MINGLE - Post-Op(era) Recovery

[pumpkinhollow]

On this night we drink to the death of Sorrow.

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.

Comments

[tehilim127_1]

"Yeah. There's a term they use in my time, PTSD -- stands for post-traumatic stress disorder. I don't remember whether that's what they call battle fatigue now or if there's a different term, but it's related, I think. People who go through some really bad," editing out the word shit on the fly, "experiences, and who after the experiences are over, are still reacting to them."

A pause, as something else comes to mind. "One thing I read about that, about what makes it likelier to be a lasting reaction ... is what kind of reactions people around you had, during and after the bad parts. Whether or not you felt like anyone else recognized that you'd been through something really awful. If it was done to you by other people, whether or not anyone else acknowledged that what those other people did was wrong."

[lovethyneighb_or]

...

"We are such hopelessly social creatures, aren't we."

Mulcahy is... quiet again, fingers pressing curious indents on his sweet roll.

"It's rather clear in any case that... loneliness, and being surrounded by enemies, will have a lasting effect on a person, but... hearing that from you is... giving me a few things to think about. A number of things make more sense, now."

...

"When I wasn't in the hospital, I was surrounded by friends who didn't approve of the situation any more than I did. But our ability to speak was... heavily moderated. As well as monitored. I have no doubt that they would have commiserated with me if they could, as I would've liked to do for them, but as it was, often the best, uh, we could do was... hm. Polite disappointment."

(Which, it should not go amiss, is the same thing he's doing now.)

[tehilim127_1]

"Mm." She breathes out. "Being monitored all the time is pretty bad for the psyche too. Would it be okay if I said something not so much polite about it?"

[lovethyneighb_or]

"Please feel free."

And he'll exercise some stress on his roll by eating it while she does.