhaps not, but I’m finding myself more of a stranger than usual. I have a… a bit of a difficult place among some of these other newcomers, and I…”

It’s a bit crass to just tell someone you’re not used to not being in a prison with the same crowd for years anymore, isn’t it?

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so many fresh faces. It’s a little overwhelming, that’s all.”

[graveling]

"From where I'm standing, you're the new face." Angel takes up a space near Mulcahy, casually, hands in his pockets, head ducked. "And I was one pretty recently, myself. This town needs new faces. To the locals, we represent hope. Which doesn't mean they've really sat and consider what we've been through to get here, or what it means to us to stay here."

[lovethyneighb_or]

... Right.

"If I'm being honest, this is a downright vacation from the place I was stuck in before, which is terribly ironic considering it was a cruise ship."

Sips drink.

"But that's... true. Has that been much of an issue in the time that you've been here?"

[notinflictthem]

"FATHER!!" a familiar voice hollers, and then Mulcahy is getting pulled in for a warm kiss on the cheek and a hug carefully around his plate of food.

"What the hell are you doing here!? I- what? You!" followed by a manic cackle as he crushes the father tighter.

[lovethyneighb_or]

No one except--

The shame of it is that Mulcahy freezes. He stares at Hawkeye when he calls his name and stiffens when he's pulled in. He'd know that voice anywhere, that mop of black hair and those pale eyes, only when he last saw Hawkeye, more than half of his head had gone gray. Mulcahy bets that he doesn't look much better.

Hawkeye hugs him. Mulcahy can't tell if he's in another nightmare or not. Freedom like this feels like it should be three worlds away, not on his plate and in his lungs or fallen into his arms. Sure, there's the barrier, but this is... like being let from the barn into the fenced pasture after a long, long winter, having feared that no one would ever come to the door.

"... Hawkeye," he breathes, disbelieving. Slowly, his hand comes to rest on the man's back. As if he'd vanish again as soon as he touched him on his own. But cloth folds under his fingers, and there's body heat.

"... Oh, how I missed you," is all he gets out before he bursts into tears.

[notinflictthem]

"Hey hey hey-" he's missed Mulcahy but this is..?

"What- was I gone back home? I didn't- Father are you- here-"

Hawk retrieves a couple of napkins stuffed into his pocket (with the aforementioned pamphlet scribbled on them) for Mulcahy to dry his eyes with.

"I'm here. Y'know not even the nurses cry like that when I leave for rnr."

[lovethyneighb_or]

Mulcahy doesn't respond, not really; he's too busy making a mess of Hawkeye's shoulder, and it doesn't look like he's letting up anytime soon.

"It's been s-such--such a long time--"

And back to being a blubbering mess. It's fine. It's hard to be embarrassed anymore. He's got to do something with this well of grief that no amount of confessional to Abe or God could ever soothe.

Re: Father Mulcahy | M*A*S*H w/CRAU | OTA

[worstorganplayer]

Snakes Tolliver sees him and goes over. "Hey there," he greets. There's so many newcomers suddenly, it's hard to keep up. But he has to start somewhere in greeting them, so he chooses this guy since he looks pretty alone and maybe lonely.

"Snakes Tolliver," he continues. "Local law enforcement."

[lovethyneighb_or]

Mulcahy smiles to greet the new friend, which doesn’t even lower when he introduces himself as law enforcement. It’s a small town, he’s probably quite alright.

“Father Mulcahy. I’m a priest, although I believe I’m at a bit of a lack of those of my faith. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Tolliver. I hope you don’t have too much business around here?”

[worstorganplayer]

Snakes is indeed pretty harmless here, although back home it's another story.

"Yeah?" he drawls. "What's your faith?" There's so many here from so many different worlds and times. Sometimes it seems like people from home are in the minority.

He smirks a bit darkly. "There's not a whole lot I'm able to do, since most of the lawbreakers are supernatural monsters of various kinds."

A small whitish fox at his feet yips in greeting.

"Oh, this is Ghost," he says.

[astrogator]

Someone recognises him. Remember that firebrand of a young lieutenant from the Village? She's very glad that he survived its destruction. Unfortunately, by the time that she noticed that he had, she'd sent up the distress call and made herself the target for all those people who didn't find their imprisonment as intolerable as she did, and feared worse. Tayrey, not knowing where Mulcahy stood, had kept away. Either he'd be as angry with her as most of the rest - or he wouldn't be, and she wouldn't risk trouble coming to him for being an understanding person.

She's on the outskirts of the gathering too, albeit for very different reasons. When she approaches him, it's with the belief that at the very least a religious man won't harm her, which makes him safe enough.

Tayrey stands there, feeling out-of-place in these strange clothes, longing for her old Tradeline uniform. (But she chose to be here; there's no protest display of her astrogator's tattoo. This is her liberation and so she'll accept the imperfections.) 'Peace and prosperity. I'm glad you made it out.'

[lovethyneighb_or]

—Oh! It’s the young lady he spoke to in the Village, and who… sent up the satellite.

He stares, a little more than stunned, considering he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her after a certain point. Not to mention he isn’t quite sure how to feel. But he’s not one to jump to hostilities, so he won’t; this isn’t the place for that. Is this where she's been all this time?

"Peace and prosperity, er... Lieutenant." He doesn't like the way her number jumps to his memory before her name. He remembers she introduced herself, and yet... "So far I seem to be the only one left who has, but I'm still holding out hope. Have you, uh, been well...?"

[astrogator]

That's a loaded question if there ever was one, but Twenty-Seven Tayrey knows better, after Erin's reaction, than to expect any real sympathy for her terrible death. She needs to put the past in the past where it belongs, and be stronger than she used to be. Find strength in her freedom.

'I am better than I have been in a very long time,' she tells him, with a hopeful little smile. 'Liberty agrees with me. And you?' She finds that she can't bring his name to mind either, if indeed she ever heard it, but the other woman from the Village had found names very difficult, so she doesn't want to ask for it. People need time to heal.

[lightconductor]

"Not one for parties?" Watson asks politely. He, too, is lingering at the edge of the party, plate in hand, cane resting against his leg. "I suppose it is rather a lot to experience.

He leans over to offer a hand to shake. "Dr. Watson, by the way."

[lovethyneighb_or]

Oh!

“Normally I would be all for them, but… I’m a bit of a stranger to most people here, even if I did come along with many of the new arrivals.”

He shakes the man’s hand. “I’m Father Mulcahy. Hawkeye mentioned you to me. You’re a veteran too?”

[lightconductor]

"Oh, you know Pierce?"

Watson's handshake is warm and firm. "A pleasure, Father. And yes, I am. Second Anglo-Afghan war, assistant field surgeon, wounded in the line of duty." It's not a brag. It's very much not a brag. It's a sober fact. "That would have been about twelve years ago, now."

[blindwatchersees]

"Excuse me?" the old man seems to step out of nowhere, despite the tap-tap-tap of his rough walking stick.

"I can't help but feel like I've seen you somewhere before. Have we met?"

[lovethyneighb_or]

“… Oh! Hello.” Mulcahy bows his head slightly in greeting. “I, ah… you may have, if you were on the same ship as the other refugees. I was among them, although I admittedly made myself a bit scarce.”

[blindwatchersees]

"Oh. Oh yes! I remember now! He saw you. Or, er, I saw you? It's all very confusing. You see, I don't believe all of me has quite made it here yet. Or it has, but it's still growing. I don't quite even understand who I am right now. Exciting, isn't it?"