Welcome to The Duality of Man, an original animanga role-play that features numerous supernatural creatures. Unfortunately, these various species have distanced themselves because of the war that occurred thousands of years ago, plaguing some with eyes that only see their dualism. While others meddle themself with their differences, two groups fight, each attempting to eliminate the other in for their definition of worldly peace. These two groups of the Terror Response Syndicate (TRS) and the Assembly of Phantoms (AP). With individuals fighting merely over their differences, it brings uncertainty to the outcome of this war.
We happily accept all role-players as long as they obey the rules and are capable of meeting our word count of 50. This does include those who are unfamiliar with this style of role-playing. The staff of The Duality of Man are willing to happily help those who are new to the role-playing world so they feel comfortable on site. Feel free to message the staff if you need help, they can be found here or in the site Discord and will gladly answer questions alongside calm concerns. If you have any suggestions we would love to hear them; guests may use the support board as a suggestion area as well. Should you decide to join, may I say welcome to the site and we all hope you enjoy your time here.
Yours Truely,
The Staff
season
Summer 2024
Heat has broken through into a glorious summer. The snow has entirely dried through the spring, leaving to the brilliance of the warmer months. Terror activity has risen as people are brought out of their homes, leaving the TRS in a position of consistent work. Each are attempting to maintain victory in the endless struggle for power.
Since the wonderful members of TDOM enjoy the site enough to play around on it, this thread is to assist with the site's tidying! Functionality is important and we want to make the site functional even if its activity will be minimal at best!
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext1]I'm not ready for the truth to see the light
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext2]Make it up, Make it pretty, I don't mind
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Mikaela Lye was never sure whether or not she liked her job. It was another role, another mask to wear in a world where she already had far too many names. While casinos weren’t illegal, they followed the same principles of any sort of organized crime she’d gotten into. A nocturnal sleep schedule, a sharp eye for sleight of hand, a smile and a lie to make people feel more welcomed and keep them playing her game. She’d seen both worlds destroy more people than she cared to count. [break][break] In any world where people could be destroyed there were always snakes looking for a way to cheat the odds. It was just another part of the monstrous atmosphere created by the flowing exchange of large sums of money on the roll of a dice. In her eyes every card flipped was the same as making a deal with a man holding a gun, only much more dangerous. By labeling it ‘fun’ people managed to deceive themselves into thinking they were in less danger than they actually were. The world ran on money and giving it up meant giving up a natural power necessary to be considered on the same level as others. [break][break] It was true that some people could navigate a gambling hall without losing their head, but they had a level of self control Mikaela would never bother matching unless there was a knife held to her neck. That was why she herself took the role of a silent observer, never putting her own head on the chopping block. She preferred to gamble with her life rather than her livelihood. [break][break] So, silent as a phantom, she shuffled the cards and dealt out the next round of cards, keeping her movements slow enough not to rouse suspicion. Her boss always got mad when she did anything too frilly. It scared people off. If people were to suspect her sleight of hand was nearly as good as it was they might start thinking she’d sneak a few chips off the table too. She didn’t need to do that to get the casino a buttload of money. Her con was much more subtle than that, enticing people to stay at the table as long as she could so they would drop more money over time. [break][break] One card down, one card up. Blackjack was a simple enough game to deal out and normally Mikaela would be starting to fall into a rhythm by now. The game had high enough stakes that some of the players had that look in their eye that told her their desperation was slowly tearing their sanity apart, but she always preferred games where players interacted with each other far more. Games of skill rather than luck. Games where players could purposely ruin others without anyone batting an eye. Even after years of watching them Mikaela was still fascinated. [break][break] At this table there was one particular player that kept Mikaela’s attention hooked enough. She hadn’t seen anything definitive yet, but she’d caught sight of a few too many quick movements for her liking and she was pretty sure he was too far in the hole to keep gambling like he was for long. If he tried to leave the table she’d have to have someone else keep an eye on his actions, but for now he was in the perfect spot for her to observe him herself. [break][break] At the moment her attention was supposed to be focused on the player before the potential cheater, but she kept him in her peripheral vision so she’d be able to notice any fast movements. It wasn’t a perfect solution but it would work. There was no need to trade out cards until he saw what he got from the deal anyway. [break][break] "12 showing." she offered as the player took a particular long time to decide what to do. The man chewed on his lip for a moment before waving a hand over his cards. He probably had a three in the hole. That was her guess anyway. If she were him she’d get caught up on a score of 15, especially with the relatively low cards that had been played out earlier in the game. Not that he was supposed to be counting like she did. She offered a quick nod before moving on. [break][break] "Hit or stay?" she drawled as she fixed her crimson eyes on the cheat, a small smile curving her lips. Now she could truly ensure he didn’t sneak anything up his sleeve.
Exactly how much money he'd lost today was something only god would know, but he just kept playing, kept betting, kept risking it all. A bad habit turned addiction landed him here most days of the week whenever he could, and he didn't mind. Anything he lost he would work towards earning back at the market or through skate races.
It would be a rather normal day of betting and gambling at the casino, but he was starting to get annoyed. He hasn't won much here besides minor stuff, things that paled in comparison to the amount of money he has, well had, ten minutes ago. He thought this table would up his chances of winning, but of course he was dead wrong, which is why he resorted to his speed, a special way of cheating that could only be detected by people with a keen eye for manipulators like him. Grinning, he sat back in his chair, arms crossed, looking at the others at the table. Blackjack, while having elements of luck, could be easily exploited by Ozaei.
Ozaei was at the table long enough now that he'd already marked every single card in the decks that were being used with a static mark, a small burn on the edge of each card he touched that would give out a specific static shock if touched by someone else, or interacted with something electric. This required him to move rather quickly to set up, but this speed demon did so with ease. To his knowledge, no one at the table had the reflexes, wisdom, or knowledge of what he could to do stop or notice him. There were plenty of ways this could backfire, but he thought about none of them. The game was all that mattered right now.
He though only marked certain cards: the aces, face cards and ten's, and everything else barring cards under the number five. All he had to do when a card was laid down by the dealer was see how much static electricity it had on it's marked edge by tapping the table and waiting. This method ensured he knew exactly what card was about to come next and what cards the other players had. He was definitely liking his odds. Glancing at another player as the dealer announced a 12 showing, he raised a brow, tapping the table with a finger impatiently and silently cursing the man underneath his breath for his stupid decision. He had no right to do so, since he was cheating and that other player wasn't, but he didn't care.
Knowing what was coming next, he smirked at the dealer with his bright yellow eyes and spoke the very moment she was done asking her question. "HIT!" Ozaei said, practically yelling at this point as he began tapping on the table, sending electricity through it. Combined with what he already had, which was a five, a four should be revealed by the dealer next, getting him to twenty one. Easy money. Settling back down, he crossed his arms again and waited, rolling the ball of his shake shoes around on the floor passively. "Easy win!"
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext1]I'm not ready for the truth to see the light
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext2]Make it up, Make it pretty, I don't mind
[newclass=.Mikredimage]width:500px;height:200px;background-image:url('https://i.ibb.co/hxzNqkk/download.png');border-left: solid 10px #8f0505;border-right: solid 10px #8f0505;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhover]opacity:0;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;height:200px;width:500px;margin-top:-200px;[/newclass][newclass=.Mikredhover:hover]opacity:0.4;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;background-color:#fff;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhovertext]font-family:Arial;color:#4c306a;font-size:18px;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
Mikaela’s eyes flickered up at the boisterous display of arrogance. Is it now? The bet was too high and he was too confident. It would be irresponsible to lay down the next card, like if a stupid court let an obvious criminal go lose just because evidence was circumstantial. If he was going to cheat the least she could do was be subtle. It gave a bad name to the people who actually honed the cheating craft. [break][break] She moved to deal the card then paused, eyes widening in a practiced display of surprise. "Oh my, this card appears to be marked." Her gaze flickered to the cheat for a moment to catch his reaction before returning to action. She motioned to a man at the edge of the room and slid the deck back into their box. It was a clear enough message to the staff, who had spent years silently communicating to cut down on time spent not dealing. "An accident, I’m sure, but it looks like I’ll have to get a new deck and redeal." There was a bit of grumbling around the table, but she ignored it as she collected the cards from the table. [break][break] She returned them to the box as the man she’d motioned over appeared with a fresh deck. "Thank you, tesoro." She exchanged the old deck for the new one the man brought over with a small nod. "House policy, nothing I can do about it. My sincerest apologies." she added to the players with a warm smile. If anyone left the table for this stunt, suspicion of a cheat wouldn’t be enough to keep her out of trouble. Fortunately they all settled down quickly enough. [break][break] "Feel free to change your bets." In a game where counting cards was so easy she expected a few players to lower their bets a bit, but anyone smart enough to count cards and track whether the deck was hot or cold would know that making a major change to their bet would be suspicious. She went about dutifully shuffling the deck, giving people plenty of time to mull over their new gambles.
Ozaei was nearly about to jump out of seat in excitement as he thought the dealer was reaching for the next card, but he was horribly mistaken. Instead, he recieved one of the worst case scenarios. Her eyes widened and she announced that a card was marked. Immediately Ozaei lost all of his cool, despite knowing the mark he put on the card was visibly noticeable, something he decided to overlook while placing the things to begin with, foolishly thinking only electric manipulators can sense them. All in all? This was not his fault, in his mind, one hundred and fifty two percent the dealer's for messing up such a great plan.
He watched as a new deck was received, and the moment he saw that it was a deck he didn't mark, the speedster shot up from his chair- nearly falling over on his skates- and slammed his hands on the table, clearly pissed off. "Bullshit, lady!" He screamed, pushing back another player that was attempting to calm him down. "Those cards weren't marked and if they were you definitely wouldn't see it! I should know!" Ozaei's voice was so loud the entire casino could hear it by now, but he wasn't finished yet.
Out of his pocket, he snatched a card he took by accident at another table, Poker, marked in an entirely different way than the marks he used in Blackjack, making the point he was about to make null, but again... he didn't care. He was the victim here! He lost so much money already. "LOOK!" He said, practically throwing the card at the dealer, "You can't see the mark can you?! You know what! Fuck this shit I'm out!" With those words, he kicked away from the table with an electric charged thrust and began skating away, but not after attempting to kick the table over forcefully. If he couldn't win, he'd be damned everyone else could. Regardless on if he was successful in overhauling the table, he began to mutter words to whoever was listening, skating around in circles still in his mood. "Dark haired ash lookin' lady telling me the cards were marked... does she know how much money I lost... damn it..."
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext1]I'm not ready for the truth to see the light
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext2]Make it up, Make it pretty, I don't mind
[newclass=.Mikredimage]width:500px;height:200px;background-image:url('https://i.ibb.co/hxzNqkk/download.png');border-left: solid 10px #8f0505;border-right: solid 10px #8f0505;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhover]opacity:0;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;height:200px;width:500px;margin-top:-200px;[/newclass][newclass=.Mikredhover:hover]opacity:0.4;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;background-color:#fff;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhovertext]font-family:Arial;color:#4c306a;font-size:18px;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
In another situation Mikaela smiled. The sudden drop from over the moon to rock bottom was delicious. In fact, if she was still in the business of making deals with criminals she'd be phrasing her words just to get that sort of reaction. But those criminals had done far worse things. This was just a boy who'd gotten in over his head, someone that had probably done nothing to deserve the harshness of reality. [break][break] "Che fastidio." she muttered under her breath. Fortunately her coworker was still nearby. "Tesoro, I’m overdue for my break, would you take over?" She could read in his face that he thought he should be chasing down the cheat - he was larger and more intimidating and not supposed to be dealing for a table - but this was her mouse and she was intent on catching it herself. She was faster so there was more of a chance of her catching up anyway. [break][break] "Please return to your games everybody, I apologize for the temporary disturbance." She offered her coworker a grateful smile, one she was sure she’d have to back up with a better explanation later, before chasing after the cheat. With his skates he was faster than most people but she was built for speed and had abilities to back her up. By the time she caught up he’d begun muttering under his breath, every word of which she picked up with her catlike hearing. [break][break] She caught his wrist in a firm grip so he couldn’t just dart away. Her boss would scold her for laying hands on a customer, even a cheating one, but she wasn’t technically in the casino so she didn’t have to play nice. "Ashy?" she raised an eyebrow. Various meanings of the word shuffled through her mine, none of which seemed like a good way to describe a person. She was pretty sure it wasn’t a barb on her personality so she didn’t care. "You know, my sister would hate that you said that but I really don't take it as an insult." [break][break] Throughout her various occupations, Mikaela had been given many different ways to handle a cheat. Cut off a finger, give them the scare of their life, blackmail the pitiful fool into working for you… Her current casino took a much gentler approach. A small fine and a name added to a blacklist. Mikaela didn’t know how it was supposed to prevent cheating but she knew her boss wouldn’t change it at her request so it was no use complaining. [break][break] "What’s your excuse, kid?" she asked curiously. It was a question she usually directed to hardened criminals. She could never seem to keep a leash on her curiosity. She’d been born into her world and she didn’t see why anyone would chose to become a liar. "Did you start losing then get desperate because you didn’t want to get in trouble with your mother? Or were you cheating all along? Easy money, there’s no reason not to. Assuming you got away with it, which you didn’t."
Ozaei stopped what he was doing with a quick and abrupt pause as he felt something pull on his wrist- and it wasn't a light grip. Eyes narrowing, he hissed as he turned to glare at, and possibly threaten, whoever was bold enough to interrupt his small tantrum. Realizing it was the dealer that made him lose so much money, he quickly barked back in a high voice. "I don't give a fuck about your sister! I'll kill her! Listen Ashy, just fuck off 'kay?" At this point, Ozaei was fuming. He always had a habit of being aggressive first, and asking questions (or apologizing) later, and today was no exception. After all, who in the world could compete with a kid's rage who just lost all his money due to his own stupid actions?
Her question made him pause for a moment. His excuse? Excuse? He had no excuse, he just wanted to win, it was part of the glamour of betting and gambling; his ludomania wouldn't allow it if he didn't at least try to even out the odds for himself and himself alone, how was that an excuse? Ozaei bit his tongue until it bled, the red dripping down his mouth as he held back his urges to just attack. "I'm not desperate! It's just what I do! And for your fucking information lady I don't have a m..." Again, he paused, not wanting to disrespect the person who raised him. It was true he had no mother, but he had a mother. A guardian that acted like one, at least... should he say he doesn't have a mother, or should he say he does, since the mother he has now he questions? The sudden barrage of roller-coaster emotions was too much for him.
"Don't say a goddamn word about Dolores," he muttered, quietly. His eyes glistened as he charged himself and the air around him up with electricity. A streak of tears ran down one side of his face as he stared at Mikaela Lye with hate, attempting to drop to the ground and twist his trapped arm, aiming a jagged razor bladed kick at her neck with enhanced speed. He didn't really care if it landed or missed, he was too caught up in his anger, and because of that, his train of thought was all over the place. He killed people before, what made attacking some casino dealer any different?
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext1]I'm not ready for the truth to see the light
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext2]Make it up, Make it pretty, I don't mind
[newclass=.Mikredimage]width:500px;height:200px;background-image:url('https://i.ibb.co/hxzNqkk/download.png');border-left: solid 10px #8f0505;border-right: solid 10px #8f0505;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhover]opacity:0;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;height:200px;width:500px;margin-top:-200px;[/newclass][newclass=.Mikredhover:hover]opacity:0.4;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;background-color:#fff;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhovertext]font-family:Arial;color:#4c306a;font-size:18px;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
Mikaela had to stop herself from snapping as he insulted her sister. She didn’t care what anyone said about her, but talking bad about her sister was crossing a line. But she knew the boy was lashing out because he didn’t like being caught, and getting all serious now would just kill the fun. She couldn’t play around too much, she had a job to do after all, but that didn’t mean she had to follow all of the rules. [break][break] A slow smile spread across her face at his overly defensive response. "Oh good. People acting out of desperation are no fun. If you think you're at rock bottom you can't see how far you actually have to fall." Of course, she was left wondering why, exactly, he liked cheating. The first answer that came to her mind was that he was like her and just wanted to have fun, but she didn't want to get her hopes up if she was wrong. Maybe he really needed the money. Or he could be a distraction. Something else could be going down at the casino while she was away. If that was the case she doubted it would be as simple as cheating a game. He'd drawn her away, so she was the most likely target, and her hands weren't exactly clean. There were plenty people might hope to dig up on her. Thankfully, she didn't keep anything incriminating at the casino. For all her employers knew she was genuinely innocent. [break][break] While her mind raced through potential threats, she watched him struggle with something. She felt the shift in him and as he pulled away from her grip she took a step back to dodge his kick. The grip on his wrist was just a display anyway. She knew she could keep him in her sight if he tried to run anyway. [break][break] "Well aren't you just the cutest little viper! You know, I've always loved snakes." she gushed. Her muscles were still tight, she was betting it wouldn't take much taunting to make him keep fighting. Her face grew more serious before she went on with the actual threat. "Feel free to lash out or try to slither away, it doesn't matter. This only ends one way. If you want to make this easier on yourself I won't make you do it the fun way."
"Rock bottom?" He hissed, getting to his feet. "Did I say I was at rock bottom bitch?!" Ozaei practically yelled as he gritted his teeth, even more frustrated at the swift dodging display. His heart beat wickedly in his chest as he cracked his knuckles, still staring down the woman in front of him. Mentally he thought of his chances of dispatching her and leaving in one piece. He only thought this because of just how easily she dodged his charged attack, the chances of her being just as if not more skilled than he was wasn't chances he liked, and if he was sane he would just apologize and walk off...
Matching her smile in kind, but with far more pointed teeth and a sinister look, he suddenly grabbed his hair in frustration. A viper? He hated snakes, they were too slippery and he was convinced they were aspects of the devil, so of course, he took what she said personally. "A snake? ME?! Hell no Ashy, I'm a holy kid!" He said with hints of proudness before sending far more surges of electricity through his body. The air around him heated as he stared at her. "I don't know who the hell you are, but you pissed me off, so say sayonara to heaven Ashy! I'm kicking you straight to Hell!" With those words, he kicked off on his skates and charged at her at surreal speed, electricity following closely behind him as he again aimed a spinning kick to her head.
He wasn't going to make this easy for anyone, no, he was going to make an example out of someone or something tonight because Ozaei agreed with her. It would only end in one way, and he wasn't about to lose another bet.
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext1]I'm not ready for the truth to see the light
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext2]Make it up, Make it pretty, I don't mind
[newclass=.Mikredimage]width:500px;height:200px;background-image:url('https://i.ibb.co/hxzNqkk/download.png');border-left: solid 10px #8f0505;border-right: solid 10px #8f0505;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhover]opacity:0;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;height:200px;width:500px;margin-top:-200px;[/newclass][newclass=.Mikredhover:hover]opacity:0.4;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;background-color:#fff;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhovertext]font-family:Arial;color:#4c306a;font-size:18px;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
Mikaela smirked at Ozaei's pure wave of angry energy. He most certainly wasn't at rock bottom, but if it was such a sore spot she'd have to make a note of it to use later. Her eyes widened as he claimed to be a 'holy kid.' It was rare to find anyone that cared about religion in the Americas. In Italy she could take god fearing kids for granted, but not so much here. That was good. She could use that against him. [break][break] She dodged his kick by skittering to the left and taking a few steps back. Clearly she needed to keep some distance between them, and if they were going to fight it had to be in this direction anyway. She needed them to get close to the casino, not further. "A baby snake." she assured him. "One that strikes at the slightest trace of fear or anger." Light steps navigated back further as she assumed he'd lash out again. People with short tempers usually didn't like being told they were afraid. Not testing his limits at all was an option, of course, but that wouldn't be any fun. She'd leave diplomacy to others. [break][break] "I've been condemned to hell long enough. The real question is why you want to join me, viperina." she drawled. She'd known she was going to hell before she understood what it was. She almost wanted to laugh when people threw it at her as an insult. This little serpent didn't know the first thing about her list of crimes. "Don't you know? Lying and cheating in pursuit of money is a sin." Her expression was light but there was a hardness to her voice. She hated it when kids like this were determined to ruin their lives. Not that he looked much younger than she'd been when she'd gotten to Canada to begin with. She shouldn't be wasting her concern on him, it wasn't like he wanted it.
Was she trying to get herself reduced to ash? He didn't know nor did he care about her motives or intentions. Energetic natures and hot tempers never mixed well. Ozaei watched with glowing eyes as she dodged his attack again, further irritating him. "Stop calling me a god damn snake!" He shouted, sparing absolutely zero movements as he kicked off again, this time denting the ground as he did so. In a flash he was in close quarters with her, and for the third time aimed his sharpened skates at her throat. Who cared what kind of trouble he would be in, or was in? Not him. He should care, but there wasn't any trace of him that did. Not right now, at lest.
He gritted his teeth even harder, blood beginning to seep as he landed on the ground, panting. At this rate he was going to overheat, and seriously damage himself. At the sound of her remarking that he'd join her in hell, his anger would be visible on every ounce of his person, electricity now lashing out all around his body. Yeah, he was definitely going to overdo it. "Join YOU in Hell?! You fucking wish! I'm going to heaven! I'm the only one that's going to heaven! I'm the only one worthy enough TO go! Dolores was right! Everyone else on this pathetic fucking piece of rock are all sinners except me! You here me?!" Tears mixed with blood made a streak down his face as he jolted at the woman in his sights with assassin's intent, balling his fist up and aiming a punch at her abdomen.
"I AM NOT SINFUL! I just can't change, is all. YOU are for getting in my way, so DIE!" Regardless on if he actually hit her, Ozaei kept swinging with all he had, with all the speed he had, conflicted in his actions. A part of him didn't want to do this, and was just upset that his actions were questioned, while another part of him was hoping this lady was indeed stronger and faster than he, and would put him down quickly. It would be a nice release from the issues he had to deal with.
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext1]I'm not ready for the truth to see the light
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext2]Make it up, Make it pretty, I don't mind
[newclass=.Mikredimage]width:500px;height:200px;background-image:url('https://i.ibb.co/hxzNqkk/download.png');border-left: solid 10px #8f0505;border-right: solid 10px #8f0505;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhover]opacity:0;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;height:200px;width:500px;margin-top:-200px;[/newclass][newclass=.Mikredhover:hover]opacity:0.4;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;background-color:#fff;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhovertext]font-family:Arial;color:#4c306a;font-size:18px;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
Mikaela liked this kid. He was testy, which meant he could be baited. If she actually had any schemes in the work she was pretty sure she'd be able to manipulate him into doing whatever she wanted. Not that she couldn't twist his reality a little. But first she had to outlast his current burst of attacks. [break][break] He seemed like he was going to overheat as he began his series of blows towards her stomach, and they looked strong. He was powering himself up somehow, but she didn't know how or whether he'd be able to keep it up for long. Her mind started calculating just how she could even her odds without actually striking back. He was angry and he didn't seem to be thinking anything through, which was bound to be her main advantage. She took one of the punches and stumbled back, careful not to trip over the small ledge between the street and the sidewalk. [break][break] "Oh that hurt," she gasped, taking two more steps back to return to a defensive position. She brushed a strand of hair out of her face before allowing a slow smile to tug at her lips. She needed him to be angry to not notice the bump in the road. "Just kidding. All that anger yet you're not a strong hitter. You have to use your momentum and follow through, little viper." [break][break] Her muscles tensed beneath her skin. She knew her next move and she was ready to make it, but first she had to figure out where the snake would try to strike next. A game plan was starting to form in her mind, one that would get him back to the casino while being a lot of fun. It had been a while since she'd had such a testy mouse to play with.
Ozaei didn't stop his advance, only paused briefly when he saw the smile that would succeed in making him lose what little control of himself he had left. "Are you fucking with me right now?!" He yelled, hitting the ground. He couldn't tell, but his skin was starting to burn. Surely if he had any pain nerves left, this would be hurting like hell, but he'd be damned if he was going to let this person get away with all she'd done to him... even if he did it to himself through his own antics.
Use his momentum? Follow through? He wanted to be angry, but maybe she had a point, and he was going to go eight miles with said point. "Sure Ashy... you want follow through?" He gritted his teeth, eyes now as bright as any street light would be as he assumed a crouching stance similar to the starting position of Olympic runners. The ground quaked as electricity akin to lightning was now visibly leaving his body. Go big or go home. "I'll give you some follow through!" With those words, Ozaei kicked off. If he didn't use so much of his stamina earlier, he would be moving at full speed, but this time he was considerably slower. Fast enough to make even the fastest elementals budge, but still far below the usual.
Ozaei's plan was to just ram the woman in front of him. Maybe he could take her abdomen or torso clean off with sheer speed. What he didn't plan or see in his blind, linear ramming attack was a fault in the street. He foolishly tripped right over it, making him tumble in the air towards Mikaela Lye. At this point, he was spent. His skin had otherworldly burns on it, and he was so out of stamina he couldn't even raise his hands up to break his fall. Or get in one last hit. 'Well, shit...' he muttered to himself.
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext1]I'm not ready for the truth to see the light
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext2]Make it up, Make it pretty, I don't mind
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Mikaela resisted a small smile as he rushed toward her, taking a step back and bracing herself just in case he had noticed the fault in the road or it wasn’t significant enough to actually trip him up. If she’d learned anything in her lifetime it was that even the most well placed plans sometimes went awry. It was always always the things that slipped through the cracks that hit the hardest. [break][break] This was one of the situations where things went Mikaela’s way. She clapped giddily. "You know, I really oughta thank you. I thought tonight was going to be so boring." she yawned, walking over to stand over his collapsed form. "If I help you up are you gonna try to run again? Or, I don't know, electrocute me?" She asked, placing a hand on her hip. She kind of hoped he said no, but his cooperation would be best. She was supposed to be avoiding fights. At least, she'd recently made a deal not to seek them out, and this seemed like a thin line she was walking. [break][break]
"If you do I'll tell you how I knew you were cheating so you can do better next time," she offered with wide, innocent eyes. She really shouldn't be helping a cheat succeed, but it was unlikely he'd be showing his face at her particular casino again and if he did it would be so much more entertaining if she had to work harder to guess at his sleight of hand. "Oh! And I could give you some tips on lying better too... You've got guts which is a great start, but lying isn't all about having the courage to risk getting caught. It's also, ya know, trying not to be transparent."
"Fuck you Ashy," Ozaei muttered while on the ground, not even paying heed to his injuries. "The only thing's boring around here is you, I mean really what kinda dealer are you damn it?!" Deeply sighing, he finally realized the state he was in, and reluctantly, with his temper passing ever so slowly, he gritted his teeth and nodded... in denial. "Obvious-fucking-ly I'm going to run again! Running is my thing, paper-weighted slim chested piece of-" he suddenly stopped as what she was saying incorrectly clicked in his head. If he fries her she'll tell him how to better cheat-gamble? Hell yeah.
Giggling like a kid on a sugar rush, he smiled widely from his comfy painful position on the hard ground. "Deal, deal and deal!" he exclaimed, almost forgetting he was pissed off earlier. "I'm Dolores, I guess I'll keep calling ya Ashy, you don't mind right? Right! Now help me up!" His mind was racing with all of the things she could teach him and how he could get back all of the money he wasted. And the clothes he just tore up running at nigh full speed into a dent. It was a great thing his nervous system burned out years ago.
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext1]I'm not ready for the truth to see the light
[attr=class,Mikredheadertext2]Make it up, Make it pretty, I don't mind
[newclass=.Mikredimage]width:500px;height:200px;background-image:url('https://i.ibb.co/hxzNqkk/download.png');border-left: solid 10px #8f0505;border-right: solid 10px #8f0505;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhover]opacity:0;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;height:200px;width:500px;margin-top:-200px;[/newclass][newclass=.Mikredhover:hover]opacity:0.4;transition:all linear 1s;-webkit-transition:all linear 1s;background-color:#fff;[/newclass] [newclass=.Mikredhovertext]font-family:Arial;color:#4c306a;font-size:18px;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
Mikaela would have winced at the boy’s obvious display of excitement if she actually gave a crap about his well being. Being so open about what he wanted would only serve to get him hurt in the future. But she didn’t really care what came of him, and if someone was going to abuse his eagerness anyway it might as well be her. It was a rare treat to meet someone so easy to read in a location where everyone had secrets kept close to their heart. There was no way he wasn’t hiding some illicit behaviour, beyond being a bloody awful cheat, and she wanted to know what it was. [break][break] "Little Viper, I couldn't care less what you call me or what you claim to be called." she drawled, reaching down to help him up. "But at least try to be more creative than that. When your name is Ashlynn, Ashy isn't exactly an uncommon nickname." Pointless as it may have been, the lie was spoken as smoothly as a truth. Lying always came easily to Mikaela, and lying about her name was as simple as breathing. Even when she didn’t have to, it was almost easier than going by her actual name. It certainly stopped people from tracking her down in the future. [break][break] "The first thing you need to learn is how to lie. It comes easy to some people, but in your case it’s not exactly a natural talent." she wrinkled her nose. There was very little Mikaela trusted less than a bad liar. The world was filled with liars, so she didn’t understand how they could make it through life without being eaten alive. She personally believed it was easier to pretend to be a bad liar than to make it through life being genuinely honest. "And cheating is a form of lying. Lying and stealing, really, which makes it a far more respectable skill in my book."
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The skin is created by Wolf of Adoxography and Gangnam Style. The thread and conversation remodels are by Kagney. The Strange Reality board list, Heal My Soul info center, I Remember Now mini profile and Electric Requiem profile remodel is made by Pharoah Leap. The Who's That Member member list remodel was made by Tictactoe. The Cbox.ws Shoutbox remodel was made by Trinity Blair. All templates used for claims, information sheets, applications, etc are credited to their owners; credits for these can be found in the threads the templates are use on. Images that are used on The Duality of Man are credited to their owners, however, they have been edited by Zac with a few being edited by Chibi Magician. The plot, rules and various other information pieces for The Duality of Man are written by Chibi Magician with the assistence of her co-admins, Finnegan and Dremulf, alongside other unlisted people who were kind enough to give their input. The TRS, AP and face claim were all created by Fleur for specifically the use of TDOM. All plugins used on The Duality of Man are credited to their owners. The templates my members use are credited to their maker, if you find a template that belongs to you, but is uncredited, please speak to Chibi Magician or the member themself. Characters created on The Duality of Man are credited to their owners and should not be used elsewhere without the creator's permission.
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