[RPG] Evil's Gratitude OOC

[Shion]

Introduction

You awaken in the middle of the park. It’s nearly dawn. You wonder to yourself, “How did I get here?” And then memory comes rushing back.

Last night, you had gone for a walk, and encountered someone in trouble. Unthinking, you had gone to their aid, and were offered a gift in thanks. “Alas,” they told you, “You have aided a denizen of hell.” It turns out that a gift from an evil being is actually a curse upon your mortal self.

Your soul now belongs to a demon, and your body has been warped and changed. Will the curse twist your mind as well? Will you become a slave to your curse, or will you master it? Can you find your way out of the darkness that has come from Evil’s Gratitude?


World and Background
Our stories will be set in two areas: The Real World and the Dark City. Please note the location you will be set before beginning of your post to avoid confusion. The Dark City is a portion of hell that is ruled by the devil that has cursed each human character. Minor demons inhabit this area, as do those humans who have completely succumbed to their curse, and these individuals may help or hinder your efforts.

Hell is divided into several sectors, each ruled by its own devil. These devils are constantly battling one another for power and territory, using the souls of humans they have cursed, as well as their minor demon minions. The devil who is most involved here seeks a champion to fight for him and destroy his rivals within and outside his realm. People are drawn randomly into the Dark City, and are randomly sent back to the real world. Whether this is caused by wandering portals or purely the machinations of the devil is uncertain. It may even be both.

As another plot aspect, human characters who meet one another may send emails to one another as part of the story. You may use these as introductions or conclusions to your posts. This section may or may not become a separate section.

Technical Info
This is not a D&D style roleplay, but purely story-telling. There are no dice and no stats, but rather, you tell the story in the style of a novel where your character is the protagonist. We're all telling the same tale from different perspectives. Because of the settings, each of our characters should be in some way useful to the group: powerful, intelligent, possessing some essential skill, whatever you come up with. Your common sense (and my judgement) shall be the limit to how powerful your character can be. Your character may be human or demon, or even a half breed or angel if you so choose, but know that your character isn't invincible. This is our Out-of-Character thread, everything but the RP itself goes here, including your characters. I'll create a separate thread for the RP.


Guidelines (As presented by Krozam)
- I am the Game Master, and my word is the law.
- There's no need to limit yourself to one character, but don't create more than you can comfortably control. As the GM I'll take care of the NPC's (Non-Player Character) important to the plot, but you can create your own. If you have ideas for NPCs, we can talk.
- Joining in the middle of the game is quite possible. The game is open to all.
- No god-modding. This means that you only control your own characters (unless given permission). For example, if two Player Characters fight, the receiver will decide if the hit connects or not.
- Write in the past tense and 3rd person.
- Try to keep the OOC talk in this topic, but if you must say something OOC in the game thread, use ((double parenthesis)).
- Use your common sense
- Be respectful towards the other players. I thought this was obvious, but apparently some people need reminding.

Character sheet - Please submit your characters in this format:
Name: Please include your character's name and [screen name] for email/text communications. Please include the brackets. This is a nickname/codename for characters to refer to each other, and should refer to their curse or other major trait.
Age:
Race: Please note that angels, demons, and half-breeds will be limited.
Curse: Your character will have gained some sort of power from the devil, but this curse must also be a major flaw/weakness. As noted in the introduction, it can twist body, mind, or both. Use your imaginations, but try not to go too wild!
Background/Sample RP: This can be simple or elaborate, but I would like to see around 100 words minimum.

[Shion]

The Bestiary
This area will be updated as new creatures are encountered within Dark City.

The "People"- They are humanoid in form, but lack color an possess no faces. They may be lost souls or simple constructs meant to reflect the real city. They pay little attention to their environment, however, they can become violent when touched by other beings. They will develop glowing points of red light where the eyes would be, and a large, fanged mouth that stretches from ear to ear.

Shield Heads- These are minor demons and have limited intelligence. As their name implies, they have shield-shaped heads which they use to headbutt each other in a manner similar to mountain goats. Despite their large heads, these beings have spindly limbs and bodies, with long-fingered hands which are surprisingly strong. Methods of attack include a headlong charge, close-range headbutting, and utilizing the shape of their heads to amplify a roar into sonic waves. These monsters often practice cannibalism.

Spore Slime- These beings are barely sentient. They coat surfaces, growing like moss or mold, and wait for prey to come into range. Slimes are rather like amoebas in that they absorb their prey and slowly digest them alive. Methods of attack include paralyzing spores, flinging slime, and simple ambush.

Sorrow- This type of demon feeds upon sadness and low self-esteem. They will whisper into the minds of their prey, seeking out insecurities and other negative thoughts/emotions, bringing them to the fore. They appear most often as humanoid females, though they occasionally take male form. Their psychic attack is usually brought about through touch or eye contact, so while the psychological assault can be debilitating, it is usually straightforward and unhidden. They will try to drive their prey to self-harm or suicide so that they may feed on the final spurt of psychic energy. Very powerful Sorrows need only a line of sight to their prey, but thankfully, they are rare.

[Shion]

Name: Alumina "Mina" Stone - [Ice_Queen]
Age: 20
Race: Human

Appearance: Due to her curse, she appears to have patches of colorful scales or beads in her skin. Her eyes are hazel, changing color ranging from amber to blue depending on her mood. She generally hides her face with a scarf or hood, as the “scales” tend to freak people out. 

Curse: Crystal Resonance - Her body is partially crystallized, giving her a scaly/beaded appearance. The crystallization also has a tendency to cause a sort of paralysis at times. Mina is slowly learning to manipulate these crystals and mold them into tools and weapons. She has developed a talent in which the crystals in her body vibrate in such a way that she can use them to cut through just about anything. The vibrations can also cause electromagnetic phenomena, which can slightly affect electronic and metal objects, etc.

Background/Sample RP:  She wiped her face with her arm, grimacing at the slight sound of crystal scraping together. Her sour expression brightened somewhat as she gazed at the completed pendant. One convenience of having crystal in her was the nearly endless supply of material to make jewelry. She thought she was doing pretty well, running her business on the internet and occasionally attending artisan fairs to show off her wares. She laced her fingers together, then turned them palm out, pushing forward slightly as she raised her arms to stretch the limbs and fingers. “Good thing I finished already. Even stretching won’t stop this spasm,” she muttered. Standing, Mina took the necklace and set it in a special padded box, before stepping into a carpeted room bare of furnishings. She had learned early on that just as suddenly as these fits of tense paralysis came on, they could end, resulting in her body uncoiling powerfully enough to break furniture...or impale a person, she remembered with a shudder. She locked the door, and lay down in the center of the floor, trying to relax for as long as possible before she froze once more.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name: Vel'Nortin aka "Norton". [Bartender]
Age: Unknown
Race: Demon

Appearance While he takes many guises, Norton's favorite persona is that of the unassuming Bartender. He is dark-skinned, with blue streaks on his face and body, and has pointed ears. His white hair is often covered by a bowler hat, and his outfit appears like that of an old-fashioned bartender: Crisp white shirt, red buttoned vest, dark slacks and shiny black shoes. He carries a cane to add further dignity to his gentlemanly look.

When being devilish, he appears in a white suit and hat, with the only splash of color being a pink pocket handkerchief. Why pink? Nobody knows.

Curse: The Box: This is the key to Vel'Nortin's curses. A box of mysterious origins, it can only be opened by a human, who is then cursed with a seemingly random effect. He cannot use the box himself, however. He is not particularly strong, and relies more on plots than his own power.

Background: He is the devil, the head honcho, and ruler of this small sector of Hell. He discovered a box among his predecessor's possessions. Unable to open the box, he took it to the physical world to get rid of it, hoping to cause a bit of havoc. A human opened the box and activated its power, becoming the first of the Cursed. Brilliant! He continued to experiment for a time, discovering its limitations. Now he uses the Box in search of a Champion to defend his realm and to challenge the other devil bosses so he may expand his territory. Vel'Nortin disguises himself as Norton, the owner of a popular bar in the Dark City. In this manner, he can observe his prospective champions and "advise" them in what to do. He has a few favorites already, but whether they break or grow stronger, he wins.

[Krozam]

Sounds like an RPG with some delicious dark potential. I got an awesome character idea, so I guess I'll have to join.

Name: Xu Bai - [Reaper426]
Age: 32
Race: Human/Reaper

Curse: Soul Collector - Upon sensing the presence of death, Bai transforms into a Reaper, an ethereal, hooded skeleton carrying a scythe. (So not at will, at least for now, though he can exert his willpower to prevent the transformation.) He's compelled to seek out the dying or the recently dead, and take their souls. He eats every fourth soul and delivers the rest to his master, the devil that cursed him. That is their agreement. The eaten souls sustain him, their energy keeps him alive, healthy and young in his normal human form. In his Reaper form he's invisible to normal people, he can walk through walls and he's very difficult to destroy. However, he must continuously hunt for souls, otherwise he starts showing signs of aging (despite his quite young age), and he'll die if left without souls for a prolonged time, a couple of months. Another, rather ironic, weakness is that he cannot kill anyone who isn't already at death's door by a cause other than him. He's a powerful fighter, he could leave most humans and low-level demons in a really bad shape (though not in a shape that'd cause death unavoidably or within hours), but he's physically unable to deliver the finishing blow and take the soul. Additionally, being undead is really unpleasant and pretty muich kills his emotions. It feels like dying - in fact, it is dying. He needs to die and kill frequently in order to keep living.

Background/Sample RP: Bai used to be a high-ranking member of a Hong Kong -based triad organization, Sun Yee On. As a talented, intelligent lad with a strong personality he rose to the position at a very young age, only 26. However, soon he was diagnosed with a fatal, incurable illness. It would have killed him before he reached 30, but he happened to help a devil, who offered him a job that could save his life. The devil transformed him into a "Reaper", a collector of souls. He had to leave the triad, it was too difficult to hide his secret and explain the disappearance of his illness. Naturally, one doesn't just leave a criminal organization: after almost 3 years, he's still on the run and has to actively avoid the triad.

Other stuff:
His human form (ignore the dragon):


For his Reaper form, I found two great pics, I couldn't decide which one is better. The first one is appropriately ethereal, while the second one is better artistically and I like his arrogant pose.



I don't feel like controlling a major NPC in this game, so unless someone wants to play her, ignore the girl. Could be interesting if someone did play her... <.<

And here's his theme music: Lordi - Kalmageddon

[Ember232]

Name: Sen Sytheris [BriarHeart]
Age: 16
Race: Reincarnated Fury(Custom Race)
Curse: Retaining the Furys natural resistance to heat, pressure, and flame, as well as the berserk ability when effected to an emotional extreme, hindrances have been added as well. Sen, whom never did learn how to swim, is deathly afraid of water in any quantity more then a puddle or bucket, and while she is immune to naturally occurring fire, divine or demonic fire can still burn her-though it is less effective then it would be on other creatures, and Sens naturally Fury strength, endurance, and spiritual connections have been removed/severed.
Background/Sample RP: The Furys were a small, but proud race of human like warriors centuries ago, back when witches were not a myth, but a true danger, and vampires prowled the earth in the open. One such Vampire, Tylas Lupin, took it upon himself to destroy the Furys and claim their most treasured ceremonial weapons as trophies-and he succeeded through deception, and some well placed betrayal within the largest Fury village. Few Furys survived the destruction of their village, and those that did either integrated into human cities and deluded their genes, or died.

Sen specifically survived-only to be killed a few years later by Tylas during an unfortunate run in with the vampire. Who knows why she was returned to the world of the living after so much time? as far as she knows, she just woke up in a park, with false memories and a new black mark burning and itching at her neck, like a demonic hickey.. (Ew!)



(( Side Note: Vampires can be either: A type of Demon, or a Creature of the natural world. Up to Shion. ))

[InfinityStream]

Dead Pool... Kidding.

Mr. Hanes [LordofDreams]

Age: 29

Race: Human

Background: Mr. Hanes is a former high ranking mercenary for the Cosa Nostra. Known for being skilled with knives, preferring the feel of a blade in his hands as compared to the feel of a gun that many other Cosa Nostra prefer. His kill record includes his former Senior Mafiosi under the orders of another Senior Mafiosi from another high ranking clan in Sicily. Escaping 'prosecution' from his old clan, he uses his newly gained connections to escape to New York, taking on the alias 'Mr. Hanes'. He is normally seen wearing a black suit with a white fedora in whatever city he's currently in. He can, however, take on many other disguises quite skillfully; much better than most other Cosa Nostra.

Personality wise, he's mostly stable outside of a battle or mission. He's polite enough and has a sense of humor, acting the best way when the situation calls for it. However, he tends to have a silver tongue during a hand to hand battle, provoking his opponent in ways only he could. Meaning he can piss of demons to the point where they forget basic rules of battle and just rush him while they're completely open.

He considers himself a 'Lord Of Dreams' having both the money and skill to grant any wish or dream to any he deems either worthy or needy of his help.

Curse: Color Blind

A seemingly simple curse. He can't see colors. However, considering his line of work, he's forced to pay attention to the smallest of details when taking out a target. He can't focus on colored details (which make up the bulk of target descriptions), such as what color the target will be wearing or what kind of mineral is on his ring; instead, he is forced to look his target in the face and confirm the man before finally pulling off the kill and collecting the reward.

It does grant him much sharper vision than most. The black and white world becomes much clearer, granting him 30/30 vision. (If it's even possible )

It also renders him angrier than hell when he wants to look at something and get a color.

Theme Song: Boin VS Boin

[tigershark13]

Character sheet - Please submit your characters in this format:
Name: Stefan Tarvitz
age: 24
Race:Human
appearance: Stefan never quite has the same appearance the same way due to the nature of his curse but there are always a number of constants, the first is that he will generally wear a well-fitting tailored suit, he will almost always smell of cigarette smoke and he always speaks in an English accent. Stefan's current body is around 6" in height, he has a short cut blonde hair with a slightly receding hairline and looks to be about 27, his eyes are a cold blue and he appears to look relatively handsome
.
Background: Stefan was an Englishman who seemed to end up just about everywhere in the world, in fact, most did not know him by Stefan but instead by whatever name he'd told them. Stefan was a con man, he made his living from the greed and stupidity of others and it turned out that he was in fact rather good at it, amassing himself a small fortune even if he had made a LOT of enemies, many of which were the law enforcement agencies of this world. That was until he disappeared into the ether 4 months ago. The completeness of his disappearance has concerned the FBI and the UK anti-fraud squad, the last solid proof of him still existing was a short piece of CCTV footage of him helping an old man to his feet, just before the camera cuts out...

Curse: Stefan's curse is a somewhat apt one, particularly for someone who spends his life taking on others identities. The demon granted him a "gift" that was almost two-fold, the ability for his mind and "soul" to live forever and the ability to control new bodies if his own one failed him. However taking control of another is not so easy and often results in a vicious mental battle for control of the body and switching between personalities and identities so often run the risk of loosing oneself.

Sample RP: Stefan stared into the mirror and ran a hand through his hair, looking into the mirror with a slight smirk as he rolled his shoulders and murmured to himself "Guess I got lucky with this one..." as he began to look around the apartment, doing his best to ignore the nagging voice in the back of his mind. He threw open a cupboard and whistled as he saw a few rather nice Italian suits hanging up and he picked one up to place upon the bed as he continued to search the apartment, finding the usual mix of objects, embarrassing and not, including what appeared to be a platinum credit card. He let out a slight sigh as he slammed the last drawer shut "But he wasn't a smoker... I suppose I shall need to visit the shops..." an amused smirk crossed Stefan's face

[Ren]

Name: Ren Amelia Porter [Ren]

Age: 23

Race: Human

Appearance: Wavy ginger hair that flows past her shoulders; very pale skin; big, indigo eyes; roughly average 5'5"

Curse: Her curse is simple: illusions no one else can see, hear, or feel/touch but her. She can't control them unfortunately though, she's never has been able to. Not only that, but she can no longer tell when something is an illusion or real, a distinction she lost months into the curse appearing at age sixteen. How did she get the curse? Simple: her twin sister made a deal to keep Ren safe whilst she was dying. As a result, Rei's soul went to the demon and the deal slightly backfired onto Ren in a way her twin didn't mean. A possible cure? Her husband, a "life weaver". Due to physical touch between them, Ren is able to see the "weave of life", which automatically rids of any current illusions due to them not existing in the web. {More details on this will be in his profile.}

Background: Born to protective, loving parents, Ren and Rei had a nice childhood. Their family was fairly well off (money wise) and her father had a sturdy job whilst her mother was a stay-at-home mom. Cherise homeschooled the twins and so they didn’t get out much. There weren’t many other children on their street to play with, with the exception of Jeb Porter. Ren, Rei, and Jeb used to play for hours and hours in either of their houses or in the forest neighboring the street. As the girls grew older and middle school came, they managed to convince their mother to let them go to a private school verses being homeschooled. They started sixth grade in their first adventure of an actual school. Going to school upheld the friendship between the twins and Jeb and allowed them to spend a bit more time together.
   When Ren and Rei were thirteen, their parents perished in a car crash on a rainy night. Ren and Rei barely survived, spending weeks in the hospital following the crash. Once recovered, the girls were forced to move away to their Aunt Edith’s, who now had custody of them, being the only other living relative.
   The move and loss of parents wedged a void between the twins and Jeb, who lost touch following the move.
   Their aunt, who was extremely wealthy, was kind, but she wasn’t a good “mother”. The girls isolated themselves from everyone but each other. Nearly two years after the fatal car crash, Rei was diagnosed with Leukemia. Her battle lasted a mere five months before the disease claimed her life. Ren struggled afterwards in both school and life in general. She found it difficult to sleep at night, difficult to focus on her schoolwork, and lost the willpower to care. As her life seemed to be collapsing around her, she began to see things. Random things at random times, for no reason. No one else could see, hear, or feel these illusions and it wasn’t long before she lost her grip on what was real and what was not.
   Years slipped by, barely passing school and graduating. Once eighteen, high school done, Ren moved out of her aunt’s estate and got her own apartment in the city. She got a job as a bookkeeper at the local bookstore. Books were always a bit of a distraction from the illusions that plagued her. But only a bit. One day, whilst stocking the shelves, she bumped into a familiar person. (literally...) Although it was six years later, it was undeniably Jeb.
   The two quickly reconnected and their friendship was renewed, meanwhilst love flourished between the them. Over the first few weeks, Ren began to realize that it wasn’t coincidence that her illusions didn’t come around when she was Jeb. It was Jeb himself. Something about him prevented her from seeing anything but the truth. At least most the time, with an occasional exception. Ren found it difficult to be away from Jeb for both this reason and finding herself in love. At twenty, the pair happily tied the knot and have been living a quiet life since. Well, as quiet as it could be with a woman like her.

Sample:
She tilted her head as her eyes grew wider, letting her feet lead her off the cracked sidewalk in a trance-like state. What she saw couldn't be true, and yet she couldn't help but follow on a false hope. A light breeze drifted through the autumn air, a soft, echoing laugh riding with it, as she paused at the edge of the bushes. It was coming from within there, hiding amongst the dying foliage. Ren reached up and forced the branches and leaves to part, a glimmer of orange catching her eye between two trees. Wiggling between the parted brush, she continued on, ignoring the new cuts adorning her bare arms. She took a few more steps before coming to a halt in realization of the forest's silence, straining her ears to hear the laughter. There. Renewed hope flared through her chest as she bolted after the girl she glimpsed behind a fallen log. She couldn't understand why the girl wanted to run from her, never looking back but with a teasing laugh that strung Ren along. However, it wasn't too long before the girl came to a sudden stop, standing still with her back turned towards Ren. Tilting her head once again, the woman slowly reached out to touch the girl on the shoulder.

Ren! The hand gripping her arm jolted her out of her trance, the girl vanishing at once. Blinking in confusion, she looked from the empty space to her husband's face. The worry on his face was obvious, paired with a bit of confusion of his own. You just.. Ran off. His words were broken by panting, a clear sign of running. He must've followed her. What happened?

I just thought I saw.. Her eyes drifted from his face to where the girl had been standing seconds ago before shaking her head roughly. No no.. It was just me as a child.



** NOTE 1: For anyone who was with Shion when we had the original EG forum, you'll recognize me. Same girl, same story, same curse. I'm thrilled to bring her back.

** NOTE 2: Jeb is another RPer who is currently away due to rl. When he returns, he'll get his profile set up as well. He's also the same character as the original Jeb on the original EG forum.

** NOTE 3: I lost everything when the forum closed because I was slacking, so Rei's name may change. I believe it's right because of the meaning between her and Ren, but I don't remember it being THAT close. Not that it really matters for anyone, throwing it out there.

[Hollow nyan-chan]

Name: Eric Talvian [White_Shadow]

Age: 28

Race: Human

Appearence: Eric is 6", has platinum/silver looking hair that is almost shoulder length and he is lightly tanned.
He mostly uses a trench coat or a black suit in both Hell and the real world.

Curse: Shadow Being - Eric's curse, or the so called "Blessing" of the devil, allows him to "jump" between shadows and "create" weapons that's made of shadows. He can only jump roughly around 100 feet within shadows. As he is a being of shadow, he is greatly weakened and can not use his abilitys when there is only open places with a lot of light, either sun or a couple of lamps.
The curse has a life itself, like a second personality of Eric, and it craves for fights, blood and death. Eric has to fight mentally with this being all the time, and even more when he uses the abilitys.

Background: Eric worked at a company that made different kinds of programs for computers as a team leader for the development department. At the evenings he trained his Martial Arts. He trained martial arts because he found it interesting, and it's a way to keep himself in good health. A couple of kids from the neighborhood was interested in martial arts, and he found it interesting so he started to give them some lessons in martial arts, not complicated ones, or dangerous moves that could be lethal.
One evening he was going on as usual, then he noticed an old man in need of help across the street. Right after helping the old man, Eric just blacked.

Sample RP: Eric looked out the window from the apartment and sighed. It was gonna be a sunny day today. He walked across the room to the kitchen and poured some whiskey into his glass. Eric walked towards the window at the other side of the room with his drink and watched out the window so he could see if something interesting was going on. Just when he turned around from the window he heard the police sirens and turned back to see what was happening.
"Shit, are they searching for me? or are there some other guy in this hotel they want?" Eric said and swept his drink. He got dressed quickly and jumped through the shadows to an alley of the backside of the hotel. He walked down the alley and disappeared within the shadows.

[Shion]

All profiles are approved. Feel free to post whenever.

[Ember232]

Name: Ember (No Last name Recalled/On Record) [Fracture]
Age: 900 years + (Born around 1100 C.E.)
Race: Presumably human soul blood bound to a life sized porcelain doll.
Curse: The mere fact she exists is its own cure. She can not eat, drink, or even really breath. She does, by habit, 'breath;, passing air through her mouth and nose, though this is more to blend in than anything else. Only weight about thirty pounds naked, and hollow inside, she is easily overpowered, and her porcelain skin, while reinforced and majikally toughened, is not indestructible, and has many cracks across the surface.
Background/Sample RP: 'born' in Mid-Century Japan, the woman known as Ember has wandered the world for centuries, learning many things, and even participating in events that swayed the world. She fought in both of the world wars, at first on the side of the Germans (disguised as a man),then later alongside the Russians on the Eastern Front. She has extensive training in various forms of hand to hand and melee combat, and self-learned skills with firearms, though she rarely uses them. Over time she has come across many Reapers, and obviously none have yet to subdue her rebellious soul, which they desire as it lacks a true physical form. Recently she has had a few interesting encounters with a young Reaper named Xu Bai, Whom has many times attempted to take her soul-but once rescued her from another Reaper. an odd fellow. She has a single weapon-an ancient, enchanted Katana, simple, majestic, and indestructible. It never leaves her side, even if she must conceal it in a coat or dress.

Ember is currently seeking a way to repair and reinforce her body, so it does not break down into pieces(as it has already begun to fracture.)



(( I have permission from Reaper to include him in my history. ))

[Jeb]

Hair - Brown w/ a red tint(?)
Eyes - Grey (?)
Skin - Paleish
Height -
Build - Scrawny
Relations -
    wife - Ren Porter
Curse -
Avatar of the Weaver of life ~

Jeb is connected to the fabric of life. He believes he might be an avatar of the Weaver of Life, or somehow connected in some way to the weave as he has the ability to trace the weavings of life in every living thing. At a single touch of a person Jeb can see their past and their present and all the possible weaves of their future allowing him to manipulate it in small ways. However each time he changes something there is a cost to himself, the further in the past he reaches the more energy it takes easily bringing him closer to slipping through the weavings and the chaos beyond. One must also note that even though the weavings can be changed, it is one thing to shift the thread slightly and changed tiny things but to rewrite the past is nigh on impossible and dangerous.

Sidenote: The only exception to his power he has ever found was that he cannot read the life of his wife Ren. Given this opportunity to be normal, Jeb first befriended then fell in love with this unique woman. As they both fell deeper into their curses Jeb found that his unique powers were somehow tapped by Ren when they touched – allowing her to see in the weave of life dispelling any illusions she might see at that time

Background -

A dream of threads tangled deep within his soul, each a shining light in a rainbow of hues creating the most spectacular patterns the mind could imagine. Stretching away to the furthest stars Jeb could almost see the whole universe if only he could open his eyes wide enough. But yet… yet in all the beauty of the world Jeb could have never imagined the truest treasure he be held before him. It was the most innocent of things, a soft touch of their hands at the library and the wince of anticipation to see that whole person’s life… but it never came… In shock the young man swirled around in a fluster searching, eyes searching for what he never could have imagined.

The clatter of books falling to the ground distracted him slightly, as he realised he had dropped them in  his moment of distraction… but his mind was all a fluttered, his heart beating fast as if something big had happened. The area in the library he stood was disastrously clear with no one in sight. Panicked at the missed chance of finding someone he could not read, Jeb darted his head around and began searching the aisles. As he hurriedly walked past three or four shelves an ache began to grow in his heart and he wondered if he had blown it. His one chance to be normal…

From out of the corner of his downcast eye, a flash of red hair and pale skin beckoned him. Almost on the verge of giving up the man finally gave into temptation and hope and saw a picture of perfection. Elegant in her dress with long red locks, there she stood a woman of perfection…

[Krozam]

Um... Ember, your two characters both have the same screen name... <.<

Here's a summary of Xu Bai and Ember's common history:

Xu Bai was changed into a Reaper about 3 years ago. They met for the first time while he was still in Hong Kong, before leaving his gang. For Xu Bai's reaper powers, the living doll is as good as dead, the soul ready to be taken. He tried to take her soul, but she led him into a merry chase that ended up in the middle of a big gang fight between two other triads. She got hit by some bullets, coming close to final breaking of her body. However, Bai got a great harvest from that fight, dozens of souls. He showed his gratitude for leading him there by not only letting her go that time, but by using one of the souls to strengthen the devil's binding spell and thus healing her. Although it wasn't enough to completely fix her up, it was enough to undo the recent damage.

A few months later they met again in Macau. After an exchange of words and another chase, she was saved by a coincidence, as Bai recognized an old friend in trouble and deemed helping a friend - even one who thinks him a traitor - more important than chasing a soul, when he wasn't even particularly hungry for one.

Their next meeting took place in New York, where they met a very territory-conscious reaper. At first the two reapers met and Xu Bai promised to get out of the town soon. However, before he could leave, he stubled upon the other reaper chasing Ember - his prey. A bit impulsively, he intervened and saved her, claiming the 'right' to her soul. This is the scene where the pic is from. The other reaper wouldn't have it, end they ended up fighting. Bai is strong, but the other reaper was decades older and more experienced, so the fight soon turned unfavourable for Bai. Ember, instead of escaping while she had the chance, distracted the other reaper and gave Bai a chance to end the fight - which he did. For the second time they parted ways in peace and mutual gratitude.

Destiny brought them together a few more times, but somehow she survived each encounter. Xu Bai finds those encounters rather thrilling - which is remarkable, considering his emotions are very suppressed while in the Reaper form. He can't help respecting someone who can escape a Reaper time and again, and he thinks he'll be sad once he finally takes her soul. He swears it'll be one of those souls he keeps for himself, not one of those he delivers to the devil.

[InfinityStream]

Krozam and Ember are in cahoots.

 

[Shion]

Yes, yes they are.
And just so everyone knows, I have made a Chatzy for anyone who doesn't have others on MSN to plan, or to do mini-RP as I like to call it.
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