cinnabar ; @lyla-martin - Tumblr Blog

A FAREWELL TO ARMS ~

As y’all might have noticed, I haven’t been around in the past...year. School kicked me in the head, and I had to focus all my time and energy outside of RP-life -- but now it’s summer so I can have some fun and relax with you guys. I’ve felt a little stuck with the characters I’ve had for...wow, some for about three years. But I’ve felt so attached that I haven’t dropped them out of a sense of feeling bad for dropping. Now, without shame and without qualms, I’d like to say a hearty goodbye to all four of my beautiful girls and trade in (not up, mind you) for some other people who I think will help rejuvenate the plot in whatever means necessary.

LYLA MARTIN: My poor, sweet, first child. Though I won’t have control of her anymore, Lyla will still be in the archives for about a year or so until she finishes schooling. Tired of the hectic life that is PROTECT (though still filled with a sense of duty), Lyla travels all the way over to Washington State to live by her family. Since there has been an outgrowth of young post-humans (and it’s always been on her mind to teach) Lyla scraps the bookstore idea, gets her teaching license, finds a bunch of other supporting teachers, and forms a school for post-humans in her area. She doesn’t teach them how to control their abilities as much as she simply teaches about Faulkner and Chaucer, but they’re all in an environment where their abilities can be appreciated and their parents won’t have to worry about bullying or expulsion.

As for her love life -- she goes out on a couple dates and decides that romance isn’t what it used to be for her anymore. In 2025, after much debate (and the fifth anniversary of the Martin School for Post-Human Students) she decides to have a kid on her own. On April 12, 2026 Benjamin Peter Martin has his first day in the world. It’s not easy, running a school with a newborn on your hip, but for the first time in her life Lyla doesn’t feel like she’s missing out on something, or that some part of her isn’t whole. She has her family, her teaching dream, and her books -- and that’s all she ever needed.

VIVIAN MAXWELL: Onto this devil of a human being. What in the world to do with Vivian Maxwell? As the story left off, Vivian had actually become pretty damn pissed off with Nexus for leaving her in Eastern Europe to waste and die from her serious injuries. With a limp and much physical therapy required, Vivian was no longer the top choice for assassinating anyone, much less the Four Horseman. And that pissed her off. Really, really pissed her off. It takes almost a year of brooding, binge drinking, planning, and silent drinking before the lid pops off. Vivian goes on a psychotic rampage in the building, injuring as many agents and officers of Nexus who made the decision to leave her behind to die. As a result, Nexus’ retaliation policy is to heartily fire her and ship her off to a place where she can hurt absolutely no one. That place just happens to be a secure, gated facility in British Columbia, specific location undisclosed.

As it happens, Vivian and one of her control officers, Veer Rahman (pictured here in case you were curious) become involved. In 2023, they successfully escape the gated facility and run off together into the Canadian forests. Vivian tries to forget her past and the past resentment she holds for Nexus and post-humans by drowning herself in Veer. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work out as she’s planned. When a broken condom leads to an accidental pregnancy, Vivian instinctually aborts the child without any thought of telling Veer. When he finds out, he violently breaks it off with her -- so much so that Vivian resorts to slitting his throat with a serrated kitchen knife. She’s arrested by the Canadian police and found guilty by the courts, sentenced to 15 years in prison for manslaughter. Vivian is so devastated by her own actions that she shuts down -- stops eating, stops sleeping, stops talking. The prison declares her mentally unstable and they shuck her off to a psychiatric center where she spends the rest of her days fighting between periods of inane stillness and vicious aggression.

BRIE KELLEY: You deserved so much more and I’m sorry for not giving that to you, sweet precious child. Brie continues to do as she does, living in her car in Carmen’s basement with Danny. She still hasn’t learned much of anything, which is good because that means someone can take her up and play her as they please. If they please, of course.

CHELSEA UPTON: Another sweet thing I should have treated better. Chelsea’s still with her roommates in Queens, learning about her ability and going through her human/animal trials to discover what it means to be a shapeshifter. She’s also very up for being taken by someone else (wink wink, nudge nudge).

tl;dr: Thank you for this amazing run with my characters. Lyla and Vivian may be gone in this universe, but Chelsea and Brie might get another life time, which makes me uber happy. And don’t worry, I’ll be back very soon with more people that will challenge this RP in different and kewl ways.

#FAREWELL TO ARMS #abortion tw #just in case :3

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@PROTECT

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Completely. I’ve never understood it, the ability of others to actively participate in making someone else’s day worse, or focus solely on negativity— what’s the point? No benefit is gained, since most of the people that do so are miserable on their own anyhow. [His lips press into a thin line; while he can understand poor moods now and then, he doesn’t understand those who attempt to drag down everyone else around them. Yet again, misery does love company…] Oh, well, that’s a relief. [His expression turns sheepish before he returns his attention back to the painting as well.] The entire collection here is wonderful, in my opinion.

In that case, I’ve always liked libraries— and a librarian is still a lovely occupation. Had I not become an engineer, I would have liked to become a librarian. [It was odd, how smoothly he could lie by omission, but he tried not to fret over that too much. When she pulls out her glasses, a warm rumble of laughter expels from him.] Perfect! I’ve a pair of reading ones as well. [He smiles as he gently lets go of her hand, then tucks his hand into his pocket.] My father taught me to always shake firmly. And, yes, formal is an adequate way to put it. [His head shakes as his smile softens a little.] Not too forward at all. I wouldn’t mind a friend, actually. [It’s a little foreign, vocally discussing friendship as though they were two young children meeting each other for the first time, but he doesn’t mind it. After all, the only reason he’d avoided friendships previously was because he simply hadn’t had time for them. Since they were to be working in the same building, it was more of an option here.]

lyla-martin

Do you like art a lot? [ She asks curiously. ] I've always liked reading more than going to galleries. Or reading about paintings, or painters, or art styles. I'm just an art historian without the taste for art. [ She laughs at herself. ] But it's pretty cool when someone has an understanding for paintings without needing the explanation. Those are emotions I can't read, unfortunately.

Aw, shucks. An engineer? Well, that's got to be fascinating stuff. And quite important, if we're talking real life application. [ She doesn't notice the lie; even if there's an irregularity in her reading of him, she counts it as either something she shouldn't meddle in, or fatigue. ] As for the librarian dream, you're always welcome to come down to the Archives and help me organize some files? It's pretty fun, when you're not thinking about the thousand other files you have to slot in with 'extreme care'. [ Her back stiffens at the mention of fathers, but she shoves the feeling off with a forced smile and a slight laugh. ] Well, good. I like when people don't mind friendship. [ She checks her watch, then frowns. ] I guess it's time for me to be on my way. Places to be, adoptions to negotiate. [ Lyla smiles for a final time, waving and continuing down the hall to the elevators. ] It was nice to meet you, Rafe! See you around.

#rafe #dERP

lyla-martin

It's Been A Long Time || Lyley

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"Ah," Riley was still considering options, but then gave a small laugh at Lyla’s closeness with the restaurant. Of course she would. It’s not that hard for anyone to become friendly with Lyla. Or so Riley believed. "At least you know they won’t mess up your order." Riley responded, still smiling. It was always nice to have a good rapport with people, not matter what business they had. They always tended to give better treatment to their loyal customers. "Risotto," Riley repeated, thinking about that one too. "Have you tried the fettuccine alfredo with bacon," she asked, biting her lower lip. If she had and it tasted horrible, she would just go with what Lyla wanted. But if she liked it or hadn’t tried it, Riley may as well just end up getting it. Riley didn’t think people could go wrong with bacon most of the time.

"That’s good, that’s good." When Lyla pulled out her phone, Riley wrung her hands together, already having them feel clammy. She was so nervous, it was like she was about to be handed the child itself. A smile pulled at her lips and she couldn’t wait to see what Sophia’s daughter looked like. Probably like her mother. Riley grinned wider at the thought and moved closer to Lyla until she could see the screen of her phone easily. Riley’s features softened at the sight of the baby and she let out a shaky exhale, still not completely believing that beautiful child came out of Sophia—not that Sophia would be able to produce a beautiful baby, but just the act of it was still… so crazy to her. Lyla moved the picture a bit too soon for Riley’s taste, but it wasn’t like she was about to complain. "Oh my god," she whispered, her vision getting blurred as tears welled up and she took the phone, glancing over at Sophia as Lyla mentioned her haircut. She smiled some at that then back at the baby. She looked so happy. Riley was happy about that. "Thanks," she said, handing over the phone back to Lyla as she attempted to keep her the tears from messing up her makeup. She laughed a bit, feeling stupid for crying, but not necessarily because it was in Lyla’s presence.

"That’d be great," Riley grinned, although she rolled her eyes at Lyla’s mention of boring her. "Please, you could never bore me. I’m really happy you invited me over. I wouldn’t mind doing anything, talking, watching television—whatever. We’ve got to spend this time catching up, right?"

lyla-martin

"Exactly," Lyla exclaimed, nodding. "the fettucine's pretty good -- they make the bacon extra crispy, which is always good, in my humble opinion. You know, one of the kids I look after thought fettucine was a type of mustache." She snorts, shaking her head at the memory. Then she remembers it's probably better to leave the factors of her job out of the equation. Getting mixed up in matters of PROTECT and Nexus would turn the conversation sour. But she decides to answer the imminent question rather than leave it hanging. "I work with kids as part of a new program," she offers casually. She hopes that will be enough for Riley. Of course she would love to talk about her job, and the kids she's met and helped through trauma, but that's not reality with her best friend. She's willing to sacrifice those conversations for friendship.

It always made Lyla proud to show off her baby niece. She liked experiencing what other people felt when they saw Fiona; sometimes her eyes too pricked with tears at the sight of the little redhead smiling into the camera. "Yeah, no problem," she replies quietly, taking the phone back from Riley. She bumps Riley's shoulder gently. "if you wanted to, you could come over again and we could Skype them together. Sophia would love to see you, I'm sure. And then you could see Fiona in action. She's a pretty lively baby." Lyla knew Sophia had left behind a lot of people when the Alessi's moved to Washington; perhaps it would make everyone feel better to catch up.

Lyla's smile brightened. She knew she worried too much about upsetting other people -- she was told she had an overactive sense of emotion. Setting her feet on top of the coffee table, she nods, responding, "Good -- great. Yeah; it's been way too long since we saw each other's faces. I missed having you around in my life. Okay, so, I guess we can do all those things. Or at least we've checked off one of those boxes, except you haven't told me what you've been up to in the past few months." She pokes Riley's shoulder lightly. "I'll order the food now so we don't starve." She pulled up the number to the Italian restaurant, which she had added as a contact a few weeks ago. The call took a little longer than expected; the bartender, who took the orders, had a hard time hearing her over the noise. Lyla made apologetic faces to Riley while annunciating their order until he got what she was saying. When he hung up, Lyla released a breath and fixed her hair. "Sorry -- I guess it gets really noisy after seven," she says.