[OPEN/PARTY POST] And when you all get shot and try to carry on;

[cursebreaking]

Who: Anyone and everyone who is already a participant or wishes to join the Wonderland resistance! That means you. Yes, you. Get in here!
Where: Fort Dixon-Potter
When: Sunday, 6/15, 9:00 PM and onwards.
Rating: PG by default.
Summary:
The Story:
Sometime before nine o'clock rolls around, those who know their way begin heading towards the resistance hideout in the woods -- or Fort Dixon-Potter, as its come to be known. To any who have been invited to attend but don't quite know how to get there, Daryl Dixon has made himself available to escort people to the meeting, letting people in a few at a time.

Though the resistance's de facto leader is no longer with them, several veteran members have chosen to make use of their resources and bring as many more people into the fold as they can. There's food provided for all who attend: burgers, hot dogs, and other standard cookout fare to be passed around throughout the evening. Notebooks will be handed to all new members, and all will be asked to sign their names on the official roster, for reasons. It's time to discuss how to move forward with Operation: Anti-Jabberwocky. If anyone has questions about the last eight months or so in Wonderland? Now is the time to ask.

((OOC: This log is the follow-up to this post concerning re-organizing the resistance. If you're looking for the full OOC rundown of what the resistance is and how you can use it as a tool ingame, please see the information provided here and here! Feel free to use any of the subthreads below, or start top-levels for your characters as you see fit!))

Comments

OTA

[widows_kiss]

[She's not sure who had heard about this first, but word had spread fairly quickly and Natasha can admit to being a little relieved that someone's set out to organize something like this. She shows up on time, dressed casually, because she's still not sure who here knows who she is and who doesn't, but either way, this isn't a meeting she wants to miss.

She spends the meeting time paying attention to conversations, taking note of people and observing what she can. She'll be happy to mingle, seeking out people she hasn't made contact with yet and especially ones that look like they're in charge of this project. She's not sure what all she can offer to the effort, but what skills she has, she's mostly content to volunteer them, should the need arise.

In the meantime, though, her primary goal is extending her web of contacts and acquaintances here. What better place to do it?]

[oversight]

[ Web of contacts, I see what you did there. For Blake's part, he's neither a new or an old acquaintance of Natasha's but he feels like he should be.

He's on-site when people start arriving, and every moment is filled with something. Being involved since the beginning, John has a lot of information and contacts, and when it comes to solid facts — the informational history of Wonderland — he has a lot more to offer, especially for the time he's spent in Wonderland. Since he beginning, since day one, he's been taking notes. By now, he's got a stack of papers that could fill a banker's box (which he keeps very safely hidden away under lock and key), but he only brings what's in his mind for this purpose.

Eventually, he mingles his way over to Natasha, recognizing her in that... strange, almost unrecognizable way that makes Wonderland oh-so-special. He smiles and offers his hand. ]

Glad you could make it, cuz. Welcome to Fort Dixon-Potter.

[widows_kiss]

[She smiles when he comes up to her and offers his hand, reaching out to take it with a warm grip. It's odd, since the last time she bumped into him, he was considerably smaller and perched on her head, but she was beginning to understand that the events they encountered made a lot of things around here a little surreal.]

Thank you, I think. At least we're all dressed this time around. Do I... call you John, or is there something else you prefer to go by here? Unless I should just continue to refer to you as 'cousin' and then we can just confuse everyone who shows up here after this.

[oversight]

[ Surreal would certainly be an understatement. Blake's felt invented and reinvented more times than any one person should, and his time in Wonderland's considerably less than some. Honestly, it wouldn't be nearly as upsetting if it didn't end up that they kept all the memories after the events; he'd be better off if there were some things he could forget. ]

John's fine. Most everyone calls me Blake, but I answer to both. [ Plus the occasional "Robin," but he's not quite close enough to Natasha to offer that to her. ] Guess I wouldn't complain 'bout being called "cousin," either. Kinda hard to forget how that feels.

[ Wonderland represents the first family Blake's had in a very long time. It's practically a novelty, even more than a year later, all things considered. ]

[widows_kiss]

Yes. It is.

[It's strange for her as well. She's slipped in and out of personas so many times that usually it's much easier to shed the skin of the people she becomes, but this... this is something wholly different.

Still, she merely gives him a rueful smile that shows she understands as she dips her head once.]

Blake then. It fits you. So. You're involved in all this?

[She motions at the room at large, as well as the people in it, still curious about what's going on.]

[oversight]

[ Indeed, Blake suits him better than John (or Robin), even in his own opinion. It's what they called him at the boys' home, what they called him at work, and how he's introduced himself to nearly everyone since arriving in Wonderland. Honestly, it might as well be his first name. Or his only name. Like Prince. ]

Involved? Ah, could say that, sure. Been up to my ears with it for the better part of a year. 'Course, that's not sayin' much other'n the fact that attendance is up and we're actually settin' some stuff into motion.

[ It's very easy to get bogged down, especially in this place, as things and people go crazy from the events (and who knows what else). ]

How're you lookin' to get involved? Offense? Defense? Wherever you're needed?

[widows_kiss]

[Will that eventually make him the Batman formerly known as Blake?

She tips her head in a nod at his question, gaze still casually sweeping the room as she's been doing most of the night, taking in the others who've shown up here like her.]

Wherever I'm needed seems a good place to start. My specialty is usually gathering intel, but I've done my fair share of offense and defense as well.

[lightgunhustler]

[It's been awhile since Jo has been back to the hideout, to be honest. This is the first time she's been here since Valentine's Day, and a part of her had been dreading seeing the inside of it all over again. She'd gone so far as to start hosting her private self defense lessons elsewhere in the mansion, using the closets to get the equipment she needed rather than pulling from the resistance's stockpile, but she always knew she'd have to come back sooner or later.

It helped, some, that there were so many people here. It kept her from staring at the spot on the floor near the roundtable and conjuring up memories of the pool of blood and the body that had been sprawled in the middle of it then.

There are new faces. She decides to focus on that, instead. The previous Dean had trusted her with combat training, in coaching anyone who didn't know how to use a weapon and making damn sure every member of the resistance could defend themselves. He may not be calling the shots anymore, but she'd still like to think she's suited for the job -- she'll do what she can. She's seen too much of what's waiting for them if they don't get on their game.

The best place to start tonight? Get to know the new recruits.

She offers a cautious smile as she approaches Natasha near one of the weapon cabinets, extending her hand and offering it to shake.]

Hey. I'm Jo -- don't think we've met?

[Events where she wasn't herself didn't count, she was pretty sure, though the woman's face was at least vaguely familiar thanks to the fabricated memories from the last one.]

[widows_kiss]

[The unfamiliar voice has her turning to greet the young woman with a curious look and a friendly smile. There's something vaguely familiar about her, but she knows they've never come face to face before. She takes the offered hand with a crooked quirk of her lips and a dip of her head.]

I don't think we have. Not like this, anyway. I'm Natasha.

[lightgunhustler]

Nice to meet you.

[Her handshake is strong, firm -- confident, if nothing else. Making a strong first impression is always important. A good handshake will usually do the trick, and leaves a much more positive impact than the shotgun and punch to the face that Dean got when they first met.]

You already get briefed on all this? I know news travels pretty fast.

[widows_kiss]

[Jo obviously hasn't met some of Natasha's teammates. A shotgun and a punch to the face would be just about right, actually. Except for Bruce, she wouldn't advise that.

Still, she gives her a crooked smile and lifts one shoulder in a shrug.]

Some. I heard a few rumors before I showed up and I've listened here where I could, but any information you can give me would be useful. What kind of help are all of you looking for? If I know a little more, I might be able to point a few more in the right direction as well.

[lightgunhustler]

There's room for just about every kind of help, really. A better place to start is usually to find out what someone's strengths are so we can point them in the right direction.

[She smiles openly, folding her arms as she makes herself comfortable, letting her weight rest on her back foot.]

For example, I take care of weapons and self-defense -- or I did. There's a lot more people now, I'm sure I'll be in the market for all kinds of help. There are plenty of people here who seem to teach self-defense on their own time, too, but even more who don't know the first thing about protecting themselves. When this thing started up, Dean had me making sure everyone who needed lessons was getting them from somebody.

[widows_kiss]

[Well. That was interesting. Natasha gave the girl another once-over.]

I've noticed there are a few here who seem to be a little out of there element if it comes to a fight. [She'd even had one of her 'cousins' request something similar of her.]

You know what you're doing when it comes to weapons and self-defense?

/\/\(o-o)/\/\

[checkyourceiling]

{Speaking of webs, there is in fact a red an blue suited fellow hanging from the ceiling not that far away from her. Natasha is definitely smart enough to know who of her acquaintances that might be, which is why Peter hasn't actually drifted over to say hello, even though it's thanks to her he's even there.}

/\/\(o-o)/\/\

[widows_kiss]

[He's a little hard to miss, actually. And not just because he's hanging from the ceiling. What on earth is he wearing?

Obviously Steve and his spangly flag outfit wasn't colorful enough for Wonderland. And she's not even touching Thor and Iron Man's ideas of attire.]

You know, red and blue doesn't actually work really well for subtlety, if that's what you were going for.

[She's wandered over to almost underneath him, casually sipping a drink as she watches the room.]

[checkyourceiling]

{{Peter grins inside the mask and shakes his head a little.}

Subtlety is not the goal when you're trying to distract the bad guys from the civilians. Also, you'd be surprised how well this fades into the darkness.

{There's a pause where she can probably tell he's uncomfortable before he speaks again, lowering himself by a string to keep it quiet and just between them.}

Look--I know you figured it out already, and there'll be one or two others I'm thinking, but it tends to be safer for everyone when the scrawny college geek isn't connected to Spider-man.

[widows_kiss]

I suppose I would. I'll take your word for it in the meantime.

[He descends - sort of - and for a moment her attention is drawn instead to how he's doing that, her gaze narrowing speculatively on the thin webbing. His words draw her gaze back to his face, hidden as it is by his mask.]

Maybe the scrawny college geek shouldn't hang from chandeliers. Just pointing that out.

[Because she'd had her suspicions, yes, but hearing his voice cinched it.]

Spider-man. That's what you call yourself? [Her gaze goes to what he's hanging from once more. Her lips quirk faintly.] You're taking the theme all the way, are you?

[checkyourceiling]

{Peter shakes his head.}

The video was an accident. I didn't mean to turn the phone on while I was up there.

{He grins under the mask tilting his head at her comments.}

Well, if you knew how exactly I got the ability to hang from chandeliers it makes more sense.

[widows_kiss]

I guessed that part.

[Her grin deepens, a hint impish as she teases him, although that hint of information has her turning curious, head tilted inquisitively as her gaze comes back to him.]

Oh? Going to share with the class?

gently starts this cr up

[glumshoe]

[ There are a few ensembles populating Wonderland that you should look into, for engaging or just getting by. If the oddly close and frequently shirtless teens don't garner the attention their descriptors would indicate, and a gaggle of demons and their various hunters prove too volatile a starting point, Will would be remiss to ignore the other large, sometimes hulking green elephant in the room.

Natasha is one sort he's heard of, or not heard of. Her tendency to keep inconspicuous of course made her conspicuous to a serial observant of the mild mannered and quiet such as Will, and, well. Anyone that can stand repeat exposure to Stark has a thing or two to pass along.

(Not that he believes Natasha is mild mannered or quiet, really. Years in and out of the field, it's a skill to recognize the ones that keep their knowledge hidden.)

Will has a way about approaching others that makes it seem as though they are the ones interrupting him. As far as defense mechanisms go, it's had ages to construct itself, so Will makes a visible effort to straighten and offer his hand in a move that doesn't shock him by virtue of it being his idea, but the recluse in him recoils all the same. ]

I don't believe we've met, though I've, ah, dealt with some of your colleagues. My name is Will Graham, new recruit like yourself.

*chinhands at it*

[widows_kiss]

[Natasha gives him a friendly smile when he comes up to her, because he seems a little ill at ease to be doing so. Then again, the number of people who've shown up can be pretty overwhelming in itself, especially when so many of them are still strangers to her.

His face is a little familiar to her, although she knows they've never met face to face. Probably the event, she decides, since she's felt that same sense of familiarity with a couple people now, and it's the only explanation she can think of.

She reaches out, taking his hand in a warm grip and inclining her head in greeting.]

Hello, Will. I'm Natasha. Should I start offering condolences over which of my colleagues you've been exposed to?

[glumshoe]

[ It's a rare person that can prod a smile out of Will on first meeting, keyed up as he is, but Will does pause, expression slip sliding into something more commiserating and genuine. ]

Colonel Rhodes was excusable under the circumstances, and I don't think Darcy will allow to have excuses made for her, for better or worse.

[widows_kiss]

[Her smile deepens for a moment as she gives a soft laugh.]

Ah, you lucked out then. Rhodey and Darcy aren't too bad to bump into first. I'd avoid the basement if you value your sanity, however.

[It's said with teasing fondness that belies the warning, however, showing she doesn't really mean it. Although Stark's a handful for just about anyone who meets him.]

I try not to make excuses for any of them, even Darcy, for the sake of my own sanity. I'm pretty sure there's an entire department dedicated to that back home that I want nothing to do with.

[glumshoe]

That's a generous assumption that I still have it. [ Ha. HA.. haaa. Jokes. ]

[ Considering what Natasha has to say about it, there's safe bets to be made about just what or specifically who is in the basement. ]

Ah, I'd take solace in the fact that no one is irreplaceable. [ The FBI, at least, does know how to turn out its own on his ear when appropriate, and maybe their organization has a similar bureaucratic quagmire. ] You do seem more head of security than HR.

[widows_kiss]

You seem to have it as much as any of the rest of us here. [She gives a wry look around them, lips twisting in faint amusement.] The again, we're all being held captive in Wonderland by an evil Queen and apparently our sort-of doppelgangers. I think sanity's another issue entirely these days.

[His assessment has her grin returning, however. She casts him a sly glance out of the corner of her eye.] Do I? I don't know, I might make a very effective deterrent for excessive complaints that way.