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

[notinflictthem]

"It's my mom's poetry, if you said you didn't like it I'd have to fight you for her honour."

But still, he looks out over the assembled crowd, at all the new faces.

"Tell me more about it? I mean, I blabbed enough about my home for the both of us, but I want to know about it. Why'd you leave?"

[astrogator]

Tayrey chuckles. 'In that case, I'm certain your mother writes the most excellent poetry in Crabapple Cove and probably ought to win awards,' she says merrily, as much because it's something to say while she tries to figure out what to tell him about Cardalek as anything else.

'Where I'm from... It's a place called Cardalek. That's the name of the colony world, of the Company - the megacorporation that owns it - and of the central Tower I grew up in. Cardalek Tower, floor 284. I grew up in the sky! I was adopted as a baby. That's a complicated story, but my father was so good to me. I never went without anything, and he valued me so much. I didn't even appreciate it until later, when I met people who had rough childhoods, who never had what I had.'

She sighs. 'Why I left... it was impulsive. I had this friend who convinced me that an... internal politics situation was going to go against my family, and that I'd lose my citizenship rights. So I decided to leave. I ran off and joined the military, thinking it'd be a great adventure, and...' Tayrey shakes her head. 'I love my career. I love flying. I don't regret that. But I regret the way I went about it. The hurt that I must have caused. It was thoughtless. Stupid.' She'd been all of thirteen, hadn't known any better.

[notinflictthem]

A lot of the specifics are lost on him, but God if this isn't a familiar tune. He's met plenty of kids who signed up to the army thinking they'd be heroes and wind up on his table as corpses. More than one who was running from home.

"My dad's pretty great too. I had to leave him to go study to become a doctor- when I was younger I was too excited by all of it to write, but... I ended up missing him a lot, y'know. You're right, we're luckier than most."

He's still got the message from the bottle in the breast pocket of his vest.

"I'm sure your dad is still proud of you. I mean, that's what you do when you're young. You make mistakes, break some hearts, and you learn better for next time."

[astrogator]

'I thought I wouldn't miss anyone. Back in my first year my section lieutenant, Savitskaya, she used to say she'd make me write if it were up to her. I understand that better now.' Leah Savitskaya, who saw her own children twice a year and knew what Tayrey was doing to her poor father.

'It's easy to be too excited. Too busy. But... he is proud. After I passed for lieutenant he sent a message. He'd known where I was the whole time, just-' she smiles softly, '-let me stay, let me find my own excellence.' Made her feel exceptionally guilty for all the uncharitable thoughts she'd had about the family having her dragged back if they found out.

'So did you decide to become a doctor because of your father? Following after him? I'm sure he'd have valued that.'

[notinflictthem]

"Well hey, glad to hear it. Your dad sounds like a stand-up guy."

Letting his kid go off and make a name for theirself... yeah, he knows what that's like.

"More or less. I didn't really have a choice- I mean, not like how I got drafted, but y'know. Always wanted to help people, couldn't help but stick my nose into situations, steady hands, perfect doctor material. You should've seen his face when I told him I got into med school. I don't know if he was prouder that I was becoming a doctor, or that I wasn't taking after my Grandpa Sparky and trying to scam the government for a living."

Good ol' Grandpa Sparky.

"I don't know how any of the magic junk here works, but... a letter from him washed up in a bottle last month. I don't know if this place does encores for this sort of thing, but. I hope you get word from yours too, eh?"