forum "Hold up, that's not your real face?!" (Closed - O/O - Nonhuman Entity)

Started September 15, 2020 by @Toxic_Persephone group

tune

(Neeaaat! I'm cool with it too! :) Also sorry for the wait, I had a few classes to attend)

Tali sighed as she walked away, waving her off with a sigh. "Maybe. Enjoy your life, Azusa." He called after her, turning back to the bar and flashing a grin. The bartender looked away awkwardly, obviously feeling pity for the skin stealer. Tali didn't mind much. He had been rejected quite a few times. It was a hit or miss business he was running, and sometimes the hits were a little more harsh.

Maybe it was about time to change up his looks a little and hit a different club. Maybe he'd have more luck at Luxe or Les Deux. Or he could always call up one of his past clients. That always seemed to go smoothly and they often gave him gifts he so adored. Or at least he used to enjoy them. Now it felt empty and lonesome. He huffed and downed the rest of his drink before standing, making his way towards the exit after paying.

"Fake, desperate. Tsk. I'm neither." You are pretty fake. Your face isn't even your real face, 'Tali the Bad Omen'. 'Tali the Face Stealer'. How many empty relationships have you been in this week? Nine? Ten? He screwed his face up and ignored that little voice in the back of his head. It didn't know what it was talking about. Tali was doing just fine in his life. So what if he didn't wear his own face? That didn't matter. It didn't matter what face anyone wore. Life was still the same no matter who you were. Unless you were unattractive, then you weren't worth anything to society. Unless you were cursed to be some godforsaken creature that borrowed appearances.

That made him scowl, it scared off a few giggling groups of girls who looked far too young to be in any sort of alcoholic setting. They gave him one look and moved to the side, whispering to each other about the 'attractive and intimidating man making his way out of the bar.' Tali didn't much care. Let them talk. He'd be wearing a different face soon anyways.

Once outside he made his way into the alley between the club and some sort of liquor store. The two probably shared the same supplier. There he leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette, pulling his phone from his pocket to window shop for a new face.

"Something more masculine this time, let's try that out." He purred to himself, studying the facial features of about two or three photos of men. Once he had decided what he wanted, Tali let his eyes slip closed. The unsettling sounds of bones and muscle rearranging themselves made him shudder. He never really got used to it. It disturbed him still to this day.

Damn Azu, you really screwed that one up. But it wasn't her fault that the stuck up prick wanted to use her as just a one-time fling, right? Right. Either way, Azusa's headache hadn't calmed down, so she entered a Waffle House about an eighth of a mile from the nightclub.

"Hey there! Whatcha want, sweetie?" The waitress with olive skin, curly brown hair, and doe-like brown eyes asked Azu in a cheerful, southern drawl. It was nighttime, so there were only two other people working in the kitchen and another person who looked anxious–probably a part-time teenager who was hired here.

"God it's been a while, let me get a Diet and I'll look at your menu." Azusa offered a kind smile to the server as she left to get her her second soft drink of the day. Just wait until the thumping stops, order some chocolate waffles to-go and get home, take a long-needed rest. You'll survive Azusa, you'll survive.

(Alriighttyy thanks!! Tali do be a pretty brave boyo, haha and don't worry, my response will be different and more complicated XD)

Once he had changed up his appearance he checked himself out in the reflection of his phone. "Much better" He decided right then, smiling to himself as he made his way down the street to find another bar or nightclub to stalk for potential hookups.

Or at least that was going to be his plan before he passed by a Waffle House and caught sight of the lovely woman who had so easily insulted him. But he couldn't help but to be interested in her. He wanted to know more about her, wanted to maybe actually score a date or two with her. Hell, he didn't want to settle for just a one-night-stand. Maybe he was just attracted to the way she held herself, or maybe it was just that she was different and he liked that? He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

So he made a split second decision and walked into the doors, giving the waitress one of his dazzling smiles. That usually went well as people tended to trust him more when he smiled. Tali gave his reflection another glance, making sure that he at least looked different enough to ward off any suspicions Azusa might have about him. He wanted to start fresh.

She didn't like his confidence so he'd play it a different way.

"May I get a black coffee and a plate of waffles?" He asked the waitress kindly, speaking as clearly as he could.

The waitress' eyes lit up. "Well of course darlin'! Any sugar or creamer?" Her toothy smile and composure looked like the term comfort food. How that was was a complete mystery.

Azusa took a quick glance at the new customer. Must have a twilight shift or something in a bit. Azu tilted her head onto her hand and managed a wave towards him, a brief smile afterwards.

"What are you doing at this hour of night with a coffee?" Azusa chuckled, shaking her head.

"No sugar but I would love a vanilla creamer if you could." He replied back, offering her another smile. He wished he could have that composure that gave others comfort. Maybe then he wouldn't be so lonely with empty hookups and women who called him out on his desperation for human touch.

His eyes noticed the motion Azusa gave him and he turned to look over at her with a smile. Tali returned the motion, tilting his head when she spoke. "Late night work requires a little extra push, if you get what I mean. I won't be sleeping for quite a bit of time, need the energy to stay up." He hummed, internally patting himself on his back.

Step one worked. Now all he had to do was somehow explain away how she had met two asian men named Tali in the same night. He could do that. Easy. He'd use the same excuse he always did. The name Tali is a popular one in the community. It was, of course, a lie but most people didn't question it.

"What about you? What are you doing out here so late in the night?"

"Eh… long story." Well, not really. I just don't want to talk about how my night just sucked a–. "Let's just say that men can be bothersome at times. No offense." Azusa shrugged, stifling a yawn. "I'm just hoping for a better day tomorrow, you know?"

Hopefully Ross doesn't kill me tomorrow for ditching him. Well, he did hire that one guy to flirt with me–why would I ever attract the attention of someone like that? Azusa ran her fingers through her hair. At least this guy knows how to take initiative, I guess.

Tali had to force a smile. Bothersome men… she’s definitely talking about me.

“Some men can be that way. The majority of us are idiots.” He admitted. Now that was true. Tali himself was an idiot at times. “A better day will come, hopefully.”

Tali gestured to the seat in front of her, smiling softly. “Mind if I join you?”

"Uh yeah, sure!" Azusa waved the man over while accepting the drink from the waitress, giving her a smile of thanks in return.

"Can I have some chocolate chip waffles? Uh, stack of three, please." Azusa handed back the menu to the waitress as one of the cooks prepped the batter for the two of them.

"What kind of job do you have to do in the middle of the night?" Azu sipped her drink.

Tali took a seat, thanking her under his breath. He grinned to himself, already proud that he was getting so much farther this way.
Was this manipulative? It couldn’t be… right?

He didn’t have time to think that way. No. He’d sort that out if she decided he was worth her time.

“The usual business stuff. Meeting with people who usually work all day, getting their information. That kind of thing. Late night communications.” Not the full truth but not a lie. He did meet people who usually worked all day and he did get their information. It was just more in the… carnal sense.

“It’s not too bad. In fact it’s quite fun.”

"Huh. Wish I could say the same. Management isn't really fun." Azusa paused, pondering something. Should she try to flirt with him? The one guy at the nightclub, Tali, said she was pretty–and if this guy tried anything, she didn't think she'd hesitate to do something about it. "Say, would you like to gather my information? I'm Azusa, friends call me Azu." Azusa offered a smile.

“A management job? You must be quite the leader.” He mused, flashing that dazzling smile of his. So far so good.

His smile grew when she openly flirted with him. Bingo.

“I’d love to gather your information, Azu. What a beautiful name, it suits you. My full name is far too long to remember, but I go by Tali. Would you want to meet over coffee sometime?” And here was the moment of truth. She couldn’t put two and two together right? He was wearing a different face at the moment. She couldn’t explain away that.

(o.o It's my favorite person! Hello!)

"Yeah, if you call tolerating employees 'leadership.'" Azu smiled and rolled her eyes.

Azusa blinked a few times. Another Tali? That must be coincidental. "I swear I met another person with the same name as you. It's a nice name though, Tali. And I would love to have coffee with you. Are you busy tomorrow morning? I would have to work afterwards, but hopefully we can work that out."

(Hello hello!!! :D I’m back how are you?)

“I’m sure you’re amazing at it, Azusa.” He liked her name a lot. It felt good on his tongue. She felt warmer than any of the others he had met.

He waited awkwardly as she processed his name, laughing nervously. “Yeah, you’re not the first to tell me that. It’s a popular name I guess…” he rubbed at the back of his neck and grinned.

“Tomorrow morning would be wonderful. I could even give you a ride to work if you needed it.” Look at you go, Fake. You won her over without using that superiority complex of yours. Must be a sign. Tali waved off his thoughts and instead chose to lean back and sip on his coffee (it had been delivered a little bit before and he hadn’t acknowledged it until now).

“So it’s a date then, if you’re open to it.” He winked, laughing softly at himself.

(Doing alright, gtg soon for dinner though. Might be gone for a few hours.)

"Oh. I thought you were just gathering information about me… Yes it's a date, silly!" That was the first time Azusa had really enjoyed herself in a while since her accepting her management job. Was this telling her something?Absolutely. But never in hell was she going to admit it.

"Oh yeah, before I leave-" Azu took out a pen from her purse and jotted something down. "Here is my number. Don't be calling me 24/7 though, okay?" Azusa beamed, chuckling to herself. The last person she was with was her high school sweetheart, and she never knew she was in a controlling relationship until her now ex told her she couldn't hang out with her friends for a New Years party. That was years ago, though.

(That’s good! And Okey! Thanks for telling me! I have a class soon so that works out well!)

Tali’s chest rumbled with a laugh he hadn’t felt for quite some time. “Well, I mean, a date is a good way to get to know someone.” He mused, growing curious when she pulled the pen from her bag.

When it finally clicked what she was doing he was already taking the number and grinning like an idiot. Yess!!

“What a shame. I was planning on calling you every hour.” Tali joked, pulling his phone from his pocket to enter her number in right away. He had a bad habit of loosing items rather quickly and this was an item of immense importance.

“There we are. One lovely Azusa added to my contacts.” He sent her a quick text:

’Here’s my number, sweetheart ;)’

With a quiet laugh he leaned forwards, tilting his head. “If you ever need anything, give me a call. It doesn’t have to be date related either. You’ve won over me, and I quite frankly like you.”

(Awesome!)

"Who wouldn't like me?" Azusa smiled, shrugging. "Well, besides my employees when I'm upset, that is. And uh, don't worry, I'll be sure to call you every half-hour to check up on you." Azu giggled. "God, I'm acting such like a little kid. But I don't miss those days…"

Receiving the text, Azusa sent a thumbs up.

"I can't think of anyone who wouldn't find you enthralling." Tali smiled and laughed along with her, finding her quite cute when she giggled. Good lord, Tali, what happened to 'not letting anyone close'? He paused for a moment at that thought, his smile fading just a little. Its only been a night. Plus I'm probably a little tipsy. All I want is a date… He told himself that firmly. Letting people close meant telling them what he was. And that never went well.

"Act as much like a little kid as you want, Azusa. It's cute. Though I can confidently say I don't miss those days either. I didn't have the most traditional childhood. No parents, raised in a temple in Japan. Though I was born in Korea."

"Dang. That…that sucks. I mean, I had uninvolved parents–I was adopted–but I can't imagine no one to go to when you have a cruddy day…" Azusa's sympathetic frown turned half upright. "Well, at least you got past it, and you're here with me, right?" She sighed, resting her hands on the table, her right hand on top of her left.

(You're okay!! I'm sorry for the late response, I just got out of my class)

Tali gave her a smile and nodded his agreement. At least he was away from the other crack-pot deities who bought into Yusuf's explanation of the otherworldly creatures that existed. None of them were gods or deities or spirits. They were creatures forsaken by the gods if they even existed. They were cursed beings. Monsters. Or so he had come to find when telling others what he was.

"It does feel much better being here with you. Like a strange calm. Maybe you just have that effect on people?" He mused, his eyes flickering to her hands. They looked soft. He'd have to see if they really were sometime. Tali's own hands fiddled with the rings on his fingers, more so with the thick black band he had been given to 'absorb his negative powers and emotions'. According to Yusuf, Black Onyx was Tali's symbol, the stone that marked him and his power. It also supposedly kept in check so he wouldn't actually steal someone's face and use that to harm them.

The ring strangely made him feel comforted rather than evil. Maybe something deep down inside him wanted to be a good person, wanted to be human.

"Well… I at least try to understand people. I don't have to necessarily like them, but if I understand them, then it's less troublesome to handle them." Azusa blinked at what she said. "That sounded really bad, didn't it? God, I swear I pay way too much time on my work…Sorry…" You probably shouldn't have said that, now you probably look bad. Azusa's cheeks fumed in embarrassment.

"So, uhm, I guess I'll excuse myself before I make myself look worse…" Azu stood and set a $20 bill on the table, nodding to the waitress, "Keep the change, ma'am. Have a great night."