Chapter 10: Greenill Section ID Day?

[nanocerancowboy]

[ACTION - A (BACKDATED TO MARCH 17, Anywhere in Mayfield, Morning to Evening, OPEN TO ALL)]

[See that six-foot android covered head to toe in some sort of armor, going about his business?]

[He's not wearing green. At all.]

[Try to pinch him. Go on, try it.]

[ACTION - B (BACKDATED TO MARCH 17, John Doe Park, Afternoon, OPEN TO ALL)]

[That same android now seems to have a couple of drones following him, even hanging on to him, desperately trying to pinch him—on the hard, armored parts of his body. Suffice to say, they're not having much luck—and the android looks a little annoyed as he tries to brush some of the drones off of him.]

What in th' hell are ya'll on about?

[ACTION - C (BACKDATED TO MARCH 17, Olney's Tavern, Evening, OPEN TO ALL)]

[Gat's noticed the sizable amount of patrons heading toward the tavern, both droned and undroned alike. Curious, he's come to the tavern himself, though judging from the way he carries himself and rubs the back of his helmeted head as he scans the tavern in a manner not unlike the Terminator, he's a little perplexed.]

Comments

[1st_superhero]

St. Patrick's Day. You know, Irish, Leprechauns, drinking...oh, and pinching people pinching peple who don't wear green. You see, a long time ago, some blokes on an island call Ireland decided to make green their national color because they were all redheads and green was the only color that they looked good in. Then they ran out of potatoes so a lot of them had to go to other places. And Saint Patrick's Day is a special day for them, so all the Irish people everywhere celebrate. Of course, I'm not Irish--I just get drunk at their parties.

[The explanation Gilgamesh has given is extremely simplified, not to mention politically incorrect in places.]

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat listens to the entire explanation, giving a good impression of staring incredulously—for someone with a faceplate.]

Are ya sayin' this is some kinda cultural holiday? An th' town has a lot of them Irish folk livin' in it?

[Gat looks away, rubbing the back of his helmeted head. His tone of voice is somewhere between frustration and bewilderment.]

But I ain't even human.

[1st_superhero]

Well, yeah.

[He laughs and reaches up to pat Gat on the shoulder.]

Don't worry--I'm not completely human or Irish either. I just really like their parties.

[Then again, he liked any excuse to party.]

[nanocerancowboy]

That's reassurin'.

[Gat sounds mostly sarcastic there, though not in a malicious way.]

What's leprechauns got to do with pinchin' folks? I ain't never heard of them before.

[That should be the other way around, Gat.]

[1st_superhero]

Well...

[He suddenly takes on a more serious and scholarly air.]

A long time ago, the people of Ireland had their own gods, who created them and all. However, some time ago, things you wouldn't understand happened, and Ireland ended up converting to Christianity. The old gods stormed off in a huff and went under hills and rivers. People call them "fairies" now. One of those gods was called Lugh of the Long Arm and his specialty was that he was good at everything, especially crafts. All his fairy followers, the lesser gods of various crafts, are now called "leprechauns". Except when they're drunk and you call them Clurichauns. The Irish people really loved Lugh back in the day, so they love his followers too. It doesn't hurt that they're said to have hidden pots of gold that you can find if you catch them. Because they're so active, everybody knows about leprechauns and they got included as one of the symbols of Ireland.

So that's why everyone likes to have leprechauns on St. Patrick's day.

[He pauses a bit.]

Oh yeah, Lugh also had a kid who was a dog and the Irish people love him too. I've met him. Cute kid--just a bit grouchy.

[...That was because you kept on trying to grope him, Gilgamesh.]

[nanocerancowboy]

[Wow, that is a lot of information to take in. Gat pulls his head back briefly during the pause, but he holds his peace until Gilgamesh has fully explained the whole deal.]

Alright, so if I'm followin' you, then leprechauns're some kinda non-human spiritual species. An' they've become a symbol for that there country.

[Gat tilts his head inquisitively.]

Are you some sorta scholar on Ireland?

[1st_superhero]

Nope. Just someone who's been there a couple of times.

[And gotten chased by a lynch mob almost every single time.]

[nanocerancowboy]

[Oh that wacky Gilgamesh!]

Jus' a fan of th' place, I reckon. Heh.

[That bit about Lugh having a dog for a son intrigues him, now that he thinks on it.]

That Lugh fella, though—how'd he wind up havin' a dog for a son?

[1st_superhero]

[Happens when you're a perpetually bored god/hero who makes more trouble than you're worth everywhere you go.]

Hm...well, from what he says, he wasn't actually born a dog. He was just named after one in his lifetime. Then he died, got summoned to be someone's familiar spirit, and since the kid didn't have enough power, he turned into a dog.

[At least, that was what he said. For all anyone knew, he could have been a dog with the ability to turn human.]

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat shakes his head in wonderment.]

Sounds like th' poor fella got a raw deal.

[1st_superhero]

Well, his dog form is pretty cute, so it shouldn't be that bad. Besides, you can do more stuff with him as a dog, like dressing him up in doggy uniforms or playing doggy-ball.

[Said game actually included using the dog as a ball and was only done by a couple of troll kids who did not know the concept of animal cruelty. He had only ever heard about it from the dog's owner, but he thought it was pretty cool. After all, it was a game that he never played before.]

[nanocerancowboy]

[If he knew that, he'd really think Lugh's son got the short end of the stick. For now, though, Gat scratches his helmeted head in a confused manner.]

Didja meet him before he was turned into a dog, or after th' fact?

[1st_superhero]

Oh, after. There was this one time when I was on Avalon and because the rules of reality are kinda different there, he could switch between being a dog and being a human. Then I met him again once or twice when he was stuck being a dog full time. He's a cute kid in either form. Just kinda grouchy and prone to both bark and bite.

[Then again, Gilgamesh did provoke him a lot whenever they met...]

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat's stroking the "chin" of his faceplate thoughtfully while Gilgamesh explains the deal with Lugh's son.]

This planet's got access to another dimension? Or is Avalon some other kind of universe altogether?

[He seems pretty casual about asking this.]

[1st_superhero]

I'm not too sure about the physics of Avalon, but Morgan owns the place and she's a powerful witch, so she put it in some sort of pocket universe.

[And Gilgamesh is pretty casual about answering.]

I don't think anyone who's looked for it ever found it before. I ended up there on accident.

[nanocerancowboy]

[Now this sounds more like something Gat's familiar with!]

Pocket universe ... sounds like a Nanotransformer at work.

[1st_superhero]

Huh?

[He scratches his head.]

What's a nanotransformer?

[nanocerancowboy]

[And now it's Gat's turn to do some explaining!]

It's storage technology where I'm from. Creates a lil' pocket of space you can store jus' about anything in. Th' tech's only been around in modern society for a decade or so, but it sure has changed how folks live.

Hell, it's been a long time since I seen anybody totin' around luggage. You can carry a full load in a nanotransformer an' not feel th' least bit burdened.

[1st_superhero]

So it works like that...in that case, I can do that without using any devices. I can't do it now, but I can create infinite closet space back in my world.

[It was part of the blessings from the divine baby shower.]

[nanocerancowboy]

[Gat pulls his head back some, in a gesture that expresses his piqued interest.]

That so? Between that and that there Avalon place ya mentioned, is it somethin' that's common for folks where you're from?

[1st_superhero]

Nah. I was blessed from birth with various superpowers because I was 2/3rds divine.

[nanocerancowboy]

[This might be the first person Gat's met who's openly admitted to being part-god. Unless one counts Red Ring Rico, but that's a whole different situation ...]

[Gat thoughtfully puts a knuckle to the "chin" of his faceplate, propping up the arm by the elbow with the back of his other hand.]

"Superpowers," y'say .. I've heard of folks talkin' about superheroes before, come to think of it. Is havin' divine relations part of bein' a superhero?

[1st_superhero]

No, I'm not actually a superhero. Well, I sort of am, but it would be better to call me a legendary hero. But yeah--having divine blood is more or less a prerequisite for legendary heroes.

[nanocerancowboy]

So you ain't th' type to go runnin' around in costume, then.

[There's a bit of good-natured humor in Gat's tone when he says that.]

[1st_superhero]

Oh no, I do like running around in costumes whenever I can get my hands on one. It's just that I don't have a permanent "hero" name because my real name is quite enough to make any villains piss themselves.