Five years ago, a large meteor crashed in central New York. No one knows how the government didn't know. They didn't see how they couldn't. The thing took up a whole city block. Dust and debris everywhere, people screaming, crying, looking for loved ones. A lot of people had died...others suffered severe injuries. Some even got extremely sick, though no one knew how or why.
A year after, people began getting extremely sick. No one knew what the cause of this illness was. Doctors and nurses worked tirelessly to figure it out. Many stayed in the hospital for months, others it was less. And some...never made it out. Those that did began to experience anomalies around themselves. Though that was always true. Even some that got sick never experienced anything at all.
Now, children and adult alike are being hunted for their abilities. G.A.M.A is searching for a "cure-all" to "save" those unfortunate to suffer from this change to their DNA. The meteor is contained under a dome of re-enforced frosted glass.
12/17/19 We've Moved! Please check out our Discord for further Roleplaying! The site will be staying up for character profiles, rules, and advertising, but all roleplays should take place on Discord!
11/12/19
We have added some companion animals to the shop. Now your characters can have animals that will help with emotional troubles, or just be a companion when they need.
10/25/19
We've added a Monetary System. Make posts to earn credits to buy more character slots! Check the lower left corner for the Bank, Store, and Trades!
08/13/19
Our site is officially open! Welcome everyone! I am still getting things set up, but please DM me for information if you're curious about what will go on.
Holden stared at his client, Holly. Why did they always get angry? "I have no reason to lie to you Holly," He spoke softly like he was trying to calm down an animal, "You were paying me for my time, not my results. Now please calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down." She yelled, drawing glances at their table, "You're a sick little boy and you get your kicks out o-"
Before she could finish he placed the photos down between their food. Her husband, sitting in his car with his boss, kissing her, touching her, more. Holly shut up immediately, her lip and hand trembling as she soaked in the photos before her. Seeing it always drove the point home.
"Here!" She yelled throwing her payment envelope on the table, more people looked over at the two. She snatched the photos up and replaced it with a hundred dollar bill before running out of the restaurant, tears beginning to fall.
Holden tried to ignore the stares and angry whispers. It wasn't often he got a free meal. He took a bite of his burger, so much better than the fast food he normally ate while on the job. "It's not like she didn't know what he was doing," He said to himself between bites. The isolation of his job had gotten him in the habit of thinking out loud, and he did most of his thinking while eating, "She wouldn't have hired me if she didn't. There was no reason to act like that."
Today had been like every other day. Janine woke with a smile to her face as she had gone through her routine. Though, really it was all still pretty new. She wasn't used to seeing her father so useless or out of spirits. She knew he was depressed, but she needed to carry the load of her family. It honestly wasn't easy. Only eighteen and having to take care of her younger brother like she was his mother.
Though he only had a few more years in high school. Then he could go to college and be away from all this. But recently her father's been getting worse. She looked at the slight bruise on her arm from his too tight grip last night. It was going to be hard to hide with her uniform.
That was only earlier today. By now she'd been at work for a few hours. Busing tables when they needed to be. Refilling drink orders. Walking her rounds, she carried the tray under her arm, her heels clacking on the hardwood floor. A commotion had started up at one of the tables. The woman looked familiar. A common face seen in here with her husband.
But today was already so different. The man at the table looked young. Though annoyed. Looking at the table next to him she noticed a few empty glasses and grabbed a tablecloth from a nearby waters nook. Janine tried to keep her nose out of their business, but she just couldn't. She liked helping others.
When the woman got up so abruptly she tried stepping out of the way. Good lord, she was a little more than upset. It made Janine feel for her. She saw the hints of pictures. Sighing she went to doing her job. However, she couldn't help overhearing the man next to her as he ate.
"Just think about it from her perspective. I'm not sure of the situation, but if it's what I'm assuming, then she devoted her life and love to a man. Someone she trusted with her life, and was betrayed." Janine spoke. She had absolutely no clue what had happened, but she wasn't stupid. She could see a man and woman in the photo as she had practically run out the door. "Even having an inkling of suspicion...you don't want the worst actually being true."
Holden was shocked when he heard an answer to his musings, usually his thoughts didn't talk back let alone disagree with him. He turned to look at the girl talking to him, "Maybe that's true, but you should never ask a question you don't want to know the answer to." His eyes darted over her.
She was pretty, probably made for good tips. He couldn't help but notice the bruise on her arm, such a shame. He thought of his younger sisters, he would have killed someone if they had left a mark like that on them. "I do pro bono work sometimes," He said eyes darting to her face and back to her bruise, "I could leave you my card if you like. When I'm done eating that is."
He took another bite of his burger, it was going to hard to go on his next stakeout with the memory of real food still fresh in his mind. His eyes darted over to the untouched food Holly had left, Sushi salad, so disgusting how people ate fish. His eyes flicked back to her, "By the way, you want that? She didn't even put her fork in it."
"You make a valid point. Though, blissful ignorance is a tragedy that holds onto us all." Janine said with a shrug to her slender shoulders. A gentle smile on her face. "Peering behind the curtain without a push keeps people happy and comfortable. Unaware of the hurt and pain beneath it." Her own tone had taken on one of sympathy. She's had to live with her reality for a long time. She couldn't ignore it. It's why she envied those that could. Just walking down the streets enjoying their lives.
Not saying she didn't enjoy hers. She loved her life and wouldn't change it for the world. Though some days she wished her mother would just show up, happy and healthy. But that was always just a dream. Janine shook her head, breaking herself from her thoughts. Looking the guy over, she had to admit, he was cute. Probably had a lot of ladies after him. Until he started talking at least. She held back a giggle towards her own thoughts. Her hazel eyes twinkled some as she finished busing the table.
Her posture changed though when he spoke about Pro Bono work. Her hand went and subconsciously pulled her sleeve down to make sure the bruise was well covered. Though that was a bit impossible now. "Mm, not exactly in the search for anything at the moment. Thank you, though." Janine's smile was a bit plastic as she let it linger for a moment. She needed to be better about keeping herself better covered. Looking at the meal the woman had left she stuck her tongue out, her nose scrunching a bit to show her distaste. "I may like extravigant things, but sushi isn't one of them. I honestly don't know how people could eat fish raw like that." Her body shuddered as she gave a giggle. "Gives me the willies."
He nodded absent mindedly, he had only began to process her denial of help. A part of him was trying to decide if he should still step in on her behalf. It wasn't like he was likely to see her again.
"Raw or cooked, it's still nasty." He smiled at her and wondered if his smile looked as fake as hers had, "How anyone can eat it is beyond me. But maybe one of your coworkers would like it? I would hate for it to go to waste, and if I take it home my sisters will be upset I didn't bring enough for both of them"
Why did he care if she didn't want help? He knew from listening to his father over the years that they rarely did. He couldn't help but feel like in another life, one where he had joined the force like he had planned, he would have been called out to her house. He shook the thoughts away. He didn't want to think about that. It wasn't any of his business how she lived.
He realized he had been just staring, zoned out, trapped in his own mind. "Sorry," He mumbled shaking his head again.
The atmosphere in the restaurant had changed from tense and awkward, to relaxed and normal. Something that Janine was always happy to find in everything. She hated conflicted, always the one to broker peace and try to help those around her keep calm. During their talking, they had gotten a few stares. That was normal though. Janine was always good at diffusing situations, even if one of the instigators had left. Though, she knew the woman had brought it on herself. Maybe... 'No Janine, no powers. You can't go around helping people forget who they loved.'
Sighing she picked up the plate. "I can go see if anyone in the back wants it for their break." She said and placed it on her occupied tray. Balancing it she noticed him staring. A light dusting of pink touched her cheeks. She was used to men staring at her, but this was a little different. The awkward feeling was back, but this time it was only her feeling it. Or so she thought. "Oh, no, it's okay. I should probably get back to work. Sorry for distracting you from your meal. I hope you enjoy it." She gave a nervous little chuckle before turning to leave. Looking over her shoulder though she paused for a moment. "It was nice meeting you..." She said, the end of her sentence trailed off for him to give his name, if he wanted.
"I'm Holden." He offered his name when her sentence trailed. Was she blushing? He must have made her feel awkward when he had stared at her. Or maybe it was the lighting.
He couldn't imagine she was shy enough to get flushed by spaced out staring, it had probably been a figment of his imagination. He moved his napkin from his lap to his plate. How long had he been talking to this girl instead of moving on to the next thing on his schedule? He didn't particularly want to leave, the deposit could wait until tomorrow, but it wasn't like he could sit here and keep taking up her time while she was working.
He stood up and placed his card on her tray, "You can call me, if you ever need anyone followed. Or if you know someone who does." He hoped she would change her mind. Dark thoughts intruded into his mind. He pushed them back. Not the time, not the place. He smiled and glanced at her nametag, "Have a nice day Janine."
A soft smile graced her lips hearing his name. She liked it. She hadn't heard that name before. If things got worse at home, she'd definitely need someone's help. Knowing how corrupt the government was against the people of her...species? Race? Whatever the word, she knew she'd be treated differently. Even just being a woman she knew it would be rough.
But she didn't want to dwell on the negative. "When I need you, I'll give you a call." Her words had never been truer at the moment. Though she wanted to doubt things at home would worsen. She didn't want to believe it, but the possibility did cross her mind a few times.
"Hope the rest of your day goes well Holden. Please don't worry about me too much though. I'm a tough one." She winked with a little shrug of her shoulder. She wasn't gonna deny the bruise he had most likely seen. People with eyes would have to be blind. But she wasn't one to let it ruin her day or her mood. At least not for very long. "Hey, Janine!" Her head snapped to her coworker Amanda. "What are you still doing here? It's time for you to clock out!" Janine looked confused. "Wait...why? I thought I was on for another two hours." Amanda shook her head. "Nah, the boss said you need to have a life." Her smile faded some. She couldn't afford to take off from work.
"But..." Well, there went their rent. Maybe she could do some cleaning for the landlord again... "Alright...thanks." Her voice though was slightly annoyed. She knew her boss wouldn't go back on his decision. Though working seven days straight was wearing on her. If she hadn't put on make-up, Holden and everyone would've seen the circles and dark bags under her eyes. "Well, um... would you like to walk together?"
Holden watched her face. She looked upset for someone that had just gotten told she could take off early. "Yeah, that sounds nice."
The bank could wait till tomorrow. He didn't get to talk to people that didn't want something from him, or were mad at him. It wasn't like he got to see his mom and sisters often. It made him upset to see his mom so sad all the time. And now here was this girl, looking distressed.
He wanted to help her. And if a walk was what would help, well a walk sounded nice. It would be nice to have some sunlight before he went back into the underbelly of the city. Constantly looking for the wrong that people were doing. People were so shitty to each other. He shook the thoughts out of his mind.
Taking a deep breath Janine's smile returned. It would be nice to have company. Her brother could take care of himself. He knew how to cook for himself after school. "I'll meet you out front then." She hesitated before walking to the kitchen and dropping off the dirty dishes and her tray. She stared at the computer screen as she typed in her info and clocked out. With a heavy sigh, she grabbed her change of clothes, before locking herself in the bathroom for a few minutes.
There she had let some of the tears flow. She couldn't do this in front of everyone. She had to have a brave face, show that the stress never got to her. But it always did. She was a crumbling boulder in a blissfully ignorant world. Through the tears, she changed into her civilian clothes and reapplied her makeup. Holden didn't need to see her broken like that since they hadn't even known each other for more than maybe twenty minutes.
When confident she had hidden the evidence of her little bout of depression, she smiled and walked out towards the front. There she waved to Holden and walked up to his side. "Well Holden, let's take that walk." She shrugged her large purse onto her shoulder as they began their journey out into the big city.
Holden waited in front of the restaurant watching the tourists and the joggers go by. You could always tell who was a tourist vs a native new yorker. The way they walked and looked at everything. Especially since the meteorite incident. New York had become even more of an oddity.
Even with the crowd and the tourists it was a great day, the temperature was still warm even though it was fall, the trees were starting to change colors. It was a good day for a walk.
He kicked a rock while he waited, he should have remembered girls took forever to get ready. He stretched and turned, looking back to the Tavern instead of out into the park. There she was. Janine waved at him as she came over
"Well Holden, let's take that walk."
She started off in front of him, "Yeah sure, did you wanna go anywhere in particular? Or just walk around the park?" The walk was for her, he didn't really care where they went, it was just nice to be outside in the sunlight. Maybe if they came across a food cart he'd buy her something since she hadn't eaten the salad Holly had wasted.
"I was just thinking about walking the park. Haven't done it in such a long time, and it would be terrible to waste a beautiful day like this." That was her honest thought. Such beautiful changing colors, and that nice cool breeze. Though her make-up had been fixed, her eyes were still a bit red and puffy.
She followed the path set to follow into the park. Holding her bag with her neatly folded work clothes. She couldn't take them to get cleaned until her payday. Couldn't exactly pay for a new washer at the moment, and their dryer was on the frits now too. Scratching the back of her neck she tried thinking of something, anything to talk about to get her mind away from these worries.
"So, being a P.I. Is it hard?" She was curious. If she could've she might've done something like that. But...without her high school diploma and no chance at college for now. However, that wasn't all. This guy really caught her attention.
Holden followed behind Janine. Letting his mind drift as they started their walk. Out of habit he started listing all the things he had left to do that week. He was about halfway done with it when he stopped and reminded himself why he was out walking.
He shifted his focus to the woman next to him. She had a bag with her and she seemed to be thinking herself. He was shocked about her question, he hadn't expected her to ask about his job.
"It can be, mostly it's just boring. A lot of sitting and waiting. A lot of cheaters. A lot of angry spouses." He shrugged, "But it pays the bills, and you can work you own hours without having to work within the constraints of the police." He tightened his fist at the last part, thinking of how the police had written his dad's death off as a suicide, case closed, they had to move on to the next case. "Though the best part is probably that you can eat on the clock" He joked.
Janine gave a little chuckle. "I can see that. And it's basically free. Distraught wives and husbands paying for the bad news. Honestly, why would you even think of cheating on someone you love? Or that you're supposed to love? It just doesn't make sense to me." Her lips turned into a small pout. She just didn't understand. Her father was the complete opposite of these people that had cheating spouses. He'd been so stricken with grief he lost his job. Came home drunk early in the mornings. But she didn't want to think the drinking was detrimental to his mental health. If it made him feel better, then fine. She wasn't really going to fight it. But maybe that was a bad idea...
The cool breeze of the day had a shiver going through Janine. With it being fall, she was surprised the breezes weren't colder than they are now. "I should've brought my jacket with me." She sighed slightly, rubbing her arms some. "That's what I get for not being prepared though." Shoulders pulled tight as she shrugged some.
He thought about what she said. It was more common for people to cheat that anyone would have liked, though he agreed with her. It was obviously a sore subject, he watched her frown. He wondered if her boyfriend had cheated on her. He was probably the one that hurt her too. The idea bothered him more than normal. She seemed too nice to have to deal with things like that, but it wasn't his business.
He guessed it might seem cold to some people, he felt okay. "Sorry, if I had a coat I'd let you use it, but I didn't bring one either." He smiled at her, "Maybe we can grab a coffee off a cart if we see one."
If he was right about how she lived he wanted to give her a good day. Maybe she would realize she deserved better than she had. Though the small negative voice in his head reminded him that they rarely did. "It's my treat."