Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 13, 2021 16:26:13 GMT -8
noun. am·be·do
n. a kind of melancholic trance in which you become completely absorbed in vivid sensory details, which leads to a dawning awareness of the haunting fragility of life.
Club Voodoo. An high-end rooftop club where single men blew off exorbitant amounts of money to impress single women. It wasn't the kind of establishment Yuan usually visited, seeing as he neither had the means nor the interest to impress said single women, but he was also morbidly curious. It was a personal revenge of sorts - to ogle at the straights the same way they have stared at him. Living in a Hollow came with its perks, like not having to pay rent. His finances were cyclical. He saved up for a little while and then blew it all in a single night of wild abandon. Well, maybe not always wild, seeing as he felt out of his element.
Sitting in a corner in front of a tall glass of overpriced charcoal infused vodka-something, he checked his phone for the fourth time in twenty minutes. No new notifications. Sigh. Mitch hadn't so much called or messaged in over a week. Was the Beast being ghosted? He had thought they had parted on good terms, with the Promise secretly relieving Yuan's anxiety. He set the phone down, screen against the low glass table. The rhythm of the music pounded against his skin, setting a tempo for the few dancers. There was a gaggle of people, somewhere off in the distance, but the Beast paid them no mind. Instead, he watched as a single drop of condensation rolled down the side of the glass. It made him feel sad, for some reason; it was a random reminder of how impermanent things were - feelings, relationships, people. Soon, the water would reach the table and spread out in the small ring that had already formed. Even Yuan's treasonous flesh was failing him. Slowly, gently.
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Sept 13, 2021 18:04:11 GMT -8
Once upon a time, Mitchell Carr opted to surround himself in jarring, disorganized backdrops to draw attention away from his stark appearance. With awakened connections to his Arcadian design influencing his every movement, the attempt to blend in was a joke. The lights of the club refracted off swirling prisms that worked its way through trophies of failure—a work of art branded to distract from something unacceptable, and never really forgotten as the body twitched and flinched in its freedom. In the real world, there weren't any circuits, so his mind had made up their own, and it had only been a matter of time where it shorted on updates it was never designed for. Soulless, blank eyes gleamed as he laughed, shining with sweat as the gaggle of mundies dragged the Dancer wherever. One woman was triumphantly attached to his hip, but the other three seemed just as swept up in whatever adventure was happening. Carr looked underdressed compared to the amount of intimate work that had gone into the blues and blacks of her makeup with rhinestones threaded through her braids, with a cut-out dress. The two other women weren't as elaborate—put together, but clearly not initially hinging their night on impressing someone. The man looked out of his element as he kept openly gawking at the Fairest and calling for rounds where he pointedly included Carr. He appeared to have been aiming to show off his size, or be intimidating to the unknown element introduced to his social circle, but his current demeaner didn't match.
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 13, 2021 18:56:38 GMT -8
The drop finally touched the table. It took Yuan a moment more to rip his gaze off of it.
He took a sip, with hints of mint and afterthoughts of citrus. It was like drinking La Croix, but fancier. His eyes mindlessly swept over the audience, with mismatched couples forming as the levels of alcohol went up. He was dressed more conservatively than virtually everyone else: solid black jeans, white sneakers, a pink tank top and an oversized white mesh hoodie. All things considered, an actual hoodie would have been better. Regardless, it had the desired effect and he was left mostly alone.
His eyes got caught on a guy in particular, one of the gaggle he had noticed before. He looked just as out of place as Yuan did, with the difference that he kept calling shots for his friends and- was that?
The glare of stained glass was unmistakable. It was Mitch, having the time of his life while the Beast was sitting dejectedly in the corner. He considered sending a text. 'Don't be fucking weird, Yuan. He would have texted you if he wanted to meet up. Right?'
He simmered, torn between walking up to the clique and staying a fly on the wall. Another sip, longer this time, that burned as it went down his throat. Nonsense though it was, it was still vodka.
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Sept 13, 2021 19:18:42 GMT -8
The group was managing their water intake, two eventually falling to clubbing logistics and pulling one another towards the bathroom. One seemed to forget something, running back to poke at the girl leaning on Mitch. A little annoyed that they had changed their minds after entering the club with security around, she did her best to be discreet about palming through her own clutch and sliding the subtle shine of polymer plastic into their hands.
Mitchell carried on whatever conversation he was having with the guy, laughing into each other's shoulders as they fumbled the shots. If he even had his phone on him, he wasn't checking it.
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 13, 2021 20:28:19 GMT -8
Whatever was happening, the Beast was too busy having an internal debate to notice it. Lucas had told him that he had to learn to be honest with people, that pretending everything was fine would get him nowhere. Chugging the rest of his drink, he slid through the crowd to join Mitch and his companions. Was that the kind of person the Fairest was into? Trying to ignore how nervous he felt, Yuan accosted the trio.
"Is there a shot for me too?" he asked as jokingly as he could. There was arrogance in his posture, confidence in his looks and a quiet pride. He was someone who knew his worth in Mundane social circles. "Hey Mitch, it's a nice surprise." He kept his tone light and his shoulders relaxed. A playful smile danced on his lips. "I'm Yuan. I really like your dress," he complimented the woman. He flashed her a winner smile, oblivious as she was to how sharp his canines really were. "Mind if I sit with you?" He turned his focus to the man as he blasted the mortals with the sweet promises of his Mantle. Tiny white parachutes danced around him, a secret shared between Mitch and him. Barely waiting for a response, he sat next to the guy, a little closer that perfect strangers shout be sitting.
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Sept 13, 2021 21:17:14 GMT -8
The Playmate's specialty was radiating in full effect, what would normally have been interpreted as an awkward insertion—and potential unspoken drama between the newcomer and Carr—was buried under an Arcadian aura of calm stability as everything came together to fit in its place. Specifically Yuan's butt in the seat. It was like he was meant to be there the entire time, immediately fawned with compliments there were oddly personal even with the magic in effect.
A firm, affectionate bro-pat was passed along by the larger mundie, handing him a shot and asking how he got his hair to stay like that in wide-eyed fascination. He even moved to touch it at some point. Despite Yuan raining attention on him, however, the conversation seemed to vexingly flow back to how he knew Mitch. The Dancer didn't seem to notice the intense amount of attention he was receiving, or particularly basking in it like one should be when essentially being hero worshipped. He leaned into touches and seemed to be overall zen, but there was an odd air of blasé about the whole experience. Honestly, he seemed dazed and distracted, not questioning Yuan's sudden appearance or any guilt about ghosting him for so long.
The pair of women returned and squeezed themselves quite insistently to flank the new club treasure. Water was passed around between alcohol as they became progressively floppier, and closer than reality probably lent itself to. It didn't take an expert at this point to realize the group was on MDMA.
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Post by Krakenbox on Sept 13, 2021 21:33:56 GMT -8
As Yuan socializes, he starts pinging small hooks and interesting tidbits among all the shallow small talk and drug-fueled distractions.
The woman with the best outfit's name was Elise, who had met Mitch at some point in time and roped him into an outing. Jorge, Vivian, and Claire were her friends, and had only met Mitch this evening with a sudden group invite. Picking apart the social dynamics on rote instinct, Yuan pinged that Elise must have run into something that caused a loss of confidence where she felt the need to drag out her friends to what was supposed to be a first date, and Jorge was there to throw a punch or intimidate if necessary.
Clearly that was all behind them, and they thought the Dancer was The Best, but there seemed to be something still hanging, and being kept unsaid among the mundies until Yuan met some sort of screening test.
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 14, 2021 12:18:32 GMT -8
It was complicated affair to keep Jorge’s attention long enough to explain that Asian beauty products were light-years further than anything he could buy in North America, and that he’d be more than happy to take him on a tour of Chinatown to find something that suited him.
It also the had the added benefit that Yuan didn’t have to drink as much as the others. Drinking one shot for every three of theirs, he tried to keep an eye on Mitch while maintaining casual conversation. MDMA wasn’t the worst drug out there, and it was relatively hard to overdose on it. The Beast kept having the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something.
“Mitch? Oh, we’re friends from work. We met at a corporate sporting event. The party after was wild!”
Yuan didn’t particularly like the feeling of having to prove that he was cool. It reminded him of high school in a way he didn’t care about. But, he also wanted to stay at the table, so there was no two way about this.
“Is it your first time at this club? I’m not a regular myself, much more of a Piranha kind of guy, but it’s nice enough. Cover’s a bitch though.”
He was trying to catch Mitch’s eye. There was something off with him, with the way his eyes looked.
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Sept 14, 2021 14:57:50 GMT -8
Jorge laughed about the beauty products, clearly lost but not upset about it. He didn't know where Piranha was, and Claire mentioned it was a gay bar.
"Oh!" he nodded, "Never been. Didn't want to piss people off or, like, invade a space...?" He sounded earnest, not wanting to sound like a jackass to the nice new guy, but also three sheets to the wind.
At some point, Elise had made a move and was currently keeping the Fairest busy with makeouts. One of the friends saved everyone a show by ordering another round, pulling her to ask what she wanted to drink this time. As he finally noted Yuan trying to flag his attention, he leaned to hear, somehow balancing where someone was semi on top of him.
The drugs were masking the detachment, but the Dancer was along for the ride. Knowing his...issues...Yuan could deduce that he might be splitting to fulfill a role.
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 14, 2021 16:16:46 GMT -8
"Oh, don't worry. There's no way you'd be worse than a bachelorette party," Yuan answered as he hit enter on his mobile search engine. Mitch had mentally checked out and e had no idea how to handle it in this situation. Something about stimulus and reconnecting to the body? Safe space, too. Well, this wasn't it.
He looked up just in time to Elise making out with the Fairest. There were a lot of ethical implications that were going through his head that he didn't want to examine right now - he had seen waaay too much heterosexual interaction for one night and he had an unstable changeling to deal with. Grabbing an ice cube from the bucket where their bottle was, he winked at Jorge as he reached across and slipped it in Mitch's collar, pretending a dumb prank. Yuan had no idea why he did that, other than to not be weird.
At that distance, the Beast could safely whisper. "Ditch your date and take me home?"
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Post by Mitchell Carr on Sept 14, 2021 17:05:38 GMT -8
He winced as the ice hit his neck, though the reaction was dulled like he had to think to remember he could reach for it.
Then Yuan was in his face and whispering over the ambient noise of the club and Jorge's laughter. Ditch Elise? Wasn't that mean? The Beast's mischievous grin cued that the whole thing was sort of a game. Mitch offered a delayed smile, distracted by the metallic sheen of Yuan's skin. There was a familiarity there that was enhanced by the charged euphoria, and any feelings of hesitation or guilt were bulldozed by raw beauty and a connection.
"Yeah, sure," he agreed softly, shaking off the pulsing atmosphere and sliding into a stand as he tried to find his phone. Had he dropped it? Did he even remember to take it with him?
The girls asked the basic queries of where Mitch was headed, oddly invested in his movements. The whole group looked a little lost when he explained he had to take Yuan home. Elise in particular blinked at the sudden date bandit, before tugging the Fairest toward her for her own whisper session.
Mitch gracefully cycled back to Yuan, leaning back to intimate distance as the fugue'd Dancer proceeded to callously hit every button that he understood about the Beast to fulfill the other request.
"They think something happened that upset you and it's kind of ruining their night? It would mean a lot if you have fun with us rather than jumping in and fucking that up." He mechanically applied pressure to a spot he knew Yuan liked to be touched, but the presentation was pleading and trusting, "I promised I would take her out, and everyone here enjoys your company. Can you take a risk this time and wait a bit for me? I'll make it up to you."
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 14, 2021 18:05:21 GMT -8
There was something in that voice that made the Beast feel at home, like this was where he belonged. The tone, the pronunciation, everything was so painfully familiar and he wanted nothing more that to make that voice happy. "Fine. We can stay, but I'm not getting high." He tried to pout but he couldn't bring himself to form the expression. What was the harm in staying a little longer? Elise was obvious having her fun, so Yuan might aw well enjoy himself as well, all the while keeping an eye on things. All shaperone-like. He went back to sit with Jorge and the others.
"So, I see what Elise gets out of this, but what's your deal? There's plenty of attractive people here, so why not try our luck? I'll be your wing-man. We'll make it a team effort."
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Post by Krakenbox on Sept 14, 2021 18:41:20 GMT -8
Mitch flashed a smile, while Elise hauled him quickly towards the rest of the dancing. Vivian and Claire looked almost offended that she was smuggling him away, following after. Jorge looked helpless as Yuan turned his attention back on him,
"That's- that's fine," he reassured, nudging Yuan to keep up, "Were you looking for someone?"
It seemed at this point, the guy had swooped in and failed to poach from his friend, but he didn't seem interested on challenging the likeable Playmate.
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on Sept 18, 2021 17:47:59 GMT -8
Was yuan being paranoid or was there something sus going on? He reached out to Jorge, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The night is young, so who knows."
He reached out with his senses, a trick that has become rote at this point. The dance floor started teeming with people. Body writhing in unison, moving to the rhythm of the music. Normally, Yuan would have drowned in it. Now was not a normal time, however. He tried to stay close to the group, hoping to catch a glimpse of that fucking smile that should have been more trouble than it was worth.
'What am I even doing?' The sensation of forgetting something kept bothering him, but everything was so confusing and moving so fast that the Beast couldn't find the time to pick at it.
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Post by Krakenbox on Sept 18, 2021 18:19:18 GMT -8
The metallic quality of Yuan's skin cools as the light of the moon reflects off the human's soul. Though not twisted to the point of losing himself, Yuan can innately sense the madness of Arcadia influencing the mind and detaching him from reality. He was obsessed with the Dancer, desperate to keep the Fairest around to learn more about him.
Yuan wasn't familiar with any Contracts that could do that other than the abuse of Cupid's Arrow, which didn't exactly match the Bishop's MO. Something was up?
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