purgastory >> inbox

[selfconcept]

HELLO

"..."

GOODBYE

TEXT | VIDEO | VOICE | ACTION

Comments

[selfconcept]

[ He looks down at the candy. ]

"Is that melting?"

[ He looks up to see Yuma's face. ]

"Holy shit you're also melting."

[ no he isnt ]

[isdf]

Melting?

[He glances down at the candy, then looks up at Hien.]

No, that's not true. Both the candy and I are perfectly fine.

[selfconcept]

"Huh..."

[ He looks at Edamura and goes over to him and then returns. ]

"Yuma, can I touch your face?"

[isdf]

[What the.

Yuma blinks out of his daze, the long mental image of kissing with fervor between Hien and Edamura imprinted in his mind's eye.]

I have no objections, but why?

[selfconcept]

"I need to confirm something."

[ But he'll wait and ignore the thoughtshare. ]

[isdf]

[Yuma nods after a brief pause. He'll not be commenting on what just transpired with Edamura.]

[selfconcept]

[ Poor Edamura. Hien is good at ignoring things if he wants to.

Anyway, he puts a hand on Yuma's cheek. It's nothing out of the ordinary, but he's gentle about it. He lightly touches the other cheek too, then his shoulder.

...

Time to test something else. ]

"Does the thought confuse you?"

[isdf]

[Touching is already unusual. The fact that it's gentle makes this even more out of the ordinary.

Yuma stays still, letting Hien conduct his test.]

To what thought are you referring?

[selfconcept]

[ To Hien, Yuma also starts to feel very waxy and his movements gradually diminish. Of course, he's just seeing things and has no effect on the real Yuma whatsoever. ]

"Makoto's."

[ He's half convinced that it's there to prevent more testing. ]

[ordimame]

[this is the choked noise of a man only just now realizing that everyone saw and heard that thought]

[isdf]

[And here he was, trying to be polite by not saying anything.]

No comment. It is not my business to speak on others' private lives.

[selfconcept]

[ Okay, that's fair. It's also the answer that Hien expected. Which... Hm. ]

"Alright. Thanks, Yuma."

[ To Hien, Yuma has stopped to become a full wax statue now.

"These hallucinations are so in-character..." ]

[isdf]

Hm?

Hien, do you suspect me of being a hallucination?

[selfconcept]

"Kinda...? I can hear your voice, but your mouth isn't moving."

[ Just replies to "disembodied" voices like it's perfectly normal. He's not even looking at Yuma, because he's looking at something else instead. Even though, to Yuma, there's nothing there. ]

[isdf]

[Indeed, there's nothing but flowers and empty space when he follows Hien's line of sight.]

It sounds visual in nature. Can I touch you?

[selfconcept]

"Sure."

[ Hien stands there obediently, waiting for any physical contact. ]

[isdf]

[He reaches out to put his hand on Hien's right upper arm.]

Do you feel that?

[selfconcept]

[ Hien looks to his right side where Yuma is touching his right upper arm. ]

"... Yeah."

[ He sure is seeing something. Thoughtshare blasts a disembodied waxed statue arm grabbing at his right upper arm, even though all Yuma did is just put his hand on it. ]

[isdf]

[Well, this makes more sense than the kissing. Yuma doesn't move, disorienting as the shared mental image is.]

That isn't quite it. All I am doing is resting my hand on you.

[He concentrates on a single thought—on his own senses to return his perception of the moment into Hien's mind.]

[selfconcept]

[ He catches that thoughtshare and. Huh.

... ]

"You're like... a wax statue. In fact, everyone is turning into one for me."

[isdf]

[He pulls his hand back.]

From my point of view, nobody is turning into a statue of any kind.

[selfconcept]

[ ......... ]

"Am I high...? I think this is too much for that."

[isdf]

[?]

What does the elevation have to do with this?