Alright, well, looks like they had a small audience. Not as big as they were hoping for, but it would do for now.
"I'm sure you're all curious to know about Flintlock, but we'll get to that. First I want to start with the welcomes, as there are quite a few. So many I can hardy keep track, so I'm just gonna do this alphabetically. Starting with Caelan, he said something about churches and fire and fury that makes me think we're kindred souls... in that we probably don't have souls. Kidding. Kinda." Their tone was lighthearted, a teasing smile playing across their lips for an instant.
Sadly, no laughter, just a lone cough from an NPC.
"Tough crowd, truly tragic. Then we've got Gavril, he's pretty much a vampire, got the fangs. I guess that's why people call him Bats, though. I should have guessed." Gav winked at them, and they could only imagine that he was remembering how Catalyst found out about his elongated canines. Well great, now they were too.
"Shut up, you."They turned their attention to the next name on their mental checklist, jeez they weren't even halfway through.
"Next is Hope, she's the one that had what is possibly the most awkward interaction I've seen this week, and I just went to fugging Flintlock Lodge to negotiate. Next time finish your question, let him have the awkward part." They blinked in surprise when she turned and shouted
"what's up, motherfucker" across the casino.
"Alright, alright, settle down. I've got the talking stick." They muttered, rolling their eyes.
Okay, considering who was next, perhaps they weren't quite done with the girl yet.
"Landon has also joined our ranks, it seems he and Hope know each other. So this should be fun." Let's just hope the two of them wouldn't be like
another pair of reunited love birds.
"Onto North, now, she might have gotten her foot stuck in a bear trap, but it won't be long before she can kick all of your arses. I'm making sure of that." At the look on Gabe's face, they added,
"Oh come now, Gabriel, everyone knows I've been training you for months now.""Next is Vasco. Much like Landon, over there, he's already familiar with one of us. I don't know what the whole fugging deal is, but I've got one eye on him and one on Paige, so you can imagine I'm having a grand old time with it." Trying to keep the kids in line was proving as challenging as keeping Michael in line. Wasn't that just wonderful.
"Finally, we've got Vinny. I think the word to describe him is creative?" His little... "art piece" had been something to turn the stomach and make you look away, but if you too were dark and fucked up, it was sort of fascinating in its execution. For his part, Vinny nodded along, his dogs beside him and a puppy peeking out from his backpack.
"Welcome to the Badlands, kids," Jesus Christ, all of the people that had joined with the exception of Caelan were fugging teenagers,
"we all live up to the name, and on some level you'll be expected to at the very least be capable enough to survive a place like this. If you aren't yet, come see me later and we'll fix that. Come see me anyways after the meeting, actually, I've got something for the lot of you. Trust me, you'll want what I've got for you."It was the mark of a Badlander and a weapon should the need become dire enough, benign enough that it wouldn't be noticed by anyone else as something worth thinking about.
"It's a necklace, it shows you're one of us. It's not the only sign Badlanders get, though, we've got bandannas. For those that prove themselves. Yet, in the past two months, I've only given them to the original few individuals that were here when I took over, and I'd very much like that to change soon. If you don't pluck up the initiative to come to me first, I'll be coming to you." This had already begun in the case of Iggy, and pretty soon it would spread to the others as well.
"That goes for titles as well, I'd like to get more use out of those. And the ranks. Everything, really. So c'mon, show me what you can do." They had Gabriel and Michael for Officers and Michael and Lake for Enforcers, but with more and more people joining, they would need more than that to keep things running smoothly.
"On to Flintlock. As most of you that have been here more than a week probably know, Gabriel and I paid our friends up north a little visit. For those of you unaware, we've got a rather bloody history with them, most of it their blood, but there's been a truce for a while. An old truce, old enough that in a past meeting I pretty much just said fug that. But, Gabe and I went up there, and we've worked out new terms. There's a fresh neutrality; if one of theirs is in dire shape they can come to us for help, and if one of us is desperate and far from home, we can go to them. Help will be given either way." Maybe they wouldn't get an escort home, but they wouldn't be left to die.
Cat scratched their nose as they continued.
"Obviously you can't go attacking them, but if one of you does go and attack them," they paused, their gaze sweeping through the room. They waited for a long moment, staring into each face carefully.
"I won't protect you. I'll turn you over to them, and you'll be given a fair trial. If you're guilty, you'll likely have to do community service or jail time, they're a bit more civilized than I am." They paused again, working their jaw back and forth.
"You'll get out, you'll come home, and I'll make you fugging wish you were still rotting in that cell. So let's keep things friendly with them, alright?" They paused, waiting a moment, watching for any dissent or unease.
"Good. Now part of the arrangement is that we might sometimes invite each other to little parties and events. With Valentine's Day coming up, I thought we'd do a little something for that and invite them. It'll be fun for all of us, I think, so if you wanna win some brownie points and help out with that let me know." Hey, it didn't all have to be "I'll make you regret ever existing", right? They could be lighthearted and fun, in their own fugged up way.
They drummed their fingers against their leg, then stooped over to pull the cardboard box out from under the billiard table.
"Alright, newbies, come over here. Everyone else can clear out or stay, meeting's pretty much over." They set the box on the table and started pulling out necklaces.
Spoiler: OOC SUMMARY & ANNOUNCEMENTS, SPOILED FOR LENGTH show — Welcome to Caelan/Peachbones, Gavril/Noccy, Hope/Van, Landon/Peach, North/Vix, Vasco/Britty, and Vinny/Ms. Coffee. Or welcome back to those that have been here before or are already here with different characters.
— I'm wanting to get characters fully initiated into the Badlands and give out some bandannas, so Cat's going to be going around and approaching everyone that they aren't sure of the capabilities of (so most everyone) and try to find out before going from there. Those that come to them first will win some extra points in their eyes, and anyone that wants to have a thread with Cat (open or private) relating to this topic is free to make it and tag me. Or, feel free to message me so we can discuss stuff and plot things out.
— In addition to that I'd very much like to make use of the titles and ranks more. For titles, if there's one you think your character could earn, message me. For ranks, try to be as active in as many open threads as possible.
— Which is actually another thing, I know that time and muse can be restrictive, but something that's been bothering me is that a lot of the time, people tend to post only in threads they made or threads the people they're plotting with made. Which means some threads aren't getting off the ground, and I'm not too happy with that. So please, try to pick it up more.
— We've got a brand new truce with Flintlock Lodge now! The terms include that injured members that find themselves in the other's territory will be helped, neither group will harm the other (and if this does happy, the guilty party will be handed over to the wronged one for trial and punishment. Cat also made a note that any Badlander that disobeys them will have to contend not only with FL, but with them as well) and that they might occasionally have events together.
— So, Cat's throwing a little Valentine's Day Party, and anyone that wants to help me/them with the set up shouldn't be shy. I won't lie, Cat's probably gonna send someone else to FL with the invitations.
— This is retro to the invitation to Hayley and Jackson's wedding, but that'll be happening the week after the Valentine's party.
— New members should go get their necklaces from Catalyst.
— OK THE SURVEY! I didn't quite get as many replies as I was hoping for, but I'll be making follow up threads and surveys soon. Everything that was sent in has been noted and considered, but for right now I'm tired and it's a lot to get into after a 1.1k word meeting that took three hours to write. I will be addressing it and following up with stuff though, mark my words.
— In the meantime I'd very much like it if these two threads could be used a bit more:
one and
two.
— Tagging all the mains of characters mentioned in this post (excluding those that already posted bc there are so many):
@peachbones @Noccy @PEACH @vix @Ms. Coffee @aj. I think that's everyone, sorry if I missed you though.
Spoiler: IF YOU DONT KNOW NOW YOU KNOW && INFO && 02/08/19 show GENERAL welcome to the end of eras, ice has melted back to life
⇥ Given name is Scott Mathew Darrow ⇥ Goes only by Catalyst or Cat
⇥ Assigned male at birth ⇥ Agender ⇥ They/Them pronouns only
⇥ Twenty-one ⇥ Born 11/27/17 ⇥ Sagittarius ⇥ Real time aging
⇥ Boss (leader) of the Badlands ⇥ Ex prisoner of the Badlands
⇥ Ex cultist (Mourningstar) ⇥ Ex member of the Young Rogues
RECENT EVENTS done my time and served my sentence
⇥ 02/07/39 ⇥ Reunited with Susie
⇥ 02/05/38 ⇥ Started their revenge on Jeremy
⇥ 02/04/39 ⇥ Kissed Gavril
⇥ 02/04/39 ⇥ Returned from Flintlock
⇥ 01/27/39 ⇥ Visited Flintlock Lodge
⇥ 01/21/39 ⇥ Reunited with their mother
⇥ 01/21/39 ⇥ Fought off Paige's attackers
APPEARANCE dress me up and watch me die
⇥ Catalyst is 6'2" tall; they possess a lean and muscular body, one that has a variety of old scars adorning it. They have two piercings, one in their tongue and the other in the cartilage of their left ear. They typically dress in dark colors (favoring jackets with some sort of writing on the back), and their hair is black. They're not all dark, however, as they have pale blue eyes that peer out from beneath medium-sized eyebrows.
PERSONALITY if it feels good, tastes good, it must be mine
⇥ Catalyst is ambitious, with the cunning and ruthlessness to reach their goals by any means necessary. They can be brutal when they feel it is needed, however when it's not they won't bother. They tend to be rather aloof and apathetic to most things and people, with some very rare exceptions. Provided those around them don't cross a few specific lines, they're content to leave them be, though they've been known to take an interest in some people, which seldom has a positive end for whoever their interest is in. They can be manipulative, and will often encourage people to make bad decisions. Those that stick by them will be rewarded, but those that do not will be cast out, as they've been outcast for their entire life and have learned to appreciate loyalty wherever they can find it. Even during the most stressful of situations, they usually keep a firm grip on their temper and keep their calm, though when they do snap and lose their temper, it is uncontrollable. They're remarkably observant, often able to deign much from subtle clues in what people say, how they say it and how they act.
RELATIONS dynasty decapitated, you just might see a ghost tonight
⇥ Molly Darrow x Austin Darrow ⇥ No siblings
⇥ Pansexual/Panromantic ⇥ Single ⇥ No crushes or maybe crushes
⇥ Not looking but not not looking ⇥ Rarely forms romantic attachment
⇥ Holds most people at arms length and doesn't get close
INTERACTION i'm taking back the c r o w n
⇥ Hard physically ⇥ Hard mentally ⇥ Doesn't let their guard down
⇥ Is most comfortable with close ranged-weapons ⇥ Dislikes guns
⇥ Brass knuckles ⇥ A variety of knives ⇥ Blunt objects like bats
⇥ Will kill/capture/maim in certain circumstances
⇥ Will leave things be in others ⇥ Will start & finish fights
⇥ No kill/capture/maim without permission
⇥ Peaceful powerplay allowed but they may react negatively
⇥ Dislikes almost any sort of touch unless they initiate or agree to it