Support Group - March 2021

[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

[tobodlygo]

"I'm usually, like, way more polite than to try talking to someone through a bagel," he says, a read blush of embarrassment rising up his neck.

Jim takes Anakin's hand, eye's going wide with surprise as he feels the very clearly prosthetic hand- though he recovers quickly and gives the same, strong, shake he would give anyone else.

"Jim," he replies, trying to recover himself with a smile. "Is it always like this?" He asks, mostly gesturing to the Bureau rep.

[darkforcerising]

Good. Jim didn't pull away. Anakin did use handshakes as a test to see if the other person was, on some level, trustworthy. Not the only measure of someone's character. But he did not trust people who balked at a prosthetic.

"I'm a hick from back-sand-Arizona," he shrugged. "As long as you're not an asshole, lack of manners isn't going to offend me."

Anakin looked at the fool that was there today. He didn't exactly hate the facilitators the Bureau sent out to these things. They went through the motions alright. He'd know, he was in gobs of other kinds of therapy so he had something to compare them to. But these Bureau people didn't try to build trust, and how could they, the Bureau itself didn't try to build trust. And unfortunately, for a supposed therapy session, that was a fatal flaw.

"What do you mean?" he said lowly. "Always vaguely creepy and unsettling?" he asked and then shrugged and nodded.

[tobodlygo]

"That doesn't make you any less deserving of respect," he says, with what seems like sudden conviction, but he clearly means it. Jim's very used to students thinking they could bully others in his classes and taking them down a peg; He's also seen them beat themselves up over their backgrounds, and he's always tried his hardest to teach them otherwise.

Old habits are hard to break, it seems!

"Well... A little? More like-" he waves his hands, as if to try and summon the words. "Tense. Uncomfortable, Like someone's about to be asked up to the front of the classroom and share their workings when everyone has no idea what's going on."

[darkforcerising]

Anakin shrugged. "They'll leave you alone if you don't want to say anything. But they do always feel like they are always watching you. Noting if your show up or not, say anything or not."

[tobodlygo]

Jim has to try and stop the scrunch of distaste from showing up on his face, but he doesn't do a very good job of it.

"Right. Surveyed for the rest of our time on this mortal coil, then?" He sighs. And he thought the biggest challenge in his life was securing funding for projects...

[darkforcerising]

Anakin glanced between the facilitator and then Jim, giving Jim an appraising look in those fleeting glimpses. He was clearly trying to decide something.

"There's a bar not far from here," he finally said quietly while the facilitator had their back turned to them, focused on someone else. "No Bureau there."

[tobodlygo]

Well alright then. He is getting a big sense that no one here actually trusts the Bureau at all...

"You mean now or after this very exciting meeting?"

[darkforcerising]

"If you want to stay and take more notes about..." Anakin sort of shrugged in the general direction of the meeting.

But he stood up, hoisting his backpack with him and drawing a bit of attention to himself. He ignored it and headed for the door.

James would follow him or not.

[tobodlygo]

Jim is way to hungry for more information to not follow Anakin, but he's going to wait at least five minutes, looking down at his notes, marking the bits he thinks are important right now to see how that compares to after he talks to the other man.

It's already late enough, he thinks, and he's still working from home. He checks his watch, nods, and packs his stuff up. He gives a wave to the session leader and shrugs his coat and satchel on.

Now. Where to find that bar?

[darkforcerising]

The bar was easy to see by its neon sign hanging over the corner just down the block.

Anakin had picked a table not far from the door, all Jim had to do was look to his right.

Anakin also already had a rootbeer in front of him.

[tobodlygo]

Jim sees Anakin through the windows and heads in. He waves in acknowledgement, going to the bar to grab something to drink.

He comes and sits down a couple minutes later with a pint of... yeah, that's orange juice.

"So, there's a lot of questions I have, but I figure if you tell me what you can and I'll go from there?"