THE SQUAD DOES AN INTRO: GROUP MEET UP - [modplot] [event] [free-for-all]

[wildermods]

THE SQUAD DOES AN INTRO: GROUP MEET UP
OOC POST
The Green's binding spell finally works out its kinks and the entire group is teleported into the same area in the center of the city, near the statues of the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Scarecrow.

Everyone in the group feels a tingling sensation as the magic sets in place and binds them. Anyone that tries to leave will now find themselves being teleported back if they wander too far. The group will have to try to stay together when it moves now.

They have a little bit of time to figure things out.

---

OOC INFO
✦ Post in actionspam format. Plots and mod-run events in the game are meant to be in actionspam format to keep a brisk pace.

✦ Free-for-all Post. This event will be in "free-for-all" format, meaning that threadhopping is encouraged and that threading should be treated in the same conversational way as network posts.

✦ By now, the language magic should be fully in place. By now, everyone should have magically learned Sylvaen so that everyone can speak it fluently and understand each other.

Comments

[wherenoonegoes]

Well, either concussed or drunk, you're still right. Actual introductions now that we're all in the same place and speaking the same language is actually a good idea.

[Hiccup waves with one hand while scratching Toothless's head with the other.]

Some of you have already met me, but hi. I'm Hiccup. More formally, I'm Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Chief of Berk's Hairy Hooligans tribe. This is my friend Toothless, Alpha dragon of Berk.

[invisibleheir]

[ Arturia dips her head a little in acknowledgement of introductions. Probably a good idea, honestly. ]

I am Arturia Pendragon, the King of Knights and the Once and Future King of Britain.

[ She does take a few concerned steps towards Dixon. ]

Perhaps you should sit down...

[followingdawn]

[ Kings! Chiefs! Important people, apparently.

And then there's this kid. ]

Sothe.

[ No titles here. ]

[therevanchist]

[Revan pushes her hood back with the hand that's not supporting Dixon.]

I'm Revan, of the Jedi Order.

[followingdawn]

What's a Jedi?

[ look somebody had to say it ]

[therevanchist]

[For a moment, Revan's face goes blank with confusion. Who hasn't heard of the Jedi? However, she's keenly conscious of being watched, and gets herself back under control quickly.]

We're a monastic order. We use and follow the guidance of the Light Side of the Force, and serve as guardians of peace and justice in the Republic.

[Theoretically. They've been having a rough few years and it's totally not entirely her fault.]

[followingdawn]

[ He looks pretty blank himself, at just about all of that - the Force, the Republic. ]

Okay.

[ At least the monastic order bit made sense. ]

[loadme]

I'm Monika. Um, I was in high school before I made it here. I practiced the piano and was president of my own club.

[Yeah that's... about all she really has going for her.]

It's very nice to meet you all.

[suckitblue]

[ Simmons watches the others introduce themselves. When attention shifts around to him he hesitates, jolts a little, then: ]

Dick Simmons. I was a captain in the army of Chorus until the war ended?

[ While "I'm a retired war hero" is a satisfying thought, it's not quite something he can spit out in good conscience. Simmons knows how things tend to go for him. It's hard enough to sound confident putting this much forward. ]

[shipoftheseus]

[Phos looks a little overwhelmed, between all the strange new people and the flurry of names and whatnot that they're sure they're gonna have trouble remembering when it's all being delivered so rapid-fire. And all these titles, none of which make any sense to them. They'd have assumed the translation wasn still wonky if it wasn't just individual words.

Of course, the asshole with the mottled face is quick to throw them under the bus, so Phos is scowling when the introductions come around to them.]

Phosphophyllite. [They jab a golden finger at the asshole.] And he attacked first!

[Both in kicking the statue and taking the first swing with that shield.]

[awfulcer]

Hey, fuck you, Farrah Fawcett! [he barks. Dixon’s probably going to wipe out on Phos’ name when sober, so it’s a minor miracle that while drunk he doesn’t just call Phos something much worse that starts with a ‘ph’ sound.

He takes a final drag off his dying cigarette and then, looking Phos directly in the eye, stubs it out with his hand against the Tin-Man statue’s shoulder.]

[shipoftheseus]

[They have no idea what they were just called. Or what the little smoking stick the guy just rubbed into the statue and left a grey smear with is. But both are pretty obviously insults, and Phos is no less ready to respond now than they were during their little one-on-one meeting earlier.

So with narrowed eyes, they whip an arm forward, the gold alloy lashing out in a thin tendril like a whip to crack across Dixon's hand where it lingers near the statue.]

[balladin]

[ The whole situation escalates so quickly that Robbie missed the start – he realizes that people are losing their proverbial shit when Farrah Fawcett's invocation rings out across the group. ]

Hey!!

[ He shoves someone out of the way to put himself bodily between the two anger balls, one arm held up towards with of them. ]

Peppermint Patty! This is not helping! Whatever beef you’ve got can wait until we figure out what’s going on. That goes for Sheriff Woody over there, too.

[shipoftheseus]

[Fortunately, they have enough control of the alloy to stop it just before it can hit the interloper by accident. It hovers in midair before Robbie for a moment, and Phos just looks annoyed.

The alloy tendril suddenly shifts to arc neatly around Robbie like a writhing golden snake, darting to thwack Dixon over the head instead.]

[therevanchist]

[Revan lets herself be brushed aside. She's considering simply dragging Dixon away bodily when Phos's alloy flickers in the corner of her vision and she blocks it instinctively, batting it aside with a quick hand gesture that corresponds to a telekinetic shove.

"Kicking a rock," stubbing the cigarette out on a statue...Dixon's unpleasant, sure, but why is this a problem? They're all missing something here, but Revan can't quite get her head around what.]

Phosphophyllite, what's the matter? Why were you and Dixon fighting the first time?

[She is gonna mediate the shit out of you two before resorting to violence, so help her. Especially because that shapeshifting attack Phos is using will be a real problem if this turns into an actual fight.]

[awfulcer]

[Dixon jerks away from the gesture rather than the tendril, which he doesn’t even see. He steadies himself against Revan and the Tin-Man, swaying until he finds his balance again.] Why’s he giving his side first? I was walking up like normal to introduce myself to him and he gets in my face about how I’m killing people and pulls a blade on me. That’s how this started.

[Granted, Dixon’s slurring the last half of that sentiment really hard, almost to the point of unintelligibility, so if everyone did the wise thing and ignored him it’d be pretty justified.]

[shipoftheseus]

[The alloy bounces off...nothing, as far as Phos can tell. The whole mass of it twists and stretches for a moment with their confusion before retracting back into the shape of an arm. Phos eyes it for a moment, disconcerted by whatever that was and the situation in general.

This is frustrating beyond belief. Why doesn't anyone get it?]

He was trying to break them! [They gesture at the statues emphatically. Not those in particular, but. Y'know. Phos assumes these people can make sense of it.] There's already something wrong with them! How cruel do you have to be to try damaging them at this point?

[therevanchist]

[She shushes Dixon the way she would any belligerent drunk, most of her attention on Phos.

And then it clicks, not from any whispers through the Force--and where the hell is the Force when she needs it, anyway?--but merely because she's used to being surrounded by non-humans.]

Your species is inorganic. [That part's not really a question. The sparkling hair, the perfect skin, the quasi-metallic arms. Revan will kick herself for not getting it sooner once this calms down.] Statues like this are people on your world?

[She tries to phrase it as neutrally as possible, and hell, for all she knows, Phos is right.]

[balladin]

Are you kidding me?

[ Robbie can only watch as the gold tentacle stretches around him. Something happens so it doesn’t reach its intended target, but he can’t make out whether it’s because the man dodged or not.

He’s relieved either way. Phos' arms are morpheous, but they look hard. He ignores the woman's questions, or rather doesn't wait for a response. She's not pissed enough. ]

This is about the statues?! Who cares? Half of them are smashed anyway. Do you want him to look like them?

[shipoftheseus]

[Revan's logic is good, if disorienting. Those sure are some implications, that the norm isn't inorganic, that these aren't people. Phos gapes for a moment, but the other guy interrupts before they can gather themself enough for some kind of response and, oh lord. That sure was not the way to calm them down.

Bristling -- literally, in the case of their arms, which momentarily shift with their agitation -- Phos scowls and jabs a finger towards Dixon.]

His face looks damaged. Does that mean it's okay for me to break yours, too? I mean who cares? Some of you are already broken.

[The sarcasm is not even remotely veiled, wow.]

[awfulcer]

Dixon. I’m alright. [He waves Arturia’s concern off. He’s feeling heady, he’s got Revan to help him stay up, his face doesn’t even hurt that bad and he has a cigarette. He is good, at least better than he has felt for a bit. Now if only he were somewhere besides this weird Wizard of Oz-themed hellscape and not surrounded by a bunch of strangers explaining their backgrounds in jargon he can’t and stubbornly won’t follow. He stays quiet, both listening to the others half heartedly and also considering laying down on the ground and taking a nap.

Super belatedly he mumbles a thank-you to Revan.]

[outofresets]

Dragon!

[ Shooting out of the crowd, Bart comes skidding to a stop next to Toothless, kneeling down about a foot or two away from him, practically abuzz with excitement. At the very least he keeps himself for trying to touch him, but he is half offering a hand in case dragons are anything like cats or dogs and like to give people a sniff. ]

Is Berk where you came from? What's Alpha dragon mean? Are those code names or your real names?

[ It's honestly hard to tell if he's addressing Hiccup or Toothless. ]

[wherenoonegoes]

[Hiccup can certainly appreciate the excitement about dragons.]

Slow down. One question at a time. Yes, we're from Berk. It's a little Viking village about twelve days north of Hopeless. Alpha means he's the undisputed leader of all the dragons on Berk and some of the nearby islands. And, yes, those are out real names. In my case, hideous names are supposed to ward off gnomes and trolls, and in his it's because he has retractable teeth.

[Toothless is, thankfully, somewhat used to hyperactive kids thanks to Fishlegs' cousins. He's sniffs at Bart's hand, and bumps his head against it, giving the boy permission to touch him. Although, he reserve the right to rescind that permission if Bart starts climbing all over him and tugging at his earflaps.]

[outofresets]

[ Bart has no idea where Hopeless would be or why it would take twelve days to get from one place to the other, but he's just going to take Hiccup's word for it for now.

He says an awed barely audible "Cool" at the mention of retractable teeth, taking Toothless up on the offer to touch him. And it looks like Toothless doesn't have to worry about Bart climbing all over him, the speedsters calmed some as he runs a gloved hand gently up the dragon's forehead. ]

Does the name thing work?

[wherenoonegoes]

[Hiccup shrugs]

Well, I haven't been kidnapped by trolls or gnomes yet, so maybe? I haven't really believed in them since I was a kid, though. But, considering the fact that I just got dragged to another realm, I'm seriously starting to reconsider.

[Meanwhile, if Bart was ever curious to know what a purring dragon sounded like? He knows now.]