The Meraki Program: A Soulmate RP // group // OPEN

Taz was frankly, underwhelmed. He'd spent nearly a whole day the week before letting the personnel quiz him, letting them draw blood and do… Whatever is was they were doing. As he pulled up to the lot, he stopped the car, staring at himself briefly in the rear view mirror. This had all better be worth it, but at the very least the Meraki Apartments would house them on site. He'd brought a few necessary objects and a few sentimental ones, but most of it could fit inside a backpack.

Taz breathed out in annoyance, running his hand through his messy brown hair, before getting out of the car, slinging the bag over his shoulder. He eyed the building, then snorted and walked inside, noting the small group seeming to form in the room. He eyed the people warily, could one of them really be his "soul-mate", this whole thing could still be an elaborate scam. Taz brushed past the group, eyes flitting from each person until he approached Dr. Brimstone.

"Oi, you're in charge right? Can we get this over with?"

Taz's voice was hostile, and he had a deep voice with a southern rumble to it. His eyes flashed with emotion when he spoke, he acted like a wild animal, tensed and ready to leave. He crossed his arms, head tilted to the side.

Wren turns from Arlo to Taz, startled and annoyed.

"Who are you?" he asks, his annoyance evident.

He'd never been very good with hiding his emotions, but he's never really cared all too much to do something about it. He's never liked pretending. And today is no different: he has no interest in pretending to like Taz.

Avrey flinches at the sound of Taz's voice, shrinking away to let him in. Oh god. one of these guys. He nervously rubs his arm, watching Taz as he confidently takes control of the room, then nearly jumps as Wren confronts him. He watches Wren and Taz warily, moving farther back into the corner, as he slips on his airpods, turning on Pears by Weston Estate. His eyes close as he slowly sinks into his own world, swaying softly to the rhythm.

Taz very slowly turns away from Dr. Brimstone, looking Wren up and down, his lips tug downwards in annoyance. He pauses for a moment longer, letting the tension build, before he squares his shoulders, snorting dismissively.

"I'm sorry, did ya' just ask me somethin'? You'll have to speak up."

His eyes flicker to the far more anxious person in the room, and his lips finally curl up into a smirk.

"Besides, I think you're scaring our more 'delicate companions." Taz finally looks back at Wren, watching him carefully. He was definitely interested now, but he'd have to see how this would play out.

Wren frowns himself, his shorter form tensing in preparation for a fight.

"I asked you who you are. I know you heard me, otherwise you wouldn't have responded." he says, his tone exactly the same as before, just bladed now. He glances at Avrey, the looks back at Taz.

"Don't even think about it, musclehead." he snarls, shifting so that he's in Taz's line of sight with Avrey.

Taz's expression hardens as Wren moves into his line of sight, blocking the rest of the room. He hisses through his teeth, running his hand through his hair again, almost dismissively.

"Alright. My name's Taz, if you'd be kind enough to tell me yours, I'll consider not breaking your arm." he says, his voice lowers a bit, his eyes flashing with more amusement. Despite his threat, he hadn't shifted his position, his arms crossed again. He leaned forwards, deepening eye contact, inspecting Wren's face.

"So, your name?"

Avrey looks up, flinching at the sight of Taz's bloodthirsty gaze. He looks nervously from Wren to Taz, then pulls out one airpod.

"C-can we not do this?? S-seriously?? W-w-we just met. there's no need to kill each other yet!" He puts it back in, face turning red at the sound of his voice. Damn it. Why did I draw attention to myself. He folds his arms nervously, looking down as his shyness returns.

"Um… J-J-Just don't. P-please." he says softly, not daring to look up.

Wren bares his teeth in an fierce smile at Taz's hardened face.

"My name's Wren. Wren Levan. And I'd love to see you try and break my arm." he responds, noticing his dismissive attitude. He adopts a slightly defensive stance, still blocking Taz's line of sight, which he noticed the big dude didn't like.

(the irony this rp would have if Taz and Wren ended up as soulmates—)

(Yeah, lmao! That would be hilarious for me.)

Taz looks away from Wren in genuine surprise, his eyes lighting up. He hesitates for another moment, watching the shorter person in front of his carefully, before bursting out in laughter. His head rolls back and he grins wildly, eyes widening and showing a lot of teeth, very white and sharp canines.

"Oh, this is too good. This might actually be some fun!" He leaned back, breaking eye contact. He chuckled again for a short moment, before sticking his his hand out to shake Wren's hand.

"Since we've been asked so 'politely, I think we could avoid a fight 'ere?" Some hair had fallen in front of his bright eyes, but his expression was clear to see.

(Pfft- That would have been incredible-)

Avrey watches, rubbing his arm again. His large frame, shrunken by his fear and stiff posture, made his seem a lot smaller than he was. He nervously steps forward, attempting to intervene. He shakily steps between Taz and Wren.

"Uhh. uhmm…" He says timidly, attempting to try and say something.

Wren looks at Avrey, then gently pushes him back.

"I wouldn't suggest getting between me and him." he says, then looks at Taz when he starts laughing. He can't help but relax. Thank god…

He takes Taz's hand and shakes it, not even wincing at the bigger man's powerful grip.

(Ahh, brb, class change, Taz'll just go sit in the corner or something lol)

(Aight, see ya.)

(XD ok! good luck out there!)

Avrey steps away. Shit, shit, shit, shit. He thinks as his face turns red. He decides to stay in the corner where he can't screw anything else up. He pulls his gaze away from everyone else, sighing as he chooses a new playlist.

As much as Arlo didn't care about what was going on around him, it was hard to ignore the argument that broke out between the others. Not that he did much to stop anything. He watched with faint amusement for a moment, then grew bored, digging a tangled knot of earbuds out of his pocket to untangle. The drama seemed to happen at the center of the room, so he headed for the edge, finding a nearby wall to lean against and watch.

He dropped his bag from his shoulders, setting it gingerly on the ground next to him. At least the commotion was good for something, he was learning the names of the others left and right. Taz was the pissy one and Wren was the shorter brunette, two names to add to the list of being his possible soulmate.

He finished untangling the earbuds a moment later, popping them into his ears before plugging them into his phone, choosing the first song that appeared to play. Moments later he was simply watching the drama, and listening to music that helped pass the time.

Taz grinned again, watching the Avrey retreat, he should probably learn that ones name too, but first things first. He leaned forwards again to watch Wren, then reached out and flicked his hair.

"Well, little bird, maybe you should find a safer place to land." His voice was patronizing and amused, as if he was speaking to a little kid. Without waiting for a response he turned around, scanning the room. He was looking for anything to eat, or even just a water cooler. He pressed his lips together, humming quietly under his breath. He walked away, seeing if anyone else looked interesting, or worth his time.

Wren snorts at the little bird comment.

"I'm surprised you know what a wren is, much less that it's a bird." he snarks, turning to Avrey.

"Hey, you good?" he asks, concerned.

(Is- Are there any snacks? I don't know if the entrance building was described ;w; )

(Ummm… Idk, there might be some. Check the tables, lmao!)

Kurt Cobain is screaming too loud in Avrey’s ears for him to hear Wren. Embarrassed, he takes out an AirPod again, putting it in the pocket of his auburn corduroy jacket.

“What?” He says softly, face still red from earlier.

(Wow. I leave for a few hours and the chat explodes lmao)

As usual, Tara was late. She got out of her car, popping a bubble of bubblegum, big enough that if it exploded, it would go into her eyes, and make a mess. Not that she cared. Maybe if she looked gross, she wouldn't have to be there, and her soulmate would cheat on her. Her mother couldn't blame that on her.

She locked her car, stepping purposefully into the building, keys in her pocket. Technically, she was supposed to arrive almost ten minutes ago, but she didn't care. She didn't want to be there, and it showed. She glowered at the figures in the room, her dark expression only broken up slightly by a smirk when she noticed the fight that had just died down.

If only she hadn't missed that. She could have kept the fighting up, maybe made it worse.

There could have been violence, which was the only way she would have actually enjoyed this experience.

She leaned against the door frame, watching everyone with her arrogant, disinterested blue eyes, almost daring someone to come closer, to try and talk to her. Her phone was in her pocket, ready to pull out at a moment's notice.

( lol okay, Ill just wing it I suppose- )

Taz breathed out in annoyance, walking over to the sides of the room, carefully inspecting the tables. He frowned at the small paper cups for coffee, ignoring them and instead grabbing a handful of the sugar packets. He leaned against the wall, letting himself have a clear view of the others and the door as he tore one open, eating the sugar inside.

His thoughts were a bit conflicted, he knew that supposedly one person in this room would be his soul-mate, but it was entirely possible all of this was a sham. He considered briefly introducing himself to everyone, but his first encounter had been.. Less than stellar. He opened another packet of sugar, holding it thoughtfully. He'd have to think about his next actions carefully. He only hoped all the contestants would arrive quickly, he wasn't a patient man.

Wren watches as Taz just downs the sugar, sighing. Damn, no wonder he's like that. But he couldn't exactly judge, since he did the same thing at home.

He watches as the new girl walks in, and narrows his eyes, his face turning feral.

"Well, look who it is. Tara. I assume you're here because 'your mother forced you'?" he says, walking over and leaning against a wall, knowing her joy of fighting people.

Avrey sighs, watching Wren walk away. He puts in his AirPod, again, folding his arms and eyeing the people in the room.

So, I need to avoid Taz… he thinks, watching watching him down straight sugar packets

Wren is an attention hog. he notices, watching him go from person to person.

He looks over at Arlo, also listening to music against the wall. at least there’s some normal people. he sighs, turning up the volume once Smells Like Teen Spirit comes on

"Well yeah. If the woman could control my breathing, she would." Chantara was unaffected by his expression and attitude, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms. "Why? Disappointed? Wondering if I actually have a secret romantic side?" Her lips curled into a sneer at the last few words, disgust clearly etched on every feature.

She didn't want to be there. The first person she talked to was Wren. A little birdy with no thoughts of his own.

I want to go home, she thought with more than a little annoyance. She ignored him and glanced over the room, watching the other people there, obvious disinterest in her eyes, and popped a bubble of bubblegum.

Wren snorts.

"Maybe consider that your mother knows what she's doing, hmmm?" he says, then smirks and walks away. Well, at least I know she hasn't changed a bit.

Wren looks over at Avrey, and feels a pang of guilt. Damn. I need to work on getting to know him, first and foremost. He seems nice.

Taz was watching the scene with a mix of surprise and amusement. He was curious why someone like Wren would single out this new person. She looked normal enough, though remarkably uninterested in what was going on. He'd noted her excitement at the tension in the room, but she hadn't seemed to act on it. He sighed quietly, pulling out his phone and texting his boss for a moment. He looked up, Dr. Brimstone seemed to have left the room and people were still, albeit slowly, arriving. He could wait, or introduce himself some more. He left the coffee table and began inspecting the room more closely, noting the cameras not at all hidden on the ceiling and the large windows letting light in. Taz looked over the furniture and decorations, even going up to the front desk and taking a few of the pens and shoving them in his pocket. He avoided walking too close to Wren and even the new girl, while she had spirit, she seemed far too confrontational for his tastes.

Taz finished his inspection of the room, looking satisfied with whatever he was wondering about. He headed to one of the people waiting and stuck out his hand. (Whoever wants can respond I suppose, just want to get a conversation going lol)