Sarcelle Renard

Occult Regulation Office: A Mature Wizarding World Anthology

That awkward moment you post before catching up on the OOC

@BrutalBx I completely understand if you have to close the case for the good of the RP. It would be a shame for the rest of the RP to slow down and peter out because of our case taking too long.

And I won't lie, I'm somewhat morbidly interested in seeing how our characters would develop after a case gone horribly wrong.

Occult Regulation Office: A Mature Wizarding World Anthology

Interacting with:

Wyatt Holden

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Kieran could barely give Twycross’s plan a nod before his partner loudly proclaimed that they would handle the diner. And just like that, he let out a small huff of surprise as he found himself being all too literally dragged along by his partner, his face one of consternation at DeVito’s cheery antics. Despite the years they had been partners, the physical contact was still a bit much for the werewolf, so he was quite appreciative once she let go of his hand.

From what he could see, the town of Blue was one of the dullest he had ever seen, as the two Regulators passed very little of note on their way to the diner. Perhaps it was because the place was so humdrum and disconnected from the rest of the world that it had caught the attention of a serial killer with a penchant for eyes and candy. The thought didn’t sit well with him, as that hardly seemed fair. ’Not that this world is all that familiar with the concept of fairness to begin with,’ he bitterly mused as they passed another quiet street.

"So, we'll go in, order some milkshakes, and ask the waitress to give us some information about the murders. I'll do all the talking, don't worry, you just sit there next to me pretending to be concerned about the news while at the same time looking at me ever so lovingly..."

While the plan made perfect sense to Kieran, DeVito’s teasing at the end earned her one of Kieran’s trademark looks of exasperation, which involved his head being cocked slightly to the side and his ever present frown deepening even more, as he was not all that keen on repeating the travesty that was his attempt at smiling from a few minutes ago. The look softened though as she explained herself, reminding him once more that there was a stark difference between caring about someone professionally and personally. One that he was likely awful at faking.

The topic of whether he cared about DeVito beyond her skills as a Regulator was a murky one, as he had never really given it much thought. ”You got it,” he replied simply rather than wasting time delving into the matter.

It wasn’t all that long before they got to the all too unremarkable diner. It was the kind that you could step into and declare indistinguishable from the thousands that littered the small town landscape across the country, complete with worn down stools missing most of their stuffing and a Route 66 sign plastered on the wall. Life as a member of ORO had caused Kieran to step into many identical establishments, and he imagined he would step into many more over the course of his career. Well, given that he survived that long of course.

The pair earned some cursory glances from the few customers already seated as they made their way to a booth in the back, while Kieran measured them up himself with his own critical eye. None of the locals looked all that suspicious, much less magically gifted, so he took his seat across from DeVito quietly. The werewolf was even sporting a grin, which had the smallest bit of warmth to it, in an attempt to look a bit happy.

The attempt was short lived though, as the entrance of one Wyatt Holden caught him a bit off guard. Kieran couldn’t help but raise his eyebrow, as he didn’t care for people he didn’t know getting the drop on him, not to mention he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what Wyatt meant by “tasty.” But the name he provided certainly caught his interest, although that sadly gave way to more exasperation as DeVito joined in on Wyatt’s teasing. But before he could try end the foolishness and get down to business, their waitress showed up looking for their orders.

"My friend and I will have the same,” he ordered as he gestured at Wyatt, tacking the small grin back onto his face. Truthfully, he was growing somewhat impatient and simply wanted to get on with the case, but he was more than capable of stomaching a handful of small grievances.

As the waitress turned around to put in their order, the small grin quickly deflated as he turned his attention back to Wyatt. ”And what exactly has Miss Crane gotten herself into to catch your attention?”

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@Heretic@BrutalBx

Occult Regulation Office: A Mature Wizarding World Anthology

Urg, been a bit too caught up in other things to get up a post up that I'm satisfied with, but I should have one up by tomorrow!

Occult Regulation Office: A Mature Wizarding World Anthology

@BrutalBx Sounds good to me cap'n

Occult Regulation Office: A Mature Wizarding World Anthology

@BrutalBx I'm with Shadow on this one. Some help in speeding the case up is likely needed, but I would like to avoid skipping things entirely if possible.

Occult Regulation Office: A Mature Wizarding World Anthology

@BrutalBx I've been lurking pretty hard, but I haven't had much time to get a post up since I got roped into painting a basement. I should have one done by tomorrow though!

Occult Regulation Office: A Mature Wizarding World Anthology

Interacting with:

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Even Kieran had to admit that it was a bit sad just how much his body visibly relaxed once DeVito relented and gave him back his precious personal space. But a lifetime of shutting people out had made contact as benign as handshakes were already dangerously close to pushing it in his books, which made such a display of familiarity incredibly unsettling for him. Still though, when it came down to it there wasn’t a single Regulator that Kieran would trust with his back as completely as DeVito, so an occasional bit of discomfort was an awfully small price to pay.

Her request though caught him a bit off guard. This wasn’t the first time they had posed as couples, but not once had the werewolf ever considered how miserable he must have seemed to be her significant other. And truth be told, he had no idea what that was supposed to look like, given his rather laughable romantic history.

”I’ll, uh… do my… best…” he half stammered, half coughed, suddenly finding the ground remarkably more interesting than anything else in the world. Meanwhile, his hand had made itself busy by scratching the back of his head a bit more vigorously than was absolutely necessary as he tried to work out how a happy boyfriend ought to act.

It went without saying that smiling would be a good first step, right? The corner of his mouth developed an odd twitch as he tried in vain to adhere to that whole “turn that frown upside down” drivel that he often got. The result was an odd amalgamation of his usual frown on one side of his mouth and a miserable effort at a smile on the other. Sadly, this was probably one of his most successful attempts, as he had at least gotten it half right.

The shaky expression collapsed upon itself as Kieran let out a sigh of defeat, once more the dour potions master of the group. ”We should get a move on,” he muttered, more than happy to try and pretend that the last few painful seconds had not occurred at all.

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@Heretic

Let's Meet Again in the Real World!! (ALWAYS ACCEPTING)

Mark Song

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On a fundamental level, Mark knew full well that he was willingly submitting himself to the self-fulfilling prophecy that embodied his coffee addiction. The crashes that inevitably followed the caffeine highs were always brutal, but there was something oddly habit forming about that fact which kept him going back to the stuff every day. So here he was, failing to stifle a yawn as he opened the door to his apartment, having just gotten back from his shift at Literati Coffee. It had been a busy day, but Mark preferred it that way as he hated just standing around with little to do and nobody to talk to.

”I’m home,” he announced to his empty apartment, kicking his shoes off rather unceremoniously. Another yawn escaped the young man, evidence of both the lack of caffeine coursing through his system and the rather late night he had subjected himself to.

”Coffee, coffee, coffee,” Mark chanted, almost ritualistically, as he trudged his way across his studio apartment, making a beeline for his ever reliable addiction satisfier. It only took a few quick button presses for it to make those ever so sweet bubbling noises that promised that he would soon get his fix. He still had to show up to his bartending shift in a few hours, so a nap was unfortunately out of the question. And given how strange his dreams had been lately, coffee was an even more attractive alternative.

While he waited, Mark decided to plop down on his couch and turn on his TV, doing his best to keep his droopy eyes open. ”Oh, this is bad,” he muttered to himself, feeling the pull of sleep weighing on him even heavier now that he was getting comfortable.

”You will not lay down,” he commanded himself, even though his body was already in the process of shifting its position to do just that.

”You will not close your eyes,” he demanded with all the authority of an elementary school teacher that had lost control of his classroom. Needless to say, his eyes had already been closed before he spoke.

”You will not…” this time his body beat him to the punch and disobeyed him before he could even get his plea out. Before he knew what happened, he was already drifting off.

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The Dreamworld

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There was something quite disheartening about finding himself behind the familiar wooden counter of Literati Coffee after having just left it. Not to mention he wasn’t a huge fan of the fact that even in his dreams he seemed to be doomed to work. Besides the cozy atmosphere the shop provided, Mark seemed to be trapped with a number of his regulars that he easily recognized. Well, that was of course except for her. At just a glance he knew that he had never seen her before, but there was something about the confident way she carried herself that caused him to be drawn to her. Barely a word was exchanged between the two as she paid for her Caramel Frappe, and before he knew it she was already leaving.

As the door jingled to announce her departure, everything around him evaporated in the blink of an eye, leaving him alone in a vast expanse of sheer white. Yeah, maybe calling these dreams weird was putting it lightly. Mark could only shrug at the thought, so with his hands in his pockets he started to stroll through the great emptiness, whistling along to a song that Emily had shown him. A more introspective mind would have tried to look at what kind of implications such an empty dreamscape might suggest about a person, but Mark was happy enough to turn his nose up to such a notion and continue walking on in peace.

A playful fog rolled in and before he knew it, Mark’s stroll had taken him into a park of sorts. As he followed the path, he noticed a park bench coming up, which caused his whistling to die rather unceremoniously in his throat. Well, more specifically it was the person sitting at the bench, but you get the point. And as he got closer, he got a good view of the same girl that had caught his attention in the dream version of Literati dumping an untouched ice cream cone into the trash. An odd assortment of feelings washed over him as he drew closer to her, most of which he didn’t feel like categorizing at this exact moment. For now, he just wanted to see why he seemed so drawn in by her.

”You know,” he said as he peered into the trashcan, almost feeling sorry for the poor frozen treat, ”I won’t judge you for wasting food as I’m not a huge fan of sweets myself, but I can’t help but ask why did you buy it in the first place if you didn’t want it?” he asked her playfully, leveling his amused expression at her.

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@mskennedy615

Occult Regulation Office: A Mature Wizarding World Anthology

Interacting with:

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The more he learned about it, the more the case made Kieran wary. No matter how desensitized to death the job had made him, even the werewolf found himself perturbed to find out that this Candy Lady seemed to exist solely to mutilate children with tableware. But more importantly, there were too many variables that he didn’t know. Things like the demographics that could potentially connect each of the victims, the exact nature of the disappearances, and the purpose behind the ritualistic slaughter. In other words, things that Miss Fuji likely didn’t know off the top of her head, so instead of joining in on the question portion of the briefing, Kieran kept to the sideline with his face scrunched up from concentration as he explored the various possibilities in his head.

So engrossed in his silent conjecture was he that Kieran hardly noticed his partner next to him until she slung an arm around him, causing him to visibly flinch in surprise. The werewolf blinked several times as he regained his composure, having been made all too used to the herboligist’s antics over the years, before he looked at DeVito with an eyebrow raised. While he appreciated his partner’s attempts to coax him out of his shell, the comfort that came from living in it was far too persuasive for him to get caught up in her playful teasing. After all, he had made it this far without getting too invested, why change now?

”Muggles tend to ask significant others far less troublesome questions,” he replied rather matter-of-factly, not showing any of the embarrassment that he would have during his first year under DeVito’s wing. Back then, it had been far easier to make the socially inept wizard blush like a fool. ”Not to mention we may be able to get more information out of people by posing as a couple that is interested in settling down here but have heard some unsettling rumors surrounding the place.” Of the many frightening aspects that came with the job, one of the most insidious was how it made one become frighteningly comfortable with things like lying and manipulating people’s emotions to get the job done. Not that Kieran lost any sleep over the thought, but it was just one of the more interesting phenomena he couldn’t help but notice.

”How does that sound to you?” he asked his partner plainly, his expression still holding true to his ever dispassionate self.

Occult Regulation Office: A Mature Wizarding World Anthology

@Zahir I'm currently working on my post at the moment, so I'd say we're still kicking.