Totally Normal Garden Party and not an escape meeting

[hotpaprika]

[It's Friday afternoon, and the party is almost ready. Jonathan, with the help of others, have arranged a quaint table setting in the garden, adorned with various flower arrangements. The spread of food seems quite impressive if not... somewhat strange with some of the offerings. Floyd brought takoyaki (careful, some of them have hot sauce in them!), Jason brought donuts, Hadoka brought some scrambled eggs, although not enough to feed all 25 citizens, Brett brought finger sandwiches, Joy brought some fancy flatbread, Mille brought fancy little cakes and pastries, The Undertaker brought some bone shaped biscuits, and Adamon brought some mushroom risotto. For drinks, Jonathan brought over several pitchers of lemonade, enough for everyone at the party and then some.

Nandor also brought ice cubes and Misfire brought one (1) lemon.

If anyone is hesitant about coming, Jonathan will gently find them and tell them that the party "really means a lot to him", with added details about the true nature of the party if they are still resistant. There were really only two people he was keeping this a secret from.

Just before five o'clock hits, Jonathan finds himself looking increasingly nervous. Anxiously tapping the table, looking around for anything suspicious, and taking a quick swig from his flask that he got from the pool to calm his nerves. For those who think that this is just a garden party, this might not exactly look like the most normal behavior ever.

It's a few minutes past five and, once Jonathan does one last look around to make sure everyone is here, he gently taps his glass of lemonade with a spoon and stands up, clearing his throat.]

Thank you all for coming to the party! I have told this to a few of us, but I was not entirely honest when I wrote the invitation. While, yes, part of my motivation is to grow more familiar with the rest of the citizens here, my true purpose is much more vital. I organized this meeting so we can discuss how to escape from this prison the Mayor has placed us in, and I intend to do so before any casualties occur.

I do not want to burden everyone with the details of my life, but I had been held captive before, and I know the horrors of letting my captor know of my escape plans, and that is why I had to be secretive about this. I do not want our opportunities for escape to close because we let it slip that we're trying to leave, and I ask everyone to be similarly secretive about this.

But, on the bright side, we have the numbers I didn't have back at the Castle, and I am confident with our combined efforts we can overthrow the Mayor and get back to our homes before too long!

[And with that, Jonathan sits back down in order to begin the meeting in earnest!]

[ PLANS INFORMATION BACKSTORIES GENERAL CHATTER ]

Comments

[bootyhunter]

Are you sayin' that you're ready to die?

[Dandy quirks an eyebrow at that.]

That's sad, man.

Don'tcha at least wanna survive long enough to keep on annoying people until your battery life runs out? That's no way to talk, my microchip-based camp!

[dullshooter]

God, no. I want to live to annoy another day as much as anyone would.

[Though, it’s not like his terror is palpable. He sounds rather cheery.]

I just want to know if we can make a group activity out of screaming about it.

spoilers for space dandy (2x08)

[bootyhunter]

[Dandy frowns in response- Surprisingly.]

Some of us don't wanna think about a world where we're dead!

[He's been struggling beneath the weight of it.

Remorse is memory awake. It's not a phrase that he knows the meaning of, not intimately, because in his ordinary, day-to-day life as a Dandy in space, he remembers very little of anything at all. So why, then, can he recall hitting his head against the dashboard of the Aloha Oe? Being pulled into a Dark Nebula, and landing in a bizarre realm between life and death, only to be-]

Not yet, damn it! Thinkin' that way is as good as throwin' in the towel, and I plan on keepin' that ratty sweat collector on my shoulders, baby.

[dullshooter]

[That reaction is enough to give Misfire pause, and something shifts in his tone. Not much - but something.]

Sure, you can pretend it’s never gonna happen - and sure, maybe it won’t for a while - but to expect that it’s completely off the table and we can just pretend like it’s some far fetched concept that someone might break and look for an easy way outta here is a one-way ticket to being on the receiving end.

[When did he start pointing at Dandy? He lowers his hand, and looks to the side with a shrug.]

I’m all for running and fighting our way out with the power of friendship and scavenged resources - but let’s not kid ourselves here.

[bootyhunter]

[Dandy gazes at Misfire in silence. With each passing second, his eyes grows narrower and narrower, that dirty look curdling like soured milk.]

I didn't think you were the type to give up so easily. To give it up easy, maybe! But, sheesh.

[If there's one certainty in life, it's death, the end of all things.

Ironically, it's a fact known to an individual who will never really know a permanent end, unless the multiverse yeets itself, which it very well could do.]

Freakin' out in a situation like this? That's just normal. Okay! So, somebody blows the big one.

It's not like I've got a say in what these other knuckleheads are plannin' to do. And yeah, maybe I'm not some big muscle man, but if I'm seein' somethin' I'm sayin' somethin'.

[What he means, although he's never been the articulate sort in regard sto delicate matters, is that he'd try to bridge the gap, try to keep the worst from happening.

That doesn't mean he'll succeed, but he's stupid enough to keep trying.]

Nobody deserves to die before they get to tell their people, "I love you."

[dullshooter]

[Misfire turns back to Dandy like he’s got something to say, and it’s not going to be said delicately.

But then he lets it go, and tension shrugs off his arms.]

…And we don’t always get what we deserve. S’all I’m saying.

[bootyhunter]

[Some fire burns between Dandy's furrowed brows, but it's all released when they part ways, his face relaxing in a manner that might strike some of the others as uncanny. His eyes are full of emotions that are difficult to put into to words. There is warmth within them, a mixture of that and pity, with hints of remorse sprinkled in here and there. Dandy doesn't open his mouth to say it, partially because he doubts the source of this information, but in this place he has been visited by what he'd call "haunting visions."]

That doesn't mean we can't fight for it.

[All he knows is that he understands what it's like to die in a variety of ways, even if he hasn't the faintest clue why.

Dandy turns on his heels, making his way towards the exit.]

I don't care if that's dumb, I'm gonna do it! That's the Dandy way, baby.

[He does arch his head before he goes, peeking over his shoulder at the giant robot.]

You said that "Misfire's" a nickname your robo-buddies gave ya, right?

There's still time, you know.

[Dandy shrugs, the motion carrying some weight to it.]

Maybe one day you'll be, "Sure Shot."

(NSFW joke incoming)

[dullshooter]

[After all that, Misfire just snorts.

A stifled laugh.]

Is that a euphemism?

[bootyhunter]

That's a "Money Shot," doo-doo brain!

[Dandy snorts, getting one line in edgewise before leaving the garden and meeting entirely.]