ph_memes | MINGLE - Post-Op(era) Recovery

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After the Fall of Efrain With the Prince of Sorrow's Song dead and gone, the opera dissipates, spitting its victims out on the summit of Crane's Ridge where the Dance of Celestine was held some months before. It's getting late, and there is no one yet in town to run the train. Some will brave the trip home simply for the sake of collapsing into their own beds and achieving some sense of normalcy. Others will do so with the hope of returning with help. But many others will simply say "fuck it" and camp out on the mountain, still fitted with extra firewood from the festival and the means to build temporary structures in nearby storage sheds. The journey down will be safer in the morning, and there's solidarity to be had in a cool spring night spent under the stars.

Oh, look, there's even some non-perishable food and wine from the Dance. Combined with what can be hunted or foraged, as well as snacks and drinks stolen from the concession stand, there's plenty to go around. This might even be a little bit fun! Anyone up for another game of Never Have I Ever? Maybe a little Truth or Dare? Or perhaps you just want to chat and unwind with your friends. Whatever the case may be, have fun. This is your time. After darkness, there is a dawn. At the death of Sorrow, there is joy.

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[ Space for up to 5 players! We'll popcorn it around to each other. ]

Over by the best view of the sky, there's a well-built tent set up in true cowboy fashion with a large, square frame and a small fire out front. Godpoke sits on a log, waving people over silently.

Once they've accumulated a small crowd, they hold up Megapon, and in a burst of gentle blue light accompanied by a cheerful pop, they expel three simple words spoken by their girlfriend in the direction of the person to their left.

"Truth or dare?"

"Uhhhhhh..."

Radar's only halfway through the beer he's been nursing, but for someone with Radar's constitution, that still means he's gotta give Pokey's question a bit more thought than usual.

"Truth?"

Pokey's questions, for the moment, are limited. Radar can hear their thoughts, but they want everyone to be able to hear the question. So they flip through Megapon and arrive at...

Phooey. Nothing.

Okay, out comes the notebook. They jot down a quick question.

whens the last time you told a lie? what did you lie about?

"Sorry, I shoulda been talking more before we started," says Radar, a bit guiltily, as Pokey thumbs through Megapon. He reads off the notebook. "Okay. 'When's the last time you told a lie and what did you lie about?'"

He makes a thoughtful noise as he sips his beer.

Sheepish, "It might've been the Brutok infestation up at the springs. There wasn't one, really. -- Oh wait I also told a guy at Town Hall I didn't mind him askin' so many questions when I really did mind it a lot. That was just a couple days ago. Does that count?"

Pokey gives a wiggly, non-committal hand gesture before grabbing a beer of their own.

Ehhh, that's a white lie, I'll give that a pass. But I want the deets on the hot spring thing.

Radar grins a little. It's the grin of someone who knows they maybe should feel kinda bad about what they did, but they don't, really. He looks over his right shoulder, then his left, and lowers his voice.

"It's what I got my girlfriend for Christm -- uh, Givingstide. I told the mayor there was a Brutok infestation up there and we oughta shut down the springs for a day so they could clear it out, only since there wasn't really an infestation, that meant Dahlia and me had the whole place to ourselves."

Heck yeah. Respectable. Treating your girlfriend is always a good reason to lie.

Pokey nods sagely, amiable. Then gestures to him.

Alright, your turn to pick on someone.

He laughs a little. "Okay. Ummm..."

As he stretches out that syllable, he looks around the gathering until his eyes land on Shen Qingqiu.

"Mr. Shen! Truth or dare?"

"Dare!" Shen Qingqiu whoops, lifting his drink in a casual toast. "Lay it on me, corporal! No challenge is too great!"

Oooh, now he has to think up a good one. Radar hums again as he drinks more beer.

And brightens, with a downright wicked glint in his eye. "I dare you to let me style your hair however I want, and you gotta leave it like that the whole rest of the night."

Shen Qingqiu bursts out laughing with open delight, stuttering, "Oh my, corporal! You're being so forward!" He laughs again, waving Radar closer. "Go for it dude, I'd tell you to give me Hatsune Miku hair if you were from the right time period!"

"Who the heck is Hatsune Miku?"

And what does Mr. Shen mean, he's being forward? Whatever, he's gonna give him so many braids, then braid the braids together, then get 'em to stick straight up in the air somehow --

Snickering, he pulls an emergency pack of rubber bands out of one pocket. (Of course he has emergency rubber bands on him.) As he gets to work -- and as Pokey joins in to help wreak havoc on Shen Qingqiu's hair -- Radar says, "Okay, your turn! Pick somebody!"

Shen Qingqiu merely laughs, taking the opportunity to drain his beer before anyone can insist he keeps his head still. Grinning, he surveys the circle with twinkling eyes before alighting on --

"Madam Zivia!" he calls out to her. "Truth or dare?"

"Oh does that take me back." She laughs. "Truth."

"Hm!" He thinks for a minute, ignoring the bustle and giggling going on behind his own head. "Ah, I have it! What -- is the weirdest dream you've ever had?"

"Oh, good question. Weirdest ... would probably be the one where I was at a hotel for a wedding except it was also the Olympics, and I was trying to find out whether or not I was supposed to be competing. And also for some reason this bodega I know was there inside the hotel lobby, and its cat kept wandering through to make sarcastic commentary."

A pause. "That last part isn't actually as weird as it sounds, that cat makes sarcastic commentary all the time in real life."

There's a tiny gasp behind Shen Qingqiu as one pair of hands pauses mid-braid.

"Miss Birnbaum, you can talk to cats?!"

She laughs. "Oh, I wish. No, that cat's a wizard and he can talk to humans."

Leon's not much one for games like truth or dare and as such passes the circle of braver souls by on his way to check on the others, but the weird megaphone-like thing gets his attention, as does the new person that comes carrying it. Or new to him, at least - he was stuck in that hole for a good long while. Could be they showed up months ago and he just wasn't around to notice.

Either way, point is they stick out enough that he decides to swing by after the game's died down and introduce himself. Why not, right?

"Hey," he says, gesturing to the log next to them. "Got room for one more?"

Godpoke nods, gesturing to the seat beside them quietly. They tip their hat in a silent howdy as he joins them, but they don't ever utter a word. It's impossible to make out their features behind the wide-brimmed hat at the grinning bandana, but dangling from their bag is a metal ID badge that labels them as a member of the Pumpkin Hollow Postal Service. A mail carrier.

"Howdy," says Leon, expertly obscuring the tiny thrill of excitement he feels at having an excuse to greet someone with a genuine 'howdy' behind his usual stony expression and deadpan demeanor. He glances down at the ID badge, squinting a little in the gloom to read it. After hanging around the fringes of the truth or dare game long enough he has, thankfully, picked up that Godpoke here doesn't seem to talk much if at all, so that's no surprise at least.

"Don't think I've seen you around much before. New in town, or have we just missed each other until now?"

Aw hell yeah. Godpoke immediately whips out Megapon, which inhales sharply in a way that seems to carry the sound away from Leon. With a pop, like swallowing, the suction stops. They now have a "howdy" to go with their "yeehaw" from Radar! Perfect.

To answer Leon's question, they hand him a printed card, courtesy of Pinhole:

KELAIAH VOXX
"Godpoke" or "Pokey" | They/Them
Selective mute, messenger of the gods
Megaphone is called Megapon and it is a tool for capturing and
transporting verbal language, used for messenger duties and as
an accessibility tool.
Can also use ASL.
Thank you for understanding!

Leon shies back away a bit from Megapon as Pokey points it at him, surprised and unsure of what to expect. When it just... carries his voice away, though, he relaxes, satisfied that it's nothing sinister. He takes the card.

"Thanks," he says, reading it over. "That's handy. I should probably put some effort into learning ASL, huh."

It's a thought he's been having on and off for a while now. He's seen a few people around town using it, and even aside from just being a good way to bridge communication gaps with people who prefer or have to use it for whatever reason, there's some advantages he can think of to knowing a language that doesn't require you to make or hear sound. That's a pursuit for later, though.

"Anyway. I've been here since last year," he explains. "But I got lost in Paradesium for, uh. Most of the winter. Is that about when you got here?"

Godpoke nods. Right after that Givingstide holiday, they think. The market was still open. What was he doing down there in the jungle, they wonder? They tilt their head thoughtfully. Was he off on some grand adventure, wrestling giant beasts? Exploring? Is he an archaeologist? They begin envisioning Leon as Indiana Jones unbidden. Cool.

"Gotcha," says Leon, unaware of how cool Pokey is making out his adventure in falling down a hole and getting lost for three months out to be in their head. "I've technically been here since last spring, so if you ever have any questions or need any help, let me know. I don't know everything, but usually I can at least point to someone who'll be more helpful if I can't figure something out."

Which is maybe a little less true than it used to be, given how people have come and gone in the time he was away, but he's still confident enough in his ability to network to offer.

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MINGLE - Post-Op(era) Recovery

Godpoke's Cowboy Truth or Dare Circle

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I think Drake asked for SQQ to go next!

aye aye! o7

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Wildcard as discussed!!

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