—— spotted at the met steps, arbor ackers, most likely listening to mad world by gary jules with his airpods pro. the 25 year old gained quite a reputation, known to be laid-back yet ominous to anyone who knows them. you'll easily spot them when you hear about murder wikipedia rabbit holes at three am, tarot cards, incognito tabs and worn down beanies, followed by creed aventus. latest nepoupdates article talks about him finding himself in the dms of a well-known actress (false!), but i guess any reputation is good reputation. [ pinterest! ]
arbor was used to going unnoticed. in fact, he didn't mind it so much. it gave them a chance to sit and watch and listen -- and maybe that's why they are sure ghosts exist.
they believe in all things supernatural, astrology signs, all that; they have quite the collection of crystal balls, healing herbs and tarot cards... despite not knowing the first thing about what they're doing. maybe one day they'll luck into it. in the meantime, he still pretends if someone asks, and laughs about it later.
he is very easy to anger. if anything, he may get slightly annoyed. he is more familiar with sadness, but for the most part his emotions are relaxed. most things roll right off of his back. to be honest, he doesn't even grieve his parents, as he never got to know them.
arbor's mother and father were murdered when they were only an infant in their nursery. with a lack of family members willing to take them in, he ended up in the care of his father's older sister, who was... very well off, thanks to the passing of her wealthy husband and her clothing line taking off. she loved him unconditionally, and from that day on arbor never had to want for another thing.
they were never very spoiled, but definitely didn't understand what it was like to have to work for a living. even the apartment they moved into was due to their aunt's doing, who insisted he needed an allowance despite being mid-twenties and looking for a job.
he has always been into horror and true crime -- perhaps the start of his life having something to do with that -- and doesn't find it scary, but fascinating.
arbor is known to say weird things may raise the average person's eyebrows, bring up facts about serial killers, and talk about death casually.
they are also mischievous, and love to spook people.
he is very friendly, though not much of a talker (outside of the podcast). even people who he isn't fond of he can get along with well, and sees no reason to put energy into disliking others.
fame is something that is new to them. it never crossed arbor's mind when the podcast started that it would take off, it was supposed to just be fun. and it is. but people recognizing his voice is something he's not sure how to get used to, and he's not sure if he likes it, either. attention is great and all, but as someone that's never been the center of it, even a little more than usual is overwhelming, and they find themself wondering if this is a path they truly want to pursue in life.
"this ... normally happens during these events?" she's brought out by a friend, some begging, and juliette's not that into it, in all honesty. turns to [ YOUR MUSE ], tugging on their sleeve. "how about we head back to my shop? the fairy lights are really pretty with the flower scene in the window, it's perfect for a photoshoot or something." anything to get her out of here. ( @nepofmstarters )
Arbor wasn't the biggest fan of crowds. It wasn't social anxiety, not quite, they enjoyed people watching, but after a certain amount of time it became downright overwhelming. ❝ You had me at fairy lights, ❞ they agreed, not caring about a photoshoot, but happy to have an exit plan.
"kind of niche, but i'm looking for contemporary songs that sound like they're anywhere out of the 40's-70's. besides until i found you - love the girl, but i cannot keep using co-stars songs in our films." // @nepofmstarters.
❝ Genre? ❞ Arbor questioned. They knew their music taste was probably not what she was looking for, but they would try to be as much help as possible. ❝ I assume something that isn't Run For Your Life by The Beatles? ❞
"You believe in them, don't you?" He tilted his head, a curious look on his face as he watched Arlo look around. They had no plans on pranking him. Just a casual conversation. But he was so jumpy, it was hard to help himself. "She may not be happy to know you don't believe in her, you know. You'd much rather have a witch on your good side. Trust me."
❝ i didn't say that. ❞ he was quick to defend. his head whipping around once more for any sight of any shadows. ❝ i want it stated for the record, i did not say that ! ❞ arlo isn't exactly sure who he's shouting that to ( or what ). what he does know is that he doesn't trust arbor, and it's a lot better to be safe rather than sorry in these situations. ❝ i do believe in witches, i do. i do ! ❞ or was that fairies ? didn't matter. ❝ do you ever just not threaten your friends ? i came in peace. ❞
A small laugh fell from Arbor's lips as the man was quick to confirm his belief in witches. ❝ Oh, Arlo, ❞ they spoke softly ❝ do you always take warnings as threats? ❞ They felt a little bad watching him whip around like that ; just a little. Maybe they should dial it back, give him at least one day of peace. They had the rest of time to frighten him, after all. ❝ Sit with me? I promise I won't bite. ❞
𝐖𝐇𝐎 : ej + anyone // @nepofmstarters
𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 : central park
it was a gorgeous day, ej took a walk around the park, a coffee in one hand, && a book in another. he enjoyed days like these, where he could relax, && let his mind W A N D E R . others were doing the same, listening to music, writing, reading some book. after sometime, he ended up spotting someone get up && a journal falling out of their bag. he ran up to them && grabbed it. " hey–– you dropped this, " ej said.
It was a bit unusual for people to approach them. They seemed to give off an air of... disinterest? Intimidation? Perhaps both. Turning to see their book of podcast notes in his hand, Arbor's eyebrows lifted. ❝ I would have missed that later, ❞ he hummed, especially if they didn't notice until they were ready to record. ❝ Looks like I owe you one. Consider myself indebted. ❞
the admissions gives arlo pause. if this was anyone else, talks of daylight rings and witches would be nothing more than lighthearted teasing, but when it came to arbor ? he could never be sure. ❝ are you being serious ? ❞ he questioned, his head whipping around as if something was gonna jump out to scare him right then and there. ❝ you really know a witch ? ❞
"You believe in them, don't you?" He tilted his head, a curious look on his face as he watched Arlo look around. They had no plans on pranking him. Just a casual conversation. But he was so jumpy, it was hard to help himself. "She may not be happy to know you don't believe in her, you know. You'd much rather have a witch on your good side. Trust me."
dylan wasn't picky about who she associated with , anyone in the vicinity simply becoming a target for chaos . mainly harmless and simply unable to filter a word that came out of her mouth , vulgar to the very core and enjoying too much seeing the reactions of others in the world she perceived around her . " yeah , that would be something . hopefully they're not staring at you because you have the perfect limbs for dismembering , " she takes a sip of her drink , gaze flittering to the couple and then back . " unless you're into that . i'm not kink shaming or anything . i guess some people like bdsm … some people like their body chopped into pieces . what a way to go . "
"Must run in the family," Arbor replied, dryly, unbothered. They weren't unwilling to talk about their trauma, if they could even call it that; he didn't remember enough about the loss of their parents or their existence in the first place to consider himself traumatized. He stared back at the couple, not truly believing there was anything off about them. But you could never know. "Not my kink, surprisingly -- I prefer the blood outside of the bedroom."
while she felt no fear when stepping out on stage no matter how packed the audience was, yujin couldn't say the same about other frights. particularly ones she couldn't foresee. it made her quite amusing company when watching a new horror movie - unless her companion found jumping at every scare, accompanied by the occasional, tiny scream, annoying. cheeks flushed under arbor's gaze. denial would save her skin, but instead she shrugged sheepishly. ❝ even though it makes me look like a wimp . . . it did. a little. ❞
"It doesn't make you look like a wimp," he reassured her, fear was a normal thing. While not a common emotion for them, it wasn't completely unexperienced. They didn't love hearing strange noises when they were walking home in the dark. As interesting as murder mysteries were, Arbor would rather talk about them than be the center of one. After a moment, his smile softened. "I was actually trying to tell you that I liked your outfit."
Looking around the almost empty bar, Seamus couldn't help but tune out what the promoter was telling him about it usually being more busy, its great cliental, etc. THe stage was fine and that's all he cared about to try out some new music in a space to hear it in a real space. Finally when they walked away, they looked to the person nearest to them. "So, Is this place always this dead then, or is there something I should know about the place? Ghosts or something maybe?"
"Don't know," Arbor admitted, they couldn't say they were a frequent customer, or a frequent drinker at that. It wasn't that they were against it, being drunk just wasn't a feeling they enjoyed, or the hangovers that came after... And for someone that wasn't extremely social, bars were a little pointless. "Ghosts," they repeated with a small grin, "wouldn't that be sick?" If there were ghosts he'd be there all the time.
❝ Nope , cross my heart . ❞ As long as what she was crossing on was that the picture looked enough like Obama for people to start saying it was . Isa could have done some fact checking , could have texted a few reliable sources but she didn't mind buying into the delusion for a little while if it turned out to be fake . ❝ That must be it , you and your…what was it you do again ? ❞ Isa sked with a smirk, teasing lilt to her words .
"You gonna try to meet him?" He asked, not planning on going out of his way to do so, but if the opportunity presented himself... that'd be sort of cool, he guessed. His aunt would be thrilled. A grin on their lips, Arbor wasn't bothered by the teasing; out of everyone in this crowd, he was sure he was the least likely to get noticed, and fine with that. "It's better that you don't know," they joked, though at times they thought it would be better if no one did. He wasn't cut out for fame.
status : closed / ( @harbcrarbcr )
location : under a tree... at the festival somewhere... yeah... OUDFIJSKOFJIDFK
❝ this is the crystal equivalent of a nightmare blunt rotation. ❞ luna was horrified by the array of crystals they'd just emptied from the pouch arbor brought with them. after spending the time to give him the basics of crystals and creating care pouches, it was something of a homework assignment to have arbor make his own pouch and bring it to the festival for her to look at. after looking at what they put together, luna wished she hadn't. ❝ you can't put a stabilizing crystal with a playmate crystal, and why are you paring pink opal with a smoky quartz ? are you looking to be more selfish or selfless ? you're actually going to short circuit your chakras. ❞
"Shit, that bad, huh?" Arbor tried, for what it was worth. They really did try to understand. Read self-help books, researched tutorials, but somehow it always got muddled in their mind. They weren't meant to be a warlock, but they sure did like to pretend. He didn't say anything for a moment, thinking her question over. He wasn't sure what exactly he was going for... but it was safe to say he hadn't achieved it, whatever it was. "So, then --- what do I do with these?" Plucking the opal from the small stack in front of them, they held it carefully between their forefinger and thumb. "Would it bring hellfire to throw it out? Should I give it to someone?"
open! starter -> @nepofmstarters
location -> any show at citi field
"alright," nicolaus said, coming back from the miraculously short line for slushies. he dropped down beside the other on the brightly patterned picnic blanket he had set up and handed the other one of the slushies while sipping on his own blue one. "so—three things you would change from that last performance, because it was ass. and don't feel bad for admitting it either, because me, you, and the rest of the drunkards here know that it was absolute ass."
Taking the drink with a nod of appreciation, Arbor let out a small laugh at Nicolaus' blatant distaste for the performance he'd mostly tuned out. "Ass isn't necessarily the description I'd use," they informed him, rolling the of their straw between their teeth. What they'd heard wasn't good, but, to be fair, it wasn't bad enough to leave a lasting impression either. "Are you suggesting I am also a drunkard? I assure you I am probably one of the most sober people here."
status : closed / ( @harbcrarbcr )
location : festival field vibing
❝ it's so strange to see you in the daylight. ❞ arlo commented as he approached his friend, though still cautiously. after being friends with arbor for awhile, arlo knew better than to let his guard down around the other. as someone who scared easily ( very easily ), he knew better than to think the sun would stop arbor from getting a spook in. ❝ i thought you only came out at night. do you have one of those daylight rings ? make a deal with a witch ? ❞
Arbor wasn't a mean person... well, maybe a little mean. It was all in jest when he spooked others, but he recognized they didn't find it quite as amusing as he did. Did that stop them? Not at all. A little fear was good. Kept people young. Watching Arlo approach, he smiled slyly, though he didn't have any scares up his sleeve. Yet. "A few, actually," they stated, sitting back in their seat as they studied his outfit. "Didn't you know? One of my very best friends is a witch."
OPEN ‣ ‣ ‣ @nepofmstarters
LOCATION ‣ ‣ ‣ VIP festival area
❝ Did you see who was supposed to be here? ❞ Isa asked the person lounging closest to her in the VIP area - truly the only area worth being in at any music festival . Crescent Fest had always been one of her favorite ones , she'd been to them all multiple times considering her father would randomly make appearances but she used them as an excuse to get high and get an incredible amount of content . ❝ Obama . That's random , right ? I wonder if I could find him ... ❞
"You're kidding." Out of all the celebrities they thought they had a chance of bumping into, an ex-president had never crossed his mind. Of course, even if they did bump into him, they doubted they'd be starstruck; now, Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., that'd be a different story. "Oh, you think he's here 'cause he heard I was going to be attending?" A joke, though Arbor was making a name for himself he was nowhere near the level of fame others at the festival were. Thankfully.
dylan , in her normal upbeat spirit , devil may care attitude obvious to anyone she interacted with , was having a great time drinking and being merry . there were no lingering doubts , no dark clouds , no signs of impending doom and turning to the person beside her . " that couple keeps looking over here . maybe they want to talk to you . you should go over and ask , " she encourages although she may or may not be telling the truth , often doing things for no real reason other than out of boredom … some deep dissatisfaction with her own life . " i couldn't possibly go over there . i'm actually jack valmounts girlfriend … very loyal … no way i'd talk to a couple of randos who were giving us the sexy eyes but you … don't miss out on my account , " speaking for the sake of it rather than for any reason , a grin lighting up her dark features .
Arbor didn't reply for a moment, their eyes drifting away from Dylan to study the people she was referring to, making no attempt to hide from them the fact they wer staring. They had no interest in mingling unless they were first approached. It wasn't that he couldn't be social --- it was simply that he didn't care. He was fine with making new friends, and he was fine with being alone. Though if she was suggesting a threesome, they weren't really in the mood. The mention of Jack Valmount was completely ignored, along with the comment about how loyal she was, they looked back at Dylan. "They could be the next Fred and Rosemary West," stated in a casual tone, "wouldn't that be something?"
