Hello, everyone! after dealing with real life and the other nonsense of living, panny and i have decided to bring back war of change. give a round of applause. we’ve worked through all of the information and hopefully improved coherency and cohesion; however, tell us if we missed something. eventually, we’ll announce an event to celebrate the re-opening, so look out for information on that. -RAIDNE, THE HEAD ADMIN
From the moonless night, screams of terror and fear resound, spreading across the world and infecting the masses; however, those sleepless nights occurred years ago. A new era began with the fires of war, and with no end in sight, the residents of Selene Isle trudge through life, basking in the momentary peace. Despite their prayers for continued monotony and peace, a storm brews, stirred to life by the continued presence of Rapture and Wraith. And as we set our sights on the seemingly peace laden isle, we must ask: how shall this tale end?
As the years passed, the number of true pairs increased; however, they continued to live in the shadows, catering to the whims of the mundane. Seven Moons kept watch over them all, instructing them and assisting them, but for many, the attitudes and ideals of the organization were smoldering, suffocating. With Seven Moons and the mundanes, they could not grasp the freedom, the power dangling before their eyes. In the beginning, rebellion was a dream, a fantasy, a figment—developed by the repressed and carried forward due to the nature of humanity. No one expected the call to sound, and no one expected the call to be answered. However, it happened.
I don't want you to think that I see through you, When all I see is the reflection of who you are not
"Wait."
He could hear the footsteps of a thousand people echoing back down the alley way as he ran, heavy breathed and with his head still swelling from his fall at the bar. The jostling and threatening that had followed this unceremonious tumble hadn't remedied the situation by any means and Xiu could still feel the numbness and budding bruise on his right forearm where the blond bartender had grabbed him. But even with the pain as a grounding sensation, Xiu's eyes were bleary and spinning from the "happier" events acted out in the casino.
She was ahead of him, swifter and more decisive than the disheveled a albino could ever aspire to become; running not only from the toxic net of Blasphemy but from Xiu as well. He tried again, voice cracking from exhaustion,
"Wait, please!"
The sky was starless before the shameless light pollution of the Selene cityscape, but he could still imagine the marking on the girl's back, smeared with both her pointed attempts to hide the word and, now, with the dirt that had been on his fingers as he cleared the concealer away: DECEPTIVE.
As if on queue he felt the dark text on his own body hum with an ancient and powerful weight. Had he not been romantic to his fragile, childish core, Xiu might have designated the sensation as a manifestation of destiny, but, to his over stimulated romanticism, the spasm just felt like an extension of "love". Gasping, Xiu's pace petered out and he found himself slumped halfway down a filthy wall; his breath louder than the sounds of his literal heart in his ears and the metaphorical one whispering happy naiveties into his mind.
He couldn't give up this easily, he told himself, but his legs remained stiff and heavy on the asphalt, while his eyes strained against the dim lighting to keep the girl in his eye line. Gathering the remainder of his breath, the young man puffed out his chest and then yelled, as loud as anyone hopelessly winded could manage,
"Come back, we're supposed to figure this kind of thing out aren't we? Isn't this why we're here on Selene," a swell of courage tapped his tongue and, after a beat, added, "On this earth?"
The plea rose into air and was swallowed by the sounds of the checkered cabs making aggressive sweeps of busy boulevards for wasted patrons and by the great darkness of the night sky leering at the city from above.
tagged: @rora Notes: idk maaaaaan, but i know you've been itching to post.
There was madness in the air as the club continued to thrash around in beat with the blaring music, while the bar held the containment of a little troublemaker who had caught the attention of her captor. It had been just the small bit of a distraction that had led to her escaping, which had been a good thing because the pounding of her heart had quickly thrown any rhythm in her body off and the way things were going now Zakuro was about to lose her mind. Never in her wildest dreams did Zakuro think that in some random moment when she was locked way with a crazy snake that in the blink of an eye she would find herself face to face with her- -- her partner? No this was stupid there was no such thing as someone who was her match no clearly this person was a fake something of a stranger maybe a blank possibly? Whatever possibility she could come up with other then that man back there being part of anything to do with her life. Without even knowing it she had sped her way down part of the alley quite farther then what she thought she had gotten though down a much more dangerous path. Sure Blasphemy had been a dangerous spot as well, but being near … near that man was far more dangerous to the girl.
“wait”
The voice had rang out into the darkness causing pins to jab themselves within her muscles, her speed faltered if only for a second as she tried to keep away from him. “Wait please!” this time he had called out to her begging for the girl to stop and listen to him, he had found out her secret and mouthed out her name. The shock alone had caused him to make a scene and now of all things he wanted her to stand around and speak to him about it? She was barely doing herself a favor by running away, no she needed a plane ticket and a way to get the hell outta there. Fighting through the pain that now seemed to be burning through her skin from the spot to which her marking laid Zakuro found herself slowing down as if being pulled back by something invisible force. It seemed to give one final pull to stop her as he began to shout down the alley at her, closing her eyes she tried to keep her breathing normal as he began to go on.
With her hands dropped to her knees and her body bent over in order to pull in enough air to keep her lungs filled Zakuro sat speechless, how was she supposed to tell him that all her life she had dreaded this moment and had no desire to talk about anything or figure it out? “ I was brought to Selene against my will as a child by my father and his crazy plans” she suddenly yelled back at him. Sitting up she turned to stare at him eyes full of fire with the hate she had suddenly built up inside her. “ I didn’t come here to – to find you. I didn’t come here to find anyone I was brought here and stuck here hoping something like this would NEVER happen” her hands began to shake as her break down began, unable to stare as the man anymore as tears began to well up within her eyes.
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I don't want you to think that I see through you, When all I see is the reflection of who you are not
Vision spinning from the physical strain on his unconditioned body, Xiu closed his eyes, greasy hair falling in clumpy strands back over his forehead so that, when he opened them again, he found himself looking through a screen of white. He saw the girl hit the pavement and tried to jump to his feet,
"Oh shit, oh shit-- Are you okay?!"
But could not find the strength to move and her anguished proclamation lined his resolve with another slayer of weight.
“I didn’t come here to – to find you. I didn’t come here to find anyone I was brought here and stuck here hoping something like this would NEVER happen”
Her eyes were on him, teaming with the hatred someone would wish on a venomous creature curled around the railing of a child's crib or favorite toy, and, for an instant, he was struck by a moment of shattering clarity: she despised him as effortlessly as he dreamed of her. But Xiu had never been prudent; never chose to linger on the star-bursts of the rational, grounded world that tried to burn through his fantasy. The realization, rather than forcing him to reconsider his wild approach, was lost as he finally managed to push himself to his feet and edged towards the girl.
"Listen, I know this is kinda weird and sudden and stuff, but I don't know how else I'm supposed to handle this. I mean, uh," he knelt down beside her, making sure to keep a slight distance between them, "How this True Pair stuff works. Uh... yeah. But are you, okay? I mean, that green haired dude back in there did he--? What were you doing there anyway?"
He was trying to bridge the tension in the only way he knew: asking stupid questions. But his attempts fell flatter off his tongue than usual and he withdrew the hand he'd been reaching towards her; the one that had hovered over her shoulder for an instant before Xiu forced it back to him. He was failing, he could feel it in the frantic beat his heart was hammering out behind his ribs; fear rising with every second.
"Maybe we should go somewhere," Xiu felt the eyes of the city on him and remembered the look the bartender and the man who'd been beside the girl had looked at him, "Safer. You got a home you need walking to or something?"
A car alarm wailed and he flinched, the sweat on his brow snaking down his colorless skin like stinking, saltless tears. tagged: @rora Notes: we are doin this, man.
Clearly from her position on the ground she was far from ok, nothing was ever going to be ok from this point on and her body couldn’t handle the shock of the realization. Tonight was the night that everything in her world changed, for the good or for the worse Zakuro wasn’t sure which of these would unleash itself. Though as it came to pass for the moment anyways the second her legs had faltered and her body had dropped to the floor the boy behind her had been rather concerned. Wither or not it was for her safety he was truly concerned about or if perhaps he wanted to make sure his partner was in top shape in order to be useful to him. As she failed to own the power of mind reading the true reason to which he was worried would escape her until well he told her which way his mind was working. Though in truth she was hardly found of believing someone whose intentions she knew nothing about. Her body had tensed the moment he had begun to slink close down to her as he began to speak, not that she wanted to hear anything he had to say.
She scoffed at him wondering how in the world the thought changing the subject was going to help the two of them out in this situation, pulling herself up to a sitting position she began to wipe the tears from her face sniffling all the while to pull a suitable voice from her lips “ Just because you found out my name doesn’t make us a pair, where lies you name your mark. What do you think I am just blindly going to follow you ! it doesn’t matter what I was doing or who I was with you were never apart of my life to begin with !” she found herself screaming at him unable to control the rage that had suddenly welled up inside her belly. It was making her sick the feeling of dread and confusing swirling inside her as though it were alive.
maybe we should go somewhere?
There was no place in this world she wanted to go where he would be never in her lifetime had she wanted to rewind a night more badly then this one.
safer, you got a home you need walking to or something
Clearly his end game if he knew where she lived he could stalker until she accepted him, or keep her locked up in her own home until he broke her. She wasn’t going to feel safe at home with him and yet at the same time she didn’t want to go anywhere with him. However sitting like a duck out in the middle of the alley so close to Blasphemy they were bound to find some trouble, her legs were being stubborn and refused to move they were not going to allow her passage to any place.
“ theres a motel a block over”
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I don't want you to think that I see through you, When all I see is the reflection of who you are not
Xiu blinked, mouth hanging open in hesitance and confusion. He was certain that this wasn't the most flattering expression to wear considering he was supposed to be making a favorable impression, but part of him was used to looking out of place: a fleshy little ghost plodding through life noticed but unattended.
"A-are you asking me to, uh--" he turned the words over in his mouth twice before, a touch of red rising into his round face, "Show you my mark? Cuz that'd mean I'd have to, you know, take off my shirt and uh," he forced a laugh that made him sound more physically insecure then usual, "No one wants to see that."
The smile he attempted slipped into a look of his emotional melee and he bit his tongue, reprimanding himself for how idiotic he came off as being. But serious matters had never sunk into his pale skin quite the same as they did others and he held onto these calamities like a sponge incapable of redistributing them as an adult should. A high school acquaintance had once told Xiu that he could not remain a bungler forever, but Xiu had no idea how this transformation was achieved. And the weight of failure collected in his belly like wet sand.
“...it doesn’t matter what I was doing or who I was with, you were never apart of my life to begin with!”
The girl looked like she'd been skewered by an invisible, barbed spear; the pain spreading through her body until she took. He felt a tremor rise in him as well. She hated him-- She--
"I-" swallowing, he managed, "Uh, I don't know how to deal with that but would it help if I gave you my name? I mean at least we wouldn't be complete strangers then and it would be less, er, creepy that I'm sitting beside you in an alley. So, yea, here: I'm Xiu."
The temptation to delve deeper into his outer attributes rose, but he managed to restrain himself from tacking on his favorite color and astrological sign. Such shallow things didn't feel right at the moment.
“There's a motel a block over”
The flush returned to his face.
"Oh I didn't mean," he stammered, mind racing. Was the girl some sort of escort who was mistaking this interaction for a "business" proposition. How old was she anyway? Clearly not old enough to be making those kinds of life choices; giving herself over to the pleasures of people much older and devious than herself. The fabricated lifestyle proved too much for his overactive imagination and he scooted himself a few paces away from the girl.
"Um, I'm n-not that kind of guy... I just wanted to make sure you're okay so, uh, yea..."
No, that had come across as too noncommittal, too judgmental. She had to have her reasons for doing such things and yet... Xiu realized he'd prolonged the awkward silence between them and recovered with,
"I'll walk you there, yes, but I'm not gonna go in with you, so don't worry about that. And if-- if you need money," he fished in his back pocket for his ragged faux leather wallet, "I can," he flipped it open to reveal a few small bills, "Pitch in...?"
He obviously wasn't helping the situation and was struck by the urge to crawl into a nearby garbage bin and die. tagged: @rora Notes: the awkwardness is killin me, maaaan
Of course she had wanted to see his markings in order to prove to her in denial brain that the man standing before her now shared her mark her destiny. And yet the only reply the thing could muster from his lips were a halfhearted joke about no one wanting to him with his shirt off. Zakuro mildly wondered how this man was able to make it in life with his lack of ability to read the situation as clearly this was no point and time to be making such light hearted jokes as he was. “ do you honestly expect me to believe you are my one if you are so unwilling to prove you share the same name the same mark as me? You might find me incredibly foolish if you honestly believe I would go along with some half assed assumption like that, either you can prove it to me here and now or you need to walk away before I call the police as your clearly trying to harass me into doing something unspeakable with you” how could he smile at such a time like this while she was so visible upset about the whole matter?
Her heart was going to stop beating she could feel it, at any point in time she was just going to drop dead from the extra stock that was now being delivered to her poor unstable body. She had never felt this way before and the ability to calm and refocus her emotions was going to take more than a few deep breaths before she was fine again. Zakuro had known that one day in her life she was going to have to deal with all of this however she had hoped to be far more older and a little more able to deal with her feelings, or well to own a taser and to be able to get away before he could of gotten a better look at her. Fate however was going to be cruel to her this lifetime and shove her into an ever spinning mess of chaos to which she was unable to pull herself from. “ yes because telling me your first name is going to solve everything , wow Xiu aren’t you just a magic man here !” she hissed at him sarcastically, no telling her his first name was not going to fix anything at all and with such unfathomable hate. However she was in store for just how unbelievable this man was when he seemed far to confused about her mention of a motel, did he really think that just because he said they shared names she was going to bring him to her house? She was sure something else more complexity stupid was going to come from him sooner or later however she was unprepared for just how stupid this man could really get. Having calmed herself slowly while they sat in a moment of silence Zakuro was startled by his sudden words, honestly he was dumb so much so that Zakuro wasn’t sure she could answer the stupidity that flowed from his mouth. Not that kind of guy? He wasn’t the kind of guy who came into a bar realized someone shared his name and hunted them down like pray only to act completely stupid in front of them? He apparently had a diluted sense of self if he was so unware of what he was. Before she had realized what she had done Zakuro had slapped him across the face, pitch in ? what did he assume she was some prostitute and she was wanting to sleep with him because she was so poor she had no other way of making money? “ how could such an idiot be my true partner when he can’t even tell the difference between a hooker and a poor girl who doesn’t want to give the location of her home away on the off chance that you’re a lying bastard”
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He sighed, listening to the edge in her voice rise with each and every opportunity, turning his head from the faint after glow of the city lights and what little luminance reach them in the alleyway. His pale features tucked in the slight shadows, Xiu let his face fall and he tried to busy himself with counting bit of glass scattered along the wall, pretending each fragment was a small, misshapen diamond. But it didn't calm the turbulent force in his belly.
With a sigh, he resumed his weak smile and looked back at the girl.
"Alright, but promise you won't-- ugh, forget it," he grabbed the hem of his rumpled shirt and wrangled it over his head, making sure to crumple it up and hold it in front of his midsection while he dipped his shoulder towards her.
"There, see? I'm not lying, okay, and I wouldn't ever do anything like, er, that to you or anyone else."
It was then that she struck him, the flattened palm whirring through the air like a drone and leaving a perfect, pinkish print across his cheek. The force and the pain weren't all that powerful, but Xiu was so startled by the sudden violence that he flinched and remained defensive for a minute after she'd actually slapped him.
Rage needled its way into him, buzzing down to the tips of his fingers and up into his eyes, which had acquired a misty quality from the stinging blow. Did she think he was ecstatic about this whole scenario? Did she believe he considered himself some sort of blessed to have found himself bound forever to another human being? Xiu thought of his mother splayed across the closed casket, the light long gone from her eyes-- To be at the mercy of someone: to provide and care and endure for someone... the rage soured into quite terror.
Exhaling, he dropped his guard and met the girl's eyes,
"Are you done?"
He said, in a voice so soft it was barely audible above the sounds of the city.
The situation was only going downhill from here, they weren’t making much progress so long as the boy before her refused to just answer a few simple questions she had. Surely he would have reacted the same way had she approached him and told him that now for the rest of his life he was stuck with her and there was nothing they could do about it. However if she had offered him no proof to back up the words which fell from her mouth would he have just blindly followed her unknowing if she was telling the truth or not or would he have actually wanted to see the mark to which they shared. For a moment she figured he was the type of person that would just blindly follow the first person who said they were a match to him, judging by the first reactions he had displayed when they had briefly met back in the club. She watched him as he turned to look away from her as though it was such a moral debate about wither or not he should show her the marking in question. It was honestly a simple request that if he truly wanted her to believe him, that showing wouldn’t be such a big deal.
alright but promise you won’t… ugh forget it he hadn’t finished his sentence when his shirt came up and he covered his head allowing the girl to take full sight of the back of him and to the place to which they shared the same marking. He held his shirt in front of him like some poor damsel in distress who was about to be fondled by the villain. Her body wanted to turn and run while her brain sat and processed the fact that there standing before her was a male counterpart who in fact bared the name of their pair in the same spot down his side to which she did. Her brain wanted to take a moment to make sure the vision she was seeing before her was actually real, there was no paint or tattoo ink which left this mark by human design. No this mark had been left by the combination of cells which had developed at birth he was and would always be the one who shared this damn curse with her. But as surreal as everything was getting the boy just didn’t know when to shut his trap and as he called her a prostitute and told her he would help her with her money troubles Zakuro nearly lost her mind.
The sting on the palm of her hand felt worse as she recoiled from him, watching and waiting for his retaliations against her stinging blow to his face. It felt like forever as they stared at each other neither making a move or saying a words, she wanted to just turn around and walk away from him leaving him to the helpless silence that had taken over but her body refused to work on the commands her mind kept pushing. are you done? he questioned her in a voice so soft she had barely caught it or do you need to hit me again? Zakuro shook her head unable to say anything in return, there was no need to strike him again because the anger she had felt had very well been taken out on him with that last hit. “ Im not a hooker” she told him firmly, finally breaking the tension that had risen up between them. “ I own a clothing store and it does really well, I don’t want you at my house because then I might have to see you again. I… I “ she began to stutter as she tried to think of exactly what she wanted to say, I don’t ever want to see you again… I just want us to pretend like we never met … I wish you were dead and not here before me! she couldn’t utter anything like that out of her mouth, she was a bitch and she would be the first one to admit it however for some unknown reason her lips refused to utter such horrible things.
“ I need a drink”
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