HOW TO GET GOING AGAIN [MEETING]

[ADDY.]

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— it felt different from the last time cat was gone. different than the last time addy had been put in charge. he guessed that this time it could be attributed to having to run a meeting. maybe this time people would take him more fucking seriously. that was what he told himself, at least, as he jogged up the steps of the casino. “alright. time for a meeting.” as most people should’ve expected. let’s make this fucking quick.

although it felt wrong to be taking cat’s spot, he decided it was just - fuckin’ tradition at this point. it’d be weird to be holding it anywhere else (even if, deep down, the redhead preferred the idea of relaxing on the bar). he hoisted himself up to simply be sitting on the billiard table, hands still gripped around the edges, legs dangling off the edge, as he waited for everyone to join.

[Paige]

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[I][b]From now on I'm in charge
from now on I'm the parent     

[B][I]You must have got it from your mother

The brothers were already there, but she did her best to not be spotted. She didn't want to get babied during a meeting and she knew that's exactly what would happen. She stood near the front, looking at Addy as he hopped up onto the table. It was weird to see him up there instead of Cat, but she didn't expect anyone else to be running the meeting while Cat was away.

Paige herself should probably be sitting, but she stood. She refused to sit, which her brothers would've made her do. She stood with her arms crossed and her attention to Addy, curious as to what exactly would be announced in this meeting. Though it was a bit of a shame she couldn't bother Cat as she tends to during meetings. But she probably wouldn't harass Addy, for now anyway.

[color=transparent]thes code

[ADDY.]

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— once it looked like enough people had showed up he wrote, ignoring that paige was the only one ic-ly there addy glanced around at the group. then, with a short nod of his head, he said, “alright. let’s make this shit quick.” he wouldn’t call him an introvert, but standing there- people actually listening to whatever shit he had to say… it wasn’t his favorite thing, he had to admit.

“in case you haven’t fuckin’ noticed yet, catalyst is gone, which leaves me in charge around here for a while.” not the worst thing that could’ve happened to the place while cat was away, right? better than having some other psycho bitch in charge. not like the badlands was going to set on fire or anything. after all, everything was sort of slowing down around the badlands, getting quieter… he laced his fingers together in his lap, looking around the group.

“they left with gav after the wedding, which- congrats i guess for not making that a shitshow.” shit had been alright, that was for sure. addy hadn’t had the time of his life by any means - he rarely did when around most people - but that was to be expected for the redhead wasn’t it?

speaking of gav… “alright.” a sigh. slightly more serious than he had been before as he carried on. “all of you know what happened in the casino, with the shooter and everything. everyone just- watch your fuckin’ backs, and watch everyone else’s too. look out for each other. last thing we need is someone dying around here.” wow- addy actually being somewhat compassionate? thank fucking god that catalyst wasn’t around here to see this.

“on a lighter note,” he said after a moment, shifting around from where he was to grab a necklace and red striped bandana. “welcome the new addition. atlas. he’s- interesting.” and he’d leave it at that as he then looked over to the man, gesturing for him to come over. “get your ass over here and take these.”

[okay so!! the rundown
- catalyst is gone still, meaning addy is still in charge. things are still going smoothly ig so like. yeah
- the wedding happened and all went well
- the casino shooter should have everyone sort of on edge. addy warned people to watch their own backs as well as each other’s
- lastly, welcome to [member=11]AUREATE™[/member] [member=10087]A. MERCER[/member]
- also what is muse]

[A. MERCER]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: calibri; font-size: 9.2pt; line-height: 1.4;"]This felt like something right out of a horror story. The big scary cult in an abandoned town — the whole world was like that now, culty and weird, but Atlas normally doesn't let it bother him. Then again, he's normally not this goddamn close to it. The man has stood in the back of this "meeting" and listened with a quiet, flat sort of curiosity. Catalyst was gone, they were the leader, that's not all that surprising. Who got married? Weird, it's all so fucking weird. A shooter, not ideal. Rather not get killed for this shitty place. But overall, this is the sort of news that he's expected. Then it's not. Atlas doesn't shift from his spot when Addy calls him, mossy eyes narrowed suspiciously. A fucking bandanna? Seriously? Are they all a bunch of children?

His hesitation drags on to awkward lengths, but eventually he scoffs and steps forward, taking the offered items with a certain brand of disinterest. "Do I have to wear them?"

[ADDY.]

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— yeah. probably not best to bring up the fucking “cult” shit with addy. after figuring out catalyst had been in one, it was still all too soon to think about bringing up. he didn’t know when he’d ever be fine with it. he sent an unimpressed look atlas’s way as the man scoffed and asked if he had to wear them. “look. the day they make you wear fuckin’ earrings- then you get to complain to me.” he could remember having the same reaction when catalyst had shown him the spiked earrings, earrings that he only wore one of. yeah, this fuckin’ newbie didn’t know what it felt like to be forced to wear something until it involved getting a whole in their damn ear.

a sigh. “just take ‘em.” at least it wasn’t a fucking macaroni necklace or something.

// ladies and gents
behold
the worst post in history

[Louie Harris]

It would be a terrifying thought to Louie that some people viewed the Badlands as some sort of cult. Having only a few months ago escaped the cult he grew up in, following his false god to another one, while he was trying to deprogram from the last one with the help of the same false god? Yeah, it was too much, too fucking much.

Louie watched the meeting, peering over the back of a chair. He didn't say anything, just watched it all go down.