[hr][center][h3]Maya Choi[/h3] [img]https://i.imgur.com/YDYBuS0.png[/img][/center] [right][b]Interactions:[/b] Ken [@AtomicEmperor] [code]Outside Kari's House -> The Fuck Out Of Here[/code][/right][hr] Ken was strong. That only made things more fun for Maya. She didn’t let him move an inch towards Carol - attack met with attack, leaving her own ears ringing. A shower of rocks shot in her face, shattering as they hit the constant static around her. They burst into millions of tiny pieces, splattering across her harmlessly, and screeching loudly in her ears. She winced, forcefully dampening the sound. It distracted her long enough for Ken to summon a bunch of frogs… that immediately went after Carol. Whatever. It wasn’t like she could die. Maya grinned as Ken jumped towards her again, hands clapping together all the sound waves around them got increasingly loud and [i]painful[/i]. Her breathing grew painful as a heavy pressure pushed on her from all around, then the back. She narrowed her eyes, shield of physical sound bursting out around her and slamming into anything close enough to her. Including the hourglass coming towards her head. The sound blast completely shattered it, tinkling glass falling into her long hair and across the ground. “Has anyone ever told you how lame you sound?” Maya sneered, spinning around with another blast of sound. “You should-” She cut herself off as everything went to [i]shit[/i] near Nadine’s undead bullet sponge which… really wasn’t doing its job very well at all. Great plan, Emily. Totally worked. “Awwww,” Maya looked up at the sky, and the burning cross blazing across it. She jumped back, putting a bit of distance between herself and Ken, and pulled a gas mask from her hip. The ugly thing was shoved over her face as pink mist spread across the battlefield. Emily always had to go and ruin her fun, whether it was telling her not to steal a dead girl's underwear (which she did anyway) or stopping what was starting to look like a really fun fight. As much as she’d [i]love[/i] to continue, she knew Emily would just leave her behind… and fuck that! She wanted Dairy Queen… and to see Phoebe again. It felt like it had been [i]hours[/i] apart. “Too bad,” she sighed. Her accent, the inflections that made it obvious English wasn’t her first language, was clearer with her own hearing dampened. She got in close to Ken again. As he got caught by the pink mist’s hallucinations, she slipped a piece of paper (with her number on it) in one of the more obvious pockets of his vest. She patted it and smirked underneath her mask. “We can continue later, yeah?” Her hand lingered for a moment, before she turned and ran towards and through Brianna’s portal. [hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/XiUHyUc.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/K7gWNb1.png[/img] [/center] [right]Interactions: Amara (Clone) [@Blizz] Hallucinations: Sloane, Ezra Vanburen, Greyson, Jack, Drake [code]A Dominatrix Awakening[/code][/right][hr] Sending her summon after Sloane had been the right call. Before the summon itself came back, one of Amara’s clones appeared. Anya let out a sigh of relief, properly standing and brushing off dirt from her soaked trousers. She smiled at the phantom, even though she doubted it felt much at all. [color=9966CC]”Thank you,”[/color] she said, gesturing back towards the battlefield. With it with her, she could rest easy knowing it would at least sacrifice itself for her. [color=9966CC]”Take me to my… companion, then.”[/color] As she was about to let it escort her, Anya’s summon came bounding back towards her as if being chased by something. It jumped into her arms and dissipated in a puff of black smoke. Immediately behind it came a rapidly thickening pink mist. It covered the entire forest in no time. Anya immediately stopped breathing, hands clenching into her thighs. What kind of abstraction was this? Was there someone in 8th Street with this kind of magic… She didn’t know, and she didn’t have time to figure it out. She raised an hand to her mouth and nose, trying to cover them with the fabric of her jacket. It wasn’t enough to protect her when she couldn’t hold her breath any longer, and inhaling the smoke. The forest changed subtly before her eyes. Rain stopped, the sun shone, the trees were more spaced out. She knew, somehow, that she owned this place. This land. The whole town. She was the most important and powerful person in it. Her head tilted to the side, catching sight of Sloane standing nearby. When had she gotten so close? She was giving Anya that look again, like the drunken one at the festival - one filled with pure adoration and love. As if Anya was the best person to ever exist. And it didn't make Anya feel uncomfortable at all. Because she [i]was[/i]. Smiling at her closest friend, Anya’s gaze then trailed downwards. In front of her were various powerful (in different ways) men in her life. Ezra Vanburen, Greyson Devola, Jack Hawthorne, Drake Blackmore… the heads bowing down to her went on and on. Seeing them all at her feet was so empowering. This was how it should be. Everyone bowing at her feet. She raised on a heeled boot carefully, before bringing it down on the back of the nearest man kneeling at her feet. Ezra, it seemed. It didn’t matter. They were all the same to her. Just people to be stepped on for her own success. To be used until she no longer needed them. Even the richest and arguably most powerful man in the city… No, that was her title now. Because how could he be, beneath her feet like this? The feeling was thrilling, and addictive. She knew at the back of her mind that this wasn’t quite real - like the dreams she visited. But oh, was it sweet. To exert her power- power she deserved- over them all, with the one person she’d chosen by her side. Everything she’d ever desired was hers, and it made her feel more than she’d ever felt before. [hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/QIUSezo.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/ycOCuCr.png[/img][/center] [right][b]Interactions:[/b] Sloane [@Atrophy] [b]Hallucinations:[/b] Jasper, Carol, Olivia [code]Cringe Central[/code][/right][hr] Still pushing through zombies, Luca’s head swivelled around as he tried to figure out the best past out. As he did, in the corner of his eyes he saw Carol fall to the ground. The bullet hadn’t come from Edict, who appeared and started spraying afterwards. Nobody else had a gun. But someone could make one. Luca’s heart sank. Carol would be alive, but dying still [i]hurt[/i] her. It was a horrible fate, to eternally die and come back. She didn’t deserve it. But he didn’t have time to dwell on it. He had to clear a proper path for him and Sloane, getting rid of as many zombies as he could. It was easy as their hands grasped at him only to immediately rot off. They were almost- Luca tripped over a zombie foot that suddenly stuck out in front of him as it started [i]dancing[/i]. He caught the zombie, collapsing on top of it, its soft, rapidly decaying flesh stopping him from breaking anything. But it still fucking hurt. Luca groaned, rolling off it and gagging as the stench of death filled his senses. He could never get used to it. Before he could get up, pink mist rapidly spread across them all. Luca’s eyes widened. A probably dangerous mist- shit, shit, he couldn’t hold his breath for long, he was already starting to struggle, shit- The pink mist was sucked into his damaged lungs, quickly superimposing images in front of what was really happening. A hand appeared in front of him to help him up. He hesitated, breathing quickening, but felt the urge to take it even with the Rot. His fingers lightly touched the much bigger hand… and the skin remained unmarred by decay. Luca’s eyes widened, shooting up to look at Jasper’s smiling face. He beamed back, taking his hand, getting to his feet. He held up their joint hands between them, marvelling at it for a moment. He was touching something without destroying it. He was able to hold the hand of the man he liked… elation bubbled in his chest. Carol was in the background, teasingly calling him motherfucker - she looked older, free of the hourglass. Olivia was beside her, curly hair tied back into a ponytail and soft smile on her lips. Both alive and well, free of their apparitions. He was free of the Rot too. There was no more pain. For the first time in ten years, he was free of it. His limbs felt like his own. He could breathe easily. There wasn’t that constant burning of his insides rotting away. [i]He wasn’t dying.[/i] Luca jumped forward, wrapping his arms around Jasper in a proper hug. A hug without hurting him. A hug that he could have again and again and again. They could cuddle while they watched movies, in bed, they could- Luca blushed, not wanting to go down that route. Jasper hugged him back. It was so warm. So perfect. Luca smiled, a smile so wide his cheeks began to hurt. Tears of joy shone in his eyes. Softly, so quietly that only someone right next to him could hear, he whispered, [color=6B8E23]”I’m so glad. I’m not dying anymore… I didn’t want to. I’d accepted it, but I [i]really[/i] didn’t want to. Not after I met you again. For the first time since I found out, I actually wanted to [i]live[/i] again.”[/color] Jasper’s arms around him tightened. [color=98FB98]“I’m glad too. If anyone deserves to live it's you, Luca. I… everyone likes you so much.”[/color] [color=6B8E23]”Really?”[/color] Luca tilted his head up, chin resting against Jasper’s (strangely) clothed chest. There was something more to that. Something… he’d always hoped for. [color=98FB98]”Yes, really. Now that you have your whole life ahead of you- a life you can spend with someone- I have something to tell you.”[/color] [color=6B8E23]”What is it?”[/color] Luca asked, breath catching in his throat and heart rate increasing - but for once it wasn’t because of his illness. [color=98FB98]“I painted something to show my feelings,”[/color] Jasper smiled, one arm loosening from around Luca to hold up his canvas. It was an idyllic scene of a flowering meadow. Jasper and Luca stood next to each other in it, arms wrapped around each other. Jasper was looking at Luca with a look so soft, so warm, that was replicated by the ‘real’ Jasper holding him right now. Luca was smiling so brightly that it was represented by sunbeams shining out from him. An angelic light bathed them both from the heavens. Roses bloomed at their feet. Their thorny, red flower adorned vines curved up and around them like a wedding altar. Beautiful white doves rested on them, their beaks opened in a beautiful song Luca could practically hear coming from the painting. A soft, fluffy cloud in the brilliant blue sky arced over them in the shape of a heart. [color=98FB98]“Luca,”[/color] Jasper said, letting go of him, only to get down on one knee. He held up the canvas as if it was an engagement ring. With the other hand he pulled out his paintbrush, adding the final touches to the painting - a ring painted around Luca’s finger. With the signature glow of his magic, Jasper pulled it out of the canvas. Both were offered to Luca, whose eyes went wide. [color=98FB98]“Will you be my boyfriend?”[/color] Luca’s mind ground to a halt. Be Jasper’s boyfriend? He’d love to be Jasper’s boyfriend - even if the method was incredibly cringey, but… wait. Jasper was straight. He didn’t like Luca in that way - he only saw him as a friend. He’d never ask him out. And he’d definitely never draw something like [i]that[/i]. The hallucination crumbled before Luca could say yes as he realised it wasn’t real. Illusion Jasper crumbled, disappearing along with Carol and Olivia, bringing him back to reality. He was immediately faced with someone’s [i]forehead[/i]. His arms were wrapped around someone that was much shorter, and much less muscular, than Jasper. It felt like a knife in his gut, shoved in and twisting, as he tried to pull back and realised what had happened. He was hugging Sloane. Everywhere his bare arms, neck and face touched was rotting away - through her clothes to her skin. His breathing grew shallower as panic captured him, completely washing away the burgeoning joy he’d felt moments ago. He felt physically ill. It was like a weight was crushing him, horror filling him as the Rot's gleeful laughter echoed in his mind. He was hurting her. He was doing exactly what he didn’t want to do. The one thing he feared the most. Luca tried to pull back, but he couldn’t, because Sloane was hugging him [i]back[/i]. He pulled back as much as he could, raising his arms in the air to try and avoid touching her. Trying to avoid further hurting her. His own flesh was peeled back and rotting in various places, dark blood dripping sluggishly down his arms. All the pain had come back- sharp stabs in his chest, harsh scrapes in his lungs, and a constant dull ache in his limbs. It was all amplified by the wounds he’d gained as the rotting quickened during the illusion. When he’d had no control. When the Rot was able to exert his influence. But he didn’t care about his own pain. It was his normal. Dying was his normal. All he cared about right now was trying to get away from Sloane, before the damage was irreversible. [hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/FaCzAxe.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/1Hvat1r.png[/img][/center] [right][b]Interactions[/b]: Britney [@Punished GN] [b]Hallucinations[/b]: Jinhai, Huanyi & Who Knows~ [code]Linqian's Home[/code][/right] [hr][center][hider=A Thousand Shards of Heaven, Lunatic Soul][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExFb-PDL-qU&ab_channel=LunaticSoul-Topic[/youtube] [/hider][/center][hr] Not leaving Lila behind was fine. Linqian was fine to save her bird ass- unless pink mist washed over them. Linqian bit down her lip, holding her breath and jerking her head towards Britney. [color=CD5C5C]”What the fuck-”[/color] Talking was a mistake, pink mist getting into her mouth as soon as it opened and travelling down her throat. Instantly, everything around her changed. Britney and Aryin disappeared from her vision, and the burning house and forest was replaced. She was in a small living room - the living room of the apartment she’d lived in for years. Clothes were strewn across a worn, dark blue sofa. The clacking of a controller and muted video game sounds, punctuated by occasional static, came from the television behind her. She knew if she turned around she would see Huanyi playing whatever game he was most into now on the PS2 she’d bought him for his 16th. But it wasn’t her younger brother that took up her attention, for once. At the small table in the corner of the room sat Jinhai, lazily typing on the laptop she scrounged together money to buy. Soft light gently highlighted his defined cheekbones, dappling his long, curly hair. Feeling her gaze he paused what he was writing, turning to her with a raised eyebrow and questioning smile. Tears started rolling down her cheeks. [color=a22929][i]”... Ge?”[/i][/color] she choked out. [i][color=#5487FF]”Huh? What’s gotten into you?”[/color][/i] Jinhai snorted, smiling becoming more taunting. [i][color=#5487FF]”You never call me that, huh, [i]Meimei[/i]?”[/color][/i] [color=a22929][i]”Shut up,”[/i][/color] Linqian replied in Chinese, without the normal bite to it. She couldn’t bring herself to snap at him. Because he was there, right in front of him. Like he was alive. Like he’d never… like she’d never… like that day had never happened. The worst day of her life. Right then, she knew this wasn’t real. Jinhai was dead. She’d seen his dead body, seen the blood staining the carpet that she could feel beneath her bare feet. She’d held his cold body and begged him to come back. He hadn’t, and he wouldn’t. This wasn’t real. But she didn’t care. Linqian forcefully caught hold of the illusion before it broke. Like a protective blanket it resettled, the slight wavering subsiding. She didn’t want to leave. She [i]refused[/i] to leave. Because even if it wasn’t real, even if it was all a hallucination, Jinhai was here. She was back home - in her actual home, with her two brothers. The two people she loved more than anything. She didn’t want to leave them. She didn’t want to lose him again. [i][color=#5487FF]”Why are you crying, Qian-er?”[/color][/i] Jinhai asked, closing his laptop. He gave her that little concerned look he always used to when he knew something was up, but also knew she’d bristle as soon as he pushed. He always knew. Nobody knew her like Jinhai did. Nobody would ever know her like he had. Because no one had been there like him - from the moment her life began. He was supposed to be there until it ended, too. But he’d gone first, leaving her gasping for air. It was so cruel. A hollow feeling in her chest that kept the tears streaming down her face even as she held onto the lifeline that had been thrown to her, even knowing it would snap beneath her grasp. He looked so real. He was as real as she was going to get. She moved forward a couple of steps and he stood, head tilted in confusion. Hesitantly, Linqian hugged him. He felt real, too. Solid. Breathing. Heart beating. Alive. [i][color=#5487FF]”Qian-er?”[/color][/i] [color=a22929][i]”I’m fine,”[/i][/color] Linqian smiled, dropping her arms and taking a few steps back again. [color=a22929][i]”Your face is just so ugly, I had to make sure it was really you… cause fuck, how can we be related when you look like that?“[/i][/color] [i][color=#5487FF]”That makes no sense,”[/color][/i] Jinhai rolled his eyes at her, disdain crossing his eyes before disappearing again. [i][color=#5487FF]”We’ve got similar genes, you want to go tell mom and dad they’re ugly? Go on.”[/color][/i] He gestured to the shrine in the corner. Even in this hallucination, her parents weren’t alive. Maybe… because she couldn’t remember them so well. For the past ten years it had only been the three of them. The future to her had been the three of them. Until it wasn’t. Until it was just the two of them. Short lived joy sputtered out, sucked in by that empty void even as she tried to cling to it. Everything was a reminder that this wasn’t real. She couldn’t bring her actual brother back. Jinhai would always be dead. But she still didn’t care. She still didn’t want to leave this place. It was better than the reality where she had nothing at all. [color=a22929][i]”You think they’d care? Come on, Hai-er, they’d always tell us not to come to them with our stupid arguments,”[/i][/color] Linqian laughed lightly, shaking her head. [i][color=#5487FF]”But they always took my side... Obviously, since I was the better child.”[/color][/i] [color=a22929][i]”Oh shut up. They’re not here anymore to do that,”[/i][/color] Linqian rolled her eyes at him, even as they stung with continually shed tears. [color=a22929][i]”It’s just you and me now, and you know I can beat your ass.”[/i][/color] [i][color=CD5C5C]If only it was still you and me. Now it’s just me, making all the decisions alone. I don’t want to make them alone.[/color] [/i] [color=ffe63b]”Hey, there’s me too!”[/color] Huanyi piped up cheerfully. Linqian tilted her head to look at him, still playing a video game she didn’t recognise. She’d never had the time to have an interest in these things. [color=ffe63b]”I get a say in who wins arguments too!”[/color] [color=a22929][i]”You wish, Yi-er,”[/i][/color] Linqian sneered. [i][color=#5487FF]”She’s right. The adults get to make those kinds of decisions.”[/color][/i] Jinhai chuckled. [color=ffe63b]”I’m eighteen, I’m an adult!”[/color] Huanyi whined. [i][color=#5487FF]”We’ll treat you like an adult when you don’t need an allowance anymore.”[/color] [/i] [color=ffe63b]”... aw, come on, Ge, that isn’t how the law works. I become an adult at eighteen, allowance or not.”[/color] [i][color=#5487FF]”Legally, perhaps, but not in this house, didi.”[/color] [/i] Linqian couldn’t help but smile. It was so familiar. The back and forth between the two of them, how easily Jinhai handled Huanyi without losing his temper. They were so close… and that had been taken away from Huanyi. She couldn’t replace Jinhai for him, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn’t be there as much as she wanted to be. She never could be. Linqian didn’t regret it. If she didn’t work so hard, so often, they might not even be here. But she’d missed out so much. So many moments with the little brother she loved more than anything, so much time with Jinhai she’d always thought she could make up for… Now it was too late. [color=ffe63b]”But I’d be taking your side! Do you really think I’d take Jie’s? She’s always-”[/color] [color=a22929][i]”Keep talking that way and see if you ever get dinner again.”[/i][/color] Henri pouted, holding up his hands. [color=ffe63b]”Alright, I’ll take your side, Jie! You’re my favourite, don’t worry.”[/color] [i][color=#5487FF]”Hey, look,”[/color][/i] Jinhai laughed, corners of his eyes creasing in a way that lit up his handsome face. A happy look that Linqian missed [i]so[/i] much. [i][color=#5487FF]”You’re everyone's favourite in this house.”[/color][/i] “She’s mine too.” Another voice suddenly appeared. It felt like she should recognise it, but she couldn’t put a name to it. Suddenly there was someone pressing against her back - someone roughly the same height as her, soft yet rough at the same time. Scarred arms wrapped around her waist, tattoos covering them blurry. “Hey, babe,” the soft, strangely familiar voice whispered in her ear. She couldn’t quite place it, or the arms she’d definitely seen before. She decided to not turn around and look… in case she didn’t like what it showed her. Did it really matter, anyway? “You left dinner in the oven.” [color=CD5C5C]”Oh…”[/color] Linqian said. It was something so mundane. Peaceful. Just a normal life and a normal, unknown, slightly familiar partner… with her two brothers. She didn’t want to go and turn off the oven. It wasn’t even real. And because it wasn’t real, Jinhai might disappear if she looked away from him. [color=CD5C5C]”Can you get it for me? I’ll sort it in a minute.”[/color] “Sure thing, bro,” came the slightly teasing reply, along with a light kiss to her earlobe that turned into a sharp bite. Linqian bit her lip, resisting the urge to turn around, as the warmth at her back disappeared and her mysterious lover disappeared. Maybe it was Bianca. Bianca never called her bro… well, that was just weird anyway. Not something to dwell on. It didn’t matter. It just added warmth to the situation. Not only were her brother’s there, alive and well, but she was with someone who seemed to care for her. Who would turn off the oven for her. Such a small, simple thing… But so impactful. It was all that she’d ever wanted, and everything that she’d never have. [color=a22929][i]”Jinhai.”[/i][/color] [i][color=#5487FF]”Yes?”[/color][/i] [color=a22929][i]”Hai-er.”[/i][/color] [i][color=#5487FF]”... Yes?”[/color][/i] [color=a22929][i]”Ge.”[/i][/color] [i][color=#5487FF]”What is it, [i]Linqian[/i]?”[/color][/i] [color=a22929][i]”I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you so much, you have no idea.”[/i][/color] Linqian closed her eyes for a moment, before opening them. Jinhai was still there. He was still standing right in front of her. She smiled softly, eyes filling with sorrowful happiness. More than anything, she wanted this to be real. She wanted it so badly that it hurt. [color=a22929][i]”Every day I wake up and expect to see you there, like this. Sitting at the table, working on something I don’t understand while making judgemental comments. I never thought I’d miss it. There’s so much I regret. So much that I didn’t tell you, Ge. Like how much I love you. I love you and Yi-er more than anything. You’re everything to me. Living without you is like living without a part of myself. I don’t feel whole. Sometimes, I just feel like giving up. Every single day I wish it was me. It should have been me. And I know you aren’t real. I don’t care. I miss you, and all I want is for you to come back. [b]Please come back.[/b]”[/i][/color] In reality, Linqian hardly moved as she softly spoke in her mother tongue, lips pulled up into a gentle smile and tears a river cascading down her already drenched cheeks. Anguish filled her eyes, the deep sorrow she’d held in coming so visibly to the surface like it never had before. Still, she stayed in the hallucination, knowing that her grief could be easily seen. It didn’t matter. Staying with Jinhai, for as long as she could, was all that mattered. Because she wasn’t sure if she could cope with him being torn away from her again.