[Closed] The sweetest summer gift of all

[talesuntold]

Who: After the End Times staff
Where: Floor 9, room 69.
When: 10/19
Rating: PG/PG-13
Summary: Auntie Maggie summons everybody over for dinner and movies.
The Story:

Everyone on the After the End Times staff received a message this morning.

Hello After the End Times staff,

I'm Maggie Garcia, and I've taken over as head of the Fictional department.

I still haven't met all of you, and with our crew as small as it is here in Wonderland, that hardly seems reasonable. Come by floor 9, room 69 this evening for a very informal staff meeting. Introductions, dinner, and a relaxing movie night. I'm currently taking requests for both food and films, though I reserve the right to veto the latter. I have to draw the line somewhere.

See you later, darlings!

--

True to her word, Maggie spent the afternoon cooking. (She likes cooking; why order from the closets what she could make herself?) A meal is laid out honoring any requests she got, and the public half of her room has its usual assortment of comfortable antique chairs and couches, plus a projector screen set up for movies once they're done eating and talking.

She also has a popcorn maker and plenty of ammunition for it. No movie night is complete without popcorn.

((Feel free to use this post as a mingle. Post top levels, tag around, etc! If anyone wants to respond to Maggie's initial message, you're also welcome to do that, just specify in the subject line.))

Comments

Maggie | Open

[talesuntold]

Maggie, dressed in comfortable clothes and clearly very much at home in her space, sits cross-legged in the corner of one couch with either a plate or a bowl of popcorn balanced in her lap. She'll run the evening very informally, getting people whatever they need and intervening should things become too businesslike. ("If you want an all-business staff meeting, Georgia, you can call one yourself.")

[mrsarcastic003]

Tim has been raised by a combination of Jack and Janet Drake, Bruce Wayne, and Alfred Pennyworth. As such, when he's invited to someone's residence for any kind of event--particularly someone he's not very familiar with--he knows what is expected of him. He brings a gift--food, in this case. He has a case of grape Zesti in one hand, and a tray of monster apple bites in the other.

He smiles when he enters. "Hi, Ms. Garcia. I'm Tim Drake. It's nice to meet you."

[talesuntold]

Maggie laughs aloud when she sees Tim's food offering. Grinning, she takes the tray off his hands. "Maggie, please. A pleasure to meet you, Tim."

She sets it down with the rest of the food she already has waiting, then asks, "Did anyone tip you off about my fondness for horror movies, or was it just thematic for the month?"

[mrsarcastic003]

"Nice to meet you too. And mostly theme," he says cheerfully. "Though I figured as someone from a world where the zombie apocalypse has come and gone, you'd appreciate a little grim humor. Glad to know I didn't totally miss my mark. What's your favorite horror style?"

[talesuntold]

"I like everything. Genuinely scary movies, amusing movies that draw on horror tropes, movies I can mock all the way through, movies that invite scathing critique..." She grins. "Of course, the latter two depend on who I'm watching with. It just isn't as much fun to take things apart on my own."

[mrsarcastic003]

"Sarcasm and mocking are lonely without an audience," Tim agrees solemnly. Then grins back. "I mock all kinds of movies, horror and otherwise. Especially action--they're so ridiculous, aren't they?"

[talesuntold]

Maggie beams at Tim. "Horror is my favorite, but I'm flexible. If you're ever looking for company, I hosted a lot of movie nights back home. I think I ought to start them up here. You're welcome any time."

Hence this supposed staff meeting. Tim has made an excellent impression already.

[mrsarcastic003]

"Thanks. I'd definitely enjoy that, and I'm pretty flexible, too. Most of my movie nights have been with friends, and our tastes tend to range from Romantic Romances to Comedic Comedies to Exploding Explosions and everything in between."

Is he being sarcastic, or are these the names of real movies? Who knows?

[talesuntold]

She laughs, not knowing whether they're titles wherever Tim comes from, but thinking that any of them would be eminently mockable. "Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess? I enjoy the occasional night of wildly cliche examples of their genre."

Please, show her all of these.

[mrsarcastic003]

"Same here. And they are exactly that, as it turns out, and perfect for all manner of mocking, depending on your mood."

Yes, and he hopes you love them as he loves them.

[postictal]

It's probably best that he get to know the other people on Georgia's staff - especially if this person, uh, Garcia, seems like she's pretty important. Not that George generally regards Fictionals real well, he's learned, but if the two manage to work together, that probably means something.

He'd say that George's vote of confidence is enough for him, but honestly, if she's friends with him and Jay, it's clear that she's not exactly a stellar judge of character herself.

"Don't think we've met."

[talesuntold]

That was the point of this, as far as Maggie's concerned. She called it a staff meeting as leverage to get everyone in the same room, but she wanted to meet people in a slightly less professional setting. It's the reason they're in her room rather than the office.

She wants to get to know everyone, and she wants them to know that they have the option of coming to her if need be. Not that she expects everyone to take advantage, but she's been taking care of her team back home so thoroughly that she couldn't stop if she tried. She respects Shaun and Georgia. She trusts them completely, in specific ways. When it comes to the emotional well-being of their staff, however, she trusts herself more.

Maggie smiles and, very unlike Georgia, offers a hand to shake. "No, I can't say I've had the pleasure. I'm Maggie."

[postictal]

Well, her first mistake would be in assuming it's a pleasure to meet Tim in any way. He's not what he'd personally call a real pleasurable person to know, and he's not actually sure anyone else could tell her otherwise. Even people who actually do know him, and can stand to tolerate his existence for longer than a few minutes.

But the people here are more tactile than George, and he can acknowledge that with a brief clasp of the proffered hand - not as reluctant as George might be about physical contact, but not bereft of trepidation.

"Tim." Now the, uh, even more awkward part. "I guess I'm kind of...consulting? Moral support?" Hell if he knows.

[talesuntold]

She makes a note of how brief the contact is, filing Tim away as someone not to touch under most circumstances.

Her smile doesn't fade as she tilts her head slightly and assures him, "I don't devalue intangible contributions. You're welcome whether or not you have a byline."

[postictal]

"I dunno if 'intangible' is the word for it. Uh. Exactly." He's not sure if there's a word that should be applied at all, considering he's not sure what his contributions even are. Assuming he's actually made any. "I mean, I know George. And Shaun. And I guess I'm gonna facilitate an interview down the line."

So, yeah. Maybe consultant.

[talesuntold]

"Consultant seems applicable, then," Maggie agrees. "And if you've managed to befriend Georgia, we'd better keep you around. She likes to make that challenging."

Her glance over at Georgia is fond, though, because Georgia is clearly making an effort. She let Maggie talk her into casual clothes, she's not on her laptop and working... it's a bigger concession than Maggie expected to get.

[postictal]

“Honestly, I’m not sure either of us meant for it to happen.” He only winces minimally when she says it. Befriend. Like that’s not a death warrant where he’s concerned. Not that anyone would - or should - know.

“Just kinda happens after you save each other’s asses, I guess.”

[talesuntold]

She isn't sure Georgia intends to become friends with anyone. It is, at the very least, a rare occurrence.

"As far as unintended consequences go," Maggie tells Tim with a smile, "friendship is among the best possibilities."

[shorthair]

After the last Event, Clementine's not really in a party mood at all, but she decides to stop by anyway. It's better than sticking in her room anyway, better than going over what happened about a hundred times in her head, she should actually meet the rest of the staff after all. She keeps her gun on her, loaded, in its holster with extra ammo in her backpack.

"You're Maggie, right?" She asks as she hovers near a bowl of popcorn. "Hi. I'm Clementine. An intern." The intern? She's not really sure if there are other interns.

[talesuntold]

Maggie smiles warmly at the girl. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Clementine. Yes, I'm Maggie." She notes but doesn't comment on the gun. It's a sign that either Clementine has been through a lot here or she's from a world at least as harsh as the one Maggie comes from. Either way, Maggie can't blame her for it.

"Georgia says you do good work."

[shorthair]

Clementine lifts her head with a soft smile. She feels proud to know Georgia would talk about her like that, talk about her doing work that's good (work that's not killing things or surviving shit, but like good, productive stuff).

"Does she? I learned how to do all that work from her. Writing articles wasn't something I ever did before," Clementine says, and she's still mostly just learning, catching up on writing, how to do so. It's been a very good learning experience for her.

[talesuntold]

That's a good smile, and Maggie can't help returning it.

"You're getting an earlier start than plenty of licensed journalists I've worked with. Everyone has to start somewhere. What do you like most about it?"

[shorthair]

"I liked being able to do something good, to create something," Clementine says, and it's so vague of an answer. She comes from a world where production doesn't happen. It's survival. It's destroying things before they kill you.

It's killing. It was nice to be able to make something instead, and it was something that could help people survive zombies.

"How'd you get started in all this?"

[talesuntold]

Maggie doesn't think that's a vague answer at all. She nods, sympathy and understanding written across her face.

"My family is very well known, and most people assumed that I would either go into the family business or be a useless heiress, spending my parents' money without doing anything of value. I'm good at my job, and I earned it without any of my family's influence."

She shrugs one shoulder. "I wanted to make something of my own, that wasn't dependent on anyone else. And I love stories."

[shorthair]

Clementine quiets then. It's a firm reminder that while there are zombies in Georgia and Maggie's worlds, they've managed to create society again after the start of it all. They can have jobs. They can make money. Maybe her own world will- will be able to get that back one day too.

She's heard of settlements, towns even if she doesn't trust them.

"That's pretty cool of you. A lot of times people just want power in the easiest way they can get it, but you wanted to do what you wanted."

She has passion. "What kind of story is your favorite to write?"