heliophilia (n.): desire to stay in the sun; love of sunlight. Derived from the Greek words helios (sun) and philia (love), it describes a profound affinity for bright environments and the mood-boosting energy sunshine provides.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Welcome, welcome! This entire post will be OOC, so just beware :)
If you see someone called @prev0id keeps liking your posts, that's me!! My dear wife @landofw0nder introduced me to twisted wonderland and all of her amazing friends that roleplay! I got into it because of her, and now I'm very excited to showcase the OCs I made for twst! I owe it all to her <3
I'm an avid roleplayer, so feel free to message me or send me an ask!!!!! Like really really, I love asks and stuff :) I also really like the curses asks things, questions of any kind, ask games, and being tagged in posts! Go ahead and do that whenever! Just beware that I'm getting back into roleplaying after a long time of not doing so, and that I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to Tumblr (ᵕ—ᴗ—)
(PS: If you send me an ask without symbols/punctuation like I do, please use tone tags! I am SO bad at knowing what people are feeling from behind the screen without them, so I'd appreciate it if you used them :> )
Now, onto the twst stuff!
muses/oc list 𖤓 tag list 𖤓 writing things
black/pink: RUADH/JUNE RONAN, first year ˚.🎀༘⋆
red: RILEY ROOTHYDE, second year ☆★☆★☆★☆
orange: AMOS ROOTHYDE, second year ( _ _ )💤
blue: CHRYSA QUINQUE, third year °🥂⋆.ೃ🍾࿔*:･
green: VICENTE CABRO, first year ݁.𖠰 ݁↟🌿
purple: BERNIE ISSAC, first year ݁﹏𓊝﹏☸
See trivia about them here! It's pretty important!
See below the cut for rules and a little more about me!
RULES + INTRO
Hello! I go by many names, but to make it simpler you can call me prev0id (with a zero or with an o) or just by my URL, endofthehorizon. I am a minor and go by any pronouns (please stray away from femme, I hear too much of it...), and as well as that I'm also a writer! I'm currently writing a book, and I used to be a really big roleplayer before me and my friends drifted apart, which means that my replies in role-plays could be pretty long ;)
I'm always up for making friends and being sent asks!!!! Please!!! Send!!!! Asks!!!!! Please!!! Be!!! My!!! Friend!!!!!! @landofw0nder has shown me SO many cool people that I really want to meet and be friends with, like @spidrsharks... and @aureeeliaa... and @mars2moons and @pushingpesticides and @viiviidlights and @awhiteroseinblood... you guys are all awesome!! ♡
Next up are my general rules! Nothing too over-the-top, just a few general things that I want to be clear (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) ‹𝟹
Like I said, I am a minor, so please don'd direct anything really NSFW towards me or any of my characters, even if they are 18 or over! I am uncomfortable with writing anything that has to do with NSFW as an aroace person who only partakes in queer-platonic relationships, so please don't do any of that.
Hatred or negativity of any kind will be blocked. You can hate my characters, of course, but things such as homophobia, racism, sexism, ableism, etc will not be tolerated.
There will be warnings on top of every post that contains sensitive content and then a cut, so if you feel uncomfortable with gore and such, please abide by the warnings! I would consider myself pretty good at writing scenes with gore and panic and such.
Communicate!! Communication!! If you couldn't tell, I love communication! Ask me anything! Talk to me whenever!! I don't actually use my main blog all that much, but you can still talk to me there! I'm trying my best to be a little less internet-shy, so you can ask me all that you want there, or you can ask ME stuff in this one, too! Whatever you'd like!
You can spam me, but only in a silly way (if that makes sense). If you're excited to tell me something, or you're just messing around with me, I don't mind, however if you're actually just trying to piss me off I won't tolerate it. Thank you!!
Have a wonderful rest of your day, my lovelies! ₍₍⚞(˶˃ ꒳ ˂˶)⚟⁾⁾
Credits to @uzmacchiato, @sisterlucifergraphics, @vg-k, and @ᴅᴏɴᴛᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴɪᴛꜱᴇʀɪᴏᴜꜱꜱᴛᴜꜰꜰ for the dividers I use throughout this blog.
PPS: Please lmk if I didn't give the proper credits to the people who made the dividers and stuff! I wasn't able to find the account that did the dividers for Ruadh, so if you see that I have not credited you, please contact me! (｡Ó﹏Ò｡)
PPPS: The gradient text I use all around my blog is made with this link! Change your text editor to raw html AFTER writing at least something on the post as a placeholder, and then copy and paste it over the text you put before! This is mostly for me, but you can use it as well :)
(for @nrcsfavoriteshrimps ! This takes place during book 4, but I feel like this would be in an AU where Jamil doesn't go apeshit :3 )
Vicente Cabro is a regular at The Mostro Lounge, but he's never come at this hour before. Usually, late Saturdays means that the lounge is packed, but now that it's the winter, barely anybody is staying in. The only people he knows that are staying are Jade and Floyd, which is the reason he came to the lounge anyway. When he enters, however, he doesn't see either of the Leech brothers—instead, he spots someone he's never seen before: it's Rocky, who's about to inform him that he came at a very bad time.
Vince would be going out to see his family right now, but he was informed a day before break that they wouldn't be home, since they had a few things they had to collect for the farm and decided that they would all just take a trip to explore the place. He wasn't mad, but he was missing them terribly, and he didn't really appreciate the fact that seeing them again would be postponed (even though he calls them every other day).
Similar to most people, loneliness is how Vince ended up at the Mostro Lounge, just outside the foot of the entrance resembling Ursula's cave. He pushes the door open, about to step inside when he freezes. He watches as a boy that's five feet away who's carrying a box that's too big for his size slips on a small puddle of water on the floor and falls straight on his ass.
A string of curses escape from the boy's mouth as he shoves the box away. Suppressing a snicker, Vince jogs over, standing in front of the boy and extending his hand.
"'R ya' alright there, friend? Ya' took quite a tumble there, 'f I do say so myself. N' I'm doin' that now!"
Vince laughs at his own joke, attempting to light the mood.
[The boy hisses— not really at the other student, but more at himself.]
“Sure, DURE, I’m GREAT! With the crash landin’ from the Ramshackle crew, my boss n’ the Leeches suddenly dippin’ and leavin’ ME in charge, n’ now all my dormmates feel like slackin?! I’m just PEACHY, thanks!”
[He groans as he stands back up, dusting off his dorm uniform. His ears pin back against his head as he looks back at a very much destroyed booth. He…seems to be having a rough time.]
“Look, i’on know why ya up so late. If ya came he’a expectin’ a late night snack, you’re gonna have to give me a few,” [he explains, placing a hand on his hip.] “Some shit’s goin’ down in Scarabia an’ they’s up n’ left me with the lounge.”
"Sounds like sumone needs sum help. Didn' come 'ere for nuthin', ya' know."
Vince drops his hand, not bothered by the fact that the other hybrid didn't take his hand. He picks up the box that had been thrown aside, leaning on it as he speaks.
"Seems like y' need sum help ova here. Could be m' payment fr' that snack. Could go fr' a banana split right 'bout now..."
Vince grins, picking up the box and lifting it high over his head without breaking a sweat. His pants pull up at this, and small tufts of white fur can be seen at the ankles if someone looked closely.
"Where's this headin'? N' what're we up t'?"
It seems that Vince has inserted himself into the situation whether or not Rocky likes it.
[Rocky seems…caught off-guard, to say the least. And— hey, is he blushing?]
“E-Eh? You…you’d…” [His eyes widen in shock as he stammers, before clearing his throat and crossing his arms.] “Whateva! I’ll do it cuz you’re helpin’, so don’t go gettin’ the wrong idea! It’s the least you could do!”
"Well, 'm glad that 'ya accepted m' offer, but 'ya gotta tell me where this thin' goes so I can actually do any helpin'!"
Vince chuckles, amused at the boy's reaction. Despite him being younger than Rocky, he reaches down and ruffles his hair teasingly.
"I know that y' 're just itchin' to have me aroun', but I can't do nun if you don' tell me what I gotta do! N' what's in this box?"
Vince shakes the insides around a little, not realizing that what's inside could be glass. He has no harmful intentions, though, as he seems to be analyzing the sound that the object inside makes carefully.
[Rocky’s face flushes deeper. Shit, he was so caught off-guard by the offer that he completely forgot!]
“R-Right. Follow me, kid, I’ll show ya what ta do.” [He huffs, walking off to wherever the boxes were supposed to go. He murmurs something under his breath, though it’s hard to understand.]
“It’s just some stock. Gotta keep the place runnin’, y’know?”
Vince places the boxes on the corner of the island, opening it up and taking out a flour bag. What Vince doesn't notice is the fact that there were some other pointier things in the box along with the bag, and the fall Rocky had caused one of them to puncture a hole on the bag's top.
So when he sets the flour down fimly, about to make a joke, what he gets instead is a kitchen, a Rocky, and a him that is covered in flour.
Vince looks at the flour bag. Then at Rocky. Then at himself. Then at the flour bag again.
And then he bursts into hysterics.
"WAHAHA! Didn' think tha' shitter wouldda had a hole in it!" he says in between bouts of laughter.
[Rocky doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Because holy shit, that’s hilarious, but also ohhhhhh fuck his bosses are gonna kill him—]
“Aha…ahaha…yeah, let’s get ya cleaned up, kid. Gotta deal wit’ this before the trio gets back.” [He takes out his magic pen, pointing it at Vince with a stern expression.] “Aight, hold still, kid. I’ll make it quick.”
Vince puts his hands on his hips, staying completely still.
"'Right! Work 'ya magic!"
But then he sees something that catches his attention, and he moves over to inspect it just as Rocky was starting to use his magic. From inside the box, he takes out a cigarette holder, tilting his head.
"Whatdd'ya need a cigarette holder fr'? Lookin' pretty old-fashon'd, 'f I do say so m'self. Which I—"
The cigarette holder flies out of his hand, snapping in half because of the magic Rocky started using.
[Rocky’s eye twitches. He is trying so, so hard not to snap at this kid.]
“…whaddid I just say, kid.”
[He huffs, finishing the spell before crossing his arms and turning his back.]
“How’m I s’pposed to know?” [he continues, his tail lashing behind him.] “I just work he’a. I don’ control what goes in or out. N’ I don’t smoke, eitha’. Sensitive lungs. Dealt with enough on the streets.”
Vince picks up the two halves of the stick. His pants ride up a little more, but he doesn't seem to notice, too preoccupied with the cigarette holder. He seems a little worried, but he's still trying his best to lighten the mood.
"Whadd'ya suppose we do, then? Glue it back? Ya' got any glue ova there? R' maybe we could work it wit sum magic!"
Vince whips out his magic pen, ready to do some spells to see if he can put the two pieces back together again. Rocky knows better than to let him continue, though.
"Eh? N' why can't I help? 'M good with heavy-duty stuff!"
That's about the only thing Vince is good at when helping around. He makes even more of a mess when trying to organize, breaks plates trying to scrub the grime off of them, and don't even get him started on cooking. At this point, he might even be worse than Lilia. He's solid at baking, though.
"'D feel bad 'f I didn't do anythin t' repay 'ya. C'mon. 'Could at least do sumthin' 'round here."
He did seem good at carrying around that long box before. Maybe...
"I could do conversation, that's 'aight! Wha' typa conversation r' ya lookin' for? Could talk 'bout generic stuffs, r' stuff for y' t' get ta' know me. Name's Vince, n' ima first year n' tha Ignihyde dorm."
Vince is a real yapper. He could talk and talk all day if he was allowed it, but usually people don't want to hear that much conversation. He would talk a lot with his siblings especially, but now that he's away from them, he's had to repress his talkative nature to not be annoying to others.
Until now.
Vince looks down at his pants, leaning down and tugging them lower. While he's bent over like this, he spots a cabinet that has a label reading "DO NOT OPEN" and reaches to open it.
Vince yelps, hopping back to avoid getting hit from the magic spell. Only then is when he notices the warning label on the cabinet, eyes widening.
"Ah! Didn' notice tha', 'f m' bein' frank. Ma fault."
Vince steps back, hopping onto the counter and sitting down on it. He swings his legs over the edge, listening to what Rocky wants him to rant about with a shine of excitement in his eyes.
"Ah! M' family's a real big 'un. 've got four parents, consisting' 'f m' momma n' my mom n' my papa n' my dad. They're all n' a polycule, n' they had 5 children n' adopted four. M' one of 'em adopted ones, tha's right. N' I luv all my mums n my paps n my siblin's."
He speaks about his family with such fondness in his eyes, though he looks a bit sad, too. It is a bit odd that Vince hasn't gone to see them yet in this winter break if they sound so close to him.
[Rocky can’t hide his envy, even with his back turned. Hearing about a big family, the family he’s always wanted…he couldn’t help but feel jealous. Especially because he himself had none.]
“Why ain’t ya with ‘em? ‘S winter break, y’ should be outta here.”
"Man, I was supposta go 'n ova ther', but they decided ta' go sumwhere else ta' pick up sum' stuff fo' da' farm just as I was arrivin'! Can't go back with no one a' home, yaknow? So now m' here, waitin' fo' them ta' get back n' three days r' more."
Vince huffs, crossing his arms. He looks mad at them, but in the teasing way that most kids are when they play-fight with their siblings. He can sense the jealousy in Rocky's voice, however, and he plays with his hair as he figures out a way to make this better for the both of them.
"'Could call em', if ya'd like! 'Think they'd be pretty happy t' see that 've gotta new friend 'round here!"
Vince grins, already pulling out his phone to call his parents.
[Rocky exhales, walking over with the promised sweet treat. After he places it on the table, he sits down next to his underclassman, resting his cheek on his hand.]
“Yeah, sure, whateva’. Not like I got much else to do right now.”
Vince texts something to a number before calling them, the phone wringing for a solid two seconds before the person on the other line picks up. A woman who looks to be in her mid-forties beams at the sight of her child, her face half-covered from moving around.
"Ah, hai, dear!! How 'r 'ya?"
Vince beams back holding the phone away so that both him and Rocky could be shown in the frame. There are a lot of overlapping voices on the other side of the screen—probably from Vince's siblings—but the woman's voice is clear when she speaks.
"Hi, momma'!"
"Ah! N' that's your friend, ain't it?" Momma smiles, sitting dowm.
"Ya've always been good a' makin' those. Hai, luv! how 'r ya' doin?"
[Rocky is a bit confused, unsure of how to feel. He’s…not used to people talking to him so easily.]
“I-I’m um…f-fine, ma’am…” [he mutters, shyly fidgeting with his hands.]
[He’s not even sure what else to say. He can interact just fine with people around his age, but their parents? That feels like a whole different story.]
“Ah, you don’t gotta call me ma’am. You can call me momma, just like the rest of ‘ese kids. You doin’ good at school, Rocky? If you’re having’ trouble with anyone ova there, Vince would gladly beat them into smithereens!! ”
Vince grins, feeling pretty proud of himself. He’s not good at reading people, that’s for sure, but Momma was. And if a kid especially was acting weird when it came to family, Momma would always be the one to resolve the issue. He loved his momma so much because of that.
“Ya don’t even gotta ask, momma!! ’ve met this guy fa ten minutes ‘ready, n’ he’s the best guy I’ve met ‘round ‘ere!!”
He beams, ruffling Rocky’s hair with his mechanical arm. A little glazing here and there never hurt anybody.
[There’s two words that can describe Rocky in this moment: Wet Cat. He looks like he might cry at any second, though he is very clearly trying to hide it behind a tough act.]
“Right, whateva…I-I gotta get back to work, now…” [He attempts to stand and excuse himself from the table, overwhelmed by the moment.]
Vince gently takes a hold of Rocky's hand, enough to keep him in place but would also allow him to pull away if he wants to. Which he probably will, and it's something that Vince realizes pretty soon. He hopes that Rocky will stay, though. The other boy is good company.
"I kno' that ya' don' gotta do nun tha' urgent right now. Ya' ain't gotta lie ta me. N' I got 'nough mamas left ta' go 'round. Ya' can leave if ya' wanna, but yaknow, if ya' ever wanna talk t' jus' my momma by 'urself, ya can go 'right ahead. In case, ya' now, if ya' don' got no momma tha' could be a goodun t' ya'."
Vince smiles. Hopefully he doesn't look like he's trying to intrude or anything. He just wishes the best for anybody with shitty families because his own former family wasn't that great.
"R' ya' can come n' answer ma momma's question, f' ya'd like. Don' mind if 'ya cry."
[Rocky starts breathing heavily, chest rising and falling quickly as his ears pin back. His gaze darts rapidly from the phone to the other student, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.]
[Pursing his lips, he forces himself to sit back down. He places his arms on the table, burying his face in them to hide himself.]
“…school’s fine,” [he says in a small voice, barely audible from the muffling of his arms.]
Vince hands Rocky the phone, leaving the room. While he's gone, his mother speaks.
"That's good, dear! N' ur grades good n' all? My baby's pretty smart, but not very much when it comes ta school. Everyone has their own strengths."
"HEY! Ah heard tha', momma!"
Vince steps back into the kitchen holding a box of tissues. He hands them to Rocky, sitting back beside him and placing a hand on his back reverently to try and comfort him.
"'M plenty smart. Don't listen ta tha' oldie. Whaddya like ta do in ur free time?"
[Rocky shakily takes the tissues, still hiding his face. He’s not ready to show himself yet. Still, he continues talking,]
“…I do fine ‘n classes. N I usually play board games n’ shiii…stuff.”
[Though his mouth isn’t visible, the slight crinkle in the corners of Rocky’s eyes show that he’s definitely smirking.] “Oh yea? Smart ‘nough to try n’ open a cabinet clearly labeled ‘DO NOT OPEN’?”
"Wha- EY! Tha' was just a lil' fault n' mah part! Ain't mean 'm dumb r nun!"
Even so, Vince rubs Rocky's back soothingly, making sure that he feels at least a little comforted.
"Ah—please, don't blame 'im for that. Terrified of contacts, that 'un, n' he thinks tha' glasses are a gift from the devil."
"Those things r' scary..." Vince mumbles, his cheeks flaring a little at the concept of him being scared of something so silly. He breathes a sigh of relief when his mom speaks up again.
"N' what are 'ur friends up to, eh? They all doin' good? If ya have any drama, would appreciate if ya could send it all my way, 'cause Vince's way too dense ta get any for me, n' his brother's too old fo' tha' shit. So he says."
[Rocky chuckles, tilting his head to rest more against his arms.]
“I don’ really have a lotta friends. The ones I do have are busy with their own problems,” [He explains, tapping his fingers on the counter.] “I can deal with my own stuff, though. I…a-appreciate the offa’, though.”
"Well, Vince ain't got a lotta friends either, so I'm glad that you two are talking. Though, from the looks of it, seems that my boy may be being a little too bold with you right now..."
Vince chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. He had a tendency to make best friends out of anybody he meets, even after they've only talked for two seconds. So for him, introducing Rocky to his family after fucking everything up was something fairly normal to him.
"Gotta soft spot fo' people who don' got as gooda life as me, I suppose."
The hand on Rocky's back moves to his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.
"But don'tcha worry! Me n' ma bestie r' gonna get ta know eachotha very soon! Ain't that right, Rocco?"
“Rocco?” [Rocky lifts his head up, raising an eyebrow at Vince.] “Is that a nickname, or didja just forget my name already?”
[He sighs, looking back at the phone.] “Look, I, uh…ack?!”
[He seems to suddenly realize that he’s softening up, launching himself back to a standing position. Crossing his arms, he huffs as he turns his flushing face away.]
“‘S not like I even care or anythin’, capisce?! I-I just ‘appened to ‘ave a break! So don’t get the wrong idea!”
"Nickname! Ya better get used ta it, 'cause I luv givin' nicknames ta people!"
Not exactly a lie, but not exactly a truth. Vince did give nicknames, but that's just because he did in fact forget the person's name. It's whatever. He'll figure it out from a classmate, probably.
"Ey! Are ya really gonna say tha' in fronta ma momma? Inconsiderate much!"
There's a silence before Vince laughs out loud, ruffling up Rocky's hair playfully.
"Jus' kiddin'. Ain't nobody care 'round here. 'M capiscein' right now, don'tcha worry!"
"Ah! Well then, as ya can see, I gotta go now! Me n' Ronaldo gotta go help out 'right 'bout now!"
Rocky absolutely did not invite Vince, but, like the man he is, he's going to come anyway. He says his farewells to his momma, hanging up and putting his phone away. The interaction seemed to have cheered up Rocky, at least, so he's pretty happy now, too.
"So! Wha' do I gotta help with? 'M ready to rumble!"
He looks like an eager puppy, abandoning the banana split entirely to cater to his new best friend.
// Helloooo so I suck at writing long rp starters so I apologize in advance for it being short or lacking details😞 but this will be my very first rp starter as Echo so I am very excited nonetheless!!! ^-^
Boredom, like the undying snake it is, had once again struck Echo, filling mirror with its deadly venom.
Usually, Echo would just bother her brothers but she wasnt very happy with them at the moment so that was off the table. He could just do its homework and get it done and over with.... Echo mentally ruled that out as well. They could text Kalim or any of her other friends and see what their doing but Echo didnt necessarily feel like doing that either, oddly enough.
So instead, she took to just wandering around the Ignihyde lounge in hopes of running into someone with just as much time on their hands as they did.
So lost. Oh-so-very lost. He'd gone to his dorm many times before, but this time he accidentally stumbled into a completely different dorm? How? The entrance to the Heartslabyul dorm is so obvious! How in the world did he get sucked into wherever this creepy place is?!
The dorm itself isn't all that bad, but whenever he took a step, somebody would snap their head towards him and stare. He's an outsider, a nobody. They must be wondering why someone like him is roaming the halls of a dorm that he isn't in.
Finally, Ruadh thinks that he spots the lounge of the dorm. Thank god, because he's been walking in circles for at least twenty minutes. He needs to sit down and take a break, maybe check his notifications in case any of his friends texted him. There also might be someone with a map there, thank sevens.
He steps into the lounge and looks around. No map holder, it seems. Lots of people, too... jeez. He does not have the mental capacity to deal with social interaction that isn't online right now. He's not rested enough to call out his inner June at this time.
So Ruadh freezes, scratching his left arm hard. He has no clue what to do.
That's a-okay! You writing the starter saves me a little trouble, because right now I'm juggling 200 role-plays, a character I have to make, and an art project I want to try and do.... sorry if I reply a little late to your reblogs! But I'm also excited for this, since this is my first role-play I get to do with my baby Ruadh! :>>
Echo spotted Ruadh and waved before prancing over, their heels clacking loudly on the floor.
"Hi hi!! You dont look like a Ignihyde student! Did you get lost or something? I can help you out if you need, im not doing anything right now anyways!!"
Ruadh jumped, whirling around to face Echo. Whoever this is, they're much more... cheery than most Ignihyde students. Reminds him of June, really. Maybe this person would be willing to help him out...?
"O-oh, well, I... yeah, a little? I'm... lost."
Wow. That was a pathetic response. He gulps, one of his rabbit ears flopping over his eye.
"I don't know how I got here. I was trying to go to... Heartslabyul? I don't know; I'm pretty new here... ah..."
He gulps, looking everywhere but at Echo. He really is not ready for this right now.
"If you, um... know the directions..? You can just tell me, I don't want to bother..."
"Nah it isnt bothering me! I was just wandering around anyway looking for someone to bother! I can help you out!"
Echo responded happily.
"How'd you get here anyways if you dont mind me asking? I mean, Heartslabyul and Ignihyde dont really look anything alike! It would be nice if they did though..."
"Also, last question before im done pestering you, whats your name? I dont want to just refer to you as 'that one kid' the whole school year!"
Ruadh's being bombarded. He turns a bit red in the face at all the questions, opening his mouth slowly.
"Well, I... I don't know how. I didn't mean to come here, I swear," Ruadh murmurs, looking down. Sevens, how could he have been that stupid enough to mistake which dorm was his and go here instead? Echo's right—they don't even look the same! Riddle will surely have his head for this, now that he thinks about it...
"Uh... ah... well, my name is Ruadh. It's nice to meet you, um... ma'am. Or—or sir. Ah... whatever your pronouns are..."
He looks down, hands behind his back.
"Sorry. Must be weird to ask for pronouns in this day and age. I, um... really appreciate your help..."
"Nice to meet you, Ruadh! My names Echo! Dont worry, things like Ma'am or Sir and stuff dont bother me!! Really anything works for me!! And yeah, no problem! Im more than happy to help out!! Now c'mon, I'll show you out of here!!"
Echo stepped past Ruadh and started leading him away from the lounge
"Y'know, you kinda remind me of my brother"
Echo said casually
//anything past this is going to be headcanons abt the how the dorm is laid out so I apologize😞
Ruadh perks up when he hears the comparison of him and whoever Echo's brother is, tilting his head. He gulps, hoping that whoever they're comparing him to isn't a piece of shit.
"Ah... that's good...?"
Ruadh follows Echo out of the lounge, trailing an unnecessarily large distance behind him. He doesn't want to ruin Echo's reputation because he was seen hanging around with some loser. He stays quiet as well. He really doesn't want to bother.
Ruadh walks a little faster to catch up with Echo. He didn't mean to make the other student think that he hated him or anything...
"Sorry, I just... well. I'm not supposed to be here. I didn't want to seem... threatening."
He walks next to Echo now, fidgeting with his hands. It's silent, and now that he knows that Echo wants to make conversation, he has to be the one to figure out what to say. He's the guest, after all.
"Ah... I like it here too. It's hard to... um. Find people that can befriends with me here. Everybody is so bold... even Ignihyde, really..."
Ruadh rubs his arm. Echo wouldn't want to know about Ruadh's troubles. He's here to make conversation, not vent.
"Are you, ah... uh... w-what are your hobbies..?"
The moment Ruadh asks that, he winds. That was a very bad thing to say, and he worded it so badly, too. If Echo asks him what his hobbies are, he's going to have to lie and say something that isn't being June.
"Oh I do all sorts of things! I make a lot of things, nothing too special just little crafts, and then I've been really into drawing lately! I've been watching a lot of TV Shows too! Really I'll do anything as long as it keeps me busy!"
"What about you, Ruadh? What do you like to do in your free time?"
Ruadh gulps, scratching his left arm again. What hobbies does he have that don't look weird?
"And I also... read..."
Well, damn. Ruadh sounds like the biggest liar around. He doesn't know how to act without being June, doesn't know how to blend into the background and still stay talkative at the same time.
"What TV shows have you been watching, if you don't mind me asking...?"
At least Echo looks nice enough to not judge him for his nervousness.
"Anything I can find really. Or any of the animes my brother recommends. Comedies, fantasy, romance, literally anything you can find on any streaming platform I've probably watched."
A vague answer but probably the best one Echo was going to give.
"What kinda books do you read? I've been trying to get more into reading but... its been a bit of a struggle finding something."
Now, Ruadh's really screwed up. He can't say that he likes any other books than the ones he actually does in case Echo asks about it, but how will some Ignihyde student react to him being a total fudanshi?!
"Sasaki and Miyano..?"
Please don't know it please don't know it please don't say that you'll look at it when you get home...
Ruadh gulps, his scratching moving to his right arm. He's so done for. Echo knows what BL is! Mirror must think that he's a total weirdo right now! Boys liking boys isn't a normal thing!
"Y-yes, it's—uh—w-well, it's s-something new, and I didn't know what it was about before I started reading it, and I might just drop it now that I know because it's..."
He trails off. Weird? Can he really say that it's weird? Weird is where he feels like he draws the line. So Ruadh ends his sentence there, waiting with wide eyes for Echo's reaction.
His scratching slips to a stop, his face turning bright red. Of course. Of course Echo wouldn't case. Why is Ruadh being so pessimistic? They haven't cared for anything else he's said, so why would mirror care now?
"I—well... I really, really, really like yaoi.... so, ah, if you need recommendations, I have... many..."
His voice is quiet, almost to the point where it's hard for Echo to hear him. He doesn't want anybody traversing the halls to spy on their conversation and learn that about him, and he's also pretty sheepish to admit it out loud.
"Uhm—I only read, like, fluffier ones, though... I... well, I don't very much like the omegaverse trope..."
Ruadh winces. Did he really have to reveal so much?
"Uh, well... maybe we could go somewhere a little more... private for that..? I... well."
Ruadh doesn't know how to imply that he doesn't really want anyone knowing he watches that type of stuff. Instead, he gives Echo a sheepish smile, twiddling his thumbs.
"Which ones have have you watched?" He asks instead. Echo doesn't seem as sheepish to share mirror interest as he is.
"Well technically its a danmei but Heaven Officials Blessing is SOOOO good!!! I've rewatched it at least 17 times now!! Here, do you have any social media or any way to contact you so we can talk a little more privately about it? I understand that sometimes texting can be easier than talking!"
"Yeah, I've watched that one a lot as well," he chuckled, voice quiet.
And then he freezes.
Social media?
SOCIAL MEDIA?!
The only social media he has is with June! He never thought that he'd get popular enough to share a handle or something with someone else! Hell, even his normal messages has a picture of June on it! What is he supposed to do now?!
"...No..." Ruadh lied, gulping.
"I... don't have anything. I don't think. I-I'm so sorry..."
"Thats alright! Do you have a phone number or anything like that? If not, then we can just plan a few days where we hang out at one of our dorms so we can chat!"
Echo was extremely adamant on hanging out with Ruadh.
Ruadh chuckles, appreciating the compliment. He feels a little more at ease now, to his surprise.
"I am. Just... uh... here."
He hands Echo his phone. The inside of it is just as pretty and pink as the outside, it seems, with a pink and black theme on his phone and all of his contact profile's a different variation of that color. It's pretty cute, especially for someone like Rudah.
This is the reason why Ruadh doesn't have any friends. Why he tries to stay in the background and away from the rest of the people at school. Because then something like this happens, and then he reveals June all too quickly for his own good. What is wrong with him? She's supposed to be kept under wraps!
"Y-you can text me too, if you want... I'd like that better than me texting you, because I don't want to text at a bad time."
"P-pictures?!" Ruadh squeaked, eyes widening. Is he catching on? So soon?! He can't be! Not yet!
"Pictures of what? I have no pictures to give! I-I mean- if you want Pinterest pictures, I can send you! I don't dress in Jirai Kei, I just really like it!"
He scratches his right arm rapidly. Oh, how he wishes they could go somewhere more private to talk...
Ruadh's arm goes limp, eyes widening even more. Nobody had ever stopped him from his scratching. It was a subconscious self-harming habit that he doesn't know how to break, and Ruadh starts shaking a little at not being able to feel his nails on his skin.
"It's okay. I... thank you..."
Echo could see the scars, both old and new, that had probably formed because of the scratching. It seems that he's been doing this for a while now.
"Mhm! Dont mention it. I get it, really. I dont know the exact reason and I dont know if it'll help but I have a few fidgets you can borrow if you think maybe that will help!"
Echo took both of Ruadhs hands in theirs.
"And if you ever need to talk, please dont be afraid to text me or call me."
Ruadh smiles sheepishly, lacing their hands and shaking them to show that he was just fine. He ponders the fidget suggestion for a minute, looking down with a shy expression on his face.
"U-uh... if you have any, I'd really like that. Or... maybe just arm warmers? I'd appreciate it..."
Ruadh takes back his phone and puts it away, trying not to scratch again now that Echo's noticed.
"Yeah! I have some extras you can borrow! Any color preference? Design? Anything like that? I have a lot of accessories so more likely than not, I have something that could work! Here, if you'd like, we can go to my dorm and you can just pick the pair you like! If your Housewarden says anything I'll just have my br- Housewarden talk to him!!"
"O-oh, sure, we can go to your dorm," Ruadh blushes, hands behind his back. He's supposed to be in a hurry, but... well. Ruadh could handle having his magic taken away and being scolded for a few days.
He follows Echo to the dorms, relieved to know that they'll be somewhere private now. If he slips, Echo will be the only person who know, as opposed to before when everybody in Ignihyde would get to see him fumble.
"W-why do you have them? Are you... similar to me?"
Ruadh sits on the very edge of the bed, scratching again. Not his arms this time, but his pants, which usually meant for him that he needed something to do with his hands. He didn't know that something like fidgets existed, but they sound promising. He'd usually just grab a sponge when he's alone at home.
"O-okay. Right. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..."
He blushes, watching Echo move around the room. He feels pretty awkward right now.
He takes out a small pink and black bow, showing it to Echo.
"This bow is cute. Where did you get these from?"
He takes the cupcake squishy, squishing it hard multiple times. When it doesn't break despite his long and sharp nails, Ruadh beams, a real smile on his face for the first time this entire interaction.
"I like it. Thank you for helping me with this..."
Costuming was typically one of Casimir's favorite parts of theatre. Working with the other cast and crew to create and don attire that whisks them into another world just as it does the audience. He didn't work in the costumes department personally, but he did know that they often overlapped with that of the film research club (a fact that his manager seemed to detest, for reasons unknown to him). He also knew that those who worked in the department were skilled at what they did, and that their ability to create convincing costumes and props were unmatched - it was practically like a glamour spell without the blot accumulation! With all that being said, the point was that Casimir held deep respect for those in the costumes department.
That did not mean, however, that he liked going to them when standard stage mishaps occurred. The last few times that had happened, it had been an upperclassman from Pomefiore that greeted him... and then proceeded to ream him out for things that were beyond his control. How was it his fault that someone placed a real knife in place of a prop!? He could've been seriously injured if the fabric didn't take the brunt of it (or if the other actors hadn't learned fight choreography).
The night fae quietly knocked on the door to the room for the costumes department, awkwardly carrying his costume cape in hand. One of his co-actors had tripped on it mid-rehearsal, sending both of them crashing onto the stage... he was simply there to see if the rips could be mended (or perhaps if they could modify the piece to be less of a hazard...).
"Pardon the intrusion," Casimir said, clearing his throat before pushing the door open. "I've... come to request that repairs be made to this invaluable work of art. And... perhaps some adjustments, if that is not being too presumptuous..."
Ruadh loves plays—loves the concept of acting, the liberation of being somebody that you're not and be rewarded for it. It was the biggest reason that he joined the Film Studies club, even though Vil and the rest of its members didn't exactly pay attention to him since he was a behind-the-scenes person. But another pretty good perk of being in this club are all of the free sewing things, because now he can repair cosplays and June's attire all for free.
Ruadh had went to a con recently with a few of his friends as Madoka Kaname, and of course whenever you go to cons something in your cosplay is going to break. Today he had finally found the time to repair the costume, thank sevens. He really needed to do something to take his mind off of the tests that he had been bombarded with recently.
So there he was, sparkly iPod clipped onto his belt with an add-on he found on Amazon, headphones blasting stomach book at full volume, sewing and singing softly without a care in the world. He doesn't hear Casimir step in, too focused on his work, and only notices the man when he reaches behind him to get some more thread and sees a shadowy figure in the corner of his eye. He jumps, yelping loudly before he even turns to see what it could be.
"A-ah... oh! Oh! I'm- oh gosh- I'm so so sorry for yelling that loudly. S-so sorry! Please forgive me!"
Ruadh bows deeply, catching his headphone before they could fall. Casimir could probably sing to the lyrics of the song, that's how loud they were.
"So sorry again! Uh— you'd like repairs, I assume? Y-yes, I can get that right away to you! So sorry again!"
He gently takes the costume from Casimir's hands, giving him a small smile. He has the urge to scratch his left arm right about now.
"What... ah, what are the changes you would like to make..?"
Oh thank the Sevens someone "normal" was in here today.
"Ah! Fear not, my lord," An address Casimir reserved for those whose statures remained unknown to him of for those of higher status, such as his upperclassmen. "I should apologize myself for intruding on your work! It's rather unbefitting of an evil lord to interrupt his future citizens... please do excuse my manners."
He bowed carefully to Ruadh, ensuring that his costume did not drag across the ground in any way. Even though this wasnt that Pomefiore senior that yelled at him on several occasions, he still did not want to cause any undue disrespect to either his classmate or the costume.
"However... one of my peers on the stage had an... incident with the fine cape upon my attire. It tore around the shoulders from the pressure, and so I seek repairs to those spots to ensure that it is fit for performance," Casimir said, setting the costume across the table. "That, and today's happenings made me realize that, perhaps for someone of my height, the cape is... a bit too long. It poses a hazard not only for the others sharing the lights, but also for myself... I was hoping it might be possible to adjust the measurements to a more suitable length."
Ruadh's face reddens at the politeness of this man. He's never met anybody so gentleman-ly before. And even to his own gender? Does he not care about rumors?
"No, I... t-that's okay, sir. This place isn't exclusive to just me, so I don't mind."
His eyebrows furrow at the "evil lord" part of his sentence, but he quickly disregards it. Maybe he's practicing for a character. Or maybe he's pretending to be someone he's not. Either way, it's not his problem. Casimir being kind is all that really matters.
Ruadh moves around the cloth, spotting the rip and smiling. This will be easy to fix, and the adjustments Casimir wants also seem to be easy to add onto this. He might still be able to fix his costume by the end of the day.
His costume.
Ruadh squeaks, realizing that his costume is still visible behind him. He steps to the side to try and cover it, praying to the great seven that Casimir wouldn't ask. He's quiet outside, but once he gets to know someone, it's really hard for him to hide his June personality...
"Yeah, I could... ah, I could do this quickly, maybe. I can give it to you tomorrow, if you want. O-or you can stay! I always like company. It shouldn't take too much of your time, hopefully..."
I'm being too June right now. Slow your roll, Ruadh...
"Kyahaha, excellent!" Casimir beamed, grateful that with the speed of things and the way things have turned out thus far, he could avoid not one, but two readings of the riot act from his upperclassmen! Truly excellent! "If it does not take long, I might wish to stay. If only to ensure that the measurements are to the standard of my director - and you, the craftsman - of course. Ah- and no need to address me so formally, for I am rather gracious of most titles placed upon my being."
And, to be honest, Casimir hated being referred to in such a way. Reminded him too much of his dad's attempts to get him to join the Symphony...
If he had any comments about the costume, Casimir did not make them known, contentedly taking a seat at the opposite end of the work table from Ruadh. Really, whether it was a personal piece or something for another club, it was none of his business. And even if it was, he wasn't going to judge the one who wore it, not when Casimir himself was beginning to find enjoyment in more elaborate and frilled clothing.
Hmmm... now that he thought about it - this student was a fellow first year, though the two were not in the same homeroom classes. Ugh - curse him for not recalling the names of those he rarely saw... that was NOT a good habit to keep should he continue to pursue his aspirations of becoming a truly evil overlord...
"How much of the impressive works in this room are yours to claim, might I ask? I've always admired the work that you cloth-wielding artisans create, though I lack the precision to do any such tasks myself... wait! A friend of mine would take great pleasure in examining some of the works in here, now that I think of it..."
"O-oh! I'm so sorry then! I won't call you by that anymore—could you please let me know your preferred name and pronouns, so I know what to refer to you by...?"
Ruadh's voice is small. He knows that it's a little odd to ask for pronouns these days, but it's the only thing he can think of doing. While Casimir answers, Ruadh places the fabric on the table, walking over to his cosplay and taking the tomato that he has pinched with needles. He takes a few different string colors and lines them up near the fabric, finding the closest match before he starts getting to work.
"Ah- well, that dress on the stand over there is my doing entirely, and I also have a few other works on the shelves behind me. Usually, NRC buys clothes, but... ah, well, sometimes I start a new project and make something. Just so that we don't have to spend at much money..."
He wets the tip of the thread, slipping it through the needle and knotting it at the end. He's making the third stitch when Casimir mentions his friend, and his ears perk up in surprise.
"W-well, if you want to invite them, then go ahead! I'd love to meet them!"
More people... my social battery is draining low...
A roleplay starter for @mars2moons!! And @mars-0425, if you'd like to participate!
Bernie Issac steps out of the inn, cracking his knuckles. Johnny has always been one to complain about everything that Bernie did—he thought that he was being "independent" to the system, but in reality, he was just being a douchebag. It's been at least five years, and yet he's still stuck in the same mindset that he had when his father was the lead. How irritating.
Today's banter had been exceptionally frustrating. Both the captain and the crew had already discussed what to do with their collected savings, and yet he really wanted to eat shit and say that Bernie wasn't being fair? Wasn't being fair? How insane could this guy be?
That's why he's outside right now—he needs to calm down. He's agitated, and he doesn't want to lash out at his crew and give Johnny a real reason to fight authority.
He stands on the sidewalk, lighting a cigarette and flicking the excess tobacco to the ground when He sees it in the distance: a black carriage. Before he can scope the details of it, it suddenly rams into him, and in an instant, he's in a new, unfamiliar place.
"Yet another magicless one."
The dark mirror growls, its perpetual scowl deepening. Bernie steps back, but before he can say anything, a man with a crow mask on places a hand on his forehead and speaks.
"How can the black carriage keep doing this? The other two girls proved to be useful, but now this one... and not even during the usual sorting process day! The horror!"
The headmage sighs, placing his hands over his heart flamboyantly.
"Well, then. Out of the kindness of my heart, I shall allow you to reside in my humble college and let Mars and Silver explain everything to you. How does that sound?"
"I—"
"I have business to attend to, now! Please, excuse me!"
And then he's off.
Bernie snuffs out his cigarette, looking around the Mirror chamber with wide eyes. The candles, the candelabras, the eerie setting all reminds him of the abandoned temples and underground railways that his crew had to navigate at times to find what they were looking for. He can't ask about where the hell he is anymore, because now there's nobody around, so the best that he can do is leave and observe the place.
Bernie slowly walks backwards, stepping out of the mirror chamber and into the courtyard. He's about to approach the statues of the Great Seven when a voice perks up behind him.
"I have an idea for what you can do to prove your worth!"
Bernie jumps, taking out his pocket knife and whirling around to face the headmage again.
"You just left me."
"I understand that, but I thought it through and realized that I should give a bit of a more warm welcome to our new student, because I am just that kind!"
"You said I was a nusance."
"Ah?! Did not!"
"You implied it."
"Oh, hush!"
The masked man tries to take hold of Bernie's wrist, but it backfires when Bernie takes out his pocket knife and slashes his glove and a bit of his skin. He yelps, jumping back and holding his wrist as if his hand had been amputated.
"Oh my skin!! My poor, poor skin!! And my glove; this fabric is—"
"Ask before touching next time."
The headmage huffs, tilting his chin up.
"Out of the kindness of my heart, I shall forgive you just this once," He declares, raising a finger from his non-injured hand.
"You are new, after all. However, you're going to have to deal with a... predicament in the Heartslabyul dorm that I was about to attend to. Since I now have more important matters to, now that you have wounded me so."
"What—"
"Toodles!"
A flurry of feathers gather around him, to which Bernie glowers at and hastily shoves them aside. What in the world is going on? Why is he here? This is all so sudden; how the hell can get out of—
"BOW TO ME! SILENCE, I SAID! SILENCE!"
A red-haired man dripping with black ink hurls a rose tree at another red-haired, more normal-looking guy, sending him crashing to the ground. This seems to have been a normal occurrence, because all around the fight are trees taken out of their place on the ground and scattered around the courtyard. It seems to be the inky man that is the bad guy, while a group of about 6 people and one weird-looking floating cat trying to calm him down.
Just as the inky man is about to throw another rose bush, a girl from the group bunches up the collar of the inky man's shirt and punches him square in the face.
Silver’s thoughts were racing through her skull so fast everything else get so numb. He didn’t know what was happening only that Riddle was freaking out, then, (what did the Headmage call it? Overblotting?) ink started coming down his face. Riddle screamed some more and next thing she knew everything was going to crap.
Silver has seen magic before had watched it happen and was still surprised when it did happen. But this? This was something else entirely, something that he couldn’t just insult. It felt like something he would always be weak under.
And that made Silver angry.
So lurching foreword she sprinted straight towards the screaming Housewarden and grabbed the edge of his clothes (dress?) and reared his fist back. Silver couldn’t do much without magic, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try.
And punched Riddle square in the face.
He staggered back in silence, blood and blot dripping from his face before surprise contorted into even deeper rage.
“HOW DARE YOU! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!”
Silver gasped and pulled her arms covering her head and neck before hearing a different voice yell out. Distracted he glanced over to see someone he didn’t recognize. No dorm uniform either so it was hard to see who they were.
Due to Silver letting his guard down the thorny rose bushes didn’t wait. Flying at the magicless student and throwing her back down. Biting his cheek hard to stop from screaming as blood dripped down his arms, neck and cheek, radiating pain.
‘That could’ve killed me…’
He thought before locking eyes with the stranger and shouting.
Bernie's eyes widen as he locks onto the stranger, realizing that yes, he should start helping. He's never been one to fully kill someone, especially with people that seem to have magic powers, but Bernie figures that he can do something about this either way. He unsheathes his pocket knife again, ready to get to work.
Bernie waits until someone else is about to get hit to run into the scene, moving behind the mysterious man and lunging at him. He carves two deep gashes on his back that form an X, shoving him onto the ground and moving the knife to the boy's neck.
"SURRENDER, OR I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD OFF, YA PIECE OF SHIT!"
Silver would have laughed it it weren’t for the fact that more trees and rose bushes were hurtling towards the person. Foregoing the wounds pulsing hard he bite his lip and screamed out.
“THATS NOT ENOUGH! TREY!”
Trey who was trying his best to not get anyone injured thankfully saw what was happening and was quick to intervene. Raising his pen and quickly yelling,
“PAINT THE ROSES!”
Before the bushes and trees turned into playing cards that scattered along the ground. Silver raced forward…and completed past the stranger. Instead grabbing Mars’ hand as they both pulled back. He didn’t know who this person was but it didn’t matter. What mattered was keeping themselves out of the kill zone.
Jesus Christ, how much is he suppose to hurt the guy? He looks younger than himself! He wouldn't want to kill someone he knows can change. Have someone else do it.
Bernie flips his pocket knife to the other side and hits the red-haired boy as hard as he can on the head, knocking him unconscious. He stands up just as the last rose bush hits the ground, dusting himself off. But he's not safe yet, because just as he's going to try and pick someone to tell him what the hell is going on, there's a shout behind him.
"WHAT IN SEVENS IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Deuce shoves Bernie aside, enraged now.
"Are you an idiot?! You've just about killed Riddle!"
"Wha- ey! I was only helping! What the hell else was I supposed to do, let y'all die instead?!"
Bernie huffs, shoving the boy back and nearly knocking himself back into a bush.
"Deuce, please." Mars called out, almost pleading yet held a stern undertone as she tried to not let things get physical again. Deuce glared over, but shoved him again before storming to the other side of the area near Ace.
The place was destroyed. Now that Riddle was unconscious, the place was still. Quiet. Rose bushes and grass walls were scattered everywhere. Some people had small injuries, Mars herself leaned against Sprit, a gushing wound against her leg.
Finally, Mars turned to the new guy. Wincing a bit from her leg before asking, "who the literal fuck even are you?"
Bernie would have gone to check up on the guy he just knocked out, but the way that blue-haired boy was acting made him think otherwise. So he leaves Riddle there, wounds still gushing, to instead focus on Mars' injury. He bends down, taking out bandages and patching up the girl's leg.
"Eh? That's the language ya use on someone who just about saved yer arses? Probably from the shock is why yer actin' this way, so I'll give ya a pass on this 'un."
He pauses for a moment to focus on putting the gauze correctly before stepping back, hands on his hips.
"Call me Captain, n' no other name but, eh? Now, if you'll 'scuse me, I'm gonna have to deal with the rest of these maggots that got into something they aren't cut out for."
Bernie walks over to Trey now, grabbing his arm and healing the wound. He seems to be good at this.
Mars scoffs, rolling her eyes. Her attitude seemed higher right now that she had an injury.
"I'm not calling some 'Captain' as if I'm some slave to their leader." She snaps, then adds with a finger as he went to help Ace. "Plus, who even fucking cares about language nowadays? You didn't answer my question, or should I give you a stupid nickname till you give me one."
Mars smirks, it quickly turning into a sharp unapologetic laugh. It went for a bit.
"Home? Pa-lease. Me and Silver have been trying to go home, you can't leave." She admits harshly. Her eyes stayed on a glare as she watched him help her friend, reluctantly not slapping his hand. That was her new family he was touching.
She decided to steal a peice of gauze from his pocket, wherever he kept the medical stuff, and limped her way over to Riddle. Kicking his body, before purposefully falling onto her unharmed leg and lifting his head up, placing a rolled chunk of gauze unprofessionally under his head.
"Yo Trey, you know your childhood best friend's behead is bleeding, right?" She called from over her shoulder. Looking back at the wound, she winced. "It's bad too, what the fuck did that guy do.." She whispered to herself.
"There's always gonna be a way to leave. I'll figure it out."
Bernie shoves Deuce before he can to the same to him, watching as everyone gathers around Riddle. He crosses his arms, tilting his chin up. He's pretty proud of himself for helping snap that kid back to reality, even if everybody else doesn't look nearly as confident in him.
"Do you need me to patch up his wounds? I hurt him, so I know how to heal him, too. That gauze you stole from me ain't gonna do anything if you dunno how to use it."
Mars glares up at him, a from that screams 'you're a smartass, you know that?' But won't admit it. With a huff, she hands over the gauze, scooting over to give him space.
Before he could ask, she snaps out "No, I can't move. Mr. Off with your head Alice threw a, what, spear, at my leg. I can't move. Deal with it, Captain Dingdong."
The nickname was more of an insult than a joke. Even worse, she didn't look at him. Her eyes were stuck on Riddle
"Didn't ask, I know because I was the one who healed you, and you can drop the name if you're gonna use Captain on me," Bernie grumbles, leaning in to heal the wounds on Riddle's back. For a minute, he pretends that Riddle is one of his crew members, which wills him enough to do this right.
According to whoever this girl character is, She and a Silver character have also been trying to get home, but to no avail. He wonders what his crew will do without him there. They'll probably be fine, but it'll be a little bit of a shock for them when they find out that their captain is gone.
"And if you keep treating me poorly, I'll leave your little boy for you to heal. Badly."
He knows that he wouldn't leave one of his kind in this state, but maybe this girl will shut up if he says something like that.
"You make it sound like he's my son. We're the same age." Mars replies, her chin going onto her curled knees, which were up to her chest while she watched.
"I don't even know him as well as these people do...beside from Silver." She adds in, almost a whisper to herself while her eyes soften. "So cut it and help, dingdong."
"Call me that again and I'll open your wound again. Not kidding."
Bernie gestures to the pocket knife, now adding the bandages on. The tip is covered in blood, and Bernie seethes at the fact that he's going to have to wash that and waste more money.
"He looks like a little kid. God put the five inches somewhere else, it seems..."
He sits up, gathering his things and putting them back into their proper places on the pockets attached to his belt. A waste of supplies, but whatever. He supposes that his sacrifice is useful just for today. To save that inky guy.
Everyone else shakes their head, all seemingly fine now.
"This is so hastag not my brand, what do we do with him now?" Cater asks, mentioning his phone to Riddle. The place had gone back to normal, now a disaster of a place
"I gues, wait for him to wake up?" Deuce asked with a shrug.
Mars glanced around, forcing herself off the ground and shouting from across the field. "Hey, Headmage buttass!" She screamed, causing the others to notice Crowley's appearance walking over.
"What the fuck happened to him!? And don't mention anything of kindness or whatever, using us like goddammit tools!" She yelled again, limping over to the taller guy. "I may be nicer than Silver but you know fuck well what I can do. AND WHO THE LITERAL HELL IS THAT MAN!? YOU DIDN'T MENTION ANYONE NEW COMING HERE, YOU LIAR OF A CROW IDIOT." Then she mentioned to the new appearance, someone she called 'dingdong'. Or well, Ménglong.
Bernie freezes. A man. A man? He's... not supposed to be a man. He's supposed to be a girl, biologically. He's not a man.
"EY! I'm not a man! I'm a- a girl!"
That's what he's been for his entire life. A girl. And he's happy being a girl, too. He's... fine. Just fine. You can't change your gender, anyway, so it's not like he should be complaining.
He watches the two arguing, squeezing his arm. He's been misgendered more times than he can count because of his appearance, and he finds it irritating. Why does he feel so happy when people call him a boy? He shouldn't feel happy. He has to correct people to stop himself from continuing to like something that is wrong.
A roleplay starter for @mars2moons!! And @mars-0425, if you'd like to participate!
Bernie Issac steps out of the inn, cracking his knuckles. Johnny has always been one to complain about everything that Bernie did—he thought that he was being "independent" to the system, but in reality, he was just being a douchebag. It's been at least five years, and yet he's still stuck in the same mindset that he had when his father was the lead. How irritating.
Today's banter had been exceptionally frustrating. Both the captain and the crew had already discussed what to do with their collected savings, and yet he really wanted to eat shit and say that Bernie wasn't being fair? Wasn't being fair? How insane could this guy be?
That's why he's outside right now—he needs to calm down. He's agitated, and he doesn't want to lash out at his crew and give Johnny a real reason to fight authority.
He stands on the sidewalk, lighting a cigarette and flicking the excess tobacco to the ground when He sees it in the distance: a black carriage. Before he can scope the details of it, it suddenly rams into him, and in an instant, he's in a new, unfamiliar place.
"Yet another magicless one."
The dark mirror growls, its perpetual scowl deepening. Bernie steps back, but before he can say anything, a man with a crow mask on places a hand on his forehead and speaks.
"How can the black carriage keep doing this? The other two girls proved to be useful, but now this one... and not even during the usual sorting process day! The horror!"
The headmage sighs, placing his hands over his heart flamboyantly.
"Well, then. Out of the kindness of my heart, I shall allow you to reside in my humble college and let Mars and Silver explain everything to you. How does that sound?"
"I—"
"I have business to attend to, now! Please, excuse me!"
And then he's off.
Bernie snuffs out his cigarette, looking around the Mirror chamber with wide eyes. The candles, the candelabras, the eerie setting all reminds him of the abandoned temples and underground railways that his crew had to navigate at times to find what they were looking for. He can't ask about where the hell he is anymore, because now there's nobody around, so the best that he can do is leave and observe the place.
Bernie slowly walks backwards, stepping out of the mirror chamber and into the courtyard. He's about to approach the statues of the Great Seven when a voice perks up behind him.
"I have an idea for what you can do to prove your worth!"
Bernie jumps, taking out his pocket knife and whirling around to face the headmage again.
"You just left me."
"I understand that, but I thought it through and realized that I should give a bit of a more warm welcome to our new student, because I am just that kind!"
"You said I was a nusance."
"Ah?! Did not!"
"You implied it."
"Oh, hush!"
The masked man tries to take hold of Bernie's wrist, but it backfires when Bernie takes out his pocket knife and slashes his glove and a bit of his skin. He yelps, jumping back and holding his wrist as if his hand had been amputated.
"Oh my skin!! My poor, poor skin!! And my glove; this fabric is—"
"Ask before touching next time."
The headmage huffs, tilting his chin up.
"Out of the kindness of my heart, I shall forgive you just this once," He declares, raising a finger from his non-injured hand.
"You are new, after all. However, you're going to have to deal with a... predicament in the Heartslabyul dorm that I was about to attend to. Since I now have more important matters to, now that you have wounded me so."
"What—"
"Toodles!"
A flurry of feathers gather around him, to which Bernie glowers at and hastily shoves them aside. What in the world is going on? Why is he here? This is all so sudden; how the hell can get out of—
"BOW TO ME! SILENCE, I SAID! SILENCE!"
A red-haired man dripping with black ink hurls a rose tree at another red-haired, more normal-looking guy, sending him crashing to the ground. This seems to have been a normal occurrence, because all around the fight are trees taken out of their place on the ground and scattered around the courtyard. It seems to be the inky man that is the bad guy, while a group of about 6 people and one weird-looking floating cat trying to calm him down.
Just as the inky man is about to throw another rose bush, a girl from the group bunches up the collar of the inky man's shirt and punches him square in the face.
Silver’s thoughts were racing through her skull so fast everything else get so numb. He didn’t know what was happening only that Riddle was freaking out, then, (what did the Headmage call it? Overblotting?) ink started coming down his face. Riddle screamed some more and next thing she knew everything was going to crap.
Silver has seen magic before had watched it happen and was still surprised when it did happen. But this? This was something else entirely, something that he couldn’t just insult. It felt like something he would always be weak under.
And that made Silver angry.
So lurching foreword she sprinted straight towards the screaming Housewarden and grabbed the edge of his clothes (dress?) and reared his fist back. Silver couldn’t do much without magic, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try.
And punched Riddle square in the face.
He staggered back in silence, blood and blot dripping from his face before surprise contorted into even deeper rage.
“HOW DARE YOU! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!”
Silver gasped and pulled her arms covering her head and neck before hearing a different voice yell out. Distracted he glanced over to see someone he didn’t recognize. No dorm uniform either so it was hard to see who they were.
Due to Silver letting his guard down the thorny rose bushes didn’t wait. Flying at the magicless student and throwing her back down. Biting his cheek hard to stop from screaming as blood dripped down his arms, neck and cheek, radiating pain.
‘That could’ve killed me…’
He thought before locking eyes with the stranger and shouting.
Bernie's eyes widen as he locks onto the stranger, realizing that yes, he should start helping. He's never been one to fully kill someone, especially with people that seem to have magic powers, but Bernie figures that he can do something about this either way. He unsheathes his pocket knife again, ready to get to work.
Bernie waits until someone else is about to get hit to run into the scene, moving behind the mysterious man and lunging at him. He carves two deep gashes on his back that form an X, shoving him onto the ground and moving the knife to the boy's neck.
"SURRENDER, OR I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD OFF, YA PIECE OF SHIT!"
Silver would have laughed it it weren’t for the fact that more trees and rose bushes were hurtling towards the person. Foregoing the wounds pulsing hard he bite his lip and screamed out.
“THATS NOT ENOUGH! TREY!”
Trey who was trying his best to not get anyone injured thankfully saw what was happening and was quick to intervene. Raising his pen and quickly yelling,
“PAINT THE ROSES!”
Before the bushes and trees turned into playing cards that scattered along the ground. Silver raced forward…and completed past the stranger. Instead grabbing Mars’ hand as they both pulled back. He didn’t know who this person was but it didn’t matter. What mattered was keeping themselves out of the kill zone.
Jesus Christ, how much is he suppose to hurt the guy? He looks younger than himself! He wouldn't want to kill someone he knows can change. Have someone else do it.
Bernie flips his pocket knife to the other side and hits the red-haired boy as hard as he can on the head, knocking him unconscious. He stands up just as the last rose bush hits the ground, dusting himself off. But he's not safe yet, because just as he's going to try and pick someone to tell him what the hell is going on, there's a shout behind him.
"WHAT IN SEVENS IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Deuce shoves Bernie aside, enraged now.
"Are you an idiot?! You've just about killed Riddle!"
"Wha- ey! I was only helping! What the hell else was I supposed to do, let y'all die instead?!"
Bernie huffs, shoving the boy back and nearly knocking himself back into a bush.
"Deuce, please." Mars called out, almost pleading yet held a stern undertone as she tried to not let things get physical again. Deuce glared over, but shoved him again before storming to the other side of the area near Ace.
The place was destroyed. Now that Riddle was unconscious, the place was still. Quiet. Rose bushes and grass walls were scattered everywhere. Some people had small injuries, Mars herself leaned against Sprit, a gushing wound against her leg.
Finally, Mars turned to the new guy. Wincing a bit from her leg before asking, "who the literal fuck even are you?"
Bernie would have gone to check up on the guy he just knocked out, but the way that blue-haired boy was acting made him think otherwise. So he leaves Riddle there, wounds still gushing, to instead focus on Mars' injury. He bends down, taking out bandages and patching up the girl's leg.
"Eh? That's the language ya use on someone who just about saved yer arses? Probably from the shock is why yer actin' this way, so I'll give ya a pass on this 'un."
He pauses for a moment to focus on putting the gauze correctly before stepping back, hands on his hips.
"Call me Captain, n' no other name but, eh? Now, if you'll 'scuse me, I'm gonna have to deal with the rest of these maggots that got into something they aren't cut out for."
Bernie walks over to Trey now, grabbing his arm and healing the wound. He seems to be good at this.
Mars scoffs, rolling her eyes. Her attitude seemed higher right now that she had an injury.
"I'm not calling some 'Captain' as if I'm some slave to their leader." She snaps, then adds with a finger as he went to help Ace. "Plus, who even fucking cares about language nowadays? You didn't answer my question, or should I give you a stupid nickname till you give me one."
Mars smirks, it quickly turning into a sharp unapologetic laugh. It went for a bit.
"Home? Pa-lease. Me and Silver have been trying to go home, you can't leave." She admits harshly. Her eyes stayed on a glare as she watched him help her friend, reluctantly not slapping his hand. That was her new family he was touching.
She decided to steal a peice of gauze from his pocket, wherever he kept the medical stuff, and limped her way over to Riddle. Kicking his body, before purposefully falling onto her unharmed leg and lifting his head up, placing a rolled chunk of gauze unprofessionally under his head.
"Yo Trey, you know your childhood best friend's behead is bleeding, right?" She called from over her shoulder. Looking back at the wound, she winced. "It's bad too, what the fuck did that guy do.." She whispered to herself.
"There's always gonna be a way to leave. I'll figure it out."
Bernie shoves Deuce before he can to the same to him, watching as everyone gathers around Riddle. He crosses his arms, tilting his chin up. He's pretty proud of himself for helping snap that kid back to reality, even if everybody else doesn't look nearly as confident in him.
"Do you need me to patch up his wounds? I hurt him, so I know how to heal him, too. That gauze you stole from me ain't gonna do anything if you dunno how to use it."
Mars glares up at him, a from that screams 'you're a smartass, you know that?' But won't admit it. With a huff, she hands over the gauze, scooting over to give him space.
Before he could ask, she snaps out "No, I can't move. Mr. Off with your head Alice threw a, what, spear, at my leg. I can't move. Deal with it, Captain Dingdong."
The nickname was more of an insult than a joke. Even worse, she didn't look at him. Her eyes were stuck on Riddle
"Didn't ask, I know because I was the one who healed you, and you can drop the name if you're gonna use Captain on me," Bernie grumbles, leaning in to heal the wounds on Riddle's back. For a minute, he pretends that Riddle is one of his crew members, which wills him enough to do this right.
According to whoever this girl character is, She and a Silver character have also been trying to get home, but to no avail. He wonders what his crew will do without him there. They'll probably be fine, but it'll be a little bit of a shock for them when they find out that their captain is gone.
"And if you keep treating me poorly, I'll leave your little boy for you to heal. Badly."
He knows that he wouldn't leave one of his kind in this state, but maybe this girl will shut up if he says something like that.
"You make it sound like he's my son. We're the same age." Mars replies, her chin going onto her curled knees, which were up to her chest while she watched.
"I don't even know him as well as these people do...beside from Silver." She adds in, almost a whisper to herself while her eyes soften. "So cut it and help, dingdong."
"Call me that again and I'll open your wound again. Not kidding."
Bernie gestures to the pocket knife, now adding the bandages on. The tip is covered in blood, and Bernie seethes at the fact that he's going to have to wash that and waste more money.
"He looks like a little kid. God put the five inches somewhere else, it seems..."
He sits up, gathering his things and putting them back into their proper places on the pockets attached to his belt. A waste of supplies, but whatever. He supposes that his sacrifice is useful just for today. To save that inky guy.
// Helloooo so I suck at writing long rp starters so I apologize in advance for it being short or lacking details😞 but this will be my very first rp starter as Echo so I am very excited nonetheless!!! ^-^
Boredom, like the undying snake it is, had once again struck Echo, filling mirror with its deadly venom.
Usually, Echo would just bother her brothers but she wasnt very happy with them at the moment so that was off the table. He could just do its homework and get it done and over with.... Echo mentally ruled that out as well. They could text Kalim or any of her other friends and see what their doing but Echo didnt necessarily feel like doing that either, oddly enough.
So instead, she took to just wandering around the Ignihyde lounge in hopes of running into someone with just as much time on their hands as they did.
So lost. Oh-so-very lost. He'd gone to his dorm many times before, but this time he accidentally stumbled into a completely different dorm? How? The entrance to the Heartslabyul dorm is so obvious! How in the world did he get sucked into wherever this creepy place is?!
The dorm itself isn't all that bad, but whenever he took a step, somebody would snap their head towards him and stare. He's an outsider, a nobody. They must be wondering why someone like him is roaming the halls of a dorm that he isn't in.
Finally, Ruadh thinks that he spots the lounge of the dorm. Thank god, because he's been walking in circles for at least twenty minutes. He needs to sit down and take a break, maybe check his notifications in case any of his friends texted him. There also might be someone with a map there, thank sevens.
He steps into the lounge and looks around. No map holder, it seems. Lots of people, too... jeez. He does not have the mental capacity to deal with social interaction that isn't online right now. He's not rested enough to call out his inner June at this time.
So Ruadh freezes, scratching his left arm hard. He has no clue what to do.
That's a-okay! You writing the starter saves me a little trouble, because right now I'm juggling 200 role-plays, a character I have to make, and an art project I want to try and do.... sorry if I reply a little late to your reblogs! But I'm also excited for this, since this is my first role-play I get to do with my baby Ruadh! :>>
Echo spotted Ruadh and waved before prancing over, their heels clacking loudly on the floor.
"Hi hi!! You dont look like a Ignihyde student! Did you get lost or something? I can help you out if you need, im not doing anything right now anyways!!"
Ruadh jumped, whirling around to face Echo. Whoever this is, they're much more... cheery than most Ignihyde students. Reminds him of June, really. Maybe this person would be willing to help him out...?
"O-oh, well, I... yeah, a little? I'm... lost."
Wow. That was a pathetic response. He gulps, one of his rabbit ears flopping over his eye.
"I don't know how I got here. I was trying to go to... Heartslabyul? I don't know; I'm pretty new here... ah..."
He gulps, looking everywhere but at Echo. He really is not ready for this right now.
"If you, um... know the directions..? You can just tell me, I don't want to bother..."
"Nah it isnt bothering me! I was just wandering around anyway looking for someone to bother! I can help you out!"
Echo responded happily.
"How'd you get here anyways if you dont mind me asking? I mean, Heartslabyul and Ignihyde dont really look anything alike! It would be nice if they did though..."
"Also, last question before im done pestering you, whats your name? I dont want to just refer to you as 'that one kid' the whole school year!"
Ruadh's being bombarded. He turns a bit red in the face at all the questions, opening his mouth slowly.
"Well, I... I don't know how. I didn't mean to come here, I swear," Ruadh murmurs, looking down. Sevens, how could he have been that stupid enough to mistake which dorm was his and go here instead? Echo's right—they don't even look the same! Riddle will surely have his head for this, now that he thinks about it...
"Uh... ah... well, my name is Ruadh. It's nice to meet you, um... ma'am. Or—or sir. Ah... whatever your pronouns are..."
He looks down, hands behind his back.
"Sorry. Must be weird to ask for pronouns in this day and age. I, um... really appreciate your help..."
"Nice to meet you, Ruadh! My names Echo! Dont worry, things like Ma'am or Sir and stuff dont bother me!! Really anything works for me!! And yeah, no problem! Im more than happy to help out!! Now c'mon, I'll show you out of here!!"
Echo stepped past Ruadh and started leading him away from the lounge
"Y'know, you kinda remind me of my brother"
Echo said casually
//anything past this is going to be headcanons abt the how the dorm is laid out so I apologize😞
Ruadh perks up when he hears the comparison of him and whoever Echo's brother is, tilting his head. He gulps, hoping that whoever they're comparing him to isn't a piece of shit.
"Ah... that's good...?"
Ruadh follows Echo out of the lounge, trailing an unnecessarily large distance behind him. He doesn't want to ruin Echo's reputation because he was seen hanging around with some loser. He stays quiet as well. He really doesn't want to bother.
Ruadh walks a little faster to catch up with Echo. He didn't mean to make the other student think that he hated him or anything...
"Sorry, I just... well. I'm not supposed to be here. I didn't want to seem... threatening."
He walks next to Echo now, fidgeting with his hands. It's silent, and now that he knows that Echo wants to make conversation, he has to be the one to figure out what to say. He's the guest, after all.
"Ah... I like it here too. It's hard to... um. Find people that can befriends with me here. Everybody is so bold... even Ignihyde, really..."
Ruadh rubs his arm. Echo wouldn't want to know about Ruadh's troubles. He's here to make conversation, not vent.
"Are you, ah... uh... w-what are your hobbies..?"
The moment Ruadh asks that, he winds. That was a very bad thing to say, and he worded it so badly, too. If Echo asks him what his hobbies are, he's going to have to lie and say something that isn't being June.
"Oh I do all sorts of things! I make a lot of things, nothing too special just little crafts, and then I've been really into drawing lately! I've been watching a lot of TV Shows too! Really I'll do anything as long as it keeps me busy!"
"What about you, Ruadh? What do you like to do in your free time?"
Ruadh gulps, scratching his left arm again. What hobbies does he have that don't look weird?
"And I also... read..."
Well, damn. Ruadh sounds like the biggest liar around. He doesn't know how to act without being June, doesn't know how to blend into the background and still stay talkative at the same time.
"What TV shows have you been watching, if you don't mind me asking...?"
At least Echo looks nice enough to not judge him for his nervousness.
"Anything I can find really. Or any of the animes my brother recommends. Comedies, fantasy, romance, literally anything you can find on any streaming platform I've probably watched."
A vague answer but probably the best one Echo was going to give.
"What kinda books do you read? I've been trying to get more into reading but... its been a bit of a struggle finding something."
Now, Ruadh's really screwed up. He can't say that he likes any other books than the ones he actually does in case Echo asks about it, but how will some Ignihyde student react to him being a total fudanshi?!
"Sasaki and Miyano..?"
Please don't know it please don't know it please don't say that you'll look at it when you get home...
Ruadh gulps, his scratching moving to his right arm. He's so done for. Echo knows what BL is! Mirror must think that he's a total weirdo right now! Boys liking boys isn't a normal thing!
"Y-yes, it's—uh—w-well, it's s-something new, and I didn't know what it was about before I started reading it, and I might just drop it now that I know because it's..."
He trails off. Weird? Can he really say that it's weird? Weird is where he feels like he draws the line. So Ruadh ends his sentence there, waiting with wide eyes for Echo's reaction.
His scratching slips to a stop, his face turning bright red. Of course. Of course Echo wouldn't case. Why is Ruadh being so pessimistic? They haven't cared for anything else he's said, so why would mirror care now?
"I—well... I really, really, really like yaoi.... so, ah, if you need recommendations, I have... many..."
His voice is quiet, almost to the point where it's hard for Echo to hear him. He doesn't want anybody traversing the halls to spy on their conversation and learn that about him, and he's also pretty sheepish to admit it out loud.
"Uhm—I only read, like, fluffier ones, though... I... well, I don't very much like the omegaverse trope..."
Ruadh winces. Did he really have to reveal so much?
"Uh, well... maybe we could go somewhere a little more... private for that..? I... well."
Ruadh doesn't know how to imply that he doesn't really want anyone knowing he watches that type of stuff. Instead, he gives Echo a sheepish smile, twiddling his thumbs.
"Which ones have have you watched?" He asks instead. Echo doesn't seem as sheepish to share mirror interest as he is.
"Well technically its a danmei but Heaven Officials Blessing is SOOOO good!!! I've rewatched it at least 17 times now!! Here, do you have any social media or any way to contact you so we can talk a little more privately about it? I understand that sometimes texting can be easier than talking!"
"Yeah, I've watched that one a lot as well," he chuckled, voice quiet.
And then he freezes.
Social media?
SOCIAL MEDIA?!
The only social media he has is with June! He never thought that he'd get popular enough to share a handle or something with someone else! Hell, even his normal messages has a picture of June on it! What is he supposed to do now?!
"...No..." Ruadh lied, gulping.
"I... don't have anything. I don't think. I-I'm so sorry..."
"Thats alright! Do you have a phone number or anything like that? If not, then we can just plan a few days where we hang out at one of our dorms so we can chat!"
Echo was extremely adamant on hanging out with Ruadh.
Ruadh chuckles, appreciating the compliment. He feels a little more at ease now, to his surprise.
"I am. Just... uh... here."
He hands Echo his phone. The inside of it is just as pretty and pink as the outside, it seems, with a pink and black theme on his phone and all of his contact profile's a different variation of that color. It's pretty cute, especially for someone like Rudah.
This is the reason why Ruadh doesn't have any friends. Why he tries to stay in the background and away from the rest of the people at school. Because then something like this happens, and then he reveals June all too quickly for his own good. What is wrong with him? She's supposed to be kept under wraps!
"Y-you can text me too, if you want... I'd like that better than me texting you, because I don't want to text at a bad time."
"P-pictures?!" Ruadh squeaked, eyes widening. Is he catching on? So soon?! He can't be! Not yet!
"Pictures of what? I have no pictures to give! I-I mean- if you want Pinterest pictures, I can send you! I don't dress in Jirai Kei, I just really like it!"
He scratches his right arm rapidly. Oh, how he wishes they could go somewhere more private to talk...
Ruadh's arm goes limp, eyes widening even more. Nobody had ever stopped him from his scratching. It was a subconscious self-harming habit that he doesn't know how to break, and Ruadh starts shaking a little at not being able to feel his nails on his skin.
"It's okay. I... thank you..."
Echo could see the scars, both old and new, that had probably formed because of the scratching. It seems that he's been doing this for a while now.
"Mhm! Dont mention it. I get it, really. I dont know the exact reason and I dont know if it'll help but I have a few fidgets you can borrow if you think maybe that will help!"
Echo took both of Ruadhs hands in theirs.
"And if you ever need to talk, please dont be afraid to text me or call me."
Ruadh smiles sheepishly, lacing their hands and shaking them to show that he was just fine. He ponders the fidget suggestion for a minute, looking down with a shy expression on his face.
"U-uh... if you have any, I'd really like that. Or... maybe just arm warmers? I'd appreciate it..."
Ruadh takes back his phone and puts it away, trying not to scratch again now that Echo's noticed.
"Yeah! I have some extras you can borrow! Any color preference? Design? Anything like that? I have a lot of accessories so more likely than not, I have something that could work! Here, if you'd like, we can go to my dorm and you can just pick the pair you like! If your Housewarden says anything I'll just have my br- Housewarden talk to him!!"
"O-oh, sure, we can go to your dorm," Ruadh blushes, hands behind his back. He's supposed to be in a hurry, but... well. Ruadh could handle having his magic taken away and being scolded for a few days.
He follows Echo to the dorms, relieved to know that they'll be somewhere private now. If he slips, Echo will be the only person who know, as opposed to before when everybody in Ignihyde would get to see him fumble.
"W-why do you have them? Are you... similar to me?"
Ruadh sits on the very edge of the bed, scratching again. Not his arms this time, but his pants, which usually meant for him that he needed something to do with his hands. He didn't know that something like fidgets existed, but they sound promising. He'd usually just grab a sponge when he's alone at home.
"O-okay. Right. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..."
He blushes, watching Echo move around the room. He feels pretty awkward right now.
A roleplay starter for @mars2moons!! And @mars-0425, if you'd like to participate!
Bernie Issac steps out of the inn, cracking his knuckles. Johnny has always been one to complain about everything that Bernie did—he thought that he was being "independent" to the system, but in reality, he was just being a douchebag. It's been at least five years, and yet he's still stuck in the same mindset that he had when his father was the lead. How irritating.
Today's banter had been exceptionally frustrating. Both the captain and the crew had already discussed what to do with their collected savings, and yet he really wanted to eat shit and say that Bernie wasn't being fair? Wasn't being fair? How insane could this guy be?
That's why he's outside right now—he needs to calm down. He's agitated, and he doesn't want to lash out at his crew and give Johnny a real reason to fight authority.
He stands on the sidewalk, lighting a cigarette and flicking the excess tobacco to the ground when He sees it in the distance: a black carriage. Before he can scope the details of it, it suddenly rams into him, and in an instant, he's in a new, unfamiliar place.
"Yet another magicless one."
The dark mirror growls, its perpetual scowl deepening. Bernie steps back, but before he can say anything, a man with a crow mask on places a hand on his forehead and speaks.
"How can the black carriage keep doing this? The other two girls proved to be useful, but now this one... and not even during the usual sorting process day! The horror!"
The headmage sighs, placing his hands over his heart flamboyantly.
"Well, then. Out of the kindness of my heart, I shall allow you to reside in my humble college and let Mars and Silver explain everything to you. How does that sound?"
"I—"
"I have business to attend to, now! Please, excuse me!"
And then he's off.
Bernie snuffs out his cigarette, looking around the Mirror chamber with wide eyes. The candles, the candelabras, the eerie setting all reminds him of the abandoned temples and underground railways that his crew had to navigate at times to find what they were looking for. He can't ask about where the hell he is anymore, because now there's nobody around, so the best that he can do is leave and observe the place.
Bernie slowly walks backwards, stepping out of the mirror chamber and into the courtyard. He's about to approach the statues of the Great Seven when a voice perks up behind him.
"I have an idea for what you can do to prove your worth!"
Bernie jumps, taking out his pocket knife and whirling around to face the headmage again.
"You just left me."
"I understand that, but I thought it through and realized that I should give a bit of a more warm welcome to our new student, because I am just that kind!"
"You said I was a nusance."
"Ah?! Did not!"
"You implied it."
"Oh, hush!"
The masked man tries to take hold of Bernie's wrist, but it backfires when Bernie takes out his pocket knife and slashes his glove and a bit of his skin. He yelps, jumping back and holding his wrist as if his hand had been amputated.
"Oh my skin!! My poor, poor skin!! And my glove; this fabric is—"
"Ask before touching next time."
The headmage huffs, tilting his chin up.
"Out of the kindness of my heart, I shall forgive you just this once," He declares, raising a finger from his non-injured hand.
"You are new, after all. However, you're going to have to deal with a... predicament in the Heartslabyul dorm that I was about to attend to. Since I now have more important matters to, now that you have wounded me so."
"What—"
"Toodles!"
A flurry of feathers gather around him, to which Bernie glowers at and hastily shoves them aside. What in the world is going on? Why is he here? This is all so sudden; how the hell can get out of—
"BOW TO ME! SILENCE, I SAID! SILENCE!"
A red-haired man dripping with black ink hurls a rose tree at another red-haired, more normal-looking guy, sending him crashing to the ground. This seems to have been a normal occurrence, because all around the fight are trees taken out of their place on the ground and scattered around the courtyard. It seems to be the inky man that is the bad guy, while a group of about 6 people and one weird-looking floating cat trying to calm him down.
Just as the inky man is about to throw another rose bush, a girl from the group bunches up the collar of the inky man's shirt and punches him square in the face.
Silver’s thoughts were racing through her skull so fast everything else get so numb. He didn’t know what was happening only that Riddle was freaking out, then, (what did the Headmage call it? Overblotting?) ink started coming down his face. Riddle screamed some more and next thing she knew everything was going to crap.
Silver has seen magic before had watched it happen and was still surprised when it did happen. But this? This was something else entirely, something that he couldn’t just insult. It felt like something he would always be weak under.
And that made Silver angry.
So lurching foreword she sprinted straight towards the screaming Housewarden and grabbed the edge of his clothes (dress?) and reared his fist back. Silver couldn’t do much without magic, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try.
And punched Riddle square in the face.
He staggered back in silence, blood and blot dripping from his face before surprise contorted into even deeper rage.
“HOW DARE YOU! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!”
Silver gasped and pulled her arms covering her head and neck before hearing a different voice yell out. Distracted he glanced over to see someone he didn’t recognize. No dorm uniform either so it was hard to see who they were.
Due to Silver letting his guard down the thorny rose bushes didn’t wait. Flying at the magicless student and throwing her back down. Biting his cheek hard to stop from screaming as blood dripped down his arms, neck and cheek, radiating pain.
‘That could’ve killed me…’
He thought before locking eyes with the stranger and shouting.
Bernie's eyes widen as he locks onto the stranger, realizing that yes, he should start helping. He's never been one to fully kill someone, especially with people that seem to have magic powers, but Bernie figures that he can do something about this either way. He unsheathes his pocket knife again, ready to get to work.
Bernie waits until someone else is about to get hit to run into the scene, moving behind the mysterious man and lunging at him. He carves two deep gashes on his back that form an X, shoving him onto the ground and moving the knife to the boy's neck.
"SURRENDER, OR I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD OFF, YA PIECE OF SHIT!"
Silver would have laughed it it weren’t for the fact that more trees and rose bushes were hurtling towards the person. Foregoing the wounds pulsing hard he bite his lip and screamed out.
“THATS NOT ENOUGH! TREY!”
Trey who was trying his best to not get anyone injured thankfully saw what was happening and was quick to intervene. Raising his pen and quickly yelling,
“PAINT THE ROSES!”
Before the bushes and trees turned into playing cards that scattered along the ground. Silver raced forward…and completed past the stranger. Instead grabbing Mars’ hand as they both pulled back. He didn’t know who this person was but it didn’t matter. What mattered was keeping themselves out of the kill zone.
Jesus Christ, how much is he suppose to hurt the guy? He looks younger than himself! He wouldn't want to kill someone he knows can change. Have someone else do it.
Bernie flips his pocket knife to the other side and hits the red-haired boy as hard as he can on the head, knocking him unconscious. He stands up just as the last rose bush hits the ground, dusting himself off. But he's not safe yet, because just as he's going to try and pick someone to tell him what the hell is going on, there's a shout behind him.
"WHAT IN SEVENS IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Deuce shoves Bernie aside, enraged now.
"Are you an idiot?! You've just about killed Riddle!"
"Wha- ey! I was only helping! What the hell else was I supposed to do, let y'all die instead?!"
Bernie huffs, shoving the boy back and nearly knocking himself back into a bush.
"Deuce, please." Mars called out, almost pleading yet held a stern undertone as she tried to not let things get physical again. Deuce glared over, but shoved him again before storming to the other side of the area near Ace.
The place was destroyed. Now that Riddle was unconscious, the place was still. Quiet. Rose bushes and grass walls were scattered everywhere. Some people had small injuries, Mars herself leaned against Sprit, a gushing wound against her leg.
Finally, Mars turned to the new guy. Wincing a bit from her leg before asking, "who the literal fuck even are you?"
Bernie would have gone to check up on the guy he just knocked out, but the way that blue-haired boy was acting made him think otherwise. So he leaves Riddle there, wounds still gushing, to instead focus on Mars' injury. He bends down, taking out bandages and patching up the girl's leg.
"Eh? That's the language ya use on someone who just about saved yer arses? Probably from the shock is why yer actin' this way, so I'll give ya a pass on this 'un."
He pauses for a moment to focus on putting the gauze correctly before stepping back, hands on his hips.
"Call me Captain, n' no other name but, eh? Now, if you'll 'scuse me, I'm gonna have to deal with the rest of these maggots that got into something they aren't cut out for."
Bernie walks over to Trey now, grabbing his arm and healing the wound. He seems to be good at this.
Mars scoffs, rolling her eyes. Her attitude seemed higher right now that she had an injury.
"I'm not calling some 'Captain' as if I'm some slave to their leader." She snaps, then adds with a finger as he went to help Ace. "Plus, who even fucking cares about language nowadays? You didn't answer my question, or should I give you a stupid nickname till you give me one."
Mars smirks, it quickly turning into a sharp unapologetic laugh. It went for a bit.
"Home? Pa-lease. Me and Silver have been trying to go home, you can't leave." She admits harshly. Her eyes stayed on a glare as she watched him help her friend, reluctantly not slapping his hand. That was her new family he was touching.
She decided to steal a peice of gauze from his pocket, wherever he kept the medical stuff, and limped her way over to Riddle. Kicking his body, before purposefully falling onto her unharmed leg and lifting his head up, placing a rolled chunk of gauze unprofessionally under his head.
"Yo Trey, you know your childhood best friend's behead is bleeding, right?" She called from over her shoulder. Looking back at the wound, she winced. "It's bad too, what the fuck did that guy do.." She whispered to herself.
"There's always gonna be a way to leave. I'll figure it out."
Bernie shoves Deuce before he can to the same to him, watching as everyone gathers around Riddle. He crosses his arms, tilting his chin up. He's pretty proud of himself for helping snap that kid back to reality, even if everybody else doesn't look nearly as confident in him.
"Do you need me to patch up his wounds? I hurt him, so I know how to heal him, too. That gauze you stole from me ain't gonna do anything if you dunno how to use it."
Mars glares up at him, a from that screams 'you're a smartass, you know that?' But won't admit it. With a huff, she hands over the gauze, scooting over to give him space.
Before he could ask, she snaps out "No, I can't move. Mr. Off with your head Alice threw a, what, spear, at my leg. I can't move. Deal with it, Captain Dingdong."
The nickname was more of an insult than a joke. Even worse, she didn't look at him. Her eyes were stuck on Riddle
"Didn't ask, I know because I was the one who healed you, and you can drop the name if you're gonna use Captain on me," Bernie grumbles, leaning in to heal the wounds on Riddle's back. For a minute, he pretends that Riddle is one of his crew members, which wills him enough to do this right.
According to whoever this girl character is, She and a Silver character have also been trying to get home, but to no avail. He wonders what his crew will do without him there. They'll probably be fine, but it'll be a little bit of a shock for them when they find out that their captain is gone.
"And if you keep treating me poorly, I'll leave your little boy for you to heal. Badly."
He knows that he wouldn't leave one of his kind in this state, but maybe this girl will shut up if he says something like that.
even the ice thaws ⋮ starter for @endofthehorizon03 ⋮ what’s life like up|down there?
[Kit yawns, stretching at their workshop table when suddenly a small polaroid photo drifted down from who knows where. When the boy went to pick it up, he laughed a little.]
[It was a picture of him, way younger, alongside a little Mer with big pale eyes and teal hair. Woah that must’ve been… forever ago. But Kit still remembers how they met.]
[Locket runs down the pier as he can hear his father call out from afar to not run so fast. He can feel the warm sand beneath his feet and the salty breeze run a hand through his hair. He was planning on just grabbing a bunch of shells and whatever he could find until… he spotted something!! The little boy carefully walks over and notices a Merperson!!]
[They seem to be admiring the shops above the beach and the land. He’s easily amazed so without thinking, because he’s like that and also an eight year old, runs over. However in doing so, Locket obviously spooked them as they squeaked and swam a few inches away. He frowns and backs up a little, apologizing.]
“Sorry for scaring you!! I thought you looked cool!! Are you admiring the shops!!”
Chrysa was genuine before he turned thirteen. Before he knew about facades, before he knew about what people liked and didn't like, before he knew how cruel the world can be. It's like that for most kids—they change drastically once they each a certain age, because they find out that life won't just give them things without having to put in the effort. And for Chrysa, that effort is stripping away his genuine personality for a new one, tailored exactly to other's needs.
But when Chrysa first met Kit, he wasn't thirteen or twelve or eleven or even ten. He was nine, and as a nine-year-old Chrysa didn't know about the horrors of the world yet. His mother hadn't asked him to start changing himself, hadn't said a word about muting his old self to be who she wants. So, for now, Chrysa could act as he pleased.
For now.
Chrysa sat in his half-jellyfish form, perched on a rock with his tentacle and oral arms splaying about. He leans against the rock with his elbows, arms folding into each other as he stares past the empty black and at the stops beyond. He's always fantasized about going to see the whole other world that isn't his own, to make a human friend and see what it's like. But whenever humans get close, he always says something stupid and then scampers away. It's a habit that he's determined to break when the next human gets curious about him and comes over.
Which just so happens to be an eight-year-old Kit, who's curious and naive and incapable of reading the room.
Chrysa's head peeks back from behind the rock, taking a glimpse at the boy in front of him. Shoulder-length hair, androgynous outfit, long eyelashes...
"You look like a girl," he blurts instead, disregarding Kit's question.
"Are you a girl? Because only boys are allowed to talk to me. Girls are gross."
"Eh? Pretty? I think I could see it. Maybe. Don't... take it nicely."
Chrysa tits his head, coming halfway out from behind the rock now. He tilts his head, his big eyes turning impossibly wide. He's pretending not to, but it's obvious that he's really interested in Kit.
"My name's Chrysa. What about you, little girl? What's your name?"
Those big eyes drift to the bracelet on Kit's wrist, noticing the shells that it's composed of. Without letting Kit answer his question, Chrysa points to the bracelet, tilting his head.
"What's that? Those seashells look like they're mine. From my beach. This is my beach did 'ya know? I'm the owner of this beach. You're speaking to the king right now."
Chrysa giggles, covering his laugh with his mouth.
"You're so short. If you don't wanna be called little, then get taller!"
He makes a small gesture with his fingers, then deciding to reach up and pretend to pat the other kid's head. Even without legs, Chrysa is pretty tall, and being perched on the rock gives him a higher stance than usual.
"And you don't even bother to ask me if you could take them? That's really mean, you know that?"
He crosses his arms, tilting his chin up.
"I'll give you a deal. If you find a way to get me to the shops, I'll let you keep the bracelet. And maybe I'll let you take a peek at my human things collection. Maybe."
Chrysa pretends to think, tapping his chin. He purses his lips, trying not to laugh at the stupidity of it all. He doesn't own this beach. He doesn't own the shells. Hell, he's never even been here before.
"Fine. I'll allow it. Because mama always tells me to be generous."
He hops up from the rock, swimming to the edge of the shore where the sea meets the sand. He's about to say something else when something in the corner catches his eye.
Chrysa turns, swimming down into the water and emerging with a pretty pink seashell that catches the reflection of the sun perfectly. There's a small chip in the corner, but otherwise it looks perfect.
"I'm good at finding seashells. If you ever want one, then I can find one for you. For something in exchange, of course."
[Kit cheers, happy that Chrysa forgave him. He looks in awe and smiles.]
“Ooh okay!! We’re trading like the sailors down at the market do!!”
[The boy admires the shell, running a gentle hand over the ridges and speaking genuinely when he says.]
“I don’t think it’s bad cause it’s broken. It’s still pretty, it’s just a little chip anyways!”
[His father told him that that way of thinking is a good thing, that most people can look at something broken and decide that it isn’t good. That it isn’t the same as it was before or that it has no value anymore. Kit thought that was silly.]
[Kit thinks he’ll always appreciate things, no matter how chipped they are.]
Chrysa's parents hadn't taught him the way Kit's did. Chrysa didn't learn that the value of things weren't based on how they look like on the outside. Everything that wasn't perfect is useless, and everything that's useless should get thrown out to make way for something new.
"Are you gonna show me how to make these bracelets or what?"
Chrysa gestures behind him to the vast sea.
"If you teach me good, I'll go down and show you my collection. Or maybe I'll bring you down here with me."
Chrysa scoffs, grabbing fistfuls of sand and watching as they dissolve into the ocean water. Once it fully disappears, all that remains are perfectly good seashells that they can use for bracelets.
He tosses them aside. In Chrysa's eyes, ordinary white seashells are boring. They need to be really pristine or have something else that's special to be worthy.
"I'll be back. Don't go anywhere, okay? Or else you'll be on my blacklist. Mama taught me what that word meant a little bit ago."
Without another word, he dives into the water, not letting Kit protest about the seashells he disregarded.
[He doesn’t get to finish his sentence and he huffs, gettting up to go get the string like he said but he hurries so Chrysa doesn’t get on his case about going anywhere.]
[He thinks the white seashells would’ve worked just fine though.]
[When he comes back, Chrysa luckily isn’t there yet… probably cause he’s looking for super duper perfect ones since he doesn’t like simple things. So Kit starts humming while he fiddles with a little, slightly blue and turquoise tinted piece of sea glass.]
Chrysa doesn't take long to arrive. He has a patchwork quilt that's clearly holding something fisted, and what's inside jingles as he swims over to Kit.
"Seashells. This took me a while to gather compared to the other times I find them, so you better not fuck up."
Chrysa has had a lot of experience with curse words because his mother didn't care when it came to not saying them around him as a baby. To him, they're just another normal part of his vocabulary, and he likes them especially because he's seen that people tend to either get mad or match his energy whenever he uses them. Chrysa likes both reactions, opting to piss them off more whenever they react. His mother is the same.
He drops the quilt onto the sand, small seashells already pouring from its sides. Inside, there are mostly pretty white ones, but there are also a handful of colored ones in gradients that Kit has never seen. It's an upgrade compared to what he grabbed before, that's for sure.
But still. What's the point of grabbing all of the precious seashells all at once? One day, they'll run out. And then you'll be left with nothing.
"I call all the colored ones. You already have a colorful bracelet, anyway."
[Kit, however, has neither reaction to the curse. You see when you grow up around sailors (y’know the people who literally have the saying sailor’s mouth) the way Kit did, you sorta don’t really care about the words they say unless you get curious. Which to then they say they’ll explain when you’re older and Kit doesn’t get mad about it.]
[He admires the shells, picking up and looking at them in the light. He just nods with excitement in his eyes clear.]
“Okay!! We can match that way!”
[He was just glad to teach someone how to do this. Papa always said that it’s good to pass on our crafts and stuff because those keep our culture & traditions alive.]
Chrysa crosses his arms, tilting his chin up. He's trying to command authority like he's seen his mother do so many times, because commanding authority usually gets what she wants. Maybe, if Kit feels the authority enough, he'll just make the bracelet and then scamper off and leave him with a new trinket to show off.
Kit opens his mouth, about to start explaining the first step in the bracelet-making process when Chris speaks up.
[He sighs and tilts his head, looking at Chrysa. He’s kinda doing the same thing the captains do. He giggles at that inner thought, Chrysa wouldn’t ever like being a captain in his life. Just then he picks up a few shells and starts adding them onto the thread.]
“Okay so it’s really simple, you just start adding shells or whatever you’re using. You can do a pattern or do it randomly, however you want.”
“Once you’ve done that…”
[Kit makes a pattern with some of the more blue-tinted shells, holds it up by the thread uncovered.]
“Don’t fill the whole string though, you gotta leave some space to tie the knot.”
Chrysa snatches the bracelet from out of Kit's hand, a few of the seashells dropping in the process. He groans, snatching them up at attempting to put them back on the string again.
It takes him a bit just to get one on, but Kit already sees the issue he's having: he's being too rough with it. He keeps stabbing the string against the shell, trying his damndest to get the shell on when all he really has to do is take it easy.
Chrysa's face flushes slightly at the physical contact, looking up as Kit is still focused on the bracelet Chrysa is handling. He smiles softly—a brief thing, gone by the time Kit looks up. But it's there, and he hasn't done that to anyone else but his relatives in a long, long time.
"Well. Could've done that myself. It's whatever."
He starts stacking up seashell after seashell onto the string, ignoring the instruction of not adding too many and going until he couldn't anymore. When the last seashell falls off the string, Chrysa pouts, waving the unfinished bracelet around in frustration while holding both ends.
"Hey. This dumb string won't hold any more seashells. What do I do now?"
Chrysa doesn't do thank-you's. He doesn't do please, he doesn't do excuse me, he doesn't do polite. But for Kit... maybe he can give a little effort for him.
"Thanks."
He winces as he says it, tugging on the bracelet to divert the conversation.
"Is this thing sturdy and everything? Won't break when I go a hundred miles an hour underwater? If it breaks, it's all your fault, you know. Then you're going to have to make me two."
Chrysa huffs, crossing his arms.
"I guess your debt is repaid. For now. But don't go stealing anything else from my beach, or else you'll have to give me more than just a bracelet."
Chrysa isn't enjoying this, and he knows it. He doesn't like how cheery Kit is, doesn't like how persistent he is, doesn't like anything relating to this at all. He's only asking because he wants to get more free stuff for his collection.
"Better not be anything too hard to make, or else I won't be helping you."
“Well I’m not super good at it yet but I can make necklaces with stuff other than string! Papa taught me recently! And I wanna try more metalwork after if he says yes!”
[Kit proudly acclaims.]
“I don’t need your help though! I can do it all on my own!”
Chrysa pouts, crossing his arms. Of course Kit wouldn't need his help. He's going to have to one-up the other boy on this.
Chrysa turns around and into the water diving in and disappearing. At first, Kit thinks that he's gone for good, but then the jellyfish hybrid springs out of the water holding a small sparkly thing.
"Look at this. A butterfly. Made it all by myself, you know."
Lie. He didn't make jack by himself. But...
"If you can make something like this one day, I'll see you as better than me. But I bet that you can't."
A roleplay starter for @mars2moons!! And @mars-0425, if you'd like to participate!
Bernie Issac steps out of the inn, cracking his knuckles. Johnny has always been one to complain about everything that Bernie did—he thought that he was being "independent" to the system, but in reality, he was just being a douchebag. It's been at least five years, and yet he's still stuck in the same mindset that he had when his father was the lead. How irritating.
Today's banter had been exceptionally frustrating. Both the captain and the crew had already discussed what to do with their collected savings, and yet he really wanted to eat shit and say that Bernie wasn't being fair? Wasn't being fair? How insane could this guy be?
That's why he's outside right now—he needs to calm down. He's agitated, and he doesn't want to lash out at his crew and give Johnny a real reason to fight authority.
He stands on the sidewalk, lighting a cigarette and flicking the excess tobacco to the ground when He sees it in the distance: a black carriage. Before he can scope the details of it, it suddenly rams into him, and in an instant, he's in a new, unfamiliar place.
"Yet another magicless one."
The dark mirror growls, its perpetual scowl deepening. Bernie steps back, but before he can say anything, a man with a crow mask on places a hand on his forehead and speaks.
"How can the black carriage keep doing this? The other two girls proved to be useful, but now this one... and not even during the usual sorting process day! The horror!"
The headmage sighs, placing his hands over his heart flamboyantly.
"Well, then. Out of the kindness of my heart, I shall allow you to reside in my humble college and let Mars and Silver explain everything to you. How does that sound?"
"I—"
"I have business to attend to, now! Please, excuse me!"
And then he's off.
Bernie snuffs out his cigarette, looking around the Mirror chamber with wide eyes. The candles, the candelabras, the eerie setting all reminds him of the abandoned temples and underground railways that his crew had to navigate at times to find what they were looking for. He can't ask about where the hell he is anymore, because now there's nobody around, so the best that he can do is leave and observe the place.
Bernie slowly walks backwards, stepping out of the mirror chamber and into the courtyard. He's about to approach the statues of the Great Seven when a voice perks up behind him.
"I have an idea for what you can do to prove your worth!"
Bernie jumps, taking out his pocket knife and whirling around to face the headmage again.
"You just left me."
"I understand that, but I thought it through and realized that I should give a bit of a more warm welcome to our new student, because I am just that kind!"
"You said I was a nusance."
"Ah?! Did not!"
"You implied it."
"Oh, hush!"
The masked man tries to take hold of Bernie's wrist, but it backfires when Bernie takes out his pocket knife and slashes his glove and a bit of his skin. He yelps, jumping back and holding his wrist as if his hand had been amputated.
"Oh my skin!! My poor, poor skin!! And my glove; this fabric is—"
"Ask before touching next time."
The headmage huffs, tilting his chin up.
"Out of the kindness of my heart, I shall forgive you just this once," He declares, raising a finger from his non-injured hand.
"You are new, after all. However, you're going to have to deal with a... predicament in the Heartslabyul dorm that I was about to attend to. Since I now have more important matters to, now that you have wounded me so."
"What—"
"Toodles!"
A flurry of feathers gather around him, to which Bernie glowers at and hastily shoves them aside. What in the world is going on? Why is he here? This is all so sudden; how the hell can get out of—
"BOW TO ME! SILENCE, I SAID! SILENCE!"
A red-haired man dripping with black ink hurls a rose tree at another red-haired, more normal-looking guy, sending him crashing to the ground. This seems to have been a normal occurrence, because all around the fight are trees taken out of their place on the ground and scattered around the courtyard. It seems to be the inky man that is the bad guy, while a group of about 6 people and one weird-looking floating cat trying to calm him down.
Just as the inky man is about to throw another rose bush, a girl from the group bunches up the collar of the inky man's shirt and punches him square in the face.
Silver’s thoughts were racing through her skull so fast everything else get so numb. He didn’t know what was happening only that Riddle was freaking out, then, (what did the Headmage call it? Overblotting?) ink started coming down his face. Riddle screamed some more and next thing she knew everything was going to crap.
Silver has seen magic before had watched it happen and was still surprised when it did happen. But this? This was something else entirely, something that he couldn’t just insult. It felt like something he would always be weak under.
And that made Silver angry.
So lurching foreword she sprinted straight towards the screaming Housewarden and grabbed the edge of his clothes (dress?) and reared his fist back. Silver couldn’t do much without magic, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try.
And punched Riddle square in the face.
He staggered back in silence, blood and blot dripping from his face before surprise contorted into even deeper rage.
“HOW DARE YOU! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!”
Silver gasped and pulled her arms covering her head and neck before hearing a different voice yell out. Distracted he glanced over to see someone he didn’t recognize. No dorm uniform either so it was hard to see who they were.
Due to Silver letting his guard down the thorny rose bushes didn’t wait. Flying at the magicless student and throwing her back down. Biting his cheek hard to stop from screaming as blood dripped down his arms, neck and cheek, radiating pain.
‘That could’ve killed me…’
He thought before locking eyes with the stranger and shouting.
Bernie's eyes widen as he locks onto the stranger, realizing that yes, he should start helping. He's never been one to fully kill someone, especially with people that seem to have magic powers, but Bernie figures that he can do something about this either way. He unsheathes his pocket knife again, ready to get to work.
Bernie waits until someone else is about to get hit to run into the scene, moving behind the mysterious man and lunging at him. He carves two deep gashes on his back that form an X, shoving him onto the ground and moving the knife to the boy's neck.
"SURRENDER, OR I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD OFF, YA PIECE OF SHIT!"
Silver would have laughed it it weren’t for the fact that more trees and rose bushes were hurtling towards the person. Foregoing the wounds pulsing hard he bite his lip and screamed out.
“THATS NOT ENOUGH! TREY!”
Trey who was trying his best to not get anyone injured thankfully saw what was happening and was quick to intervene. Raising his pen and quickly yelling,
“PAINT THE ROSES!”
Before the bushes and trees turned into playing cards that scattered along the ground. Silver raced forward…and completed past the stranger. Instead grabbing Mars’ hand as they both pulled back. He didn’t know who this person was but it didn’t matter. What mattered was keeping themselves out of the kill zone.
Jesus Christ, how much is he suppose to hurt the guy? He looks younger than himself! He wouldn't want to kill someone he knows can change. Have someone else do it.
Bernie flips his pocket knife to the other side and hits the red-haired boy as hard as he can on the head, knocking him unconscious. He stands up just as the last rose bush hits the ground, dusting himself off. But he's not safe yet, because just as he's going to try and pick someone to tell him what the hell is going on, there's a shout behind him.
"WHAT IN SEVENS IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Deuce shoves Bernie aside, enraged now.
"Are you an idiot?! You've just about killed Riddle!"
"Wha- ey! I was only helping! What the hell else was I supposed to do, let y'all die instead?!"
Bernie huffs, shoving the boy back and nearly knocking himself back into a bush.
"Deuce, please." Mars called out, almost pleading yet held a stern undertone as she tried to not let things get physical again. Deuce glared over, but shoved him again before storming to the other side of the area near Ace.
The place was destroyed. Now that Riddle was unconscious, the place was still. Quiet. Rose bushes and grass walls were scattered everywhere. Some people had small injuries, Mars herself leaned against Sprit, a gushing wound against her leg.
Finally, Mars turned to the new guy. Wincing a bit from her leg before asking, "who the literal fuck even are you?"
Bernie would have gone to check up on the guy he just knocked out, but the way that blue-haired boy was acting made him think otherwise. So he leaves Riddle there, wounds still gushing, to instead focus on Mars' injury. He bends down, taking out bandages and patching up the girl's leg.
"Eh? That's the language ya use on someone who just about saved yer arses? Probably from the shock is why yer actin' this way, so I'll give ya a pass on this 'un."
He pauses for a moment to focus on putting the gauze correctly before stepping back, hands on his hips.
"Call me Captain, n' no other name but, eh? Now, if you'll 'scuse me, I'm gonna have to deal with the rest of these maggots that got into something they aren't cut out for."
Bernie walks over to Trey now, grabbing his arm and healing the wound. He seems to be good at this.
Mars scoffs, rolling her eyes. Her attitude seemed higher right now that she had an injury.
"I'm not calling some 'Captain' as if I'm some slave to their leader." She snaps, then adds with a finger as he went to help Ace. "Plus, who even fucking cares about language nowadays? You didn't answer my question, or should I give you a stupid nickname till you give me one."
Mars smirks, it quickly turning into a sharp unapologetic laugh. It went for a bit.
"Home? Pa-lease. Me and Silver have been trying to go home, you can't leave." She admits harshly. Her eyes stayed on a glare as she watched him help her friend, reluctantly not slapping his hand. That was her new family he was touching.
She decided to steal a peice of gauze from his pocket, wherever he kept the medical stuff, and limped her way over to Riddle. Kicking his body, before purposefully falling onto her unharmed leg and lifting his head up, placing a rolled chunk of gauze unprofessionally under his head.
"Yo Trey, you know your childhood best friend's behead is bleeding, right?" She called from over her shoulder. Looking back at the wound, she winced. "It's bad too, what the fuck did that guy do.." She whispered to herself.
"There's always gonna be a way to leave. I'll figure it out."
Bernie shoves Deuce before he can to the same to him, watching as everyone gathers around Riddle. He crosses his arms, tilting his chin up. He's pretty proud of himself for helping snap that kid back to reality, even if everybody else doesn't look nearly as confident in him.
"Do you need me to patch up his wounds? I hurt him, so I know how to heal him, too. That gauze you stole from me ain't gonna do anything if you dunno how to use it."
// Helloooo so I suck at writing long rp starters so I apologize in advance for it being short or lacking details😞 but this will be my very first rp starter as Echo so I am very excited nonetheless!!! ^-^
Boredom, like the undying snake it is, had once again struck Echo, filling mirror with its deadly venom.
Usually, Echo would just bother her brothers but she wasnt very happy with them at the moment so that was off the table. He could just do its homework and get it done and over with.... Echo mentally ruled that out as well. They could text Kalim or any of her other friends and see what their doing but Echo didnt necessarily feel like doing that either, oddly enough.
So instead, she took to just wandering around the Ignihyde lounge in hopes of running into someone with just as much time on their hands as they did.
So lost. Oh-so-very lost. He'd gone to his dorm many times before, but this time he accidentally stumbled into a completely different dorm? How? The entrance to the Heartslabyul dorm is so obvious! How in the world did he get sucked into wherever this creepy place is?!
The dorm itself isn't all that bad, but whenever he took a step, somebody would snap their head towards him and stare. He's an outsider, a nobody. They must be wondering why someone like him is roaming the halls of a dorm that he isn't in.
Finally, Ruadh thinks that he spots the lounge of the dorm. Thank god, because he's been walking in circles for at least twenty minutes. He needs to sit down and take a break, maybe check his notifications in case any of his friends texted him. There also might be someone with a map there, thank sevens.
He steps into the lounge and looks around. No map holder, it seems. Lots of people, too... jeez. He does not have the mental capacity to deal with social interaction that isn't online right now. He's not rested enough to call out his inner June at this time.
So Ruadh freezes, scratching his left arm hard. He has no clue what to do.
That's a-okay! You writing the starter saves me a little trouble, because right now I'm juggling 200 role-plays, a character I have to make, and an art project I want to try and do.... sorry if I reply a little late to your reblogs! But I'm also excited for this, since this is my first role-play I get to do with my baby Ruadh! :>>
Echo spotted Ruadh and waved before prancing over, their heels clacking loudly on the floor.
"Hi hi!! You dont look like a Ignihyde student! Did you get lost or something? I can help you out if you need, im not doing anything right now anyways!!"
Ruadh jumped, whirling around to face Echo. Whoever this is, they're much more... cheery than most Ignihyde students. Reminds him of June, really. Maybe this person would be willing to help him out...?
"O-oh, well, I... yeah, a little? I'm... lost."
Wow. That was a pathetic response. He gulps, one of his rabbit ears flopping over his eye.
"I don't know how I got here. I was trying to go to... Heartslabyul? I don't know; I'm pretty new here... ah..."
He gulps, looking everywhere but at Echo. He really is not ready for this right now.
"If you, um... know the directions..? You can just tell me, I don't want to bother..."
"Nah it isnt bothering me! I was just wandering around anyway looking for someone to bother! I can help you out!"
Echo responded happily.
"How'd you get here anyways if you dont mind me asking? I mean, Heartslabyul and Ignihyde dont really look anything alike! It would be nice if they did though..."
"Also, last question before im done pestering you, whats your name? I dont want to just refer to you as 'that one kid' the whole school year!"
Ruadh's being bombarded. He turns a bit red in the face at all the questions, opening his mouth slowly.
"Well, I... I don't know how. I didn't mean to come here, I swear," Ruadh murmurs, looking down. Sevens, how could he have been that stupid enough to mistake which dorm was his and go here instead? Echo's right—they don't even look the same! Riddle will surely have his head for this, now that he thinks about it...
"Uh... ah... well, my name is Ruadh. It's nice to meet you, um... ma'am. Or—or sir. Ah... whatever your pronouns are..."
He looks down, hands behind his back.
"Sorry. Must be weird to ask for pronouns in this day and age. I, um... really appreciate your help..."
"Nice to meet you, Ruadh! My names Echo! Dont worry, things like Ma'am or Sir and stuff dont bother me!! Really anything works for me!! And yeah, no problem! Im more than happy to help out!! Now c'mon, I'll show you out of here!!"
Echo stepped past Ruadh and started leading him away from the lounge
"Y'know, you kinda remind me of my brother"
Echo said casually
//anything past this is going to be headcanons abt the how the dorm is laid out so I apologize😞
Ruadh perks up when he hears the comparison of him and whoever Echo's brother is, tilting his head. He gulps, hoping that whoever they're comparing him to isn't a piece of shit.
"Ah... that's good...?"
Ruadh follows Echo out of the lounge, trailing an unnecessarily large distance behind him. He doesn't want to ruin Echo's reputation because he was seen hanging around with some loser. He stays quiet as well. He really doesn't want to bother.
Ruadh walks a little faster to catch up with Echo. He didn't mean to make the other student think that he hated him or anything...
"Sorry, I just... well. I'm not supposed to be here. I didn't want to seem... threatening."
He walks next to Echo now, fidgeting with his hands. It's silent, and now that he knows that Echo wants to make conversation, he has to be the one to figure out what to say. He's the guest, after all.
"Ah... I like it here too. It's hard to... um. Find people that can befriends with me here. Everybody is so bold... even Ignihyde, really..."
Ruadh rubs his arm. Echo wouldn't want to know about Ruadh's troubles. He's here to make conversation, not vent.
"Are you, ah... uh... w-what are your hobbies..?"
The moment Ruadh asks that, he winds. That was a very bad thing to say, and he worded it so badly, too. If Echo asks him what his hobbies are, he's going to have to lie and say something that isn't being June.
"Oh I do all sorts of things! I make a lot of things, nothing too special just little crafts, and then I've been really into drawing lately! I've been watching a lot of TV Shows too! Really I'll do anything as long as it keeps me busy!"
"What about you, Ruadh? What do you like to do in your free time?"
Ruadh gulps, scratching his left arm again. What hobbies does he have that don't look weird?
"And I also... read..."
Well, damn. Ruadh sounds like the biggest liar around. He doesn't know how to act without being June, doesn't know how to blend into the background and still stay talkative at the same time.
"What TV shows have you been watching, if you don't mind me asking...?"
At least Echo looks nice enough to not judge him for his nervousness.
"Anything I can find really. Or any of the animes my brother recommends. Comedies, fantasy, romance, literally anything you can find on any streaming platform I've probably watched."
A vague answer but probably the best one Echo was going to give.
"What kinda books do you read? I've been trying to get more into reading but... its been a bit of a struggle finding something."
Now, Ruadh's really screwed up. He can't say that he likes any other books than the ones he actually does in case Echo asks about it, but how will some Ignihyde student react to him being a total fudanshi?!
"Sasaki and Miyano..?"
Please don't know it please don't know it please don't say that you'll look at it when you get home...
Ruadh gulps, his scratching moving to his right arm. He's so done for. Echo knows what BL is! Mirror must think that he's a total weirdo right now! Boys liking boys isn't a normal thing!
"Y-yes, it's—uh—w-well, it's s-something new, and I didn't know what it was about before I started reading it, and I might just drop it now that I know because it's..."
He trails off. Weird? Can he really say that it's weird? Weird is where he feels like he draws the line. So Ruadh ends his sentence there, waiting with wide eyes for Echo's reaction.
His scratching slips to a stop, his face turning bright red. Of course. Of course Echo wouldn't case. Why is Ruadh being so pessimistic? They haven't cared for anything else he's said, so why would mirror care now?
"I—well... I really, really, really like yaoi.... so, ah, if you need recommendations, I have... many..."
His voice is quiet, almost to the point where it's hard for Echo to hear him. He doesn't want anybody traversing the halls to spy on their conversation and learn that about him, and he's also pretty sheepish to admit it out loud.
"Uhm—I only read, like, fluffier ones, though... I... well, I don't very much like the omegaverse trope..."
Ruadh winces. Did he really have to reveal so much?
"Uh, well... maybe we could go somewhere a little more... private for that..? I... well."
Ruadh doesn't know how to imply that he doesn't really want anyone knowing he watches that type of stuff. Instead, he gives Echo a sheepish smile, twiddling his thumbs.
"Which ones have have you watched?" He asks instead. Echo doesn't seem as sheepish to share mirror interest as he is.
"Well technically its a danmei but Heaven Officials Blessing is SOOOO good!!! I've rewatched it at least 17 times now!! Here, do you have any social media or any way to contact you so we can talk a little more privately about it? I understand that sometimes texting can be easier than talking!"
"Yeah, I've watched that one a lot as well," he chuckled, voice quiet.
And then he freezes.
Social media?
SOCIAL MEDIA?!
The only social media he has is with June! He never thought that he'd get popular enough to share a handle or something with someone else! Hell, even his normal messages has a picture of June on it! What is he supposed to do now?!
"...No..." Ruadh lied, gulping.
"I... don't have anything. I don't think. I-I'm so sorry..."
"Thats alright! Do you have a phone number or anything like that? If not, then we can just plan a few days where we hang out at one of our dorms so we can chat!"
Echo was extremely adamant on hanging out with Ruadh.
Ruadh chuckles, appreciating the compliment. He feels a little more at ease now, to his surprise.
"I am. Just... uh... here."
He hands Echo his phone. The inside of it is just as pretty and pink as the outside, it seems, with a pink and black theme on his phone and all of his contact profile's a different variation of that color. It's pretty cute, especially for someone like Rudah.
This is the reason why Ruadh doesn't have any friends. Why he tries to stay in the background and away from the rest of the people at school. Because then something like this happens, and then he reveals June all too quickly for his own good. What is wrong with him? She's supposed to be kept under wraps!
"Y-you can text me too, if you want... I'd like that better than me texting you, because I don't want to text at a bad time."
"P-pictures?!" Ruadh squeaked, eyes widening. Is he catching on? So soon?! He can't be! Not yet!
"Pictures of what? I have no pictures to give! I-I mean- if you want Pinterest pictures, I can send you! I don't dress in Jirai Kei, I just really like it!"
He scratches his right arm rapidly. Oh, how he wishes they could go somewhere more private to talk...
Ruadh's arm goes limp, eyes widening even more. Nobody had ever stopped him from his scratching. It was a subconscious self-harming habit that he doesn't know how to break, and Ruadh starts shaking a little at not being able to feel his nails on his skin.
"It's okay. I... thank you..."
Echo could see the scars, both old and new, that had probably formed because of the scratching. It seems that he's been doing this for a while now.
"Mhm! Dont mention it. I get it, really. I dont know the exact reason and I dont know if it'll help but I have a few fidgets you can borrow if you think maybe that will help!"
Echo took both of Ruadhs hands in theirs.
"And if you ever need to talk, please dont be afraid to text me or call me."
Ruadh smiles sheepishly, lacing their hands and shaking them to show that he was just fine. He ponders the fidget suggestion for a minute, looking down with a shy expression on his face.
"U-uh... if you have any, I'd really like that. Or... maybe just arm warmers? I'd appreciate it..."
Ruadh takes back his phone and puts it away, trying not to scratch again now that Echo's noticed.
"Yeah! I have some extras you can borrow! Any color preference? Design? Anything like that? I have a lot of accessories so more likely than not, I have something that could work! Here, if you'd like, we can go to my dorm and you can just pick the pair you like! If your Housewarden says anything I'll just have my br- Housewarden talk to him!!"
"O-oh, sure, we can go to your dorm," Ruadh blushes, hands behind his back. He's supposed to be in a hurry, but... well. Ruadh could handle having his magic taken away and being scolded for a few days.
He follows Echo to the dorms, relieved to know that they'll be somewhere private now. If he slips, Echo will be the only person who know, as opposed to before when everybody in Ignihyde would get to see him fumble.
"W-why do you have them? Are you... similar to me?"
Ruadh sits on the very edge of the bed, scratching again. Not his arms this time, but his pants, which usually meant for him that he needed something to do with his hands. He didn't know that something like fidgets existed, but they sound promising. He'd usually just grab a sponge when he's alone at home.
"O-okay. Right. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..."
He blushes, watching Echo move around the room. He feels pretty awkward right now.
(for @nrcsfavoriteshrimps ! This takes place during book 4, but I feel like this would be in an AU where Jamil doesn't go apeshit :3 )
Vicente Cabro is a regular at The Mostro Lounge, but he's never come at this hour before. Usually, late Saturdays means that the lounge is packed, but now that it's the winter, barely anybody is staying in. The only people he knows that are staying are Jade and Floyd, which is the reason he came to the lounge anyway. When he enters, however, he doesn't see either of the Leech brothers—instead, he spots someone he's never seen before: it's Rocky, who's about to inform him that he came at a very bad time.
Vince would be going out to see his family right now, but he was informed a day before break that they wouldn't be home, since they had a few things they had to collect for the farm and decided that they would all just take a trip to explore the place. He wasn't mad, but he was missing them terribly, and he didn't really appreciate the fact that seeing them again would be postponed (even though he calls them every other day).
Similar to most people, loneliness is how Vince ended up at the Mostro Lounge, just outside the foot of the entrance resembling Ursula's cave. He pushes the door open, about to step inside when he freezes. He watches as a boy that's five feet away who's carrying a box that's too big for his size slips on a small puddle of water on the floor and falls straight on his ass.
A string of curses escape from the boy's mouth as he shoves the box away. Suppressing a snicker, Vince jogs over, standing in front of the boy and extending his hand.
"'R ya' alright there, friend? Ya' took quite a tumble there, 'f I do say so myself. N' I'm doin' that now!"
Vince laughs at his own joke, attempting to light the mood.
[The boy hisses— not really at the other student, but more at himself.]
“Sure, DURE, I’m GREAT! With the crash landin’ from the Ramshackle crew, my boss n’ the Leeches suddenly dippin’ and leavin’ ME in charge, n’ now all my dormmates feel like slackin?! I’m just PEACHY, thanks!”
[He groans as he stands back up, dusting off his dorm uniform. His ears pin back against his head as he looks back at a very much destroyed booth. He…seems to be having a rough time.]
“Look, i’on know why ya up so late. If ya came he’a expectin’ a late night snack, you’re gonna have to give me a few,” [he explains, placing a hand on his hip.] “Some shit’s goin’ down in Scarabia an’ they’s up n’ left me with the lounge.”
"Sounds like sumone needs sum help. Didn' come 'ere for nuthin', ya' know."
Vince drops his hand, not bothered by the fact that the other hybrid didn't take his hand. He picks up the box that had been thrown aside, leaning on it as he speaks.
"Seems like y' need sum help ova here. Could be m' payment fr' that snack. Could go fr' a banana split right 'bout now..."
Vince grins, picking up the box and lifting it high over his head without breaking a sweat. His pants pull up at this, and small tufts of white fur can be seen at the ankles if someone looked closely.
"Where's this headin'? N' what're we up t'?"
It seems that Vince has inserted himself into the situation whether or not Rocky likes it.
[Rocky seems…caught off-guard, to say the least. And— hey, is he blushing?]
“E-Eh? You…you’d…” [His eyes widen in shock as he stammers, before clearing his throat and crossing his arms.] “Whateva! I’ll do it cuz you’re helpin’, so don’t go gettin’ the wrong idea! It’s the least you could do!”
"Well, 'm glad that 'ya accepted m' offer, but 'ya gotta tell me where this thin' goes so I can actually do any helpin'!"
Vince chuckles, amused at the boy's reaction. Despite him being younger than Rocky, he reaches down and ruffles his hair teasingly.
"I know that y' 're just itchin' to have me aroun', but I can't do nun if you don' tell me what I gotta do! N' what's in this box?"
Vince shakes the insides around a little, not realizing that what's inside could be glass. He has no harmful intentions, though, as he seems to be analyzing the sound that the object inside makes carefully.
[Rocky’s face flushes deeper. Shit, he was so caught off-guard by the offer that he completely forgot!]
“R-Right. Follow me, kid, I’ll show ya what ta do.” [He huffs, walking off to wherever the boxes were supposed to go. He murmurs something under his breath, though it’s hard to understand.]
“It’s just some stock. Gotta keep the place runnin’, y’know?”
Vince places the boxes on the corner of the island, opening it up and taking out a flour bag. What Vince doesn't notice is the fact that there were some other pointier things in the box along with the bag, and the fall Rocky had caused one of them to puncture a hole on the bag's top.
So when he sets the flour down fimly, about to make a joke, what he gets instead is a kitchen, a Rocky, and a him that is covered in flour.
Vince looks at the flour bag. Then at Rocky. Then at himself. Then at the flour bag again.
And then he bursts into hysterics.
"WAHAHA! Didn' think tha' shitter wouldda had a hole in it!" he says in between bouts of laughter.
[Rocky doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Because holy shit, that’s hilarious, but also ohhhhhh fuck his bosses are gonna kill him—]
“Aha…ahaha…yeah, let’s get ya cleaned up, kid. Gotta deal wit’ this before the trio gets back.” [He takes out his magic pen, pointing it at Vince with a stern expression.] “Aight, hold still, kid. I’ll make it quick.”
Vince puts his hands on his hips, staying completely still.
"'Right! Work 'ya magic!"
But then he sees something that catches his attention, and he moves over to inspect it just as Rocky was starting to use his magic. From inside the box, he takes out a cigarette holder, tilting his head.
"Whatdd'ya need a cigarette holder fr'? Lookin' pretty old-fashon'd, 'f I do say so m'self. Which I—"
The cigarette holder flies out of his hand, snapping in half because of the magic Rocky started using.
[Rocky’s eye twitches. He is trying so, so hard not to snap at this kid.]
“…whaddid I just say, kid.”
[He huffs, finishing the spell before crossing his arms and turning his back.]
“How’m I s’pposed to know?” [he continues, his tail lashing behind him.] “I just work he’a. I don’ control what goes in or out. N’ I don’t smoke, eitha’. Sensitive lungs. Dealt with enough on the streets.”
Vince picks up the two halves of the stick. His pants ride up a little more, but he doesn't seem to notice, too preoccupied with the cigarette holder. He seems a little worried, but he's still trying his best to lighten the mood.
"Whadd'ya suppose we do, then? Glue it back? Ya' got any glue ova there? R' maybe we could work it wit sum magic!"
Vince whips out his magic pen, ready to do some spells to see if he can put the two pieces back together again. Rocky knows better than to let him continue, though.
"Eh? N' why can't I help? 'M good with heavy-duty stuff!"
That's about the only thing Vince is good at when helping around. He makes even more of a mess when trying to organize, breaks plates trying to scrub the grime off of them, and don't even get him started on cooking. At this point, he might even be worse than Lilia. He's solid at baking, though.
"'D feel bad 'f I didn't do anythin t' repay 'ya. C'mon. 'Could at least do sumthin' 'round here."
He did seem good at carrying around that long box before. Maybe...
"I could do conversation, that's 'aight! Wha' typa conversation r' ya lookin' for? Could talk 'bout generic stuffs, r' stuff for y' t' get ta' know me. Name's Vince, n' ima first year n' tha Ignihyde dorm."
Vince is a real yapper. He could talk and talk all day if he was allowed it, but usually people don't want to hear that much conversation. He would talk a lot with his siblings especially, but now that he's away from them, he's had to repress his talkative nature to not be annoying to others.
Until now.
Vince looks down at his pants, leaning down and tugging them lower. While he's bent over like this, he spots a cabinet that has a label reading "DO NOT OPEN" and reaches to open it.
Vince yelps, hopping back to avoid getting hit from the magic spell. Only then is when he notices the warning label on the cabinet, eyes widening.
"Ah! Didn' notice tha', 'f m' bein' frank. Ma fault."
Vince steps back, hopping onto the counter and sitting down on it. He swings his legs over the edge, listening to what Rocky wants him to rant about with a shine of excitement in his eyes.
"Ah! M' family's a real big 'un. 've got four parents, consisting' 'f m' momma n' my mom n' my papa n' my dad. They're all n' a polycule, n' they had 5 children n' adopted four. M' one of 'em adopted ones, tha's right. N' I luv all my mums n my paps n my siblin's."
He speaks about his family with such fondness in his eyes, though he looks a bit sad, too. It is a bit odd that Vince hasn't gone to see them yet in this winter break if they sound so close to him.
[Rocky can’t hide his envy, even with his back turned. Hearing about a big family, the family he’s always wanted…he couldn’t help but feel jealous. Especially because he himself had none.]
“Why ain’t ya with ‘em? ‘S winter break, y’ should be outta here.”
"Man, I was supposta go 'n ova ther', but they decided ta' go sumwhere else ta' pick up sum' stuff fo' da' farm just as I was arrivin'! Can't go back with no one a' home, yaknow? So now m' here, waitin' fo' them ta' get back n' three days r' more."
Vince huffs, crossing his arms. He looks mad at them, but in the teasing way that most kids are when they play-fight with their siblings. He can sense the jealousy in Rocky's voice, however, and he plays with his hair as he figures out a way to make this better for the both of them.
"'Could call em', if ya'd like! 'Think they'd be pretty happy t' see that 've gotta new friend 'round here!"
Vince grins, already pulling out his phone to call his parents.
[Rocky exhales, walking over with the promised sweet treat. After he places it on the table, he sits down next to his underclassman, resting his cheek on his hand.]
“Yeah, sure, whateva’. Not like I got much else to do right now.”
Vince texts something to a number before calling them, the phone wringing for a solid two seconds before the person on the other line picks up. A woman who looks to be in her mid-forties beams at the sight of her child, her face half-covered from moving around.
"Ah, hai, dear!! How 'r 'ya?"
Vince beams back holding the phone away so that both him and Rocky could be shown in the frame. There are a lot of overlapping voices on the other side of the screen—probably from Vince's siblings—but the woman's voice is clear when she speaks.
"Hi, momma'!"
"Ah! N' that's your friend, ain't it?" Momma smiles, sitting dowm.
"Ya've always been good a' makin' those. Hai, luv! how 'r ya' doin?"
[Rocky is a bit confused, unsure of how to feel. He’s…not used to people talking to him so easily.]
“I-I’m um…f-fine, ma’am…” [he mutters, shyly fidgeting with his hands.]
[He’s not even sure what else to say. He can interact just fine with people around his age, but their parents? That feels like a whole different story.]
“Ah, you don’t gotta call me ma’am. You can call me momma, just like the rest of ‘ese kids. You doin’ good at school, Rocky? If you’re having’ trouble with anyone ova there, Vince would gladly beat them into smithereens!! ”
Vince grins, feeling pretty proud of himself. He’s not good at reading people, that’s for sure, but Momma was. And if a kid especially was acting weird when it came to family, Momma would always be the one to resolve the issue. He loved his momma so much because of that.
“Ya don’t even gotta ask, momma!! ’ve met this guy fa ten minutes ‘ready, n’ he’s the best guy I’ve met ‘round ‘ere!!”
He beams, ruffling Rocky’s hair with his mechanical arm. A little glazing here and there never hurt anybody.
[There’s two words that can describe Rocky in this moment: Wet Cat. He looks like he might cry at any second, though he is very clearly trying to hide it behind a tough act.]
“Right, whateva…I-I gotta get back to work, now…” [He attempts to stand and excuse himself from the table, overwhelmed by the moment.]
Vince gently takes a hold of Rocky's hand, enough to keep him in place but would also allow him to pull away if he wants to. Which he probably will, and it's something that Vince realizes pretty soon. He hopes that Rocky will stay, though. The other boy is good company.
"I kno' that ya' don' gotta do nun tha' urgent right now. Ya' ain't gotta lie ta me. N' I got 'nough mamas left ta' go 'round. Ya' can leave if ya' wanna, but yaknow, if ya' ever wanna talk t' jus' my momma by 'urself, ya can go 'right ahead. In case, ya' now, if ya' don' got no momma tha' could be a goodun t' ya'."
Vince smiles. Hopefully he doesn't look like he's trying to intrude or anything. He just wishes the best for anybody with shitty families because his own former family wasn't that great.
"R' ya' can come n' answer ma momma's question, f' ya'd like. Don' mind if 'ya cry."
[Rocky starts breathing heavily, chest rising and falling quickly as his ears pin back. His gaze darts rapidly from the phone to the other student, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.]
[Pursing his lips, he forces himself to sit back down. He places his arms on the table, burying his face in them to hide himself.]
“…school’s fine,” [he says in a small voice, barely audible from the muffling of his arms.]
Vince hands Rocky the phone, leaving the room. While he's gone, his mother speaks.
"That's good, dear! N' ur grades good n' all? My baby's pretty smart, but not very much when it comes ta school. Everyone has their own strengths."
"HEY! Ah heard tha', momma!"
Vince steps back into the kitchen holding a box of tissues. He hands them to Rocky, sitting back beside him and placing a hand on his back reverently to try and comfort him.
"'M plenty smart. Don't listen ta tha' oldie. Whaddya like ta do in ur free time?"
[Rocky shakily takes the tissues, still hiding his face. He’s not ready to show himself yet. Still, he continues talking,]
“…I do fine ‘n classes. N I usually play board games n’ shiii…stuff.”
[Though his mouth isn’t visible, the slight crinkle in the corners of Rocky’s eyes show that he’s definitely smirking.] “Oh yea? Smart ‘nough to try n’ open a cabinet clearly labeled ‘DO NOT OPEN’?”
"Wha- EY! Tha' was just a lil' fault n' mah part! Ain't mean 'm dumb r nun!"
Even so, Vince rubs Rocky's back soothingly, making sure that he feels at least a little comforted.
"Ah—please, don't blame 'im for that. Terrified of contacts, that 'un, n' he thinks tha' glasses are a gift from the devil."
"Those things r' scary..." Vince mumbles, his cheeks flaring a little at the concept of him being scared of something so silly. He breathes a sigh of relief when his mom speaks up again.
"N' what are 'ur friends up to, eh? They all doin' good? If ya have any drama, would appreciate if ya could send it all my way, 'cause Vince's way too dense ta get any for me, n' his brother's too old fo' tha' shit. So he says."
[Rocky chuckles, tilting his head to rest more against his arms.]
“I don’ really have a lotta friends. The ones I do have are busy with their own problems,” [He explains, tapping his fingers on the counter.] “I can deal with my own stuff, though. I…a-appreciate the offa’, though.”
"Well, Vince ain't got a lotta friends either, so I'm glad that you two are talking. Though, from the looks of it, seems that my boy may be being a little too bold with you right now..."
Vince chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. He had a tendency to make best friends out of anybody he meets, even after they've only talked for two seconds. So for him, introducing Rocky to his family after fucking everything up was something fairly normal to him.
"Gotta soft spot fo' people who don' got as gooda life as me, I suppose."
The hand on Rocky's back moves to his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.
"But don'tcha worry! Me n' ma bestie r' gonna get ta know eachotha very soon! Ain't that right, Rocco?"
“Rocco?” [Rocky lifts his head up, raising an eyebrow at Vince.] “Is that a nickname, or didja just forget my name already?”
[He sighs, looking back at the phone.] “Look, I, uh…ack?!”
[He seems to suddenly realize that he’s softening up, launching himself back to a standing position. Crossing his arms, he huffs as he turns his flushing face away.]
“‘S not like I even care or anythin’, capisce?! I-I just ‘appened to ‘ave a break! So don’t get the wrong idea!”
"Nickname! Ya better get used ta it, 'cause I luv givin' nicknames ta people!"
Not exactly a lie, but not exactly a truth. Vince did give nicknames, but that's just because he did in fact forget the person's name. It's whatever. He'll figure it out from a classmate, probably.
"Ey! Are ya really gonna say tha' in fronta ma momma? Inconsiderate much!"
There's a silence before Vince laughs out loud, ruffling up Rocky's hair playfully.
"Jus' kiddin'. Ain't nobody care 'round here. 'M capiscein' right now, don'tcha worry!"
even the ice thaws ⋮ starter for @endofthehorizon03 ⋮ what’s life like up|down there?
[Kit yawns, stretching at their workshop table when suddenly a small polaroid photo drifted down from who knows where. When the boy went to pick it up, he laughed a little.]
[It was a picture of him, way younger, alongside a little Mer with big pale eyes and teal hair. Woah that must’ve been… forever ago. But Kit still remembers how they met.]
[Locket runs down the pier as he can hear his father call out from afar to not run so fast. He can feel the warm sand beneath his feet and the salty breeze run a hand through his hair. He was planning on just grabbing a bunch of shells and whatever he could find until… he spotted something!! The little boy carefully walks over and notices a Merperson!!]
[They seem to be admiring the shops above the beach and the land. He’s easily amazed so without thinking, because he’s like that and also an eight year old, runs over. However in doing so, Locket obviously spooked them as they squeaked and swam a few inches away. He frowns and backs up a little, apologizing.]
“Sorry for scaring you!! I thought you looked cool!! Are you admiring the shops!!”
Chrysa was genuine before he turned thirteen. Before he knew about facades, before he knew about what people liked and didn't like, before he knew how cruel the world can be. It's like that for most kids—they change drastically once they each a certain age, because they find out that life won't just give them things without having to put in the effort. And for Chrysa, that effort is stripping away his genuine personality for a new one, tailored exactly to other's needs.
But when Chrysa first met Kit, he wasn't thirteen or twelve or eleven or even ten. He was nine, and as a nine-year-old Chrysa didn't know about the horrors of the world yet. His mother hadn't asked him to start changing himself, hadn't said a word about muting his old self to be who she wants. So, for now, Chrysa could act as he pleased.
For now.
Chrysa sat in his half-jellyfish form, perched on a rock with his tentacle and oral arms splaying about. He leans against the rock with his elbows, arms folding into each other as he stares past the empty black and at the stops beyond. He's always fantasized about going to see the whole other world that isn't his own, to make a human friend and see what it's like. But whenever humans get close, he always says something stupid and then scampers away. It's a habit that he's determined to break when the next human gets curious about him and comes over.
Which just so happens to be an eight-year-old Kit, who's curious and naive and incapable of reading the room.
Chrysa's head peeks back from behind the rock, taking a glimpse at the boy in front of him. Shoulder-length hair, androgynous outfit, long eyelashes...
"You look like a girl," he blurts instead, disregarding Kit's question.
"Are you a girl? Because only boys are allowed to talk to me. Girls are gross."
"Eh? Pretty? I think I could see it. Maybe. Don't... take it nicely."
Chrysa tits his head, coming halfway out from behind the rock now. He tilts his head, his big eyes turning impossibly wide. He's pretending not to, but it's obvious that he's really interested in Kit.
"My name's Chrysa. What about you, little girl? What's your name?"
Those big eyes drift to the bracelet on Kit's wrist, noticing the shells that it's composed of. Without letting Kit answer his question, Chrysa points to the bracelet, tilting his head.
"What's that? Those seashells look like they're mine. From my beach. This is my beach did 'ya know? I'm the owner of this beach. You're speaking to the king right now."
Chrysa giggles, covering his laugh with his mouth.
"You're so short. If you don't wanna be called little, then get taller!"
He makes a small gesture with his fingers, then deciding to reach up and pretend to pat the other kid's head. Even without legs, Chrysa is pretty tall, and being perched on the rock gives him a higher stance than usual.
"And you don't even bother to ask me if you could take them? That's really mean, you know that?"
He crosses his arms, tilting his chin up.
"I'll give you a deal. If you find a way to get me to the shops, I'll let you keep the bracelet. And maybe I'll let you take a peek at my human things collection. Maybe."
Chrysa pretends to think, tapping his chin. He purses his lips, trying not to laugh at the stupidity of it all. He doesn't own this beach. He doesn't own the shells. Hell, he's never even been here before.
"Fine. I'll allow it. Because mama always tells me to be generous."
He hops up from the rock, swimming to the edge of the shore where the sea meets the sand. He's about to say something else when something in the corner catches his eye.
Chrysa turns, swimming down into the water and emerging with a pretty pink seashell that catches the reflection of the sun perfectly. There's a small chip in the corner, but otherwise it looks perfect.
"I'm good at finding seashells. If you ever want one, then I can find one for you. For something in exchange, of course."
[Kit cheers, happy that Chrysa forgave him. He looks in awe and smiles.]
“Ooh okay!! We’re trading like the sailors down at the market do!!”
[The boy admires the shell, running a gentle hand over the ridges and speaking genuinely when he says.]
“I don’t think it’s bad cause it’s broken. It’s still pretty, it’s just a little chip anyways!”
[His father told him that that way of thinking is a good thing, that most people can look at something broken and decide that it isn’t good. That it isn’t the same as it was before or that it has no value anymore. Kit thought that was silly.]
[Kit thinks he’ll always appreciate things, no matter how chipped they are.]
Chrysa's parents hadn't taught him the way Kit's did. Chrysa didn't learn that the value of things weren't based on how they look like on the outside. Everything that wasn't perfect is useless, and everything that's useless should get thrown out to make way for something new.
"Are you gonna show me how to make these bracelets or what?"
Chrysa gestures behind him to the vast sea.
"If you teach me good, I'll go down and show you my collection. Or maybe I'll bring you down here with me."
Chrysa scoffs, grabbing fistfuls of sand and watching as they dissolve into the ocean water. Once it fully disappears, all that remains are perfectly good seashells that they can use for bracelets.
He tosses them aside. In Chrysa's eyes, ordinary white seashells are boring. They need to be really pristine or have something else that's special to be worthy.
"I'll be back. Don't go anywhere, okay? Or else you'll be on my blacklist. Mama taught me what that word meant a little bit ago."
Without another word, he dives into the water, not letting Kit protest about the seashells he disregarded.
[He doesn’t get to finish his sentence and he huffs, gettting up to go get the string like he said but he hurries so Chrysa doesn’t get on his case about going anywhere.]
[He thinks the white seashells would’ve worked just fine though.]
[When he comes back, Chrysa luckily isn’t there yet… probably cause he’s looking for super duper perfect ones since he doesn’t like simple things. So Kit starts humming while he fiddles with a little, slightly blue and turquoise tinted piece of sea glass.]
Chrysa doesn't take long to arrive. He has a patchwork quilt that's clearly holding something fisted, and what's inside jingles as he swims over to Kit.
"Seashells. This took me a while to gather compared to the other times I find them, so you better not fuck up."
Chrysa has had a lot of experience with curse words because his mother didn't care when it came to not saying them around him as a baby. To him, they're just another normal part of his vocabulary, and he likes them especially because he's seen that people tend to either get mad or match his energy whenever he uses them. Chrysa likes both reactions, opting to piss them off more whenever they react. His mother is the same.
He drops the quilt onto the sand, small seashells already pouring from its sides. Inside, there are mostly pretty white ones, but there are also a handful of colored ones in gradients that Kit has never seen. It's an upgrade compared to what he grabbed before, that's for sure.
But still. What's the point of grabbing all of the precious seashells all at once? One day, they'll run out. And then you'll be left with nothing.
"I call all the colored ones. You already have a colorful bracelet, anyway."
[Kit, however, has neither reaction to the curse. You see when you grow up around sailors (y’know the people who literally have the saying sailor’s mouth) the way Kit did, you sorta don’t really care about the words they say unless you get curious. Which to then they say they’ll explain when you’re older and Kit doesn’t get mad about it.]
[He admires the shells, picking up and looking at them in the light. He just nods with excitement in his eyes clear.]
“Okay!! We can match that way!”
[He was just glad to teach someone how to do this. Papa always said that it’s good to pass on our crafts and stuff because those keep our culture & traditions alive.]
Chrysa crosses his arms, tilting his chin up. He's trying to command authority like he's seen his mother do so many times, because commanding authority usually gets what she wants. Maybe, if Kit feels the authority enough, he'll just make the bracelet and then scamper off and leave him with a new trinket to show off.
Kit opens his mouth, about to start explaining the first step in the bracelet-making process when Chris speaks up.
[He sighs and tilts his head, looking at Chrysa. He’s kinda doing the same thing the captains do. He giggles at that inner thought, Chrysa wouldn’t ever like being a captain in his life. Just then he picks up a few shells and starts adding them onto the thread.]
“Okay so it’s really simple, you just start adding shells or whatever you’re using. You can do a pattern or do it randomly, however you want.”
“Once you’ve done that…”
[Kit makes a pattern with some of the more blue-tinted shells, holds it up by the thread uncovered.]
“Don’t fill the whole string though, you gotta leave some space to tie the knot.”
Chrysa snatches the bracelet from out of Kit's hand, a few of the seashells dropping in the process. He groans, snatching them up at attempting to put them back on the string again.
It takes him a bit just to get one on, but Kit already sees the issue he's having: he's being too rough with it. He keeps stabbing the string against the shell, trying his damndest to get the shell on when all he really has to do is take it easy.
Chrysa's face flushes slightly at the physical contact, looking up as Kit is still focused on the bracelet Chrysa is handling. He smiles softly—a brief thing, gone by the time Kit looks up. But it's there, and he hasn't done that to anyone else but his relatives in a long, long time.
"Well. Could've done that myself. It's whatever."
He starts stacking up seashell after seashell onto the string, ignoring the instruction of not adding too many and going until he couldn't anymore. When the last seashell falls off the string, Chrysa pouts, waving the unfinished bracelet around in frustration while holding both ends.
"Hey. This dumb string won't hold any more seashells. What do I do now?"
Chrysa doesn't do thank-you's. He doesn't do please, he doesn't do excuse me, he doesn't do polite. But for Kit... maybe he can give a little effort for him.
"Thanks."
He winces as he says it, tugging on the bracelet to divert the conversation.
"Is this thing sturdy and everything? Won't break when I go a hundred miles an hour underwater? If it breaks, it's all your fault, you know. Then you're going to have to make me two."
Chrysa huffs, crossing his arms.
"I guess your debt is repaid. For now. But don't go stealing anything else from my beach, or else you'll have to give me more than just a bracelet."
Chrysa isn't enjoying this, and he knows it. He doesn't like how cheery Kit is, doesn't like how persistent he is, doesn't like anything relating to this at all. He's only asking because he wants to get more free stuff for his collection.
"Better not be anything too hard to make, or else I won't be helping you."
A roleplay starter for @mars2moons!! And @mars-0425, if you'd like to participate!
Bernie Issac steps out of the inn, cracking his knuckles. Johnny has always been one to complain about everything that Bernie did—he thought that he was being "independent" to the system, but in reality, he was just being a douchebag. It's been at least five years, and yet he's still stuck in the same mindset that he had when his father was the lead. How irritating.
Today's banter had been exceptionally frustrating. Both the captain and the crew had already discussed what to do with their collected savings, and yet he really wanted to eat shit and say that Bernie wasn't being fair? Wasn't being fair? How insane could this guy be?
That's why he's outside right now—he needs to calm down. He's agitated, and he doesn't want to lash out at his crew and give Johnny a real reason to fight authority.
He stands on the sidewalk, lighting a cigarette and flicking the excess tobacco to the ground when He sees it in the distance: a black carriage. Before he can scope the details of it, it suddenly rams into him, and in an instant, he's in a new, unfamiliar place.
"Yet another magicless one."
The dark mirror growls, its perpetual scowl deepening. Bernie steps back, but before he can say anything, a man with a crow mask on places a hand on his forehead and speaks.
"How can the black carriage keep doing this? The other two girls proved to be useful, but now this one... and not even during the usual sorting process day! The horror!"
The headmage sighs, placing his hands over his heart flamboyantly.
"Well, then. Out of the kindness of my heart, I shall allow you to reside in my humble college and let Mars and Silver explain everything to you. How does that sound?"
"I—"
"I have business to attend to, now! Please, excuse me!"
And then he's off.
Bernie snuffs out his cigarette, looking around the Mirror chamber with wide eyes. The candles, the candelabras, the eerie setting all reminds him of the abandoned temples and underground railways that his crew had to navigate at times to find what they were looking for. He can't ask about where the hell he is anymore, because now there's nobody around, so the best that he can do is leave and observe the place.
Bernie slowly walks backwards, stepping out of the mirror chamber and into the courtyard. He's about to approach the statues of the Great Seven when a voice perks up behind him.
"I have an idea for what you can do to prove your worth!"
Bernie jumps, taking out his pocket knife and whirling around to face the headmage again.
"You just left me."
"I understand that, but I thought it through and realized that I should give a bit of a more warm welcome to our new student, because I am just that kind!"
"You said I was a nusance."
"Ah?! Did not!"
"You implied it."
"Oh, hush!"
The masked man tries to take hold of Bernie's wrist, but it backfires when Bernie takes out his pocket knife and slashes his glove and a bit of his skin. He yelps, jumping back and holding his wrist as if his hand had been amputated.
"Oh my skin!! My poor, poor skin!! And my glove; this fabric is—"
"Ask before touching next time."
The headmage huffs, tilting his chin up.
"Out of the kindness of my heart, I shall forgive you just this once," He declares, raising a finger from his non-injured hand.
"You are new, after all. However, you're going to have to deal with a... predicament in the Heartslabyul dorm that I was about to attend to. Since I now have more important matters to, now that you have wounded me so."
"What—"
"Toodles!"
A flurry of feathers gather around him, to which Bernie glowers at and hastily shoves them aside. What in the world is going on? Why is he here? This is all so sudden; how the hell can get out of—
"BOW TO ME! SILENCE, I SAID! SILENCE!"
A red-haired man dripping with black ink hurls a rose tree at another red-haired, more normal-looking guy, sending him crashing to the ground. This seems to have been a normal occurrence, because all around the fight are trees taken out of their place on the ground and scattered around the courtyard. It seems to be the inky man that is the bad guy, while a group of about 6 people and one weird-looking floating cat trying to calm him down.
Just as the inky man is about to throw another rose bush, a girl from the group bunches up the collar of the inky man's shirt and punches him square in the face.
Silver’s thoughts were racing through her skull so fast everything else get so numb. He didn’t know what was happening only that Riddle was freaking out, then, (what did the Headmage call it? Overblotting?) ink started coming down his face. Riddle screamed some more and next thing she knew everything was going to crap.
Silver has seen magic before had watched it happen and was still surprised when it did happen. But this? This was something else entirely, something that he couldn’t just insult. It felt like something he would always be weak under.
And that made Silver angry.
So lurching foreword she sprinted straight towards the screaming Housewarden and grabbed the edge of his clothes (dress?) and reared his fist back. Silver couldn’t do much without magic, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try.
And punched Riddle square in the face.
He staggered back in silence, blood and blot dripping from his face before surprise contorted into even deeper rage.
“HOW DARE YOU! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!”
Silver gasped and pulled her arms covering her head and neck before hearing a different voice yell out. Distracted he glanced over to see someone he didn’t recognize. No dorm uniform either so it was hard to see who they were.
Due to Silver letting his guard down the thorny rose bushes didn’t wait. Flying at the magicless student and throwing her back down. Biting his cheek hard to stop from screaming as blood dripped down his arms, neck and cheek, radiating pain.
‘That could’ve killed me…’
He thought before locking eyes with the stranger and shouting.
Bernie's eyes widen as he locks onto the stranger, realizing that yes, he should start helping. He's never been one to fully kill someone, especially with people that seem to have magic powers, but Bernie figures that he can do something about this either way. He unsheathes his pocket knife again, ready to get to work.
Bernie waits until someone else is about to get hit to run into the scene, moving behind the mysterious man and lunging at him. He carves two deep gashes on his back that form an X, shoving him onto the ground and moving the knife to the boy's neck.
"SURRENDER, OR I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD OFF, YA PIECE OF SHIT!"
Silver would have laughed it it weren’t for the fact that more trees and rose bushes were hurtling towards the person. Foregoing the wounds pulsing hard he bite his lip and screamed out.
“THATS NOT ENOUGH! TREY!”
Trey who was trying his best to not get anyone injured thankfully saw what was happening and was quick to intervene. Raising his pen and quickly yelling,
“PAINT THE ROSES!”
Before the bushes and trees turned into playing cards that scattered along the ground. Silver raced forward…and completed past the stranger. Instead grabbing Mars’ hand as they both pulled back. He didn’t know who this person was but it didn’t matter. What mattered was keeping themselves out of the kill zone.
Jesus Christ, how much is he suppose to hurt the guy? He looks younger than himself! He wouldn't want to kill someone he knows can change. Have someone else do it.
Bernie flips his pocket knife to the other side and hits the red-haired boy as hard as he can on the head, knocking him unconscious. He stands up just as the last rose bush hits the ground, dusting himself off. But he's not safe yet, because just as he's going to try and pick someone to tell him what the hell is going on, there's a shout behind him.
"WHAT IN SEVENS IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Deuce shoves Bernie aside, enraged now.
"Are you an idiot?! You've just about killed Riddle!"
"Wha- ey! I was only helping! What the hell else was I supposed to do, let y'all die instead?!"
Bernie huffs, shoving the boy back and nearly knocking himself back into a bush.
"Deuce, please." Mars called out, almost pleading yet held a stern undertone as she tried to not let things get physical again. Deuce glared over, but shoved him again before storming to the other side of the area near Ace.
The place was destroyed. Now that Riddle was unconscious, the place was still. Quiet. Rose bushes and grass walls were scattered everywhere. Some people had small injuries, Mars herself leaned against Sprit, a gushing wound against her leg.
Finally, Mars turned to the new guy. Wincing a bit from her leg before asking, "who the literal fuck even are you?"
Bernie would have gone to check up on the guy he just knocked out, but the way that blue-haired boy was acting made him think otherwise. So he leaves Riddle there, wounds still gushing, to instead focus on Mars' injury. He bends down, taking out bandages and patching up the girl's leg.
"Eh? That's the language ya use on someone who just about saved yer arses? Probably from the shock is why yer actin' this way, so I'll give ya a pass on this 'un."
He pauses for a moment to focus on putting the gauze correctly before stepping back, hands on his hips.
"Call me Captain, n' no other name but, eh? Now, if you'll 'scuse me, I'm gonna have to deal with the rest of these maggots that got into something they aren't cut out for."
Bernie walks over to Trey now, grabbing his arm and healing the wound. He seems to be good at this.
Silver muttered pressing a hand against his cheek, with how deep it felt it was definitely going to scar. Her neck and arms were really starting to hurt now. Though none of that really mattered as he turned back to Mars.
And grabbed her hand linking it with her own, Silver felt a little bad about the blood dripping down his fists but for his own sake he didn’t let go.
“How much do you want to bet that this is Crowley’s fault?”
She asked in an attempt to talk about literally anything else then what just happened.
Like heck she’d call the guy captain. He was staying at “that guy” until she got a better name.
Bernie turns to Silver, handing him a pouch for her cheek.
"You're scowling already, but just take the damn thing. I'm trying to help you, ya know."
Bernie then turns back to Deuce, grabbing his wrist before he can complain about Bernie.
"Stay still, won'tcha? You've got a cut 'round the side of your neck. Stay put, or else you're gonna have to give the government a couple doubloons to fix you up, ya maggot."
He tilts Deuce's head to the side, disinfecting the wound and bandaging it.
"Anybody gonna tell me what the hell I'm doing here? And why that guy's hoggin' all the ink? That shit's expensive, ya'know. Don't appreciate him hoarding it."
A roleplay starter for @mars2moons!! And @mars-0425, if you'd like to participate!
Bernie Issac steps out of the inn, cracking his knuckles. Johnny has always been one to complain about everything that Bernie did—he thought that he was being "independent" to the system, but in reality, he was just being a douchebag. It's been at least five years, and yet he's still stuck in the same mindset that he had when his father was the lead. How irritating.
Today's banter had been exceptionally frustrating. Both the captain and the crew had already discussed what to do with their collected savings, and yet he really wanted to eat shit and say that Bernie wasn't being fair? Wasn't being fair? How insane could this guy be?
That's why he's outside right now—he needs to calm down. He's agitated, and he doesn't want to lash out at his crew and give Johnny a real reason to fight authority.
He stands on the sidewalk, lighting a cigarette and flicking the excess tobacco to the ground when He sees it in the distance: a black carriage. Before he can scope the details of it, it suddenly rams into him, and in an instant, he's in a new, unfamiliar place.
"Yet another magicless one."
The dark mirror growls, its perpetual scowl deepening. Bernie steps back, but before he can say anything, a man with a crow mask on places a hand on his forehead and speaks.
"How can the black carriage keep doing this? The other two girls proved to be useful, but now this one... and not even during the usual sorting process day! The horror!"
The headmage sighs, placing his hands over his heart flamboyantly.
"Well, then. Out of the kindness of my heart, I shall allow you to reside in my humble college and let Mars and Silver explain everything to you. How does that sound?"
"I—"
"I have business to attend to, now! Please, excuse me!"
And then he's off.
Bernie snuffs out his cigarette, looking around the Mirror chamber with wide eyes. The candles, the candelabras, the eerie setting all reminds him of the abandoned temples and underground railways that his crew had to navigate at times to find what they were looking for. He can't ask about where the hell he is anymore, because now there's nobody around, so the best that he can do is leave and observe the place.
Bernie slowly walks backwards, stepping out of the mirror chamber and into the courtyard. He's about to approach the statues of the Great Seven when a voice perks up behind him.
"I have an idea for what you can do to prove your worth!"
Bernie jumps, taking out his pocket knife and whirling around to face the headmage again.
"You just left me."
"I understand that, but I thought it through and realized that I should give a bit of a more warm welcome to our new student, because I am just that kind!"
"You said I was a nusance."
"Ah?! Did not!"
"You implied it."
"Oh, hush!"
The masked man tries to take hold of Bernie's wrist, but it backfires when Bernie takes out his pocket knife and slashes his glove and a bit of his skin. He yelps, jumping back and holding his wrist as if his hand had been amputated.
"Oh my skin!! My poor, poor skin!! And my glove; this fabric is—"
"Ask before touching next time."
The headmage huffs, tilting his chin up.
"Out of the kindness of my heart, I shall forgive you just this once," He declares, raising a finger from his non-injured hand.
"You are new, after all. However, you're going to have to deal with a... predicament in the Heartslabyul dorm that I was about to attend to. Since I now have more important matters to, now that you have wounded me so."
"What—"
"Toodles!"
A flurry of feathers gather around him, to which Bernie glowers at and hastily shoves them aside. What in the world is going on? Why is he here? This is all so sudden; how the hell can get out of—
"BOW TO ME! SILENCE, I SAID! SILENCE!"
A red-haired man dripping with black ink hurls a rose tree at another red-haired, more normal-looking guy, sending him crashing to the ground. This seems to have been a normal occurrence, because all around the fight are trees taken out of their place on the ground and scattered around the courtyard. It seems to be the inky man that is the bad guy, while a group of about 6 people and one weird-looking floating cat trying to calm him down.
Just as the inky man is about to throw another rose bush, a girl from the group bunches up the collar of the inky man's shirt and punches him square in the face.
Silver’s thoughts were racing through her skull so fast everything else get so numb. He didn’t know what was happening only that Riddle was freaking out, then, (what did the Headmage call it? Overblotting?) ink started coming down his face. Riddle screamed some more and next thing she knew everything was going to crap.
Silver has seen magic before had watched it happen and was still surprised when it did happen. But this? This was something else entirely, something that he couldn’t just insult. It felt like something he would always be weak under.
And that made Silver angry.
So lurching foreword she sprinted straight towards the screaming Housewarden and grabbed the edge of his clothes (dress?) and reared his fist back. Silver couldn’t do much without magic, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try.
And punched Riddle square in the face.
He staggered back in silence, blood and blot dripping from his face before surprise contorted into even deeper rage.
“HOW DARE YOU! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!”
Silver gasped and pulled her arms covering her head and neck before hearing a different voice yell out. Distracted he glanced over to see someone he didn’t recognize. No dorm uniform either so it was hard to see who they were.
Due to Silver letting his guard down the thorny rose bushes didn’t wait. Flying at the magicless student and throwing her back down. Biting his cheek hard to stop from screaming as blood dripped down his arms, neck and cheek, radiating pain.
‘That could’ve killed me…’
He thought before locking eyes with the stranger and shouting.
Bernie's eyes widen as he locks onto the stranger, realizing that yes, he should start helping. He's never been one to fully kill someone, especially with people that seem to have magic powers, but Bernie figures that he can do something about this either way. He unsheathes his pocket knife again, ready to get to work.
Bernie waits until someone else is about to get hit to run into the scene, moving behind the mysterious man and lunging at him. He carves two deep gashes on his back that form an X, shoving him onto the ground and moving the knife to the boy's neck.
"SURRENDER, OR I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD OFF, YA PIECE OF SHIT!"
Silver would have laughed it it weren’t for the fact that more trees and rose bushes were hurtling towards the person. Foregoing the wounds pulsing hard he bite his lip and screamed out.
“THATS NOT ENOUGH! TREY!”
Trey who was trying his best to not get anyone injured thankfully saw what was happening and was quick to intervene. Raising his pen and quickly yelling,
“PAINT THE ROSES!”
Before the bushes and trees turned into playing cards that scattered along the ground. Silver raced forward…and completed past the stranger. Instead grabbing Mars’ hand as they both pulled back. He didn’t know who this person was but it didn’t matter. What mattered was keeping themselves out of the kill zone.
Jesus Christ, how much is he suppose to hurt the guy? He looks younger than himself! He wouldn't want to kill someone he knows can change. Have someone else do it.
Bernie flips his pocket knife to the other side and hits the red-haired boy as hard as he can on the head, knocking him unconscious. He stands up just as the last rose bush hits the ground, dusting himself off. But he's not safe yet, because just as he's going to try and pick someone to tell him what the hell is going on, there's a shout behind him.
"WHAT IN SEVENS IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Deuce shoves Bernie aside, enraged now.
"Are you an idiot?! You've just about killed Riddle!"
"Wha- ey! I was only helping! What the hell else was I supposed to do, let y'all die instead?!"
Bernie huffs, shoving the boy back and nearly knocking himself back into a bush.
"Deuce, please." Mars called out, almost pleading yet held a stern undertone as she tried to not let things get physical again. Deuce glared over, but shoved him again before storming to the other side of the area near Ace.
The place was destroyed. Now that Riddle was unconscious, the place was still. Quiet. Rose bushes and grass walls were scattered everywhere. Some people had small injuries, Mars herself leaned against Sprit, a gushing wound against her leg.
Finally, Mars turned to the new guy. Wincing a bit from her leg before asking, "who the literal fuck even are you?"
Bernie would have gone to check up on the guy he just knocked out, but the way that blue-haired boy was acting made him think otherwise. So he leaves Riddle there, wounds still gushing, to instead focus on Mars' injury. He bends down, taking out bandages and patching up the girl's leg.
"Eh? That's the language ya use on someone who just about saved yer arses? Probably from the shock is why yer actin' this way, so I'll give ya a pass on this 'un."
He pauses for a moment to focus on putting the gauze correctly before stepping back, hands on his hips.
"Call me Captain, n' no other name but, eh? Now, if you'll 'scuse me, I'm gonna have to deal with the rest of these maggots that got into something they aren't cut out for."
Bernie walks over to Trey now, grabbing his arm and healing the wound. He seems to be good at this.
Mars scoffs, rolling her eyes. Her attitude seemed higher right now that she had an injury.
"I'm not calling some 'Captain' as if I'm some slave to their leader." She snaps, then adds with a finger as he went to help Ace. "Plus, who even fucking cares about language nowadays? You didn't answer my question, or should I give you a stupid nickname till you give me one."
(for @nrcsfavoriteshrimps ! This takes place during book 4, but I feel like this would be in an AU where Jamil doesn't go apeshit :3 )
Vicente Cabro is a regular at The Mostro Lounge, but he's never come at this hour before. Usually, late Saturdays means that the lounge is packed, but now that it's the winter, barely anybody is staying in. The only people he knows that are staying are Jade and Floyd, which is the reason he came to the lounge anyway. When he enters, however, he doesn't see either of the Leech brothers—instead, he spots someone he's never seen before: it's Rocky, who's about to inform him that he came at a very bad time.
Vince would be going out to see his family right now, but he was informed a day before break that they wouldn't be home, since they had a few things they had to collect for the farm and decided that they would all just take a trip to explore the place. He wasn't mad, but he was missing them terribly, and he didn't really appreciate the fact that seeing them again would be postponed (even though he calls them every other day).
Similar to most people, loneliness is how Vince ended up at the Mostro Lounge, just outside the foot of the entrance resembling Ursula's cave. He pushes the door open, about to step inside when he freezes. He watches as a boy that's five feet away who's carrying a box that's too big for his size slips on a small puddle of water on the floor and falls straight on his ass.
A string of curses escape from the boy's mouth as he shoves the box away. Suppressing a snicker, Vince jogs over, standing in front of the boy and extending his hand.
"'R ya' alright there, friend? Ya' took quite a tumble there, 'f I do say so myself. N' I'm doin' that now!"
Vince laughs at his own joke, attempting to light the mood.
[The boy hisses— not really at the other student, but more at himself.]
“Sure, DURE, I’m GREAT! With the crash landin’ from the Ramshackle crew, my boss n’ the Leeches suddenly dippin’ and leavin’ ME in charge, n’ now all my dormmates feel like slackin?! I’m just PEACHY, thanks!”
[He groans as he stands back up, dusting off his dorm uniform. His ears pin back against his head as he looks back at a very much destroyed booth. He…seems to be having a rough time.]
“Look, i’on know why ya up so late. If ya came he’a expectin’ a late night snack, you’re gonna have to give me a few,” [he explains, placing a hand on his hip.] “Some shit’s goin’ down in Scarabia an’ they’s up n’ left me with the lounge.”
"Sounds like sumone needs sum help. Didn' come 'ere for nuthin', ya' know."
Vince drops his hand, not bothered by the fact that the other hybrid didn't take his hand. He picks up the box that had been thrown aside, leaning on it as he speaks.
"Seems like y' need sum help ova here. Could be m' payment fr' that snack. Could go fr' a banana split right 'bout now..."
Vince grins, picking up the box and lifting it high over his head without breaking a sweat. His pants pull up at this, and small tufts of white fur can be seen at the ankles if someone looked closely.
"Where's this headin'? N' what're we up t'?"
It seems that Vince has inserted himself into the situation whether or not Rocky likes it.
[Rocky seems…caught off-guard, to say the least. And— hey, is he blushing?]
“E-Eh? You…you’d…” [His eyes widen in shock as he stammers, before clearing his throat and crossing his arms.] “Whateva! I’ll do it cuz you’re helpin’, so don’t go gettin’ the wrong idea! It’s the least you could do!”
"Well, 'm glad that 'ya accepted m' offer, but 'ya gotta tell me where this thin' goes so I can actually do any helpin'!"
Vince chuckles, amused at the boy's reaction. Despite him being younger than Rocky, he reaches down and ruffles his hair teasingly.
"I know that y' 're just itchin' to have me aroun', but I can't do nun if you don' tell me what I gotta do! N' what's in this box?"
Vince shakes the insides around a little, not realizing that what's inside could be glass. He has no harmful intentions, though, as he seems to be analyzing the sound that the object inside makes carefully.
[Rocky’s face flushes deeper. Shit, he was so caught off-guard by the offer that he completely forgot!]
“R-Right. Follow me, kid, I’ll show ya what ta do.” [He huffs, walking off to wherever the boxes were supposed to go. He murmurs something under his breath, though it’s hard to understand.]
“It’s just some stock. Gotta keep the place runnin’, y’know?”
Vince places the boxes on the corner of the island, opening it up and taking out a flour bag. What Vince doesn't notice is the fact that there were some other pointier things in the box along with the bag, and the fall Rocky had caused one of them to puncture a hole on the bag's top.
So when he sets the flour down fimly, about to make a joke, what he gets instead is a kitchen, a Rocky, and a him that is covered in flour.
Vince looks at the flour bag. Then at Rocky. Then at himself. Then at the flour bag again.
And then he bursts into hysterics.
"WAHAHA! Didn' think tha' shitter wouldda had a hole in it!" he says in between bouts of laughter.
[Rocky doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Because holy shit, that’s hilarious, but also ohhhhhh fuck his bosses are gonna kill him—]
“Aha…ahaha…yeah, let’s get ya cleaned up, kid. Gotta deal wit’ this before the trio gets back.” [He takes out his magic pen, pointing it at Vince with a stern expression.] “Aight, hold still, kid. I’ll make it quick.”
Vince puts his hands on his hips, staying completely still.
"'Right! Work 'ya magic!"
But then he sees something that catches his attention, and he moves over to inspect it just as Rocky was starting to use his magic. From inside the box, he takes out a cigarette holder, tilting his head.
"Whatdd'ya need a cigarette holder fr'? Lookin' pretty old-fashon'd, 'f I do say so m'self. Which I—"
The cigarette holder flies out of his hand, snapping in half because of the magic Rocky started using.
[Rocky’s eye twitches. He is trying so, so hard not to snap at this kid.]
“…whaddid I just say, kid.”
[He huffs, finishing the spell before crossing his arms and turning his back.]
“How’m I s’pposed to know?” [he continues, his tail lashing behind him.] “I just work he’a. I don’ control what goes in or out. N’ I don’t smoke, eitha’. Sensitive lungs. Dealt with enough on the streets.”
Vince picks up the two halves of the stick. His pants ride up a little more, but he doesn't seem to notice, too preoccupied with the cigarette holder. He seems a little worried, but he's still trying his best to lighten the mood.
"Whadd'ya suppose we do, then? Glue it back? Ya' got any glue ova there? R' maybe we could work it wit sum magic!"
Vince whips out his magic pen, ready to do some spells to see if he can put the two pieces back together again. Rocky knows better than to let him continue, though.
"Eh? N' why can't I help? 'M good with heavy-duty stuff!"
That's about the only thing Vince is good at when helping around. He makes even more of a mess when trying to organize, breaks plates trying to scrub the grime off of them, and don't even get him started on cooking. At this point, he might even be worse than Lilia. He's solid at baking, though.
"'D feel bad 'f I didn't do anythin t' repay 'ya. C'mon. 'Could at least do sumthin' 'round here."
He did seem good at carrying around that long box before. Maybe...
"I could do conversation, that's 'aight! Wha' typa conversation r' ya lookin' for? Could talk 'bout generic stuffs, r' stuff for y' t' get ta' know me. Name's Vince, n' ima first year n' tha Ignihyde dorm."
Vince is a real yapper. He could talk and talk all day if he was allowed it, but usually people don't want to hear that much conversation. He would talk a lot with his siblings especially, but now that he's away from them, he's had to repress his talkative nature to not be annoying to others.
Until now.
Vince looks down at his pants, leaning down and tugging them lower. While he's bent over like this, he spots a cabinet that has a label reading "DO NOT OPEN" and reaches to open it.
Vince yelps, hopping back to avoid getting hit from the magic spell. Only then is when he notices the warning label on the cabinet, eyes widening.
"Ah! Didn' notice tha', 'f m' bein' frank. Ma fault."
Vince steps back, hopping onto the counter and sitting down on it. He swings his legs over the edge, listening to what Rocky wants him to rant about with a shine of excitement in his eyes.
"Ah! M' family's a real big 'un. 've got four parents, consisting' 'f m' momma n' my mom n' my papa n' my dad. They're all n' a polycule, n' they had 5 children n' adopted four. M' one of 'em adopted ones, tha's right. N' I luv all my mums n my paps n my siblin's."
He speaks about his family with such fondness in his eyes, though he looks a bit sad, too. It is a bit odd that Vince hasn't gone to see them yet in this winter break if they sound so close to him.
[Rocky can’t hide his envy, even with his back turned. Hearing about a big family, the family he’s always wanted…he couldn’t help but feel jealous. Especially because he himself had none.]
“Why ain’t ya with ‘em? ‘S winter break, y’ should be outta here.”
"Man, I was supposta go 'n ova ther', but they decided ta' go sumwhere else ta' pick up sum' stuff fo' da' farm just as I was arrivin'! Can't go back with no one a' home, yaknow? So now m' here, waitin' fo' them ta' get back n' three days r' more."
Vince huffs, crossing his arms. He looks mad at them, but in the teasing way that most kids are when they play-fight with their siblings. He can sense the jealousy in Rocky's voice, however, and he plays with his hair as he figures out a way to make this better for the both of them.
"'Could call em', if ya'd like! 'Think they'd be pretty happy t' see that 've gotta new friend 'round here!"
Vince grins, already pulling out his phone to call his parents.
[Rocky exhales, walking over with the promised sweet treat. After he places it on the table, he sits down next to his underclassman, resting his cheek on his hand.]
“Yeah, sure, whateva’. Not like I got much else to do right now.”
Vince texts something to a number before calling them, the phone wringing for a solid two seconds before the person on the other line picks up. A woman who looks to be in her mid-forties beams at the sight of her child, her face half-covered from moving around.
"Ah, hai, dear!! How 'r 'ya?"
Vince beams back holding the phone away so that both him and Rocky could be shown in the frame. There are a lot of overlapping voices on the other side of the screen—probably from Vince's siblings—but the woman's voice is clear when she speaks.
"Hi, momma'!"
"Ah! N' that's your friend, ain't it?" Momma smiles, sitting dowm.
"Ya've always been good a' makin' those. Hai, luv! how 'r ya' doin?"
[Rocky is a bit confused, unsure of how to feel. He’s…not used to people talking to him so easily.]
“I-I’m um…f-fine, ma’am…” [he mutters, shyly fidgeting with his hands.]
[He’s not even sure what else to say. He can interact just fine with people around his age, but their parents? That feels like a whole different story.]
“Ah, you don’t gotta call me ma’am. You can call me momma, just like the rest of ‘ese kids. You doin’ good at school, Rocky? If you’re having’ trouble with anyone ova there, Vince would gladly beat them into smithereens!! ”
Vince grins, feeling pretty proud of himself. He’s not good at reading people, that’s for sure, but Momma was. And if a kid especially was acting weird when it came to family, Momma would always be the one to resolve the issue. He loved his momma so much because of that.
“Ya don’t even gotta ask, momma!! ’ve met this guy fa ten minutes ‘ready, n’ he’s the best guy I’ve met ‘round ‘ere!!”
He beams, ruffling Rocky’s hair with his mechanical arm. A little glazing here and there never hurt anybody.
[There’s two words that can describe Rocky in this moment: Wet Cat. He looks like he might cry at any second, though he is very clearly trying to hide it behind a tough act.]
“Right, whateva…I-I gotta get back to work, now…” [He attempts to stand and excuse himself from the table, overwhelmed by the moment.]
Vince gently takes a hold of Rocky's hand, enough to keep him in place but would also allow him to pull away if he wants to. Which he probably will, and it's something that Vince realizes pretty soon. He hopes that Rocky will stay, though. The other boy is good company.
"I kno' that ya' don' gotta do nun tha' urgent right now. Ya' ain't gotta lie ta me. N' I got 'nough mamas left ta' go 'round. Ya' can leave if ya' wanna, but yaknow, if ya' ever wanna talk t' jus' my momma by 'urself, ya can go 'right ahead. In case, ya' now, if ya' don' got no momma tha' could be a goodun t' ya'."
Vince smiles. Hopefully he doesn't look like he's trying to intrude or anything. He just wishes the best for anybody with shitty families because his own former family wasn't that great.
"R' ya' can come n' answer ma momma's question, f' ya'd like. Don' mind if 'ya cry."
[Rocky starts breathing heavily, chest rising and falling quickly as his ears pin back. His gaze darts rapidly from the phone to the other student, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.]
[Pursing his lips, he forces himself to sit back down. He places his arms on the table, burying his face in them to hide himself.]
“…school’s fine,” [he says in a small voice, barely audible from the muffling of his arms.]
Vince hands Rocky the phone, leaving the room. While he's gone, his mother speaks.
"That's good, dear! N' ur grades good n' all? My baby's pretty smart, but not very much when it comes ta school. Everyone has their own strengths."
"HEY! Ah heard tha', momma!"
Vince steps back into the kitchen holding a box of tissues. He hands them to Rocky, sitting back beside him and placing a hand on his back reverently to try and comfort him.
"'M plenty smart. Don't listen ta tha' oldie. Whaddya like ta do in ur free time?"
[Rocky shakily takes the tissues, still hiding his face. He’s not ready to show himself yet. Still, he continues talking,]
“…I do fine ‘n classes. N I usually play board games n’ shiii…stuff.”
[Though his mouth isn’t visible, the slight crinkle in the corners of Rocky’s eyes show that he’s definitely smirking.] “Oh yea? Smart ‘nough to try n’ open a cabinet clearly labeled ‘DO NOT OPEN’?”
"Wha- EY! Tha' was just a lil' fault n' mah part! Ain't mean 'm dumb r nun!"
Even so, Vince rubs Rocky's back soothingly, making sure that he feels at least a little comforted.
"Ah—please, don't blame 'im for that. Terrified of contacts, that 'un, n' he thinks tha' glasses are a gift from the devil."
"Those things r' scary..." Vince mumbles, his cheeks flaring a little at the concept of him being scared of something so silly. He breathes a sigh of relief when his mom speaks up again.
"N' what are 'ur friends up to, eh? They all doin' good? If ya have any drama, would appreciate if ya could send it all my way, 'cause Vince's way too dense ta get any for me, n' his brother's too old fo' tha' shit. So he says."
[Rocky chuckles, tilting his head to rest more against his arms.]
“I don’ really have a lotta friends. The ones I do have are busy with their own problems,” [He explains, tapping his fingers on the counter.] “I can deal with my own stuff, though. I…a-appreciate the offa’, though.”
"Well, Vince ain't got a lotta friends either, so I'm glad that you two are talking. Though, from the looks of it, seems that my boy may be being a little too bold with you right now..."
Vince chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. He had a tendency to make best friends out of anybody he meets, even after they've only talked for two seconds. So for him, introducing Rocky to his family after fucking everything up was something fairly normal to him.
"Gotta soft spot fo' people who don' got as gooda life as me, I suppose."
The hand on Rocky's back moves to his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.
"But don'tcha worry! Me n' ma bestie r' gonna get ta know eachotha very soon! Ain't that right, Rocco?"
// Helloooo so I suck at writing long rp starters so I apologize in advance for it being short or lacking details😞 but this will be my very first rp starter as Echo so I am very excited nonetheless!!! ^-^
Boredom, like the undying snake it is, had once again struck Echo, filling mirror with its deadly venom.
Usually, Echo would just bother her brothers but she wasnt very happy with them at the moment so that was off the table. He could just do its homework and get it done and over with.... Echo mentally ruled that out as well. They could text Kalim or any of her other friends and see what their doing but Echo didnt necessarily feel like doing that either, oddly enough.
So instead, she took to just wandering around the Ignihyde lounge in hopes of running into someone with just as much time on their hands as they did.
So lost. Oh-so-very lost. He'd gone to his dorm many times before, but this time he accidentally stumbled into a completely different dorm? How? The entrance to the Heartslabyul dorm is so obvious! How in the world did he get sucked into wherever this creepy place is?!
The dorm itself isn't all that bad, but whenever he took a step, somebody would snap their head towards him and stare. He's an outsider, a nobody. They must be wondering why someone like him is roaming the halls of a dorm that he isn't in.
Finally, Ruadh thinks that he spots the lounge of the dorm. Thank god, because he's been walking in circles for at least twenty minutes. He needs to sit down and take a break, maybe check his notifications in case any of his friends texted him. There also might be someone with a map there, thank sevens.
He steps into the lounge and looks around. No map holder, it seems. Lots of people, too... jeez. He does not have the mental capacity to deal with social interaction that isn't online right now. He's not rested enough to call out his inner June at this time.
So Ruadh freezes, scratching his left arm hard. He has no clue what to do.
That's a-okay! You writing the starter saves me a little trouble, because right now I'm juggling 200 role-plays, a character I have to make, and an art project I want to try and do.... sorry if I reply a little late to your reblogs! But I'm also excited for this, since this is my first role-play I get to do with my baby Ruadh! :>>
Echo spotted Ruadh and waved before prancing over, their heels clacking loudly on the floor.
"Hi hi!! You dont look like a Ignihyde student! Did you get lost or something? I can help you out if you need, im not doing anything right now anyways!!"
Ruadh jumped, whirling around to face Echo. Whoever this is, they're much more... cheery than most Ignihyde students. Reminds him of June, really. Maybe this person would be willing to help him out...?
"O-oh, well, I... yeah, a little? I'm... lost."
Wow. That was a pathetic response. He gulps, one of his rabbit ears flopping over his eye.
"I don't know how I got here. I was trying to go to... Heartslabyul? I don't know; I'm pretty new here... ah..."
He gulps, looking everywhere but at Echo. He really is not ready for this right now.
"If you, um... know the directions..? You can just tell me, I don't want to bother..."
"Nah it isnt bothering me! I was just wandering around anyway looking for someone to bother! I can help you out!"
Echo responded happily.
"How'd you get here anyways if you dont mind me asking? I mean, Heartslabyul and Ignihyde dont really look anything alike! It would be nice if they did though..."
"Also, last question before im done pestering you, whats your name? I dont want to just refer to you as 'that one kid' the whole school year!"
Ruadh's being bombarded. He turns a bit red in the face at all the questions, opening his mouth slowly.
"Well, I... I don't know how. I didn't mean to come here, I swear," Ruadh murmurs, looking down. Sevens, how could he have been that stupid enough to mistake which dorm was his and go here instead? Echo's right—they don't even look the same! Riddle will surely have his head for this, now that he thinks about it...
"Uh... ah... well, my name is Ruadh. It's nice to meet you, um... ma'am. Or—or sir. Ah... whatever your pronouns are..."
He looks down, hands behind his back.
"Sorry. Must be weird to ask for pronouns in this day and age. I, um... really appreciate your help..."
"Nice to meet you, Ruadh! My names Echo! Dont worry, things like Ma'am or Sir and stuff dont bother me!! Really anything works for me!! And yeah, no problem! Im more than happy to help out!! Now c'mon, I'll show you out of here!!"
Echo stepped past Ruadh and started leading him away from the lounge
"Y'know, you kinda remind me of my brother"
Echo said casually
//anything past this is going to be headcanons abt the how the dorm is laid out so I apologize😞
Ruadh perks up when he hears the comparison of him and whoever Echo's brother is, tilting his head. He gulps, hoping that whoever they're comparing him to isn't a piece of shit.
"Ah... that's good...?"
Ruadh follows Echo out of the lounge, trailing an unnecessarily large distance behind him. He doesn't want to ruin Echo's reputation because he was seen hanging around with some loser. He stays quiet as well. He really doesn't want to bother.
Ruadh walks a little faster to catch up with Echo. He didn't mean to make the other student think that he hated him or anything...
"Sorry, I just... well. I'm not supposed to be here. I didn't want to seem... threatening."
He walks next to Echo now, fidgeting with his hands. It's silent, and now that he knows that Echo wants to make conversation, he has to be the one to figure out what to say. He's the guest, after all.
"Ah... I like it here too. It's hard to... um. Find people that can befriends with me here. Everybody is so bold... even Ignihyde, really..."
Ruadh rubs his arm. Echo wouldn't want to know about Ruadh's troubles. He's here to make conversation, not vent.
"Are you, ah... uh... w-what are your hobbies..?"
The moment Ruadh asks that, he winds. That was a very bad thing to say, and he worded it so badly, too. If Echo asks him what his hobbies are, he's going to have to lie and say something that isn't being June.
"Oh I do all sorts of things! I make a lot of things, nothing too special just little crafts, and then I've been really into drawing lately! I've been watching a lot of TV Shows too! Really I'll do anything as long as it keeps me busy!"
"What about you, Ruadh? What do you like to do in your free time?"
Ruadh gulps, scratching his left arm again. What hobbies does he have that don't look weird?
"And I also... read..."
Well, damn. Ruadh sounds like the biggest liar around. He doesn't know how to act without being June, doesn't know how to blend into the background and still stay talkative at the same time.
"What TV shows have you been watching, if you don't mind me asking...?"
At least Echo looks nice enough to not judge him for his nervousness.
"Anything I can find really. Or any of the animes my brother recommends. Comedies, fantasy, romance, literally anything you can find on any streaming platform I've probably watched."
A vague answer but probably the best one Echo was going to give.
"What kinda books do you read? I've been trying to get more into reading but... its been a bit of a struggle finding something."
Now, Ruadh's really screwed up. He can't say that he likes any other books than the ones he actually does in case Echo asks about it, but how will some Ignihyde student react to him being a total fudanshi?!
"Sasaki and Miyano..?"
Please don't know it please don't know it please don't say that you'll look at it when you get home...
Ruadh gulps, his scratching moving to his right arm. He's so done for. Echo knows what BL is! Mirror must think that he's a total weirdo right now! Boys liking boys isn't a normal thing!
"Y-yes, it's—uh—w-well, it's s-something new, and I didn't know what it was about before I started reading it, and I might just drop it now that I know because it's..."
He trails off. Weird? Can he really say that it's weird? Weird is where he feels like he draws the line. So Ruadh ends his sentence there, waiting with wide eyes for Echo's reaction.
His scratching slips to a stop, his face turning bright red. Of course. Of course Echo wouldn't case. Why is Ruadh being so pessimistic? They haven't cared for anything else he's said, so why would mirror care now?
"I—well... I really, really, really like yaoi.... so, ah, if you need recommendations, I have... many..."
His voice is quiet, almost to the point where it's hard for Echo to hear him. He doesn't want anybody traversing the halls to spy on their conversation and learn that about him, and he's also pretty sheepish to admit it out loud.
"Uhm—I only read, like, fluffier ones, though... I... well, I don't very much like the omegaverse trope..."
Ruadh winces. Did he really have to reveal so much?
"Uh, well... maybe we could go somewhere a little more... private for that..? I... well."
Ruadh doesn't know how to imply that he doesn't really want anyone knowing he watches that type of stuff. Instead, he gives Echo a sheepish smile, twiddling his thumbs.
"Which ones have have you watched?" He asks instead. Echo doesn't seem as sheepish to share mirror interest as he is.
"Well technically its a danmei but Heaven Officials Blessing is SOOOO good!!! I've rewatched it at least 17 times now!! Here, do you have any social media or any way to contact you so we can talk a little more privately about it? I understand that sometimes texting can be easier than talking!"
"Yeah, I've watched that one a lot as well," he chuckled, voice quiet.
And then he freezes.
Social media?
SOCIAL MEDIA?!
The only social media he has is with June! He never thought that he'd get popular enough to share a handle or something with someone else! Hell, even his normal messages has a picture of June on it! What is he supposed to do now?!
"...No..." Ruadh lied, gulping.
"I... don't have anything. I don't think. I-I'm so sorry..."
"Thats alright! Do you have a phone number or anything like that? If not, then we can just plan a few days where we hang out at one of our dorms so we can chat!"
Echo was extremely adamant on hanging out with Ruadh.
Ruadh chuckles, appreciating the compliment. He feels a little more at ease now, to his surprise.
"I am. Just... uh... here."
He hands Echo his phone. The inside of it is just as pretty and pink as the outside, it seems, with a pink and black theme on his phone and all of his contact profile's a different variation of that color. It's pretty cute, especially for someone like Rudah.
This is the reason why Ruadh doesn't have any friends. Why he tries to stay in the background and away from the rest of the people at school. Because then something like this happens, and then he reveals June all too quickly for his own good. What is wrong with him? She's supposed to be kept under wraps!
"Y-you can text me too, if you want... I'd like that better than me texting you, because I don't want to text at a bad time."
"P-pictures?!" Ruadh squeaked, eyes widening. Is he catching on? So soon?! He can't be! Not yet!
"Pictures of what? I have no pictures to give! I-I mean- if you want Pinterest pictures, I can send you! I don't dress in Jirai Kei, I just really like it!"
He scratches his right arm rapidly. Oh, how he wishes they could go somewhere more private to talk...
Ruadh's arm goes limp, eyes widening even more. Nobody had ever stopped him from his scratching. It was a subconscious self-harming habit that he doesn't know how to break, and Ruadh starts shaking a little at not being able to feel his nails on his skin.
"It's okay. I... thank you..."
Echo could see the scars, both old and new, that had probably formed because of the scratching. It seems that he's been doing this for a while now.
"Mhm! Dont mention it. I get it, really. I dont know the exact reason and I dont know if it'll help but I have a few fidgets you can borrow if you think maybe that will help!"
Echo took both of Ruadhs hands in theirs.
"And if you ever need to talk, please dont be afraid to text me or call me."
Ruadh smiles sheepishly, lacing their hands and shaking them to show that he was just fine. He ponders the fidget suggestion for a minute, looking down with a shy expression on his face.
"U-uh... if you have any, I'd really like that. Or... maybe just arm warmers? I'd appreciate it..."
Ruadh takes back his phone and puts it away, trying not to scratch again now that Echo's noticed.
"Yeah! I have some extras you can borrow! Any color preference? Design? Anything like that? I have a lot of accessories so more likely than not, I have something that could work! Here, if you'd like, we can go to my dorm and you can just pick the pair you like! If your Housewarden says anything I'll just have my br- Housewarden talk to him!!"
"O-oh, sure, we can go to your dorm," Ruadh blushes, hands behind his back. He's supposed to be in a hurry, but... well. Ruadh could handle having his magic taken away and being scolded for a few days.
He follows Echo to the dorms, relieved to know that they'll be somewhere private now. If he slips, Echo will be the only person who know, as opposed to before when everybody in Ignihyde would get to see him fumble.
"W-why do you have them? Are you... similar to me?"
