DON'T TELL ME / . JOINING

[GAVIN R.]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.4;"]Was it possible to get cooped up in a whole city? His home was the sort of place that you could get lost in every day of your life, even if you stayed there for decades, but no matter how many side streets and alleyways he wandered through, Gavin couldn't escape this pressure surround him. Like a shaken bottle of soda, like a bullet as it's being fired. You can't just put a stopper in a volcano and expect it not to blow. It just builds and builds and now it's flinging across this whole goddamn apocalypse. A trail of smoke follows him, a pack of cigarettes already mostly gone. Two left after this one, which he lights with some trouble. Tastes a little stale now, he's had the pack open for too damn long, but it's one of the last he's got and he damn if he won't savor it as best he can.

It's harsh and a little unpleasant; he almost coughs on it, but he exhales with control and tips his head back, muddy hazel eyes falling shut like it's a pleasant sensation. It sort of is, the smoke filling his lungs. It takes all his bad memories with it when he breathes out. He only takes a few more drags before tossing the cigarette to the dirt, stamping it out with the heel of his boot just a moment before the small horde of cats following him reaches it. Curious little fuckers. "It'll be the death of you all, you know," he laughs hoarsely, amused at his own joke. Then he shakes his head. "I don't have food for you shits yet. No point in chasing me down. Go hunt for your fuckin' selves."

ooc: check his tags for a description of the cats following him

[XO037]

[align=center][div style="width:500px;font-size:9.2pt; text-align:justify"]A curious man. Not the trail of smoke he left behind, or the kind of anger he wore the way he did his shirt- tight, but everything below all the more visible for it. He could give him a little credit for pulling off the rumpled look as well as he did. The most XO could do was his halfway un-tucked shirt, but then, XO didn't have the kind of personality to work with darker stubble and heavily mussed hair. Not unless he needed to, and for the man he was searching for, it was best to stay as close as he could to sincerity.

Instead, it was the cats that made him curious. They followed him eagerly, even with boundless freedom nearby, and with humored bemusement, he watched them nose after the cigarette he stamped out. The man XO was looking for had a dog, not a clowder of cats. At least they were cute, and the man they trailed after his own kind of handsome.

"There's probably something here for them," he started by way of greeting, smiling lightly at him. "What brings an attractive man like you to The Badlands?"

[GAVIN R.]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.4;"]Gav wasn’t the only curious one here. About his height (a bit taller, actually) but with those pretty sort of features that he’s avoided for his whole damn life, masculine but...soft. Pretty, uncomfortably pretty. Slim and small-looking, but he knows better than to think he’s weak. Too friendly looking to be innocent. Then again, he’s dressed like a twink. Like some rich guy’s expensive toy — nah, he’s just being judgmental, even if he does speak from experience. There’s a whole lot of it; with it comes a million reasons for the cautious way he returns that subtle glance over. He decides somewhat quickly that he’s not interested in flirting back.

Instead he laughs, rough but not angry, and shakes his head. ”Don’t feed ‘em. They’ll con you outta more for the rest of your life. They’ll eat you out of house and home. You think I walked all this way voluntarily?” He had, but that’s not what he wanted to talk about. Didn’t want to give a reason for the tension in his shoulders and eyes. That’d just ruin the tragic backstory. ”Need a new place to sacrifice to my cats, that’s all.”

[ADDY.]

[align=center][div style="background=transparent; borderwidth=0px; bordercolor=; width: 420px; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 125%; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; color: black"]

— addy had been sitting outside of the casino, casually drinking a cheap bottle of beer. it was a regular activity for him, you know, the usual. when he saw x wandering towards a newcomer, he paused a moment before standing up from the steps and making it over towards the pair. people had their habits and hobbies. his happened to be casual day-drinking and smoking. just like how it seemed that x loved to flirt. he had just gotten to the scene and it looked like hugs-and-kisses (xo, but same thing) over there was already flirting with the guy. jesus fucking christ. first with salem, and now this guy? the redhead shook his head as he took another sip of his drink. at this rate he was going to need a lot more booze.

and apparently the other man, this newcomer, had a habit of collecting cats. cats of all things. dear god last thing addy wanted around here was another cat - their leader, cat, was already a lot to handle. some of the feline companions just looked like fuckin’ eyesores- one looking older than dirt, one with half a tail… “who are you, anyway?” might as well get that question out of the way before catalyst showed up. also just gave him some shit to say.

[ hello hello! welcome to bl! ]

[CATALYST]

.

.

.

.

They reckon the most confined place they'd ever been in was Mourningstar's compound. Not even because it was small, but because there was something suffocating about it. You couldn't breathe there, not really, not when it felt like there was always someone watching, and if so much as a hair was out of place, they would all know that they were a fraud. And they couldn't know that.

They didn't have to pretend here any more than they would anywhere else. No more than anyone else would pretend. And they found ways and reasons to leave often enough that the Badlands never felt too confined. There was the sense, though, that they couldn't just up and leave if they wanted to - for a number of reasons. Good reasons, but if they thought about it too much it made them antsy.

There was a bit of a group forming, one familiar man, two unfamiliar, and a bunch of cats. Never a dull day, huh? "This place is already being sacrificed to one Cat, and they're right here." Heheh, they thought that was funny, even if no one else did. That seemed to be a bit of a trend, but they didn't need to make anyone else happy, except maybe their boyfriend (because they couldn't stand seeing him all pouty) and their kid (literally unthinkable). "What he said." They added, tilting their head in Addy's direction.

//heyo if you're here already do I still say welcome

[spoiler=IF YOU DONT KNOW NOW YOU KNOW && INFO && 09/02/19]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
⇥ 09/02/39 ⇥ Returned from vacation
⇥ 08/23/39 ⇥ Went on vacation with Gavril
⇥ 08/21/39 ⇥ Oversaw their parents' vow renewal
⇥ 08/16/39 ⇥ Witnessed their boyfriend get shot

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. One of the easiest to notice is one that stretches down their right cheek. While not a scar, one very notable marking on their chest is the "BL" brand. 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 biological siblings
⇥ Adopted parent of Molly Valentina Darrow-Lupei (Mo)
⇥ Pansexual/Panromantic ⇥ Very much taken ⇥ One Crush
⇥ Not looking but it happened ⇥ 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 ⇥ Carries a handgun
⇥ Will kill/capture/maim in certain circumstances
⇥ Will leave things be in others ⇥ Will start & finish fights
⇥ No kill/capture/maim without permission
⇥ Attack in bold #0d0d0d and tag @/Bryne
⇥ Peaceful powerplay allowed but they may react negatively
⇥ Dislikes almost any sort of touch unless they initiate or agree to it
[/spoiler]

[GAVIN R.]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.4;"]Y'know, Gavin's gonna ignore this whole conversation and jump to the most important part: "fuckin' eyesores". Because fuck that sort of thinking — sure, yeah, they look like shit. Nugget's been fighting over ladies his whole damn life, and Waffle has gotten to the point that she won't deal with his shit anymore and her fur's all matted and she won't let him brush it, and Jalapeno barely has any fur to brush. But you know what? That's fuckin' life. C'est la vie or however the fuck that's spelled. Not everything's pretty, not everyone is pretty, but they're still worth something. His scars don't make him worth less. But that's getting a little more personal and that's exactly what he's wanting to avoid, so he moves on. Long story short, his cats don't have to be pretty to be the best fucking creatures on this whole planet.

"You're the big cat, huh? Top dog?" He snorts, again thinking he's funnier than he is. Looks like he's got that in common with Cat. Cat and his cats and... were there other cats here? Cat central. Ha. Good. "Name's Gavin. Not all that exciting." Silence gets uncomfortable pretty damn quick. "So. Can I stay?"

[CATALYST]

.

.

.

.

Looks were just that - looks. Aesthetics. It'd be easy to say that they didn't matter, and in an ideal world they wouldn't. But this wasn't an ideal world, and people judged based on their first impressions, fairly or not. Cat tended to be more interested in what was going on inside people's heads than what concealed them, but they, as a person that put arguably way too much effort into their appearance, couldn't pretend like it didn't matter on some level. Better to have control on what people were going to judge, better to control the narrative. Better to be put together and wearing some edgy jacket than walk around wearing the first thing off the floor that didn't smell completely awful.

But actual cats? Whatever. They weren't gonna like them any more if they were "pretty" or whatever, but they weren't an animal person, not in the least. They didn't even like most people.

"Yep. Well, title's called Boss now, not Top Dog, but that's neither here nor there." Gavin, huh? Another Gav - yeah, they'd just mentally refer to him by his full name, even if their boyfriend had plenty of other nicknames they could choose from. Most of them weren't something they'd say around other people. "I'm Cat. Yeah, you can stay, but the cats are your responsibility. You want a tour or something?"

[spoiler=IF YOU DONT KNOW NOW YOU KNOW && INFO && 09/02/19]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
⇥ 09/02/39 ⇥ Returned from vacation
⇥ 08/23/39 ⇥ Went on vacation with Gavril
⇥ 08/21/39 ⇥ Oversaw their parents' vow renewal
⇥ 08/16/39 ⇥ Witnessed their boyfriend get shot

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. One of the easiest to notice is one that stretches down their right cheek. While not a scar, one very notable marking on their chest is the "BL" brand. 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 biological siblings
⇥ Adopted parent of Molly Valentina Darrow-Lupei (Mo)
⇥ Pansexual/Panromantic ⇥ Very much taken ⇥ One Crush
⇥ Not looking but it happened ⇥ 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 ⇥ Carries a handgun
⇥ Will kill/capture/maim in certain circumstances
⇥ Will leave things be in others ⇥ Will start & finish fights
⇥ No kill/capture/maim without permission
⇥ Attack in bold #0d0d0d and tag @/Bryne
⇥ Peaceful powerplay allowed but they may react negatively
⇥ Dislikes almost any sort of touch unless they initiate or agree to it
[/spoiler]