John J. Rambo (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
theydrewfirstblood) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ph_logs2024-08-23 10:45 am
theydrewfirstblood) wrote in ph_logs2024-08-23 10:45 am
we stand shoulder to shoulder (veteran's social)
Who: John Rambo (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.
theydrewfirstblood) & The Pumpkin Hollow Veterans' AssociationWhat: 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.
no subject
"Booze is supposed to shut your brain off--plus I'd wager that many doctors in one place are too wiped out from shifts to be real thoughtful. Here, there's...all kinds. Geniuses like Siebren--the older guy who floats--there's healthier people like you, messed up messes like me...lot more going on upstairs. Plus goddesses 'n ghosts and God knows what else. Just tell me if it ever gets too loud, I'll help you find someplace quiet. Promise."
no subject
A pause, and a little sigh.
"But yeah, I guess that's another thing different between here and home, huh. There's a lot of people and people who aren't regular people, too. Maybe I just gotta get used to it. -- I don't mean you're not a regular people, sir!" he adds hastily. "I meant that more like the goddesses and ghosts and everything."
Since John included himself in the lots of stuff going on upstairs category.
no subject
“I’m not a ‘regular people’—but I consider that a badge of honor.” John assures him with a wink. “And it’s more true now, I think. I got this thing with Serranai now…though sometimes I feel like it helps keep my head more clear than anything. Like being back in the Army, but…easier. Nicer.”
no subject
They were in enough of a rush during the Blight that he didn't really get to ask John about it. Radar sips his drink as he studies him, openly curious.
no subject
“I heard about this thing, being a paladin. It’s like a soldier, but you don’t enlist with the military, you…enlist with a god or a goddess.”
He reaches up to give the glass bead around his neck a tap with one finger, since returned to him post-Blight.
“I did that with Serranai. So I’m a soldier again, but the recruitment oath I chose to swear was to her.”
no subject
Sometimes it's hard for Radar to think of John as regular army, especially when he's working with the animals or making breakfast for everybody in the morning. The little bits and pieces he overhears, too -- it never really sounds like Mr. Rambo enjoyed being in Special Forces. Why would he want to go back to that?
Well, it's Serranai, he reasons. If she asked Radar to do something, he'd probably do just about anything, too, if it meant he'd get to be near her. And John is regular army, kinda. Just not the way Radar's used to.
He leans in, conspiratorial. "So... does that mean you gonna get to see her more?"
no subject
God, he's got a crush on a goddess. What the fuck?...
He shrugs, smile growing at the notion. "I dunno--but I did see Kora at that beach party during the summer. She came to get that little pouch I had around my neck for a while, 'n she said Serranai sent her."
He pauses, tipping his head as his smile turns thoughtful--more deliberately than anything.
"I also swore my oath...'bout a day or so before the whole Blight thing went down."
He reaches up again to tap the bead hanging around his neck--the same one he gave Radar to hold onto.
"And me, serving her, lent you the favor she gave me...neither one of us caught the damn thing. Something to think about."
no subject
"Yeah, I guess it is," he says. "Maybe she's really looking out for both of us, huh?"
Wow. Serranai, looking out for a guy like him. His knees are going all weak just thinking about it. Radar tries to cover by taking another gulp of his drink, and it's only by sheer luck that he doesn't inhale it instead and start coughing.