Magic/Support Reserves, The Preserve, Wednesday After Workshops

[trigons_child]

The usual table of baked goods and refreshments was available for the reserves meeting, with plenty of ice to keep the drinks cool in the heat of the afternoon. It was Raven's turn again to lead the meeting, and she was trying not to flail. She was never going to be used to public speaking. And yes, she'd changed clothes since leaving 'Dite's, thank you very much.

"Last year we had a discussion about recognizing when people were not themselves," she began, "but in light of this past Friday, and because we have many new people here now, I thought it would be acceptable to speak on this topic again." Without love spells this time, please.

"Fandom has many ways of affecting us," Raven went on, "and it is often said that the island has a whimsical sense of humor. People have spontaneously changed sex for a day, or turned into children or animals, or become another person entirely, or just...not been themselves. If you have not experienced these things yet, you likely soon will, or you will observe your friends being thus transformed. While it may be amusing to watch, if something has altered your friend's personality, it is advisable to keep an eye on them so they do not do something they will later regret." No, her eyes totally weren't darting toward Karla when she said that, and she definitely wasn't blushing.

"And -- if they're going to do it no matter what you say?" Tara put in with a blush of her own, thinking of her turn as a chanteuse, "Keep an eye on them, and be reassuring afterwards. Remind them it happens to everybody and not that many people saw whatever it is that they did. Unless it's physically dangerous. Then you have to stop them."

"I personally would consider mental scarring to fall into that category," Emmett added. Not blushing, just... looking mentally scarred. "And yet another afterwards option would be What Happens When Hell Freezes Over Stays In Hell, aka looking your friend straight in the eye, saying "I have no idea what you're talking about" and passing them an ice cream sundae."

Karla nodded. "And when it comes to dealing with the consequences of their--or your--actions, it's important to remember that people might literally have not been in their right minds. It may be hard to be forgiving or just in the aftermath, but, most times, people have no idea anything is happening or different until whatever weirdness has struck has ended. Until then, they are acting 'normal' by the standards of that new reality, and that new reality. You have to understand that whatever actions or behaviors they displayed during that time, they have very little to do with how the person thinks, feels, or acts normally, and take that into account when you decide how to respond in the aftermath."

"Do you have any abilities that might be useful in detecting if someone is not themselves, such as reading an aura and seeing it has changed?" Raven finished. "Or if their form has been entirely altered, would you be able to sense their true self? What could you do to restrain someone who is acting out of character?"


[Co-written with the spectacular spectacular glacial_witch, hazlehurstmiss, and life_inshadow. Please wait for the OCD is up!]

Comments

Re: Talk to the Leaders

[mississippiqueen]

Aaaaaaaand Emmett would just stare back, except he was Emmett and the only thing that would keep his mouth shut was if it was full, and he'd kind of given that popsicle the best day of its short wee life already.

"Oh no. Nonononono. I see that look. That's the what happened in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas look."

Re: Talk to the Leaders

[brat_inslayage]

"And that," Kennedy replied, indicating whatever remnants of the popsicle remained, "was some serious overcompensating going on there, so no, it didn't stay in Vegas. Either that or you just like popsicles that much."

Re: Talk to the Leaders

[mississippiqueen]

"Maybe I do," Emmett said, licking the rest off the stick in an equally almost-obscene manner, then crossing his arms. "What's not to like? Long, hard, tasty, Freudian..."

Re: Talk to the Leaders

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy hooked her thumbs into her belt loops and gave him one of those extra-annoying smirks of hers. "Uh huh. You do realize all that actually goes in my Not To Like column, but hey, knock yourself out."

Re: Talk to the Leaders

[mississippiqueen]

Emmett glanced down at the now-empty, red-stained stick and sighed. "Nothing much left to knock myself out on except resisting the urge to make too-easy cracks about wood."

Re: Talk to the Leaders

[brat_inslayage]

Kennedy... didn't really stifle a snicker, not very well. "It's okay. Your secret's safe with me. Also with anyone else who noticed you deep-throating a frozen treat, just saying."

Re: Talk to the Leaders

[mississippiqueen]

"Or who listened to the radio this weekend." There's denial, and then there's Denial.

Re: Talk to the Leaders

[brat_inslayage]

"I missed that part." Yes, Kennedy, you missed it; that automatically made it so much better. "If I'd been you? I'd still be in the shower. Like, way beyond pruneville by now."

Re: Talk to the Leaders

[mississippiqueen]

"At some point I figured out that my cabinmates not killing me for using up all the hot water...in the state... was the better part of valor."