Light&darkness| Mani, 25

⋆ armani jamison _ they/them ⋆ ⋆ moniker_Iris ⋆ ⋆ escort @ elysians ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ i wish we are all rose-colored too {Low-key, no pressure, just hang with me and my weather}

[armaniris-blog]

dionysins‌:

ah, friendly banter with none other than his neighbor wasn’t exactly something he’d been expecting but in a room full of overly polite smiles and bland how are you’s, it wasn’t entirely unwelcome. of course, the two of them had gotten into more than a few arguments in the past, mostly due to noise and other regular, neighborly disagreements, so mani’s quip was no surprise, either.

“i clean up nice, or so they tell me. plus, you think tyler would let me come to this looking like a slob?” vinnie mused as he stopped a passing waiter to grab himself two champagne glasses, one for himself and one for his newfound company. “oh? would it be rude for me to ask who might’ve picked it out for you, then?” with a raised eyebrow, he turned back to mani, offering them the glass.

there was something relieving about being brought back to reality. mani had begun to feel out of their depth, and this banter was exactly what they needed to feel normal. they took the glass of champagne gratefully, who knew how many of these they had at this point. 

“so all work and no pleasure for you too then?” mani forgot how many people they were starting to know in this new life. “it is rude, but i’ll indulge anyway because i’m avoiding him. the date i’m here with is some important somebody who has a fancy for me. so i assume he had an assistant pick it out.”

[armaniris-blog]

regincs‌:

Eyes taking in the frame of the figure before them, Victoria eventually settled on a name - a slither of familiarity. Well, some was better than none. If she had been a betting woman, she would have put money on them belonging to her enemy. Great, the whole ragtag bunch had seen fit to respond to the invite. Next time, she would see about beefing up security. Circling the individual, so that they lay on the side of the party, Victoria dipped her head slightly. “You know, it’s incredibly poor manners to criticise the host of an event.” 

their eyes stayed trained on the other person. “oh i didn’t mean the party as a whole,” mani backpedaled quickly, “my date is a stuffy old man who can’t seem to get past general pleasantries. i barely know anyone else here outside of him, so i decided to grab a breath of air.” it was half a lie, they knew plenty of people here well enough. but mani wasn’t giving that exact information to just anyone. especially someone who made them feel watched and see through.

[ainslcyy-deactivated20201104]

time: 10:09pm location: founder’s ball status: open

lyv still wasn’t sure what she was doing at the founder’s ball besides the fact she’d been attending for the past seven years. plus, to ignore a direct invitation from zeus at this point wouldn’t have been the wisest decision for any of them. the balance was too delicate, ready to tip in either direction at any moment. the night had been going well as expected, the egg shells they were all treading on starting to break between old friends while others turned into glass shards as old wounds were reopened. 

her own evening had gone as well as expected. it wasn’t easy nor would it have been her evening of choice but they all had to attend. turning to the person closest to her, lyv sipped on her glass before attempting some kind of interaction. at this point, most of the attendees had had enough to drink or whatever they needed to loosen up. “having a good time?” she asked, innocently enough.

[armaniris-blog]

mani was positive that this night was going to drag on forever. they could swear up and down that it had been three whole hours that should have passed but instead it was barely five minutes. the only nice part about all of this was the fact that money would be coming their way at the end of the night. they could put on a smile, sit through conversation and pretend they were having a good time for that, right?

as if someone had been inside their mind, mani was quick to light up their whole face. “i am,” their voice a little too bubbly for this specific occasion, for this specific question. they swirled their drink in their hand, “i’ve got to say, for being in New York such a short time, the city sure is showing me a great time.” 

[olympians-hq-deactivated2021022]

IRIS

✘. Name: Armani “Mani” Jamison ✘. Age: 25 ✘. Gender/Pronouns: Non-Binary / they/them ✘. Affiliation: Elysian ✘. Occupation: Escort / Informant ✘. Faceclaim: Indya Moore

THE STORY

You’ve had this need to be free, to run and escape. You fly faster and faster until you finally land. Something dark lingers just behind the surface of all of the light and bright vibes that you try to give off.  You like being just a new fresh face for people to figure out and figure out. Maybe it’s the roundness of your face, or the way you give off an air of innocence or, quite possibly, it could be that you have a way with words and people feel safe telling you secrets. You claim neutrality most of the time; after all you weren’t here for the fallout. But you know that you have found a home with Elysian and those in charge have shown they understand exactly where your talents lie.

BIOGRAPHY

Keep reading

[armaniris-blog]

sunsctting‌:

mani was one of the few people jason truly felt comfortable around in this ballroom full of strangers and ghosts, but he had seen them walk in with someone who’d disappeared since then. it was no surprise to him that they were working, but it also meant that he had a limited amount of time to chat with them until they were called back into the arms of someone far more important than him. so, why not make the most of that time? it certainly looked like they could use the company too.

“oh, so you didn’t miss me? you definitely looked like you did when you were bored out of your mind with that guy. i’m just here to save you.” he teased, arching an eyebrow at them. “you definitely need to work on your poker face, though.” despite his words, he couldn’t suppress the smile on his own face before laughing. he knew that mani was one of the best, but how else was he supposed to keep them on their toes? “besides, you know you miss me every single second i’m not with you. you can admit it, it’ll be our little secret.”

with an amused expression, he leaned in to whisper in their ear. “want to slide down the staircase banister before you get back to your date? we might get in trouble, but at least we’ll have fun.”

the prospect alone of finding a corner to hide away in and just let loose for a millisecond was inviting. “my knight in shining armor,” they joked, “where would i be without you? so full of advice and temptation.” in the short few months they’d been in the city, mani really hadn’t expected to become so familiar with someone so easily. there was never a dull moment with jason. and the chance of having an opportunity to do something like this happening again? didn’t seem too likely. “ i’ll need you to pinky promise you won’t spill the beans if i admit something so crazy as that.”

a quick glance around the room, in an effort to spot their date, was fruitless. the man had managed to blend into every other suit there. “lead the way,” mani laughed, “i’m sure i won’t be missed for a few more moments.”

[dionysxns]

date & time: september 22nd location: founder’s ball status: open

“- yessir, i’ll get to it as soon as i’m allowed to leave this thing. you have a good night, too.” 

he once again thanked the gods for creating cordless earphones as he hung up the call, and finally managed to lift his eyes from his phone to take a quick glance around the room. having been around this particular crowd for a few years now, he was more than familiar with what went on at these founder’s balls. what he never quite understood was why they made such a big fuss about cronus - rest his soul - though he supposed that was only because he’d never met the man himself.

sipping at his cranberry juice, vincent turned his eyes towards a figure closeby, letting out a small laugh when he realized who it was.

“well, don’t you look unusually nice today,” he quipped, “though i hope you didn’t buy that for just for this thing. nothing much ever happens around here.” 

[armaniris-blog]

mani had slowly been making their way back to their discarded date; at this point they’d been gone a lot longer than expected. it was supposed to be a quick breather and back to the drawl of dull conversations that they’d never really know the ending of. and it would seem mani’s luck was still on the lower end. because of all people they had to run into... it would be him. they resisted the urge to roll their eyes and just keep walking. but what would that look like to the rest of the people gathered around. 

“one could say the same for you. didn’t know you had something that stylish in your closet,” they replied. “though i will say i didn’t choose this for myself.”

[odetteobserver]

date: september 22nd location: founder’s ball status: open

Events like these were no stranger to Felicia. Once upon a time, she too was forced to attend balls and galas all in the name of charity of course. Harvey was ever the philanthropist, it seemed that way at least. No one would ever assume Felicia’s past involved opulence such as this, but that was how she liked it. Even now, she had other intentions for the night that were far more pressing than smiling for a camera and making herself look good.

She limited herself to one flute of champagne, making sure to sip slowly the rest of the night. She trusted the rest of Elysian to be able to get their shit done tonight, so for now she had to make herself seem on her best behavior. Whatever that was supposed to look like. Currently, it looked like her almost spilling her champagne as she nearly ran into someone. “Ah fuck, sorry.” She murmured, pulling her arm back. “I didn’t get you did I?”

[armaniris-blog]

armani’s date had handed them flute after flute of the driest champagne they’d had in their life. if it hadn’t been free and to keep a client happy, mani would have gladly dumped each one in a potted plant. they’d try sipping on one slowly, but the man would encourage them to drink up  “drink up, it’s a party afterall” rang in their ears each time they’d been stuck on the same flute for too long. 

maybe it was the pressure of having to keep quiet to in an effort for the client to show them off and just roll with what the man had wanted or it was the fact that the last time they’d done anything close to an event this fancy, they’d had been glued to their mothers side. whatever the reason, mani had excused themself and tried to hide away. too many people grabbed at their attention. so much had been going on. 

mani had barely caught themself from full on impact with the other person. the question grounded them in what was finally reality. felicia was a familiar enough face to bring them from out of the clouds. “no worries!” mani had started to say but as they gave a quick look over on the dress they’d worn, they realized that there was a huge wet spot on it. “it’ll be an easy clean i’m sure. just once i find a restroom.”

[oflaurcl]

date & time: september 22nd, 10.56pm location: founder’s ball status: open

When she was a little girl, obediently clasping onto her mother, Victoria had been told to embody glass. Fragile and delicate and pretty, like a china figurine. Years later, catching her reflection in a passing mirror, she reflected on her passage. She liked to think of herself as glass of another kind - the sort they hang in churches; stained, regal, eternal. They do not shatter - and neither does she; even as the snakes enter her home. Polished, she has had the same expression etched on her face all evening; a stiff smile, a knifes edge from ice.

Catching the figure at the end of the hallway, hovering precariously close to the lift - out of places, out of bounds - her expression hardens. Heels echoing on the tiles, she approaches them without announcement. “The ball is in the other direction.”

[armaniris-blog]

mani sighed, finally free from prying eyes and slight trouble making. the breath of fresh, uncrowded air, didn’t last nearly as long as they would have liked. they’d barely had a second alone and was already being hounded. mani lifted their eyes to the woman; this was clearly someone who was meant to be seen as a threat, as authority. they put on their most innocent look they could pull off. eyes wide, mouth slightly agape as they got scolded. 

“sorry, i didn’t realize i’d been missed,” their voice coming of softer than they’d tried to make it. “just a bit stuffy in there. needed to escape for a moment.” 

[wimbcrly]

where?  the founder’s ball when?  the very beginning of the party who?  open to anyone

“wow,” kamilla says, looking at the glass she’d just sipped out of in digust, “you’d think for some rich motherfuckers that they’d be able to afford more than shit like this.” she stares at her glass and contemplates stepping behind the bar herself. how much trouble would that land her in? but she can’t keep drinking this: it’s worse than the garbage she used to serve in barcelona. “but who am i to judge? rich people love lining their pockets, now they can’t even shell out for decent booze.” 

[armaniris-blog]

“I really thought they’d have it together. i swear i was able to score better when i was in high school,” mani agreed whole heartily. they’d been to house parties since their sophomore year of high school, and the kids they managed to goad into the parties always had parents with a fat and expansive liquor cabinet for the crew to raid. “they keep all the good stuff for themselves and hope we are too busy schmoozing to tell the difference. i’d kill to just have something besides this dry champagne.”

[sunsctting]

Lurking around Asphodel and The Warehouse is far different from this, there were crowds to blend into when someone Jason was trying to avoid spotted him and an exit to quickly dart out of whenever he felt uncomfortable enough to leave. But this? Being at Mount Olympus again while the deaths of Harvey and Rafael and the shame of his addictions weighing heavy on his shoulders while being surrounded by things he couldn’t have? It was almost torture. In fact, he was sure that Luli had invited him to simply to rub it in his face. After all, why else would she have done it? He was no longer a part of Olympus, no longer peddling drugs and no use to anyone, and everyone he knew here either had business to attend to or likely hated him.

With a flute of water in hand, he skirted off to the edge of the ballroom, admiring the decorations with bittersweet nostalgia. Glancing into the crowd of important people, he felt almost small… Even invisible, maybe, before he made eye contact with someone he had once known. Everything screamed at him to run away, only a few steps to the exit, but his legs took him straight to who he had seen as though his own body had betrayed him. With his heart nearly bursting from his chest, he gave them a wary smile.

“Hey, did you miss me?”

[armaniris-blog]

slinking away was harder than it seemed. they felt like a pretender, they hadn’t lived a life even slightly close to this since they were a child. the manners and stamina required was no longer a part of their repertoire. a polite tap on the arm to the man who had brought mani here as a arm candy, signaling that they were heading to the restroom. they’d managed. they escaped the drone of conversation about things they had no interest in. 

mani gracefully swept up a flute of champagne, and floated as well as they could through the crowd. a bright smile on their face as dazzling as they can make it. ‘keep an air of mystery,’ they thought to themselves, ‘if they aren’t thinking ‘who is that?’ then what’s the point’. they weren’t sure exactly where they were headed, they just needed to be among people without giving into pointless drivel. maybe drivel wasn’t quite how their date would phrase it, important would more than likely be more accurate. but here mani was, feeling aimless, unsure for basically their first time in a long while. 

The voice threw them for a loop at first, for someone who tried to say they were observant, it was amazing they hadn’t noticed jason approach. “did i miss you? it’s been all of what-- six, maybe seven hours?” a genuine smile passed over their features, finally a person they felt natural around.  “how am i supposed to miss you if i keep running into you?”

[armaniris-blog]

⋆  * ⋆ wanted connections & plots  ⋆  * ⋆   

hello, hello, hello!  my babe mani’s got a couple connections and plot ideas we can either flesh out or bounce off of. they like to play at being neutral but they rally hard for Elysian when it comes down to it all. they are also real new to town in the grand scheme of things so let’s just get into some connection ideas?

(bio here!)

HARD FEELINGS: not everything can be rosy- there’s a couple ways to take this. mani could have done something that rubbed your muse the wrong way; your muse could have done something that left mani with a bitter taste in their mouth, or it could just have been a huge misunderstanding. there can be a huge mistrust just from associationn. can be from just meeting, acquaintances, or even good friends. ((open to any))

SIBLING-FIGURE: mani grew up half spoiled as an only child, in the beginning half of life that was real good for them and worked wondrously. now they try to find that connection of having someone they can really think of as a sibling. they feed off the relationships they have with other people. your character and them have that typical, bickering but love each other to death relationship that every blood sibling knows. ((open to neutral or elysian))

FINDERS KEEPER: for this idea i kinda wanted to explore how they got into all of the nonsense that comes with being in the mob. your character saw them down and out and for whatever reason scooped them up! we can plot out what their relationship has been or can evolve into or what ever! tons of possibilities! ((open to elysians))

CLIENT(regular, sugar parent, first timer): as an escort, there are a bunch of options here! does this person come to them regularly, what relationship do they have based off that? does someone give them a little more sugar than other regulars? is your character just interested in seeing what the fuss of an escort about? options options options! ((open to any))

ROMANTIC: FWB? secret affair? unrequited crush/love? slow burn? Who knows! (i typically like seeing how chemistry works for romantic connections-- but i don’t mind plotting stuff out either!) ((open to any))

SOURCE: thought escort was all mani had up their sleeve? no way! they’re also  a real good informant! So this can go a couple ways??? a mole in Olympus? a friend that mani is using? (just imagine the angst there!!) a pillowtalker? ((open to olympus))

[thegoodvybe]