Mingle Post: Charity Movie Night at The Memory Den

[chem_break]

Side A 🖭: Charity Movie Night

Here’s the thing: it’s not just people’s precious private memories stored in the banks of Goodneighbor’s Memory Den anymore! Now there’s also seemingly endless hours of pre-war media, donated to the Den for public use by a few generous eidetic ghoul clients who wish to remain anonymous at this time! (Rumor says one of the sources is Kent Connolly, but reports were unable to confirm or deny the validity of that claim!)


So stop by! Hop into a Memory Lounger with a friend– or two, or three if you squish-in!


There’s various Refreshments and Popcorn at the front desk– no they’re not drugged, dude! Why so suspicious?


The cost of entry is any donation of caps at the front door. Yes, one cap is valid. Stingy, but valid.


Come chill and watch movies with us.
We swear nothing Bad will happen.

what to do

Watch Movies, Eat Popcorn, Cuddle Friends in Shared Cozy Memory Loungers (there isn’t enough for everyone!) or just ...chill

Side B 🖭: Memory Crashing

… Okay so remember when we promised nothing Bad would happen?



Here’s the thing. Due to some bullshit Memory Lounger science ain’t no one got time to explain right now, the tech went screwy. Too many brains in the Matrix or something? I SAID NO TIME TO EXPLAIN.



So there’s a small chance that instead of being AWAKE, watching a movie on a SCREEN with your friends…



You will instead be UNCONSCIOUS, trapped in a digital dream of a memory inside the matrix of the terminals where all mind-data is stored.



Will it be your memory? A friend’s memory? An awful memory? Who knows? But don’t worry! Memory Den Staff will be sure to wake you up soon, right..? Just be careful, a memory of pain is real pain. Hopefully you’re not stuck remembering that time you almost died!



Want to live through and share Good Memories with your friends trapped with you? That’s also allowed! Feel free to blend memories from different characters, or explore dreams and nightmares!



If you want, get even weirder, and talk to the constructs of your character's emotional reasoning or moral processing directly!
Make up a Persona styled Mind Palace if you want a little action in your thread!
It’s Inception meets Inside Out!

what to do

Share Fun and/or Horrible Memories with Friends! Make a dungeon crawler out of your trauma! Play split representations of your character’s different emotional functions! Meet your own Repressed Feelings as another person! GO CRAZY!

(CODE)

Comments

SIDE A: lucy fudging maclean, Animal Friend perk (ota)

[wastelandwander]

[Lucy was wandering. Season 2 spoilers avoided Joshua, and some magical nation-wide roadtrips,she was done. She did what she set out to do, she made a mess trying to fix it all, but at least she met someone she loved dearly. She leveled up from 5 to 40 in a span of a few months, she had taken so many perks. Lucy was Holding her Own.

While traveling with the Ghoul, she had gone through Goodneighbor and met Hancock. Biblically, they say! So when Max had to go-- Dane and the kids needed him-- they had a good talk about their relationship. She wanted to find him again, and he promised he'd find her first. Like a threat, but romantic as all get out.

Their conversation involved Hancock (and anyone that Lucy found the need to engage with, sexually or emotionally), and with that understanding, Lucy went out to ... live the life of a wastelander!

She's back in Goodneighbor, she's traded in her Vault jumpsuit for a change of clothes, shoes, underpants, and a whole chicken!

Lucy, for some god-awful reason, is holding said chicken near the front door of the Memory Den. She didn't let Hancock know she was coming (but hoped it would be a nice surprise). She holds her chicken aloft,]

Can chickens eat popcorn??

[theomachio]

[ there is a man aiming to head out the door (for what? hard to say. maybe just a breath of uh, 'fresh' air) when Lucy appears holding a chicken up.

the man and the chicken regard each other. neither seems clear on what's happening here. ]

They eat corn. Is that your... pet?

[wastelandwander]

[Lucy puts the chicken onto the floor, where it starts to strut and cluck. It's for sure a rooster, not a hen. Lucy is oblivious to this, despite being book smart, animals weren't a thing they worried about in the Vault. They didn't have them, they didn't care for them, and Lucy absolutely never learned how to sex a chicken. The fact that she was able to get one for trading her Vault suit (aaand to be honest, she did give the guy her old underwear... maybe that's why he gave her such a precious commodity).]

I think it is my pet! [she said it so brightly, but also as if she just realized that. Lucy had no desire to EAT a chicken. Look at her! She was beautiful! She was a beautiful trans chicken!] She, she's my pet. I don't know what to name her, I've never really been in charge of naming anything before...

[her Vault's primary crop was corn! Popcorn was a tasty treat back home! Chickens were mysterious.]

[theomachio]

Not that it matters, but that is a rooster. [ Lucanis gives a little shrug, tone non-judgemental. anyone this bright happy sunshine'd disposition... they're probably a Vaultie, right? they're sweet, relatively sheltered folks by his understanding. which makes it somewhat impressive that she's here, alive, in the first place.

besides, not everyone grows up around live animals that aren't actively attempting to murder them.

he would have more vocal concerns at learning she'd traded away underwear for a chicken, but. ]

She won't lay eggs. Just so that you know. [ a pause. ] It probably won't answer to a name, so you can try out several?

bethesda was just like 'eh a few animals will still look normal' and i said 'sure ok!'

[wastelandwander]

[Lucy squints at Lucanis, then glances down at Girly Rooster as she pecks at the ground. She looks back to Lucanis.] Sure, okay. Not a chicken, a rooster. A radrooster?

[There's a slight mocking tone in her voice, but not towards Lucanis. Everything had a rad- prefix. It made her think of space movies, talking about space wars and space ships and space stars and treks and so on --And the chicken was fine. Maybe radiation didn't touch those weird-ass birds because they were related to dinosaurs? It's a little scrawny compared to big, fat pre-war birds, but neither of them had anything to compare that to, did they?]

She doesn't need to lay eggs. I'm going to let her live out her golden years with me, I'm going to get her some popcorn and we're going to watch that Cooper Howard movie with the dog, I bet she'd like that.... And thank you, but I know chickens don't talk.

[Oh! A NAME? Her name! His name! The humans! (Now now, Lucy, don't assume).]

I'm Lucy! [she's learned that people don't really shake hands anymore, so she gives a tiny wave] What could I call you?

ma June & her stupid stupid sons (together or not, lemme get on disco for yall)

[majune]

[Ma June always seemed to be everywhere, popping up like a cuter Deacon Railroad.

she brought Lucanis with her, as she easily fell in love with the gorgeous dumbass-- the way one falls in love with a child or a movie, not romantic... the way a gorilla loves a kitten, or Barv and her beans. Barv too, loved Lucanis and has permission to move barv around like a cardboard cut out for now

She waved him away as she lit a cigarette and took her post in an uncomfortable chair-- so that she could watch over Barv as she Remembered.]

Lu, can you find me a hot drink? I'm on Barv duty... And!! I'm looking for that one eyed lil prick...

[theomachio]

[ the beautiful idiot in question is not planning on directly participating in the memory review portion of this social experience (not just because he has uncertainties on what, exactly, he might be shown) but he can be a useful, beautiful idiot. ]

Hot. Spiked. [ obviously. ] ...which one-eyed prick are you looking for?

[ give him a name, Ma June. the description is, perhaps, a little too vague. some. how. ]

[brokeassgoing]

[hey, this useless one eyed prick is more responsible than that!!!

one need only breathe some cigarette smoke into the air and he'll appear like a ghost]

Yeah, what one eyed prick? [he smirks at the pair of them]

[majune]

[Barv sits in the memory lounger near Ma June, and she seems to be deep into whatever memory she was viewing-- it just looks like she's asleep, sealed in that thing.

Ma just felt better if she could sit by Barv and make sure the thing didn't fry her up.

As soon as she exhaled her smoke and Badou appeared as if from her actual cigarette, she jumped and screamed.]

You! You dickhead! [She practically snarls at Lucanis (in his direction, not actually at him),] This one eyed prick. [she points at Badou with her crooked fingers, pinching her hand-rolled cigarette.] Badou, this is Lucanis, Lucanis, this is Badou, he works for me. Badou, Lucanis works for me.

[In Ma's mind everyone worked for her. And whether Badou thought he worked for her or not, he did. Same with Lucanis! Welcome to the workforce. Be thankful Ma June wasn't evil.]

Lu', I'll get you something to make tea with, someone around here owes me a favor. Badou...

[she looks at him like he's an icky little bug]

...keep your voice down.

[theomachio]

[ here it is: the arched eyebrow on Lucanis' face at Badou's appearance that says it all. if 'it all' just means 'somehow I am completely unsurprising to learn that this man in particular is the one-eye'd prick in question. ]

Are you often caught in places you don't belong?

[ that can be a rhetorical question, actually. moving on: ]

I'll get you a drink too, if your answer isn't bullshit.

Hancock & Aries

[chem_break]

Well look who it is. Was really hoping a friend with a sense of adventure would show tonight. And here you are. Lucky me

[ Hancock had been leaning lax on the sealed dome of his favorite Memory Lounger. In his opinion the interior seat is extra cozy, and the exterior polish is a little extra red. He's here more than enough to justify having a favorite machine, okay. The ghoul's grin is friendly and fond as he takes a couple strides towards his familiar guest, and waves Aries over with a casual welcoming gesture. ]

I got a proposition for ya. C'mere and hear me out for a sec, would ya?

[ There's a certain tempered wildness to the gleam in his gaze. Obviously, he's excited to see what Aries will think of his idea. ]

So... how about a memory trade, hot-shot? I'll even go first. These bein' Memory Loungers and all... I'll show you something special to me. After, you show me something special to you. Figured it could be fun, since we're makin' a point to get to know each other a little. What do ya think? Promise you ain't gunna break my heart if you just wanna cuddle and watch old movies... but I already got a memory picked out, just for you.

[sheepsquatch]

[Aries found himself in a strange place yet again... What an adventurous life he lead! Or dangerous, scary, and lonely. Either one!

Considering these things, Aries wasn't sure if he was going to go into the Memory Den and lose himself (Kent had a good idea, right?) or just eat popcorn in a corner. Either one!

But when he walked in and saw Hancock-- like a freaking painting, leaning on the lounger like looking good was his full-time job. The costume, er, clothing that Hancock wore was a bit silly but the longer he looked at him (and he did), the more it relaxed in his eyes. After all, he was the jerk that had walked around in a blue jacket and red pants-- and a mask.

He held his arms open, because big gestures made up for lack of facial features.]

Whaaaaat! Fancy meeting you here!

[A memory trade... it made him slightly anxious but Hancock's smooth delivery of the suggestion put Aries at ease. There was something so overwhelmingly trustworthy about Hancock.]

You show me yours, I'll show you mine.

[chem_break]

Well alright. Gotta say, I'm impressed ya took the dicer option. I do like my men emotionally vulnerable...

[ Teasing, but not really. He burns through a few seconds keeping a chuckle in his throat and pinning Aries beneath a stare of savoring approval. He's truly delighted to be indulged. ]

Take a seat in my favorite Lounger, over here. Just gotta input the right settings at the terminal...

[ He's excited, but he still saunters; then slings himself into the chair before the appropriate attached terminal and starts clacking away at the keys. Inside the machine, just above the headrest, soft white rings of light hum and glow like hovering halos, and the glass-dome slides open so Aries (and in a moment, Hancock) can hop inside. ]

You want a hint at what I'm gunna show ya? Or you just trusting me entirely?

[ The look Hancock gives Aries is a daring one. Daring him to give into his curiosity. Daring him more to resist it. ]

[sheepsquatch]

[Aries had heard the term 'undressing me with his eyes' in books and from some of the fancier office parties he attended. But not until Hancock looked at him like that, did he really understand the phrase.]

You don't want me to guess. Because I'm going to guess that you're going to show me your first day as Mayor, and all the crap you had to sign?

[And as trustworthy Hancock was-- maybe he was too generous? Aries didn't mind oversharing (tell me again how your mother died? what was the name of the creature that ate her?) but he hoped that he wouldn't be trapped. Not trapped in the lounger (not literally, not completely), so much as that Hancock would become someone he was fond of and as lonely as he was...

Nah, Aries. Treat this like the old movie theaters. Relax. Lose yourself in the story.]

I trust you. Now get in here, hip to hip.

[chem_break]

[ Hancock definitely has a look sometimes, like he wants to eat you alive. Probably not concerning from a cannibalistic species, right? Right. ]

You're wrong, but you're warm. It is some kinda First Time

[ He likes how that sounds. 'I trust you'. It makes sparks of delight off the black glass of his eyes. Hancock leans back from the console with a pensive look, tipping his head like a contemplative feline. ]

One last thing. Gotta type in a verbal off-switch in case you or me wants out. What's our safe word gunna be?

joshua and hancock

[smormon]

Like a flare in the night, the scarlet glow of the Memory Den's doors lures Joshua out of the gloom and towards what he fears may be a dreadful mistake.

Aside from his own misgivings about the loungers themselves- even before he began living in the desert with tribals, his technical knowledge was limited at best- he isn't sure the logistics will agree with him. Being trapped in a small, enclosed space while a machine accesses his very thoughts... what if something were to go wrong? There were moments among them that no man should ever have to know of, much less experience for themselves. And then there is the sheer vulnerability of it all.

And yet- inexplicably, impossibly- Joshua trusts Hancock.

By the time he arrives he appears to have missed the crux of the evening, by design rather than accident; most of the pods are occupied, surrounded by empty glasses and buckets of half-eaten popcorn, while a handful of other patrons chat over drinks in small clusters. Only one or two take note of his presence, and even they seem to brush him off as yet another black sheep in Goodneighbor's flock.

But there is only one person that Joshua is here to see, and he stands out like a parrot in a sea of doves.

"Hancock." He raises a hand in a polite greeting. "You seem to be enjoying yourself."

[chem_break]

"Well Hey there! If it ain't the prettiest and deadliest set of baby blues in Goodneighbor. Good to see ya Josh, thanks for droppin' in."

Hancock all but slaps his own hand into the one Joshua is waving, capturing the bandaged digits and instead transforming the gesture into a hearty handshake. He's well into his evening of revelry already-- still coming off the residual buzz of the memories he ran through with Aries. His fine mood permeates the air around him.

"You know it. Thankfully there's not problem with the amenities this time, so you can go ahead and take a load off. Grab some popcorn. Put your feet up."

Though there is a very distinct glint in the ghoul's eyes, like he's got something to suggest just wriggling through his thoughts.

[smormon]

An introduction like that is only ever going to get those baby blues rolling, but at least they do so with affection. There aren't many people Joshua would allow to go pawing at his hands like that, either. Hancock makes the list only too easily.

"Maybe later. I'd like to get my bearings first."

By which Joshua means that he is still a little uncomfortable with being in a small, bright space humming with both strangers and technology that is wildly beyond his understanding. He could make a comment about how he'd rather avoid food altogether if he's going to even think about getting in one of those contraptions- he wouldn't recommend anyone try vomiting around bandages- but it's obvious that old-fashioned hospitality is only tangential to whatever Hancock has in store for him.

Releasing Hancock's hand, he folds his arms. It should project sternness, but the knowing little glow in his own eyes betrays the fact that, inevitably, he's going to indulge the man. "Go on. I'm waiting."

[chem_break]

Honestly Hancock doesn't question why he enjoys bothering Joshua so much, hitting that sweet spot that is friendly, irritating, and affectionate all at once.

"Fair enough. Not many places like this left after The Bombs. No rush, take it all in."

It's easy for Hancock to forget that being locked inside a Memory Lounger is an experience that may actually give some people reason to pause; he often doesn't think twice about something that promises him a rush. And this one is familiar.

Hancock's not sure why exactly he feels encouraged, maybe even something close to devious, in the face of such a stern front. He's cracked Joshua's shell before. He'd enjoy doing it again.

"Is it that obvious I got somethin to say? Gotta work on my Poker Face..." it's not a genuine complaint, in fact, the ghoul sounds pleased as anything. "I got a proposition for you, if you're feeling adventurous. I get this party's mostly for movies and such, but how do ya feel about doin' something a little more personal?" he pauses for dramatic effect, dangling like a professional trapesse artist over the potentially ravenous implications.

"A Memory Swap," he says soon enough. "Somethin' I wanna show you, for somethin' you wanna show me."

aries & joshua

[sheepsquatch]

Aries really needed to get another caravan job-- he was still hanging around Goodneighbor. And in fact-- still in the Memory Den. He was still a little dissociated and dazed from his time in the lounger with Hancock, and that was just from the experience of the machine pulling memories out. (Hancock himself was in a nice, separate compartment for later)

Joshua was as easy to spot amongst other beings-- or maybe Aries was just trying to convince himself that he wasn't looking for that Mormon mummy everywhere he went.

Snooping and stalking, (some of his favorite past-times), he got himself a small cup of popcorn and a Sunset Sarsaparilla and attempted to sneak up on his friend. A friend that made Aries feel so many emotions, and honestly, he hated it.

With his nerves exposed, along with his heart, he was shit at being sneaky. And even if Aries was a creepy, decorated hunter, he never was a war-chief, nor did he ever fight along dogs for the Legion. He was just a failed mad-scientist hillbilly with half a face. Joshua was violent, cruel, and religious! How were they even friends, and how would Aries expect to sneak up on Joshua?

Then again-- the situation called for dealing with a small crowd of people, so it was anyone's game, boys! As Aries had procured props snacks, he'd pulled his mask up further than normal, so that even his eyes were out! Yes, both eyes! What, a nose even!! He braces himself as he passes by Joshua, "WHOA, fancy meeting you here!"

[smormon]

Of all the wastelanders he might have expected to find here, Joshua really should have seen this one coming. Aries was never one to turn down a new experience, and he'd seen seen the way he and Hancock carried on in the Nuka Cola center, albeit against his will; if the mayor was throwing a party, he was sure to be on the guest list.

A small part of Joshua had been hoping to avoid seeing Aries at all after that ill-fated visit. Terminal communication was an altogether safer affair, detached from body language and the big brown eyes that had an unfortunate effect on his better judgement.

The rest of him is quietly thrilled when those same eyes spot him across the old theater. Somehow, Joshua keeps it from infecting his tone more than it ought to, even as he claps his hand to Aries' arm in greeting.

"I know. I hadn't planned on coming, but Mayor Hancock can be quite persuasive." Damn. There it is, a smile. He just can't keep it down. "You seem to have been enjoying yourself, at least."

Not here either

[chem_break]

[ He's totally not around somewhere haunting a regular lounger, smoking a blunt from his one boyfriend, watching what his other two prospective boyfriends are doing together. Mind your business, Hancock. ]

[sheepsquatch]

Joshua reaching out to touch Aries... that was what those props were for! He held up his refreshments, "Careful, got a beverage here." Please don't touch me, I'll cry and beg you to love me forever and-- shit, he didn't want to talk about Hancock right now. A big marquee at a drive-in, NOW SHOWING: FEELINGS FOR JOSHUA™.

It wasn't that he was ashamed of his attraction to or his friendship with Hancock. It was confusing! The well of people who enjoyed speaking to Aries was bone dry and he was trying to not fall in love with anyone and everyone. Attention-starved, touch-starved, and assuming that he all alone in the world? I love you, and I just met you!

"Have you ever considered glasses?" Aries can tell with the way the bandages move and the small crinkle of Joshua's nose, he's smiling. Aries would do anything to make this fucker laugh. His thoughts were racing in such an embarrassing manner. Would you like me to crawl around on my knees for you? was what he really meant, but thank god he didn't say it aloud.

"I just watched a few memories, and I thiiink I might prefer Night of the Fish Men's Revenge if I can find it around here."

[smormon]

His hand jerks back just in time to avoid a spill- or, more to the point, even making contact with Aries in the first place. For some reason Joshua finds it utterly infuriating, like losing a sneeze at the last possible second. His hand clenches in mid-air for a moment, then drops stupidly back to his side.

And yet, somehow, Joshua is still smiling. He doesn't quite laugh, but he does huff a soft chuckle through his nose. "Ah, I see. So you were enjoying yourself until I appeared."

It's a joke, but also as close as he dare come to openly acknowledging the mess he had made of their night together. Perhaps it's the neutrality of the theater making him brave, or the lifeline he is being thrown at the mention of movies. Memories- those were dangerous. They'd already established that. But...

"I've never seen a movie," Joshua adds, head cocked almost playfully, "much less one with such an... unusual name. What are the fish men getting revenge for?"

buggy the freaking clown OTA

[bugminster]

[ Buggy's managed to set up his life in a way where he very rarely needs to go anywhere that the center of attention's gonna explicitly be Not Buggy (he has people to run errands) but only Buggy can watch a movie for himself (he ain't the fuckin chatroom acrobats, who can pay once and the rest of them watch it together from the alley outside if they wanna) and if he can get on some obscure prewar comedy shit he can crib all the obscure prewar jokes for himself.

He fixed his lipstick right before he went out, and he's not stupid, he's not touching somebody else's refreshments (at least at home he knows exactly how they've been adulterated, you know) so his makeup might survive the night (it won't. He's gonna touch his face eventually). ]

So what's there to look at that doesn't suck?