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

[bigdamnprincipal]

Were you a veteran Fandom resident? Did you finish getting your brain broken by your sibling and/or buddy? Did you just want to sit down to recover from the shuttle ride? If so, then there were plenty of tables and chairs set up across the lawn just waiting to be filled!

[This is the picnic post for general mingling. Roommates, fake siblings and teachers are all here. Since it's outside, the picnic is open to all students, teachers, and townies!]

Comments

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy didn't have a younger sibling this time, but she was very, very aware of how intimidating the picnics could be with all the food and glitter and talking pink ponies. So after piling a plate high with food, she staked out a spot at a table where she could keep an eye out for anyone who looked a little lost, confused, or lonely.

And maybe in a few days, she'd realize just how different she was from her first picnic, when the idea of just randomly talking to someone would have made her flail.

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[kenselvren.livejournal.com]

"Hello." Jalian sat on the table, munching on the vegetable bits from inside a sandwich she was picking apart. "There are new people again." Okay, obvious maybe, but, "How often does this happen?"

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

"Once in the fall, again right after the New Year, and then right in the beginning of summer," Kathy explained, holding out her plate so Jalian could snag a few pieces of tempura if she was so inclined. "There used to be two batches of newbies in the summer, but they didn't do that this year. But hey, it means you're not a newbie anymore. Congratulations?"

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[kenselvren.livejournal.com]

Jalian took a piece of the tempura and sniffed it experimentally, then nibbled it and smiled. "This is good. And I suppose not being new is good. Though I still haven't figured out what to do with myself," she confessed.

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

"What do you mean?" Kathy asked, taking a sidelong look at Jalian. "For most people, just going to high school is enough. What more do you need to do?"

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[kenselvren.livejournal.com]

"I came here by accident," Jalian answered. "I had been trying to skip back along my own timeline, to stop Armageddon. Instead I ended here, and it didn't happen here. If I want to try again, I will need to know the temporal physics of this island, but nobody seems to understand them."

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

"Not even Barry?" Kathy asked, surprised. "If anyone had sat down to map those out, I would have figured he had. Or knew how."

She frowned. "Is playing in your own timeline safe?" It never was in any of the stories she'd ever read, but then, they were only stories. "You're not going to create some kind of paradox by trying? Maybe you were sent here to keep you from doing that instead of stopping Armageddon?"

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[kenselvren.livejournal.com]

"Why would you create a paradox?" Jalian asked curiously. "You create another timeline. Or you rewrite your own," she allowed, "but the threshold for that is very small. And I haven't asked Barry." Mostly because of the whole "male" thing, though she'd seen he was smart. She was a little leery of him. "I don't know him well," she went with.

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

"Admitting that temporal mechanics isn't even properly a science yet in my world, most novels that deal with the idea of changing your timeline suggest that by changing it, you've set up a closed loop. You need to go back, you do and fix whatever the problem is, now you have a future where you don't need to go back and fix anything, so you don't, etc etc etc." She peered up at Jalian curiously. "That's not how it works?"

As for Barry...Kathy turned to find him in the crowd, then turned back to Jalian with a rueful smile. "He's the smartest person I know," she admitted. "I mean, he's also as dumb as a box of rocks sometimes, but that's more like, social and self-preservation things. But he's a good guy and if you have an interesting science problem, he'll probably love to help you work on it."

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[justwantedfriends]

"Hey," Kira said, clinging to her plate and pointing to a seat. "Is anyone sitting here?"

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

"Hopefully you are!" Kathy said, shifting over a few inches so Kira could have plenty of room to sit. "I need someone to help me look for cute boys while we snack. Up for the challenge?"

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[justwantedfriends]

"That sounds like a really good challenge. I bet there are some cute guys among the new group," Kira said, taking a seat. "How have you been doing?"

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy shrugged. "Well, the evil carnival thing was less fun than expected and then I got front row seats to watch a friend of mine loose his Froot Loops because of a gremlin-experiment gone horribly wrong, but other than that, I guess things have been pretty okay. You?"

She paused, remembering what she'd read in the notes over the radio that morning she'd been kidnapped by the squirrels. "I heard that you had a rough time at home a few weeks ago," she offered. "But I don't want to pry, so if you want me to butt out, I totally can."

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[justwantedfriends]

"No, actually, I've been meaning to thank you for what you said on the radio--or what you didn't say, I mean," Kira said. "It's been a weird few weeks and I forgot that the squirrels get into everything. Like, can't they tell when we're having a crisis and go away?"

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm pretty sure they spot crises and that only encourages them," Kathy said with a frown. "But, yeah, no problem. I didn't think that stuff needed to be shared with anyone who didn't hear it directly from you."

Granted, Kathy did have an idea of what was happening, since she'd been the one reading the notes, but she could pretend she had no clue if it would make Kira feel better.

"Though, umm, if you ever wanted to talk about stuff like that, I'm here," she added. "I had an interesting summer of new developments myself." She looked down her shirt and grimaced. "And no, I don't mean in my bra."

Sadly.

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[justwantedfriends]

"Your whole bra area is fine," Kira assured her, smiling softly. "Do your developments involve your mom being a lying liar who lies? Because that's where I am right now." No, her dad wasn't getting included in this yet, so that was one plus.

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

"Nooo, I don't think so," Kathy said, giving Kira a grateful smile. It was nice to have friends who reassured you that way. "Ummm, unless they do and they're really good at hiding it? Mine was more an unexpected Y-People thing, not a family trait."

She bit her lip. "Was the note right, then? Did you find out you were, umm, genetically predisposed to being...tricky?"

Was that a good way of dancing around it?

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Elsa was actually actively facepalming as she made her way over to Kathy. Kathy would understand. She would appreciate the facepalm once she was made aware.

"Kathy," and yes, Elsa was actually barely restraining a laugh. "Kathy, do you know what Barry did?"

SHE WOULD UNDERSTAND.

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

"Started twerking in front of the new kids," Kathy guessed. Oh lord, there were so many horrible options to choose from. "Started coughing up Twizzlers? Umm...grabbed you by the waist and declared 'I claim these hips in the name of Weendom!' at a teacher? Am I getting warm?"

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"Startlingly warm," Elsa replied, pulling out her phone, the one Barry had just given her, not more than twenty minutes beforehand. "But nothing gremlin related, thank goodness. I'm pretty sure I would have to dedicate the rest of my life to learning how to light him on fire with the power of my brain if he got himself inoculated against gremlin bites again."

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

"Stick with what you know," Kathy said, deliberately vague for the squirrels' benefit. "I'll work on lighting him on fire. Maybe if I run fast enough, I can get enough friction going..."

Seriously, Barry. Never. Again.

"So, if it wasn't any of those, what did he do? Gave you a...phone?"

That didn't seem terrible. Was there porn on it or something?

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Elsa nodded, but then immediately held up one finger as if to say, 'Behold.'

And then she pressed the button at the bottom of the phone until it beeped, and said into the receiver, "Call Barry."

Just listen, Kathy. Just listen for the ringtone.

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

Yep. That would be Baby Got Back coming his phone.

"Hello? Showing off your phone?" Barry teased.

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[spin_kick_snap]

"Barry." The voice coming through his earpiece was very likely not the voice he was expecting, but it sounded appropriately scandalized nevertheless. "Why. Why would you even. She helped save you and even sat on you and this is how to repay her."

Scandal and laughter.

"The only way it would be worse is if the picture you'd programmed in was of you in mid-twerk."

...If, say, you were looking for how to build on that ringtone. You're welcome.

Re: General Mingling [Fall 2014]

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"KATHY!"

Elsa usually saved that slightly scandalized and mostly amused tone of voice for Barry! Well done!

"Don't give him ideas!"

It was probably too late, wasn't it?