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.
Calling the police did seem like the best course of action. Maneuvering the creatures into that fridge had been a task, and even with a recharge, it would take a lot to keep going, and they would still have to deal with all the creatures in there once the police did arrive. Were they still human? Could the damage be reversed? Would they be stuck like that? Did they still have human rights? There were too many questions to be answered. Juliette shook her head and ran a hand through her hair as her eyes bulged slightly.
Still deep in thought, she almost didn’t notice as a strong breeze rushed past her. As it nearly pushed her off her feet, though, she looked up to realize that Ghost was trying to push away a Rav4 that seemed to be falling through the air. Her mouth gaped a little as it landed behind the car and with the highbeams.
Luckily, thanks to Ghost, no one had been injured by the flying car. Still, that was far from the last thing that they were going to have to face that day. The universe would certainly not let them off with just zombie creatures and falling vehicles.
”Well s***,” Juliette cursed under her breath as a massive ball of creatures that seemed to have been absorbed into one another approached. It was like a videogame mega boss, after they’d defeated all of its minions. It looked far from please, and it was getting harder and harder to remember the fact that it had been human(s) just a few hours earlier.
MegaBoss definitely did not belong in the freezer, and it was beginning to make Juliette wonder what they would find of the individual creatures once they opened the door to that cramped room. How many of them would be stuck like that, combined into one writhing mass? Would they ever be able to separate them?
For the time being, they needed to focus on the present. They could worry about the rest of the shamblers later. ”We could…” Juliette started, trying to think out loud. Judging by the look of MegaBoss, they did not have the time to brainstorm for long. They had few options, and they needed to work quickly. ”I could try to lead it away. Right off of Manhattan and into the Hudson.” It was clearly a terrible plan, considering the fact that she didn’t even know if her power would last that long, and the police hadn’t even cleared that area, but not much else was coming to her.
Juliette stood a little bit back from Celestina as she looked over the form she was given. She wanted her to feel comfortable enough to be able to say no to things that she really didn’t want to do and to choose the classes that she actually wanted to take, not just the ones that she thought would look good to an adult. It was always tough navigating the waters of that transition period between high school and life afterward, and it didn’t really help if there were eighty people looking over your shoulder.
To keep her hands busy, she fiddled with the missing leg of the pool table while Ruddy puttered around the office. He always seemed to be doing a million things at once, likely because, in a way, he was. Who knew where his clones were at any given moment. Or if the one that she was watching flip a racket was, in fact, a clone.
Once she was finished choosing the courses that she wanted to take for the term, she looked over at Juliette, almost as if she wanted her to look them over. The nurse nodded quickly and stepped over to where Celestina was standing. Over her shoulder, she glanced over the choices that she had put down, nodding as she did so.
”Looks like that should keep you pretty busy,” she commented, trying to imagine the schedule that she would end up with. Five classes usually made for a pretty good semester, especially if she was working as well. ”Though, I should probably explain that since we’re a bit of a different school, you may want to look into taking a class in the danger room.
“You can always just go in there and train for a bit, but since we’re in a bit of a strange environment, especially politically, it’s always a good idea to take something that’s going to give you a bit of a basis for combat. Mutated combat, anyway. We have a couple of teachers that do training classes like that,” she explained. School work would get her a diploma, but knowledge like that would help her for life. ”Obviously, it’s not a requirement, and if you want to take other classes instead, then you totally can, but it’s something to think about. Oh, and you may want to try to fit an English class in at some point.”
With all of Celeste’s classes figured out and her officially enrolled, they were free to move on and figure out what to do with the rest of her situation. ”Well, we can end there if this is a bit overwhelming, or I can give you a tour, if you’d like? Maybe you could sit in on a class or two?”
Did he look like he needed help? Well, honestly, yes. When they’d first arrived at the pool, the boy had really seemed like he was in trouble. Maybe people ignored people sitting at the bottom of a pool where he was from, but they didn’t in Juliette’s world. She may have reacted too fast and too intensely, but she figured that option was better than turning a blind eye and letting someone drown. Even if said person seemed to have a very different opinion on the matter.
He’d come off as bitter and defensive as soon as he started talking, but soon enough his eyes focused on something else. For a second, Juliette’s mind flashed to something that was easy to assume: she was leaning over him in a bikini top and he was a teenage boy. However, it only took her a second to realize that his eyes definitely weren’t focused on her. Ignacio was standing behind her, dripping wet and shirtless.
The nurse shook her head and released all the boy’s limbs so that he could move as he pleased. Leave it to two teens to get distracted from a life and death situation by each other. She raised brown eyebrows for a second and crossed her arms as she took a step back.
”Arrest you? What for?” she queried. There was absolutely no reason for them to arrest him, and they didn’t even have the power. She could see that it might be a fear for a student coming from a tough background, but it wasn’t something to be afraid of at the mansion. Teachers going off the edge, mutation-misfires, and general teen angst, yes, but being arrested? Definitely not.
By the time that that was out of the way, the boy had settled down enough to introduce himself as Andy. True to his rapidly evolving form, he seemed to be drawn into Ignacio’s name rather than anything else. She chuckled quickly and shook her head as he complimented her quickly, having caught onto the fact that he was trying to deflect. ”Well thank you, Andy, but you’re right, Ignacio is a bit cooler.” She shot a glance back at the student who was beginning to feel more like a kid brother.
With everything in the clear, Juliette glanced back at the pool and then the new student. ”So how long have you been at the mansion?”
The culture of the comic convention was a diverse one. There were people that went over the top with their costumes, people who showed up in t-shirts and jeans, and, of course, the people that would show up to panels and belch very loudly out in the open. There was a place for everyone, even if sometimes that place annoyed everyone else.
Juliette rolled her lips in and raised her eyebrows as she glanced over toward where the sound was coming from. ”Well, that’s just lovely,” she pointed out with a bit of a grin. Who didn’t love hearing that from across a room? It was the perfect end to the panel, clearly.
With the belch out of the way, she turned back to Booker and considered his offer. With her hip jutted and her hands on her waist, she thought for a minute, turning casually to the side whenever someone wanted to pass her. She was getting good at the art of being in a large crowd. ”Hmm… that’s a good question. Really, I’m up for whatever.”
That was the truth. Whatever Booker wanted to do, she would go along with. She was already far down the rabbit hole by that point, anyway. People who were unwilling to sacrifice did not paint themselves green. Still though, she knew how annoying it could be to have two indecisive people standing around, unsure of what to do, so she figured that it might make things a little easier if she narrowed down the options.
”We could… always go back to your place, if you’re up for cooking,” she suggested. It was certainly the most cost-effective option, and it gave them the most personal, one-on-one time with each other. Still, it was something that they did fairly often, and she couldn’t make him cook all the time, so it certainly wasn’t the only option. ”Or we could see what’s close… or stick around here if there’s something else that you want to see. Honestly, I want to do whatever you want to do. As long as there’s not belching or soggy food involved.”
Honestly, drinks sounded good to Juliette. It had been a long time since she’d let herself be open enough to actually go out with people and enjoy herself. She spent so much time making sure that everyone around her wasn’t dying that often she left her own needs until last. It could get taxing, and it often made her grumpy.
Still, she wasn’t completely heartless and cold. Tulla seemed nice enough, and honestly, she didn’t mind the idea of going for drinks with a fellow mutant in the healthcare profession that might understand what she was feeling. Surely their lives were very different, but at least they could make the most of what they had in common.
”Do you… want some company for those drinks?” she asked as casually as she could muster. She felt like she was back in kindergarten, asking someone if they wanted to be her friend. She just wasn’t equipped enough to be able to know how to sound on top of things and suave. The awkwardness would just have to do. Or not do, in the case that Tulla totally hated the idea of spending any more time with the grumpy nurse that she just so happened to run into. "I know a pretty good place nearby."
Booker was an ideal boyfriend. Really, ideal. Even if he did the occasional terrible thing like make her think she would have to stand for an hour with her arms out. Other than that, he was just about perfect. She grinned widely and wrinkled her nose at the image of him being loaded up like a pack mule for the rest of their con experience and then put her hand on his cheek affectionately. ”You’re cute. I think I’m gonna keep you,” she told him before turning her attention to other things.
Other things like the costume that he’d worn to a convention a while earlier. Large Father was an intense costume, and it looked heavy, hot, and like it required a ton of prep work. Looking at that, she realized that the green body paint was not the worst thing that he could have made her wear. There were far, far worse things in the world.
The idea of him rubbing her feet while wearing just the helmet from his costume was a little unsettling. Sure, she wouldn’t mind looking at him below the shoulders, but the helmet… well, that would certainly change things. ”Mmm,” Juliette let out a seductive noise, trying her best to play along, ”and then you can…” She trailed off and then snickered once, covering her mouth with her hand as she tried to stifle the rest of her laughter. ”I’m sorry, I can’t! I can’t do it!”
Thankfully, the panel was starting, saving her from continuing to picture the head of Large Father pasted onto the very nice body of her boyfriend. There were certain things that… just weren’t right in the world, and that was one of them.
”Lunch sounds great,” Juliette whispered happily as she finished the last bite of her churro. (Wo)man could not live on candy bars and deep fried treats alone, after all. With her eyes locked forward, she quieted down as the event began.
The noise level in the room increased exponentially as the celebrities that had kept everyone’s attention for so long filtered out of the room. People grabbed their goodies and costumes and began to make their way back into the thick of the convention, chattering away about what they’d just heard and all the questions that they’d had answered.
Juliette had enjoyed it quite a bit, actually. More than she’d expected to. The cast of Chess of Crowns had answered questions that she didn’t even know that she had, and she was about to leave with a whole new insight into the world of Easteros.
”That was fun,” she said lightly, standing behind Booker as they waited for their aisle to file out into the crowd. ”Thanks for suggesting that we sit in on that.”
Rudolph Kipperling was not an average headmaster. In fact, he was far from an average headmaster. His rules were few and far between, and he was actually better to use to fly the X-Men into dangerous locations than to actually run a school, but no one seemed to mind. Ruddy and his clones were school staples, weirdness and all. No one really cared if they had to pick up his extra slack, because for some reason, he just seemed worth it all. Even if he came with a knife-toting, music-playing automated vacuum for an assistant headmaster.
It was one of those times when his full array of interesting colours were on display, though. Usually, Juliette could easily find the humour in a situation like the one they were in, but she just hoped that Celeste wasn’t completely weirded out or afraid of the state that their school might be in. Because, yes, they had some questionable staff members, but at its heart, the Xavier Institute was a wonderful place. It just… took some digging to see that sometimes.
With her hand supporting one of the corners of the table, Juliette knew that it was one of those moments. Ruddy was oblivious to the issue as he dug around in his desk (which just so happened to be pushed against a wall) for the paperwork to get Celestina enrolled. An “ahh” escaped his lips when he stumbled across the piece of paper that he was looking for. He then brought it over and spread it out on the green table, pressing hard enough to make Juliette’s hand go down a little. He seemed to notice the shift, but not what caused it.
>>"I'll go over and grab that little table thing. It might help balance it out until he can get it fixed, at least."
”That would be awesome, thanks,” Juliette nodded gratefully. Once Celeste had brought the table over, she removed her hand and shook it out. The table was heavier than it looked.
On the other side, Ruddy looked to be deep in thought. “Alright, so I think I remember how this works. You sign in each place that it tells you to, and then I’ll sign it all later. Or have a clone sign it once I track one down. They’re always running away, just like DJ Roomba. So sad.” The ageing man passed the paper over to Celeste and then pulled a pen from the pocket in his shirt, slapping it down next to the sheet. “After that, we can get you enrolled in some classes! Who doesn’t love classes?”
Juliette gave the girl a friendly smile and put her newly freed hand on her waist. ”Don’t feel pressured into anything, though. These are totally your decisions to make. Even if I teach one mean health class.”
”No, wait-” Juliette protested as she felt herself being lifted off the ground, away from both the hoard of creatures and the car that Jorge was turning on. As her feet left the pavement and she watched the objects grow smaller around her, she knew that she would be out of range of whatever Jorge was planning. She was now in the air, the creatures were dispersing, and she was out of energy. Her light form flickered off for good and felt the lack of energy hit her like a ton of bricks.
It was too late, though. Without energy, she couldn’t go back to the ground without facing all the creatures unarmed. Maybe Ghost had just saved her life, really. She wasn’t even sure if Jorge was going to come up with anything.
Communication clearly wasn’t the trio’s strong suit. Juliette needed to be back on the ground, and yet she was in the air. It definitely felt better to be floating, away from the area, but it wasn’t really beneficial to the plan. Ghost was trying to help, but it meant that they had to rethink their plan.
Jorge was already thinking. Firefly scrambled to press her communicator closer to her ear so that she could hear the instructions clearly. ”Wait, how are you going to clear them all out?” Juliette asked, furrowing her brow as she looked down at the crowd. The creatures were either shambling away or combining when they bumped into each other, and none of them looked like they’d be easy to round up. So far, the only thing that they’d actually responded to was bright light.
Bright light and a huge wave of water, that was. Juliette watched in awe as a tsunami washed over the mindless crowd and ushered them into the building that they’d planned to lead them into. That… made things much easier, actually. She’d apparently greatly underestimated Jorge’s powers, considering the fact that he’d just pulled water from the streets of New York and somehow gotten every single one of those creatures into the freezer. It looked like they were packed in pretty tight, but they were out of sight and out of mind for now.
Once she was down on the ground, Juliette could get the light that she needed. The high beams were about as much as she could hope for given the circumstances, but they were still artificial. They could only last so long if she was going to be doing that much with her power.
Her hands had migrated to her knees as she bent over slightly and thought through what exactly was going on. They had a second to reevaluate. A god-given (or Jorge-given) second. With the light being absorbed, she looked up at her teammates. ”Alright, so what’re we doing with the freezer special in there?”
Platform heels sucked. They absolutely sucked. Sure, they looked cool from a distance, but they killed to walk in, and they would be absolutely useless in an sort of fight. Juliette’s mind had flashed back to running through the streets of New York away from some rift zombies and she shuddered to think of what might have happened if she’d twisted an ankle or busted a knee because of faulty footwear. If that had been the case, then there would be a good chance that Booker would be sitting at that convention all alone.
However, the rest of her costume was decent. In fact, it was fairly well thought out. There were many similarities between Glamora and Star Baron’s respective costumes, and sex appeal clearly wasn’t the only thing on the designers’ minds, thankfully. It was comfortable enough to walk around a convention in.
Juliette blinked and looked over at the photo that Booker had just helpfully pulled up and then quickly looked away, putting her hand to the top of her head, careful not to mess with her makeup. All of the good aspects of Glamora’s costume had been replaced with what looked to be green body paint, and there was essentially nothing good about the outfit. Silently, she cringed for a good minute. ”Whoever designed that had never once worn clothing. I’m sure of it.” It was the only logical explanation.
At least Booker wasn’t rubbing it in or intentionally being a jacka** about the situation, though. He was actually being very sweet about the whole thing, and she very much liked the idea of a foot rub once they got back to his apartment. She was more than used to sore feet after working as a nurse, but she wasn’t about to let him know that. Especially not when there were foot rubs and head kisses on the line. Instead, she simply closed her eyes briefly and rested gently against him, careful not to touch any green skin to his jacket. ”Sounds good,” she replied simply.
The question was turned back on Booker, and it was clear that he had gotten the better costume out of the two. Nothing really uncomfortable about what he was wearing other than the squeaky jacket. Still, there were worse arrangements than the one that they were in. Juliette would have taken heels and body paint over something like Leelaa from the Sixth Element any day. Any. Day. ”Well, I’m glad that you’re comfortable. It means that I can exploit that fact and make you carry all the bags,” she teased and stuck out her tongue at him before taking another bite of her churro.
>>”But at least is wasn’t as bad as well I dressed up a Large Father a couple years back. THAT was a heavy costume.”
She had to put her hand in front of her face to make sure not to snort too obnoxiously when Booker showed her the picture of him and Nessa dressed up at a different convention. He looked… well, uncomfortable. If she was actually looking at his face, that was. She wasn’t exactly sure where he was under all that costume. ”That’s a good look. You should wear it more often, you know. Maybe tonight… when you give me that foot rub…” With a wink, she nudged his arm to make sure that he knew she was teasing about that. It was a good image, though. Even if she wasn’t sure she’d ever want to get a foot rub from Large Father.
”Oo, I think it’s starting!” Juliette announced suddenly as the crowd suddenly grew louder and there was a distinct sound of clicking camera triggers.
”Ew,” the brunette grimaced as Rebecca described her day. Bog powers sounded absolutely horrible, and from the looks of Becca, they were absolutely horrible. There were mutant powers, and then there were… well, unfortunate situations. If Juliette had been born with swamp powers, then she wasn’t all that sure that she would have the good graces to stay on the right side of the law either. It wasn’t always sunshine (literally) for the rest of the mutant population.
”Well, you’re home now and we have chocolate,” Juliette pointed out sympathetically as she passed the throw blanket from the back of the couch over to her roommate. There was something about being home, wrapped in a blanket after shivering in cold water all day that Juliette cited as one of the best feelings in the world. Once Rebecca was suitably covered, she leaned over and stabbed a strawberry with a skewer and dipped it into the chocolate. ”The only super that you have to be here is a super-spider-squisher.”
The conversation was promptly shifted over to what Juliette had been doing with her day, which was to be expected, since she’d called the MC into order, after all. She’d just been nervous about sharing the news, since she wasn’t sure if it would jinx how amazing things had been. She knew that it couldn’t possibly be the case, but saying out loud somehow made things different.
She chewed her strawberry for a second as she tried to think of the best way to tell her closest friend about all the butterflies in her stomach. ”Well… you remember library guy? I had a date with him last night, and… well… it went really well for the most part, and... he makes really good breakfast...” She flushed red at what she was implying, drawing her lips in as she looked at her friend with anticipation. Being with Booker felt good. So good, especially after the s*** few months that she’d had before that, so she hoped that her friend would approve. She was happy where things were, even if they had started in a bad situation.
I probably should have posted a few days ago, but currently, I don't have a whole lot of posting time on my hands, and, unfortunately, it'll probably only get worse. With moving, getting ready for a new semester, finishing my job, and family in town, things are a bit crazy. Hopefully I'll be able to carve out a bit more posting time. <3
This affects: Juliette, Astrid, Natalie, Charlie, Ravi, and Elixir
As Booker leaned forward, Juliette’s eyes grew wider. The quip about him cooking had been a bit of a joke, but he’d taken it to a different place. A place that they’d been many times already, but it still made her blush a little in that public space. ”My, Bookman. That’s quite the offer,” she teased, running a finger over the zipper on his jacket as he gave her an indecent proposal. ”But I’m sure you can tell me more about it later.”
It wasn’t long before she spotted an interesting booth that seemed to be giving away masks of some kind. From the looks of it, they were limited edition and the stock wouldn’t last long, so it seemed like the kind of thing that Booker had told her to look out for. She pointed it out quickly, checking back with him to make sure that it really was worth it.
With his confirmation (and even an impressed look), Juliette smiled and felt confident striding forward into the lineup. She even made sure to put a little extra Glamora swagger into her walk as she did so.
Her first Con experience was pretty all-encompassing. They’d hit plenty of booths and come across some really cool items that were up for grabs, as well as managing to nab a few autographs and selfies with some cool people. Many of them were more interesting for him, but she was still having a good time and learning lots of things. Including the fact that she was very glad that her costume involved pants when she visited the cringe-worthy bathroom.
Her favourite photo of the day so far had been the one where she’d gotten to put her foot on the floor-hugging Booker and point her gun at him. As promised, she’d had plenty of opportunity to pose in positions where Glamora was kicking Star Baron’s butt.
Eventually, the time had come for a panel to speak for the new show, The Protectors. Juliette sat patiently in a seat in the auditorium, her bag at her feet as she chewed a churro and rested her feet. It was nice to get a break from everything, really. There was a lot of visual stimulation there, so it was nice to have a moment of peace, even if it was hardly quiet.
>>”How you holding up? Boots still okay?”
”I’m doing well,” Juliette nodded. Instinctively, her eyes dropped to her boots as she rolled an ankle slightly to the side, displaying the height of the heel. ”They’re holding up well, too, but I need to have a serious chat with whoever designs costumes for superpowered women. There’s no way in hell that I would want to be fighting crime in platforms.” She had to admit, they were a little nice since they gave her a bit more height, but they were hardly practical or comfortable. The second they got back to his apartment, she was switching back to sandals, or better yet, her nursing shoes.
”How’re you doing?” she asked him, turning her head to look at him in his red jacket as she took another bite of her churro.
From the sounds of it, Celeste could lead a course on how to have your life together. She had definitely not shown up to the mansion empty handed, and it didn’t sound like she was sitting on her hands during her free time, either. Between a busy part-time job and volunteering at the library, it was almost amazing that she had an afternoon to drop into the mansion and inquire about school. She only looked to be in her teens, but already, Celeste had a better handle on things than most people her age. Hell, Juliette even knew a few older people who could be included in that list.
Juliette took the paper and skimmed it as they walked. ”This is actually pretty impressive, even if we don’t really need it for school,” she smiled gently at her. They accepted students with far fewer credentials than her on a regular basis, and it was unlikely that they were going to start expecting resumes from every kid that walked in the door. Still, it was a great thing to have on file, so she kept it with her as they walked. ”Sounds like you keep yourself pretty busy.”
Moving in somewhere was a pretty big decision for most people. Growing up, Juliette had been taught never to put too much thought into where they were living, and she’d taken that spur of them moment moving ideal with her as she grew. She’d move to New York when there was a good job opening, to the mansion because she suddenly decided to join the X-Men, and in with Rebecca because she wanted to avoid someone that lived there. Still, she could understand if there was something keeping Celeste from moving as quickly as Juliette had.
>>"Do I have to decide today or can I think it over?"
”Take all the time you need,” she told her. There was no rush to move in there. ”There’s no set time to move in or requirement to do so, so if you ever change your mind, you can always move in or out. Heaven knows we see people come and go all the time.” For a second, she was almost worried that a neon sign with a large arrow would hang from the ceiling and point at her all of a sudden, but, luckily, she was safe.
It was a funny connection that Celeste volunteered at the library, really. Juliette had thrown the fact that Booker worked there out mostly as a tidbit, but she didn’t really think much of it. She really didn’t think that they would know each other. However, she turned her head when Celeste audibly gasped. She paused and grinned at the girl when she admitted to a connection and shared a funny story.
”That’s too funny. It’s always weird to hear about connections in a city as big as this,” she said. ”And yes, I agree with you there. Sort of an unbelievable name. I will have to come visit the two of you at some point.”
>>"Yes, I am definitely ready!"
With the confirmation that the office (and subsequent enrollment) was a go, Juliette opened the door to reveal an ageing man fiddling with a table tennis set in the middle of the large room. His desk and all other furniture had been pushed back to make room for the new addition, and the man hardly even looked up when the office door opened. Down on the floor, DJ Roomba zoomed out through the open door, nearly slicing Juliette’s ankle with an attached knife on the way out.
“My screwdriver! He ran out with my…” Ruddy stood up with a sigh and put his hands on his hips as he looked longingly after his assistant headmaster. “Oh! Sorry, didn’t see you there. How are you, Jules?”
”I’m-” Juliette had started to say something when a leg of the table collapsed suddenly. Quickly, she grabbed the side of the table and held it back in place. ”-Great, thanks. I have a new student that would like to enrol.”
The pause had been mean, but she’d enjoyed it. After all, he had made her sit through all that makeup prep, and even if it had paid off, it wasn’t something that she’d been expecting. She did have to get him back somehow. Even if it meant that the comebacks would likely spiral. Still, she hadn’t been expecting him to fire back quite that quickly.
>>”Good. For a second there I thought I was going to have trade you in for Authority Girl over there.”
Juliette turned, put her hands on her hips, and glared at Booker as she opened her mouth and shook her head at him. That was a low blow, even as a joke. Authority Girl had a lot of, well… top half. The thought of being traded in for a tall, blonde woman with lots of boob hurt, even though she knew that he wasn’t serious. When he claimed that he was kidding, she turned back and softened a bit, but the words had still cut a bit. ”You’re damn right she could,” she muttered as they continued on in line.
Thankfully, they had changed the topic of conversation to something a little lighter: Booker’s past con experiences. Juliette was actually really interested in hearing all the crazy stories, especially ones that involved Rebecca being carried around over his shoulders. She was just sad that she couldn’t have been there to experience it. Unfortunately, pictures would have to do in that case, and Booker was willing to provide them.
They had moved through the line and up to the counter, where they had struck up a conversation with a professional makeup artist. Juliette was blushing bright red after being told that she should look into doing some modeling for cosplaying on the side of her other two jobs. It sounded a little absurd (maybe she was dreaming it or something?), but she just seemed to keep pressing on about it.
”Thanks, maybe I will,” she nodded, giving her a nervous smile. She’d known that her makeup looked good, but she really hadn’t expected that. At all. Maybe ever. It was definitely something to think about.
The two of them pulled away from the vendor with their new CDs in tow. Juliette rubbed the cases together absent-mindedly as she stared forward with glassy eyes. Had that really just happened? Beside her, Booker was making movements and noises that quickly brought her back to reality.
>>”Did you hear that? That...was like…awesome! I mean, she doesn’t like anyone! And paid you a hell of a compliment. You should try it! Just imagine… Nurse! World Class DJ! Professional Cosplayer! I’d never have to work again!”
She flashed a grin at him and stuck the CDs in the bag on his elbow. ”You forgot Educated Health Teacher and Kick-*** X-Man,” she joked. Had her life really become a series of that many titles? She needed to get a handle on the things that she was a part of or they would continue to spiral out of control. ”And that’s all assuming that I’m willing to share my riches, mister. Maybe I’ll make you cook for cash.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and trudged forward through the crowds that were swarming the convention centre. With careful eyes, she surveyed the space in front of them for any good places to stop. After a second, she raised her arm and pointed at a little booth. ”How about over there? It looks like they’re giving away some sort of mask or something.”
