The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Pharoah Dynasty
An ancient sorceress is on a quest to bring her long-lost warrior-king to the modern era in a bid for global domination. Can the heroes of the modern world stop her before all is lost?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
Hadden’s Haven on Plum Island. It was a place to heal, to refocus, to help. Agnes had heard of the establishment, ever since she had joined Haven, but she had never thought that this was a place that she was ever going to have to inhabit. To her, it had been a place of sick people, poor devils who needed to reconnect with the world, not at all something that she ever imagined she would have to utilize. She had had a rough life, yes, but it was not a state that she ever thought she would have to return to. It’s funny how life likes to prove you wrong.
It had been a few days since “the incident” as she liked to call it. She had Svetlana had plans to go out on the town and were attacked by a rather murderous automaton. She should have been dead. There should have been a picture of her in the newspaper, some opinion piece blasting the use of METAbots after the tragic death of an accomplished violinist who just so happened to be a mutant. Reality would prove to be far scarier. As she attempted to check on her friend, she touched her. That, added with the fear already pumping in her body made the young woman evolve even further – into a monste.r
Agnes still had scattered memories about it. She could hear her voice that was both hers and not. She could see snippets of engaging with Devon, hear the droning of her ever widening nest of children as she skittered in an attempt to protect their queen. These were memories she didn’t try too hard to dig into as, each time, she could feel her anxiety rise all the higher. She couldn’t do this again, she couldn’t feel all of that again. She couldn’t remember the horror that she had done to that innocent, homeless man.
Though she didn’t want to have to explain herself to anyone, she knew that she couldn’t continue on in isolation; not when she knew that certain people cared about her. However she took decidedly different approaches to this fact: the first being that she texted River herself that she was pulled away to some last minute musician’s retreat. She couldn’t tell her about this. No, the only person that could know about it, and possibly understand, was the one person she had been avoiding as of late – Rebecca.
She loved her, deep into her core she knew that she loved her, but things were moving too fast for them. They had been absent from one another’s lives for so long and suddenly were starting an affair together. It had proved to be too much and a break was needed, or at least Agnes said a break as needed. They exchanged a few texts since then but plans had been made to see one another since that fateful dinner.
This would be the first time they saw one another since and, well, what a hell of a way to meet with someone you once had an affair with.
Nate had been a sweetheart. After their mission together in Las Vegas, Agnes had truly felt like she had connected with the older man, seeing him as the older brother that she had lost. She trusted him. Therefore, when it was time to contacted Rebecca, Agnes had enlisted his help to be the one to reach out to her. She didn’t want to say anything about Devon or Haven’s involvement so the shadowmancer would take the hit as the man who found and rescued her from herself. It shouldn’t be all that hard of a sell as the man was always nice to the both of them when they went to the mansion.
Now it was just a matter of meeting with her ex-current-lover face-to-face.
Sitting at the edge of her hospital bed, Agnes was dressed in loose, forest green sweatpants and a black tanktop that hung off one of her shoulders. She looked tired, still struggling with what she was going through. Every time she felt her heart race, every time she was startled by something she would be immediately terrified that the Insect Queen would rear her ugly head again. It was a tense and anxious-riddled life that tugged at her heart. She couldn’t live like this forever and, unfortunately, she was scared that she would.
Quivering as she felt another attack sweep through her small, pale form, Agnes grabbed her pillow and slowly pulled it onto her lap where she wrapped her arms around it. Hugging it close to her chest, she tried to drown out the sound of rapid heartbeat by burying her face into the top of it. She was exhausted already but she knew she had to do this. She only hoped, somehow, that Rebecca could help her back onto the right path.
The Metation Guild The Spellsword Guild Mansion English Teacher
Witchblade
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Bisexual
Married to Mirror
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Jul 4, 2024 2:27:40 GMT -6
Aly
Rebecca had been a mess. Initially, when her texts were going ignored, she was concerned Agnes had pulled away completely. It was not a huge stretch; after their dinner together, things were tense. They loved each other, and they talked and admitted as much, but they were in an awkward limbo. Regardless of whether it was the right choice or not, Agnes had to see the River situation through, and being together partially was causing problems with them. It even unearthed some truths they had been ignoring. Rebecca was genuinely worried Agnes realized one day that their past was too much to overcome and blocked her number.
After a few days of silence, Rebecca convinced herself Agnes would not have chosen to ghost her and let her figure it out herself. If things were going to end for good, they would have talked about it. Suddenly, the nervousness turned to concern, and Rebecca reached out to people she knew were friends of Agnes. She even considered reaching out to River, but she could not finish typing out the number. No one had seen or heard from Agnes in days. Rebecca was trying to be optimistic, but her mind was so ready to jump to the worst places. Her parents church? The Ragman? Or even just a wrong-place-wrong-time incident on the streets…
She tried her hardest not to think about the possibilities until one day, finally, she received a call from Nate Holloway. The artist was a colleague of hers at the Mansion, but he also did a lot of work with Haven, a new organization in the city Rebecca had helped promote. She was confused about why she was being called, but when he explained, the color drained from her face.
Agnes was being held at a Hadden’s Haven facility for observation. There had been… an incident. Nate was vague, but he assured her Agnes was recovering fine. She still needed time at the facility, but she was at the point where she could accept visitors. Nate was reaching out to Becca because she was the first visitor Agnes asked about.
Rebecca got on the road immediately. It was not an easy trip; Plum Island was off the very tip of the Long Island coastline. The drive was nearly three hours long from her apartment, and from there she still had to take a ferry across the water. It did not matter; she needed to see Agnes.
Nate was waiting for her at the front desk of the immaculate lobby. The man was not a close friend, but he was the one who reached out to give her the first confirmation that Agnes was okay. That earned him a very tight hug.
To his credit, Nate understood and rubbed Rebecca’s back, realizing how simultaneously nervous and excited she was about seeing Agnes again. He led her to the room where she would find Agnes, but warned her in his soft, Southern tone, ”Just remember, Becca, she’s still recovering from… a lot. Tread softly.”
She nodded, understanding that whatever Agnes went through, it was a potentially traumatic event. ”Ay coorse. An’ Nate… thenk ye.” He smiled that sincere smile, because he understood.
Rebecca pushed the door to the room open, and suddenly, Agnes was sitting before her at the edge of a hospital bed. Physically, she looked in near-perfect condition, if not extremely tired. Rebecca knew what she went through was not skin-deep, but it was such a comfort to see that the woman she loved was not hurt or…
Her eyes were already flooding with water and her lips formed into a shaky smile. ”Is it… can Ah hug ye, Aggie?” She was not sure of the rules of visiting a patient at Hadden’s Haven, and Agnes’s recovery was the only thing keeping her from throwing her arms around the woman and never letting go.
She could already feel the tears welling in her eyes as she hugged the pillow close to her. Quietly, under her breath, she muttered over and over again that all this was a lie. That she wasn’t feeling the Brood Mother return, that it was just her fear that was trying to take over. The incident had been a bad one, she had been near death, even Devon had tried to convince her of that. While she wanted to believe it, she found it difficult at times when she was in the midst of her panic attack. She wanted nothing more than to believe that she was safe but still, even now and again, when it was quiet, she could hear the chattering and primordial hiss of the beast that lay within.
Another wave of trembling and Agnes hugged her pillow closer to her chest. It would pass. She knew that it would pass. But she had to make it through this attack. It was just one attack. Just one. Just one.
She didn’t want to be like this when Becca came to see her. She didn’t want to be a trembling mess of a woman, fearing her own sanity and the monster that she could become. However with every passing second she felt more and more like she had made a mistake. Maybe she should have waited to see Becca until more time had passed. No one could have blamed her for that. But she still needed to be contacted that Agnes was here…the second she knew, would anything have kept the redhead away.
It was an endearing thought – and one that made her want to cry all over again. What was she doing? It was her idea for them to take this break and what was the first thing she did when she got hurt or scared? She reached out to her. Well, in this case Nate did but that was really more a semantic than anything else. So with a tremble she sucked in a breath. She needed to survive this. Besides, a glance at the clock proved that it was already too late. Knowing her ex, she would be here any second.
The sound of the doors being pushed open lifted her gaze up. Sitting up a little straighter, she looked with misty sapphire eyes to Becca who stood there, trying to hold herself together as well. The two of them stared for a second, both a little unsure of how to proceed. They were supposed to be taking a break and yet this seemed like a moment that would require as much hugging and kissing as was possible.
>> ”Is it… can Ah hug ye, Aggie?”
Becca was the first to speak. Honestly it was sweet of her to ask first, especially considering that she didn’t know what had happened to Agnes. It only made her all the more endearing.
Pulling herself up from the bed, a little shakily, Agnes let her pillow drop to her bare feet as she slowly crossed the gap between them. Her eyes couldn’t have been sadder and in need of comfort. So, without warning, the second Agnes was within reach she wrapped her arms around Becca and pulled her in for the tightest and most bone-breaking hug that she could manage. She didn’t care if neither of them could breathe, all that mattered was that she was hugging her and the warmth of her body felt like exactly what she needed at the moment.
Burying her face into Rebecca’s neck, covered by the her crop of long, red hair, Agnes began to weep softly, refusing to let go of the redhead as she whispered out a shaky. I’m…sorry…”
The Metation Guild The Spellsword Guild Mansion English Teacher
Witchblade
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Bisexual
Married to Mirror
1,797
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Jul 4, 2024 2:27:40 GMT -6
Aly
Nothing would have kept Rebecca from seeing Agnes once she received Nate’s call. She cancelled her classes for the day—the Headmaster would understand. The lives of mutants were turbulent, so the occasional day off to deal with trauma was expected. Rebecca loved her students, but she loved Agnes more than her job. More than anything.
And so, she was standing in a hospital room, waiting for Agnes to set the pace of their meeting. She did not wait long, as Agnes stood from her bed and moved toward her. Rebecca did not feel her feet move, but she was walking toward her lover until they met halfway.
Rebecca was holding Agnes close, slightly less tight than the hug she was wrapped in. Agnes looked to be in good condition, but the last thing Rebecca wanted to do was break her. She wanted to make sure nothing hurt Agnes ever again.
She felt Agnes’s face pressed against her neck. Their disaster dinner felt like such a distant memory, because everything seemed smaller now. They did have to work through their issues, and one day, they would be in a place where they could take that time and have the serious talk. For the time being, Agnes needed support and time to recover, and Rebecca could not concern herself with the challenges when they were there and safe and together. They would figure things out, because it was never clearer to her that Agnes was her one and only.
Rebecca pressed one hand against the back of Agnes’s head as the other rubbed her back gently. ”It’s okay, it’s okay,” she replied over and over in a hushed voice. ”Ye dinnae hae tae be sorry. Ah’m haur…” She was openly crying, with teardrops falling on Agnes’s bare shoulder. ”Ah’m gonna be haur.” There were probably visitation hours, but Rebecca was already feeling the temptation to cancel her classes and videos for the week so she could stay on the island as long as Agnes needed her.
>> ”It’s okay, it’s okay,..Ye dinnae hae tae be sorry. Ah’m haur…Ah’m gonna be haur.”
Rebecca was crying. Agnes could feel the teardrops as they fell upon her bare shoulder. Honestly it didn’t bother the violinist in any way as she was doing the exact same thing to Rebecca. This was a tearful moment and neither one of them should feel bad for having to let loose emotionally. After everything that happened between them, their break-up, their reunion, the illicit affair, and “the break”, it all seemed to be so frivolous after everything that had occurred. There were clearly more important things.
Agnes sniffled, pressing her face deeper against the nape of Rebecca’s neck, trying to feel safe and comfortable again. However it seemed that no matter what she did, it didn’t change the fact over what she had done. In the end that was probably the ghost that was going to bother her the most. Not so much the monster she had turned into, or the nest that she had been building in the bell tower of that church, rather the fact that she had actually hurt someone – no…she murdered someone.
The realization of that was like a splash of cold water on her face. She gasped, feeling the anxiety trying to rise once again. Rebecca was soothing her, trying to tell her that it was going to be okay, but she wasn’t exactly sure how much she believed that at this point. So with a quiver and a sigh, she carefully unwound herself from her ex, not really wanting to, but needing space to do this.
Wiping her icy eyes, Agnes moved away from her ex-lover, hugging her arms to herself as she started to pace around the room. She wandered in silence for a few minutes, unable to really find the voice but knowing that she had to. She couldn’t keep this to herself. But would Rebecca understand? There had been times when the both of them had come extraordinarily close to hurting someone but it was a line that they made sure to never cross. Sadly, now, it seemed that at least one of them had decimated that line.
Hearing a vague surge of that man’s scream again, Agnes shuddered as she found herself nervously pacing. Her hands began to wring a little, her eyes darting as she tried to fight off this attack. It was good that Becca was here but now her thoughts were beginning to betray her, causing scenarios to play in her mind where she hurt the one person she never wanted to hurt. What if something like this happened again, but with Becca around? Could she hurt her? She almost had hurt Sveta, her dearest friend, and barely managed to wrangle herself in.
Would she be able to do that a second time? To stop herself? To stop her?
The thought made her tear up again. Fleetingly she looked at Rebecca and away. She had to say it. She had to tell someone who didn’t already know, the person closest to her in life. So she sucked in a breath, felt her tears fall, and managed to choke out the unsettling reality as he knew it.
”Becca…” she said in an almost-whisper. The next words choked her throat briefly but, slowly, and with effort, she managed to get them out. ”…I…I hurt…someone…” No. That wasn’t right. Her head dipped as she clearly struggled with herself. Finally she pushed through the discomfort and clarified. ”I…I killed someone.”
The Metation Guild The Spellsword Guild Mansion English Teacher
Witchblade
palegreen
Bisexual
Married to Mirror
1,797
299
Jul 4, 2024 2:27:40 GMT -6
Aly
Rebecca needed to be there with Agnes, because even without words, just holding her close, she could feel something wrong. The way she was still trembling… Rebecca would hold her and reassure her until she was ready to talk about what happened.
Nate gave her a brief rundown, but the details were light because he believed it was not his place to decide what to tell her. She knew something about Agnes’s powers changed, and she went into a form that was unlike her other transformations. He said it was like she became someone else… something else. It was a terrifying thought, realizing there was now some unchecked second personality that could threaten to take over Agnes, but she was not scared for herself. She worried for Agnes; the idea of losing agency and control over to some other malevolent force was traumatizing.
Agnes finally spoke to break up the sounds of quiet crying. Her words were soft and spoken off to the side, because she was having a hard time finding them. What she admitted was… well, it was big. Rebecca could not help the initial hitch in her breath when she realized Agnes killed someone. This was going to change the woman’s life, regardless of the circumstances. There were many questions, but they could all wait. Agnes needed one thing, and that was her unconditional support. This was not going to be the “condition” to give her pause.
”Nae… ye didnae kill anyain, Aggie…” She was not speaking in denial, because she knew Agnes would not say it if it did not happen. Rebecca was trying to make clear to Agnes that there were circumstances that were beyond her control, which was going to be hard for a good person like Agnes to accept. ”Nate tauld me thes new f'rm... it was loch someain else was in th' driver's seat. It wasnae somethin' ye coods control, Aggie. It's nae yer faut.” It was something a jury would be hard-pressed to believe, but that did not matter as much as Agnes believing it. As much as she was supposed to be a representative of the law, Rebecca sincerely hoped Nate was able to get Agnes to Plum Island without the authorities finding out exactly what happened.
Rebecca squeezed Agnes a little tighter. ”Aggie, Ah know ye. Thes wisnae ye. Ye cannae blam yerself...” It was going to be a hard thing to accept. Agnes was going to blame herself and it would be hard to convince her that she did not deserve the guilt. That was the reason Rebecca knew she should not be at fault. Agnes was too good to be the one who ended a man’s life—filled with too much respect for human life to cross that line if she had any other choice. Rebecca would spend as much time as it took reminding Agnes of who she was, and how the other side of her was something entirely new. Split-personalities were a point of contention with murder cases, and it was not unheard of for a mutation to come with an entirely different personality.
Visiting Plum Island daily was unrealistic unless Haven had a helicopter they were willing to loan her, but Rebecca knew she would do everything she could to be there for Agnes. Nightly calls. Visits when she could. Rebecca would be a presence through the duration of her recovery as long as she would have her. Everything else between them would take a backseat until Agnes was in a better place.
It was clear that Agnes was a wreck. Though she couldn’t recall entirely what was done, she trusted Devon to fill her in on the facts. That, mixed with snippets of memory, was enough to paint a pretty clear picture that Agnes was a murderer. There was no judgement from her friend, though. Devon did his best to convince her that it wasn’t actually her that had killed that man, but a baser part of her brain, a side effect of her mutation evolving even further. She wanted to believe that, that it was someone else who was using her body to commit the fact, but the fact that she could still hear the vagrant’s screams in her mind was enough proof for her that she wasn’t totally blameless.
She never should have touched Sveta. That was where her mind kept returning to. It was her fault because she wasn’t thinking. She ran to check on her friend, momentarily forgetting about her ability to boost mutant powers. That alone seemed to spur her into evolution. She didn’t blame the blonde, of course, as Sveta couldn’t help who she was. But Agnes had gotten careless – at least that was how she looked at it.
Quivering as she continued pacing, she revealed to her ex-lover what it was that had happened – or at least an extremely shortened version of it. She killed someone. In all her life, Agnes had never thought she would be that person. She had come close before, dealing with others who were trying to harm her or letting her insects get too out of control, but she had always surmised that it was a line she would never inherently cross.
Now it seemed that the line had been completely swept over,
>> ”Nae… ye didnae kill anyain, Aggie…”
Agnes didn’t raise her attention to Rebecca; rather she closed her eyes, shaking her head. Was the redhead going to convince her it didn’t happen? Because that couldn’t be farther from the truth. However the Scot wasn’t done with her soothing words.
>>. ”Nate tauld me thes new f'rm... it was loch someain else was in th' driver's seat. It wasnae somethin' ye coods control, Aggie. It's nae yer faut.”
She was trying to rationalize it, trying to give her the same argument that Devon and Nate had in the last couple of days. Again, she wanted to believe it but if it were true, why was the guilt still there? If she really had not been in control, she would have shrugged the incident off as something beyond her. But the guilt, the screams, the stain of blood that she were sure had seeped in under the skin of her hands, it was all there.
She gulped as she could feel herself panicking again. Unbeknowst to her, the “incident” had been taken care of. Out there she imagined that people were looking for her, that the police were already smashing in the doors of her co-workers, demanding to know where she was being hidden. Eventually they would make their way to this island and drag her out of her bed and throw her in front of a judge. It was going to happen and there was nothing she could do, no explanation she could make to stop any of it.
The electric chair? Gas chamber? Was the guillotine still even a thing? Any of it was possible to get one most dangerous mutant off the streets.
>> ”Aggie, Ah know ye. Thes wisnae ye. Ye cannae blam yerself...”
She sniffled, taken back to reality. At some point she had sat down, wrapping her arms around herself and hugging herself. Slowly she continued to rock back and forth, her eyes eventually finding the will to look up at Rebecca. As she locked onto her mismatched eyes, another stream of tears began to fall. With a quivering lips, she spoke through the snot and saliva that clung onto the edges of her mouth.
”Do…y-you remember…the Dream…” she asked. She didn’t need to clarify. All of New York suffered from that hellish vision. Just dropping the name with the right inflection was enough to stir anyone’s memory. She gulped before continuing. ”When…When I was the Hive Queen…” That she remembered well enough. She remembered her spires, the billions of children. Her eyes drifted back to Becca. Shakily she whispered. ”I…I was her…” she said, and then shook her head. ”B-But….so…so…so much worse.” She pressed her eyes down into her palms, crying into them. ”She’s not just a dream anymore, Becca. She’s here….”
The Metation Guild The Spellsword Guild Mansion English Teacher
Witchblade
palegreen
Bisexual
Married to Mirror
1,797
299
Jul 4, 2024 2:27:40 GMT -6
Aly
Rebecca knew beyond a doubt now that Agnes was not leaving Plum Island in the near future. She was shaky and ridden with guilt and terrified of herself. It was clear she was not oblivious to Rebecca’s words and listened to them, but they were not sinking in past the wall of internal conflict she was struggling with. Any kind words were met with a frightened shake of the head, like the concept of her innocence in what happened was beyond belief.
Agnes took a seat on her bed, and Rebecca was not far behind. She wanted to keep as close to Agnes as the insectoid mutant would allow. Agnes was falling apart in her hands, so Rebecca had to be the one staying strong, but it was not easy when the story continued.
Did she remember the Dream? She would never forget the Sebastian dreams. They were the world’s collective prophetic nightmare, showcasing the lowest points of Rebecca’s potential future, and leading to some of the lowest points in her youthful past. Agnes evoking the Dream could lead to nothing good, and sure enough, that was the path they were on.
The Hive Queen. Rebecca winced at the reminder. She could remember years of experiences, including her falling out with Agnes the Apostle, her fall from grace as she heard rumors and stories of Sebastian’s servant, Pestilence, and finally the clues that led her to discover the Hive Queen. That encounter was her last memory in the dream, because it led to both their deaths. Agnes would eventually tell her that, in her last moments, she was no longer the Hive Queen, but that did not erase all the pain they caused each other.
Those terrifying memories made it all the more distressing to discover Agnes’s new form was the Hive Queen. Rebecca understood why there was so much terror in Agnes’s eyes and concern in her voice. Agnes remembered what she did as the Hive Queen, and the animalistic depths she reached in her monstrous form. Knowing that version of her was somewhere under her surface was a justifiable reason to panic.
Except Rebecca could not panic. Until Agnes could piece herself together, Rebecca had to be her strength. She rubbed her palm gently up and down Agnes’s back as the woman cried. ”Ah’m sorry… Ah understand. She’s haur,” she admitted, hating the words from her tongue. ”Bit… Ah’m haur, tay. Ah wisnae thaur fur ye in th' dream. But Ah'll be haur fur ye noo.”
Rebecca wrapped Agnes’s waist in her arms, pulling her into a tight hug. ”Forever. Ah promise.”
Weeks passed. Rebecca made two or three trips to Plum Island a week and committed every weekend to visiting Agnes. She called Agnes when she was up for accepting calls. She set aside her concerns and questions in favor of entering full support mode.
Agnes’s time at Hadden’s Haven eventually paid off, and she was cleared to return to New York City. Devon and Nate offered to bring her back home, but Rebecca was not hearing it. She made the drive up Long Island and waited at the Port for Agnes.
She was doing better, but things were not perfect. Her ordeal was not going to be entirely sorted out with a few weeks away from the city. Still, progress was made, and Rebecca would count her lucky stars for that.
Leaning against the hood of her car, Rebecca’s mind was contemplating the drive home. She was going to spend three solid hours in a car with Agnes. Would she be tired and sleep through most of the drive? It might have been the easier option. They still had a lot that needed to be discussed, but Rebecca was not convinced Agnes was stable enough to handle such an emotionally weighty conversation. Until she knew Agnes was ready, Rebecca would continue to play the role of moral and emotional support, putting aside the role of lover until she could be certain it even belonged to her.
The weeks had gone by slowly. It wasn’t so much that it was a torture to be at the facility, but she was actually eager to see home again. The Brood Mother seemed to be quelled, for now, and every day that passed after Rebecca’s initial visit just seemed to get better and better. Even though it was a terrible thing that she had done and she was effectively living with a monster within her, she could actually feel better than she had in weeks. The time she spent with her ex-lover was cherished and without the need for leaving early or make excuses to River, Agnes actually started to fall back in love with the lovely redhead that had managed to take her heart.
She may have been unsure before but the fact that Rebecca would make the trek as many times a week as she did to Plum Island just showed the brunette exactly how much Rebecca cared. She even began to wonder if, finally, she could trust her to stay by her side this time.
Of course, it wasn’t fair for Agnes to blame their break-up entirely upon her. She loved Rebecca and wanted her to do what was best for her. In that moment, it meant going to England and continuing her education. It was a sad moment but it was one that the two of them clearly needed to experience. Love could be…confusing, especially when it was young. Though the two of them had their rockiness, it wasn’t until that moment where they willingly let one another go that they both (at least according to Agnes) finally realized the depths of affection for one another.
They could be happy together. They truly could.
The day finally came that Agnes got a clean bill of health. It took weeks but it had proved to be exactly what she needed to actually feel like she could take control of her life again. Though deep, in the back of her mind, she still worried about the Brood Mother, Devon’s therapy had managed to take a deep enough root to remind her that it was okay. She would be okay.
Standing on the deck, Agnes watched as the mainland turned from a strip of green and gray into something more detailed. Every inch that she floated closer to the growing piers, she found her crystalline eyes straining, searching. She had gotten the message that Rebecca was close by but still, there was the small irrational fear that maybe Rebecca wouldn’t show. Or maybe she would be late! Or maybe something happened to her before she could make it pier! No, she needed to stop herself from having such thoughts.
Dressed in her hip-hugging, light blue jeans, a flowery top or pink and lilac, and her favorite denim jacket (Rebecca had been nice enough to procure clothes for her), Agnes sighed as she hefted the small satchel that was slung over her shoulder. She didn’t need much while she was in the facility but gifts Rebecca had brought her, small items, books, etc., that she had claimed as her own needed to come home with her. The thing notably absent from her time in the facility was her violin. Rebecca couldn’t bring it for her (it was in the apartment with River) and, really, she wasn’t sure she could even play it.
The sound. The music still affected her more than she was willing to admit. Devon had played a piece of hers, the same he used back in the chapel, as a kind of therapy to help her align with the Brood Mother. The music made her sick to her stomach, at first, but steadily she continue to build her tolerance until now it was just an unnerving sounds that made her spine tickle, like scratching your nails continuously across a blackboard.
She really hoped that her reaction to the violin wasn’t permanent. Devon assured her that since it was attached to a trauma that, with time, she would get used to it again. It annoyed her that the thing she loved the most now made her so uneasy. But she guessed she would have to tackle one battle at a time.
The pier finally came into view. She could see people waiting here and there but no one who looked immediately familiar. However, when they finally came close enough, Agnes caught that splash of red hair caught in a passing breeze and a freckly face. A sigh of relief was offered to the wind as she turned and made her way to where everyone else was gather to exit.
Her sneakers thumped along the wooden planks until she stepped onto the pier itself. With a sigh, and feeling just a little nervous, Agnes slipped her satchel on as she made her way towards where she had seen Rebecca’s car. Weaving in and around the small group who got off, a calm smile slipped across her lips as she caught sight of the redhead. Her head dipped down, shyly, as she advanced. Rebecca was already crossing to meet her and when they were close enough, she lifted her head up, opened her arms, and hugged her tight.
With a sigh she placed her head on Rebecca’s shoulder and just took in the scent of her perfume. Gently she nuzzled into her neck. ”God are you a sigh for sore eyes.”
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Jul 4, 2024 2:27:40 GMT -6
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Rebecca kept nervously checking her phone. There was no reason to worry, but she was waiting for some text from Devon or Nate letting her know Agnes had a setback and they would not be releasing her yet. She just wanted more than anything to take Agnes home and get back to something close to normal.
Then again, what was normal? And what was home, for that matter? Was she going to drop Agnes back off into the apartment she shared with River, or was she taking her home with her to the apartment she was currently sharing with Juliette. (Rebecca had, of course, warned her roommate there could be company, just in case.)
Things were feeling so much better with her and Agnes than they had been weeks earlier. Rebecca had a real opportunity to come through in the clutch and be there, and she followed through. She was unsure if it was enough to work past some of the damage incurred by her past mistakes and departures, but she was in a position to be hopeful for the first time in a long time. It just felt like they were in the home stretch and had hurdles they needed to get past before they could truly say things were on track.
The ferry eventually came into view, lifting Rebecca’s heart, (after she checked her phone one last time.) She watched as the ship came into the harbor and a ramp was deployed, allowing the occupants to spill out to the people waiting for them.
And there she was. Agnes in her hip-huggers and denim jacket, (both of which Rebecca grabbed because they were favorites of hers.) She had a small bag of belongings, and she quickly spotted her lover (and ride) on the pier. By the time she met Rebecca’s eyes, the redhead was already sporting a smile from ear to ear. She started taking quick steps to close the distance, and soon enough, her arms were where they belonged: tightly wrapped around Agnes.
Rebecca wanted to reply with something clever, but all she could do was kiss the top of Agnes’s head and sigh. ”It’s great tae see ye tae,” she admitted. Nothing was sincerer than the amount of joy she felt being around Agnes again outside of a hospital room. ”Come ‘en, load up yer stuff in th’ drunk. Let’s gie ye haem…”
The drive was going well. The sun was still in the sky, though it was sinking fast. The interior of her car was cool and the windows were closed, because driving at high speeds with wind tearing through the car would make talking more of a challenge. Then again, for the first half-hour or so, there was not much in the way of conversation. It was not an awkward silence; they were just enjoying each other’s presence peacefully. It boded well, because that was something she loved about her and Agnes in their prime. They could share a quiet room and not worry things were too silent or too awkward. They were comfortable together.
Music played in the car, and Rebecca made it a point to curate a lengthy playlist that avoided any songs with violin, (even if it meant cutting a few of her and Agnes’s favorites.) She was warned that violin was still something of a trigger after the incident. It was concerning, since Agnes’s livelihood consisted of playing a violin on stage with multiple other violinists and string instruments. (Would the Hive Queen be perturbed by the cello?)
Rebecca reached her arm across the center console of her car, grabbing Agnes’s hand as they rested both on her lap. ”Ye know, it’s gonna be nice jist knowin’ yer in th’ city again.” It was the truth; knowing Agnes was on an island had become a distraction to Rebecca’s everyday life. Wherever she was and whatever she had to do, part of her was living three hours away with Agnes. It would ease her mind knowing she was around.
Her comment still had a second purpose. Rebecca was trying to subtly let Agnes know she was not looking to push her or hurry her with River. Knowing Agnes was in the city would be enough for her until Agnes was ready. She wanted to be with Agnes, but she learned a sobering lesson when Agnes seemingly disappeared for days after their last fight. Love was patient and love was kind, and if necessary, she could be both.
Ugh! Weeks. Weeks she had been in that damn hospital. Deep down, she did understand that it had all been for her own good, but that did little to quell the stir crazy that had begun to develop. She was antsy to get out of the facility, to spend time trying to recuperate on her own. It was scary, yes. It was more than scary. It was terrifying. To know that she had just a terrible thing living inside of her was enough to make her fearful of so many things, but she also knew that she couldn’t live her life like that. Devon had actually done a great job of getting Agnes back on track, of helping her through these tough situations so that she could finally think straight.
Now, however, she was on her own. Sure, the redhead she knew she loved was sitting next to her, but it wasn’t exactly the same. Rebecca was sweet and loving, but deep down Agnes never forgot that they had their issues. However, during the long trip home, she wasn’t even going to allow herself to think about any of that. The only thing she was going to keep her mind on was the here and now; Rebecca was driving her home and that was all that mattered.
After their meeting at the pier, Agnes was quick to stuff her belongings into the car and begin the long car ride home. Not much was said during the early part of the trip. A quick rundown of events happening back in New York, a mention of Rebecca’s new series of videos, and Agnes’ last few sessions she had with Devon before the day of her exit day came. Before long, for as interesting and great as it was to chat with the freckle-faced redhead, Agnes’ weariness took over.
At some point after the trip began, Agnes had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. Still an effect from the trauma and the times that she suffered, she had easily dropped off to sleep, simply sitting next to Rebecca in the car. She was calm, she was at peace, and she was contented. There were things that still needed to be discussed, plans that had to be uttered, but now wasn’t the time. She just needed sleep.
It was upon awakening that Agnes turned and looked around with a somewhat confused look. For a second she forgot where she was, but as she turned around to face her ex-lover, a slow and pleased smile crept over her lips. Waking up and seeing Rebecca at her side had always been the favorite part of her day; even recently when the two of them had been in the midst of their affair. But right now wasn’t the time for such thoughts. Right now all she wanted to do was focus on what could be…or what she wanted things to be…
Sitting up a bit straighter, she yawned a final yawn to shake off the visage of sleep and relaxed back in her seat. The nap would do well to keep her awake, which she was fine with because she didn’t want to lose any more time with the lovely redhead.
”Sorry…” Agnes said as she stifled another impending yawn. ”I guess I needed a nap.”
Leaning over, she grabbed a bag of gummi bears that they had picked up from a gas station and started to pillage the bag for the red ones. Those were the best, of course, and while it would have been fair to save some for Rebecca, all is fair in love and gummies. A trio of three, cherry bears in hand, she popped them into her mouth before setting the bag back into the console and chewed. Her eyed roamed outside, to peer at the scenery that rolled passed them. It was as she was doing this that a hand found hers.
Her eyes drifted across to Rebecca who shared with her a sweet smile. She really had to admit that Rebecca had truly been there for her this last few weeks. She threw everything aside to be there on Plum Island, even though it was drastically out of her way. She tried to dissuade her, telling her that she was fine with just texting, but, like clockwork, she was always there to greet her whenever she could. It was touching. Despite the troubles they had, Agnes had to admit that the best parts of the week were the days that Rebecca showed up.
>> ”Ye know, it’s gonna be nice jist knowin’ yer in th’ city again.”
The two shared a look. One that made Agnes’ cheeks color and her head dip down a bit in shyness. The swell of emotion she felt for the woman was…beyond measure. She nodded to the redhead. ”Yeah. Even though I was on an island…” she smirked. ”…it’s too…quiet. I’ve missed the noise, surprisingly.” It really would be good to be home. ”And I definitely miss having a good bacon cheeseburger. Nothing but healthy hospital food. Ugh!”
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Jul 4, 2024 2:27:40 GMT -6
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Given the ordeal Agnes went through with the Hive Queen and her rehabilitation, it was no surprise she might nod off on the drive home. Rebecca was content to let her rest, but the cat nap was short lived. Agnes’s yawn was contagious, and Rebecca covered her mouth in reply. ”Ah get it. Ah dinnae mind. Nae tae say Ah’m th’ type of lass who watches ye when ye sleep, but Ah maybe totally am,” she joked. Well, it was a half-joke; when Agnes nodded off before Rebecca or woke up second, she liked to take a moment to appreciate the natural, relaxed beauty of the woman she loved.
Rebecca’s eyes were on the road, but she did catch Agnes’s Gummy tactic in the corner of her vision. The Scot loved all Gummy Bears equally, but Agnes had a clear bias toward the red ones. (Maybe Rebecca should have just been thankful for the color preference.) When she felt the need to snack, there would be oranges and clears for her to gather in the melting pot that was her stomach.
The trips to Plum Island required plenty of effort on her end, but the toll was harder on Agnes, who had to live apart from her life for weeks. It was nice to see her excited about returning to the city. New York was not perfect, but when you lived there long enough, parts of the experience just became part of you. The noise, the closeness of everything, and of course, the food.
Rebecca flashed a toothy grin at Agnes’s return craving. After living a perfectly healthy life for three weeks, she needed the savory, greasy goodness of a bacon cheeseburger. The way she said it, a burger suddenly sounded like the most delicious meal in the big, impressive city. ”’At soonds delicioos. Ance we cross intae th' city proper, we can celebrate at some divey, greasy burger joint.” Those were, of course, the best places for when one wanted a delicious, dirty, artery-clogging burger.
Thoughts of burgers were quickly replaced with thoughts of River. Rebecca policed her tone, because it was just a question she needed to ask, and she was not looking to start an argument so quickly. ”Ah mean… unless River’s expectin’ ye haem at a certain time?” Rebecca only knew it was her duty to return Agnes to the city she belonged to; where and when she was dropped off had yet to be established.
>> ”Ah get it. Ah dinnae mind. Nae tae say Ah’m th’ type of lass who watches ye when ye sleep, but Ah maybe totally am,”
’Yeah, you’re totally not a creeper, Becca,” she said with a lightness in her voice.
Agnes smirked sleepily at her redheaded comrade as moved over in her seat, altering her position. She could already feel the pins and needles beginning to tingle along her left butt cheek and she knew that she needed to move otherwise her entire posterior was going to fall dead asleep. They had been in the car easily over an hour by this point and they still had more time before they would even get close to the city. So, after a few adjustments, she could feel herself waking up just a bit more, wincing and squeaking at sensation of her tingling body part.
Reaching down, Agnes patted her cheek, returning blood flow to it until she could maneuver herself to sit upright once again. With that annoyance out of the way, she reached over to the bag of gummies that they had purchased and munched on a few of the red ones before she settled back in, allowing the sticky sugar to wake her up.
Her time at the facility wasn’t bad, per say. Despite the fact that she had a murdering hell beast now living in the corners of her mind, she was actually in fairly good spirits now. Devon had worked hard to help her come to terms with what the monster did and fully believed in her ability to be able to overcome whatever complications would arise from her latest transformation. But Agnes would stop it. Devon wanted her to control the Hive Queen, but Agnes was content just to keep her buried, at least for now.
So, until she was ready, she just had to avoid certain triggers; a la, no near death experiences. How hard could that be?
Agnes sighed as she felt the rumble in her stomach. She was actually getting pretty hungry now. For weeks she only had a specialized diet because it was a hospital. They didn’t really believe in junk food, not unless it was the “home made” kind that the hospital provided. Wheat buns, turkey meat, fat-free cheese and soy bacon, UGH. As if anyone could make a decent bacon cheeseburger out of all that. She was actually quite looking forward to dining on such a heart attack inducing entrée, that she had to voice that to her ex-lover.
>> ”’At soonds delicioos. Ance we cross intae th' city proper, we can celebrate at some divey, greasy burger joint.”
She smiled and nodded. Already she could feel her mouth watering a bit at the prospect. She nodded her head, agreeing immediately. ”God, I hope so…” she said softly.
>> ”Ah mean… unless River’s expectin’ ye haem at a certain time?”
A paused. River. River was still an issue that Agnes was having trouble with wrapping her head around. What was she going to do about River? For weeks now, River had assumed that Agnes was just away at some musician’s retreat that she had “forgotten” to tell her about. River, of course, wasn’t all that pleased to hear about it, but knew that there was little else that she could do. Agnes hated to keep lying to her like this but she didn’t want her to know about what her mutation caused her to do. Selfishly, she also didn’t want River to encroach on her time with Rebecca.
Agnes hung her head down. She took a slow, steady breath. River was certainly a topic that she wanted to avoid but it wasn’t as if it were something that she could continue to ignore. It wasn’t something that they could continue to ignore. The whole reason any of this happened was because they were on a break from one another so Agnes could ease River into the idea of not having her around. But now that all this had happened, Agnes was beginning to realize an extremely important fact – she wasn’t responsible for River.
She gulped as she glanced Rebecca out of the corner of her eye. Really she didn’t know how to voice any of this, so she started slow. ”She’s…she’s not expecting me until tomorrow…” she said meekly. In all honesty, when she contact River she should have ended things there, but River didn’t deserve that. But, instead of telling her companion that, she had started to say that she hoped that she and Rebecca could spend one more night together, just them, but chickened out at the last minute. She shrugged. ”I…I mean...just so I can have one night in the city without…you know…complications…”
The Metation Guild The Spellsword Guild Mansion English Teacher
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Married to Mirror
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Jul 4, 2024 2:27:40 GMT -6
Aly
Rebecca loved divey burger joints because she was convinced they made the best burgers. Some places tried to make them fancy and others tried to make them healthy, and of course, there were the chains for when you needed a quick fix. The dives knew that a burger was supposed to be greasy and savory, and did not hide what they were doing. Rebecca knew just the place. It did not look like much on the outside or inside, and the owner was likely to tell you to **** off if you ask for a special request, but the man could work a grill. Vanessa had been great, but there was something nice about dating a fellow meat-eater again. In less than two hours, they’d be enjoying bacon cheeseburgers on a pile of soggy fries with a beer to wash it down.
Dinner was something to look forward to, but Rebecca still needed to know what the rest of her night had in store. She wanted to avoid being pushy, but realistically, she was going to need to know the plan eventually. Her priority was to get Agnes somewhere safe for the night, whether it be one apartment or the other.
It took Agnes a moment to prepare herself to answer. They were both aware that River was still a factor in their lives, but it was something they had been putting on the backburner for weeks. She admitted that River was unaware that she was returning so soon. Rebecca was relieved, which made her feel a little guilty, because she had to stop acting like she was competing with River for her lover’s affection.
”Nae complications,” she affirmed, nodding her head. ”That’s fine. We can gang back tae mah apartment if yoo’d loch.”
The answer was so easy, it took a few seconds for Rebecca to catch the inaccuracy in her plan. ”Och, one complication. Mah roommate.” On one of her visits to Plum Island, Rebecca mentioned that her best friend Juliette Lawson had upgraded from temporary house guest to permanent roommate. Rebecca had not considered texting Jules to see if she would be around for the night, but she could always reach out when they made it back into New York. ”’At shooldnae be a problem. Weel, unless yoo’re nae feelin’ up fur meetin’ ‘er.” Their latest stint of dating was done in secret, so Rebecca was uncertain if Agnes was still looking to keep things quiet from their friends.
Rebecca mused on the possibilities and unearthed a second familiar option. ”Ah mean, we coods stay at th’ hotel fur th’ nicht.” It was a realistic option and they always enjoyed their overnight stays, but they had not shared a room since the argument. After that fight, the hotel felt like a place to carry on an affair and suddenly seemed less appealing.
Still, it was an option and keeping Agnes comfortable was a priority. ”We coods e’en ask fur tois queen beds if yoo’d feel mair comfortable wi’ ‘at.” It was a precarious place to be, being in love but not together, knowing an affair was no longer a choice they were okay with as a middle ground. The rules of engagement were still blurry until they settled things.
Yes. Again this was starting out with a lie. It really wasn’t the best of circumstances that Agnes wanted to find herself in. She loved River, but she was in love with Rebecca. Those were two very different things and things which were making her life more and more difficult. She wanted nothing more than to pull the trigger on her engagement with the dark-headed Sioux, but part of her still felt like she owed her. Even after everything she had just experienced, how much she just wanted to start her life with the redhead, she still felt compelled to do the right thing.
And yet, for as faithful as she wanted to be towards the other woman, she knew it wasn’t what was going to make her happy. Devon had helped her in coming to some of these decisions so it was something that she was just going to have to run with. In the end, it was Agnes that needed to make these important calls; it was just finding the nerve to do it. But she would find it. He assured her that she would.
One of the things that Agnes was trying to help her make this decision was by not immediately going home to River. The Sioux wouldn’t be expecting her until tomorrow anyways so she could take the time to just relax and to just think without complications. However, upon the revelation of her plans, it was clear that she forgot one factor – Rebecca’s generosity.
>> ”Nae complications…that’s fine. We can gang back tae mah apartment if yoo’d loch.”
Agnes didn’t say anything. Nervously she curled her lips over her teeth, looking out over the road before them. She should have known that that would be the first offer that Rebecca would give. Not that she wasn’t tempted, she wanted nothing more than to continue to be along with her freckled ex-lover, but she also knew that it wasn’t going to be productive. If anything it would just continue to make her feel guilty. She was about to open her mouth and reply when Rebecca kept talking.
>> ”Och, one complication. Mah roommate. At shooldnae be a problem. Weel, unless yoo’re nae feelin’ up fur meetin’ ‘er…Ah mean, we coods stay at th’ hotel fur th’ nicht… We coods e’en ask fur tois queen beds if yoo’d feel mair comfortable wi’ ‘at.
Agnes fell notably silent again. She stopped looking at the scenery and just looked passed it. She was totally willing to have a meal with the redhead once they got back into the city, but spending any time with her beyond that was not in their best interests – at least not yet. She didn’t want to sound like she was still having reservations about the redhead’s intentions but she really had no other recourse. If she didn’t stay things plainly then it was only going to result in more miscommunication.
A shaky breath and Agnes finally turned to look at her ex, giving her a soft and understanding smile. ”Thank you,” she said gently. ”I do appreciate that, hun.” She paused. ”…but I made a reservation a hotel already. For…myself.” A calming breath. ”I…I’m kinda just looking for a night by myself. To…you know…just think things over.”
It may have sounded like Agnes was lumping Rebecca in with those “complications” that she was trying to avoid. While that couldn’t be further from the truth, at the moment, there was some sound sense in that. Rebecca had inadvertently thrown her life into turmoil, but it was a turmoil that Agnes knew she wanted all along. But, seeing as being stress free was going to be important to her recovery, she wanted to tackle those stressors one at a time.
She glanced at Rebecca, feeling back for what she had said. Moistening her pink lips, she took a calming breath before trying to help the situation. ”But…I…I would like to meet her. Maybe…after I get settled?” That was better, right? Better than leaving it to some random time in the future that may or may not exist? After getting settled sounded reasonable…at least to her.