Trash Panda

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Another Natasha(Summer and Heartless)

“Venelopi Stryder,” Jun said her name slowly, narrowing his eyes slightly. It was a bit difficult to pronounce. In fact, it didn’t even sound like any American name he had ever heard before. He wondered if her parents came from another country. It wouldn’t be surprising. America was full of different nationalities; quite different from Japan’s homogeneous population. Thinking about her parents led him to yet another question. Did they know where their daughter was? Were they concerned? In his research on human trafficking, Jun had discovered that sometimes the parents were the ones who sold their children into slavery. But surely that wasn’t the case for this girl. She was from America, quite the opposite from the impoverished countries where families relied on their children’s trafficking incomes to get by. Her parents would have had no reason to sell her. But did they know what happened to her? Did they even know she wasn’t in America anymore? He had so many unanswered questions. “How did you feel?” Venelopi Stryder spoke again. “When you found out about all that was happening here?” Jun stared at her curiously. That was a strangely personal question. But then again, it only made sense that she would want to know his thoughts about what was happening to her. He was an outsider, a man who —until now— was just another customer. Of course she would want to know what changed his perspective. “I was shocked and disgusted,” Jun said, bringing his other knee to his chest. “In all honesty, I used to think prostitution was voluntary. I thought you did it for money.” He shook his head and gave a mirthless laugh. “I never expected to learn that it was forced on you. And then there’s everything else… the things that happen behind the scenes…” He trailed off. “It sounds like something out of a horror film, so… I also feel guilty for taking part. It doesn’t matter that I was unaware of the truth, I was still wrong for coming here and…” He swallowed. “And taking advantage of you.”

Google Picture War

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

Serix listened quietly as Cassie recited her impromptu vows to him. Of course, her words seemed to come much more naturally than his, since she had probably heard other humans make vows at their own ceremonies when she was younger. Nevertheless, it wasn’t like they were in a competition, and Serix’s promises had even brought a smile to her face. If they were good enough for her, then they were good enough for him, too. After Cassie finished her part, there was only one ritual left for them to complete: the closer; the final step before they were officially mates. It was obvious that they couldn’t use the Lunairan tradition of sharing the cup because they lacked the flower from which the ceremonial nectar was strained. Also, that particular tradition was focused on increasing fertility rates, and Serix wasn’t sure that was a good idea, even if they were somehow able to obtain the necessary resources. In their current situation, childrearing was an impossibility because a young child wouldn’t be able to understand what was going on and would only put them in more danger. If he and Cassie were ever to consider that possibility, it would have to be during a time when they were in a less hostile position. With the Lunairan ritual excluded, that just left the human tradition of sharing a first kiss as ‘newlyweds.’ Cassie seemed to have already decided this as well. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him towards her in a way that made his heart race and brought a grin to his lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her to himself. “Kiss the bride?” Serix said, leaning in so close that his lips brushed against hers. “Gladly.” He pressed his mouth to Cassie’s, bringing one hand up to run his fingers through her golden hair. In the next moment, he opened a one-way telepathic connection and sent a short wave of his affections to her, much like he had when he first confessed his feelings. He kept the link brief, however, since he didn’t want to overstimulate her mind twice in one day. A few seconds was long enough. As they kissed, Serix was struck again with awe at how perfectly impossible their relationship was. They came from two completely separate worlds, met under the worst circumstances, and fell for each other just the same. “Luck” didn’t even begin to describe it. Whatever it was that brought them together, he was glad it did. He could now look forward to spending the rest of his life mated to Cassie, and with the way things were starting out, their future together was looking like a grand one.

Things That Go Bump in the Night [Kourage + Summer]

posted~ :)

Things That Go Bump in the Night [Kourage + Summer]

The blaring music faded into background noise as Alex walked towards the exit of the club. After three long hours of drinking and partying, he was ready to head home. He had been careful not to overindulge himself this time, but the low-quality liquor was still making him feel slightly sick. He sighed. If it weren’t for the tiny population in the town, maybe there would have been more clubs to choose from. He had long since grown tired of the same old drinks, songs, and people that frequented the only club within twenty miles. Alex halfheartedly fished through his pockets to see how much money he had left. This was the other problem. He wanted to add more variety to his life, but spare change wasn’t going to buy him a plane ticket or a new apartment. With his current income of “just enough to get by,” there was no way he could leave his hometown anytime soon. His nearly empty wallet was a shackle that kept him bound here. He drew a quarter from his pocket and tossed it from hand to hand. It seemed like he would just have to keep working on his tolerance for cheap booze and stingy club girls. Alex was jerked from his thoughts by the shrill shriek of a police siren. He instinctively froze and spun around to see where the sound was coming from. A dozens different questions flashed through his mind. What happened? Was there another murder? Was it nearby? Was the killer still on the loose? Was he in danger, too? The increasing number of murders in town had set him on edge lately. At least four people had died in the last few weeks, and the murderer had yet to be caught. In fact, the killer was so elusive people were beginning to call him “The Phantom.” Two police cars roared down the street and sped around a corner, just one block ahead of where Alex was standing. He stared after them. After living in the same town for twenty-three years, he knew the layout inside and out. That street led to a dead end. The murder —if that’s what it really was— must have only just happened during Alex’s walk home. The crime scene hadn’t even been blocked off yet. He swallowed, suddenly swept by a morbid curiosity. Maybe he could get a glimpse of the victim. The media had been so vague about the murders. No one even knew how the people were killed. Maybe now he could find out. Alex hurried after the sirens. Around the corner, the police were already taping off the area. Alex crept closer to get a better look. On the other side of the yellow tape, he saw what would have been a body. However, it was too mangled to tell if it was man or beast. He paled and turned away. Seeing a corpse in a movie was nothing compared to seeing one in real life. The sight made him nauseous. Thinking about it now, Alex was surprised that none of the police had tried to stop him from looking. Normally they guarded their crime scenes with as much force as they could muster, but none of these men had even glanced his way. It was then that he noticed what held the attention of the police. There was another man trying to intrude on the scene. It only took Alex a moment to recognize him: the town nutcase, Trevor Darklin. What was he doing here? Alex watched as one of the policemen turned Trevor away, looking seriously pissed off. The rest of the officers returned to their other tasks, but that one especially frustrated man continued to watch Trevor as if he expected him to try to get by the tape again. The scenario was almost funny. It was also a good distraction from the gruesome corpse Alex just witnessed. “Hey,” he called out to Trevor. “What’re ya doing there?” He stuffed his hands into his pockets and smiled at Trevor condescendingly, falling back into old habits. “Find any aliens, Conspiracy Boy?”

I'm new. I play roles. Who'd have guessed?

Welcome to the Guild, @Epidemix! If you ever have any questions or need a RP partner, feel free to shoot me a PM! I'm always happy to help out new members :)

Mahz's Dev Journal

I'm surprised you implemented a rating system, Mahz. The Guild functioned just fine without one for years and people were (in)famous based on merit and reputation alone. We don't need numbers for that.

@Hank

I actually second this notion. I do appreciate all of the work being done to the site, but a rating systems seems unnecessary, and more socially damaging. The system we have no, as Hank stated, about merit and reputation is a dynamic that I'd be sad to see change.

@Aeonumbra

I agree with this, too. The lack of a rating system was always something I enjoyed about this site, because users had to get to know each other rather than just click a button and see who is helpful or funny. I feel like it's unnecessary to change the merit/reputation system we've already been using.

Stand Alone(Summers and AHeartlessNobody)

“Guess I just have a natural charm over Lunairan men?” Cassie responded teasingly to Serix’s question. “Don’t give yourself too much credit,” Serix rolled his eyes and pulled her closer, lowering his voice slightly. “You only have a ‘natural charm’ over this one.” He smirked and gave her a quick peck on the nose. “Surely all of the dances during the ceremonies don’t end like this,” Cassie went on with a laugh. “But I don’t care. I like this. A lot.” Serix had to agree with her there. He much preferred their passionate embrace to the traditional parting bows that took place in normal mating ceremonies. It felt more personal and, besides, he would take any excuse he could get to kiss her again. “And next?” Cassie continued thoughtfully. “How about our vows? I mean, I know most people take a lot of time to prepare theirs, but to come up with them on the spot? You have to admit that would be interesting.” “It would,” Serix nodded. “People in my society never made vows like you humans did. Their words were all fed to them by the officiator, so none of it was original.” He stepped back from Cassie to untie the cloth rope that bound their hands. After fiddling with the knots for a minute or two, he managed to get it off of both of their wrists. He tossed it on a nearby table, where it would be out of the way, and turned back to Cassie. “Let’s see…” Serix placed his hands on his hips and stared down at the floor in thought. After a moment, he looked up at her again, “Okay. I think I have a few.” He cleared his throat and took her hands in his, meeting her blue-eyed gaze with his own violet eyes. “I vow to love you though any and all challenges we face, regardless of how difficult they may become. I swear I will make sure to keep our passion for each other alive; I won’t let it fade away with the wear of time. I also pledge to be faithful to you, putting your needs before my own and respecting your decisions. Lastly, I promise you myself. I will always be there for you, to both comfort and protect you so that you never again feel want or need.” Serix tipped his head slightly and smiled at her bashfully, “How was that? I hope it wasn’t too bad considering I’ve never done this sort of thing before.”

Google Picture War