College AU! - Small Group RP - Closed

Hange | on a journey | strider |

"Oh, I know where it is," said Hange brightly, starting off down the path towards where the quad met the main sidewalk. "It's not very far. Just a few blocks away from here."

As Newt asked his question, they smiled, staring straight ahead as excitement ran through them at the thought of it. "Chemistry," they said, swinging their arms. "And pre-medicine. Aren't human bodies interesting? I think they are. I'd like to become a surgeon, I think. What classes are you in?"

Great. Now he'd gone and made it awkward. He whistled a few notes of a song snippet, just letting go of some nervous energy.

"Alright, yeah." He nodded. He offered a smile half self-deprecating, half understanding. "No one ever knows what to say, do they?"

"So you realized it was gone at breakfast?" He asked, just to confirm. "Let's look for it between here and there, and if we can't find it we can ask the front desk if someone's turned it in."

"Oh- you couldn't grab breakfast without the card- are you hungry? I have snacks in my dorm ro-" He cut off, realizing just how silly that was to say. The whole reason they were out here was because they both couldn't get into their dorm rooms. "Scratch that. For now."

It was going to take Nico a long time to open up, if he ever did. These were people who might become friends, but in all likelihood they would probably end up as casual acquaintances. Just people he knew as he tried to get a degree so he could have a somewhat normal life. He had never dreamed he’d even survive long enough to go to college, but here he was, and he wasn’t going to squander the opportunity. Fortunately, it seemed like Sal wasn’t planning on getting in the way of Nico getting his degree. They seemed to have a similar idea of how they wanted to spend their time, and that was good enough for Nico.
“I’ve never been great with people,” he admitted, letting himself swing a little bit higher. “I mean… I figured it was probably best I didn’t have a roommate because I didn’t want to get in anyone’s way or ruin anyone else’s college experience, but…” he shrugged, trailing off for a long moment before finally finding the words he was looking for. “I mean obviously you can ask for a new roommate if you end up wanting one, but I’m… grateful that we seem to have… I guess some sort of agreement already that there won’t be a lot of drugs or drinking or bringing girls home.” It was nice to know that not everyone expected college to be like that, even though that was nearly all that was depicted in movies.
Sal wasn’t likely to be able to convince Nico to go to a party, even if it was a small one. He could imagine the suite having a party – there were only eight of them, and if they got along, that was fine – but Nico wasn’t sure he’d be able to bring himself to participate even in that. It wasn’t that he was against parties, but the likelihood of people getting a little too close in that situation was higher than Nico was comfortable with. Besides, he was here to get his degree, not necessarily to make friends. If he ended up with friends, that was just an added bonus. He kept that thought to himself – he didn’t want to seem unfriendly, because it wasn’t like he was actively against making friends, it was just… if he thought he was going to make any, he was just getting his hopes up for no reason.

Juuzou | Juuzou’s Room | mintedstar/fur

Juuzou wasn’t doing much, really. Just lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. His phone lay abandoned on the floor, where he’d promptly dropped it when Myrnin had stopped answering him.
Myrnin was coming. A small, thrilled smile curled at the boy’s lips as he considered that. Mynrin was coming and he was going to get to finally meet someone. He was excited, too excited to sit still any longer, so he rolled off the bed and caught himself with both feet, then began to pace - or, if not pace, then perhaps skip - around the room.
He didn’t quite hear the knock, so he didn’t come towards the door, but he did hear the word and stopped moving, then turned, slowly facing the door. ‘Snack!” He called back, then walked forward and swung the door wide open, grinning and he faced Myrnin. “Come in, come in, I have plenty of snack!”

“There’s the bell on the sign,” Newt replied with a small shrug. “I dunno, maybe they just thought it would be a memorable name? I don’t know how advertisement works.” There was a reason he wasn’t a business major. Actually, multiple reasons, but he didn’t really want to whine about business majors to his new friend, especially when he didn’t know what their opinion would be. It would be pretty stupid to gain a friend and lose them on the same day because of a stupid comment.
“That’s cool,” he said instead, letting Hange take the lead on the conversation. He was more than happy to let Hange talk and just… listen to them. “Did the not pet store have anything interesting?” he asked, unplugging his earbuds from his phone and folding them up neatly before sticking them in his pocket.
“Hm?” Newt considered that, giving a low hum in the back of his throat. “I’m not really sure,” he admitted with a small shrug. “I’d like to… to try to invent things that help people, but I don’t know how to do that yet. I guess that’s why I’m not sure what engineering to go into…” he glanced back over at Hange, tilting his head. “What about you?”

“Oh,” Newt replied, nodding seriously, “that’ll probably come in handy eventually.” Probably more useful than a pet store, but then again… Newt was walking to the pet store before he had even heard of the other store, so maybe the pet store would prove more useful. He gave a small smile, glancing at Hange.
“Thanks,” he said sincerely. “I hope so… I guess… I’m here so I can learn how to be a good inventor, eventually.” Hange was more upfront than most people Newt had met, and he found he appreciated it. They didn’t seem to be afraid to say what they were thinking, and Newt thought they were probably being genuine when they said things.
A tiny smile touched his lips as Hange began spinning. He may not have really understood why they were doing it, but they thought it was probably a good thing. They seemed happy, at least, and that was all Newt cared about.
“There’s a lot more of a risk if something in a human body goes wrong,” Newt replied, sounding a little bit concerned. “I don’t know if I’d be good enough at fixing that – you don’t really get that many second chances. But… I think you’ll be good at it.” He gave a firm nod. “At least… if how carefully you’ve taken care of the salamander is any indication.”

“I’m really good at disappearing,” Nico deadpanned, then glanced at Sal. There was the trace of a smile on his face, but it might have been hard to see for someone who didn’t know Nico very well. He wasn’t really joking – he was used to spending time in the shadows, unseen except when he wanted to be. He lifted his hand off the chain of the swing, eyes narrowing as he checked to make sure it was still opaque. He had gotten better at using his powers only when necessary, but he still had nightmares about turning to shadow. And there were times when he didn’t feel all there. He wouldn’t be able to hold on long if he had to spend too much time in the shadows to make Sal feel more comfortable. It wasn’t an option.
“But… I’m glad to hear you don’t mind my being there. In theory. I guess we’ll figure out soon enough if either of us minds.” He hoped they didn’t. It didn’t seem likely that Nico would be able to find another roommate as understanding as Sal was, if things didn’t work out. And he had a feeling that all of the singles were already taken. He really wasn’t going to like Zuko very much if it turned out that he and Sal didn’t turn out to be good roommates. What reason did Zuko have to need the single? Nico had a hard time imagining a better reason than either he or Sal had.
“And I mean… like I said, any time you need me out of the room so you can take off your prosthetic or whatever, just tell me. No matter what time it is.”
The swings made quiet creaking noises, audible only when there was a lull in the conversation. Nico didn’t mind it. It was… well… it was like a conversation in and of itself, the noises getting a bit louder when he was near Sal, when he could hear the creaking of Sal’s as well as his own… then again, perhaps he was reading too much into silence.
And then there wasn’t silence anymore and Sal’s words processes and Nico stopped kicking, letting the swing slow to a halt. Boys or girls. Right, okay. He shouldn’t have been surprised, but… he was. The world was different now than it had ever been before. He breathed out, trying to get his mind to start working again. Nobody now was supposed to bat an eye, but it still made Nico’s heart constrict in his chest and look around to make sure nobody was there to have overheard.
“I’ll keep an eye out for intruders, then,” he managed, pleased that his voice came out sounding mostly not strangled.

“Useful skill to have,” Nico returned, allowing his tone to drift into something a little bit more serious. He glanced at Sal for a long moment, then managed what he hoped came across as a friendly smile. “I don’t… know you, obviously… but if first impressions serve, I think you probably can’t disappear for good reasons. I know… it’s nice to be able to escape people’s notice and attention, but… I guess what I’m trying to say is you have my attention because you’re nice. And because you’ve been genuine and… and generous since we met, even if it was only like… what? Fifteen minutes ago?” He fell silent, letting himself swing through the air for a few more moments.
“I don’t usually make snap judgements,” he added after a long moment, letting himself glance back in Sal’s direction. “They’re not usually very accurate. But… I also don’t like a lot of people. Through no fault of their own, it’s just… who I am. So… I guess do with that what you will.” Nico lifted a hand from the chain of the swing, awkwardly rubbing at his neck. He wasn’t used to being open, and he didn’t like making himself vulnerable. He felt safer in his shell, where people feared him but didn’t dare look closer. He isolated himself for multiple reasons. Because he didn’t want to burden people with who he was, because he didn’t want to have to hide what he had gone through from people who cared… because he was afraid of being known… there were any number of things. But something about talking to Sal made him want to open up, at least a little bit. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It was dangerous, he knew, sharing yourself like that, but… he didn’t think Sal would use it against him, so long as he was careful exactly what he shared.
Nico’s hand dropped down to his side and he stared at the sky, tense as he waited for Sal to say something. He hadn’t meant to freeze up, but he was still astounded by how different things were, now. Still not used to the fact that he could be open and free about who he loved. Every time he tried to even consider telling people… there was that voice in the back of his head, the voice that still sounded like Bianca, terrified about what would happen to her baby brother if he let slip that he didn’t love normally. Bianca hadn’t minded. She’d been too young to mind, really. But not too young to know that there were consequences. Nico grit his teeth, trying to shake the thought off.
Now was when he was supposed to say something supportive to show Sal that he didn’t care who he liked: that it didn’t actually matter. But the words wouldn’t come. I’ll defend you at your trial, wasn’t exactly what you were supposed to say when someone came out to you. But did this even count? Nico groaned, burying his head in his palms. Which probably only made the whole reaction more obvious…
“Physics,” he managed softly, trying to make his voice sound not quite as tiny. “Then Ancient Greek. What… about you?”

Juuzou | Juuzou’s Room | mintedstar/fur

Juuzou gave a wide smile, ecstatic to be told he was kind. “I like snacks, too,” he told the other student, nodding a little. He didn’t know what Myrnin was doing, really, but he figured he was probably just waiting for Juuzou to pull out the snacks. Maybe they could even hang out together for a bit...isn’t that how you made friends? Juuzou had never been that anxious to make friends, but he was trying to be normal and have a normal college experience, so maybe this was the first step.
He was about to turn to grab the snacks he’d brought when Myrnin moved, closing the distance and…
His mouth slid a little bit open in surprise as the vampire bit him, and he didn’t move, everything in him going very still in shock. He didn’t understand what had just happened...he had been about to share his snacks, right...so, why…?

Nico didn’t compliment people easily. It wasn’t necessarily intentional, just that… he didn’t tend to say things he didn’t mean, and there weren’t very many people he knew that really deserved to be complimented. Sal, though… Sal was nice. He didn’t need to be. He didn’t need to be, but he was, and that made a huge difference to Nico. He took in a deep breath – it wouldn’t do to get attached to Sal too quickly. They could be friends, maybe, but he wasn’t going to count on that. If he got attached and Sal decided he hated, him, actually… well, it wouldn’t be the first time that had happened to Nico, though he wasn’t going to bring that up now, not when they were just beginning to get to know each other. He didn’t want to give a bad first impression, though he wasn’t sure there was any other sort of impression he was capable of making. If Sal didn’t like him yet, though, he was much better at hiding it than most people in Nico’s life.
“I know a little about intimidating people,” Nico replied quietly, shaking his head. “Actually… most of how people see me is by intimidation.” He didn’t say that it was mostly his fault. He didn’t’ do anything to stop people from seeing him as just the Son of Hades – in fact, he’d staked a good deal of his comfort and safety on the reputation that had begun to build around him. “Of course… I guess that’s probably a lot more intentional than people being intimidated by you because of your prosthetic, but…” Was he talking too much? If he was… he sighed, then blazed forward. If he was digging himself a hole, he might as well continue. A hole could turn into a tunnel very easily, if he dug in the right direction – which was an unusually optimistic thought for him. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think the prosthetic is intimidating. And anyone who isn’t willing to look past it probably isn’t worth getting to know anyway. They sound like assholes.” He wasn’t going to ask what was under the prosthetic, but… if it was bad enough that Sal didn’t want people to see it… if it was intimidating… Nico could take a guess. And he wasn’t ever going to make Sal take it off if he didn’t want to. That was one of his secrets. Nico had plenty of his own.
At least Sal seemed to gloss over Nico’s reaction. He realized just a little bit too late that it could have been taken as homophobia, but he couldn’t really backtrack now unless he wanted to out himself, and… he didn’t think he was quite ready for that, even if Sal was going to be understanding.
“I hate math,” he said automatically, then shook his head a little. “Sorry, that was… a little blunt. I just mean… I think it’s cool that some people can do math well. I have a lot of respect for people who can, but… it’s not me. Maybe… you can try to walk me through stuff you get confused on, though. If you can explain math to me, you definitely know it well enough to pass a test.”

Orpheus managed a small smile, though he wanted L to know that he didn’t mind if he wanted to work on the case. He wasn’t thinking about how things would change when Xichen moved in. His roommate the year before hadn’t much liked that L popped in as often as he did, but that hadn’t stopped L. The issue here wasn’t really Xichen, it was that Orpheus had to be on duty some nights, and when he wasn’t, he didn’t want to disturb Xichen too much. It might’ve been easier to get a single in another building that only needed one RA per floor, but that felt like a lot of responsibility. He would much rather do the job with Xichen than have to do it alone just so he had a little bit more time with L.
Deep down, he wished L had made a bit of a better first impression on Xichen… it might’ve been a little easier to ask permission for L to stay over more often if their first interaction hadn’t been L hacking into a private group chat. Ah… too late to change that now, and he knew L hadn’t meant any harm by it. Xichen also knew that L hadn’t meant any harm by it, though it had to have been rather jarring… he pushed the thought away. He would deal with Xichen when he got there. For now, the room was theirs, and Orpheus found he was grateful that L was willing to multitask.
“Mm,” he considered softly, moving on to another small section of L’s hair. “I don’t want to spend the time we have together complaining. You already know I’m nervous about some of the residents, but… others of them seem nice. I’m hoping it was just… bad first impressions over text.” He didn’t mention he got the sense that some of the residents didn’t like him much. It was only the first day – it was far more likely they didn’t have an opinion of him at all yet.

Myrnin didn't seem to notice Juuzou's surprised look - why would he, never mind the way he'd have to turn his head to do so wasn't really practical for what he was doing.
But it was, as he said, the snack he was looking for. He didn't seem inclined to pull away either as he drew blood from Juuzou's body.
Unless Juuzou interfered, he'd likely remain that way for quite a bit. At least enough to stop the pounding hunger in his chest. The fact that Juuzou has misunderstood didn't even cross his mind.

(I figured I'd leave a chance for him to respond. )

Nico actually managed a smile as Sal gestured to the pigtails. They were, as Sal had implied, far from the most intimidating things he had ever seen.
“I don’t know,” he replied, voice light, “With hair like that you’re probably a soccer mom’s worst nightmare. I mean… blue hair and not traditionally masculine? Pretty scary.” Nico knew he wasn’t the best at making jokes, but he couldn’t help but hope that this one managed to land. He wanted his new roommate to like him. He wanted to make a good first impression, he wanted this to be a fresh start, even if he did have to find a way to take care of the monsters that would inevitably follow him here. Hopefully he’d be able to manage that and classes and everything else… he really didn’t want to be forced to drop out after everything he had put into getting here int he first place. He glanced at Sal a little bit nervously, hoping the joke landed. Hoping that he hadn’t overstepped because he didn’t really know how to be friends with people. It certainly wasn’t as easy as some people made it seem.
“I’m pretty good at art,” Nico murmured, sounding a little less hesitant now that the conversation was drifting somewhere a little bit more comfortable. “I want to add it as a minor, if I can make my schedule work out. I don’t… know if that’s possible, though. Point is… if you ever want help with art, that’s something I can probably actually help with.” He forced himself to relax, swinging just a little bit higher.
“I don’t tend to say things I don’t mean,” Nico added after a moment, daring a glance at Sal. “You’re welcome to take me up on my offer at any time, if you want to. Or not at all, if you’d prefer.”

Hange | serious time | strider |

Hange took in what Newt was saying, but they fell silent for a moment, letting it run through their mind once, twice, and a third time until they'd pulled all the information from it and worked it through their mind.

"I think people get frustrated with us because they don't understand how we work," they said, gently placing the salamander back in their pocket. "I'm sorry your parents didn't try to understand. And..." They pursed their lips, pushing their glasses a little further up on their face. "Thanks for not underestimating me. Even though I don't talk like a college person."