❛ oh, god — thank you. ❜ she reaches to take the charm from the stranger, smile laced with gratitude. ❛ this is — ❜ her most treasured possession. ❛ thank you. really. i don’t know what i would’ve done if i’d lost this. ❜
“i hope so,” mateo admitted. his mother was his favorite person, and he always wanted to do the right thing for her. she was still sad, sometimes, and she was always good to him, and so understanding when he couldn’t do things right, even if he tried. he cocked his head a bit in curiosity, looking up to her and the sweater she now held in her hands. “what do you do?”
“first, i hold my sweater out in front of me like this —” she crouches down behind mateo, doing exactly as she describes over his shoulder so he can see it exactly from her point of view, “i always make sure that the back is facing me. and then i crumple the sides from the bottom of the shirt all the way to the hole where your head goes in — see?”
michael’s head ducked, giving a little nod of understanding. “yeah, i i guess i haven’t been the best guy to be around lately.” and he didn’t like that. he knew he needed to get it together, that this funk had been going on too long, that he’d been throwing himself into his work and using it as an excuse to avoid a lot of people for more time than could be reasonably excused. “i’m sorry.”
she’s never been in love before — ( doesn’t know if she’s even capable ), though she certainly knows what it feels like. such is the curse her empathy has thrusted upon her. though, there are moments, few and far between, that it’s proven itself useful. “don’t be.” she flashes him a quick smile, “you could always make it up to me.”
“i know.” his response was immediate, and though its veracity may have been contradicted by his previous behavior, he did know it was time. “i know, i just… i’m a little too hopeful for my own good, i guess.” michael shrugged in resignation. he felt bad for being so hyper-focused on it, but it was difficult to have to quell something that had been so strong for so long. he was working on it.
“you needed to do everything you can to try and save your relationship.” she shrugs. “i understand that.” of course she does. and gayle liked jane enough, but at the end of the day, it’s michael she cares about. and her own feelings aside, she hates seeing him like this. “i do miss my friend, though.”
she doesn’t understand how he can stand here in front of her after everything that’s happened, and tell her that. it makes her want to cry. makes her heart clench. makes her want to throw her arms around him and tell him she’s sorry. ( she’s so sorry. ) he’s the last person she’d ever want to hurt and yet somehow, she’d ended up doing her worst on him. but there’s something wrong with her, and she isn’t going to allow nate to put himself at risk. not for her, because he’s wrong — she’s not worth it.
so she hardens her jaw, stares coldly into his eyes. ( her heart aches. her whole body aches ). ❛ what are you, a masochist? ❜ she scoffs, like his words mean nothing. like he means nothing. ( the words mean something. he means everything, and that’s exactly why she has to do this. ) ❛ play time’s over, handsome. for good. you know the way out. ❜
michael shrugged, letting out a sigh of resignation. “nothing.” a bitter, disappointing conclusion that he can only bite his lower lip at, but a truthful one in the end. “i don’t see what else i can do.”
“i think it’s about time you tried to move on.” it isn’t meant to be insensitive — but this has gone on long enough ( and truthfully, it’s tiresome to be around someone carrying the emotions he has been from the break-up. she does feel for him, though. it’s hard not to when she’s feeling the exact same things he is. )
michael rolled his eyes, face settling into an expression that hinted at irritation. “well, sitting back and watching my relationship disintegrate during this whole mess seemed less preferable.” the meddling he’d done in his efforts to frame everything in a beneficial was not only selfish, but likely futile anyways, in hindsight.
she senses his frustration, deems it best not to aggravate him any further. partially for his sake, and partially for her own. the more he exasperated he gets, the more she will be too and it’s the last thing she needs today. “so what happens next?”
“my mommy’s been trying to show me how to do it right,” mateo explained, taking a step closer so she could offer assistance, raising his arms like he always did for his mother and smiling shyly, but appreciatively. “i get really close.”
“she must be so proud of you.” a genuine smile paints itself across her lips as she bends down and carefully takes the sweater off, ( grins at the messy hair it leaves on top of mateo’s head ). “you want to know what i do when i wear my sweater so i don’t get confused?”
please keep in mind that psi is a villain. she is a psychic and an extremely powerful one at that. she uses telepathy and telekenisis. her empathy cannot be shut off. she is also mentally and emotionally unstable. she won't need a reason to attack your muse, she doesn't have to be pushed to do so and she will if she pleases. given that it's her nature, it would be tiresome for me to individually ask everyone i write with to allow her to use her powers. therefore, if you choose to enter into a thread with her, i will assume that's permission for psi to use her powers on your muse. this includes reading your character's mind, picking up on their emotions, etc, potentially hurting them.
CHARACTERIZATION
my portrayal of gayle/psi is canon divergent. it is a balance i have created based on dctv and comics. not entirely one or the other. it is my own interpretation based on elements of what is known about her. please be mindful of this.
ACTIVITY
[baymax voice]: i am not fast. this is an extremely selective and low activity blog, and it is not my main one. expect replies to be slow.
WRITING
if we're mutuals, feel free to come into my inbox to plot, throw starters my way or send me memes even if we've never interacted before. that said, unless it's canon (ie. psi vs. supergirl), please don't write my muse attacking yours, or using her powers on yours in unplotted starters. she is a villain, yes, and she's inclined to attack if she feels like it, yes, but whether or not she does is MY decision to make.
EXCLUSIVITY
i'm always open to write with more than one iteration of a character, but i do have a list of muses i'm exclusive with. if i choose not to write with you, please know that it's not personal and has nothing to do with you or your writing..
NSFW & TRIGGERS
nsfw stuff will be tagged as such. as for triggers, there's a 100% chance that they will appear given the nature of the character. i'll tag all triggers as trigger cw.
RELATIONSHIPS
psi isn't easy to ship with given who she is. that said, i'm definitely open to exploring her in different types of relationships so let me know if you're interested and we can work something out!
ETC
all the usual guidelines apply. i am not psi, her thoughts/beliefs aren't my own and i do not condone her villainous actions nor do i justify them.
READ FIRST
I am only willing to add muses I've extensively plotted and written with on this list. If you ask to be on mine, I'll expect the same from you. If you completely disappear for more than a month without a word or any hint that you'll come back at some point, I'll remove you from this list.
FULL NAME: Gayle Marsh ALTER EGO: Psi AGE: Verse dependent GENDER: Cis woman PRONOUNS: She/Her ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Panromantic SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Pansexual RELIGION: Jewish* SPOKEN LANGUAGE: English LOCATION: Skokie, IL OCCUPATION: Serial bank robber
POWERS AND ABILITIES
Psi is psionic, meaning she possesses psychic and mental abilities including but not limited to:
Illusion Manipulation: the ability to make people believe they're seeing something that isn't there. generally used to trigger fear in her victims by casting illusions in their minds.
Memory Manipulation: the ability to pull, alter and/or erase memories. generally used to force her victims to relive traumatic events.
Levitation: the ability to rise and hover in the air.
Psionic Empowerment: the ability to gain energy from psychic energies.
Empathy: the ability to fully interpret and replicate other people's emotions, moods and temperaments. this is something that she is unable to shut off.
Flash Precognition: the ability to see things seconds or minutes before they happen.
Psychic Attacks: the ability release a massive wave of energy or power.
Telekenisis: the ability to manipulate objects with her mind.
Teleportation: the ability to move from one point to another without traversing the physical space between the two.
Telepathy: the ability to transmit and receive information.
Molecular Manipulation: the ability to manipulate matter at a molecular level.
Force Field Generation: the ability to generate force fields from psychic energy.
Reflection: the ability to reflect powers back against its users.
PERSONALITY/DISPOSITION
As Gayle, she is quiet, shy and generally does not fit in well with others. She is sensitive and emotionally fragile. Because of her empathy, she constantly feels what others around her are feeling. She also tends to conform to other people's expectations of her.
As Psi, she generally experiences the same emotions, which is why she is extremely reluctant to kill despite wreaking havoc. Aware of the extent of her capabilities, she tends to be arrogant and appears calm and blasé when confronted. Deep down, she is still the same lonely girl, only masked by her tough and confident exterior.
BIOGRAPHY
Gayle’s psionic powers began to manifest at the age of twelve. Prior to that, she had a pretty regular childhood.
After discovering what she’s capable of, her parents brought her to an institute that specialized in studying extra sensory phenomena where she was supposed to stay in for a month. But her parents died in a road accident during that time. One of the doctors, Dr. Pendergast, petitioned the court to make him her legal guardian.
Dr. Pendergast was always more interested in Gayle’s powers than he was with her. He treated her well, helped her develop her powers but only so he could use and manipulate her. Something that she would only realize later on.
Gayle was twenty when she left the place she could never call home. She took a regular job, supported herself and started living on her own. For a while, she was able to lead a somewhat normal life until her powers proved too much for her to handle and she snapped, quit her job and started going on a robbing spree.
MISCELLANEOUS
While her empathy allows her to understand others, it is extremely difficult for Gayle to form genuine relationships because her power is so strong that she’s generally unable to properly block other people’s emotions. Gayle tends to feel what others feel as her own, therefore making it hard and at times impossible for her to discern which ones are truly hers.
Gayle has never been able to maintain a proper long term relationship. This stems from her general mistrust of the people around her, as well as her anxiety and the added difficulty that being an empath contributes to becoming close to someone else.
You're like an unrefined banana. Yellow on the outside, white on the inside..
basic information
FULL NAME: Rachel Chu CHINESE NAME: Zhou An Mei NICKNAME: Rachel, Rach AGE: late 20's BIRTH DATE: ETHNICITY: Chinese GENDER: Female ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Biromantic SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bisexual RELIGION: SPOKEN LANGUAGE: English, Mandarin CURRENT LOCATION: New York OCCUPATION: Economist, Professor at NYU
relationships
PARENTS: Kerry Chu, Bao Gaoling
physical traits
EYE COLOUR: Black HAIR COLOUR: Black HEIGHT: 5'3" BODY BUILD: Slim TATTOOS + PIERCINGS: Ear piercings
