Hey Im Jordan

ʜᴀᴡᴛʜᴏʀɴᴇ ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍʏ

Nathaniel de Fontaine | Wizard

_______________________________________________ Nathaniel de Fontaine | Heterosexual (he would experiment though) | a53bdb | Wizerd ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ 24 | GENDER | HEIGHT | YEAR ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ☀ Handsome ☀ Muscular ☀ Talented Lover ☀ Good Kisser ☀ Deep Voiced ☀ Pretty Eyes ☀ Nice Smile ☀ Cuddly ☀ Smells Good ☀ ☁ Shallow ☁ Eternally Down Bad ☁ Does It All for the Nookie ☁ Slightly Stoopid ☁ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ LIKES the way women smell - the way women taste - hickeys - playing with hair - the build up - the anticipation - aftercare - running marathons - bareback riding - romance - candles DISLIKES people who don’t smell good - uggos - academic work - feral cats - vanilla (too boring) - small beds

s k í l l s & w є α k n є s s є s ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ STRENGTHS Is being pretty a strength? Nathaniel isn’t sure if it’s a ‘traditional’ one, but he certainly counts it as such. Being pretty has gotten him out of plenty of binds before, including at least one failing grade. Sure, he had to make out with a less than attractive professor, but whatever it takes. It’s a strength if it’s gotten him out of a sticky situation. Nate may not be the best mage in the game, but he’s certainly still got that de Fontaine blood in him. Elementalist magic comes to him naturally, but the real magic he’s spent time working on is charms. In his opinion, Charming magic is the most romantic of all, and that’s what he’s most interested in. It has its uses in some of Nathan’s favorite activities. His most secretive strength is being able to admit when he’s out of his element. Nathaniel de Fontaine is not the kind of person to try and do something he has no idea how to do. Deferring to the experts is the easy way out, and that’s what he prefers. Plus, he can afford it. WEAKNESSES He’s shallow. Incredibly shallow, even. Nathaniel isn’t sure that people who aren’t exceptionally pretty are even worth talking to, and he struggles to hide his disappointment when one of them approaches him. The way he treats them sometimes makes him come off like something of a bully, but luckily for him… there aren’t a lot of unattractive people at the academy. Nathaniel can also be blunt to his own detriment. He doesn’t mince his words and definitely doesn’t hide his opinions. He’s one of the people who claims to be ‘brutally honest,’ but really sometimes he just comes off as a dick. Gets away with it because of those boyish good looks. He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. In fact, he probably ranks among the dullest. He doesn’t do well in academics, he barely scrapes by in magics, and he frankly doesn’t care about either of those things. He’s rich and he’s pretty, so it doesn’t really matter if he’s talented or intelligent. He’s gonna get laid anyway. OUTLOOK / IDEALS / PERSPECTIVE ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Nathaniel’s thoughts on other people frankly begin and end with how attractive they are or aren’t. He doesn’t care if someone is a werewolf, a vampire, a siren, or even just a wormy little human. If someone is pretty or feminine enough, Nathaniel is probably going to try and likely succeed to kiss them. Nothing’s stopped him before, not the sanctity of marriage, and certainly not an ancient race war. AMBITIONS ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ➽➽➽ Threesome with a vampire and a werewolf at the same time. He has it all planned out in his head already, thought about it for hours. FEARS ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ➽➽➽ Growing old and not being hot anymore, which frankly sounds terrible. в í σ g r α p h ч ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ Of the two de Fontaines attending the Academy, Nathaniel is the one who embodies what the staff expects of a member of his esteemed family: a hedonistic degenerate who can’t stand being alone and has a variety of mommy issues, and even a touch of daddy ones. Since the moment he arrived at Hawthorne Academy, Nathaniel has been hooking up with his peers and even some of his professors in hidden nooks and crannies throughout the Academy. Frankly, his parents couldn’t be prouder. Nathaniel knows that his teachers prefer his sister to him, but he frankly isn’t sure why. She’s boring, he’s the fun one. While she’s cooped up in her dorm studying, he’s out trying to have the fourth party of the week, and convincing his peers to try out some new products his family has worked on. Sure, he knows that he causes a few problems for the Academy staff, but at least they’re fun problems. It isn’t like he’s out starting fights like the wolves or the bats sometimes do. Nathaniel has already accomplished many of his goals during his tenure at the Academy (including: have sex with a teacher, hear a siren’s song as he finishes), and he’s hoping to cross the last one off his list this year. If everything goes his way, Nathaniel de Fontaine is certain that his plan to have a werewolf and a vampire in his bed at the sametime is sure to solve the problem of the millennia long race war. Or, at the very least, he’ll have a great story to tell at dinner when he and his sister go home for the holidays. Or he might die, but hey that’s a risk he’s willing to take, and it’s a risk he’s already taken more than once. Nathaniel de Fontaine is not the kind of person who’s going to be stopped by something as mundane as a risk of bodily harm — his mom can fix him up, so it’s not like his good looks are at risk. His secondary, and least important goal, is to maybe just maybe squeak by with middle of the pack grades, and not drag the bell curve down quite so far. Luckily, Celeste will do his homework for him if he asks nicely. Hopefully.

ʜᴀᴡᴛʜᴏʀɴᴇ ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍʏ

Orion Graves | Wizard

_______________________________________________ Orion Graves | Heterosexual | 7CF9FF | Wizerd ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ 24 | GENDER | 6’3” | Final ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ☀ Confident ☀ Intelligent ☀ Well-spoken ☀ Self-aware ☀ Electrifying ☀ ☁ Explosive ☁ Demanding ☁ High Strung ☁ Cold ☁ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ LIKES apple juice ♘ writing ♘ working with his hands ♘ sleeping in ♘ stealing a nap in the middle of the day ♘ sugar cookies ♘ honey & vanilla scents ♘ chess DISLIKES the smell of freshly cut grass ♞ orange juice ♞ sour candy ♞ people who smack their lips ♞ high pitched voices

s k í l l s & w є α k n є s s є s ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ STRENGTHS Orion is a natural when it comes to elemental magic, particularly Electric spells. In fact, he’s trained so extensively with the element that his hair is always spiked up with static electricity, and making contact with him always results in a bit of a static discharge. He has an electrifying personality. He’s witty and has a quick tongue, forged in the fires of sibling banter. Orion loves making anyone he’s holding a conversation with feel like they’re the most important person in the world. In his humble opinion? If he’s talking to him, they must be at least the second most important person, behind himself. Years of being told what he’s done wrong has helped Orion become a very self-aware person. It’s easy for him to admit his shortcomings or mistakes, and it’s even easier for him to discuss how to overcome them. He considers this his most valuable trait. He wouldn’t be nearly as successful at anything if he couldn’t admit when he’s wrong. WEAKNESSES Orion is stubborn. He’d rather spend three hours running into a brick wall head first than admit it would be simpler to go around it. It’s difficult for him to admit when he’s wrong, and when it comes down to it, he’s the type of person who would rather make a nickel his way than a dollar someone else’s way. He’s self-aware of this, but often finds himself in a trap of being unable to admit that he’s wrong and there’s a simpler way of doing it. Though he’s mostly capable of keeping a lid on it, he has an explosive temper. Orion does his best to keep appearances up and not let people know when he’s getting angry or close to losing it, but anyone who’s seen him get truly upset knows his tells. A temper tantrum from Orion Graves is loud and sometimes violent. It’s well known that Mr. Graves is somewhat full of himself, but why wouldn’t he be? After years of exceeding the expectations of everyone but one man, it’s only natural that Orion thinks he’s at least a little better than everyone else. It’s a mindset that can be spun positively or negatively, but unfortunately the way Orion looks at it varies from day to day. OUTLOOK / IDEALS / PERSPECTIVE ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ For a long time, Orion believed what he’d been taught by his family: everyone who isn’t a member of a spellslinger family, and especially anyone who wasn’t a member of a longstanding family like the Graves is simply lesser. It’s only been in the last few years that he’s really built an opinion of his own… the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree; Orion and his father arrived at similar conclusions, for different reasons. While his father thinks other races and families are beneath them, Orion couldn’t believe that, not after meeting so many werewolves, vampires, and other spellslingers while at the Academy. No, Orion realized that others are, put simply, stupid. He’s seen vampire and werewolves nearly kill each other in the schoolyard because of family feuds dating back a thousand years, and he’s watched with disgust as other wizards simply laughed at them. He doesn’t understand why the wolves and bats don’t simply move on from things that happened before most of them existed. And, more importantly, he doesn’t understand why his fellow wizards seem to believe its not only acceptable, but right to feel so above their peers that fights are something to be laughed at. It annoys him. And what annoys him even more is that there’s really nothing he can do about it. People will believe what they want to believe. AMBITIONS ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ➽➽➽ Usurping his father as the patriarch of the Graves family and taking the family in a different, hopefully healthier direction FEARS ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ➽➽➽ Failing. в í σ g r α p h ч ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ “I don’t want your best, I want you to be the best.” Spoken by his father, those words constantly ring out in Orion Graves’s mind. From the moment he was born, immense pressure has weighed down on his shoulders. As the eldest child and only son, Orion is the one expected to carry on the family legacy. Despite his best efforts to live up to the lofty expectations his parents have for him, the goalposts have constantly moved. When he began to understand his natural affinity with electric themed magic at a young age, it wasn’t good enough. Why could understand the magic, but not cast spells? Another person may have crumbled under the heavy pressure, but Orion has always been determined to become the diamond his father expects him to be. Every day of his life has been filled with almost nonstop hard work fueled by an unhealthy obsession with becoming better. His father certainly wouldn’t tolerate mistakes, so why would he? Day in and day out he practiced spells, long before he entered the Academies. Orion managed to turn the way his father treated him into a positive; his ability to be studious has been invaluable during his career at the Academy. It isn’t all sunshine and rainbows though. He doesn’t handle failures well, and though he isn’t too quick to anger, his explosive temper is well known to his close friends and siblings. Speaking of his siblings, Orion considers himself the ‘leader’ of the Graves trio, and his sisters would begrudgingly agree. As the oldest, Orion does his part in making sure that his sisters have a good time at the Academy, even if that means sometimes dealing with Delphi’s temper tantrums. At the Academy, Orion frequently works with younger students. He enjoys helping them learn in a way that’s less demanding than how his father taught him. His teachers look at him as a valuable assistant in the classroom, and a student who will always figure out whatever challenge they lay out for him. He does a good job of keeping his darker side to himself, something he works doubly hard on because he knows his father would be immensely disappointed if the cracks he’s been forming over the years began to show in public.

ʜᴀᴡᴛʜᴏʀɴᴇ ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍʏ

Noah | Werewolf

_______________________________________________ Noah Andrew Gates | Heterosexual | F3B40E | Werewolf ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ 22 | Male | 6' | 4th ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ☀ Outgoing ☀ Trustworthy ☀ Eager-to-Please ☀ Puppylike ☀ Spontaneous ☀ ☁ Energetic ☁ Loud ☁ Brash ☁ Overly Protective ☁ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ LIKES ♝ scooby-doo ♝ cherry pie ♝ vanilla ice cream ♝ playing catch ♝ rolling in the grass ♝ DISLIKES ♜ the rain ♜ being wet ♜ strong smells ♜ cats ♜ overprotective ♜

s k í l l s & w є α k n є s s є s ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ STRENGTHS 𝒟𝑒𝓅𝑒𝓃𝒹𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 - Noah prides himself on being trustworthy. At times, he takes it a little too far, but all secrets are safe with him. He would never betray a friend, has never been late to something he said he’d attend, and is a very dependable person. 𝒮𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝒩𝑜𝓈𝑒 - Even for a werewolf, Noah has a strong nose. He considers it both a blessing and a curse. Being able to pick up the scent of… everything can be overwhelming at times, but he’s learned to hone in on the ones he needs, and ignore the ones he doesn’t. With his nose, he’s a great tracker. 𝒫𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝒫𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃 - The young werewolf is an inherently social person, and is at his best when interacting with others. Talking, playing games, or just spending time with his people is when he’s at his most comfortable. He also tends to be protective of his friends and loved ones, sometimes erring on the side of ‘over’protective. WEAKNESSES 𝒩𝒶𝒾𝓋𝑒 - At times, Noah’s trusting nature leads him to be a bit naive. He’ll generally trust what anyone says and take their word at face value. He doesn’t really have a reason not to! Sometimes, this leads to him being picked on in ways he doesn’t even realize. 𝒩𝑒𝑒𝒹𝓎 - Noah is needy. He needs almost constant attention, praise, and care from his peers and friends. He very quickly becomes sad if he isn’t given what he craves. 𝒮𝑒𝓃𝓈𝒾𝓉𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝐻𝑒𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 - It’s probably because he’s a werewolf, but he’s very sensitive to loud sounds. Thunderstorms, fireworks, and similar noises scare the fuck out of him and send him straight into a spastic frenzy of fear. Yes, he bites when he’s like this. OUTLOOK / IDEALS / PERSPECTIVE ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Noah’s thoughts on the rest of the world can be summed up quite simply: he thinks anyone can be his friend. All he has to do is be friendly enough. Sure, the creatures of the night (that’s what his mom called vampires) are a bit rude at times and when he talks to them it seems like they might throw up at any time (Noah has to assume it’s the garlic bread he likes to eat), they can still be friends! To him, anyone can be a friend. Spellslingers and humans are easy enough to befriend, though Noah has been warned that humans most likely wouldn’t like it if he happened to turn into a raging dogbeast. He’s too naive and oftentimes too soft to really commit to the longstanding race war between his species and vampires. To his parents, this is a great disappointment. AMBITIONS ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ➽➽➽ To make it through his six years at the Academy and then find a good job as a tracker or something and eat snacks and play catch with his friends for the rest of his life. FEARS ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ➽➽➽ His parents pushing him toward a profession he doesn’t agree or have interest in. в í σ g r α p h ч ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ The Gates family is well known in some circles of the Academies. While once rather unremarkable, the current heads of the family, William and his wife Sadie Gates are two longstanding and successful Seekers. Their job is quite simple: they capture members of the supernatural society who have broken the rules, dead or alive. When they had a son together, they had envisioned a world where they could raise him to join them in their career, and to follow the new family motto of ‘it’s only fun when they run.’ Noah Gates was only eight years old when they both realized he was never going to be what they wanted. They had taken the young werewolf out on a hunt, and when the time came to finish the job, their son wasn’t able to do it. Instead, he elected to take the rabbit they’d hunted together home. Since then, his parents have done almost everything they can to ‘toughen him up,’ and it’s led to him being a competent brawler, a talented hunter, and capable of holding his own in almost all tense situations… but it hasn’t led to him having a killer instinct. Noah is a softboy, much to both his parents' chagrin. Four years later, his parents gave up trying to make him into the killer they wanted and instead had a second child, his younger brother. His younger brother is proving to be everything his parents ever wanted, and Noah has sort of fallen to the background at home, but has been having a great time at the Academy — and isn’t looking forward to his upcoming final year at all. Returning back to the Gates estate is… not appealing.

ʜᴀᴡᴛʜᴏʀɴᴇ ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍʏ

Hyoon | Vampire

_______________________________________________ Heeyoon ‘Hyoon’ Yi | Bisexual | C3B1E1 | Vampire ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ Appears 24 | Female | 5’5” (164 cm) | 150 years at the Academy ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ♥ Protective ♥ Confident ♥ Cunning ♥ Loyal ♥ ☁ Manipulative ☁ Distant ☁ Impatient ☁ Entitled ☁ Lazy ☁ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ LIKES the matrix ♦ music ♦ pizza ♦ snow ♦ pink ♦ pastels ♦ gore porn movies ♦ children’s media DISLIKES sand ♣ black ♣ holiday music ♣ peppermint ♣ caffeine ♣ the sun obviously

s k í l l s & w є α k n є s s є s ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ STRENGTHS 𝕷𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖗 - Hyoon has spent almost her whole life being told she should lead, and she’s done everything she can to fit the mold. She knows what a good leader does, and when the time calls for it, she steps up to the plate. 𝕱𝖎𝖊𝖗𝖈𝖊𝖑𝖞 𝕷𝖔𝖞𝖆𝖑 - With her upbringing, Hyoon finds herself loyal to the Academies. Though she has a barely buried belief that she should be running the show, Hyoon believes in the Academies and what they do. She suspects its part of why they’ve let her stay so long. 𝕽𝖎𝖈𝖍 - It isn’t much use to her within the walls of the Academy, but in the world at large, Hyoon is an incredibly rich and influential figure. She didn’t spend the past millennia doing nothing. WEAKNESSES 𝕷𝖆𝖟𝖞 - Hyoon is demotivated and bored. It takes days, even weeks sometimes for her to draw upon the needed energy to do… anything. From working on Academy assignments, to her own relationships, Hyoon often seems like she doesn’t care. 𝕿𝖔𝖝𝖎𝖈 - Hyoon can unfortunately be summed up in the word ‘toxic.’ She’s almost unknowingly manipulative, and gets upset when she doesn’t get her way… she’s working on it for that special someone, but she knows perfectly well that it’s a work in progress. 𝕿𝖍𝖎𝖗𝖘𝖙 - Hyoon has tasted the blood of humans before on her travels and in less savory environments. She can’t deny its addicting sweetness, though she’s recently found a better fix that isn’t quite as illegal. OUTLOOK / IDEALS / PERSPECTIVE ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ With a life as long as hers, Hyoon’s outlook on life has changed fairly frequently. Simply put, she’s bored after walking the earth as long as she has. When she was younger, there was a burning hatred for werewolves in her chest. She was taught to feel that way by the man that turned her, and it wasn’t until much later that she realized the truth: it doesn’t matter. An eternal war between species? What was the point? She was eternal, a werewolf would only last a blink of the eye. Even so, Hyoon still tends to look at werewolves as dogs in need of a firmer hand. They would serve her well as pets, but she suspects they wouldn’t like that idea. On the other hand, when it comes to witches, warlocks, wizards, and whatnot, Hyoon has something of a softspot for them. Having been raised by a witch makes it easy for her to have a bias. They may be weaker than her, less intelligent, and they may not live forever, but in her experience, most spellslingers have had the right intention. When it comes to actual mortals, the powerless humans, Hyoon looks at them almost as toys. They aren’t a threat, especially in modern times. She is no stranger to the sweet taste of their blood, either. AMBITIONS ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ➽➽➽ Hyoon wants to run the show at the Academies. She used to believe it was her birthright, but now she's not sure it's earned as easily as that. FEARS ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ➽➽➽ She's afraid she'll never find her true path. в í σ g r α p h ч ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ▿ ▵ ▿ ▵ Fifteen hundred years ago, a vampire ruled over a village on the eventual Korean peninsula. His presence kept them safe from marauding supernaturals, but it came at a price: the vampire missed the taste of fresh, human blood. In return for sacrifices, he protected them from the influence and danger of other supernatural beings and mortals alike. After over a decade of being under his protection, the vampire decided he wanted to move away from the area — he had no choice; the Academy had sent hunters after him for breaking the sacred rules. It was a frustrating moment for him. He thought he’d found a good balance, a way around the rules. Willing sacrifices would surely be allowed, or so he had convinced himself. When he heard of their ploy to send hunters after him, he knew he had to leave. There was a sense of attachment to the village, and he had to hope they would be safe without his protection. Convinced he was a deity-esque figure, the villagers gave him one last sacrifice, a deluded effort to ensure his protection was permanent. The sacrifice was the most precious thing the village had to offer: its youngest child. Greedily, he took the child as a final offering, but when he retreated to his mountain hideaway, he found himself fascinated by her for one simple reason. She didn’t seem afraid of him. There were no tears, and no screams echoing off the stone walls of his cavern. To him, she seemed courageous — especially for a child. He didn’t kill her that night. Nor the next night, when he took her with him on his run through the jungle, so to speak. It wasn’t until the fifth day that he realized what he wanted to do. A child who was as brave as her deserved more than to be merely a mortal. He’d already broken Academy rules, what was another? On the fifth night, he turned her. On the sixth day, he named her Hee-yoon, a name meaning ‘wise and beautiful.’ From then on, he resolved to raise the girl as his own. On the eighth day, he stopped running from the Academy’s hunters and surrendered. On trial, he was nearly punished by death to him and Heeyoon, but in the end a deal was struck. He would fight for the Academy and keep rogue vampires in line and in return, they would let him raise his daughter in relative peacefulness. He was assigned a handler, a female witch Academy official who would make sure he behaved, as well as instill the ‘proper’ values in the young, freshly turned vampire. Under their combined tutelage, the young vampire grew into an intelligent and cunning young woman. While her ‘mother’ tried to teach her to use her abilities to protect mortals and people who are weaker, her father explained her position in this world ass one of rulership over the ‘lessers;’ by the time she was sent to the Academy it was only natural that she acted the way she did — like she was better than everyone. There, she initially served the mandatory six years before working out an ‘independent’ study of sorts with the professors. With that out of the way, Hyoon spent the next millennia exploring the world and finding her place in it. During her travels, she did what any self-respecting immortal would, and amassed a large fortune before ultimately realizing that nothing she did mattered and the world would endlessly continue spinning with or without her. This was a big realization for her, and a landmark moment in her life. Eventually, Hyoon returned to Hawthorne Academy, where she announced her intention to simply make it her home while she figured things out. Since then, over a hundred years ago, Hyoon has been a permanent fixture at the Academy while she continues to try and figure out whether her father’s declaration of her ‘right to rule’ is correct or not. She has time to figure it out, and is certainly in no rush to find the answer. She has all the time in the world.

ʜᴀᴡᴛʜᴏʀɴᴇ ᴀᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍʏ [A Murder Mystery, Supernatural Dark Academia RP]

i'm in bro this looks tight

Silent Night at The Magnolia

i'm contractually obligated to be here

@Fabricant451

i can confirm

DWS [SHELVED UNTIL BETTER TIME]

Introducing: Daniel Helmsley & Michael Stroud

CW: Marijuana usage

_{Location: The Boys’s home → The Club Fair/The Gym at the Towers → The Club Fair
Mentions: Krista Müller, William Blake, East of Eden, Evelyn Harding
Interactions: William Blake @smarty0114}

“Dude, yeah, I can hear you. The music’s not that fuckin’ loud!”

Danny lied blatantly into the phone as he spoke to his older brother. The music blaring from the Bluetooth speaker on the counter while he cooked his breakfast of champions made it almost impossible for Danny to hear anything, but it wasn’t like he really cared. This wasn’t the first phone call from back home that he’d ignored, and he had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last. The subject this time was whether or not Daniel Helmsley would be returning home for the holidays. Danny Boy planned to pull out every move in the book to make sure he got out of this. Whatever it takes.

“I can’t come home for the holidays, bro. I gotta watch the boys. Can you imagine what they’d get up to if I wasn’t watching them like a hawk dude?” It was only partially a lie; if Danny dipped for a few days, then the heavy burden of being the group’s leader would fall on Damon’s shoulders. Though, if Danny knew Damon — which he did — Damon would abhor the idea of babysitting James and Ryu, and Danny couldn’t see Will stepping in to handle things. He just couldn’t go. “What? Yeah, I know you don’t get it. How!? Because you have no friends, motherfucker.” Danny scoffed into the phone.

“Don’t give her the phone man. Come on, dude. Because I’m not going to change my mind just because my mom bitches at me! I don’t wanna go home! Fuck. I’m a grown ass man, let me do what I damn well please. They got a thing for where you’re headed man. It’s called no contact.” Danny snapped, as he reached up into the freezer to grab a bag of dino nuggets, which he tore open with his mouth. He dumped them onto a plate, and slammed it into the microwave before he punched the two minute button. “...yes I’m listening to Rage. Yes I know I go to school with East of Eden. I don’t like their fucking music! That’s why I’m not listening to them. Because Evelyn Harding’s music doesn’t have a message - this track has a message. Evelyn Harding fucking wishes. Wait, dude, come on.”

As the song came to a close, Danny could hear the sounds of the phone being passed around and he tried to steady himself. “Hi, mama. No, I’m good.” Danny said, before he slowly moved the phone away from his ear and sat it down on the counter. He knew his mom was going to talk a thousand miles a minute whether or not he could hear her and he needed both hands anyway. The microwave went off, and he popped it open to pull out his dino nuggets. He’d wanted bacon, but couldn’t find any in the fridge. There was never a shortage of frozen food though; not in the boys’s dormitory. “Ow! Fuck that’s hot.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” He quickly picked his phone back up, knowing his mother was going to be freaking out over him yelping in pain. He should have had the foresight to turn his hand metal before he grabbed the plate out of the microwave, but his mind was clouded. “Yes. Like I said, the fire was only a good thing for me. I think I called it a paradigm shift, didn’t I? That’s poetry, ma. Look, I can’t go unless the boys can come. They’re not gonna want to come to our house for the holiday! …ALRIGHT I’LL ASK THEM. Look, mama I gotta go. I got a busy day.” With that, Danny finally found the freedom to hang up.

He saw he had a message on his phone, but he had more important stuff to do. Danny opened the fridge and pulled out the ranch. He spun around and covered his dino nuggets in it. Satisfied with the meal that he had made for himself, he reached behind his ear and pulled out the joint he’d been hiding there since he got a phone call.

He held it in his lips and lit it with the Zippo lighter he always carried around, and inhaled deeply. After he pulled it out he let the smoke leave his mouth and a content smile crept across his lips. He grabbed his food and sat down on the couch, only managing to eat a couple of the mess of microwaved dino nuggets and ranch he’d made before he remembered he had a message to check on his phone.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” He groaned as he stared down at the phone and the message on it.

From Bishop:
Ur late.

First off, he was late, there was no denying that. But Danny hardly thought he needed to physically be there for the club fair! He didn’t understand what he was supposed to do, shill for the club? It was a fucking frisbee golf club, no one else was going to join it! That was the beauty of the whole thing. Even so, if Bishop was on his ass all day over this then he’d hate every second of it. It was with a heavy heart that Danny quickly scarfed down his nuggets, and jumped to his feet.

To Bishop:

Dude, I had to get my early morning work out in. Gotta stay in top tip evil stoppin’ shape. I’ll be there. Sec

With that message sent, Danny only had to make it from the dorm to the fair, and once he made it to the fair, to his booth. Danny made his way to the bathroom and popped open the medicine cabinet to grab eye drops and tilted his head back to put a few drops in each eye. He blinked a few times, then slammed it shut and stared into his eyes that were still very obviously bloodshot and nodded. “...good enough.”

Danny almost made it to his booth before he suddenly started to get self-conscious. Danny liked to get stoned, but Danny did not like to be in public while stoned — one of the many side effects of smoking weed was paranoia, and it hit him hard as he rolled up onto the club fair. To him, it seemed like all eyes were on him as he did something as simple as walk among his classmates.

He barely made it halfway to his booth before he had to ask someone, anyone, if he looked as high as he fucking felt. He passed by a blonde student, and gripped him by the shoulders, spinning him to look him in the eyes. “Yo, do I look high to you?” He demanded, and the boy simply stared at him, before sputtering out.

“..wh-what?”

Earlier

Michael Stroud more or less remembered high school fondly. He’d had a group of friends, Scouts, and work to keep him busy. He lived with his parents, and he was exposed to a lot of the heroing business, the career he was coming to feel more and more like he was made for. One week in, and he wasn’t so sure about college. He’d imagined it going… differently in his head, but maybe he’d just watched too many movies. There were way more actual classes in real life, and a whole lot less prank wars and groups of ne’er-do-wells who ended up becoming friends with the nerds.

Between that and the fact that Michael couldn’t get over the thought that great things were expected of him just because of his lineage (adopted lineage even!), and it was kind of exhausting to be here. He was having trouble making friends because of the simple assumption that everyone knew who he was.

At least he liked his RA (seriously, how could someone be so nice and pretty at the same time?), and William was being nice and helping him adjust. Even so, Michael was finding one big problem with finding friends and making his way through his university years: Anxiety, with a capital A. That was why he’d had trouble sleeping that evening, which brought him to where he was now.

It was really one of his father’s suggestions that working out was a better use of his time than floating in the air above the Bechtel Tower, and Michael was doing his best to take that advice with him to Crystal Peak. He found himself in the gym of the Towers he stayed in. It was early enough in the morning that no one else was there, and Michael always found something genuinely comforting about exercising in solitude. Maybe it was all in his head, but even when he worked out with his father and other members of the Coalition on occasion, he’d felt like they were staring when he ran on the treadmill or when he deadlifted the bar. Had they thought he wasn’t trying because he wasn’t using his powers?

As time passed, and more people flooded in for their morning workouts, Michael was beginning to have a quiet realization. Keeping a comfortable pace on the treadmill, he looked around at the others and a smile crept across his lips as he thought to himself… no one cared. No one cared that he was running on the treadmill instead of flying in a wind tunnel, or bench pressing a car. In a way, it was freeing.

A few minutes later, and he was walking out of the shower with a newfound energy to tackle the day. If he could just go about his business, then maybe he could figure out the friends thing. The very least he could, he thought, was to attend the club fair, and maybe join a club or two. There had to be a couple for the things he liked, it was a massive school. Maybe a baking club… he knew there was a music club, Krista had tried to sell him on joining it, but Michael had no talent whatsoever when it came to music, and aside from that the idea of joining a club dominated by East of Eden didn’t really appeal to him. The frontwoman was frankly terrifying. On his way to the fair, Michael had the bright idea of looking for Will and joining a club or two he suggested. There had to be a few that Will was a part of, right?

He was practically bouncing with excitement as he made his way to the club fair, but that faded almost as quickly as it had come. Before he could even fully grasp what was happening, he felt a pair of hands grab him on the shoulder, and he found himself face to face with a man that looked more like a crazed hobo than a college student, demanding a question that seemed all too simple: “Yo, do I look high to you?”

All Michael could do was respond in a confused, almost distressed voice. “...wh-what?”

Danny Boy frowned as he stared down at the young man and shook his head. “Shit, you’re no help.” He released the kid, and looked up at the sky with a heavy sigh. If Bishop caught him stoned while on official business like this? He’d never be free from the endless bitching. He watched as the obviously exceptionally fresh freshman lifted a hand and pointed at something. “What?” No response, Danny rolled his bloodshot eyes. “What is it, Lassie? Is someone stuck in a well?”

Michael was confused to say the least. Lassie? Who the hell even was that? Still, he wanted to help and he just reached up to behind the other guy’s ear, and then pulled his fingers back, holding a joint that had only been smoked a bit. “Here.” He said, and the other guy’s eyes squinted a bit.

“Fuck. I forgot about that fuckin’ thing, good call… bro. What’s your name?” Despite the joint being held out to him, Danny didn’t make an attempt to take it back. Instead, he held out a hand and shook his head. “No way, little man. The way you look? You need that more than I do. I’m Danny by the way. Hey, do you like frisbee golf?”

Michael had no idea what to do with the joint he was now holding, and so he awkwardly held it at his side. He certainly wasn’t going to smoke the thing. It was drugs! He was holding drugs, if his mother could see him now… He had to take a deep breath to steady himself, and finally managed to sputter out. “Huh? I’m Michael. Hey, I’m looking for Will… uh, Will Blake. Do you know where he is? I’ve never played frisbee golf…”

“Never… never once!? What the fuck? Fuckin’ new generation is draggin’ us down. Walk and talk, Mikey boy —”

“_{Please don’t call me that.}”

“Well I sure as shit ain’t sayin’ Michael every time like I walked out of That 70’s Show.” As requested though, they walked and talked. “Right, so. What do you do? What’s your super schtick? Everybody’s got a gimmick, y’know?”

“Uh, I can fly, and -”

“What!? You’re a flyer?! Now I been thinkin’ I could really use a flyer… I got a group, y’know, future Super Hero Team. Got a fast guy, got me — I’m a metal guy, an electric guy, and a big ol’ fuckin’ monstrosity of a demon Damon dog. Dude, you should play frisbee golf with us! You might like me and the rest of the Boys. Plus, I mean, if you can fly…”

“...do you know where I can find Will?”

Michael knew there was a hint of desperation in his voice, but this guy seemed a bit… wild. He had to admit, Danny seemed to have an infectious way of talking. Michael would have been lying if he said he didn’t want to hear more about the ‘boys,’ or whatever Danny was talking about, but he felt like he needed Will around while he did it, just in case Danny tried something insane. Like handing him a joint he wanted nothing to do with.

“No, but I will sound the horn. Smile.” Before Michael could even protest, Danny had pulled his phone out and snapped a photo of him - joint in hand, which he quickly sent in a text to William Blake, his greatest frenemy.

To: Billiam
this urs?

Danny left a pause before he sent his next message, long enough for Will to check it, though not quite long enough for him to get a response in.

To: Billiam
mine now
need a flyer neway.

DWS [SHELVED UNTIL BETTER TIME]

Erick Cypress

▲ Ender

^{Nickname(s): Ender (this is generally what he prefers to go by)}

I've been through the desert
On a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert, you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain – Dewey Bunnell

╟ 10/31 (23) || He’s a mutt || Male || Politically unaffiliated, Catholic religiously || Bisexual || Single ╢

⋙: Ａ Ｃ Ａ Ｄ Ｅ Ｍ Ｉ Ｃ Ｓ

____________________________________________________________________

A P P L I C A T I O N P R O C E S S

|| Written test || “Ninety hours of studying with Jude barely made me able to squeak by. This is probably the most difficult test I’ve ever taken…” || Mr. Cypress had a shockingly low score for the history part of the written test, but did very well on the leadership and morality parts of the exam. He seems to hold a strong sense of duty to his job. It makes sense, given his pedigree.

|| Practical test || “Phenomenally. This is where I excel.” || This is in his blood, and the practical test proved it. Erick Cypress was made for this, and must have spent a lot of time practicing before he arrived at the school. He struggled a bit against ranged opponents, but once he closed the gap he was able to fight back pretty efficiently.

|| Written essay topic || “I didn’t write it, my girlfri— ex-girlfriend did it for me. She wrote about how people who work behind the scenes are more important than the heroes are. I wonder if anyone’s realized I didn’t do it?” || Mr. Cypress’s paper received top marks and we almost asked permission to have it printed in the school paper. Truly someone who loves the game.

|| Video supplement || “I’m the next Cypress family superstar. Shouldn’t my pedigree be reason enough to give me a shot? Besides, I’ve been training for this almost my entire life, so if this doesn’t work out I don’t know where my life is heading.”

S C H O O L

Crystal Peak

Y E A R

Senior

C L A S S I F I C A T I O N

Elemental Manipulator

O C C U P A T I O N

He does not.

L I V I N G A R R A N G E M E N T

The Towers at Crystal Lake Commons

I N T E R N S H I P S

Has worked several times with Cast Iron to get some on the job experience.

⋙: Ｒ Ｅ Ｐ Ｕ Ｔ Ａ Ｔ Ｉ Ｏ Ｎ

____________________________________________________________________

Ender is a bit of a loner, who keeps to himself. Most people aren’t interested in interacting with him because of jealousy. He’s a Cypress, and he’s been personally training with the #2 hero for a long time. Early on in his tenure at Crystal Peak Academy, Erick tried to circumvent this and make friends but he pretty quickly decided it wasn’t worth the required effort.

⋙: Ｐ Ｏ Ｗ Ｅ Ｒ Ｓ ^{＆ Ｆ Ｉ Ｇ Ｈ Ｔ Ｉ Ｎ Ｇ Ｓ Ｔ Ｙ Ｌ Ｅ}

____________________________________________________________________

A B I L I T I E S

Air Manipulation:

Inherited from his mother, Erick is able to manipulate the air. He can create powerful gusts of winds, air blasts, and use it to propel himself around. He’s able to move himself quite quickly using it as well - though he’s certainly no speedster, he’s nevertheless pretty quick on his feet. Erick also has enhanced lung capacity, and is able to hold his breath underwater for long periods of time, and push himself with cardio activity for long periods of time.

His control of the air gives him some more sinister abilities as well, such as pulling the air from an opponent’s lungs — though he tends to not use these in favor of the flashier abilities at his uncle’s suggestion. It’s hard to be popular if he’s murdering people, who knew.

Gravity Manipulation:

The half of his power from his father’s side, Ender does not use it out of principle. It is unrefined and he frankly has no control or skill with it - something he needs to practice while at the academy. But no one knows if he'll be able to get over his feelings, something Norman has been pushing for for years now.

Pressure Manipulation:

Ender’s parental powers combine into this more unique category; Norman had an unfortunate point when he suggested that Ender be born because of the potential melting pot of power. He can increase the pressure around objects to crush them, manipulate the buoyancy of things, or increase the strength of his strikes by increasing the pressure he exerts.

Much like air manipulation, there are a few more sinister applications of this power, such as lowering someone’s blood pressure.

L I M I T A T I O N S

Emotional Dissonance:

Ender’s powers require a heavy amount of control, focus, and finesse. He has to maintain his calm to be able to use them well, especially the more dangerous facets of his abilities. It makes some of his powers difficult to use, because of his anger and frustration that he struggles to control. He’s working on it though!

Range:

Ender is a close range fighter. He’s at his best when he can connect his fists to his opponents, and his blasts tend to dissipate after too far. In a long range fight, he has to spend his time closing the gap rather than fighting.

Some touch required:

Ender cannot use his powers to affect another person without being able to touch them. This means he can’t pull air from lungs, etc without physical contact.

C O M B A T

Ender is a hand-to-hand combatant first and foremost. He has trained to add a certain level of flair to his martial arts. He knows that part of the game is putting on a show, and he can play the game rather well — Cast Iron made sure of that. Once a range opens up between himself and his opponent, Ender is quick to close the gap by launching himself forward and propelling through the air with blasts.

His blasts are short to mid range as well, allowing Ender to knock his enemies into the air to continually juggle them with his pressure-enhanced fists of righteous fury. Or, at least, that’s the idea anyway.

⋙: Ａ Ｐ Ｐ Ｅ Ａ Ｒ Ａ Ｎ Ｃ Ｅ ^{＆ Ｐ Ｅ Ｒ Ｓ Ｏ Ｎ Ａ Ｌ Ｉ Ｔ Ｙ}

____________________________________________________________________

D A I L Y L O O K S & S T Y L E

• Hair: Dark Brown | Short | He doesn’t style it
• Eyes: Brown
• Height: 6’
• Body Type: Well built. Not shredded but muscular.
• Scars, Tattoos and/or Piercings: No tattoos or piercings, some scars hidden under clothing sustained while training with Cast Iron.

S U P E L O O K S & S T Y L E

TBD

P E R S O N A L I T Y

Growing up in the middle of a family feud has made it difficult for Erick to trust others. He’s been used as a tool by both of his uncles in their petty squabbles for most of his life, and aside from being exhausting, it’s made it difficult for him to believe anyone has pure intentions when they ask something of him. He has built up tall walls around himself, and is a very guarded, deeply private person. The very idea of other people knowing what he’s up to in his personal life makes him exceedingly uncomfortable, which of course begs the question: why does he even want to be a hero?

The few people who have managed to break through his guard and get to know him well, describe Ender as gentle, or protective. He has a strong sense of duty and dedication to his tasks. He is passionate about his few hobbies, and disinterested in the corporate world of Supes as a whole. He knows what he needs to know, but only what he needs to know.

The more Ender opens up, the more it becomes strange that he seems interested in being a hero. Asking Ender, the answer is really simple: he’s doing it out of spite. Erick is motivated by the idea that if he becomes a great hero, it would be easier for him to take over as the head of the Cypress family and ‘fix’ things.

F E A R S

Snakes, Erick does not do well with snakes.

⋙: Ｆ Ａ Ｍ Ｉ Ｌ Ｙ ^{＆ Ｒ Ｅ Ｌ Ａ Ｔ Ｉ Ｏ Ｎ Ｓ Ｈ Ｉ Ｐ Ｓ}

____________________________________________________________________

L O V E D O N E S
D I R E C T F A M I L Y

Norman Cypress: Erick has a complicated relationship with Cast Iron. Erick appreciates his training because it will enable him to become a better hero than his uncle. He respects Cast Iron, because of how strong and effective of a hero he is. But to say that he hates Cast Iron would be an understatement.

Colin Cypress: Ender’s relationship with Colin is a bit less extreme than his relationship with Norman. There is a mutual respect between Erick and his uncle. Colin offers a different kind of guidance than Norman does, and Ender appreciates it. He definitely thinks that Colin is hypocritical with his belief that the problem with the Cypress family is simply that he isn’t leading it.

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

Jude Darling: Jude is Ender’s ex-partner. They are still fairly close and interact, but Jude somewhat doesn’t approve of Ender’s motives for attending Crystal Peak and becoming a hero. She helped with his application, but they ultimately amicably split up when Ender left for college. They remain close and still talk often.

Luciana Cypress: TBD

Noah Cypress: TBD

Krista Muller: TBD

⋙: Ｈ Ｉ Ｓ Ｔ Ｏ Ｒ Ｙ

____________________________________________________________________

Y O U R L I F E S O F A R

TW: Rape

Most people think being born into one of the three most powerful families on the planet is a privilege, a stroke of luck. Erick vehemently disagrees, and would be more than happy to trade his upbringing with almost anyone. As far as the public knows, Ender is a ‘one night stand’ baby, and the Cypress family has done an exceptional job of covering up the truth: Erick Cypress is the product of sexual violence. His mother was raped by Mothman, a villain from Cast Iron’s rogue gallery.

It is sadly difficult to tell Erick’s story without telling his father’s. Sylvester Anderson was born in South Africa, and watched powerlessly as his homeland was ravaged by the greed of the Cypress family. Over time, he became something of an outspoken advocate for World Watch to step in and implement tighter global restrictions on Terraform LTD, so other people didn’t have to watch the places they grew up in be turned into mining towns, with their natural landscapes stripped for a few bucks.

Sylvester spoke passionately about this problem, asking questions like ‘how could the world worship someone like Cast Iron when he allows his family to do this?’ Cast Iron responded with laughter, and he casually started referring to Sylvester as ‘Mothman,’ referencing how he seemed to never stop showing up and how he seemed to never give up on his pestering. Just like a moth would never give up its chase of the light.

After a while of his attempts at being peaceful, something tragic happened. Sylvester’s father, who had worked in the mines since he was a very young child succumbed to cancer from inhaling the dust and fumes. The Mothman had enough, and he decided that he no longer wanted to be so nice to the people who had what he felt belonged to him. In a violent, dramatic scene, it was revealed that Mothman was more than just an annoyance. With his powers of gravity manipulation, Mothman completely destroyed the minefield Terraform LTD had set up in his hometown, and set about his next target: Cast Iron himself.

Their few fights were highly publicized, and maybe hero historians consider Mothman to be one of Cast Iron’s greatest villains, despite him being something of a ‘flash in the pan.’ Mothman’s sanity was gone with his father, and he finally decided the best thing he could do would be to strike at Cast Iron’s family. That’s where he got the idea to attack Madeline Cypress. He was successful, though it would end up being his downfall. Madeline killed him herself, when he was lording his victory over Cast Iron while he still had her captive.

Madeline wanted to get an abortion, but it was Norman who voluntold her not to, saying that the combination of her air manipulation powers and Mothman’s gravity manipulation could make an interesting combination. Madeline resisted at first, but eventually agreed after Norman said he would adopt the child himself if she didn’t want it after its birth.

Fortunately, once she saw her child, she fell in love with him, and thus Erick Cypress was born. While growing up, Norman took a particular interest in his growth for a few different reasons. Guilt, of course, was one of those; though he’d never say it aloud, he blames himself for what happened, and he took it upon himself to train Erick in how to use his powers. Of course, Norman also demanded that Erick become a hero to carry on the name.

Ender had no interest in that when he was younger, but eventually succumbed to the endless pressure from the elders in his family, and agreed to go to Crystal Peak Academy. Ender is spiteful, and plans to become a greater hero than Cast Iron simply to take over as the head of the family.

⋙:Ａ Ｎ Ｙ Ｔ Ｈ Ｉ Ｎ Ｇ Ｅ Ｌ Ｓ Ｅ

____________________________________________________________________

Joseph Gordon Levitt, AB5EC9

Ender is very passionate about film and photography. If he didn’t feel obligated to be a hero to try and set his family on the right course, he would have been a photographer. He likes to take nature shots in his downtime.

𝘿𝙀𝙎𝘾𝙀𝙉𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉 ⌜ᴀ ɢᴏᴅ ʀᴏʟᴇᴘʟᴀʏ⌟

𝓹 𝓪 𝓷 𝓲 𝓴 / 𝓴 𝓪𝓵 𝓶

_{location: Taiyo Kai Seattle Building Top Floor - Amaterasu’s Office
interactions: Amaterasu @Hey Im Jordan & Uzume @metanoia
mentions: Tsukiyomi || Hercules || Apollo}

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

For Amaterasu, the day had already been so frustrating. First, she’d missed the gathering of the gods. Then, she’d gotten served the wrong kind of water. She’d wanted lemon water, and what had her employees provided her? Watermelon, for some reason. At least Uzume was finally here to discuss the matters at hand.

They were seated in the corner office of her Seattle office, overlooking the lovely city. Amaterasu absolutely preferred Tokyo, but it was undeniable that Seattle had a charm to it. Officially, they were here to meet and talk about a few key business decisions that were coming up. More importantly, this was when they got to gossip about the other deities. Where Amaterasu hadn’t attended the brunch, Uzu had. And Amaterasu wanted to hear everything she’d missed out on!

Unfortunately, Uzume seemed liked her mind was in the clouds. That wasn’t uncommon for her, Amaterasu’s Uzu-chan often had moments where she spaced out, but this was a bit different. Amaterasu sat her water on a coaster on her wooden desk - she wasn’t going to have any rings - then finally broke the longstanding silence. “Uzu-chan. Is there something on your mind…? You’re quiet today.”

As per the usual whenever she had her mind on something, Uzume had barely registered what her mistress said to her. She heard her heavenly voice and that radiant tone in which she always spoke whenever she was concerned for Uzume, but she wasn’t entirely present. Truth of the matter was Uzume was incredibly bummed. A ridiculous way to describe such a mood, but it couldn’t be helped. She was bummed out because of what happened earlier in the day and how her high was grounded and she was incredibly low low low.

“Sorry?” Perking up mentally, she looked towards her boss, best friend, and her whole universe as eyes of concern matched the tone that she vaguely recalled calling out to her. “I..no, it’s nothing really, Ama-sama.” That wasn’t exactly true and Uzume knew it. And if she knew it, then Amaterasu knew it too. Nothing that went through her mind, no matter how well-hidden, went past her mistress. “Okay, so it’s not actually not nothing. I went to the Luncheon. Or I wanted to.” She pursed her lips, looking at Amaterasu.

That was somewhat disappointing. “What stopped you?” Amaterasu paused, and ran her head through all the possible options for what could have both prevented Uzume from going to the luncheon (it was really a brunch, wasn’t it?) and could have thrown her so far off her game.

“It wasn’t a boy, was it?” She made a face at the thought, but trusted that Uzume wouldn’t be this shook up by a boy. Though her friend certainly had a flair for the dramatic, Amaterasu held onto the hope that she wouldn’t be so easily thrown off by love. It wasn’t like they were living in a romance manga.

“What? No! Why would you even think such a thing, Ama-sama!” Immediately, Uzume waved her hands emphatically and shook her head vigorously for extra emphasis. “It’s nothing like that at all. I mean there is someone that I--but no, it’s not that!” Uzume tried desperately to simmer down the level of momentary embarrassment she suddenly came under fire by (mostly due to Amaterasu’s implication that she didn’t go to the luncheon because of a crush). Truth was, she did have something of a crush but there was a completely valid reason.

Like telling a story through physical reenactment, Uzume moved in front of Amaterasu’s desk, making sure she had her mistress’ full attention. “So there I was, just getting out of my car, looking so cute -- like really cute! I wished you could have seen me. I picked out the most adorable sunflower dress! It would have stunned so many people.” She let herself get lost in the giddiness she was displaying, disappointment plastered all over her face because she didn’t get to show it off like she wanted to. “But yeah, okay so where was I?” She hummed for a few seconds and had an a-ha moment. “Right! So I was making my way downtown so to speak and I was stopped by…”

Uzume leaned closer, pausing for dramatic effects.

And then her head sank low.

Then it rose. “COPS! That’s right. But not just regular old cops. It wasn’t mortal cops, but our kind of cops. Every mortal and some gods were escorted out. I think by that wolf boy person. Uh…Fenrir? I think that’s his name.” She scratched her head, making confused noises as she tried to remember if she had that right. “Anyway, that’s why I couldn’t go. Something happened and it was canceled!” She dramatically sighed, now feeling just as bummed out as she was in the moment of realizing that it was canceled.

It was like a wave of relief washed over her when Uzume confirmed that it wasn’t a boy that was distracting her. The burst of embarrassment she seemed to feel at the idea didn’t exactly put Ama’s fears of Uzume running off with a boy to rest. Stumbling, stammering, and even waving her arms around… Amaterasu keyed in on how Uzume had said there was someone she was interested in, but she intended to let her tell her story before she jumped on that point like a tiger pouncing on its prey.

Amaterasu had no doubt that Uzume had in fact been super cute. She considered making a distasteful comment about Uzume wearing the sunflower dress if she went on a date with her special someone, but she chose to let it go. Distracting Uzume from her story would probably lead to her forgetting it entirely when she was in this kind of state.

Once she finally finished, Amaterasu lifted her glass of water and took a sip as she thought about what she’d just heard. Divine ‘cops,’ deities being escorted out. Fenrir? No, that likely wasn’t right, it must have been Hati; but it was tough to be sure with Uzume when it came to names, but Amaterasu knew Fenrir was a troublemaker, and the one of the wolves who was useful was Hati… or maybe she was misremembering? She’d have to call Odin and ask him which was which.

“That’s… troubling, to say the least. I’ll have to make some calls and see if I can get the details if you don’t have them. Wait, if it was canceled, have you gotten your divine fruit? I don’t want you growing old on me.” Of course, Amaterasu had yet to eat hers either, but Amaterasu felt she was a lot less likely to forget it than the airheaded Uzume was.

“Fruit?” Uzume blinked cluelessly at Amaterasu. And she continued to do so for several moments, which caused all movements with her arms and legs, the usually vibrant expressions she had on her face were frozen in the sands of time. What Ama asked her hadn’t clicked until it did and she started to panic. “Oh my us! I didn’t!” As she started to pace back and forth frantically, she muttered inaudible words, thoughts racing through her mind over and over again. “It’s going to be okay, right? Right? I mean one year won’t make that much of a difference, right?” She asked Amaterasu while still pacing in the way she was.

“Uzu-chan,” Amaterasu said with a smile and a gentle chuckle as she shook her head. Amaterasu was amused by her reaction. Uzume seemed to be having a panic attack over something that she could handle with a simple text message. “I’ll just arrange to get the fruits from Persephone directly, there’s really nothing to be worried about, alright? Calm.” She spoke in a gentle voice, one she often used with Uzume to try and show her that everything was okay. “No reason to stress over something like that. And one year wouldn’t dim your shine a bit.”

Oh…

Like a flick of a switch, the panic that was previously on her face and in her movements had been turned off, replaced by a smile and Uzume’s normal mannerisms. She had hyperfixated on the fact that she never got the fruit and that she would have really aged a year that she never considered that they could be just delivered to her. In the height of her momentary panic, she forgot that was a thing. Now that she was thinking about it, they did send the fruits to gods (she assumed they did). “You’re the best, Ama-sama!” Uzume exclaimed, smiling cheerfully as her overall disposition matched it. “All calm now!”

“Thank you, I know.” She smiled again and nodded her head. Sometimes, Uzume would fly off the handle, and Amaterasu just had to make sure she pumped the brakes a bit. “Such a shame that you didn’t make it into the luncheon, I thought you’d have all kinds of gossip to spill. I like hearing about what the other gods are up to, but being involved with them…? Eh, I think you’re the one that’s better at that, Uzu-chan. Have you checked your social media? Maybe there’s a get together where you can be a fly on the wall for me. That way I can still hear about their drama.” As catty as it was, the drama of the other pantheons fueled Amaterasu. She had her own inter-pantheon problems with Tsukiyomi, but for the most part the Japanese pantheon was pretty relaxed. She was lucky, in that regard.

Uzume didn’t think of that. Truth be told, she was more orless lost in her own head and down mood that she didn’t even think about checking on social media. But at the suggestion, the goddess of the dawn had an outward “ah!” exclamation as she whipped out her bedazzled iPhone. The case she had it in was gold and pink, with the case itself being pink and gold stones that looked fake, but it wasn’t. A present from someone special to her. Not that someone but another someone. Anyway, it was nice and she went surfing.

“Oh!” Uzume’s mouth opened as she went down her twitter feed. “You were right again, Ama-sama! There is a get together. At Zeno Megalos’ place--” She had to remember that she wasn’t among mortals. “I mean Hercules. You know, that total of a hunk beefcake!” Her heart may have possibly belonged to another, but Uzume wasn’t blind. Hercules was absolutely a drop-dead hunk. Greeks certainly had all the looks and Uzume definitely did that respectfully. “Seems they are having a party today.” A myriad of thoughts went through her mind like it was a speedway and a bunch of really fast cars were zooming in the usually spacious head of hers. She glanced back to her mistress. Part of her probably already knew the answer but it didn’t hurt to ask. “Could be a lot of fun! We could doll up and hit it up. Maybe?”

Amaterasu smiled, but ultimately shook her head no. “Thank you, Uzu-chan, but I have a long night ahead of me.” That much was true. Though her planned evening may have been centered around wine and mortal soap operas, it nonetheless was a long one. Aside from that, she had a text message on her phone that she hadn’t opened yet. Frankly, she was dreading opening it — she knew any message from Tsukiyomi was probably going to be trouble. Knowing how much of a socialite Uzume was compared to her though, Amaterasu did feel bad about making her got a party alone. “Why don’t you reach out to another god and see if they’d like to go with you? You have my permission to take whoever you want.” It would probably be one of the Aztec goddesses if Amaterasu had to guess, so far as she knew, Uzume spent a lot of time with them.

A wave of such immense disappointment passed through Uzume, the likes that rivaled her feeling when she couldn’t get into the luncheon on account of the cops. She knew these sort of parties weren’t typically her scene, but she was hoping Ama-Sama would want to come along anyway. Get a taste of life for herself, but also get to know the drama first-hand. “Oh..okay..” Uzume sunk her head down for a few moments, her overdramatic personality taking shape once again.

At least, that was until Amaterasu mentioned what quite possibly was the literal sun shining some light on an otherwise overcast situation. “You mean it!?” Her eyes shined bright like some kind of diamond in each eye and there was an instinctual response from Uzu as she leaned over the desk to bring Amaterasu into a tight hug. It was awkward and didn’t go as successfully as she saw it going in her head. She only managed to get part of the sun goddess’ neck into her grasp. But it was the thought that counted. “Thank you thank you thank you! You’re the best, Ama-sama!”

The sun goddess did not like being touched, but she thankfully made an exception for Uzume. Of course, Amaterasu hadn’t always enjoyed Uzume’s spontaneity, but over time she’d softened up to the often tackle style hugs or ‘glomps’ as Uzume sometimes called them. Unfortunately, it didn’t work quite as well when she was leaning over a desk to try and hug her. As she pulled away, Amaterasu nodded. “I just ask that you behave.” She knew that was a tall order likely to be ignored, but she hoped that Uzume would keep it in mind when she thought about making a bad decision. Not that Amaterasu was going to delude herself into thinking that would stop her.

She leaned back in her chair and smiled warmly, “but have a great time. You deserve a break after your long day.” While she was dismissing Uzume to do whatever she wanted, there was still a lot of night left for Amaterasu. She could dread it, and run from it all day — but in the end, Tsukiyomi would find her way to the building and into her office. One way or another. “I’m going to go back to my apartment and relax, if you need anything, I’m only a phone call away. Okay?”

Uzume never understood why Ama-sama always had to ask her to behave every time she went to some function. Whether it was a party hosted by some friends -- divine or otherwise -- of hers, getting together with Xochi and some of the others from Illicit, or, really just having fun, she always behaved. She was on her best behavior. But of course, what she considered her best behavior was what Amaterasu called ‘being a deviant’.

But she appreciated her mistress’ concern. She knew she cared and that these pleas she made with Uzu always came from a place of concern. That, at the least, she could keep in mind.

“I promise Ama-sama! Have a good day and night!” Blowing an enthusiastic kiss at her, Uzume left Amaterasu’s office.

She felt happier for some reason. Relieved? No, maybe it was more like she felt re-energized? Yeah that was it. It was a weight off her shoulder. What she needed right now was to blow off some steam. She needed to have herself a good time. Surround herself with people that would make her feel happy. She needed to drink, to dance, and maybe do some things that her mistress wouldn’t necessarily approve of.

“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her~” Uzume giggled, getting into the elevator.

She hummed cheerfully as she watched the floor number get closer and closer to the ground floor. As she kept her eyes locked on it and the music from the elevator just became white noise at this point, an antsy Uzume was getting more uncontrollably excited the longer she had to wait for her exit. It didn’t help that occasionally people who also worked in the building got on, thus prolonging her exit.

At some point, there were about five other people in the elevator with her and Uzu struck up conversations with them. They didn’t seem particularly interested in the random nonsense she said, so after a few rounds of exchanges, she went quiet.

Thankfully, her exit came, and rushing out like the sometimes impatient ditz she was, Uzu got into her car, drove off and texted a certain someone.

“Siri! Text Farmer’s Market Hunk!”

Texting Farmer’s Market Hunk!

“Heyyyyy! It’s Uzu! There’s a party tonight. At Acropolis. You know Hercules and Apollo’s party pad? I was thinking -- we should totally go! You know, with each other!”

message sent

“I mean as a date! You know, like officially or you know whatever. Doesn’t need to be! It’ll be funnnnnnnn!”

message sent

What did she just do? Did she really just do that? She asked him out? This was a mistake. A terrible, terrible mistake…

𝘿𝙀𝙎𝘾𝙀𝙉𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉 ⌜ᴀ ɢᴏᴅ ʀᴏʟᴇᴘʟᴀʏ⌟

_{Location: Around -> Acropolis
Interactions: The people who are at Acropolis, but she's mostly looking for Hercules @metanoia}

---

---

If I took you everywhere then well you wouldn’t know how to walk
If I spoke on your behalf then well you wouldn’t know how to talk
If I gave you everything and everything is what I bought
I can take it all back
I never cared ‘bout what you thought

The sun was shockingly bright and shockingly high by the time she opened her eyes. How long had she been out for her ‘nap?’ She thought about checking the time on her phone, and decided she didn’t care, instead reaching down into the sand beside the hammock she was laying in, flopping her hand around in the sand to try and find what she was looking for. Eventually, her hand found the ice chest she’d brought along when she’d set up her new beachside relaxation point and popped it open.

She pulled out an energy drink and sat up in a hammock in the same motion, a feat that to her was impressive - mostly because she was nursing a massive hangover from a bender the night before. There were two paths forward; one was the path of a good day, where she sipped the energy drink until the caffeine filled up her body, and the other was to chug the energy as fast as possible and deal with the inevitable consequences.

The only thing that stopped her from chugging every drop in the can was her music being unceremoniously shut off. She turned to look at the culprit, and saw a child standing above her bluetooth speaker. She squinted at the kid, and the kid spoke first.

“You look like shit.”

“What? You look like shit.” Benzaiten retorted, tipping the energy drink can to her lips and slamming what was left of it down her throat before she stood up from the hammock and looked down at the child. It was almost as if Benzaiten was daring her to say something.

The kid threw up her arms, “I’m twelve!” She protested, and Benzaiten appeared deep in thought for a few moments before she conceded and nodded.

“Alright fine, kid. You got me. Whaddaya want?” She demanded, and the kid frowned. How did she not already know what she wanted? Wasn’t she supposed to be smart? She watched as the older woman looked around for something, and then threw her empty can into the ice chest. “I can’t believe there’s not a trash can out here.”

“Mom said if I came out here and woke you up, you’d have a job for me.” The kid explained, and Benzaiten raised an eyebrow. What the fuck did people think she was doing out here? Growing jobs for children on her job tree?

“I don’t have —”

“She also said that if you said you didn’t have a job to tell you that you can’t just sleep in our backyard like a lazy bum and surf and be a degenerate for free.”

Benzaiten squinted. The kid’s mom had a point, but she didn’t want to babysit all day! She had plans. She had to get stoned, and then show up at Acropolis to get stoned with the boys and see if she could crash there for a few days. She needed a break from this lot. “Alright, Kimi. Fine. Your mom has a point.” She conceded, heading toward the driveway of the beachhouse, “You want a job? Fine, fine. I’ll get you a job.” She said, as she approached her vehicle. She climbed inside and gestured for Kimi to follow. “Remember. No refunds.”

Say it ain't so, I will not go
Turn the lights off, carry me home
Keep your head still, I'll be your thrill
The night will go on, my little windmill

Over the course of the day, Kimi realized that ‘no refunds’ was a joke. Benzaiten was giving the ice cream away. Stopping at different hotspots throughout Seattle, Kimi thought it was too cold for ice cream, but she had underestimated the people with bloodshot eyes at skateparks - who took the ice cream from her at a speed she hadn’t expected. All the while, Benzaiten sat in the front seat with her feet kicked up on the dash, while she listened to music.

Before long, the day was coming to a close and Benzaiten was parking the ice cream truck back in its place in the driveway. She looked over at Kimi and gave a triumphant smile. “There, how’s that? Helluva job, huh? Selling ice cream is hard work. Especially when it’s cold… I wanted to get a taco truck for winter, but it’s too much work.” Benz made a face, as if it were an impossible task to fill out the paperwork necessary to get a food truck. “Anyway, let’s rock and roll. I gotta go see some friends.”

Mucho gusto me llamo Bradley
I'm hornier than Ron Jeremy
And if you wanna get popped in your knee
Just wipe that look off your bati face
You hate me 'cause I got what you need

She watched Kimi hop out of the car and decided it was a job well done for her, then moved to get out herself. What she found when she opened the door, though, was a young girl holding out her hand. “What, are you serious?! We had a great day today! We bonded.” Kimi did not budge. Benzaiten sighed, and reached into her jeans’ back pocket to pull out her wallet, and grabbed two 20s and dropped them in Kimi’s hand.

“Yay! Thank you, grandma! Are you going to see the Greeks!? At, uh, uh, Acropolis? You should introduce me to Hercules sometime, I love the 12 Labors —”

“HEY! Not so loud, girl, we’re supposed to keep the whole god thing on the downlow… y’know? Artemis will come in here and kidnap you as punishment for me having a kid a few generations ago.”

“His YouTube channel is named Hercules too, grandma.”

“Oh.” Benzaiten did not watch her buddy’s YouTube channel. “Well, you can’t meet him anyway! He’d be a bad influence. Now get outta, and tell your mom I said not to wake me up again. Geeze, isn’t respect for your elders supposed to be a big thing in our culture?” Benzaiten watched as her granddaughter ran off back to the house, and then she jumped back into the truck.

She headed to the rear to grab her backpack and unzipped it, making sure the brick of weed she’d stashed away was still there, then slung it over her shoulder. Of course, she wasn’t foolish enough to bring an empty ice cream truck to the godlike frat house, that was just going to end in disaster. She hopped out of the truck and instead got on her bicycle. What better way to travel through Seattle in the cooler months? Bicycles were the way of the environmentally friendly person — disregard how she’d spent most of a day driving herself and her granddaughter around in an ice cream truck.

Shit! I missed the festival! At least I’m not Greek… Hera probably won’t care. Benzaiten silently thanked the fact that Hera wasn’t quite as demanding of other pantheons, and pedaled on. She had her headphones loosely wrapped around her neck, and more music accompanied her journey through the streets of Seattle.

Seattle was an unfortunately hilly city, but Benzaiten only regretted her choice on the way up on the way down. It was kind of fun to lift her legs off the pedals and enjoy the feeling of coasting down the hills. The wind rustled her hair around her shoulders as she went up and down the hills, bobbing her head up and down to the various songs she listened to while traveling.

Eventually, she slid her bike to a stop in front of Acropolis, and bounded inside without a care in the world, abandoning the bike in front of the entryway. As she stepped into the building, she bellowed, “HERC! WHERE YOU AT? I GOT WEED!” It was practically a mating call, coupled with music blasting from the headphones still wrapped around her neck.

Come my lady
Come-come my lady
You're my butterfly, sugar baby
Come my lady
Come-come my lady
You're my butterfly, sugar baby