fandomhigh | Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part I

Entry tags:

!event: welcome picnic

Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part I

It might have been the start of the fall semester, but it was definitely still summer in Fandom. The sun was shining and the temperature was already starting to get high, even as the NPC crew set things up for the day.

Luckily, the school knew how to take care of folks on days like today. Beneath the blue and gold streamers and balloons, tables had been set up with cold drinks and food, and an entire section devoted to offering up different ~~moddable~~ ice cream flavors. As always, there was a stack of nametags set down next two signs: one listing the Big Sibling/Little Sibling pairings, and one listing rooms and roommates for the new students.

With everything set up and the crew out of the way, it was time for the picnic to begin!

[~~Please wait for OCD!~~ The OCD is up! This is part one of the picnic, specifically for meeting siblings, roommates, and teachers. The rest of the picnic is happening here and here, in an effort to keep browsers from breaking for as long as possible. Since it's outside, the picnic is open to all students, teachers, and townies!]

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"This is you?" George asked, lifting the sheet of paper and nodding. "I don't ... know how you pronounce it. John-O? Joe-Noh?"

Not the guy hitting on her. He seemed quiet. Both of those were good.

Extra quiet, today. But generally fairly soundless in the most technical sense, regardless.

//First one,// he replied. //Short for 'Jonothon.'//

"Hi, Jono-short-for-Jonothon," George said, setting the paper back down and shrugging awkwardly. "I'm George. Short for Georgia."

Okay, so that would have to be Millie's middle name, if the school ever realized its error. Mildred Georgia Hagen. Or something.

"So you're ... another one of those head-talkers, huh?"

At least she hadn't shouted at him, the way she had with the girl on the shuttle. She should probably try to get used to it. It must be normal around here.

"You're not ... doing anything else in my head, are you?"

Jonothon probably wouldn't have taken very well to being shouted at, today. Odds were, yelling would have resulted in flinching. Possibly leaving. Not that he had any idea where to.

This, he could handle.

//Wouldn't want to,// he replied, shrugging. //People's heads are messy. Got enough trouble dealing with my own, anyhow.//

"Right," George said. She wasn't sure she bought that. If she could read minds, she'd snoop all day long.

Maybe people's thoughts were all so boring and stupid that none of it was worth eavesdropping on.

"So do you ... not talk, or ... ?"

Vow of silence? He didn't look like a monk. Maybe he didn't feel like bothering most of the time.

Jono's reply to that was a raised eyebrow, initially.

And then, wordlessly, he raised a hand and pointed at the wrappings on his face. And then, still wordlessly, he trailed his finger up to the scars that came out from underneath them.

He'd have to tell her about the rest of it eventually, but at least that seemed like a good start.

George leaned in, peering at the scars. "Oooooh," she said, wincing. "That ... had to hurt."

Curiosity took over. "So you lost your voice?" she asked. "Is it your vocal cords or is, like, your mouth missing?"

She was less squeamish than she used to be. Plenty of reaps weren't all that pretty. Hell, he should have seen her autopsy.

What little there was of it.

That wasn't the sort of question that he was really used to getting. Most people just assumed that speaking was uncomfortable. This girl asked questions that more or less made sense, really.

//Both,// Jono replied. And then, a moment later, he added, //more than both. It's... messy.//

Yes. Messy. That was a good word for it.

"Yeah, I bet," George said, shaking her head.

More than he possibly realized, since she wasn't in small burning chunks any more.

"It's good you had that ... head-talking thing to fall back on, then," she said.

This was George's attempt at optimism. Complete ray of sunshine, she was.

Jono was kind of like a large burning chunk, all on his own. Wasn't that special?

//I suppose.// He lifted a shoulder slightly. //All happened at th'same time. Nasty trade-off.//

He would have been just as happy without. Happier, maybe. But what was, was. He understood as much, now.

//There's more.//

He had to tell her. He was going to be sharing a room with her. He had to tell her...

"Okaaaaaay," George said, wondering what the big secret was. Thus far, he smelled funny and talked in her head, neither of which were dealbreakers on the roommate front. One possibility suggested itself, and so she leaned in, lowering her voice.

"Are you dead?" she asked.

If so, his reaper should be slapped, and hard, for such a sloppy job. You take souls before the disfiguring accident that ends their lives, so they don't have to wander the afterlife missing vital parts of themselves.

Jono only winced a little bit at that. No, he wasn't dead. But his girlfriend was.

Ouch.

//I'm not. Probably should be, though.// Shrug. //Ever heard of mutants, where yer from?//

"Can't ... say I have," George asked, not sure why he flinched. Insulted that she'd suggested it? Which meant he probably wouldn't react that well if he knew. Fuck. "That's what happened to you? You ... mutated?"

//Something like that,// Jono allowed, shrugging again and looking downward. //It's different for anyone who... manifests. Mine is fire.//

Lots and lots and lots of fire.

Okay, this required one really important question, right up front.

"Is our room gonna be on fire?"

Most of her shit was flammable.

//Not if I can help it,// Jono replied, raising an eyebrow faintly. //Just me.//

This was totally the most casual conversation ever. Really.

"Oh." Okay, that was much better. Her frog probably wouldn't survive an inferno, and it'd be messy for her.

Blink. Blink. Blink.

"... Seriously?"

Because if he was just a guy with bad scars who was having a go at his roomie's expense, now would be the time to say so.

And now, Jono was going to... Kind of look around, to make certain that there was nobody looking. Okay. Righto. Good show and all of that.

And now he was going to pull one of the bandages on his face down, just a little bit.

Yes, George. Seriously.

George was going to stare at it, cringing. And trying not to admit how, in a weird sort of way, it looked cool.

"Seriously, that doesn't hurt?" she asked.

//Nothing much left to hurt,// Jono replied, shrugging and straightening the bandages again.

If that was her biggest concern, then they would get along just fine.

"There's still you," George said. "There's still a you that can be hurt."

Technically, there were only burned-up chunks of her left, but she could be hurt, too.

Jono eyed her for a moment at that, running his hand over his bandages one more time, just to be certain that everything that was supposed to be in... was.

//There are things that hurt a hell of a lot worse than fire,// he replied, after a moment.

"Yeah," George agreed. "I don't think I meant fire, any more."

Way to get severely off-topic. She cleared her throat and decided not to have an emo moment like an idiot.

"So ... what's the room like?"

... Oh, that was a dangerous question, George.

//...//

Yes. Jono could even broadcast ellipses if the need arose. Give him a moment.

//Messy.//

Yes. That summed it up nicely.

"I can deal with messy," she said. "Can I bring my bike?"

She liked it. For practical reasons, and not because it was a touching farewell-for-now gift from Rube. Really.

Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part I

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