(no subject)

[tramitem]

Who: OPEN (Including to all the new characters who app throughout the month)
What: Bureau Run, Non-Mandatory Support Group
When: There are meetings at various times during the week, whatever works for your character between 8 am and 10 pm
Where: There are meetings at various locations around NYC, whatever works for your character
Rating/Warnings: We ask that players put appropriate warning labels in the subject lines of their threads as they become necessary


There’s a generic spread of food on a table off to one side of the room: donuts, muffins, bagels, and cookies; coffee, lemonade, water, and because one of the Different asked for it, hot chocolate. Maybe you’re hungry enough to try it—it’s free after all.

Or maybe you can’t stomach anything, given the event you’re attending.

The space is a local rec center. The beige-painted cinder block walls and the fluorescent lighting are a terrible combination. Maybe they are reminiscent of the public school you attended in your youth?

Why are you here? Curiosity? Maybe the Bureau official will say something that will help you make sense of things? The meeting was interesting—who knew there were so many people like you, receiving memories of a past life? The group was led by someone from The Bureau—the Department of Medical Services. Some people are staying in their chairs and chatting—they must know each other from previous meetings. Some of them are gravitating towards the food.

How do you feel about tonight? Has it helped you come to terms with the dream of memories you’re having? Maybe it’s time to talk to others, get an understanding of their experience.

Comments

Re: I decided to try for something different, a little less OMG!!

[madman_with_a_box]

Well, this fellow certainly seemed pleasant, if a bit skittish. Then again, John considered, if anyone present at one of these Different meetings weren't skittish, he'd have been concerned. This was all rather unbelievable, and he would have had trouble even considering it were it not for what he had seen and experienced. Hoping to ease some of the, well, unease, John offered Mr. Fell a friendly, reassuring sort of smile and extended a hand to shake. If they were all a bit nervous, best to try and be kind. It was the sort of mindset he adopted with his students - encouraging and friendly.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Fell. So, uh..." He glanced around again, thinking it rather funny that he was coming to a support group all over again. He'd been a bit younger the last time he'd gone, and it had nothing to do with anything preternatural. "This is my first time coming to one of these meetings - you? I really wasn't sure what to expect. Sort of feels like a bloody staff meeting only with more...weirdness and less...forced polite conversation." He took a breath in consideration, having withdrawn his hand after the shake to slip it into his pocket. "Food's the same though. Funny, that, eh? Always the same, no matter what meeting you go to...Sorry. Tangent again. So - what - " He frowned then, his dark eyes crinkling a little in thought.

" - Is it rude to ask another Different what they went through? Sort of - what are you in for, kind of talk?"

[temptationaccomplished]

After a brief hesitance, he took John's hand with his own and gave a warm, slightly awkward shake, then quickly, politely withdrew his hand so as not to think too hard about similarities. His hands folded together over his stomach, fidgeting.

"Oh, no, not my first. Not at all. And it does sort of feel like that, doesn't it?" He nodded in agreement, looking out at the room as if surveying it anew. These meetings had always been a bit bland and uninspired considering for how long and how frequently the Bureau had supposedly been hosting them. You'd think they might go for some decorations, something to liven the space up, he thought, though that might well make the effect worse. "I've been coming for--well, since February. It feels like a very long time, now. I used to come more often, to try and help, but I've fallen out of the habit."

And that sentiment only reminded him of months ago, and another familiar face, and a cup of cocoa and overtures of friendship.

"Not rude, no, I don't think so," he said, reminding himself he should help, and not just because John looked like his Crowleys. "I think that's the advertised point of the meetings. Anything in particular you'd care to know about?"

[madman_with_a_box]

"I was a bit late getting here - had a work thing beforehand and had to bike here from campus. So I didn't really get to listen to everyone's stories and I didn't get to share my own - maybe next time, eh?"

There was something about Mr. Fell, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He seemed unsettled, as if something were wrong or strange, but other than the entire situation at hand, John really didn't know what it could possibly have been. Especially since Mr. Fell had just stated that he had been dealing with this for nearly half a year now! He supposed also, that he might have simply been projecting on him his own anxieties. He took a breath; Mr. Fell might also simply be awkward around new people; who could say?

"Not sure about the decorations, though. I mean, what would the cake say? 'Congratulations On Your New Trauma'?" He laughed a little, clearing trying to make a joke, but even as the words left his lips, the humor sort of died on impact. He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, standing with his hip slightly to one side as he thought. Dark eyes glanced back out over the congregated mass, then back to his new companion in thought.

"...Are everyone's First Memories gut wrenching, or am I just...unlucky?"