Welcome to Paradigm Shift, a superpower-based role playing board.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact members of the staff.
We strongly advise that you go through the general board information before doing anything else.
We hope you enjoy your stay!
News
Welcome to the Paradigm Reboot!
10.06.2015
Thanks
10.06.2015
The board will officially be starting on Monday October 12! Make sure your bios are in so you can take part of the opening ceremony!
10.08.2015
Info
Staff
Spotlight
ROLEPLAYER
Of The Month
CHARACTER
Of The Month
THREAD
Of The Month
COUPLE
Of The Month
Midnight, and Aroon had made short work of sneaking through the halls to the access stairwell for the dormitories...Having slipped from his room without so much as a squeaky floorboard, he'd gotten along the hall and up the stairwell in the space of a few minutes, pulling his house-coat over himself in the cool night air...
It was an odd thing, bearing that the Thai wasn't terribly night-based by nature, but he'd seen the moon from the windows a little while agp and had smiled to himself....Blood-red, a result of the cloud cover and the refraction of light, the moon looked exceptionally spectacular tonight. That, and being kept awake by other thoughts, had resulted in his current decision.
Around him, a light wind blew, chilling the air slightly but not enough to actually make it cold, though out of reflex he pulled the material around himself a little more as he leaned against the concrete edging that surrounded the sides of the building. At this time, the Collective looked almost...peaceful. No fights in the courtyard, no rabble of students around, just the wind in his face, the dim light provided from the bloody moon.
'It's a shame this is the only time it's like this...'
Folding his arms, he rested his chin on his interlocked wrists and let his mind wander...
Jean managed to sneak out around eleven after a rather disturbing phone call from her mother, informing her that her father fell ill and was at the hospital. She had a heated argument with her mother about whether or not Jean should fly over. Her mother was strongly opposed to Jean stopping her education, and told her to stay put. Jean, on the other hand, couldn't believe that her mother would put her education before her father's life. And Jean, being too pissed off and worried to fall asleep, decided to go on a little run. She was still in her pajamas too, not wanting to disturb her dorm mate by turning on the lights.
Focus on running. Who cares about anything else?
Jean managed to run past security - or what she thought was security - without getting caught. And before you know it, an hour later, Jean was making her way back to campus, realizing that she would crash and burn the more she kept running. It was what she wanted, but she kind of wanted to crash and burn on the bed, not the ground. Thing is, once she approached the dorm building, she didn't feel like going back to her room. Instead, she started toward the rooftop, making her way up the stairs. Surely running up these hell steps would tire her enough to pass out. No one should be up there at this time anyway, so Jean assumed it would be a nice, safe place to rest until she gathered enough energy to tumble down the stairs and into her own room.
Jean pushed open the door to the rooftop and came to a sudden stop, which wasn't good for her heart, but whatever. She was clearly out of breath, you could tell from her panting, and tired. Unaware that someone else was on the rooftop, Jean let her legs collapse, her body falling to the ground with a light 'thud'. I guess you could say, to an outsider, it looked as if she just passed out, but Jean rolled onto her back, a small groan of pain from the contact with the ground.
And lying there on the ground, Jean looked up at the sky and noticed the blood red moon. She stared at it in awe; it was beautiful, and entrancing... She sighed.
She spoke aloud to herself, quietly, "...huh. Nature can put the mind at ease..."
« Last Edit: Jun 17, 2009 11:17:33 GMT -6 by jean »
His quiet recreation disturbed by the sound of the roof door squeaking open, the Thai stiffened before slipping into the shadows cast by one of a number of elevated air vents. Glad that he'd worn the long, black house-coat, he crouched in the darkness as he looked around to the source of the noise. He had to be careful, as much as he wasn't one to follow the stricture, he could do without excess trouble when he just wanted to be left in peace.
Oddly, though, there was no flashlight, no sound of heavy boots or suggestion that it was, in fact, one of the dormitories security...Furrowing his brow, he stepped from the shadows slowly, carefully padding across the tarred surface with a certain caution all the same, before he saw the girl fall from what appeared to be exhaustion, or something. Rolling his eyes, he considered the ramifications of involving himself in such matters before also taking into account the fact it was past midnight. If she didn't come to by morning, she'd most likely end up with exposure. As warm as San Diego was, the night was still fairly cool...
'Damnit...'
Walking with light steps, minimising any sound across, he stood a few feet from her when she spoke, making it evident to the Thais surprise that she was actually still conscious...
"Are you alright....?"
He dropped into a crouch as he kneeled a little ways away from her, watching carefully for her reaction.
Jean had been in her own little world that she did not hear the footsteps approaching her. So when the guy's voice reached Jean's ears, she nearly flipped a shit. His sudden appearance terrified her for a quick moment, her mind processing too many scary movie scenes. She rolled away immediately from the guy, profanity hissed under her breath. She sat up, her heart racing against her chest.
"I'm...fine, thanks," Jean said quietly, for some reason being careful. His long coat looked kind of phishy, but that was probably just Jean's imagination. She let out a sigh of relief, coming to the conclusion that if the guy wanted to hurt her, he would have done so already. And figured if he wanted to rape her, then she'd just put up a fight. That...and it was the school, for Pete's sake. He'd rape her, then what? Get caught and kicked out? So rapist? Crossed out.
"I'm sorry. Your sudden appearance was ... alarming," she said, apologizing for her reaction.
Jean was still rather hot from all that running, the sweat glistening on her skin, so the cool breeze of San Diego was refreshing. Or at least, it would be, for the time being. Considering that she needed to take her mind off of a whole lot of things, Jean decided to strike up a conversation with a stranger. What were the chances of meeting this guy again anyway? Pretty slim, considering that, when she looked at him, he looked unfamiliar, which probably meant that they never cross paths at school.
"Huh..." Jean said, speaking her thoughts, "I thought for sure I would be up here alone... Here to enjoy the scenery?"
"My appearance? I thought you were security. There's only two ways off this roof, and you came through one of them. I didn't exactly fancy playing hide and seek with an overzealous guard..."
He smirked as he took a step or two back, letting his legs slip under him as he leaned against one of the raised sections of the roof. Apparently, both had had similar ideas, he'd merely implemented his a good deal earlier. As a result, he humoured her conversation for the time being. she certainly seemed polite enough, and in any case didn't appear to pose any real kind of threat to him.
"Scenery, not so much. I just like to find a place where there's nobody around so I can let my mind relax. Besides, the air-con in the rooms is shoddy as anything. Up here it's much nicer. What about you?"
Leaning his head back against the textured surface, he decided to cross off one of the typical things that needed brought up in a conversation, if in fact they were going to partake of one.
"My appearance? I thought you were security. There's only two ways off this roof, and you came through one of them. I didn't exactly fancy playing hide and seek with an overzealous guard..."
"Hey, you never know. I could be a security guard, just not on duty," Jean chuckled, looking down at her own appearance. A security guard wearing a wife beater and sweats? Not likely, but possible. She pulled up her knees and rested her arms on them, her hands clasped in front of her, allowing herself to be in a more comfortable position. Physically tired, but mentally awake.
"Scenery, not so much. I just like to find a place where there's nobody around so I can let my mind relax. Besides, the air-con in the rooms is shoddy as anything. Up here it's much nicer. What about you?"
"I needed some air. Ran around for a while and realized that, sooner or later, I'd collapse. Didn't feel like going back to the dorm, and figured the roof would be vacant," Jean replied, realizing that their reasons for being up here were semi-similar, only Jean didn't voice the part where she needed to put her mind at ease. She wasn't really much of a person to give detail unless it was asked for, or unless she thought it necessary.
"I'm Aroon..."
"Nice to meet you," Jean said, and did not introduce herself. Although it was ettiquete to give a name, Jean wanted to tell him her name after their conversation was over. No one ever did that; did they feel as if they had to know the name of the person they were talking to? This idea was just something she wanted to experiment with. Of course, if he asked for her name, then she would give it, not wanting to be rude. But to some people, not giving a name is already considered to be rude, and she hoped she didn't offend him, or anything.
"Do you come here often?" Jean asked, because it was definitely her first time up here.
"Well, I'm just going to have to go off my better judgment, I think..." he quipped back, folding his arms slightly with a calm smirk crossing his lips. Sure, she could be off duty, but that would just end badly all around. Instead, he left that thought well alone and paid heed to her own explanation of why she'd opted to come to the roof. He nodded with an expression of understanding.
"Fair enough, though you picked the wrong night for being left alone I'm afraid..." he said, shrugging with a small smile. He noted that even after giving his name she didn't reciprocate the gesture, and it prickled him slightly...It was a common courtesy after all, but he left it alone. If she didn't want to give her name, that was her perogative. After all, it was midnight on the roof of the school, he couldn't fault her for being cautious. Whilst he had only friendly intentions, others might not have been so welcoming, or perhaps a little...too welcoming.
"Usually it's during the daylight, but yes, I suppose I do from time to time....It's a good place to gather ones thoughts..."
After a moment or two of sitting where he was, he quickly decided that it was substantially uncomfortable and pushed himself to his feet with a quiet grunt, the house-coat hanging over his frame loosely in the breeze as it flicked in the air. Leaning against the edging of the raised section, he hung his hands in the pockets of the garment. "May I ask what had you running around so much you'd risk collapsing at midnight..?"
"Fair enough, though you picked the wrong night for being left alone I'm afraid..."
"Well, that's okay. You seem like a nice enough companion for the night," Jean said, almost immediately realizing how awkward that sounded, and thus let out a small laugh. Oh boy... He was a smart enough guy to realize what she actually meant, right? Well let's hope so. It seemed as if he didn't have a problem about her not voicing her name, and if he did, then he certainly didn't show it.
"Usually it's during the daylight, but yes, I suppose I do from time to time....It's a good place to gather ones thoughts..."
"It seems like it... It's rather peaceful," Jean commented, taking note of the eerie silence.
"May I ask what had you running around so much you'd risk collapsing at midnight..?"
"You may," Jean grinned. He asked to ask a certain question, and she said that he could ask it... Of course, this was all a joke. She quickly continued, "Running is my stress reliever. I have a lot of stress," Jean chuckled, releasing a sigh.
"A rather stupid reason, but ... I couldn't fall asleep, and figured the only way to knock myself out was to get myself physically exhausted," Jean said.
An eyebrow flicked up at the words, though a second later it registered what she'd meant. Smirking to himself, he was reminded of conversation with Aleece, only switching the deliberate innuendo from the Chilean for this girls unintentional remark. After that deliberation, he nodded, shrugging his shoulders.
"I make an effort, I suppose..." he said, smiling at the girl, before continuing on. "That's the main reason I come up here, though. It gets me away from the rabble of the crowds in the daytime, and it's surprising just how much noise people can manage to make from their rooms even at this time."
He matched her grin with a small, reciprocal one of his own as he nodded in understanding. Whilst he certainly didn't run for stress relief, he used his Muay conditioning routine to do that. Nothing vented stress like taking your aggression out on a coarsely wrapped training post, particularly for him. However, he could list at least three people he knew (four now, including the girl) who found running to be therapeutic. Out of courtesy he made no move to question just what stresses she was referring to, though he mused that if it had her out and exhausting herself at this time, it must be at least slightly serious.
"It's not that stupid, I guess. In fact, it makes a good deal of sense. Though if you end up dead on your feet before you get to your dorm, it appears like it presents a problem of its own."
"I make an effort, I suppose... That's the main reason I come up here, though. It gets me away from the rabble of the crowds in the daytime, and it's surprising just how much noise people can manage to make from their rooms even at this time."
Jean chuckled and gave an understanding nod before replying, "Yeah, seems like the noise is never ending when you're down there." And it was true. People were constantly bickering and chatting it up with each other, that there was no room for silence - except when everyone was supposedly asleep, and even then, you could hear the occasional laughter from a distance. This is why Jean enjoyed libraries; excellently air conditioned rooms with absolute silence - well, on the upper level, at least. Then again, it also made Jean feel a bit uncomfortable at times, especially when she had to cough or sneeze, because then she felt like as if she disturbed those in the library.
Maybe this why traveling at night seemed so appealing to Jean. Either everything was twice as loud - like at clubs - or silent.
"It's not that stupid, I guess. In fact, it makes a good deal of sense. Though if you end up dead on your feet before you get to your dorm, it appears like it presents a problem of its own."
"Ah... Exactly why I decided to come up here, thinking that no one else was," Jean chuckled, because her plan had backfired. She didn't pass out, and turns out that the roof wasn't vacant after all. She was just lucky that she was conscious and that Aroon turned out to be a nice enough guy.
It was strangely comforting talking to a stranger about random things. She didn't understand why; it just was.
"You know, might wanna wear something that looks less threatening next time. Your coat might give someone like me an unintentional scare," Jean grinned, stretching out her arms and legs so she wouldn't feel sore later.
Though, ironically, even up on the roofs there was the occasion where that silence found itself disturbed. Hardly a grand problem, in fact more often than not the conversation was surprisingly good with the people who came up here. They usually had a similar opinion on the matter of the peace and quiet presented, which was good in the long run. At least if his peace was interrupted, he could make good use of the time.
Pushing off the ledge he was perched against, he padded across to the edge of the rooftop, leaning on the raised concrete and looking down onto the Collective below. Even as he moved around, something he did to avoid pins and needles or something to that effect, he kept his attention on the girl. When she spoke up, he laughed softly under his breath.
"True, but if you'd been half an hour earlier, you'd have assumed correctly and I'd have been the mistaken one...." he suggested, smiling lightly as he spoke and adding a faint lilt to his voice.
When she commented on the house-coat he was wearing, he turned around with a raised eyebrow. "This? It's just a house-coat. You know, a dressing gown. I'm hardly going to commit mass pillow homocide...." he joked before hooking his hands into his pockets, smirking. "Besides, if anyone gave anyone an intentional scare, it was you. I mean, I was preparing myself for having to fight off some grouchy security guard!"
He chuckled quietly at the notion before padding a little over to where he'd been standing before, leaning against the raised ledge and tilting his head back to the moon...
"True, but if you'd been half an hour earlier, you'd have assumed correctly and I'd have been the mistaken one...."
Jean smiled at his words, before replying, "But even if I had been here half an hour earlier... I wouldn't be passed out, and we'd still be in the same position." Just half an hour earlier, but not a lot would have changed. If anything drastic did happen, it would have been Jean attacking Aroon thinking he was a guard - but that was unlikely. If anything different happened, it would have been Jean hiding until she either got tired, was found out, or until he left.
"This? It's just a house-coat. You know, a dressing gown. I'm hardly going to commit mass pillow homocide...."
"Mass pillow homocide? Huh... I like the sound of that," Jean laughed. Gosh, when was the last time she had a pillow fight?
"Besides, if anyone gave anyone an intentional scare, it was you. I mean, I was preparing myself for having to fight off some grouchy security guard!"
"Hahaha, really?" Jean grinned, and stood up. "Dressed like this?" She looked down at her attire. Reeeeeeaaaal threatening, don't you think? But it wasn't as if Aroon could tell what Jean was wearing before she stepped through the door.
"My life is now complete, having scared you by bursting in onto the roof in my pajamas!" A joke. Obviously.
"It's a nice moon out tonight, though..."
Jean tilted her head up towards the sky, eyes gazing at the black velvety background and the red orb decorating it.
"Yeah...it's beautiful," Jean breathed out. At times like these, it felt appropriate to just stand around in silence. There was no awkwardness - or at least, none to Jean - but rather comfort.
His eyes shot back and forth for a second, in a feigned display of trying to work something out in his head, before shaking his head and grinning. "Damn, you just blew my mind with that one..."
It was intended for humour, nothing else, and after that he simply cast a short glance at what she was wearing, having until now not really paid much attention. Not for chivalrous purposes, goodness knows the Thai would sneak a glance at a cute girl given a seconds opportunity, but the oddity of the situation had made it a lower priority to him than normal. Instead, he'd been making head and tail of the situation.
Now, however, he cast a quick glance and nodded with a small smirk. "Hey, I don't know what kind of kink the security guard has, I was prepared for anything. I must say, I don't think he'd be too fetching in that attire.", he chuckled quietly, leaning his head back a moment, the faint ring of laughter trailing off...He inhaled deeply, the cool air filling his lungs as he picked out the stars he could see through the slight cloud cover. He didn't bring his head back down when she made her reciprocal comment, rather his eyes rolled down to glance at her.
"Mm, where I come from, they say a red moon is a good omen for fishermen...I think the saying over here is 'Red sky at night, fishermans delight', or something like that...Something to do with predicting good weather or something like that, most likely, but it'd be interesting if it did preclude a good omen of some sort..."
"Hey, I don't know what kind of kink the security guard has, I was prepared for anything. I must say, I don't think he'd be too fetching in that attire."
"Really? I think the security guard would look pretty damn sexy in my clothes," Jean grinned, joining him in the laughter. Man, this certainly kept her mind off of a lot of things. Talking to a stranger was pretty nifty, and Jean figured she should do it more often, if it wasn't for her anti-social-like mood during the day. Usually, anyway. She was curious though. Whenever she spoke to a stranger, it usually ended up pretty damn well; she seemed to get along just fine with that person for that brief moment. Afterwards... Well, there generally isn't an afterwards.
"Mm, where I come from, they say a red moon is a good omen for fishermen...I think the saying over here is 'Red sky at night, fishermans delight', or something like that...Something to do with predicting good weather or something like that, most likely, but it'd be interesting if it did preclude a good omen of some sort..."
"...good omen, huh?" Jean uttered quietly to herself, eyes still gazing up at the red moon. Not only would it be interesting, but it would certainly be...nice, for a lack of a better word. Wanted? Needed? Jean sighed mentally, just then remembering (for some odd reason) that she still had not mentioned her name to him. But whatever; they seemed to be getting along just fine at the moment, so when she left - or him...or both? - she would tell him her name.
"I've actually heard something different... 'Red moon take warning, storm in the morning'.. I like yours much better though," Jean lightly commented. Maybe she got the rhyme wrong, but it was something about a warning and a storm. Hnnh...
"Hm, perhaps, though I doubt he'd have the same ability to pull it off as you...."
Oddly, that wasn't delivered as a flirtatious gesture, for the Thai it was simply a casual observation. She was pretty, he'd have to be a eunuch to not notice, but Aroon was the sort who could make such an observation without regressing into lechery. He smiled in the wan light, barely enough to cast more than shadows with substance for the most part once the light from the doorway switched off. One of those motion-sensor things, most likely. That, too, was part of the reason he continued to move around. At least if there was some light then it would probably help the girl remain a little more at ease.
He nodded as she observed his comment, giving her own version of it that she had heard. With a small smile and a shrug, he chuckled through the dark. "Well, it's a fairly common saying these days, who's to know which one is inevitably right?" Sometimes the niceties of a saying were lost with time, but all too often the sayings that seem the most affable had the darkest of meanings behind them. After all, Aroon had studied on the topic of the Black Plague in Europe, and the true connotations to 'Ring around the roses' had a rather sinister feel to them.
When she asked where he was from, his head lifted a little higher before he realised, the dim light would make it hard enough for her to see defining features on his face that would help. His toned down accent thanks to English tutors simply came off as 'Asian' with no real prevalence.
"Hm, perhaps, though I doubt he'd have the same ability to pull it off as you...."
She arched a brow at his words, but other than that, she wasn't much of a person to dwell on peoples' words. If there was any meaning behind what he said, she didn't catch it. She wasn't much of a flirt, probably because she's the type of person to keep to herself, and the word 'naive' could probably hit Jean's personality when it comes to the opposite gender. Well...if it had anything to do with her, anyway.
Whereas Jean is usually an observant individual, it seemed that tonight, she was more lax. If she were tense, like any other day, the fact that Aroon kept moving around would make her feel uncomfortable, as if he was circling his prey. Or maybe not? Maybe she would notice that the light came from motion sensors? At the moment, she realized that he was moving around, but the thought of something happening to her never crossed her mind. Not anymore, at least.
"Well, it's a fairly common saying these days, who's to know which one is inevitably right?"
She nodded at his words. Of course, it made sense. It's like the telephone game, where a group of people sit in a circle and whisper something - a story - in someone's ear. Then that person has to repeat the story to the person next to them, and so on and so forth. The last person says the story out loud, to see how much the story had been butchered. Kind of like history, where, a long time ago, everything was passed down by the mouth.
"Bangkok up until last year, and what about you?"
Jean was a bit surprised. Was the Chula Vista Collective really that popular for people outside the country to enroll? So he came from Thailand...from a giant city. Where as the city Jean was from was also considered to be large...it was nothing compared to Bangkok.
"Nashville in Tennessee," Jean grinned.
She was curious, though.
"Anyway...how'd you end up at Fremont? Thailand is ... pretty far."
Now, Aroons geographical knowledge of the United States is limited as it stands, he can just about identify the fifty states and some major cities, but that aside his knowledge was lacking in that aspect. Nashville on the other hand, was well represented in enough media to make it recognisable even for the Thai. Perhaps it was a little obvious and maybe showed a certain degree of ignorance in that his sole impression of Nashville was of a dead music icon from before he was even a twinkle in his parents eyes, but it helped him work out where the girl was talking about.
He shrugged his shoulders slowly when she questioned why he was in America considering his origins in Thailand, and he gave a small smile as he began to explain. "Well, that's true I guess, but my folks did pretty well back home. There was an opportunity to come here and expand on that, so they took it up. My dad runs health clubs back in Thailand, and one of the companies he was hired by asked him if he was interested in opening one for a branch of the company over here. My mom's a photographer, so her work is really just wherever she is, which is pretty convenient I guess..."
He chuckled as he recounted the words, though he carried on a moment later having only partly explained himself. "As for Fremont, it was just the brochure that had the most appeal when they were looking at schools, and I had no gripe with it. Not surprisingly, now I'm thinking that I kinda spoke too soon on that notion."