Futuristic The Society

[TheCountryWarrior]

Zach took notice of her face reddening as she muttered her occupation, and he barely heard it. Data Sorter? That wasn't bad in his mind. Then again his father taught him nothing about other jobs there were, except the Police and the Garbage System, and they focused on the Police occupation. He really knew nothing about of some people's opinions of the other jobs. 
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"Data Sorter? That sounds important. No need to be ashamed." He said, reaching out and shaking her, rather delicate looking, hand. 
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"I'm a cop." He said with a shrug.  "Nothing too special. Name's Zach. Jayden, huh? That's a pretty name." He said with a smile. 
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@xEmoBunnehx
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[KhalZhavvorsa]

Sunday, June 20th, 2054


9:06AM

Jayden's face only grew a little redder as she noticed just how naive this man was..or perhaps he simply was playing dumb so she didn't feel like a snob, which she certainly wasn't. Either way he seemed to accept that it was just a job she had been placed into and moved on, something she never thought someone would do. AS the man took her delicate hand and shook it, telling her his name in return, she smiled softly. "Nice to meet you, Zach. And..thank you. Most people call me Jay." She replied, her voice soft but not too soft, it was sort of melodic in a sense, like the voice of a girl who barely spoke..which Jayden rarely did. She wan;t a hug person on talking..and as such she didn't make friends often..she was more of the type of person that waiting for someone else to entice conversation rather than her. That..wasn't because she wasn't a friendly person..that much was obvious..but rather..she was raised to be a silent type like her mother and father. So, being raised like that..Jayden was never taught how to strike up a conversation..or keep one going for that matter.
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After her last spoken words, an awkward silence dragged on..making Jayden once more shift as she pulled back her hand and rested it on her lap. What did one say? How does one..converse? Jayden's body heated up as her anxiety unknowingly rose. She had no idea what to say now..and it was showing..bad. How..how..What..?! Her mental tyrant began to torment her, teasing her about how it was easy to talk and make conversation..if she was a normal human like the rest of the society was. Now Zach was bound to tease her..or maybe even decide that she wasn't worth speaking to if she didn't know how to properly communicate. 
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@TheCountryWarrior
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[TheCountryWarrior]

"Very well, Jay, if you don't mind." Zach didn't really mean to let the awkward silence linger. He never talked much as a child, always afraid it would be the wrong thing to say which would then be reprimanded by his father. And so he had to learn it himself, though it seemed his self training was wasted when not talking to coworkers. At the Station every one had pretty much the same goals as the next guy so it was easy to talk to them. In an attempt to break the ice he said. "So what does a Data Sorter do." Before realizing how stupid a question that was. In an attempt to cover it up he said. "I mean, what's it like?" His mind essentially yelling at him, "Come on man, it's not that hard! Talk to the pretty girl! What?! I think she's pretty? Yes you do and don't deny it!" His inner conflict showing slightly in his eyes. 
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@xEmoBunnehx
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[KhalZhavvorsa]

Sunday, June 20th, 2054


9:07AM

Jayden was taken back by his question. He..he really wanted to know what she did all day and most of the night? Hm..how odd. Then again..he was a cop..so he was out protecting them everyday as well as maintaining the society..so his life was a lot more..active than her's..so to hear about something so mundane might bring him some strange comfort? It certainly would Jayden if she had been placed there. With a small glace at Zach's eyes, than a raise of her hand behind her beck to rub it then scratch at her nape, she answered him the best way she could. "Well..it's certainly no where near as active as your job..actually it's quite the opposite." She said with a bit of humor before continuing, "I sit at a desk all day sort various codes, information, and..pretty much everything else. On the occasion I have to.." She paused, she wasn't supposed to say a word about hacking..that was something she could get in a lot of trouble  for even saying, so she opted for clearing her throat to seamlessly cover the pause, making it seem as though she had never paused but rather just had something in the back of her throat. "Deal with regular council visits..but that just because we deal with a lot of data..and often they like to check up on us." She said nonchalantly, but also quietly. Again..talking about her job was not something Jayden took pride in. She was smart..very smart..and having a job like her's was a rarity to come by in each generation. In all honesty..it was as she was the youngest person at her job..and part of the minority that was females there. "It's..pretty dull, but a living." She said with a small chuckle. "How about you? I'm sure you have some pretty interesting stories..care to share one?" She asked, genuinely interested in knowing what his job entailed..what danger came with it..if she was a different woman, Jayden might actually envy all the action he got to see, but she wasn't. Jayden was simple..and that's all she ever needed to be.
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@TheCountryWarrior
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[Cosmo]

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Being crowded on a train full of strangers was almost exactly lie he thought it would be, all the smells, heat and near panic inducing feeling that Rowan was coming to know and hate. The look on many faces, from mild apprehension to a plain, almost dull look, didn't make it better. He wanted to scream, to yell, to shake a few of them for good measure just to see if little green pills would sprinkle out of them, but well, that would be stupid, and he... well, he didn't consider himself an intelligent guy, but he wasn't stupid. Nothing like flipping out on a train to announce to everyone that he hadn't taken his daily dose of green, so, instead, Rowan lowered himself into a seat, leaned his head back, and closed his eyes.
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A simple plan really, if he closed his eyes, they weren't there! A rather childish way to view it, but... well, if it helped... He couldn't see them anymore, but he could certainly hear... although it was hard to pick up anything since everyone was murmuring to their neighbors, and while quiet on its own, together it made a dull roar that was hard to pick up anything by. He though he heard something about data, but whatever it was it was quickly gobbled up by the noise around it. Well... All he had to do now was wait and then donate his... 'share' to the glorious future...... 
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[TheCountryWarrior]

 Zach noticed his question kinda threw her for a loop there. Was it bad to be a Data Sorter? "You'll have to forgive me...I never learned much about any other job growing up. It was police this and police that. So it's nice to learn about anything else, honestly. Data Sorter definitely sounds important, if a bit dull. As for my job? There's some excitement every now and then." He listed off a couple examples. "Someone didn't take the green pill and is in a fit of rage and a danger to themselves and others. Sometimes people do things against the government and we have to go bust 'em. But most of the time it's just walking around and looking tough." He said with a laugh. "And believe me, there is more than enough desk work to go around." He said with a smile. 
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@xEmoBunnehx
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[KhalZhavvorsa]

Sunday, June 20th, 2054


9:30AM

The guy Jayden had talk to along the train ride seemed like a decent guy. Zach. Hopefully she might have a friend after the ceremony was over. Speaking of, the train ride was coming to an end. You could feel the inertia once the train had stopped, and the doors hissed to life, opening so that everyone could leave. Jayden stood from where she was, giving Zach a small smile before speaking "We should probably get off before it gets crowed." She said in small tone before walking forward and getting in the line to get off the train.  It took a little bit, but eventually she got off, where she saw that there was two lines being formed. One male and one female. With a small sigh she made her way over to the female line, taking a look around the station of the capital. Everything here was a beige and gold-ish color. It looked..fancy and clean..as everything had so far. In the station you couldn't really see outside, other than the streets and people walking along side walks with the occasional car. 
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Jayden, on the other had was taking everything in. Her fiery eyes glanced around in wonder. She had been to the capital before, but couldn't remember anything about it or how it looked..so to her this was like seeing it for the first time. She wanted to commit it to memory. As she stood in line though, she was reminded that she was only mere hours from meeting her Match. The one she was picked to be with for the rest of her life. That made her heart race. Would he love her? Would she love him? What would he be like? How did she..oh god.. how was she supposed to introduce herself? This...this was terribly awkward. Jayden had no idea how to communicate..and odds are..she would be expected to talk and communicate with her significant other. God.. how? Maybe he was good at it and she could follow his lead. Yeah. She'd hope for that.
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After everyone was un-boarded, the train took off, leaving them here. Jayden was near the front of the females line, so she could see a formally dressed man walking their way. His hair was gray and slicked back, his eyes dark and his face very angular. He was tall and looked decently built in his tuxedo. The man made he way forward util he was standing between the lines. For a moment everything was silent, and they he spoke. "Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Sumaria, our nation's capital." He smiled before continuing, "As you may notice, you've been separated into gender, females left and men right. Well no need to worry, you will both come together after preparations are finished." He said, his voice booming around the silent train station. "Ladies, you will be guided else where to prepare, meet your guide Mrs. Mary Graves." He stepped aside and gestured for a short haired lady to come forward. She word a business suit of the sorts, a tight pencil skirt, white blouse, heels, tights, and a black blazer to match her skirt. The woman walked to the front of the line, giving a small wave before speaking. "Ladies, please call me Mary." She introduced herself before the man spoke once more, "Gentlemen, I shall be your guide. You may call me Lucian. I will take you to be fitted." He gave a small nod to Mary before turning to the men and walking to the front of their line. "If their are no questions, we shall depart." He said. 
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Now..for Jayden..she had billions of questions, but she didn't ask any in fear of other's finding her questions..stupid? Perhaps that was the right word. Instead she stood in line, her eyes forward as she waited to be lead to wherever it was they took them to prepare.
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[DrBezendrine]

Ryan Hendrix
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   She stepped off the train and instantly felt herself captivated by the place. The golden aura it gave off, the sort of regal feel, and overall, the thought that must have went into the construction just simply amazed her and made her smile. The place was spotless. Ry locked this in her vault as she was captured by only the image of the place. Is this how all the buildings in the capital look like? She could only wonder as she made her way forward, into the female line. It already looked organized and neat, just how she began to imagine. The grand scale of this place was sure to be reveled in the actual hall where the Matches where decided.


   Speaking of which, now her mind shifted to the beauty of how well this place was prepared, to what's going to happen after the Match. The fear she once felt seemed to have became hope, in a sense. So many questions she has already asked herself were just cycling through her head now, she just couldn't answer a single one. She was hoping for this Ceremony more then ever now. Sure, the government will decide the partner that she and everyone else would have to share lives with, but there's beauty in that. A ton of it. They couldn't just pull names out of a hat and proclaim that to be all there is. There has to be a job of some sorts. Hand picked partners based on their own jobs or how they each function in the Society, right? She wasn't scared of it. She was ready to embrace it. Her heart was racing as she decided to make herself find out what would happen, but still wanting someone that somehow, shares the same interest as her in the world's beauty and creativity. (( Sappy is best RP ))


   Through her thoughts, she barely heard the voices speak. She caught the guides name. Mary. But other then that, she was just ready to go. Eager is the word for it. She trained her thoughts into one coherent line and waited for the line to begin moving, excited for what comes next.

 

[TheCountryWarrior]

Zach smiled back and stepped off the train. He was glad he had managed to make one friend, at least. At least he saw her as a friend. He wasn't sure how she felt about him. He forgot to think as he looked at the beautiful scene before him. The sight was absolutely breathtaking, with the entire station looking like it was made of gold, silver and other precious metals.
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He saw males and females had been separated into two separate lines, males on the right, females on the left. Zach made an educated guess and joined the right line. He had many questions, but kept them to himself as he thought they would probably be answered anyway. 
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[0stinato]

Deciding he wanted to be free of the carriage quickly, perhaps find a little corner to cower in for a second to calm himself, Rüdiger tried to get off the train quickly. However, he was unable to do anything as he was ushered by a barrage of other people towards the two lines. Dammit. More people. He made an effort to keep his curses to himself and instead began compulsively rubbing his hands together as he slipped into the line. Since Rüdiger was rather tall, certainly not the tallest, but quite tall, he could see over the heads of quite a few guys in front of him. All young, around his age, some looking sleek and done up, some looking nervous and scruffy. Guys he recognised from the train had lined up before and after him, and the girl who'd looked at him before was in the females' line. Rüdiger didn't keep his eye on any of them.


He just didn't care. The sooner this was over with, the better.


As the line began moving, he put his hands in his jacket pockets, trying to stop his tics. He frowned, then spat out yet another curse as he felt the numerous green pills resting there. There was hardly anything he could do about it. To try and dispose of them would be foolish. If he was seen he might have another run-in with the police. That would be a huge waste of his time and his sanity. No, it was better to keep them loose in his pocket. With his rushed look, anyone would believe he'd simply grabbed a handful to satisfy his emotions.


Though he'd be trying not to show any emotions. Not anymore. Not today.


Rüdiger rubbed his hands together again.

 

[CoolGuy]

Everyone else seemed to be rushing to get out of the train, but Simon really didn't want to.  He didn't want to get a second closer to the matching ceremony.  After a few moments, Simon stood up, and looked at everyone else exiting.  A cacophony of people, with little homogeny or order.  It simultaneously excited and angered Simon, the idea of so many unique individuals.  He was supposed to be a rarity, dammit.  He had to wait several moments to find an opportunity to slip into the deluge of matching hopefuls.  Without paying attention, he realized he was in a line of only males.  He also noticed that he'd stepped outside the train, which, given his pride on his ability to notice things, slightly worried him.  Had he really ignored reality so much?  Meeting someone else had really taken him off of his game, it seemed.


In spite of himself, Simon couldn't help but admire the capital.  It had an aura of power and efficiency, as if everything done here would turn out to be a success.  Though Simon was unfamiliar with ancient architectures, he couldn't help but feel that this would be a marvel in any.  The sun was low enough in the sky that the buildings had the gorgeous glow of the sun's direct attention.  Really, it made quite an impression, that Simon was sorry that he couldn't properly appreciate.


Simon looked behind him.  The train was already gone.  He'd never get used to that strange silent method of traveling.  He looked around at everyone else.  They all seemed deathly focused on some man and woman at the front, which made Simon worried he'd completely missed something important.


"If there are no questions, we shall depart," the man at front said.  Simon entertained the notion of asking him to repeat himself, but decided that wouldn't be a good idea.  God, he hoped they wouldn't split up.  He'd have no idea who to go with.  He could ask someone, but that would give them huge leverage over him.  Just stick with the men, right?  He'd say how to split up again when the time came, hopefully.  Until then, Simon was just going to hope he hadn't said anything important.

 

[Cosmo]

 
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Rowan gripped his knees as the train slid to a stop, fighting the sudden nausea that rose in the pit of his stomach at the thought he was there.. Rowan waited a few minutes, letting the other sheeple shamble out of the doors before leaving himself, not having any interest in pushing his way through a... herd of dazed sheeple full on their daily dose of good, ol' granny made green. When he passed through the door on the train, his feelings did not get better. The outside world was unseeable from the inside, as if they were entering some dark little corner hidden away from the rest of the world, Rowan was sure they did it to give a sense of seclusion and privacy, but he couldn't help but if anyone could see in...
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It was hard to think that in just a few short hours, after they had combed and beaten him into their ideal image of a strapping young man, he would be tied to a random stranger 'chosen' specially for him for the rest of his life... Rowan could barely contain his excitement for... that fun moment. Rowan straightened at the sight of the older man, 'Oh, look, the shephard' the thought escaping as the old man separated his sheeple into two different lines, he hadn't seen this since his days back in education. He was tempted, sorely tempted, to join the women's line just to see how long it would take anyone to say anything, but like the other sheeple, he fell into line with the other guys. Rowan had to fight the urge to raise his hand and ask if he could just go home... instead settling for a disgruntled huff.
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[Retro-Grey]

Vincent Mateo Grey
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Sunday, June 20th, 2054


10:00AM


The Capitol was nothing spectacular; it wasn't new to Vince, he knew of the ivory and gold towers that the citizens of the capital sat upon. It didn't interest him the way it might've interested others. So he stood there, very appreciative to the fact that he was second in line. This meant that he would be done quicker than the lads behind him. The man named Lucian reminded him of his mother's father, eccentric in appearance. 'Who even slicks their hair back anymore?' Vince thought to himself as the line of young men followed Lucian to their destination. Vince's ears perked up at the sound of the many falling footsteps, he wished they would all fall in place properly, he wished for their rhythm. This wish wasn't meant as Vince grew annoyed at the slip ups of various nervous individuals. 'What's there to be scared about anyway? The Match?' Vince scoffed and continued after the man in front of him. 

 
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"Gentlemen! Congratulations! Welcome to the fitting!" Lucian spoke loudly so everybody could hear, various questions were being thrown his way. Lucian only replied with vague answers Vince didn't bother to note. It wasn't because Vince didn't care, he was just enthralled by the sheer magnitude that was his generation. He knew there were a lot of people his age, but all the different voices had seemed to make it click. 
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Within moments, Vince was pulled away for his fitting. He sat in the small black revolving stool, careful not to cause an upset with his input/questions. The first to appear were the hair stylists who took it upon themselves to make him look like a new age Narcissus. His own blue eyes reflected in the mirror was where Vince's attention was, in honest surprise of his appearance. He shook it off as the tailors arrived and grabbed his arms without warning, this too was a surprise. An unpleasant one. 'Why would they make us look good if they pick our partners for us?', the thought crossed his mind as his waist was being measured. In the next few hours Vince would be standing in a black tuxedo coat, with matching fitted slacks. His shoes were shiny enough to perfectly cast his reflection, and the grey bow tie and vest seemed to make his eyes pop. He hoped he would be matched with someone who would fit into him, like he was a puzzle and she was the missing piece. Vince stared over at the entrance of the fitting room, that would serve as the exit when The Match would start. "Sir, you look splendid!", said one of his stylists. Vince turned, smiled brightly and with a kindred tone to his voice he replied, "Only thanks to you."
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[KhalZhavvorsa]

Sunday, June 20th, 2054


9:55AM

Since the room remained quiet, Lucian and Mary lead both of their lines through the grand city. Outside of the station, the world came to life with people everywhere, many wearing fancy garments. The sky was a bright cerulean with high fluffy clouds that littered the vastness. The streets, like any other city, were concrete, the road the same dark asphalt., but nothing was cracked, broken, ugly. Everything appeared perfect. Ever now and then one might see a dandelion growing between the sidewalk, but they were so neglected that the simple beauty of them went unnoticed. Jayden was in awe of the city. She'd been here as a child, but she never remembered it having this much..finesse. It was stunning, and perfect in every way. Jayden could spot nothing spot of place, except the fact of the small buds of 'weeds' that had yet to be taken care of. 
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Without a single thought to it, Jayden plucked one from the ground and fixated it behind her ear, surely she could convince the stylists to include it..somehow? Jayden wanted to keep the little flower. A reminder of her time here. Sure she'd have her dress and memories..but that was something every woman had from this time. Jadyen wanted more, and so she'd have it. A simple little dandelion in her hair. Sure it would die and wilt..but she could keep it no matter what. Nothing to be considered rebellious..but even still it felt like she was being just a tad bit.
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The girl's seemed to walk farther away than the boys, as they were lead from street to street. Many people seemed to smile their way, some waved, some payed no mind to them, but either way..they knew what was to happen. The boys on the the other hand, weren't taken entirely too far but deep enough into the city. It wouldn't take the men long to prepare, so they would likely be taken else were until all of the ladies were ready. Mary lead the girls into a huge shop, dresses of varying colors lining the glass windows. Many small gasps could be head from some of the girls as they were taken inside.
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Jayden was at the front of the line, so the minute she walked in..she was in shock. The place was huge with marble floors, dresses or all shapes and styles in every direction, a runway in the middle of the store with a giant purple curtain to block off the back section, and every people at the front of the runway in black outfits. Jayden's first thought was that they were the stylists, and there seemed to be enough for each girl to have one. Mary was on the stage as well, explaining the exact thought that Jayden had. Each stylist was assigned to a girl, but there were only there to do hair and make up, the girls were aloud to find any dressed they pleased within the store. 
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Once the girls were set free, Jayden was unsure where to eve start..it seemed like there was so much here that..she may never find the perfect one. A small bit of anxiety pulled at her for that thought as she nervously made her way over to a rack of ballgown like dresses and began to look through them. The odd par being that none of the dresses had price tags. Not a single one. Why? Was someone else paying for all this? She was unsure was her eyes scanned each dress, looking and looking for the perfect one, even though she didn't think she'd pick a ballgown, not that that really matter though..she had plenty of time to pick and several rack to go through.
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[0stinato]

Still unsure if he was going to get matched, Rüdiger decided to let whatever stylist he was matched with to do their thing. He'd look at all the nearly-identical suits across the racks on the walls later. It wasn't important at all. Their only differences were in the colour grey they were, or in how the lining was stitched, or if the pockets were real or not. Some looked better than others, some looked casual. The casual ones were similar to the jacket he was currently in, though he knew he'd be made to change if he didn't comply.


He glanced at the stylist as he fussed over Rüdiger's hair. There wasn't much the guy could do - it had a specific style and it would stay that way. No neo-romantic flicks, no bouncifying it, no grease, no product, no nothing. Eventually, the stylist decided to just invade Rüdiger's incredibly personal space, and slid his fingers beneath Rüdiger's hair and up his scalp. That made Rüdiger outwardly cringe and curl his fingers. The next time he caught the stylist's eyes, he made sure to give his most steely glare. The stylist, apparently 'fluffing' his hair, finished up pretty quick. His hands then went towards the makeup beside the mirror - too much makeup for any man about to marry a woman. Rüdiger would wear the occasional practiced flick of eyeliner, perhaps even eyeshadow if he felt he wanted to, but... he drew the line at seventeen slices of eyeshadow that all looked identical. Seriously, all seemingly the same shade of metallic bronze. And metallic bronze wouldn't suit him.


While he was busy working himself up silently over the makeup, the stylist had already selected an eyeshadow for him. But, as he brought the brush close to Rüdiger's eye, Rüdiger swatted his hand away. He stood, pointing at his eyes without a word. The stylist, clearly the definition of beta male, backed off, refusing to meet his eye anymore. Rüdiger left him slowly, heading towards the racks of suits and tuxedos. Some other eligible bachelor would have to deal with the stylist now. And maybe they'd be politer. Maybe they'd speak.


Rüdiger didn't want to speak anymore. His voice had got him into trouble at every turn today. And besides, all the girls went stupidly insane for the dark, silent bad-boy type. Little did they know though. Rüdiger wasn't a bad-boy. He was psychopathic.


Though he was apparently a bit wrong about the suits. Now he was up close, he could see some had shiny Victorian-style wreath patterns weaved into the matte fabric. He flipped through a few he thought would fit him, sliding his own jacket off. Would he ever get this back? Probably. It was a piece of shit anyway, stained with ink, dishwater, shaving foam. Worth no one's time. The suit he'd picked out was nothing tremendously special. Dark black, lapels, cuffs on the jacket. Dark grey shirt, black, front-creased trousers. He could make this work, surely.

 

[CoolGuy]

Simon observed the suits offered to them.  Each one was quite similar to the last, and Simon had no idea just how, exactly, he was expected to choose.  He had no fashion training.  They all might as well have been gray T-shirts, for what he knew.  He was supposed to receive a stylist, right?  Someone who was chosen to assist with the Matching ceremony as their life's profession.  God, how pitiful.  Someone, presumably a stylist, walked towards him.  Simon offered a gentle, fake smile.  The stylist seemed quite relieved at his kindness.  Truthfully, deep down, he wanted to scream at him.  He obviously had no willpower, and he appeared to have no desire to search for a better life.  He had no idea he was supposed to be miserable.


"I'm going to help you look your best for your beautiful Match and yourself!" the man said.  With an uttered thanks by Simon, the man picked out several suits, seemingly at random, and held them up to his chest and put them away almost immediately.  One was a gray pinstripe suit, one was a completely black, boring suit, and none of them appealed to either the stylist or Simon.  One, however, the stylist seemed to adore.  It was a dark gray suit and pants with a completely black trim and buttons.  The undershirt was white with a light gray tie.  Something about it charmed Simon.


"Well that's decided!" the stylist said quietly.  The stylist sat him on a chair, to "just touch you up".  Simon laid back, and closed his eyes until he was done.  The sensation felt very uncomfortable.  If there was ever a time this man could kill him, it'd be now.


An unknown time period later, the stylist said "done!" and Simon opened his eyes.  He looked like a damn clown.


"Uh, I'm not so sure about the makeup."  Truth is, he was completely sure about the makeup.  It looked terrible.  The stylist looked incredibly disappointed, and handed him a wet towel.  Simon washed the makeup off his face, and looked at the new, makeupless face.  He patted the stylist on the back and said "much better."  He hoped this was it, and, from the unsure expression of his stylist, it was.  "Thank you for the help," he said, and the man's expression was quite happy.  Now, to wait for everyone else to finish.

 

[Cosmo]

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Well, Rowan supposed, letting his eyes trail along the lines of suits, mirrors and various boxes containing stuff that... well, he was sure he wasn't going to let them put make-up on him. Sure, he was willing to dress up like an overstuffed turkey just so he can marry someone who has no choice in him anyways, and so really, he could wear anything and it would not effect the outcome of the day, but he drew the line at being painted up. He was who he was, they could either like that or not, but he refused to be painted up as something he wasn't. Sure, it didn't make much sense given he was already letting them change the way his look, but well, he was a glorified trashman for a living, he could afford to take silly, pointless, stances that didn't make much 
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"Still looking," Rowan said waved off one of the stylist that made a beeline for him. Really, he liked to think he could dress himself... just not well. They would have to help for the final fitting, but the longer he could avoid the poking of pins, the better. He let his eyes roam the rows and rows of suits, he almost wished they had a bright, fluorescent orange jumpsuit, it would be rather fitting for the situation, it could also have a flap in the front that way he can quickly get to breeding in the name of the glorious state! But only twice. Three was a no-no and one was just being lazy and not doing one's civic duty. 
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He stepped around groups of men looking at various suits, some trying to grab others before their fellows do, others already picking theirs and sitting down to get... makeup on, because, hey, if they were going to be forced to get married, they were going to pretty themselves up so much their future wives will feel self-conscious, which was, almost... almost enough to get him to do it. But he had taken a stance and that was that even if all it did was make it feel a bit better. Rowan grimaced as he ran his hand over a few of the abandoned suits, he pondered on picking the oldest looking one... just to be that guy. 
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[LucidSol]

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Location: Preparing in the Great Hall of Immaculate Beauty


Objective: Uhh... Put dress on, get pretty, pretend to get matched and set for life but not really, then.....


Mood: Ruffled and Weirded Out -> Woah that's me. 





Sunday, June 20th, 2054


6:23 AM


        It was quiet in the household from Juliette's position wrapped up in her sheets and blankets beside her brother, who was still deep asleep and partially dangling off the edge of the mattress onto the cold hardwood floor. His breathing and soft snores brought a smile to the sandy blonde's face as she shared some more of her blanket with him. Though a slight click of metal made her whip her face towards the door, her heart thudding. A millisecond later the door widened, and something beeping landed beside Juliette's head, and her brother. Crying out in alarm, she hoists and lobs the impending explosive against the wall, causing it to shatter to pieces in an array of plastic. 


        "Davie, DAVIE! The rebels are back, run! Hide! I'll hold them off--- " she cries ripping away his covers and launching them at the rough-clad figures bursting through the doors. The ground and her vision begins to shake as her brother clings to her screaming. She clenches her eyes shut, awaiting for the bullets, and realizes her sibling's screams were not for help... but were her name instead... 


     A moment later, all sounds of chaos and of war were gonna, leaving behind her intrusive and heavy breathing. At her side, her brother gives her a wild-eyed look, "Jules, it's okay, you're safe, I promise." 


"David..." she responds, hugging him and burrowing her face in his mop of brunette hair," I'm sorry, though I'm getting better about... the episodes." 


           "Yeah," he pulls away, grinning wearily, "But wait till Dad hears you broke another alarm clock." Juliette groans in response and rubs her forehead as she notices that the explosive in her nightmare had been another piece of unfortunate technology. Serves it right for having a triggering sound for an alarm.


         "Do... you want a Green... ?" the wise little brother asks carefully, still concerned for his sister's well being. Giving him a small, but thankful smile, she shakes her head and plops back down into the pair's scattering of pillows and covers, "You know how Dad feels about those things." 


       "Yeah... But wait Jules," the adolescent pauses wickedly, "Aren't you forgetting something?' The teen frowns and names off a list of possibilities, to which all were denied with a slow shake of her kin's noggin. 


          "It's something about your...." David makes a bunch of kiss-y faces and gestures with his hands. His older sibling and packmate does a double take and jerks back in surprise, which kinda forces her to fall out of bed while emitting a series of panicked shrieks as she hurries to get ready - her luggage already to go for later in the afternoon after the ceremony. 





Sunday, June 20th, 2054


9:45 AM








        After a rough start early in the morning, it had only descended into the first layers of Hell later on. Her train, a local one, was delayed for the ceremony and had cost her to be well, incredibly late. She had not only knew not where to go, but was immediately at a loss in the capital, and after being verbally reamed by some of the staff that had went out searching for her, she was ushered into a long hallway with a couple of beauticians to help her. At a loss, she browses through the dresses, still slightly miffed about the whole situation. She wasn't old enough to be doing this, the Society had made some sort of mistake. Everyone knew she was seventeen. So did the Society - since they had her birth  certificate. Even after her father had went and vented on them awhile, they still are making her do the ceremony, supposedly she wasn't actually going to be matched, but to do it out of courtesy for the host that had paid beforehand to have her beautified. 


        Sighing, she traces a hand over an elegant blue dress of some sort - she was really out of her area of expertise if she were honest - , fingering the material thoughtfully. It'd do she supposed. To notify her preppers, she takes the garment off the rack and waves to them gently. The beauticians nod in encouragement and clasp their hands together in a... grossly peppy way. They lead her over to a chair and immediately start preening her messy bed-head (she'd not brushed it as she'd forgotten) with a merciless brush - thank god she had a high pain tolerance. As she is primed and primped and preened all over, tugged this way and that, dabbled with makeup, and fingers filed to be made presentable, she sits in uncomfortable and nervous silence and takes to looking over herself mentally. Amidst all this chaos and smells of rich life, Juliette realizes something in this astute moment of self-observation. She smelled like fresh tilled dirt. A reminiscent thing of the night before helping her brother lay the mole traps. 


        As soon as the thought crosses her mind, a tss tss sound spreads fine mist about her, which causes her to tilt her head in appreciation. She didn't smell like rainbows and gay sparkly unicorns, but it definitely had a happy hue to it. Like a daffodil she concluded, a bright happy spring flower. Personally she'd chosen something a tad more sultry to suit her dress's dark hue, but she was content. The stylist and beautician soon finish with the upstairs part of her body, and then set about girthing her in her chosen garb of blue. 


         It took some pulling and pinning as it was slightly to loose about the breast, but as she finished pulling herself together, her male assistant of her pair slid over a mirror as tall as she. And for a moment, she did not recognize herself, or rather she did, but not in so fine a state or manner. They had truly outdone themselves. Thanking them profusely, they wave her off and watch with smug grins as she continues to admire herself in the reflective surface. Her golden-hued hair tousled purposely about her face and shoulders. The right shade of red lipstick, a dash of a smoldering cobalt across her eyelids coupled with just the right annunciation of her cheekbones... And with the dress she felt like, well... like a goddess of such a thing existed. More likely a princess from one of her stories. 


She was ready. Ready for what though, was beyond her as the fluttering in her chest rises a level. 

 

[0stinato]

"Wowwww, I can't believe the only interesting colour they have is, like, this ugly blue. I mean you'll be alright but me?"


Haiku, who was still getting her hair done, could only look at her sister in the reflection of the mirror, where the girl was shifting on through rack upon rack of dresses, picking a few up only to moan about them. Haiku wasn't sure what Cara thought she would achieve by doing this. Was it just a way of getting stress out of her system, or did she think if she complained enough someone would drop from the heavens and present her with a dress of "interesting colour". It was hard to tell with Cara.


But she looked beautiful. Absolutely. Usually when Cara put makeup on you could tell. She'd use a lot to cover any blemishes in the skin, any chapped part of her lip. But the artist had made her face up like she was going to have a painting done of her. Everything was so smooth and perfectly identical in colour that she looked almost porcelain. Looking at her own face, Haiku was pretty much the same. The eyeliner had somehow made her eyes look bigger, and pink eyeshadow gave her an air of playfulness and childlike vigour. But still as porcelain and identical as her twin. 


Even when Haiku's hair was done, Cara still hadn't pocked out a dress. Chewing the cud so her sister could choose at the sake time probably. Feeling a little apprehensive about her looks - she had this gorgeous face atop a body wearing a chunky blue turtleneck - she made her way across to Cara.


Cara turned as her sister neared, "Oh. My. God, Haiku. You look amazing. You could be a flag. I'd be patriotic to you."


Haiku gave a weak smile at Cara's odd compliment, "You wear makeup better..."


"Nah. We're the same. Now, I don't like any of these dresses so you choose one for me."


Ah, that's how she wanted to do it. With a nod, Haiku leaned over to inspect the rack of dresses they were standing at. A lot where white. A staple of traditional weddings but... somehow ironic for a Matching Ceremony. Maybe not white, then. Maybe a cream dress. Cara always looked good in cream - something about her hair made it work. She continued the search, only stopping when she found a dress that was indeed cream. Upon pulling it out, she discovered it had only one shoulder strap - the left one. And, adorning that strap was a little wreath of ribbon. She smiled and held it up for Cara's approval.


She didn't get much, though, "It's a bit... slutty. Isn't it? With the shoulder thing. I'd practically be showing a boob."


"Dad always said you looked nice in cream, though. Like that pair of pyjamas you had once. You know. The ones with the birds on."


"Yeah it's just..."


"Try it on," urged Haiku. "What other options do you have, realistically?"


Cara knew Haiku was right. And she had asked... she took the dress and walked towards the little curtained room in the corner to see how it fitted.


In the meantime, Haiku decided to go for a smooth, body-fitting pink dress, as close to the colour of her eyeshadow as she could get. It was always a good match to do that. Could hardly go wrong. She slid It off the rack and walked into her own curtained cubby hole to change.

 

[KhalZhavvorsa]

Sunday, June 20th, 2054


10:00AM

It had been five minutes later and almost every single girl in the store had chosen a dress..except Jayden. She was lost in the world of colors, styles, fits, frills, lace, and god knew what. She had no idea what to pick, not her her body type, not for her 'style', whatever it was. Hopeless Jayden had moved from rack to rack, dress to dress, hopelessly looking. The longer she took the more she began to work if she could truly find..the dress. The one that would make her stand out. Perhaps even make her partner fall in love at first sight? No. That wasn't really possible, but finding a dress she liked was hard. 
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Jayden found that out of all the dresses in the store, she was drawn towards lace. She liked the way it looked. So elegant, simple..and yet..complex. Like her. Her eyes fluttered over white lace gowns, blue, green, and so many other shades. The issue with lace was..well..most of them looked more..sultry. Jayden had a nice figure, or so she supposed she did, but she didn't really want to show it off..as she wasn't..really..that type of girl. So she moved on, still hopelessly looking. Until her eyes wandered upon a very interesting dress. It was different from the others, very different. For one, it was long..really long and looked as though it had a train. The top was full lace with a light cream colored bodice, it had illusion sleeves with intricate lace patterns all the way down and onto the hand it seemed, with a little hole for the middle finger to slip through. The rest of the dress was a solid black satin that was poofy, almost like a ballgown..but not quite that fluffy. It was..beautiful. 
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Jayden plucked the gown from the rack, deciding this was the one she would wear, even though the top of it appeared like it might show off her breasts a little more than what she was used to. Jayden made her way over to a stylist and held up the dress. The stylist only grinned, "Somehow I knew that dress would be leaving today." He said before taking the dress from Jayden and leading her over to a vanity and sitting her down. The man hung her dress up to the side before she walked around her to where he stood behind her, looking at her the mirror before taking her hair down, causing the little flower in her hair to fall out and down in her lap. Jayden picked it up and looked at the stylist how was already at work on brushing out her long crimson hair, mumbling about how perfect the color was. "Er..uh..Is it possible to include this?" She asked, extending the flower to him. The stylist looked at it confused, "It won't match." He claimed before Jayden spoke once more, "I know..but I'd really like to include it..if you can." She said sheepishly before he sighed and gently took the flower from her. "I'll see what I can do~" He mused before getting back to playing with her hair.  
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***
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10:30AM

Thirty minutes later and Jayden was all dolled up, dress on, heels on, and looking absolutely fantastic. For a long time all she did was stare at herself in the vanity mirror, looking at the girl there. She was..beautiful. Almost..goddess like. Her long ruby hair cascaded down her right shoulder in ringlet like curls that all fit together to make what almost looked like a braid, but wasn't quite that. The dandelion gently tucked into the left side of her hair as her fiery eyes stood out the most. There really wasn't much make up on them..honestly it just made them stand out and look a little bigger. Her eye shadow was black and red with little bits of glitter that mad it look like embers from coal, and her lips were a deep scarlet. She..looked so different. So..unlike the girl she saw in the mirror so many times before. Now she looked..like a woman, or perhaps a goddess of the sorts. 
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Jayden's attention was stole from the mirror as Mary told the girls to line up, that they would be heading for the Grand Hall since everyone was done. Jayden's heart skipped a beat as she looked at herself in the mirror for one last time before walking over to the rest of the group, her heels clicking on the marble floors as she walked. It was almost time. She was going to meet him. Her partner for life..how..very terrifying and exciting. 
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All the girls lined up, this time Jayden stayed in the back as they waved the stylists goodbye then left, heading for the Grand Hall. Jayden was mess of anxiety, her hands were twisting  as her painted black nails lightly dug into her skin. She wasn't sure how far away the Grand Hall was, but when they had left the dress place, they were ushed onto a huge bus. The inside had seats upon seats for everyone with drinks that were golden in color and bubbled. Champagne? Perhaps. The legal drinking age was 18.
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Jayden was one of the last to sit down, so she was in the front of the bus, meaning she would be one of the first to get off.. Great. She needed to calm down. But how? Did she take a green pill? No..she couldn't. She wouldn't remember this..and she wanted to. Maybe a drink? She was unsure. 
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(Below is Jayden's dress and hair style.)
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Spoiler

 

[TheCountryWarrior]

Zach was ushered in and he looked at what might as well have been a warehouse of suits. He was at a loss for words as a rather eager looking stylist half-walked half-ran towards him (he was probably busy with all these other men), and offered him a chair. Zach was polite and sat down. The stylist offered various makeups and Zach politely refused, and this stylist, who's name happened to be Ernesto, moved on to style his hair. It was simple, cut and made to look proper. Not extravagant, just proper. 


When they were done Zach looked for a suit with Ernesto tailing behind, informing Zach when he chose a wrong one. They eventually settled on a darker blue one, colored like his cop outfit back home, and a dark blue tie. It was here that Zach fully realized: he liked the color blue. Black pants to go with it, he decided that this would be his outfit. He thanked Ernesto and wandered around till it was time to go. 

 

[Retro-Grey]

Vince Mateo Grey
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Sunday, June 20th, 2054


10:16AM


Vince cleared his throat as he saw the rest of the young men line up at the entrance behind him. His eyes studied and studied, they stayed locked on the movements of the others. Some of them were anxious, some of them seemed nervous, some seemed... out of place. Vince tore away his attention and stared at his watch, it's face void of numbers, replaced by simple lines in their place. He placed two fingers to his neck as he counted the seconds that passed until he reached sixty. Vince counted 70 beats per minute, he began tapping his foot at the same speed. It was out of place if someone actually knew what it was that Vince was doing, but luckily no one seemed to. 


"Hey pretty boy", A masculine voice said from beside Vince, it was off towards the many benches were the other Match participants were sitting. Vince turned his head to acknowledge the young man who was speaking to him.


"Do you mean me?", Vince asked politely as he strolled over a bit, his hands in his pockets. The other male scoffed and a few others snickered.


"Heard you got Keeper", The man said to Vince, his mocking smirk apparent to everyone. Vince sighed and looked away a bit before looking down at the floor. Vince brought his head up and kept eye contact as he smiled to the young man that was trying to mock him. 


"Yeah, I am a Keeper. It's my job so please respect what I was assigned to, and I will respect if you were assigned to Sanitary", Vince kept his polite persona flawless as he spoke down to the man who attempted to ridicule him. While he wasn't deliberately trying to make fun, Vince was satisfied with what he had said. 


The young man looked down at his shoes before standing up and giving Vince a threatening glare, walking up to him. The man was taller than him by a few inches, but it didn't intimidate Vince in the slightest. The man lowered his head and whispered in Vince's ear, "You're not better than me". Vince grinned and backed up a bit, looking up at the man. Sticking out his hand kindly. The man took it and shook it firmly, Vince then let go of his hand before adding quietly only for the two of them to hear.


"Be careful who you threaten and where you threaten them", Vince said it under a whisper but he knew the man heard, he was just hoping the man would take his advice.

 

[Dakri]

__________Amelie Adams________


Sunday, June 20th, 2054


10:32 AM


     Amelie calmly sat down together with the others, she was feeling unconfortable with all that, she preferred to be working than to be there, with all those people and everything so luxurious, Amelie wanted to be in that poorly lit room with thousands of cameras with almost no one, only watching, now she, like every girl in the bus, would have their destiny sealed by the gouvernment, 'I'll end up being just like my parents' she tought, and that was possible, after all, she is going to be with someone she never met for the rest of her life, 'That matching system isn't 100% right, I've seen many couples who didn't get along, maybe they are decided according to our jobs, but I don't understand how can a doctor be related to a cook, so for now it's just a theory'.


     The more the time passed, more anxious she became, she closes her hands tightly, it becomes harder to breathe and she begans to sweat under her dark blue dress. She takes a Green pill with Champagne, hiding her anxiety. Now she was feeling like if nothing important was about to happen, her hands opened slowly and she could fill her lungs with air more than ever before, but now... She was "felt" empty, it was strange to have so many things in your head and they desapear all at once, 'Should it be normal?' she questioned herself, then she straightened her posture and adjuster her hair, then saw, with the tip of her eye, nearby girls, observing her, then she lows hyer head a little and began thinking again about any other topic that came to her mind, hoping for them to stop.

 

[0stinato]

When Cara emerged from the little cramped dressing room, the bulkier part of the dress actually touching the walls, she gave a triumphant, "Ta da!" only to realise she was talking to empty space. She looked around, marking the few girls who turned around and looked her way, before putting her fists on her hips and puffing her cheeks. Where did Haiku even go? How many places were there she could've gone. Ah well.


While she was waiting, Cara picked up the skirts of the dress and tiptoe-ran over to the makeup mirrors the stylists were at. She chose a place that didn't have anyone there, waved the stylist out of the way and examined herself critically in the mirror from all angles. Maybe Haiku had been right. It looked alright on her. It even had straps appropriate to hide the ones from her bra. That was good. It wouldn't do to show them at such a prestigious event, would it?


"Oh, my God, Cara, you look pretty good."


"Where the hell were you, I just looked like an idiot!" Cara said, turning to her sister. However, upon taking in what she looked like, Cara gasped a little. She was used to seeing her twin in body-hiding jumpers, gripping the sleeves around her knuckles. Often leaned over doing something or lounging on her bed. If Cara ever saw her, all she'd see would be the slight hint of the form of her sister's breasts, but other than that, no indication to Haiku's body shape was given. Cara had sort of forgotten her sister had one.


So now, when she looked upon the slim hourglass figure the soft-pink dress was adorned on, Cara was taken aback. She'd known her sister had beauty somewhere. Hell, she'd seen it been applied to her sister minutes earlier in the stylist's chair. No longer than five minutes and her plain sister, a girl who'd sooner be seen wearing glasses and becoming a librarian than straightening her hair, looked like a goddess. And now, standing before Cara looking a little embarrassed, Haiku was more stunning.


However, Haiku was too busy praising Cara on the dress which was perhaps a subtle way she was praising herself for picking out such a winning colour. Cara couldn't keep a half-smile off her face as she shrugged and said, "I guess," to Haiku's observations.


"You look great too. Better than me. All you'd need would be a tiara. And after that, all you'll need is your Prince."


She saw Haiku smile a bit as they got closer to each other. It was actually a rather sad time. No longer would the two be living together. No longer would they get to argue about who didn't put the cereal away last night. No longer would they get to blame each other for eating cereal at night. But neither of them wanted to think of it that way - they'd still see each other of course.



"Every weekend," Cara had promised Haiku the day before. "We'll meet in that coffee shop, if it's close enough to both of us, every single weekend. It'll be our time."


Haiku had promised back. But, of course, neither girl truly believed they'd be able to stay completely true to that promise.


-----


It was a relief to not feel a handful of irritants every time he put his hands into his pockets. No more little green pieces of shit to remind him he was a wreck. A wreck who still had bruising. But there was nothing to be done about that. Neither did Rüdiger care. He was halfway through an illustration, for God's sake. Couldn't he just get back to it? Within his pockets, his hands clenched, hard. Frustration brought out physical need. Something animalistic.


Let it be over. Or, at least, let it begin. He was standing at the side of the room, near the door he'd not seen behind. Surely that was the one the men would take to be matched. He was thinking, the sooner he was matched, the sooner it would be over. That was untrue of course - it was a ceremony not a drive-thru. No doubt he'd be about to endure ages of sitting only to have his few minutes getting matched to a complete stranger, a stranger he'd have to copulate with--


Nothing could stop the shudder that ripped through Rüdiger's body. Sex. Intercourse. Physical human contact. Nudity. Sweating. And the smell of it. He'd experienced nothing of the sort yet, but knew he never wanted to. However, that was what the society wanted. That was what everything, this whole ridiculous process was about.


You are born, you learn, you age, and at 18 you're matched, only to have a baby so the whole process could begin again. Rüdiger let his head fall back as he thought of the motives. Surely, and this was a little less humane, but surely it'd be a lot more in the interest of the human race to introduce polygamy? Animals did it that way and look where they'd got to. Polygamy was what evolution was essentially built on. The strongest win, the most suitable survive and the weak die. Of course, letting the humans classified as weak die would be too inhumane for people to not question, but the whole strongest wins thing could easily be implemented.


He wasn't sure how, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know how, if there was a way, but... at least he'd be enduring the chore of intercourse for something in that case. If he was the strongest and most suitable candidate, he'd be matched with the strongest and most suitable female candidate. Their offspring would kickstart evolution again.


But no. He had to have sex for the sake of having sex, not for the sake of anything else. And he had to have children for the sake of having children. That was it. That was all there was. And that was what he was going to have to endure.


And all that would start when the Matching Ceremony did.

 

[Cosmo]

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Really, he wasn't sure what the main difference between all these suits once, and for the first time, he regretted his independent streak. Really, what did he care which one he wore for, arguably, the second most important day forced upon his completely standard and state-approved life? Would have saved him a lot of time and confusion if he had just let one of them pick one out for him, but no, he had to be... him and want to exert what freewill he was allowed to display publicly. Perhaps they would develop a pill that taught him when to just keep his mouth shut and nod? 
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What in the world was the difference between them anyways? Sure, they looked different, but did they have a specific purpose? And if so, and some weren't meant for marriage, why would they have them on display anyways? It was almost as tricky a trap, and nearly as unavoidable, as the marriage he had to wear it too. Rowan let out an annoyed huff, blowing a lock of hair out of his way before finally grabbing one at random, which.. he instantly put back and grabbed the one next to it have changed his mind at the very last second. Holding it out, he let his eyes roam it once, it was... good enough. It had a different design from the others, a little tail, and he liked it.... and that was all that seemed to matter.
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Spoiler

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The second he picked it, they descended like vultures hovering around him, pulling and yanking on him in multiple directions as they fought him over to one of the chairs, Rowan had no idea what they were talking about as they tied a towel around his neck, grabbed some various instruments he didn't trust any of them to use and started to work, "Hey! No cutting!" He managed to grumble out as he blindly lashed out at an overzealous woman with a wicked looking pair, warding her off and away from his hair, the only real visible sign of defiance he had.
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The next fifteen minutes happened much the same, Rowan wincing and jerking his head as she roughly pulled the brush through his hair, catching various knots he didn't know existed and tried to fight off any attempts to put various make-up on him which.. was far more challenging then it should have been considering how flighty they looked. But, before long, they had his hair tied back into a long ponytail, a single lock purposely left out to frame his face, and just as quickly, he was shoved off the chair into the gathering group of overdressed men awaiting to be lined up with their overdressed walking womb compatriots to be paired off... It seemed he was the one of the last as the large group was being herded up. Well.. he suppose he had to start breeding sooner or later.
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As they walked out of the building they came to.. buses? Really? They cheaped out now? Well, he supposed it was better then an endless line of limousines. Rowan let out a huff as he scratched his neck, trying, in vain, to alleviate the scratchy feeling of the collar as he waited to be seated.
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