theydrewfirstblood: (outside{ freedom)
John J. Rambo ([personal profile] theydrewfirstblood) wrote in [community profile] ph_logs2024-08-23 10:45 am

we stand shoulder to shoulder (veteran's social)

Who: John Rambo ([personal profile] theydrewfirstblood) & The Pumpkin Hollow Veterans' Association
What: Leveling up veteran's poker night with a barbecue
When: post-Blight
Where: Baker Ranch
Warning(s): General warnings for John's canon: violence, police brutality, PTSD, torture, etc., and likely similar for many other veterans here, check for further warnings throughout

(NOTE: Treat this as a gathering, but I personally will be backtagging into this for the duration of September, so don't be a stranger!)

Poker Night is something John looks forward to every month, but he got it into his head that it could be fun to do a little more, so he talked to a few people, did a little extra work...

...then the damn Thatcher's Blight hit and everything went to absolute shit.

Fortunately, the whole thing's blown over now, and once he's sure everything around the farm is as clean as it's gonna get? John goes through his stores and decides he's got enough food and drink for all--and tacks up a notice on the bulletin board just below that for the regular poker night, with a date and time as well as his phone number and address.

VETERAN'S SOCIAL, BAKER RANCH--BBQ & DRINKS, POTLUCK OPTIONAL

The event starts a few hours before dusk. John's set up a ways from the house with some tables, chairs, and blankets for those who want to go full on picnic style. It wouldn't be a veteran's night without poker, so there's a game going at one of the tables while another holds plates of food--regular game coming off the grill, along with a few other pieces of meat he picked up for those who aren't fans of game.

And, because Co is around, there's no visible chicken on the grill. Ever the pragmatist, there's a couple casseroles of simple baked chicken on the table, alongside some sides John's put together or any offerings that come along as part of the optional potluck. There's not a lot of alcohol, but John's got the last bottle or two of his little dandelion wine experiment available, as well as a couple other things. Mostly it's water, tea, coffee--tamer offerings.

Speaking of the animals, John's turned loose the ones he treats as pets: Sam the rooster spends the whole night chasing after and trying to wrangle Co, who makes no bones about harassing newcomers for adulation. Those she knows, if they sit still too long, will end up with a happy chicken nesting in their lap...one that will remain quiet only so long as you offer the bare minimum of scritches and pets. Dare to ignore her, and angry clucking will ensue. John's mare, Helga, can also be seen grazing around the goings-on, shy but not unfriendly. If a hot breath puffs on the back of your neck, she's just curious--if you pet her, she'll swish her tail happily and move on.

There's also a newer member of the family, whose only just getting big enough to let socialize: Bao, a female cottontail rabbit whose still young, but no longer too much of a baby to keep isolated. Though she spends a good portion of the night in John's arms when he's not busy, she does hop around loose, sticking close to John and to Co, who can be found very rarely nesting in a patch of grass with Bao tucked against her feathery side, gently attempting to "preen" Bao despite her lack of feathers.

And while this is, ostensibly, the veteran's social, any of Baker Ranch's varying degrees of resident are invited to the party, so if there's new faces about? Relax, they don't bite--unless you have food, then watch your hands. They're probably teenagers, and they don't discriminate when it comes to their appetites.
not_a_traitor: (side eye)

[personal profile] not_a_traitor 2024-11-18 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
Gaeta grimaces. At first, it's exaggerated, ninety percent for show as he lays his next earthworm in the bucket. But then --

"Oh gods, really? Ugh," he shudders, and it's pretty clear he means every bit of the disgust this time. "And I thought the replacements we came up with when we ran out of toothpaste were bad. How? Why?"
ss_buttcrack: (dubious)

[personal profile] ss_buttcrack 2024-11-19 07:00 pm (UTC)(link)
There it is. Finally, someone understands his pain. "I have no clue how it started, man. Everyone on Moya treated it like the only normal way to do things. They looked at me like I was the weird one. Got that a lot. And you don't even want to know what we did instead of toilet paper."
not_a_traitor: (tanks and tags; half-smile)

[personal profile] not_a_traitor 2024-11-22 11:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Gaeta lets out a noise that can't decide whether to be a cough, a laugh, or another disgusted groan. "No," he says, emphatic. "No I do not. And they had the nerve to call you weird? Honestly, who wakes up one morning and decides brushing your teeth with one of these -- " he brandishes the next worm, " -- is hygienic?"

At least they're only feeding these ones to the fish. Luckily, it doesn't take a whole lot longer for them to pile together a good starter meal for the sealife of Marrow Isle. Sure, Gaeta has to touch them again when Crichton hands off one of the poles and shows him how to bait his hook, but not for too long.
ss_buttcrack: (witty comeback)

wrap!

[personal profile] ss_buttcrack 2024-11-25 10:34 pm (UTC)(link)
"I don't know, but if they ever show up here I'm gonna have words with 'em." Even if it has been achieved by gross-out, he's glad to hear Gaeta laughing. This is a much better way to spend the day than sitting out feeling lonely. No such thing as a bad day of fishin' his dad always said. He's starting to see what his old man meant.