Rebels & Mutineers is set in modern day New Orleans, Louisiana. R&M is fueled by player's plots and group input.
Supernatural people have always had their place in society, hidden in plain sight or locked away for their own protection. New Orleans, a haven for the strange and mysterious and a magnet for the supernatural.
Established: Oct. 27th, 2018 Recently Updated Posts && Recently Updated Threads
05.11.19
As the community reels from the untimely death of Lucia Lovelle, life has to move on. Primrose readies for the annual Prom celebration! Keep your eye out for a event board and have fun!
02.27.19
It's not too late to vote for February's OTM winners! The winners for January, keep an eye out on your messages for your winner's graphics for your signature. Already voted? Make sure you check out the Mardi Gras event board! Party up, have a good time, and enjoy!
Declan put his phone into his pocket and walked down the street of New Orleans. The night before he had met the most amazing woman and he couldn’t get enough of her. She was funny, she was sexy as hell, and she was someone who he wanted to spend more time with. He could tell that there was some hesitation when they parted the night before about if he was going to call her the next morning. Declan pulled on his boots that morning not knowing if she was going to text him back. By the time he got halfway to the breakfast spot, he knew that he was going to meet up with her for waffles.
Everything was better with waffles.
He pulled his jacket a little closer, the weather was only in the 50s, but still cold for what he was used to for this time of year. Even after all of his years living in Louisiana, he still hated when the winter months would roll around. He checked his phone again, seeing a text from Millie that she had settled back into life in O’ahu. He missed having his cousin around and he worried that she would miss their home when she got bullied out of Primrose Academy, but he tried to provide her with a good place to land. He tried to be a good cousin, but there was only so much he could do.
Declan walked into his favorite waffle place and asked for a booth for two. He had given Rowen the address through their text messages and he was thrilled that she agreed to meet up with him and that she was going to get to know him more. After the night before with their goodbye kiss, he worried that he went too far with it. He leaned back against the booth and waited for Rowen to show up.
The morning always made everything look a bit different. It was something about the balmy morning sunshine that filtered in through her kitchen window, or maybe it was waking up to the low thrum of easy-listening, her alarm clock waking her with local radio. Either way, there was a space, no more than a few breaths, where she didn’t feel quite like it was her life, and usually she passed these moments by lying in bed and wishing they would stay longer. This morning, however, there was a text message the cut through the peace and serenity. Expecting an early email at best or a command from her sister at worst, she rolled over and grabbed the phone.
It was neither. No, this was an unknown number, one that claimed to be Declan. But she wasn’t still dreaming. The man from the bar just the previous night, the one who had flirted with her and kissed her outside. He was actually following through. Her brain went sideways. She had barely been hopeful for a text in a few days; the next morning was something else entirely. Not only that but he wanted to see her again - and soon, for breakfast. Before she could lose the vestiges of her nerves, she texted him back.
While awaiting his reply, she had torn through her closet and found something somewhat befitting a breakfast meet-up with a man she had only met and kissed the night before. Simple sweater and skirt combo, cute but not too cute, assuming nothing. By the time he had texted back, she was already ready to go, tights and all. Address plugged into her phone, she threw her belongings into a bag and headed out. She had no idea what to expect, but she figured that she may as well follow the trail while it was available.
The place itself was cute enough, and it wasn’t hard to spot Declan amongst the other patrons. Her smile to him was much shyer than it was last night, and she gave a tiny wave as she entered. She didn’t quite know what else to do. He had thoroughly surprised her, and she wasn’t sure what to think as she slid into the booth across from him. She fussed over her hair that was still riding out its texture from last night. “So, waffles, huh?” she asked to make some sort of beginning conversation.
Declan shot back another text to Rowen with the address of the waffle place and placed his phone back on the table. There were a few from some of his employees to answer, one from Nerys about some function that she needed "arm candy" for. Declan was often the one who was dressed up and paraded out with her during such events. Probably because they had known each other for so many years. It was just his role in her life. He was fine with it for so long, but after last night, he was wondering if there was something more. He spent all night wondering what it could be like with someone else. Someone who actually wanted to just be with him. Someone who wouldn't run off with the next muscular and tattooed person who walked by.
He leaned back in the booth and watched the door, wondering if he had messed up by texting her literally the next morning. He wanted to show her that she was still going to be on his mind in a few days, but he couldn't help himself. He also could barely sleep the night before thinking about her, about their kiss, about how much he wanted to see her again. He couldn't wait a few days to text her, because she was on his mind as soon as he woke up. He couldn't wait because that would mean more days without seeing her smile or hearing her laugh.
When he heard the twinkle of the bell above the door, he looked up and checked to see if it was Rowen. Elderly couples, some tourists with big maps and Anne Rice shirts, every time it wasn't Rowen he could feel his spirit drop. Maybe he had messed up by texting her so soon. He heard the bell again and looked up to see Rowen looking even more beautiful than he remembered. Was that possible? He sat up in the booth, grinning when she walked straight over to him and slid into the booth across from him.
She looked amazing and he was still shocked she came.
He grinned at her question, "Yeah, they're just about the only thing I can make breakfast food wise, so I really like waffles." He had a waffle maker that would beep really loudly when the waffles were finished cooking. It took all of the guess work out that he often struggled with eggs or pancakes over. "I'm glad you came."
Ro could hardly let her eye pass over him in the restaurant. He was practically magnetic, all flashing grin and broad shoulders and a natural aura of strength and confidence. His smile made her chest do that weird expansion thing that she so rarely felt, and she wanted him to keep doing it, to keep favoring her with that grin. She had no idea what sort of lightning she had bottled the previous night, but she prayed to whatever god would listen that they would let her have a bit of it again, just enough to dazzle him through breakfast. But it felt different now, in the light of day, as though she had come to her senses and could clearly see the differences between the two of them. He was bright and grinning and radiated such a warmth that she could hardly wipe the smile from her face. Considering how seldom that happened, her cheeks were already hurting.
As she slid into the booth, she did her best to look presentable, hooking her hair behind her ears and running her fingers through the rest of it. It was a nervous habit, born from having to fidget and preen to appear perfect before her parents or their assorted friends. As an adult, it had translated to second-guessing and halted movements, to smoothing the same imaginary wrinkles or tangles a billion times. She forced her hands into her lap so that she wouldn’t fall into the same nervous patterns. “I bet they’re delicious when you make them,” she assured him. Maybe one morning they could put that to the test, but the room was a bit too bright and crowded for that sort of talk just yet.
She offered him a shaky little smile and smoothed the napkin over her skirt. “I’m glad I did too. These waffles are bound to be great; getting to talk to you again is an added bonus.” Mostly, she was just happy that he had even asked her, but even she had to admit that sounded rather desperate to voice. The corners of her mouth snuck up around the words; she was actively trying to unwind herself.
He must have had a fun time last night, she reasoned. She must have done something right. There had to be a pattern, something she could repeat. It was a form of an experiment; all of life was something like an experiment. Anything that could not be repeated was not valid, and she was trying to make a commitment to be an active participant in her own life. She had to try to bottle her own lightning.
She walked with grace and he was completely thrilled to see her again. He wanted to be around her and he wanted to keep looking at her smile and listening to her laugh. He wanted to hear more stories about her students at Primrose, and he wanted to keep hearing about things that made her smile and things that made her happy. To learn all about those things so he would be able to shower her with them. He wanted to know what kind of coffee she liked best so a cup would be waiting on her piano before class. He wanted to treat her to her favorite foods after a particularly hard day. Given how well he knew Nerys, working for her would probably be close to agony. He couldn't even imagine what it was like to work for the Oswald woman that he had been friends with for so long. Let alone for someone as sweet and kind as Rowen. The two of them were like night and day, he couldn't even imagine what the two of them in the same room would be like.
"Wow." He breathed, the way the warm sunshine hit her gorgeous features, he could hardly believe that he was so lucky to be sitting across from her. "How is it you look even more beautiful than I remembered? I thought that maybe I exaggerated last night when I got home." He teased and grinned when she said that his waffles were probably amazing. "Oh of course. I'd be happy to make them for you, let you compare them." He was happy to have a morning taste test between the waffles professionally made, and the waffles that he made in his kitchen. He was sure that they could find other things to fill up the time between waffle test batches.
"Getting to talk to you is a bonus for me too. I kinda missed you as soon as you left last night." He had wanted to be with her longer, but good things came to those who waited and Declan was determined to spend as much time with her as possible. "Happy you got home safely last night. No hysterics at Primrose?" He asked, knowing how dramatic Primrose could get from his own years studying there.
He handed her the menu and looked over it himself. Something delicious with someone amazing. He was in for a good morning. "Coffee?" he asked when the waitress came up and filled his coffee cup and took a sip from it. He set the cup down and looked over at Rowen, happy that she agreed to meet him.
Had that wow really been for her? She nearly blinked in surprise, unsure of how to react to the compliment. She settled on a grateful smile and a laugh at his next statement. “The mind does have a way of exaggerating, though. I’m sure your rose-colored glasses will come off soon enough,” she assured him with a smile. She shrugged as casually as she could manage. “We’ll just have to try that out one time, then.” Talking to him was still surprisingly easy in the daylight. She could hardly believe it.
Kinda missed you as soon as you left last night. It was good to know her hopes in hearing back from him soon were not misplaced, though now in the morning sun, she couldn’t deny just how out of her league he was. He seemed on a different field completely from other men, and she was mostly just the lesser-known Oswald sister. But she hadn’t come to dissect motives or intentions. No, she came for good breakfast and good conversation. “I’m glad to hear that, honestly. I would have felt rather like a fool for being the only one,” she laughed shyly, running her fingers through the ends of her hair. “And I did, and thankfully there were no hysterics that time,” she assured him with a small laugh that turned a bit sheepish. “By the way, thank you for, uh, walking me out last night. It was a nice touch.”
She took the menu and tried to keep her attention on it, but her eyes kept finding him over the top. She was grateful that the large laminate paper shielded her dumb smile from him, though. “Oh, yes, coffee sounds amazing, thank you.” When she was sure that her face was not contorted into a middle-school-crush grin, she lowered her menu once more. “What do you suggest? From the menu. I feel like I can trust your judgement.”
She supposed that she could trust his judgement, despite his insistence on keeping her company for an extended period of time. That was an entirely different puzzle to her than what to order for breakfast. Even in the diner, they seemed to make only a backwards sort of sense: the big hulk of a man who spent more of his time at his bar than out of it and the unassuming piano teacher who dressed in smart layers and chewed on the inside of her lip. He radiated confidence and warmth enough to make anyone melt, her brain included.
He still couldn't believe how beautiful she was. There were so many times he would see women who just didn't see that they were perfect and gorgeous and that always interested him. He was interested in what Rowen saw when she looked in the mirror, he was interested in how she saw herself when she got dressed in the morning or when she would pass by a reflective store front. "And the mind has a way of short circuiting a little bit when a drop dead gorgeous women who is also a remarkable kisser sits down in front of you." He smirked when she mentioned the rose colored glasses, "Trust me, if I had my way it wouldn't be the only thing coming off, but you make me want to be more of a gentleman."
From their kisses before she left the night before, he knew that he could be a little bit of a gentleman, but he really wanted to kiss her again. She was funny, she was sweet, and kind. He couldn't help himself with her. He grinned when she admitted that she was as excited to see him as he was for her. There was a warmth that spread in his chest and couldn't believe that even without the alcohol, without the haze of the speakeasy, that she was still as interested as he was. "No way you're the only one." he grinned when she mentioned the walking her outside the night before, "I was a little worried I might have offended or scared you off."
He grinned when the waitress overturned the mugs and filled them to the brim with coffee. Declan thanked her and took a sip of the coffee, turning his attention back to the flawless Rowen. "I am a big fan of the pineapple coconut mango one. If you like those things." He reached over to carefully point out where he was reading the ironically named Hawaiian Waffle.
He missed his home in Hawaii at times, but the more time he spent with friends and beautiful women, the more he realized how much good has come from being in New Orleans. She was amazing and kind, he was someone who was drawn to that. He liked having her positive energy and her warmth. She was remarkable. "I'm just happy you were able to make time in your teaching schedule to come out and see me."
“I must have just missed her, then.” She did her best to not immediately blush and look away, but she had never really considered herself a remarkable kisser. Or drop dead gorgeous for that matter. Those things did not seem to belong to her the way they belonged to other women, perhaps because she had never really considered them. The compliments meant more to her than she knew they should have. Her brow raised just a bit, and she tried to do as even a shrug as she could manage. “I mean, I would never stop you from getting comfortable, but I’m sure the diner wouldn’t be too keen on that.” Her brows bounced to punctuate the statement, but she fell too easily into a bit of a laugh.
The night before had stayed rather fresh in her mind. The feeling of his lips on hers, the texture of the brick against her back, the whitehot chemistry they had experienced in the bar before. Besides his obvious qualities, Declan had been witty and not too cocky, a balance she would not have predicted when she first saw him. She was happy to see that, in the morning light, he remained just the same. She hooked hair behind both her ears and leaned forward a bit on the table. “If you had, I would have made sure that you knew about it.” She highly doubted anything she could have done to him could have really hurt, but with her healing, she would have done it anyway. That was one thing she wasn’t afraid of. She had already broken all the bones in her hand so many times over; one more time wouldn’t have made a difference.
She leaned back when the waitress returned with coffee. She picked back up her discarded menu and eyed the waffle he pointed out. How fitting, she reflected. “The Hawaiian Waffle? Well, I suppose I do like those. There are few things titled ‘Hawaiian’ that I dislike.” She trusted his judgement; if he said it was good, she was inclined to believe him. Besides, she was on a mission to try more new things.
“Oh no, it’s fine. I’m off today, anyway,” she assured him with a smile. She had the whole day free, actually, and for once, there were no demands on her schedule that would inevitably drag her away. Nerys usually liked to keep her busy, as though pressuring her to schedule more off-hours music lessons would somehow help her. “I’m sure you have a much more padded schedule than me, running your own business and all.”
Declan laughed at her comment, hoping that one day she would be able to see herself through the same lenses that he did. That she would see herself for the graceful, strong, and beautiful woman that he was coming to very much enjoy the company of. "Probably not here, but I'm happy to get comfortable at your place after this." He teased, knowing that they were having breakfast the morning after their incredible kiss at the bar without anything actually having happened between them that would warrant a morning after breakfast.
She was truly remarkable, he had always lived his life in this deep fear that he was going to kill someone. He always had it in the back of his mind and he always felt like he was this giant ticking time bomb. That one day he was going to hold someone's hand and give a squeeze of encouragement too hard. that he was going to get carried away in bed and they would end up with broken bones. That his temper would one day get the best of him and he would literally crush a skull while trying to punch someone. He was terrified about it. Then he met a women in his bar who could literally break her own fingers just for the shock factor and suddenly he didn't feel so terrified to even talk to someone. Then he got to know her.
She could be made out of glass, and he would still have a hard time staying away from her. She was incredible and he just wanted to keep getting to know her.
"Yeah, I should of figured you were a fan of the Hawaiian things." He said with a smirk, stretching up slightly and showing off the full scale of his tattoos. Had she wanted to go home with him the night before, she would have seen the dark and thick designs that traced down his stomach, over his chest and up to his arms. That was a trip back to the islands that he wouldn't soon forget.
He grinned when she said that she was off and he was grateful, "Get to steal you for a while then." He could enjoy that a lot. "Usually I am pretty swamped, with Mardi Gras coming up it's a lot of hectic stuff, but today I am miraculously off." He cleared his schedule before she even got there because there was no way he wanted to miss out on any time with her.
The waitress returned and Declan ordered his waffle, giving the space for Rowen to order hers. Most people thought he was this toxic masculine type of guy, but he didn't want to ever step on the toes of the women he went out with. "So why piano?"
She made a show of shaking her head. “My place is a mess, so it wouldn’t be easy to get comfortable in. Besides, it’s a bit out of the way.” Only one of those were true, but she was particular about her home. Her sister hadn’t even seen it, not that that stopped the older woman from condemning it as a tomb. Perhaps it was. She hadn’t lived in it very long, but it still had the air that it was locked up and frozen, memorabilia of times forgotten on the wall. And the mantle. And stuffed into drawers, closets, bookshelves. She still had a lot to unpack and sift through, figuratively and literally.
At his insinuation, Rowen made a bit of a ‘tsk’ing sound that died in her throat as he stretched. He was covered in the thick, almost black lines that crossed his skin. “Is that..all over? That must have hurt.” She had only tried to get a tattoo once, and it hadn’t even stayed, a cruel mockery of her power. She was not, however, above admiring the work on someone else.
She laughed at his statement, snapping out of her short awe at his tattoos. “If you really want to spend your free day with me, I’m not going anywhere. Maybe, between us, we could get you caught up on your very important paperwork,” she informed him.
She noticed the way he went quiet when it was her time to order, and she appreciated it. It was a very small gesture, but she had long since learned to live on the small things in life, on the little touches that reminded her of humanity. If she hadn’t spoken to him last night, however, the gesture wouldn’t have been consistent with what she could have guessed about him. He had a look about him that screamed very different things from his reality; she appreciated being surprised by life.
At his question, she took a sip of coffee and seemed to consider it for a second. “My mother tried the violin with me, and I could never get control of the bow. The piano, though, I liked it. Very simple, rather straightforward. It’s like you get from it exactly what you think you will,” she admitted. It went along with her music as function theory; music went in you one way, came out a billion others. “So, why the bar?” she returned as she set her coffee cup down.
