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

[spaghettification]

"I am."

Siebren gives César a long, quiet look. "Is that a matter you wish to discuss in detail tonight?"

[pineapplesalmon]

César looks surprised and then his expression softens. "... no, not tonight. Tonight's a night for new friends and old. But I wouldn't mind speaking about some things... eventually." He shrugs. "Just started therapy, so not looking to put my troubles onto others. It all mostly happened inside of 10 months without much of a chance to breathe."

[spaghettification]

"Is your therapist someone you are completely certain you can trust not to exploit you?

That question sure carries a good few implications in itself, doesn't it?

[pineapplesalmon]

Well there's another surprised look, and then he smiles weakly. "... I'm keeping it to the more normal topics. Bad boss. Long work hours. Dead parents. Amnesiac brother."

[spaghettification]

"I see. I hope it goes well for you, sir. Doctor?"

[pineapplesalmon]

"... ah, I've got a PhD in Computer Science. My focus was... well, I'd rather not discuss it. It's a sensitive topic for some people here." A pause, then his brain catches up. "Right! I'm César Salazar. I just prefer to be called César. And you?"

[spaghettification]

"Siebren de Kuiper. Astrophysics, specializing in the study of gravity." He hesitates, considering giving the name most know him by now, but shakes his head instead.

[pineapplesalmon]

"Gravity's fun to play with. I can't blame you!" César brightens immediately, grinning wide. "How should I call you, though?"

And by playing, César means he knows how malleable laws like gravity are. There's room for... your own manipulations. He's curious to know if Siebren de Kuiper discovered some of those as well.

[spaghettification]

"Siebren, if we're going to be on a first-name basis. If you'd like that."

Gravity is fun to play with...he's not sure how he wants to respond to that, given how gravity has played with him. But that is a conversation for later. Over alcohol, probably.

[pineapplesalmon]

"I would! It's the culture here, too. People seem to not know someone's last name half the time." César definitely does not have this issue, ha ha ha.

Yes, definitely over a pint. But César will drop that line of conversation due to a lack of response. Probably something there with that.

[spaghettification]

"Is there anything else important to know about the culture here? I would prefer to avoid faux pas as long as I'm able to."

Though he doubts he'll be able to completely if he suffers one of his episodes.

[pineapplesalmon]

After a long moment, César asks. "How good are you on LGBT stuff? Because we've got the full rainbow here in this town."

[spaghettification]

"It usually isn't relevant to my life, but everyone on base knew Baptiste was interested in both men and women and it was no problem."

Polite apathy about queer matters is better than being an ass at least?

[pineapplesalmon]

"Well, that's a start. If you run into something different than what you're used to, people are generally receptive to polite questions. Or I can try to answer them."

[spaghettification]

"I don't expect much of it to be relevant to me. You see how young this crowd is. I'm sixty-two."

This is light self-mockery. But also, missing part of the point, isn't it?

[pineapplesalmon]

"You never know. Not everyone cares about age." César doesn't, but he's already very taken. "Things are pretty permissive, here, in most matters of the heart and body. If it's love, or it makes you happy in a way that doesn't hurt others... why not?"

Missing the point just slightly.

[spaghettification]

"Age isn't the only barrier."

He isn't ready to open himself to hope, right now.

[pineapplesalmon]

They're having two different conversations, César realizes, and he switches back to the same track as Siebren. "Fair enough. Anyway, I'm one of the farmers here. Anything you'd like me to try to grow? I can't guarantee it, but I'll try my best."

[spaghettification]

"Ah, I am not much of a picky eater. Back in Oasis, I need to be reminded to come out of the lab at all to eat, sometimes. Mijn boefje nags me about it often."

Whatever he just said in Dutch is absolutely fond.

[pineapplesalmon]

César laughs, fishing a pocket watch out of his, well, pocket. "I had to get this made to keep myself on a schedule that includes food and water. Chimes once an hour. Had my phone to nag me back home to get out of the lab, and then my parents before that."

He hears the fond... it's similar to how he uses Spanish to refer to Magne.

[spaghettification]

In Sigma's case, the fond isn't for a lover, but for a teammate. And the word he's not using in English is something like 'rascal' or 'little scoundrel'. It sounds so much better in the Dutch.

"Perhaps I will need to do something similar, if my work here proves to be similarly engrossing."

[pineapplesalmon]

Sometimes things sound so much better in other languages.

"It wasn't too much. You can afford it pretty easily with a fraction of a month's salary so long as you work hard. Well worth the cost and allows me to break my time into hour increments." César is honestly pleased it's worked so well for him, having worried he'd end up being dehydrated.

[spaghettification]

"Ah, yes. Work. I will need to...figure out what use I am here. What they will find me useful for."

His gaze grows cold and distant.

cw: capitalism

[pineapplesalmon]

César puts his hand on Sigma's upper arm (look, his shoulder is a little too high with that floating), seeing that look and understanding it far too well. "... We work together, here. As a community. There's a universal basic income here, and room and board are provided until someone figures out their place. This isn't a capitalistic society, just... practical. I've yet to see anyone be put out on the streets."

CW: exploitation of the disabled, reference to institutionalization

[spaghettification]

Sigma stares at César for a long moment and then lets out a sound that is in no way an actual laugh, even if it's seemingly shaped like one.

"My friend, capitalism is not what I was referring to there. I have been exploited in rather more direct ways, for my work and for my abilities. I...struggle, since an accident. And that has made it hard for me to maintain my independence. The government, they simply put me away, because I was unsafe. Others...did more than that. They found uses for what I can do, and put me to those uses, under the guise of helping me."