meadowlarksabove

[meadowlarksabove]

"Ooo- ooo- before you say anything-!" Kira smiles widely as he enters the office, "Come- come look! There's something for you to see." She's obviously excited as her shoes tap past him and across the room to a window. Beckoning him over.

❤️ @distantpagesandpapercuts

It was rare for her to receive him with a smile like that, Gabban felt his heart patter then like an anxious dove. He loved her. “Alright.”

The box he’d brought in was fragile, so he set it carefully to the side before making the move to follow her. What had gotten her so excited? And it was for him to see?

“What is it?”

#.ic #.Gabban #.post legion #distantpagesandpapercuts

[meadowlarksabove]

-Gives him a little nibble-

🦷@cicero-the-assassin

A long bout of silence passed between them, with Cicero chewing on his already scarred flesh, and Gabban seemingly unaware. Until Gabban pinched their cheek and began to slowly pull them away from his bicep.

“It’s like you’re teething. Are you a baby?”

#.ic #.Gabban #cicero-the-assassin #/Gabban va: I'll get you a pacifier damn

[meadowlarksabove]

Mother Moon, Juno’s moon, had finally stepped out from Her partition of clouds. The desert looked better under Her witch-eye, like the landscape of a half-forgotten dream, silhouetted in shadow where the mind recalls no substance. Juno the savior, the warner, Her light was soft but true. Let his brothers be spared of surprises, while the queen of hearth and home mothers from the sky. 

He hummed the last bit of his prayer with a hand pressed to his stomach, and felt the hitch of his own breath as metals began to clang nearby. It was an odd thing to hear. At first, it had reminded Gabban of men rushing to take up arms, then the run of a bighorner, and lastly the instruments the women play during harvests. 

This must have been music on the wind, but where was it coming from? Gabban peeked out from his tight wedge on the rocky hills, almost like a hare coming out of its warren. A stranger had made camp some ways downhill of the rock formation he’d taken for hiding. What a nuisance. He smelled the air and there was nothing on it but the clickclack and some smoke. 

No food, no blood. 

Gabban figured he couldn’t stay for much longer. He wasn’t uniformed, but strangers, at night, weren’t as sweet as lovers…

Still, as Gabban listened to the beat, he couldn’t help but think of something amusing. He pursed his lips before he could think any better of it, and whistled a melody down to the clanging.

COOPER: OPEN.

Click clack. Click clack. Tap tap tap.

The silverware the Ghoul had dug up from the ruins would fetch a high price, but he still had a ways to go before the empty nothingness of desert wasteland became a prospector's market.

So when he made his campfire, after he downed the bottle of gin he'd pilfered from some dead asshole's liquor cabinet, Cooper fished out a few of the spoons from their cloth bag to start... playing them.

A chattering clap against his knees, like a galloping horse, a rattling of drums, echoed across his campfire.

Click clack. Click clack.

#.ic #.Gabban #.verse to be decided #aamusedly

[meadowlarksabove]

who wants to be Gabban's partner so you can use up his hair and skin products without ever having to buy your own?

#.ooc

[meadowlarksabove]

@cajunspoons:

Spoons grinned. Even if it was macabre… she had been certain he'd love the gift. And he did! "Well. Ya know. It's not from here…" She still kept that vague. "I made ya a li'l care card and brought a buncha fresh water, for you an' the plant."

Of course, he would have heard of such flowers if they were native to any of the places he’s traveled. Gabban wondered just how far Spoons must have gone to get it, and to get all of this water!

“You’re giving me all of this?” He looked into her eyes then, searching for answers in her glowing stare. “What are you going to ask in return?”

He shuddered to think what one could owe a robot as strong as her.

#.ic #.Gabban #cajunspoons

[meadowlarksabove]

Gabban chuckled at first, then noticed the drop of her pretty smile.

"Well." He looked around himself, then back to her pout. She wasn't being fair at all...

"Yeah, actually, I'm pretty bugged..."

“what? you mean you aren’t bugged right now?” she pouts.

#.ic #.Gabban #lotuskissed #/folded like he's freshly washed laundry

[meadowlarksabove]

Spoons brings a plant in a small pot, a transplant. "It's called hoya mitrata, but some folks call it the tooth fairy plant."

🎉

“It’s beautiful…” 

He kept his voice down to a whisper, as if not wanting to disturb the precious cradle of flowers in her hands. They were so much like teeth, how very precious! “I’ve never seen anything like it!”

#.ic #.gabban #cajunspoons #/flowers and teeth combined...he's in heaven

[meadowlarksabove]

How sensitive. That was the thing about Cicero, they weren’t as cold as the rest of the frumentarii, so prone to yapping and making faces. Just like an unruly child. Not that his smiles or theatrics were any less of a mask, of course, only that he was easier to bother. Getting nothing but irritated silence from Vulpes wasn’t always fun. 

“Well, She would think that I look clean and that you look dusty.” Gabban chuckled into the back of his palm. “If you’re going to make an offering at least make sure your face isn’t caked with sand.” 

He licked his finger and quickly smeared it across their cheek, wiping off a stain of who-knows-what. “Do you think while you’re out under the open sky, with sun and moon, I’m not working down here in the dark? It’d be nice to work out of this dungeon more often. Not that I’d want to trade places with you. You couldn’t do my work at all- three seconds and everyone would be dead I bet.”

It was impressive. Gabban was very typically smeared in some substance or another. Came with the job he supposed. But he cleaned up well, Cicero could actually see the golden crown of hair on his head. It's true, he and his brothers all looked pretty much exactly alike.

Though the remark to his own appearance makes Cicero's expression sink slightly with a roll of his eyes.

"Dunnow if you've noticed babe, but we're in a desert. With dust storms. And- unlike you, golden child, I actually have to leave this moaning groaning hall and work for a living. Your play things don't just get delivered magically you know. You're welcome by the way."

Cicero crosses his 'dusty' arms over his chest with no small amount of show of indignance. An expressive sort he was- a fan of dramatics.

"Such an ugly comment on a day of 'love' and 'beauty' Gabban. What would she think?"

He feigns insult and concern for his continued blessing.

@meadowlarksabove

#.ic #.Gabban #cicero-the-assassin

[meadowlarksabove]

@lotuskissed:

"i want to bug you on purpose."

"Alright, well- when does that start?"

#.ic #lotuskissed

[meadowlarksabove]

ramona pokes the gabban with a big smile on her face

🎉

He looked back at her, half expecting a follow-up response or another poke to his side. But as nothing came he began to look her over quietly, confused at first, then more than a little amused. 

Gabban poked her waist. “What’s with the smile? Is something funny?”

#.ic #lotuskissed

[meadowlarksabove]

:') It's gonna be my birthday tomorrow. Consider interacting with Gabban (please) or leave something for him in the inbox. (and also interact with my ocs at @amberedcorpse I am on my knees)

#.ooc #/never really asked for any birthday favors on here before but it would really cheer me up ^^

[meadowlarksabove]

Gabban lingered by the office a moment longer, watching Devil’s back while he slipped on a new pair of gloves and donned his mask. They seemed awfully tense for someone who’d come in like a dog hot off the street demanding his scraps. 

“Here, rinse.” He pressed a button beside the spittoon and filled one of the paper cups with mouthwash. “Try to relax.” 

There wasn’t much he needed to prepare for the X-Rays, only that he needed to replace the plastic barriers on the sensor and re-position the emitter closer to the headrest. Everything else was just about maneuvering the sensor inside of their mouth. “Now, I’ll need you to bite on the guard, but not too hard.” 

Slowly, he inserted the sensor toward the midline of the palate once Devil had chosen to open their mouth, just parallel to the roots of the center molar on their right-hand side. “Tell me if you feel any discomfort at any point, alright?” The fabric of Gabban’s mask creased with a grin as he adjusted the aiming ring over their cheek.

To his credit, Devil didn't snatch the file and make a break for it like the voice in the back of his head instructed-- a short-term victory would end up biting him in the ass later. Besides, he had a reputation to uphold, and fucked as he was, Gabban was a member of decent standing in the underworld.

He simply stared, barely holding back a sneer as that tail beside him flickered like an agitated cat. Was he excited to get a fucking X-ray?

The mercenary stood up, lips pursed to white, and stalked off towards the room. He stared at the chair before he got in, as if inspecting it for any hidden restraints. "No."

"You're not drilling cavities, Gabban, I said an X-Ray. Are we clear?"

#.ic #.Gabban #.always feed the hand that leads to teeth ( modern au ) #aamusedly #/finally I can put my dentist ref videos for Gabban to good use #/come on devil it could be worse #/itts just a photoshoot for your teeth

[meadowlarksabove]

As Gabban held the glass in his hand, he remembered the little wooden cups served to all the foot soldiers on holidays and nights of harvest. Barely a thimble of wine for himself and the Goddess that dominated his heart. Now that he served Caesar more closely he’d been permitted to keep the bottles he scavenged, a privilege he’d never dreamed of getting. 

“If you’ve noticed then that must mean I’ve done something right.” He placed a hand over his own chest, skin free of blood and gore. It’d been a while since he looked so overly groomed, and smelling of flowers above all else. “It is for Her, there’s no one else here I’d want to impress anyway.” 

Carefully, he set the glass beside the wine and took a moment to look Cicero over, conveying little with his expression. “You’re dusty.”

@meadowlarksabove

Continued from here.

It wasn't rare for the other soldiers to help in his worship of Venus, even as the goddess of love She too has Her hands stained with war. But Cicero had never shown himself interested in prayer or boons before. They weren't that kind of man, too focused on their own mortal flesh. "These are very nice." Gabban recieved them with a smile and cradled the bundle in the gentle wrap of his arms. No matter the intentions, good or bad, he couldn't say no to flowers. "Here, you can drink some of the wine- but not all of it!" He placed the bottle nearby and looked around for a glass. "Remember, you must offer Her a good part of it."

While it was true that Cicero didn't seem much of a worshipping sort now, he had been no stranger to the altars in his younger years. Tending to discretely slip his rare offerings to the priestesses of Mercury. Some would speculate that he only came by to spread his charm to the priestesses like illness. But truthfully? Cicero didn't believe in their gods. It were merely a formality that he ever showed up to those places at all.

His blessings were forged from his own willpower and strife.

But he'd seemed to take a shine to Gabban. And Venus was important to Gabban. So, true to his deceitful nature, it had become a bit more important to him too.

"I wouldn't dare sneak more than what is permitted."

Cicero's eyes watch him look for the cup, noting:

"You're more gussied up than usual. For her, I presume?"

#.ic #.Gabban #cicero-the-assassin

[meadowlarksabove]

ANGER WASHED ME CLEAN.

A multimuse for villains (both canon and original). 18+

CHARACTERS | RULES

#.ooc #.self promo #/adding more ocs #/still in the mood to talk about muses if anyone wants

[meadowlarksabove]

If you'd like to talk about starting threads or just casually chat about our muses (even if just to info-dump about your muse), feel free to dm me or like this post.

#.ooc #/I'm in the mood to listen to people talk about their characters rn

[meadowlarksabove]

Molto bene. Gabban pulled the key the rest of the way out of his shirt and quietly kneeled by the file cabinet. Dear Mr. Cooper’s documents, he remembered, had been stowed away inside the left hand corner drawer with the rest of his more interesting clients. It’s hard to forget a man with missing canines after all. Usually they bring them in to lose those teeth- and more. But Gabban had been robbed of that chance unfortunately. 

“Here’s your friend-” He opened the folder and held it out, just close enough for Devil to get a good look without swiping it from his hands. “...and some other names you’ll recognize, I’m sure.” 

Quickly, he snapped the papers back towards his person, pressing the corners playfully to the curl of his grin. “Next room to the right. Make yourself comfortable on the chair, I just sanitized it before you came in. I was expecting you to bring someone in, but this is better I think. Have you been to the dentist recently?”

The sneer on Devil's face was more uncomfortable than it was threatening, but it was certainly at least a little bit threatening.

He hated doctors, he hated scientists, he hated dentists and psychologists and anyone who claimed some higher reason for needing to touch him. The simplicity of Gabban's ask was what put him on edge, but Devil would've been a fool not to take it up out of paranoia alone.

He needed that intel.

Gloved fingers tapped against his armrest for a few long moments. "...Show me that you have the records I want now, and I'll do it."

#.ic #.Gabban #.always feed the hand that leads to teeth ( modern au ) #aamusedly #/dentist mode activate

[meadowlarksabove]

He kept his back towards Devil, a bad idea to be sure, but he couldn’t have them reading into his expression just then. The shifting of the chair behind him, the drop in their face, it felt too nice. “Nothing like that.” Gabban looked over his shoulder after a long beat of silence, looking just as placid as before. 

“The x-rays would just be a down-payment, I’d like to get something out of this trade even if you don’t come through with erasing the debt. It wouldn’t take you more than a few minutes either...” 

Painless too, he could have asked for a tooth or a gum sample for something this risky. “Either you say yes or there’s no deal.”

"Information gets updated, doctor. If I'm starting to get into business with somebody, I like to begin with the pot sweet." But there was a smugness to the way Devil sat, a hand curled under his chin as he watched Gabban move about. He was known fairly well for his generosity, if not the cost of doing business with someone like him."

But that last request wiped the ego off his face entirely. Devil's brow knit and that tail flipped anxiously. "What?"

"Why-? You want to better identify my corpse later?"

#.ic #.Gabban #.always feed the hand that leads to teeth ( modern au ) #aamusedly