IC ⏩ Headphone Jack: A Gang/Music RP

[Vars]

Links Out Recruit Thread / OOC Chat Rules Extended Information Player-Driven Wiki Character Profiles - Civilians - Clefs​ - Elecs - Nus

Currently... What Happened on Pgs. 1 - 4 Year: 101 After Mute Season: Summer Month: June​ Tobias (civilian) tries to deal music in an alleyway to Nathan (civi), which Lucius (Nu), Soren (clef), & Silas (clef) witnesses. Rachel & Aren (Elecs) meet in Mark (civi)'s bookstore to discuss gang history. Michael (clef) sees Rye (Nu) crash his bike outside the clock shop where Gareth (civi) works. ​

 

[Vars]

Look, listen to my voice
If you're making the choice
Tell me all the girls and the boys
Either scream or rejoice
Let's make that noise
Either move or we will all be destroyed


Move and show me what you can do
When you step into the circle and shake like we do
Move when you just can't take it
And move if you just feel like breaking it


Can you hear me? Stop, look, listen to my voice,
It was never my choice to feel all alone
This is my home
Back up , you don't know if you've never been here,
You've never been to the place inside, I face my fears
It takes everything I am


Move and show me what you can do
When you step into the circle and shake like we do
Move when you just can't take it
And move if you just feel like breaking it


Move and show me what you can do
When you step into the circle and shake like we do
Move when you just can't take it
And move if you just feel like breaking it


If you come near me, stop, look, listen to my voice
If you're making the choice tell all the girls and the boys
Either scream or rejoice
Let's make that noise
Either move or we will all be destroyed
Back up and let go if you've never been here,
You've never been to the place inside, I face my fears,
It takes everything I am


Move and show me what you can do
When you step into the circle and shake like we do
Move when you just can't take it
And move if you just feel like breaking it


I come crashing to the floor
And I know there must be more like me
I've seen this all before, I can't carry this anymore, break free
Breathe, and leave until the storm is over
'Cause underneath, there's a diamond passing over
So breathe, let's leave until the storm is over,
Because I want to take you away


Move and show me what you can do
When you step into the circle and shake like we do
Move when you just can't take it
And move if you just feel like breaking

The Mute Movement.

When

Metallica

political party took over, the country of

Musica

went through a profound cultural shift. Under the totalitarian dictatorship, all music was banned.
Singing? No. Humming? Gone.
Any remote relationship to rhythm was quickly silenced and the perpetrator forcefully detained by the

Clefs

.

The Great Wall

was built to divide Musica from its music-loving border nations of

Indie, Emo,

and

Headphone

. Clefs were instructed to shoot anything suspicious on sight, making emmigration and trade difficult. The dissatisfaction is now beginning to culminate and there are whispers of war.

Approximately 100 years later, Musicians believe the Metallica is benevolent and agree with the music ban. Most citizens of Musica have never heard music, and if faced with it, recoil in pain. This is due to

the Tie

, a device implanted into native Musicians' inner ears in infancy which painfully vibrates when frequencies outside human speech are heard.
Music's painful connotations have fostered a culture of hate toward melodies and those who engage with them. What kind of people enjoy tormenting others?

Enter the rival gangs,

Electronica

and

NuMetal

, the members of each labeled Elecs and Nus. With the invention of a secret procedure known as

Tempo Control

, they have been able to remove Musicians' Ties and enjoy music without pain.

The Nus specialize in media and consumption while the Elecs concentrate on instruments and production. Both gangs illegally provide all sorts of music paraphernalia, from CDs to pianos, through what the gangs call

Headphone Jacks

- the process of acquiring the items from the neutral bordering country of Headphone.

Both gangs have been running for about five years, but unbeknownst to many, have a common origin:

Nausicaa

. It was a rumble between the two original co-founders that produced the rival gangs. Now, they fight against eachother for territory, patrons, and power. Both have a wish to overthrow Metallica and overturn the music ban, but until they can get to that point, their standard operating procedures differ too much to work together.

Distributing illegal music paraphenalia, planning to overthrow the government, and generally engaging in deviant behavior have all caused gang members to be labeled as outlaws. Any known members should be reported to the clefs immediately.

The penalty for gang affiliation and music dealing is death. The punishment for simply enjoying music? One year in prison and

Reformation

- a process whereby a neurotoxin completely removes the ability to hear anything outside the spectrum of human speech.
The court's jury that decides the outcome? Clefs, not peers!

However, there is still hope. There's been hushed rumors of

The DJ

, a juice that not only has the ability to restore a Reformed Musician's hearing, but also grants the user impervious to any Reformation in the future.

The DJ, if found, could be a severe threat to the Metallica, intiate national change, and grant the gang who finds it impenetrable power.

The gang with the juice wins Musica. And once Musica is won, they can run their world as they please, without a rival gang being in their way. A revolution will come.

There's just one problem: No one knows where it is.

Ryan ("Rye")

, the head of the Nus, is said to have an older brother that is a Clef. The Elecs don't know if this information is true, but assume it to be. The Nus are never given clarification on the matter, since whenever Ryan's past is brought up, someone gets the beatdown. His short temper makes running the gang difficult, but he manages.

Electronica's leader,

Rachel ("Rae")

, is believed to be the source of Rye's animus. Running the Elecs more like a business than a labor of love, she has high profile connections and an even higher profit margin.


To join a gang, prospective members must go through the

beat-in

. If the applicants endure this, they may have their Tie removed and go on their intiatory mission -

A First Accent

- to prove themselves as dedicated to the gang.

After these introductory practices, the members are considered part of the family and are to be protected under that gang. Once substantial trust is gained, they can begin to learn the trade secrets and start dealing, selling, and/or participating in Headphone Jacks.

In this roleplay, players may play the role of civilians, gang members, or Clefs. All characters reside in Musica, and most of the action happens inside the capital city

O Town

.

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We are always accepting new players & characters.
Please go to the recruit thread for information on how to join, what character sheet to use, and where to post it before roleplaying here.​

 

[Vars]

 

[Vars]

Ryan | NuMetal Leader​

Against the sky
Streams of light
Call out to me and you

We leave as one
We've just begun
To find the solace we're due
This is the life we must choose

We will make a brand new start
From the pieces torn apart
The break of day is before us

Cast your sorrows to the wind
Let the highway take us in
As we escape the disorder

This desert road
That we call home
This is our destiny
We'll chase the setting sun
As we outrun
A life of agony
God how we ache to be free

We will make a brand new start
From the pieces torn apart
The break of day is before us

We'll make our way

Beep, beep, beep... Three beeps was all it took for Ryan to throw himself out of bed and grab the travel alarm and turn the damn thing off in haste. Simple beeps had started him off wrong, and now he had a pulsating headache. With a groan, he looked at the time briefly before tossing the cheap plastic box on his bed and walk over to bathroom for his morning piss.

Normally, he woke up before his alarm would go off. But last night, he'd gotten back to his apartment super late. He'd been knee deep in paperwork at the warehouse, trying to figure out when they could set up the next jack. The Nus were running low on product, and it wouldn't do to actually run out. Unfortunately, Rye was not the most organized person, and he wound up accomplishing nothing most of the night. And now it was monday. Time for work. He rolled his eyes at another boring day at the library before flushing the toilet and moving to the sink, turning on the water and bending over to take a drink straight from the faucet.

It only took him about ten minutes to finish his whole routine, brushing his teeth, getting dressed, and making himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to bring to work for lunch. He toasted a buttered bagel for breakfast, which he ate on his way outside. It wasn't long before he was outside and heading down the steps of his second story walk-up, tossing the satchel with his lunch, a water bottle, and a couple notebooks, over his shoulder on the way down.

The last of the bagel was on his way down his throat when he got to the nearby bike rack and knelt down, undoing his cable lock with the letters N-O-T-E. He pulled out the cable and rolled it up haphazardly before dumping it in the small basket in front of the handlebars. He kicked his bike stand back and, grabbing the handlebars, pulled the bike forcefully from the rack without much care. His mountainbike was cheap and just a way to get from point A to B for him, and it showed.

Throwing himself over the seat, he shoved his messenger bag directly behind him on his back and pedaled off to his a workplace, Musica Central Library. It was located right in the heart of O Town, and if traffic was light he'd probably be there in about twenty minutes. If today was like any other monday, he'd spend the bulk of the day picking up all the books dropped off over the weekend and putting them all back where they belonged.

Still, he wouldn't trade it for anything else. Sure, it was boring being a Librarian. But it gave him access to a lot of information. It was quiet, and it had a lot of downtime. He'd scored gold, since it also gave a really great excuse to know a lot about a lot of things not many people wanted to know. Such as the history of the wall, music, Musica... It seemed like a really good cover, anyway.
And it had worked out well for him for the past 5 years. No doubt more people than just himself thought the job was boring. It was probably one of the main reasons he'd been staying out of trouble for so long. Hopefully the trend continued.

tl;dr

Ryan, after staying up late last night trying to figure out how to coordinate a Jack, wakes up with a headache in his two story walk-up apartment. He heads to his job as a librarian at Musical Central Library, in the heart of O Town. Riding his cheap mountainbike, he should be there in about 20 minutes if traffic is light.

 

[Chatoyante]

Rachel | Electronica Leader​

"This is what I pay you for," grumbled a portly but imposing middle aged man, both hands tucked into the pockets of his grey trousers. His dark eyes glared at the younger woman who stood alone with him in the over-sized office. She knew he wanted her as uncomfortable as possible, and he was succeeding.

"You know that's not it. It's the fact that--" she began, before being cut off by a stern 'tch!'

"I don't want to hear it, Rachel. Especially not here. It's a simple outreach seminar, and I'm not rescheduling to cover for you a third time. That's the end of it."

Rachel fumed, remembering the previous afternoon. She had contested Lotario's decision of picking her to conduct the 'Youth Financial Literacy' outreach program the following day at the Musica Central Library. He was aware of her reservations over being near the library, so she assumed that his scheduling her was a power move. Whether he did it for some greater purpose or simply to mess with her was beyond her understanding, though. The possible entanglement of her legal work with her illegal activities made Rachel uncomfortable. She had contemplated the repercussions of being a "no call, no show" that morning, certain that the act would not go unnoticed by her employer.

Eventually, Rachel's sense of duty won out. It wasn't like she was guaranteed to run into the 'Great NuMetal Idiot,' anyway. If she could just get through the day, holed up in the little glass-walled presentation room, the likelihood of running across him would be next to nil, she reasoned. Hastily she strode to the reserved room, not taking any chances by slowing down.

Upon entering the room and letting the solid wooden door swing shut behind her, Rachel breathed in relief. She gave a curt nod to Grace, one of the county treasurer's interns that would be helping her that day. Grace returned the nod, an awkward silence building. Rachel's sour mood must have still been clear on her face, as Grace cautiously tried to joke with her.

"Not a kid person?" Grace weakly smiled as she continued to staple informational packets together. Rachel snapped out of her thoughts, her features softening as she regarded the other girl.

"What? Oh, I guess you could say that," she said quietly, taking her laptop out from its case and setting it down on the table. Not willing to expand on her comment, Rachel continued to fuss over setting up her laptop, the screen flickering back to life. On her desktop was the PowerPoint presentation she had spent the previous night completing, and she sat herself down to give the slides one more look. A few strands of blonde hair fell into her face from the ponytail she'd pulled her hair into, obscuring her view. She tried tucking the hairs behind an ear, and gave an exaggerated sigh when they wouldn't stay.

It was obvious to Grace that something was amiss. She may have only been an intern since May, but she'd run across Rachel more than a few times while doing work for Mr. Lotario. Normally put together, today Rachel seemed distracted. The wrinkles on her black pencil skirt and an unnoticed coffee stain hidden under her blouse lapel were just a couple of the physical clues Grace had picked up on. The intern decided to try to comfort her presentation partner.

"Just treat them like little adults, that's all they really are. I mean, it wasn't so long ago that you were a teen yourself, right?"

Again Rachel's attention turned to Grace, brown eyes meeting Grace's green ones. She looked coolly at the intern, uncertain of how to react. Why today of all days was the girl trying to befriend her, distracting her from more important concerns? The impending election season, the summer lull in contraband sales as her usual clients took their fancy seaside vacations, and the possibility of running into Rye were taking their toll on Rachel's patience. Her red lips pursed into a thin line, as she considered how to answer.

"Look, there's just someone I'd rather not run into here. It's personal. I just want to get this program done and done well--get Mr. Lotario off our backs."

Rachel's frankness cowed Grace's probing, and the young girl went back to stapling in silence. Under different circumstances Rachel might have felt guilty for snapping at the girl, but today she couldn't risk being caught off-guard. The two continued to sit in silence as they finished their tasks. As the clock approached 9am, Rachel noticed through the glass walls a growing group of teens and parents gathering outside of the presentation room. She got up from the folding metal chair she'd been sitting on, and crossed the room to the solid wooden door. Swiftly changing modes, she yanked the door open and began to cheerily greet the first wave of the program's attendees, directing them inside.

Summary

Lotario forces Rachel to work the outreach program that is to take place at the Musica Central Library. Rachel is in a bad mood due to the possibility of running into Rye. Grace, one of the summer interns, doesn't know what is wrong but tries to cheer Rachel up. Rachel rejects the attempts, and goes back to worrying about the upcoming fall election, Electronica's dwindling sales, and the potential of running into Rye. At 9am, Rachel and Grace begin their presentation.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Fritz, Civilian

Gentle footsteps echoed as they trotted, two steps at a time, down the basement steps; the boy's narrow nose twisted in disgust as the stench of mold, feces, and decay hit his senses. What a horrible place, he thought ruefully as he scanned the dark room below his house. A part of him didn't want to go down here each and everyday, preferring the idea of staying in the warming light of the sun that shone down on his small garden in his front lawn. Yes, he was sorely tempted to do just that, but as always....emerald eyes softened as they fell upon the wooden case that held his one true love, his one true passion, the reason he lived.
Traveling farther into the sound proof room, Frederick's ankle length hair swayed gently with each step he took. He stopped once he reached the center of the room, ignoring the slimy texture of the ground as he dropped to one knee to open the case. First, you could only hear his steady breathing, next it was the click of the case and other small metal parts until finally, you hear the beginnings of a melody.
The acoustics of the room were perfect for playing an instrument, and it being soundproof meant that no Clef could possibly hear the music produced nearly everyday in his disgusting safe heaven. The flute's notes were what a diamond would sound like; clear, strong, majestic... and so powerful that when Fritz closed his eyes he could forget about the place he was in and lose himself to the beautiful tune.

(Summery: Fritz goes down to his disgusting, soundproof basement to secretly play his flute. This is a ritual he does everyday to avoid being caught by the Clefs while playing his music. He hates the basement but loves the music he plays in it.)

 

[Nim]

Alex|NuMetal Member​

Another morning in the week, another day with the kids at the kindergarden, she thought to herself as she shut off the alarm clock. Getting out of bed was easy for her, the harder part was getting herself to start the morning routine and not play a set of air drums or an air saxophone.

After five minutes Alex finally started getting prepared, jumping from one thing to another as quickly as she could. If she remembered right, today they were supposed to go to a theater show with all the kids. Midway of brushing her teeth she decided to check her cellphone, in case anyone decided to leave one of those annoying to read text messages. Those phones would be the death of her, with the annoying size and the fact she had to have one to be able to inform parents quickly of anything with their children from anywhere. With a toothbrush still in her mouth, she went and picked up the blue phone and pressed one of the buttons to light up the screen.

It was Monday, and there were no new messages, no missed ca-

Wait, Monday?

Upon realizing the day Alex's jaw slightly dropped, with the toothbrush threatening to escape her mouth and drop straight to the floor. Monday was her day off, but the date, 3/6, was the date of the theater show. She was going to miss the theater show with the kids? She loved those things, especially seeing how excited the kids got. Music might've been banned, but good acting for all ages was still around and people enjoyed it. Especially young kids with amusing actors.

Throwing her phone to her bed and going back to the bathroom, she finished brushing her teeth, feeling sad now. Now she had no idea what she was going to do today. She told just about everyone she knew that she would most likely be unreachable for the majority of the day.

Going and sitting on her bed, she decided to think for a bit. If she had a day off, what could she do? Obviously not sit and home, and it was still very early for her to think about going to HQ. Becoming even more bummed about the fact she wasn't going to see the show with the kids, she thought about them and how she had a couple of stories ready for them for story time. Luckily kids at age 4 didn't usually know how to read, so she could tell them stories from books without them being able to know, so the kids admired her "creative mind".

Using her leg to drag forward a pile of books that laid underneath her bed, she looked at the different books. Most of them were old kid-friendly fairytales she read as a child, but there were a couple others that she got from friends or other family members, an overdue library book, a couple of coloring books- Overdue library book?

Grabbing a hold of it, she raised an eyebrow before realizing that must've gotten mixed with her regular books the last time she collected the library books to return them. And this one was due two weeks ago, which was even worse.

grabbing a bag that laid besides one of her bed legs, she placed the book inside and then quickly made sure her pet turtle, Walker, had food and water. With everything being proper and well, she left her apartment and begun racing to the library, hoping the fine for this won't be too bad. Knowing her luck, she will run into every person she knows on the way and end up reaching the library when its closed. Without bicycles it would take her a bit, and she consistently thought about how much she needs to get herself a pair as she ran.

Summary

Alex wakes up and finds out her initial plan for the day was ruined by something she forgot. She then finds a book she forgot to return to the library for two weeks and decides to race to the library with her now free day and hope for the best.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

(Fritz l, civilian *I can't get to my computer so I'm on my phone; sorry if my post sucks*)

After a hour ticked by Fritz was forced to place his instrument down in order to prepare for school. Visibly wincing at the thought, he climbed up the stairs slower than before. "Gothel, it's time to eat." The boy's voice was barely a whisper when he paused in the middle of the stairs; only continuing when he heard the gentle steps of the calico following him up the stairs.
It was a mindless routine that he did everyday; feed Gothel, wake up father, feed father, before finally rushing to take care of his personal routine before school. All in all, his family's mornings were peaceful, but Fritz's were usually utter chaos.
Life was chaotic, he thought vaguely as he sprinted down the street; his high school a mere dot in the distance. Why couldn't he have just one stress free day? Because that day would involve a world devoid of humans and filled with music, and sadly, both were an impossibility in this god forsaken country.

(Summery: Fritz finishes playing in the basement and must get ready to got to school)

 

[djinnamon]

Akira/Ki-Numetal Member
Ki rolled out of bed at 6:am , the sun light hitting him directly in his face as groaned standing up He had been up making lesson plans for the coming week and only got a few hours of sleep though he can't say he wasn't getting used to it. After taking a quick shower and getting dressed in his normal outfit of jeans and a grey t-shirt with his worn grey canvas sneakers he grabbed his hair brush , combing out his hair and making his bed once he had done that. Exiting his room , he hurried to the kitchen to begin cooking breakfast. After a few minutes he was about the call his little sister down to eat only to be stopped by small arms wrapping around his thigh prompting him to look down at the little girl who was staring up at him with a bright smile.
"Hi Cupcake , sleep well?" He asked , reaching down to pick up the 6 year old who nodded her head. It's been a year ever since he moved out of his drunkard of a father's house ,if you could even call it that, and got his own apartment taking Mina ,the little girl he was holding in his arms now, with him. At first it was very difficult but soon it got more and more bearable as they fell into a routine.
"Come on eat breakfast , we are going on a field trip today with my daycare class. " He said causing the little girl to cheer loudly as she wiggled out of his arms and sat at the table as Ki placed the food in front of her. Pulling up a chair for himself ,after getting some food , he sat down and soon the kitchen was being filled with chatter and laughter .
After breakfast , Ki and Mina headed to the daycare. Mina ran off to play with the kids while Ki made sure everything was in check before the kids and teachers got into the bus headed to the library.

Summary: Ki wakes up and makes breakfast for him and his sister Mina before the two go to the Daycare before taking Ki's class on a fieldtrip to the library.

 

[Vars]

Ryan | NuMetal Leader​

By the time Rye got to the library, it had already opened and there were already some people inside. July, the head librarian poked her head up from behind the desk and dropped a bunch of books on a cart.
"You're late," she muttered.
"Only by a couple minutes," Rye replied. "Is that really so bad? C'mon, how often am I late?"
She shook her head in disapproval.
"Go clock in. There's a big lecture going on in room 1 and there's going to be a lot of kids. I set them up already but you're going to have to make sure it doesn't get too loud in here or none of the kids wander around."

Rye swallowed, frowning briefly, before going into the back area, setting his bag down and clocking in before coming back out to the desk, where July pushed the cart full of books toward him. "This too," she said, slapping the cart lightly before heading back to her own office, where she did... whatever it was she did.

Rye moved his head side to side in a sweeping motion to stretch out his neck while taking in a deep breath, preparing himself for a more chaotic day than he'd originally hoped. He cracked his knuckles and sat down at the computer, logging in.

Just as this finished, he noticed a parade of children coming in. The chaporones, none of which he recognized, came by the desk to ask for directions. He stood up immediately and pointed them to meeting room, which he hadn't actually looked at until just that moment. His hand dropped to his side as his eyes met with Rachel's, the Elec leader who was apparently the person running the presentation. Hoping she couldn't see him, he quickly tried to wipe the glare off his face and look amiable to the guardians of the child procession.

When they'd passed, he finally sat back down, only to be approached again by another person, who was returning books. He sighed, took the books, and scanned them.

"I'm sorry, but these are overdue. You owe..." and he looked up, finally recognizing who it was. "Oh. It's you," he proclaimed.
Alex, who was basically his second-in-command at this point, was the owner of the books.
"Are you with the kids? Do you know what's going on over there?" he motioned to the meeting room.

At that point, another group of children was beginning to come into the library, and Rye stood up again to fake smile and wave. In this group, he again recognized another person. It was Ki, another Nu. The three of them being together outside the warehouse was a little off-putting.

Not that he didn't enjoy their company - he did - but grouping outside the warehouse felt like a calm before a big storm. Like something bad was going to happen. Especially now with Rachel so close, too.

tldr

Rye is a few minutes late to work, which the head librarian, July, comments on. July fills Rye in on the events for the day, and as the first group of kids heads to meeting room 1, he notices Rachel is the one giving the presentation.
After the kids come in, Alex comes to return overdue books. Rye asks if the kids are Alex's, and if she knows what the presentation's about.
Another group of kids rolls in, and Rye recognizes Ki as one of the chaperones. Rye gets a bad feeling about all of them being in the same place at the same time.

@djinnamon @Chatoyante @Nim

 

[Nim]

Alex|NuMetal Member​

It ended up taking her a bit until she finally arrived at the library, and she noticed there was a small crowd of kids with chaperons that were going inside, and then directed into a different room. Wondering what was going on, she waited outside until it seemed to calm down a bit and only then entered the library, holding the books at the ready.

Approaching the front desk, Alex didn't pay too much attention to who was sitting there at first, putting the books down and pushing them towards the person there, then rummaging through her bag to find her wallet. She always seemed to lose it somewhere in her bag. Upon hearing the man suddenly proclaim that it was her, she looked up and saw it was Ryan, her gang leader. She knew well that he was working there, she just didn't know what hours he worked there.

Upon hearing his question regarding the kids and seeing him motion to the meeting room, she turned to look at the door leading there. She couldn't see who was presenting and which people were already inside, but she didn't know the teens that were headed in there "Too old for me to take care of them. I only help care for kids ages four to six. Those are close to becoming teens, if not already." She said, turning her attention back to Ryan.

"And it's nice to see you too. How much do I owe for the overdue books?" Alex asked, finally finding her wallet and taking it out, preparing some cash to pay the debt, but gave Ryan a smile regardless of the situation. When she heard another group come in, she briefly looked at them, and noticed Ki among them. Turning back to Ryan, the smile remained, but she did start to feel nervous. Three of them, here, at the same time? This was a certain call for trouble "I have quite a lot of things to do today, so I shouldn't stay here for too long. Hope you understand." She she told him in a slightly more quiet voice, but one that was directly aimed at Ryan.

Summary

Alex arrives the library, finds out its Ryan's hours at work, gets questions about kids in a presentation, spots another NuMetal member and then decides it is too risky to stay around. She then tries to quietly rush Ryan so there won't be a cluster of their gang in one place for too long.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Fritz, civilian.

Blinking stupidly at the empty classroom Fritz had to resist the urge to smack himself. Of course his class would be going on a field trip the one and only day he was tardy; that was just how the world worked. Instead of broadcasting his self loathing however, he simply let out a small sigh before walking out of the empty room. The location of the field trip gradually came back to him as he stalked the hall, other late students shoving past him in the hurry to get to class. It was at the library if he was correct, the one nt too far away from the school. Good, he could still make it.
Tired of sprinting the teen set his pace to a leisurely stroll as he took in the crisp morning air. Unlike most students who would do anything to get out of school, Fritz hated field trips. The students were chaotic at the best of times and a demonic at the worst of times. This chaos they caused, usually forced Fritz away from the group along with the class aid so he could calm down. Thus taking him away from both the "fun" and the education he was suppose to be receiving.
He barely registered that he had not only reached but entered the library, as he was absorbed in his own thoughts. Only registering it after he was at the front desk. "Hello, I'm looking for my class. They were going to a field trip here today." He said in his usual monotonous voice to the person at the desk.

Summery: Fritz finds out his class went on a field trip and has to go find them. He enters the library and asks the front desk for help.

 

[Shavynel]

Nadia | Electronica

Gardening?

Nadia left the meeting with a scowl. That was what they wanted her to research for their upcoming case. The prosecutor was a small time bookstore owner whose hobby was tending his two exotic plants, and the defendant was a stinkin' third-generation multi-millionaire with a stick up her ass and a hundred acre botanical garden. The offense? Stealing plants. Plants! What was so important about a little purple speckled pom pom anyway? And she was being sent to the library to see if they should even take the case. Why her? Because her time was cheap, and having her waste three days was still cheaper than the price they'd spend for a half hour of an agricultural professional's time. It made her grind her teeth. She'd show them. She'd become the plantiest expert in no time at all.

"Since you're going to the library, could you also pick up these books?"

It took a second for her to bury her instinct, which was to spin around with a glare and sucker punch whomever dared ruin her bad mood with more nonsense. Instead, she uncurled her fists and her face. "Of course," she acquiesced, her back teeth clenching a little too tightly in her otherwise sweet smile as she took the slip of paper.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The BFG
Where the Wild Things Are
Make Way for Ducklings
...

The list went on and on and on, but all the titles had one thing in common: they were all children's books.

"Thank you, Nadia."

"It'll be no problem at all."

And as soon as he turned his back, her smile dropped and her shoulders tensed. Effing partners. They were all old geezers who thought way too much of themselves and couldn't do anything for themselves. And she supposed they thought she ought to be grateful that they would even stoop to directly asking her for a favor instead of going through three levels of assistants. Worse, she felt she ought to, too. It was important to get in their good graces, so if that meant checking out books for their kitten, so be it. It didn't mean she had to like it.

Whatever.

Nadia grabbed her bag and left before the list of books she had to pick up from the library could get any longer.

In retrospect, she would've preferred getting a list of a hundred books over the situation she found upon pushing open the library door. Three traitors all in one place? Hell, no. Nowhere in her job description did it say she had to deal with backstabbing deserters. And on top of that, there was a pack of children she'd probably have to fight off for books. Great. Well, there was the chance they wouldn't recognize her with her pinned up bun and fancy clothing...

No. Even at three to one odds (she hadn't spotted Rachel past all the teens and parents), she wasn't a wimp.

Nadia flipped them all off, but didn't exactly wait to see if they reacted before taking a sharp turn for the children's section. That was her peace offering: just one rude gesture and not a word. Still, she had to skirt way closer to Akira's sheep than she would've liked, but damned if she was going to let them touch those books before her. It wouldn't be pretty if she had to rip it out of their hands.

Summary: [spoili] Nadia gets tasked with researching gardening for an upcoming case and gets saddled with finding a bunch of children's books for a partner. When she gets to the library, she flips off all the NuMetals she sees, but otherwise avoids a fight, and heads for the children's section, totally missing the fact Rachel's around.[/spoili]

 

[Vars]

Ryan | Nu Leader​

Rye looked from Ki to Alex. He quickly shoved the books over to the side and punched a few keys on the keyboard.
"Nah. Don't worry about it. I've got you covered," he said, his gaze moving to a child who was approaching the desk.

The teenager asked where his class was. Rye pointed over to the glass-walled meeting room. "Over there," he mused. "I'll take you."

The 27 year old nodded to Alex and moved to go from behind the desk when he spotted Nadia, once of Rachel's holdovers from Nausicaa, come in and flip everyone off, then run off to the children's section.

Rye stopped, grit his teeth, his brow twitching and his right hand forming a fist. He wanted to scream so bad. He had to tell himself to keep his cool, though. Kids around. His job at stake.

He couldn't help it. He was about ready to blow. After he lifted the piece of the desk to let himself out, he slammed it back down behind and growled "This way," placing his hand on Fritz's shoulder and pushing him quickly in the direction of the room.

When he got there, it took everything in him to knock the door with a held-back polite quietness. But once Rachel answered, the rage returned.

"You missed one," Rye forced, pushing Fritz toward the Electronica leader.
"Also."

He reached out and grabbed her shoulder, twisting and pushing her face into the glass with his left hand. With his right, he hastily tore the elastic band holding her pony tail out from her hair.
Nothing would be quite as rewarding as ruining Rachel's prissy perfectionism. But even if she had an extra band, he was sure she didn't appreciate being shoved in front of everyone.

With the band in his hand and the kid under her supervision he made a quick exit to the children's section in a hunt after Nadia.
She was gonna pay for her little birds, job be damned.

tldr

Ryan pushes Alex ( @Nim )'s books aside and says she doesn't have to worry about any fines. Fritz ( @Obsessive Compulsive ) approaches the desk and Ryan points to the meeting room where Rachel is. He then sees Nadia ( @Shavynel ) come in, flip everyone off, and run off to the children's section. Now angry, Rye pushed Fritz toward Rachel ( @Chatoyante ), after which he shoves her against the wall and steals her hair tie. Finally, he runs off after Nadia to return the dis.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Fritz flinched violently when the worker's hand came in contact with his shoulder. Was the contact really necessary? His body language remained stiff as he was lead to his class; the horrible tension that suddenly appeared weighing down on his fragile nerves. It was only through years of self taught training that he was able to school his face into it's usual expression of disinterest. His faux image of confidence however, was betrayed as he scratched his hands into a bright red mess. His anxiety only worsening to the seemingly random act of violence the worker inflected upon a poor woman the happened to be in his range of vision. What in the world had he missed?

He watched the man with wide eyes as he walked away from the woman; his own body still shaking slightly due to all the excitement. After he was sure the man was not coming back he turned his attention back towards the woman. "Are you ok Miss?" He asked softly with his eyes downcast.

Summery: Fritz is uncomfortable with Ryan's (@Vardoger ) seemingly random anger. He is stiff and awkward as they walk towards his classmates and he panics when Ryan attack's Rachel ( @Chatoyante ) Once Ryans leaves he asks Rachel if she is ok.

 

[Chatoyante]

Rachel | Electronica Leader​

Packed side-by-side in rows of metal fold-out chairs, many of the teens had little interest in anything Rachel and Grace had to present. The small room had grown uncomfortably warm as everyone gathered in, and it lead to a detrimental effect on everyone's ability to focus. Some began to fidget in their seat, while others started to whisper to their neighbors. Occasionally a teacher or parent would emit a sharp shushing sound as a reminder, but even they began to grow restless, standing in the back of the room.

It had been suggested fifteen minutes earlier, at the beginning of the program, that someone crack the door, allowing cooler air to flow in. But Rachel quickly shot the idea down. The justification she gave was that the young children outside would be a disturbance, but in reality her reason was much more selfish: that door was the one barrier between her and Rye. She would rather suffer the heat and their annoyed looks than risk being seen by him while working. It was for this reason that she hesitated when a firm knock sounded on the wooden door.

Everyone's attention turned to the back of the room, welcoming the distraction. Rachel, who had been the one controlling the projector setup, was seated closest to the door. Had it not been for that, she would have let the task of answering fall to someone else. Instead, with all eyes fixed on her, she unceremoniously stood up and pulled the door open to see what the interruption was about.

All of her planning turned futile the second she saw who was standing on the other side of the door. At first she thought Rye might play dumb and go about his day, considering he also stood to lose as much as her if he brought gang business into his day job. But, the way he shoved the young boy he'd been escorting toward her was definitely a sign of aggression in Rachel's eyes. She was about to quip something about his temper when he grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her against the windowpane wall of the presentation room. The group on the other side recoiled in surprise, a few muttering in indignation.

"Bastard," Rachel sneered as Rye held her in place with his left hand, her eyes straining to see what it was he planned to do. She felt a sharp tug at her hair, and let out an alarmed yelp when she felt a few hairs painfully rip. Whatever he had meant to do, it was over quickly. Once he let her go, she spun around and glared after him as he stormed off. Her hands shot up to her hair to assess the damage, and she let out a furious sigh, realizing that he'd simply pulled her ponytail loose. He knew her image was important to her. Leaving her looking like a mad woman with wild hair poking every direction was his way of mocking her.

It was tempting to chase after Rye then, Rachel's own temper flaring as she roughly finger-combed her hair into a more presentable style--imperfect, but manageable. However, her attention was brought back to the present, as the boy who had been shoved by Rye quietly asked after her well-being.

"Wh-wha--oh, I'll be alright," she assured him, noticing his reticence to make eye contact. The way he held himself was familiar to Rachel, who was also practiced in burying her emotional states under several layers of control and denial. Looking around for someone to give the boy over to, she noticed Grace next to the room's phone, staring at her in shock. One hand was on the receiver, the other ready to dial for help.

"Grace, don't. I'll handle this."

"Rachel, if that's who you were talking about before," the intern pleaded with her partner, recalling their earlier conversation. On the inside, Rachel was screaming at herself for being so candid with Grace.

"No, this isn't it," Rachel lied. "I'll talk to a supervisor. More importantly, let's make sure all students are accounted for this time. Get a headcount on everyone." Rachel nodded to one of the teachers, who nodded back in agreement. Suddenly the room was busy, with teachers and parents rounding up their groups of students and doing roll-call. Rachel then turned to the quiet boy and gently said, "You'll be safe here with your classmates. If you need anything, just ask Grace. I'll make sure that employee is dealt with."

Having given herself a free pass to wander off without raising suspicion, Rachel took off at a quick pace in the direction Rye had disappeared in. As she continued on her warpath, the sound of children's voices grew, giving her a sour feeling in her stomach. Had it been Ki or Lexii who worked with large groups of children? She wracked her mind as she tried to remember her previous gang members. It'd be just her luck to run into more than one NuMetal idiot in the same day, and she started to give serious thought to calling Lotario for some form of backup, considering he was the one to blame for today's events.

Summary

Rachel answers a knock at the door. It's Rye escorting a student (Fritz). Rye shoves the student, and then shoves Rachel into the window and steals her hair tie. Fritz asks after Rachel, and she assures him that she's alright. Grace offers to call for help, but Rachel says no and she'll find a supervisor. The teachers and parents do roll-call. Rachel leaves Fritz in the care of Grace, and goes to follow Rye. Hearing children, Rachel starts to think of the ex-Nausicaa members, Lexii and Ki, one of which she swears to remember having a job handling young children.

 

[djinnamon]

Akira|Numetal Member

Needless to say , Ki was on end when he noticed his fellow gang members but he still guided the kids to the Children's section without a word as another teacher went to talk to the libarian. In most situations he would be happy to see them but he had a feeling of forboding which prevented any sort of happiness. Once he along with the students and other teacher arrived at the kids section he along with the other Teacher began instructing the kids to sit.
Ki stood in front of his class , looking down at them as they sat on a colourful mat. "Ok , you are to be on your best behaviour today, Ok. Make sure to stay in this section unless you get permission and also stay with your assigned buddy." He said in a firm but gentle tone. "Also please don't destroy anything , now go ahead and find something to read." He said causing the children to cheer and run to the book shelves. Out of the corner of his eye , Ki saw Nadia which automatically caused him to glare in the woman's direction. His eye widened however when he saw Rye moving towards Nadia and judging for the look on his face he was upset. "Oh hell no , he better not be going to do what i think he is going to do in front of a group of children." He muttered with a growl , in most situations he would let Rye get over his fit of anger but not when it seemed the guy was about to start a fight a public place.
He began moving towards Nadia , intent on difusing the situation but there was doubt that it would work because it probably would.

Summary: Akira notices his fellow gang members and gets a bad feeling before escorting his class to the children's section. After settling down his class he notices Nadia( @Shavynel ) and a upset Rye( @Vardoger ) moving towards said girl. Intent on defusing the situation he moves towards them.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Something in Fritz gut turned as he watched the woman stalk off to find her attacker. Raising his eyebrow in interest, the teen glanced over to the other woman, Grace he thought the other called her, before turning back to the door. His father always told him that curiosity killed the cat; but this gut wrenching feeling forced him into considering further investigation. He slunk back into the corner of the room, using the commotion the other students caused to fade into obscurity.

It was none of his business, but what was the business in the first place? Strangers didn't randomly force each other into walls; no, these two must have a past. What kind of past though? what kind of past inspires that much rage for a man to risk his job just to assault someone? Fritz's eyes narrowed into barely visible slits; an interesting past that was for sure.

Reckless decision made Fritz pushed himself off of the wall he had been leaning on. Slinking to and out the door with no one even raising an eyebrow over it; moving with purpose the way he saw both the woman and worker go. Yes, curiosity might have killed the cat.

But understanding had brought it back.

 

[Shavynel]

Nadia | Electronica

Nadia pulled book after book, starting with the shelves that were nearer to the open area, figuring that's where the kids would gather, all the while keeping an eye out for the Nus. It slowed her down quite a bit, but no chance in hell was she going to give them the opportunity to sneak up on her just because she had a job to return to.

Rye left the desk, but headed away. Ki shuffled the children in. With a glare, no less, approximately as hostile as she expected Ki would get especially with kids around. Coward. Nadia simply took her growing stack over a shelf and continued her search. But within such close proximity to a Nu, her pace slowed down by half again.

How long was this list? And, really, whose dumb idea was it to order books by author's last name? What else did she need to find? Where the ...

"... Wild Things Are!" What?

"Yeah, I want to read Where the Wild Dings Are!" No.

"There it is!" Her eyes narrowed.

Lose a book to a kid? Fat chance. Nadia spotted where they were pointing, and with the advantage of longer legs and arms, plucked the book right from before their eyes. The last copy. Triumph glinted in her eyes. Tears threatened in one of the kids'.

Crying kid or unhappy boss?

With a sigh, Nadia knelt down to the height of the kid, pitching her voice just a little bit higher to comfort the kid. "You want to read this one?" The kid nodded, suddenly shy it seemed. "Well, too bad," Nadia continued, smile turning into a sneer, voice still soft, but with a warning undertone. "I got it first, so you can. Go. Fuck. Off," she ended with a whisper, low enough that none of the supervising adults ought to have heard. Nadia stood, stacking her new book on the top of her pile with just enough slam to scare away a pair of grubby hands that had started for her tower.

Just in time to see Ki was moving toward her.

"But you have all the good books," came the buddy of the kid whom she had swore at. Clearly, this was the bolder of the two. "Y-you should share!"

Nadia didn't even acknowledge them, instead trying to judge Ki. Was he really going to start a scene in front of the kids, though? She was willing to bet not. The point was glaring was weak, and even if that was all Ki could muster, she was better than that.

"Keep your little shits away from me," she warned him, "That's what they pay you for, isn't it? Shoveling shit around?"

But behind him was another problem. This one was Rye-shaped and closing in at a speed close to if not a notch faster than a librarian after a loud mouth in the quiet section.

Two on one? Better than three. She could take 'em. Her hands pulled off her stack and into fists.

Wait, no. Was that Rae? That gave them even odds (unless Alex dialed in), but seeing Rae was also a reminder that Nadia was here on business, and that maybe there was a way to act with poise. Nus were idiots, and the only way to deal with idiots was to treat them like the lowlife they were.

Nadia picked up the books and shoved them in Rye's direction when he got close. "Finally," she faked exasperation, "You can get these checked out for me. Oh, and I need the rest of these titles, too." She waved her list of books in his face. After all, that was what Rye was paid to do, wasn't it? Might as well put him to work. Still, she was spring-loaded to duck in case either of them decided to act.

Summary: [spoili] Nadia terrorizes some kids in her quest to get books and insults Ki. Having caught sight of Rae, Nadia decides to conscript Rye into finding books for her instead of punching him.

@Vardoger, @djinnamon and just a dash of @Chatoyante[/spoili]

 

[djinnamon]

Akira|Numetal member
A low growl came from Ki , eyes narrowing to slits. "The only shit around here is you Nadia , you are lucky we are in a public place because otherwise you would be bleeding right no so push your luck." He sneered out , before his eyes shifted to the crying child and his buddy who was glaring at Nadia. "So you're picking on kids now huh Nadia , i wonder what your boss would think." He said , intercepting the books ,rather roughly , Nadia was going to give Rye while kicking the woman in the shin. "I'm sure your boss would understand that the children needed it more." He said in a fake sweet voice , before moving towards the children to give them the book they wanted.

Difusing the situation be damned , the bitch called his students shit and he'll be damned if he let her get away with it. Crouching down he smiled at the kids , holding the stack in one hand as he placed a gentle hand on the crying child's head. "Aww it's ok , that lady was very mean wasn't she. Come on stop crying , i'm going to give you the book you want ok?" He asked , prompting the child to sniffle as he nodded his head wiping his tears. After giving the child the book he wanted he instructed the boy along with his buddy to get to a nearby teacher.

Slowly he stood up , turning back to Nadia and out of the corner of his eye saw Rae. "Damn it , it's not one bitch but two." He groaned , roughly pushing the stack of books the children didn't want back at Nadia. "Now go and give your boss the books , come on now and be a good glorified maid." He said , smirking.

Summary- Ki approaches Nadia ( @Shavynel ) , growing angrier when he notices her making one of his students cry. After threatening Nadia , he grabs the books she was attempting to hand to Rye ( @Vardoger ) before kicking her in the shin and proceeding to give his students the book they wanted. After he notices Rae ( @Chatoyante ) coming and makes a comment about there being two bitches he has to deal with now he gives Nadia the books he had no use for rather roughly while calling her glorified maid.