@eugene.hicks

[preseance]

Would anyone like to go dancing? You don't need to know how, I can teach you if you're at all amenable to things from the 1920s on through the 1940s. Ain't no bother, neither, so go on and put that thought right out of your head.

But if dancing ain't your style, I'm planning on putting down a dinner on Sunday. I can't promise I'll make the best insect protein steak roast you've ever had, but it'll probably be pretty damn close. RSVP if you'd like to come so I can get a decent headcount and won't leave nobody hungry.

Hope y'all are faring well after our latest adventure.

I do sincerely appreciate your time,

- EPH.

( maybe it's on account'a his southern hospitality an' all, but he's feelin' a queer sort'a loneliness an' he knows the best way to get outta his own head a spell is to reach out to others. findin' out most'a the places he might've otherwise wanted to see for yourself ain't accessible in this new world surely didn't help his head none. )

Comments

[preseance]

I ain't been known to mind it, why?

( so many church potlucks. honestly, he's just happy to have a variety of spices an' such. the hard years ain't so far away from his mind that he's forgotten what it was like to make somethin' out of nothin' more than a few chunks of pork bone an' a couple sad potatoes. he does genuinely enjoy the act of cooking, ain't nothin' that brings folks together like food. )

[inherited]

We need some more people who'll cook dinners for the newcomers. It's a welcome thing. Sora and Caroline can help, but someone else wouldn't hurt.

Uh, if you're interested.

[He did just offer to cook for a lot of people, so Riku thought, hey, why not?]

[preseance]

Oh, yeah. That wouldn't be a problem, I've been doing that some anyhow here and there when I have time. Wouldn't take much to make it a dedicated part of my routine. Happy to help out.

( when you grow up cooking for three brothers, you learn a thing or two. )

[inherited]

Thanks. We get newcomers around every two weeks or so.

I'm Riku, by the way. You can see that. But anyway.

It's nice that you're offering to help people learn how to dance. You know, if they want to.

[preseance]

Feels a little more companionable to go on an' introduce ourselves, don't it? I'm Eugene, though most folks just call me Gene.

( gone are the days he'd introduce himself as doc. though that part still lives in him, it ain't the soul of him now the way it was in the war. )

Well, where I'm from, dancing was sort of right up there with sharing food as a way to bring folk together.

( could be a misread, but it almost sounds to him like the (fella? dame? he ain't got a clue which gender a 'riku' might be) might just be shy about askin'. )

A pal of mine got me into swing, though. I like to pass it along on his account.

( reggie's been dead now almost longer than gene knew him breathin', but every day without him is an ache. he does what he can to keep the fire burning in his ow way, maybe moreso here where he ain't even got his ghost. )

[inherited]

And no one minded it? It's easier to ask for food than it is to ask to dance. At least for me.

[Easier to sound calmer online like this, but he's definitely making some faces at this.]

Back where I grew up, we sparred a lot for fun. It wasn't anything like dancing. But I guess there's the same level of trust in it. Knowing you're going up against someone and knowing they won't take it too far.

I guess you can't take dancing too far.

But you're letting someone lead?

I don't know a lot about dancing, actually. :/

[preseance]

( that pretty much sells it. it's the overshare that comes off like nervous babble, failin' to connceal interest in the thing itself. gene shakes his head some, smilin'. )

You want to drop by? I can show you a few things. I teach both following and leading.

( sure, he gambled with the boys an' all that, but dancin' was his preferred pastime an' when you're hell an' gone behind enemy lines there ain't many dames to speak of. lotta the dancin' was done with each other, jasper an' alex an' angel an' even ginny when gene could rouse his grumpy ass up for a turn.

riku gets a location ping for his troubles to the little dance studio. )

Any time after nine most nights I'm usually free. If the lights aren't on, I'm probably at the fighting rings.

( patchin' folks up. ain't much that could cause him to step into the ring himself, he just ain't a fighter in that way. he'd get his damn clock cleaned. )

[inherited]

Do you get a lot of chances to dance there?

[At the end of the day, Riku is still a teenager. He has a single ounce of humor somewhere inside.]

But ... sure. I'm good on my feet. It'll be easy, right?

[Oddly enough, being "good on his feet" is the only thing he's felt confident in aside from "can you cook for a lot of people every two weeks?" He's trying.]

[preseance]

( he's ancient at twenty-three, one of the older men in his unit by the time the war wore down. he knows teenage boys an' the humor they employ, so he cracks a smile. )

Oh, a few opportunities. Here and there. But I'm a medic, and that's mostly why I go. They play terrible music anyway.

And hey, it ain't hard. I'm sure you'll do all right with a little practice. :)

( look at this '40s boy using emojis. )

[inherited]

It's really all about teamwork, right? A smaller team.

[See a pep talk about dancing in action.]

[preseance]

Exactly that. And additionally, it's also telling a story, in a sense. It's a form of self expression just as much.

( he'd never thought of it that way, but perdita — who teaches the tango at the studio an' from whom he's been pickin' up a few things — had passed that little pearl of wisdom on an' he's found it makes a certain amount of sense.

is he helping? hurting? he has no idea. hopefully the former more than the latter... )

[inherited]

A story? Really?

[Frankly, it sounds like the kind of stuff that Sora would learn going from world to world. Not him.]

I'm guessing I'll get this better when you teach me how it goes.

[preseance]

You surely will. I have it on some authority that I am an excellent teacher. :)

Any ideas when you might be free? I'll clear my schedule some, so's we can work from the ground up and not concern ourselves with interruptions.

[inherited]

Evenings, but I'm trying to make up for lost time with the police force. I'm training to join up.