Stratocracy

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Stratocracy>

*Through the scenery of ever shifting imagery of all kinds of pain, one man stands looking in the distance as you see him, dressed in all black suit, trentchcoat and tie and shirt, with sunglasses and a long white glistening hair, with a face that almost looks angelic*

???: Because you pissed me off, and you entered a place that you have no authority over... just kidding. but am i?

@The Monitor 2

I can’t even begin to explain how many things are wrong with how you chose answer. I was making progress, and even after I didn’t even want to be here to begin with, you throw it all in the bin, all while walking in with the rankest stench of self importance!
*Groans*

Myriad Reality

@Legend Begins, @Spiritblitz, @Stratocracy

*a storm of thoughts, doubts, fears, insecurities and emotional pain through and through seems to fill the dream space. It would be sourceless... or rather, from everyone involved here including @Etcetera Misty, and the images mix into every dream world that had Misty interacted with recently since the new mind visitors tried to explore her situation, now all that is of these dreamscapes is a mess, a storm of chaos and fear as Misty is pulled away from anyone's interaction, making her seemingly disappear beyond anybody's reach for now.

@Etcetera Misty you just wake up in your desk at work, with three different phones ringing, and the boss, Jhonsons, just staring you down in disappointment as you get the idea, that you did a very bad job the last week... it could have been brilliant work, but this is not what is felt in the immediate cubicle you are in...*

@The Monitor 2

What… What? What?!
*Looks around in all directions quickly*
Why?!

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Stratocracy>

And you don't get to know!
*The liquid shears both of us in half*

@Etcetera

*Frowns as I am pulled to one side from the attack, running my hand through a stream of the blue from the aura I’d manifested for you*
It’s okay. The fact that you do have something is good enough for me.

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Stratocracy>

There's just one thing I want.
*The space contained in the goo explodes between us, creating great distance where there was none before*

@Etcetera

Choose your answer carefully.
*Drops my arms back to my side*
I have a way of knowing if you really mean it.

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Stratocracy>

If any of you cared, you would have killed me by now.
*The water-like surface below us rushes up and fills the spaces with a viscous, tar-like goo that warps at our limbs in unnatural directions*

@Etcetera

*Looks up and down my body as the space around it is warped but without breaching my body, to the point I appear like an anchor of stability in the chaos*
Getting rid of you would be something I would do if I didn’t. And deep down, you know that too, because there is something you care about enough to stick around.

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Stratocracy>

*In a flash of sheer rage, bites your nose*
You make me sick!

@Etcetera

*Looks down at you after you do*
Is that true? I definitely don’t feel your belief in that either.

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Stratocracy>

*Grits my teeth together and smashes my thumbs into your eyes*

@Etcetera

*Lets you press against them for a moment as I speak, even though as you apply force it feels truly like I am more and more immutable*
I believe in someone else’s conviction. A belief that you are worthy.
*Grabs your other wrist, forces your arms to the side and lets your fall forward into a hug from me*
And if she believes it, so do I.

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Stratocracy>

*Fully forms in front of you with a near-insulted expression and punches at your stomach, which initially stops at the border of your aura as if at a solid object, but with additional effort pulls away from the skin and flesh, leaving solid bone that connects with you*

@Etcetera

*Gently grabs your wrist and softens the contact with me as the swing lands*
There’s your hint about me. The word that makes me tick.
*Leans in close to you*
You know what my conviction is, right now? What I believe in?

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Stratocracy>

*My voice echoes throughout the area*
Mmmmmhm—
*Four sharpened nails scrape across your abdomen in the darkness*

@Etcetera

*They tear at my shirt, but not at my skin*
You’re so broken that you’ll never have what you need. I would love to see that no longer be the case, though. Misty, you lack true… Conviction.
*The tangible pressure around me manifests visibly now, as it does for you even without a current physical form. It shifts from absolutely transparent to a crimson red aura for me, and for you, it radiates multicolored shades of lighter yet dull blues and greens*

Myriad Reality

<Snipped quote by Stratocracy>

*A drop of water falls from the sky and hits the ground, which ripples like a still puddle and becomes reflective of its fading surroundings as the circle of movement extends in all directions*

@Etcetera

There’s only one metric of strength I believe in, and honestly, I don’t think you have the ability to measure up. At least, not without help…