#also I'm still taking prompts for these so...

[holdtheskeletongrillby]

They did a small study about how using AI affects the brain, I'm on mobile at work or I'd look for it to link it, and the biggest takeaway was that if you used it without having at least the baseline skills, it impaired cognitive function. Like they had group A generate essays with ChatGPT, group B and C write their own essays but Group B got to use Google to look stuff up while Group C had to do it all themselves. Group B also had reduced cognitive function compared to C, but not by much. Then after a couple days, they let the manual writers use ChatGPT while the AI users had to do it themselves. When they did this, Group C still had it best and also performed better. The biggest takeaway for me, even with a study this small and not yet repeated (at least at the time I read it a few weeks ago), is that kids absolutely should not be using AI in grade school and AI should only even be messed with once you have your fundamentals down.

If you're an adult who actually knows what you are doing and can get benefits by putting some of the busywork parts on AI, I guess, but I decided to play with it myself (to make sure I know how to use it just in case some job in the future demands it) using just prompting and then again with feeding it some worldbuilding notes from a project I toyed with in college but due to my adhd never did anything real with, since I don't care if that gets used somewhere else by someone. Just prompting, the man behind the curtain was so obvious and there's no real feeling behind it. Feeding it my notes and using it more to help organize my thoughts worked a lot better and the responsiveness of the AI helped me stay focused longer, but I'm sure there's better ways of achieving that. That's really the only decent use for AI I see with writing creatively as it stands now, but getting a good roleplay partner or a more interactive writing software should do the same. And I just saw another article yesterday that it turns out it just tricks software devs into thinking they're faster when it takes them more time than just working manually, so like... It's not saving anyone time.

Whenever I think about students using AI, I think about an essay I did in high school. Now see, we were reading The Grapes of Wrath, and I just couldn't do it. I got 25 pages in and my brain refused to read any more. I hated it. And its not like I hate the classics, I loved English class and I loved reading. I had even enjoyed Of Mice and Men, which I had read for fun. For some reason though, I absolutely could NOT read The Grapes of Wrath.

And it turned out I also couldn't watch the movie. I fell asleep in class both days we were watching it.

This, of course, meant I had to cheat on my essay.

And I got an A.

The essay was to compare the book and the movie and discuss the changes and how that affected the story.

Well it turned out Sparknotes had an entire section devoted to comparing and contrasting the book and the movie. Using that, and flipping to pages mentioned in Sparknotes to read sections of the book, I was able to bullshit an A paper.

But see the thing is, that this kind of 'cheating' still takes skills, you still learn things.

I had to know how to find the information I needed, I needed to be able to comprehend what sparknotes was saying and the analysis they did, I needed to know how to USE the information I read there to write an essay, I needed to know how to make sure none of it was marked as plagerized. I had to form an opinion on the sparknotes analysis so I could express my own opinions in the essay.

Was it cheating? Yeah, I didn't read the book or watch the movie. I used Sparknotes. It was a lot less work than if I had read the book and watched the movie and done it all myself.

The thing is though, I still had to use my fucking brain. Being able to bullshit an essay like that is a skill in and of itself that is useful. I exercised important skills, and even if it wasnt the intended way I still learned.

ChatGTP and other AI do not give that experience to people, people have to do nothing and gain nothing from it.

Using AI is absolutely different from other ways students have cheated in the past, and I stand by my opinion that its making students dumber, more helpless, and less capable.

However you feel about higher education, I think its undeniable that students using chatgtp is to their detriment. And by extension a detriment to anyone they work with or anyone who has to rely on them for something.

[ssentimentals]

heeey, hope u're doing fine 💗 i'd like to see your thoughts for prompt 4 + wonwoo (thank u so much in advance)

heeey dearest, i'm all good, how are you? thank you for requesting this funny prompt! 💜

prompt: 'ibuprofen and redbull is not breakfast.'

'are you alri-'

'i'm up, i'm up!' you startle, jumping on the chair and almost falling from it if it weren't for wonwoo's steady hand on your back. 'i wasn't sleeping!'

'right.'

his deadpan tone makes you pause. you blink, rub your eyes and blink again, taking in the surroundings. it's still your living room and your notes for the exam are still open right in front of you. only now there's bright sunlight peeking from the curtains and you're pretty sure it was past four am when you decided to take a small break from your studies. with a sinking feeling of dread settling in your stomach you ask: 'what time is it?'

wonwoo walks past you, dropping few supermarket bags on the table. 'almost nine am.'

you squint at him and he squints back, because he's an idiot and also because he knows that his squinty face never fails to make you laugh. you completely miss the fond look he sends you as your shoulders shake with silent laughter. 'god, you look so ugly when you do that, woo.'

'you're not winning miss universe with that face either,' he fires back with no malice, grinning when you laugh again. he then turns his attention to the bags he brought: 'breakfast?'

'no, i'm good. i ate something before falling asleep.'

'not for dinner, i'm talking about breakfast,' wonwoo corrects, looking up. 'and ibuprofen and redbull is not breakfast.'

you glance at empty can of the energy drink next to you. yeah, you're not proud but hey, you're also not the one who decided to put three exams in a one day, so. 'do not judge my coping mechanisms!'

'i am judging. hard.' wonwoo says dryly, corners of the mouth quirking up when you giggle. this sound might be his favorite one. 'anyways, breakfast? i got your favorite bagels from the bakery down the street and-'

'oooh, you love me!' you sing-song, getting up and running to his side, grinning from ear to ear. at the sight of a familiar drink you gasp: 'and my favorite coffee too? wonwoo, you really do love me.'

'i do,' wonwoo admits softly, too softly.

you don't notice though, digging through the bags and squealing at each new item you find. 'you are the best roommate i ever had, woo.'

'i'm the only roommate you ever had.'

'exactly!' you turn to him with a blinding smile that makes wonwoo's heart seize in his chest. 'and i don't ever want it to change.'

wonwoo wonders if you ever understand how it all looks from the side. if you ever pause to think of how the words you say sounds from the other side. if you ever sit and think of what you two have because- because wonwoo does. runs his mind with thoughts of you. maybe one day he'll be brave enough to confess, to take your hands in his and tell you that he cares more about you than he ever cared for anyone. that the sight of you early in the morning with sleepy eyes and messy hair makes him want to cry from how beautiful you are. that he'd buy you your favorite things just to see your smile, that your smiel is the reason of his good mood. for now though he settles on this: pulling out a chair for you, cutting your bagel in two because you hate when it's not cut and gently touchign up your forehead to check if you have a fever or not. when you look up at him, smiling, he smiles back.

'no fever, don't worry. thanks for the breakfast, woo!' you pat a seat next to you. 'come sit with me!'

'you're welcome,' wonwoo replies, obediently sitting next to you, smiling at the way your cheeks bunch up once you start eating.

'oh, this is so good. you really are a life savior, woo. always there when i need you.'

wonwoo exhales. god, do you ever- he pauses. inhales. exhales. it doesn't matter. he'll gain his courage soon. 'anytime,' he whispers, smiling. 'always'

a/n: it's my favorite FAVORITE trope to write thank you so much for requesting it!! i hope you loved it, uni student!wonwoo is my fav ever :') - nini

my other seventeen works are here

request your own here

[faramirsonofgondor]

Okay, so I'm just going to throw this at you because I have way too many WIPs on my plate, a document of more than 130K words of ideas, and I just love the way you think on the prompts you've been given. So here we go:

There are so many fics and AUs where someone goes back in time, or just their consciousness, or what not, and they always end up changing things for the better. Sometimes for the worse. Except its always been one of the "good guys". What about one of the "bad guys". Say... Ra's Al Ghul? He goes into the Lazarus pit like he is know to do, but when he comes out it's years earlier. Like everything he's seen and done the past X number of years was a vision given to him by the Pit. His daughter is much, much younger. Damian has not been born. The Detective has not been returned to his city for more than a few years. In his research on his chosen heir he see the headline pertaining to the Wayne Foundation Benefit Circus, realizes it is the day the first child/protege of the Detective comes into the man's life.

Would he allow it? Would he permit Richard Grayson to change the man? To alter what he has always felt Bruce's destiny was? Or would he stop the boy? Save the parents maybe so there's no reason for Bruce to take him in? Would he eliminate the boy along with his parents? Or, would he remember the potential and accomplishments of Richard/Robin/Nightwing and wish to harness that for himself?

Thoughts, if you have any?

OOOOH Ok but how about this: He knows that Dick is the first kid to come into Bruce’s life, but he’s not the only one. Ra’s sees it as Bruce having an adoption problem, and though Dick might’ve been the catalyst there’s no saying how he would react even if he never had Dick. Bruce would be easier to control using variables that Ra’s is already familiar with. So he lets Bruce take in Dick, but he also remembers how Bruce was after Jason died and decides that he should move up the timeline.

Except, Ra’s doesn’t exactly remember everything that went on during Dick’s time as Robin, so most of the things that happen are still the same, except Dick got a lot more scars along the way. He nudges Deathstroke in their direction, remembering the man’s rivalry with Dock and hoping that the man will try to eliminate him. Only, Slade becomes obsessed and decides to train the kid instead (which happened in the last life but Ra’s doesn’t remember it). Once the kid goes back to Bruce, he’s all moody and traumatized, which Ra’s hopes is enough to spur Bruce into killing. It isn’t.

So Ra’s sends Talia like he did last time, not wanting to mess up and lose his heir, but unlike last time, he doesn’t instruct Talia to drive a wedge between Bruce and Dick. Instead, he tells her to make sure that their relationship is better than ever, hoping that if Bruce becomes even more attached to Dick, then losing Dick will hurt more. She does so, but as time goes on, Ra’s starts to realize that Talia has grown attached to Dick. Once she’s pregnant with Damian, he orders her to come back immediately, but he’s surprised to find that she protests vehemently. Eventually, he gets her to come back under the threat that he would kill Dick, her, and her child.

However, once Talia leaves, Dick and Bruce’s relationship starts to take a turn for the worse. Bruce is more controlling in the loss of his lover, not wanting to be left again. Dick is desperate for freedom and independence, fighting against Bruce’s controlling nature. Ra’s tries one last time, having his assassins break Joker out of Arkham so that Dick could get attacked by him and push Bruce into killing him. It doesn’t work, Dick gets shot and leaves and now Bruce is alone.

So Ra’s is just like “fine, guess I’ll just stick to what happened last time” and decides to make sure Bruce adopts Jason and gets him into vigilantism. Except he may have also overshot it slightly because he witnessed the fallout of Bruce and Dick’s relationship, and was like “obviously this man cannot be trusted to handle these kids alone, he needs someone to mediate” and so he lures Dick back into their lives the night after Bruce takes in Jason by leaving some creepy note and photos of Jason and Batman. Dick understandably is like “wtf Bruce” but he warms up to Jason a lot quicker and does eventually end up mediating some conflicts between Jason and Bruce, despite the fact that his relationship with Bruce is still less than stellar.

Of course, Ra’s still wants to push Bruce into breaking his code and into reaching “his full potential” and decides to go with the tried and true method of Jason’s death. He waits til Dick is in space then orchestrates a fight between Jason and Bruce while leaving a trail that will lead Jason to his mother, all while nudging Joker in their direction. Jason dies again, except Joker got to spend much more time with him because of how Ra’s had pushed things along. Bruce can barely recognize his son by the time he gets there.

Ra’s waits in anticipation for Bruce to kill Joker. He watches as Bruce gets more and more violent, more and more reckless, and as he gets closer and closer to crossing the line. Bruce tries to kill Joker, once, but is stopped by Superman. Ra’s still has hope that Bruce will kill Joker (or someone else), especially considering that Bruce and Dick are back to fighting with each other again. Then Tim shows up, and Bruce starts losing his momentum, his temper cools gradually, though not completely. Ra’s wants to scream in frustration, but he’s distracted by Jason’s revival and sudden arrival at Nanda Parbat. He had almost forgotten about that, but decides to use this all to his advantage.

He breaks the Joker again (he really should realize that this method isn’t working for him) and sets up a scenario so that Bruce thinks that Joker killed Tim, then places cameras around the room to show Jason how Bruce reacts. He’s hoping that when Jason sees Bruce’s failure, he’ll be persuaded to lure Bruce towards the “right” path. Except Batman doesn’t get there first. Nightwing does. Ra’s, Talia, and Jason all watched in muted horror/fascination as Dick beats the Joker to death, and then beats him a little more. Maybe Ra’s shouldn’t have underestimated the kid so much.

Batman shows up eventually, and ends up reviving Joker, but Ra’s was already starting to reevaluate his plans. Maybe Batman would never break his rule, but clearly Nightwing could be persuaded. Ra’s spends time reassessing and redoing his plans, and by the time he’s ready to bring Nightwing to Nanda Parbat, the Blockbuster debacle has already happened and the Gang Wars are coming to an end. The girl-Robin dies which gives Ra’s the perfect opportunity to snatch Dick and integrate him into the LoA.

Obviously, Ra’s doesn’t actually snatch him. But he does send some assassins to persuade him to come with them, and fortunately Dick doesn’t need much persuading. Apparently, all his fights with Batman had led to him chucking his morals out the window, which was great for Ra’s plans. Once Dick was in the League, he adapted surprisingly well. It was almost unnerving how well. It rankled Ra’s, how perfect Dick seemed to be. Ra’s could hardly find any mistakes in his fighting ability or intelligence. It was beginning to frustrate him to no end. He even got Deathstroke to train the boy more, and Lady Shiva as well, but Dick quickly surpassed their skill. It seemed as though he was even inventing his own moves and style of fighting? Ra’s wasn’t sure how he could have overlooked such an obvious threat, though for now he did nothing about it considering the boy seemed perfectly happy living under Ra’s thumb. Ra’s was just glad Dick was unaware of Jason’s presence, otherwise shit would get messy real quick.

Unbeknownst to Ra’s, Dick was very much aware of Jason’s presence. See, in another timeline, the first timeline, Ra’s would order his daughter to sew tension between Bruce and his first child, and in doing so, created a decades-long animosity between Talia and Dick. But in this timeline? Ra’s has Talia mediate the relationship between Bruce and his ward, and in doing so, creates an unbreakable bond between Talia and Dick. Talia may have pretended at first, but Dick had wormed his way into her heart, and now she saw him as her first child in a way. He made her want to change, to do better. He was the bright spot in the darkest times of her life. It broke her heart to have to leave him and Bruce, and since that day her hatred for her father grew and grew.

She realized early on that Ra’s was involved in plans to hurt Dick, and she tried her best to intervene when she could. To her horror, Dick was hurt anyways and ended up leaving Bruce. It hurt her heart to see two people she loved more than anything fight the way they did, but she knew Ra’s was mostly to blame, so she settled for revenge. She would wait until Damian grew, then they would end Ra’s together and return to their family (if they were still alive by that point - and Talia desperately hoped they would be).

Jason threw a wrench in those plans, seeing as his presence seemed to help bridge the gap in Bruce and Dick’s relationship. But then he died, and Talia knew, she knew, her father had been behind this. She debated going to Bruce with this information, but she didn’t have enough evidence yet and she wasn’t sure how her beloved would respond. Plus, she needed to know why Ra’s was doing this, what his end goal was, and she wouldn’t be able to figure that out if Bruce decided to act on his anger. She decided to get into contact with Dick instead, seeing as Ra’s wasn’t monitoring him as much as he was Bruce. When she found about Jason’s revival, she told Dick immediately and they started coming up with ideas on how to get him away from Ra’s. Dick understood that for their plans to work, Bruce couldn’t know, though Dick didn’t really like keeping such a big secret from the man. But Bruce tended to get tunnel vision and he had control issues, he would want to be in charge of making the plan and he likely wouldn’t agree with Talia’s plot to kill Ra’s.

It was a bit of a surprise, when Dick killed Joker, but Talia couldn’t really the blame the man. Still, she worried as Dick seemed to get more and more traumatized, and as more and more evil landed on his doorstep. When Dick finally ended up in Nanda Parbat, it took more restraint than she was willing to admit to hold off on embracing him. This would only work if they kept their cover. Still, despite Dick’s competency and clear dangerousness, Ra’s seemed to underestimate them while he poured his time and resources into keeping an eye on Bruce and the third Robin. Dick didn’t interact with Jason, still scared to be found out by Ra’s, but they did pass messages through Talia. Damian had also taken quite the shining to Dick. If it were anyone else, Talia would be envious of the amount of attention Damian gave to him, but this was Dick and so Talia understood completely. Dick had taken to calling Damian “his little Flamebird” in private. Once Talia understood the context behind the name, she felt honored on Damian’s behalf.

However, despite the emotions swirling between them, they still had coup to plan. Talia was both relieved and a bit worried about how easily Dick persuaded people to join them, but then again he had always been a people-person and a good conversationalist. In the end, it was Talia, Dick, Jason, Deathstroke (which Talia did not have the time to question), Lady Shiva, Lady Shiva’s daughter (???), and a little over half of the League that went up against Ra’s. Dick moved with a fluidness and vengeance that Talia had never seen before. As promised, he and Deathstroke gravely injured Ra’s, but left the killing blow up to her.

Ra’s hadn’t seen any of it coming. Here he was bleeding out, watching as Talia approached. His only hope was that his daughter or someone loyal to him would throw him back into the Pit, and he would get another chance. Next time, he would do things differently. Next time, he would kill the brat before Bruce even looked at him. Next time, he would ensure both his daughter’s and Bruce’s total submission to him, and him alone. Next time, he would-

There was no next time, because before Ra’s could even finish his thought, his head was at Talia’s feet. Things were different, now. Talia was softer, but no less determined. Dick was sharper, more jaded, but no less kind and loyal. Bruce was darker, but no less loving. Jason was angrier, more traumatized, but no less protective and caring. They might have more trauma, more hurt and pain and and scars anger and darkness within them, but they were a family, and they were all willing to try for each other.

[alexanderlightweight]

hi! I have no idea if prompts are still open (it is decidedly not Wednesday - on that note I hope you have an amazing weekend) but I was wondering if you could add a little to the verse where Alec prays to his ancestors? (I'm an absolute slut for anything pagan/occult, so this verse ticks every box I have)

I would really love to see if there are any... hidden/obscure practices that have been lost to time and censorship. would Magnus recognise them? How did he come to this practice? an obscure book hidden in an abandoned corner of the library? an accident whilst at the family graveyard?

anyway thank you so much for indulging my questions (and for sharing your incredible writing) . have a good day/night and please tell nightshade he's a very good boy for me!

(sorry for the long ask and wow there are a lot of parenthesis)

hi!! this is from a while ago (and back when i did take prompts randomly as well) so ofc i'm still answering! (it just took a while) because now i only accept prompts when the ask box is 'prompts open'. but that's only a couple months old.

i hope you enjoy it!! last part of fic here.

<3 lumine

*long asks are fun! also magnus will recognize some practices but not as nephilim, it's just that they'll be similar in nature to ones he recognizes and has seen/used. so sometimes magnus will be able to guess what alec's doing and they're also very compatible so alec and magnus can pull each other into rituals that normally shouldn't be shared. also magnus has extra immunity because of Asmodeus' blood. the part of alec figuring this out is here. (also all nephilim are technically related -something all of them forget- because raziel's blood is half of all their shared biology )

thank you i will!! he is currently snuggling under my feet but he wiggled a bit when i told him someone sent him 'good boys' (aka where i singsong repeat good boy until i run out of breathe) i also use a lot of parenthesis! they're nice. (Nightshade got excited and did the turn around in a circle and lay back down)

pray to the hunters

Alexander is frowning when Magnus finally sees him.

Oh he’s known his boy was there, but since Alexander was practicing a surprising about of discretion concerning his presence, Magnus let it be.

Until his patience ran out.

He finds Alexander in his professional office which is not a place he’s shown Alexander, but one he’s pleased his boy’s made use of.  The fact that Alexander is willing to trespass without first talking to Magnus means he feels he belongs here, in Magnus’ private and personal space and he’s right.

Alexander belongs anywhere that is Magnus’.

Yet that doesn’t change the fact that Alexander is frowning as he looks down through the one-way window that shows the club below. He looks at the writhing crowd that moves to the tempo of the music and the pulse of the magic as if barely seeing them.

“What displeases you darling?”

Alexander looks to him, face smoothing into nothing but the turn of his lips to show his pleasure at Magnus’ arrival.

“I have a boon to ask.”

Magnus’ heart stutters though his breathing stays steady and his magic throbs with ravenous hunger at the idea.

A boon puts Alexander in Magnus’ debt.

A boon gives Magnus yet another hold over Alexander and unless the boon broke a personal limit, Magnus can’t imagine denying Alexander for even a moment.

“Tell me what it is and if it’s within my power, I will grant it.”

Magnus doesn’t mention that if it’s not in his power, he will simply expand his power until it is.  There is little that means as much as securing more of Alexander’s affections and interests and most delightfully, his gratitude.

“There are traditions. Old ones, to carry a piece of another. A token of sorts.”

“Another?” Magnus mocks, because he doubts that’s the word actually used.

Alexander rolls his eyes, not even bothering to hide it, and gives Magnus a look. It reminds Magnus that teasing Alexander has it’s own consequences as his boy is liable to bite back.  And Magnus is no more eager to… confine the limits of their relationship to mere words just yet.

“Continue.” Magnus allows with a flick of his fingers and Alexander catches his hand lightning quick; only to bring Magnus’ palm to his lips for a cool kiss that has Magnus sighing in contentment.

Truly, he has no interest in returning to his court. Not when Alexander is here and so near and so willing to play with Magnus in turn.

Especially since even when he teases, Alexander’s words and actions are formed and threaded with sincerity.

“Oh I’m not boring you?” Alexander’s expression doesn’t change but his eyes gleam and Magnus gives a deep chuckle and uses the palm Alexander’s holding to pull his boy close. Close enough that he can kiss Alexander’s cheek, adding just a hint of teeth against his boy's jaw.

“No, not in the least.”

A knock rings at the door and before anything can happen the wards activate with a twitch of Magnus’ eye. And — unheard to Alexander — the daring intruder and near interrupter will be met with a rebound of equal force.

Magnus will not tolerate interruptions to any of his moments with Alexander.  Perhaps when things are more widely known. When Magnus is sure that all but the most reclusive of the shadowworld known who Alexander belongs to. Especially once those of the downworld who work with death realize that Alexander also walks their path. It’s only rumors and legends, nothing truly confirmed of nephilim who dabble in necromancy. And while Magnus’ goal in the end is having a consort of equal ability and devastation; he can’t deny how many would love to steal Alexander from him.

Not that Alexander would turn from Magnus, it’s simply that it won’t stop others from trying.

“You were saying, darling?” Magnus coaxes, voice soothing and lined with promised threat.

Alexander relaxes as intended with an amused smirk at the door, correctly interpreting who the threat is for. His teeth gleam like sun-bleached bone as they flash sharply in a grin that has an almost boyish charm that makes him look dangerously innocent.

If Alexander ever wished or learned to use his face to hunt prey rather than his instincts and talent, then he would be instantly successfully.

Or perhaps Magnus is simply entranced by Alexander in every way.

“It can be worn as jewelry such as rings or a band, or—” Alexander’s eyes glitter like he knows a secret he thinks Magnus will enjoy, “a piercing. Something from another intimately entwined with ones own body.”

Alexander doesn’t have any piercings, yet.

Magnus is aware of that but it doesn’t stop Magnus from imaging where one would go and how it would look and he realizes it would undoubtedly be made of bone. A shared hunt. Between the two of them they can easily find a rogue nephilim to kill. Proof of strength and adoration, carved from Magnus own hand and magic and drenched in blood he’s shed.

Magnus swallows, hoarse with want at that kind of a claim and his fingers dig deep enough to bruise as Alexander’s face softens with contentment.

AN:

tumblr tried to autocorrect alexander's (the only problem capitalization) to salamanders. SALAMANDERS.

yes. magnus' salamanders.

while i'm sure magnus has definitely bred fire breathing salamanders or tectonic shaking mudskips, not currently in this fic.

anyhoo. uh. yeah. magnus is delighted. thrilled. he gets to pick what he wants and where he wants for alec and alec gets to do the same for him.

alec: so i want to ask a favor

magnus: okay lets hear it

alec: i want to get couples piercings

magnus: how is that a favor? but also i dont care lets go.

-

Magnus: on one hand i would have done this without the boon and on the other, i really want that boon. so it's mine. and so is alexander.

Alec not really caring just very pleased. He considered it a boon because he knows Magnus is rather particular with his jewelry. he figured the concession was Magnus being comfortable with it being reciprocal. magnus is delighted its reciprocal. he's fucking thrilled and alec's all viciously pleased about his claim on magnus as well and magnus is ready to preen like a well deserved peacock does

because peacocks deserve to preen. lets be real they are beautiful. and so is magnus.

also i relate to alec in a lot of ways but especially in that we are both magnus apologists. he really is magical.

[offdxty]

Part of Kane, not-Kane, it, is still very much aware of he fact that this - the closeness between them - isn't exactly something that's happening between two men in such a casual way. ---At least not often, and without... other context involved. The same goes for two women. A man and a woman, even. At least that's what Kane thinks, is familiar with, feels that it's... correct, somewhere within himself.

And yet he makes no move to shift away, to try and get distance between them; He enjoys it instead, the intimacy, the care he receives from the other - those arms that curl back around him once that hand has fallen away from his cheek, the way Arthur looks him over---

Arthur. Not Harrow, not. Dr. Harrow, not Doctor - just Arthur.

"...I like it." A hum, a statement, but soft in nature. "Arthur." As if to test what it feels like to speak that name out loud, let it roll over a sore tongue a bit too slow, "...---You look like an Arthur to me. It fits you."

Just like the other had said something similar before - that Kane suits him, that he has... earned it, just like that.

It hits somewhere deep, settles there, and Kane blinks before he swallows, deciding to allow his head to sink and rest against the shape of the other man's shoulder - his cheek is coming in contact with it, nose almost touching Arthur's throat but not quite, a gaze growing even heavier than it had before---

You can sleep on me, the man offers - as if being able to read his concerns in just the same way as Kane had read the other's thoughts... unbeknownst to him, that is.

It prompts a brief smile onto full lips, one that only stays for a second and a half, then fades again.

I'll be here when you wake up, I promise.

"...I'm not sure if I've earned it. The name." A whisper, deeply emotional in nature, a bit unsteady - telling of how much it affects Kane, what Arthur had said before. Not necessarily in a negative way, no, not at all - but rather in a... general way? No, that's also not quite true.

Good doesn't fit either. It's just... very emotional, yes - his voice carrying that truth with every syllable that leaves his mouth, a pair of eyes finally falling closed, unable to remain open for any longer.

"But I like to think... that he was okay with giving it to me. He was... he was okay with me existing, more than I expected him to, when thinking back to it. He... was scared when I appeared, yes, but he wasn't... --he wasn't trying to fight me, and he begun to talk to me."

A swallow, brows furrowing a little as the seconds pass - as something primal and natural begins to take claim of Kane, wraps its dark fingers around his existence, his mind. He knows he's about to fall asleep, exhaustion taking its toll; Arthur being so comfortable, warm and kind, is only speeding up the process on top of it... and Kane surely won't complain.

"...Maybe..." Barely there anymore, but Kane seems to want to get the words out before he grows too tired to do such, before he's unable to keep in control of his tongue any longer. "...Maybe he was okay... with me having the name. Like he was... ---like he was okay with me having his face. His... body. That security guard said I'm wearing it like a badge - the face of a good man..."

It still stings, a little bit.

"...But maybe that's okay... ---Maybe it's okay for me to have his face, to be called Kane. He was okay with me being there, so... maybe I can... honor him, or something... by continuing to live on. By carrying his name."

A breath, a voice growing even heavier, almost a drawl at this point as Kane goes on, clings to his consciousness.

"---He was so strong. A soldier. I'm... a little proud that I got to meet him, and that the shimmer chose for me to be him."

"I don't think... that many... get to have it. The... honor."

One more breath, and silence begins to stretch. Kane's body softens even further, and he's resting a little awkwardly against the other - with his arm still being somewhat-curled around Arthur's back while Kane's head rests on his shoulder...

And yet Kane feels more comfortable than he ever has in his entire, short life.

I’ll be here when you wake up. I promise.

Arthur hummed, though he again didn’t say anything. He liked hearing the words - he liked hearing that Kane liked his name. He liked hearing that Kane felt better, that everything was helping; it made him feel good, deep down.

It was a sense of warmth that bled through the cotton in his mind, a form of self comfort just in knowing that Kane was feeling better. 

... He liked the way Kane tilted his hand into the touch, like he liked it being there. Like he wanted it to stay - and so it did. Arthur left his hand, gently tracing it over Kane’s cheek, soft and caring. 

HIs thumb continued to stroke once, gently, tracing over Kane’s face. Beneath his eye, over his cheekbone - and then he let his hand pull back, resting both arms around the other man, again just holding him carefully. 

“Kane suits you,” Arthur said at last, his voice quiet but certain. “There’s something strong in it. Something I think you’ve earned.” 'Kane' belonged to the man in front of him, now - not the second Kane, not the after-Kane. Just Kane.

The other could be the alternate, now. This one was the true one. 

He was to Arthur, at least.

There was another soft pause, Arthur letting his gaze fall down to the curve of Kane’s shoulder. The bruises that rested beneath the bandages still took his focus, even in his drugged state of mind; even when Kane did seem genuine in the fact that it wasn’t bothering him as severely. 

“You don’t have to call me Harrow, you know,” he continued, in a gentle whisper. “Not if you don’t want to. My name is Arthur - you can call me that.” 

His voice didn’t falter on that, but there was something strange in how he said his own name. He hadn’t gone by Arthur in a painfully long time - sometimes people at work would use it, but it was seldom allowed.

He didn’t give his name out, the same way he didn’t give his heart out - and yet Kane had gained possession of both. 

Harrow blinked again, carefully, looking back to the other man with him. “… If you’re feeling better, you need to try and sleep,” he delicately said. “I know you don’t want to, I know it’s hard. But he’s not coming back. I’m not going to let him.” 

He still hadn’t tried to separate from the man fully, still comfortable to be sitting next to each other like this. 

“… You can sleep on me,” he offered, next, wondering if Arthur leaving was the concern. “If I move, you’ll know. You’ll wake up. So you won’t miss anything, I’ll be here the whole time you’re sleeping.” It’d be intimate, maybe, but then again so was this - it wasn’t sexual, it wasn’t romantic or taking advantage of someone. 

It was care. Aching, sincere care. “… I’ll be here when you wake up. I promise.” 

[towasdandelion]

Hi!! So, I was just wondering if I could request something? The prompt ahead is a bit angsty, so if you don’t wanna do it, you don’t have to!

———————————————————————————

Basically, how would the ghouls react if MC wanted to break up with them? Also, what be her reason to do so? I had some fluffy ideas, but then for some reason I wanted angst more :p Again, you don’t have to do it if you don’t wanna! But if you do, could you add Lucas, Kaito, Zenji, Towa, Haru, and Haku? I don’t know if you do specific character requests and that might be a bit much, so you can just choose a few from that list! Okay, bye now!!!

Hii! Sorry it takes a while for me to get the requests done recently (⁠^⁠～⁠^⁠;⁠)⁠ゞ Angst you say? This is pretty sad (⁠´⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠.̫⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠`⁠) Also yeah I do specific characters, and six is usually the limit! Anyways I hope you'll like it!

A few things:

I think breaking up over text is rather tactless but since I'm doing smaus let's just say the MC had trouble reaching them lately and not wanting to hide her feelings from them any longer, decides to first inform them through a text.

The reasons might not seem like much, but I feel like when things like that build up over time without being resolved (which MC tried, you wouldn't break up with them just like that would you (⁠´⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠.̫⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠`⁠) ) they can feel really heavy.

Also this kinda turned out longer than expected oops.

‧˚₊•┈┈┈┈୨୧┈┈┈┈•‧₊˚⊹

𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎

‧˚₊•┈┈┈┈୨୧┈┈┈┈•‧₊˚⊹

Featuring: Lucas, Kaito, Towa, Haru, Haku, Zenji

Lucas is doting. Always making sure you're alright, that you're safe and sound. At first, you appreciated someone checking on you like that. You could feel loved and cared for. But as the time went by, it started to feel a bit.. overbearing. You were doing everything in your power to live your life to the fullest even with the curse, but Luca worried. Always worried. When you can't take it anymore, he's a bit taken aback. He needs a moment to process your words and sadly, he has to admit there's something in it. He didn't even notice when things started to look this way. His intention was never to smother you with his care after all. As much as he'd want to, he won't try pressuring you into staying, instead giving you some time to consider everything once again. All he wishes for is a conversation in person. Of course he's sad and heartbroken. But you always come first...

Kaito is just a little insecure, right? Some complaints and whines here and there, comparing himself to others. With time, you found yourself feeling drained by his constant need of reassurance... You loved him, of course. But at this point, being by his side felt like someone was slowly sucking out the positive energy out of you. You probably already guessed, but he's not going to take the news very well. What do you mean too much? Eveyrone needs some reassurance from time to time, right? His realization comes with time. For now, he finds it hard to understand. He supports you and you support him. Why do you want to ruin that? Might actually beg you not to leave him. Sit him down and have a calm talk with him. It will help.

Towa's clingy way of being was something you always found cute about him. He always wanted to be next to you! And whenever he was, he was either holding you hand, clinging to your arm or just straight up tackle you with his hugs. It really was endearing, but his whiny side whenever you had to leave was starting to get to you, ultimately becoming your reason to break up with him. Like Kaito, he's not going to understand. And worse, he won't let go of you easily. Don't you like to feel loved, Dandelion? Why do you suddenly not want his closeness? And most importantly, why would you want break up just because of it? It will take a good while and a lot of conversations with Haru for him to understand properly. But even then, he still can't stand the situation he found himself in.

Haru is a busy man. His organization and hard work were admirable. You also found it cute how he would sometimes rope you into work when he didn't have time for a proper date. Unfortunately though, the situation started to repeat very often, with him calling you over mostly to help him with his workload... which led to your break up in the end. What's the point of being with someone if they don't even make time for you? Haru realizes his mistake the moment you point it out. He lost himself in his work so much that he ended up treating you like just another pair of helping hands, and he hates himself for it. As much as it hurts he won't hold a grudge against you, even if his actions were unintentional. He will leave you alone for the time being, taking this time to reflect on his actions before even asking you to meet you.

Haku always found a way to tease and rile you up. He relished in the feeling of being the one making you squirm under his gaze alone. But somewhere along the way, you started to doubt his intentions.. His teasing was relentless at times, not giving up until he gets the reaction he wanted, forgetting about how you feel in the process. With heavy heart, you decided to end this. Haku is caught off guard. Break up, really? Just because he loves teasing you? Something is not right. It's not until you explain it to him properly that he finally understands what went wrong. He made you feel like this relationship was just a game, and he can't help but feel disappointed with himself. He took it too far and now he needs to face it. Might try to get you to talk it out first, but then decides to simply give you some time. Maybe you'll change your mind? Maybe all you need is a conversation heart to heart.

Being with Zenji meant being on a lookout for inspiration more often than not, and getting used to his somewhat cryptic way of speaking that sometimes happened. You always enjoyed helping him, or even being the source of inspiration itself. But as time passed, you couldn't help but feel the pressure whenever he fretted over lack of ideas for the next part of his story. It's like he got stuck on one thing, and refused to do anything else until he found the perfect words. As much as you loved him, you couldn't stand it anymore. Zenji wasn't expecting this, but it successfully snaps him out of this weird trance. He's almost crushed by this wave of sadness. How could he lose himself like this? Writing and playing are things he loves the most, but none of this matters if you aren't by his side. He won't try to change your mind forcibly if that's what you really want, but at least let him talk to you in person.

[mirrorthoughts]

Steter prompt for you : Set after the whole basement thing in S2. Peter is still an Alpha when he comes back (freaky voodoo necromancytw ftw)

Anyhooters, Alpha Peter finding Stiles alone in the warehouse, slowly dying from internal bleeding from said basement injuries and having to turn him to save him

I'm sorry it took me so long to write this 😭

But still thanks for the prompt! Here you have a bit over 1k for it :D

@superfluffycam-blog & @ladyofsoa I'm working on your prompts, too! I'm just... slow rn 😂😅

The warehouse had suddenly quieted down after the chaos. Stiles wasn't quite sure what had happened in the end, the debilitating pain in his body making it hard to even stand stable. He was sure that his last stunt, driving the jeep through the wall, had finally broken something. Or maybe it was a concussion that had made everything hazy and hard to focus on. He wasn't sure.

He'd watched Lydia raise Jackson from the dead, then he'd blinked and they'd been gone. When he'd turned around to look for Scott, or Derek, or, hell, even fucking Gerard, everyone had vanished. They'd all just… left him here. Not even asking how he was, where he'd been, what had happened to him.

Stiles turned around again, this time towards Roscoe, and took a couple of slow steps, each of them harder and more unstable than the last. He just needed to get back to his jeep. He just needed to sit down and start the engine and then-

He blinked when he suddenly felt the cold floor on his face, the pain pulsating through his whole body. He felt cold. Why was it so cold? He was wearing enough clothes that it shouldn't be cold, right? But he wasn't sure if he was still feeling his toes - or fingers, for that matter - which seemed like a very, very bad thing. Though he couldn't quite remember why it was bad that he was cold other than that he didn't like feeling like this. If he just curled up a bit more, he could surely get warmer and just… sleep the exhaustion off, right? Was he already curled up? Was that important anymore? He could just sleep. He would just close his eyes for a couple of minutes, regain some strength and then-

"Stiles!!"

Peter hadn't expected to come back to an empty warehouse with nothing but the boy lying motionless on the floor. He'd followed Gerard to take care of him and had only turned back once he'd been done to clean up whatever was left in the warehouse. He'd seen - and smelled - that Stiles had been hurt, but he'd also expected someone other than him to care. Obviously he had been wrong.

He kneeled down next to Stiles, hands gingery sliding over the boy's back up to his shoulders until his fingers pressed against the boy's neck, feeling for the pulse he could only hear in sluggish, weak beats. Making sure that he was hearing right, that there still was a pulse no matter how wrong it sounded. "…et'r?" Even Peter's superior hearing had almost missed what he would like to call a mumble but was too quiet to actually be considered one. The word had been nothing more than a breath leaving Stiles' lips. Then the boy's eyelids fluttered, though his eyes were entirely unfocused and had lost their sharp intelligence.

"Yes." Peter took a deep breath. He had to do something. Stiles was dying right in front of him.

He fletched his suddenly very sharp teeth and let his eyes glow red as he brushed a hand through Stiles' sweaty and dusty hair. "You are dying, Stiles… Do you want the bite?" Stiles' eyes closed and Peter felt his heart sink. But he could still hear a pulse, could still feel it below his fingers, no matter how slow it was. He hadn't lost his boy, yet.

"Y'renalpha?" He almost didn't understand the next mumbled words but as soon as he did he nodded. "Yes, I am." "…alright."

Peter breathed his relief in, leaned forward and carefully bit his new beta's shoulder. Now all he could do was wait.

Stiles hadn't expected to open his eyes again. He'd been so sure that he would die. He'd even hallucinated an Alpha Peter who was offering him the bite to save him.

Now, though, there was warmth all around him and the pain was gone. Instead there was something like reliefprideamusement humming in his chest, a feeling he couldn't help but bask in with a content sigh. "Finally awake?" a velvety voice brushed over his ears, quiet but with an audible smile. There were other noises, too. Someone washing dishes, a pair of voices discussing ingredients for dinner, a TV running on a sports channel, birds rustling in the leafs of a tree.

"What…?" Stiles mumbled and slowly opened his eyes, blinking against the sunlight coming in from the window. A page was turned right next to his ear, the sound fitting to Peter reading his book in a chair on the other side of the room. "What happened? …Also how the hell aren't you dead?" "You should worry about yourself, sweetheart," Peter answered without looking up, his voice still in that same weird quiet but loud way. "You almost died on me last night."

"Oh."

Stiles stared at the wolf, his brain working to understand what Peter was and wasn't saying. Or at least working at putting all the pieces together and actually forming a picture with all the bits and pieces he'd already collected.

He'd known that he was dying.

He hadn't wanted to, had tried not to, had ignored it the same way he ignored dirty clothes he wasn't quite ready to collect and wash yet. Peter spelling it out for him like this didn't give him the option to ignore it. He still could shove it aside and concentrate on all the other things happening, though. That sliver of anxiety and panic welling up inside him at the thought of leaving his dad alone was something he would look at once he was alone and could fall apart without an audience.

So instead he slowly sat up to look around and concentrated on what he could hear and-… and smell. He could smell Peter. He could smell the surprisingly strong scent of lavender in the pillows and the cover he'd been snuggled up in. He could smell the scent of vanilla and pine he associated with Peter, though he'd always thought the scent had more to do with Peter's favorite bourbon than with the wolf itself. But now he could smell the alcohol somewhere outside of the bedroom they were in and while it smelled similar to Peter, it was also entirely different.

"So… you bit me?" He'd wanted to ask 'who', but if Peter was here, then maybe, maybe what he'd thought to be a hallucination had actually been true. He didn't want Derek as an Alpha. He actually wanted no one as his Alpha. But if he had to choose, he'd prefer Peter over any of the Alphas he'd met. "Is that a problem?" A pang of hesitation and worry bloomed in his chest. Insecurity, too, if he understood the feeling correctly. Nothing of it showed on Peter's face or in his scent. Almost nothing, anyway.

He shook his head, then got distracted by how loud his hands seemed to scratch over the cover, and stared at his clawed fingers. "I'm glad it's you," he mumbled anyway as he pulled his claws back in, too fascinated by his own changes to see the relief cross Peter's face.

"Good," was all the answer he got before Peter rose to his feet and walked over to the door. "Try to get some more sleep. You'll need it, sweetheart."

[eddieisashifter]

an introduction to my crazy yet loving family. you might think you know us, but what you understand is only the beginning of the truth. here's a small introduction to my perception of each of my closest family members.

𝑮𝑶𝑴𝑬𝒁 𝑨𝑫𝑫𝑨𝑴𝑺 . . . male (he/him), bisexual, spanish

i'm not nearly as close to my father as eden is, but he still means the world to me. i inherited my mothers calm and gathered nature, but also that signature spark of addams madness that my father can draw out of me. he taught me how to fence and when he sees i need to work through strong emotions or boughts of energy, we'll duel. he's passionate and chaotic, but the most loving father you could ever have.

𝑴𝑶𝑹𝑻𝑰𝑪𝑰𝑨 𝑨𝑫𝑫𝑨𝑴𝑺 . . . female (she/her), bisexual, french

out of everyone in my family, I think I'm closest to my mother. I look a lot like her, but I think thats somewhat because of my demeanor. my poetic side is definitely from her and my favorite memories with her are going to visit art galleries and tending the carnivorous plants in the garden. she's genuinely so caring and was the first to encourage my writing passions.

𝑬𝑫𝑬𝑵 𝑨𝑫𝑫𝑨𝑴𝑺 . . . transfemme (she/they), lesbian

my twin sister, older than me by six minutes and loves to brag about it. my partner in crime, the other half of my soul. she takes after our father in her chaotic, rebellious nature and, similarly, can draw me out of the shell i tend to fall into. prone to guitar riffs at inconvenient times and the most impulsive dangerous ideas of fun, she loves to annoy me. but, if I ever need someone to bury a body with me, eden would gladly bring the shovel.

𝑬𝑫𝑴𝑼𝑵𝑫 𝑨𝑫𝑫𝑨𝑴𝑺 . . . transmasc (he/they), homoflexible

well, would you look at that, its me! im the more withdrawn member of my family, though not in the same way my little sister is. prone to poetic soliloquies and pretending, I can be hard to get a good read on...by my own design. my family are the only ones, besides my love, that can bring me out of my reserved shell enough to understand me.

𝑾𝑬𝑫𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑫𝑨𝒀 𝑨𝑫𝑫𝑨𝑴𝑺 . . . female (she/her), lesbian

my little sister, known for her deadpan humor and twenty step plans. easily the most misunderstood of the addams kids, next to me. wednesday like to pretend that nothing bothers her, focusing on her next actions rather than how she feels, because she sees it as more productive. but, if you can get her out of planning mode, she's probably one of the more sensitive of our family. and, that sensitivity is a superpower that she's yet to realize. don't tell her I said that though.

𝑷𝑼𝑮𝑺𝑳𝑬𝒀 𝑨𝑫𝑫𝑨𝑴𝑺 . . . male (he/him), straight

my chaotic little brother who loves practically jokes and car crashes. I think he got his taste for transportation violence from playing with my father's trains at a young age. unlike the planners in my family he, like eden, is mostly along for the ride. he loves to be apart of the action, no matter what that might be. this allowed eden to drag him into far too much trouble growing up, evident by the dozens of stolen street signs covering the walls of his bedroom.

𝑲𝑨𝒀𝑵𝑬 𝑨𝑫𝑫𝑨𝑴𝑺 . . . non-binary (they/them), unlabeled

the youngest addams kid, barely four years old and just barely being influenced into the chaos. they were only a baby when they started getting into trouble with wednesday and pugsley, as eden and I had hit our teenage rebellious phase and were more out with our friends when they were born. now, i like to think i'm kayne's favorite. they're definitely on the quieter side, but with that inner chaos that can be pulled out with a bit of prompting.

𝑭𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑨𝑫𝑫𝑨𝑴𝑺 . . . male (he/him), straight

my uncle fester. known for the high electric frequencies running through his body and arguably the most sensitive soul in our family. people are often intimidated by his imposing appearance, but he's got a soft heart beneath it. this doesn't mean he's not into the chaos though, he played with me and eden when we were kids and taught us how to diffuse explosives for fun.

𝑮𝑹𝑨𝑵𝑫𝑴𝑨𝑴𝑨 𝑬𝑼𝑫𝑶𝑹𝑨. . . female (she/her), straight

my paternal grandmother, grandmama moved in with us at the addams family manor after her husband passed. her lively spirit is a welcome addition to the atmosphere and she makes the best foods this side of salem. cooking is her passion and she loves to experiment, but she's also the one of my family that's the most knowledgeable about the addams' curses and the person I turned to for help when mine refused to manifest.

. . .

[nabi-unveiled]

Catching Up: Love for Love's Sake (Ep 7)

Other Reacts: Ep 1 Ep 2 Ep 3 Ep 4 Ep 5 Ep 6

(As a reminder, I have the tags blocked to try and prevent spoilers.)

So the last episode decided to be RUDE and end on the impossible choice of saving Yeowoon or Grandma. Which left me choosing to forego sleep so I could at least see how that panned out.

But first I had to stretch. And while I stretched and snacked, my mind wandered to my latest fixation -> Moon and Dust and all of the Little Prince references/parallels in it. And that prompted me thinking even more about the Little Prince quote in episode 6.

"If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three."

On the surface, it feels very appropriate to the feelings of joy in early dating. But as I have sat here snacking, I'm wondering....is this also predictive? This show is chock full of symbolic details so it just feels like there could be more to the quote.

Could they end up having to wait on each other at some point?

Not sure. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how that would work with my clown car that Myung-ha is in the water in the middle of a suicide attempt.

And I still haven't figured out how they're going to resolve the multiple worlds although I'm confident we're staying here in the end. But in The Little Prince, you could argue that the Little Prince sacrifices his physical body/being in one world so his spirit can rejoin his Rose in the other. Is that what Myung-ha ends up doing? That would support the idea of them being apart for a while. In that scenario, Yeowoon would have to wait on Myungha to return.

Note: It's quite possible that this is transference of my obsession with Moon & Dust and my recent re-read of The Little Prince. That has occupied a huge portion of my brain in recent weeks. I don't want my imp (in Moon & Dust) to die!

So stretch and snack break over, it's time to see how Myungha handles this choice. The timer is ticking.

We're also right back into symbolism. Grandma wants to go pick apricots. Fruits, like flowers, often contain a lot of symbolism.

Apricots have a wild amount of meanings, and they are very culturally specific. Generally positive, but it varies a lot. Also depends on if you are talking about the flower or the fruit. The flower has a ton of meaning in Korea. Like many of the other symbols in this show, they can be associated with resilience and new beginnings (spring). Don't hold me to this, but I think the fruit itself may be associated with longevity and used in medicine in Korea. I'll have to look it up later to confirm. But if that's the case, then it's interesting that Myungha's next line says "They've all fallen off the trees because of the rain." Because that implies time running out without picking the fruit. Similar to the fig tree story in The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, but in this case it's due to outside circumstances rather than indecisiveness.

This conversation between Myungha and his grandmother is simultaneously so sweet and sad.

Grandma knows her grandson. I always admire how BL grandmas give great advice on the spot. My brain wouldn't think of the right thing to say until 10 hours later. For better or worse, my children are very used to me saying "let me think about that".

I still don't have a good theory for who these messages are from. At one point I thought senior, but we get his messages in the "Error Reports". Messages from Myungha himself is still my best bet.

No surprise here. Myungha is now having to make choices. It's the whole reason I'm watching this episode instead of sleeping. 😅

It really is an impossible choice.

We pick up with Yeowoon and Myungha talking about the stalker incident. Yeowoon insists that he can handle his own affairs. It's critical to their relationship that they be on equal ground and care for each other so I love that Yeowoon keeps insisting that Myungha takes him seriously and treats him as an equal. I also love that Yeowoon now has additional people on his side like the company rep. For both of them, their network and support systems have expanded.

But I do not love the closing elevator doors as the choice interface prompts back up. Deleting the changes you made does NOT sound like a positive thing. Myungha isn't going to want things to return to how they were at any previous point really. There are no good previous save files here.

Remember when I said that the frame from the movie theater seemed like a hospital scene? This is it. This is also the reason that I don't trust any of the fluffy moments in this show. This show delights in bringing them back with a dose of pain. Things have went sideways, but we still have Myungha slumped over on a bench with the "coming soon" on the wall to his right. Time keeps ticking down.

Oooh. Interesting. The apricots are back. I really need to look up and confirm what they symbolize. But even without knowing specific meaning, it's telling that Myungha said they had fallen. He wasn't seeing hope or a chance to gather fruit. But Yeowoon still had "hope" of sorts. He was still able to gather fruit. With the dialogue of how he can handle things followed by things like this, I'm really beginning to think Yeowoon and his hope are going to be critical in solving the impending problems. Myungha tends to think more negatively.

We're down to less than a minute. No way that Myungha can choose between them. I'd be disappointed if he did. I really think it's an extra bit of cruel that he can see each of them dead. Like those are not the visions you want in your brain.

"I choose both."

But unfortunately, that's not how most games work. They're programmed. Unlike life, choices are set. Both wasn't an option.

So he incurs the consequence. His time is being deducted. And it's showing him what would've happened in that time? Is that what is occurring? What kind of hellish date montage is this.

From 247 days to 15?!?!

That's one heck of a penalty. But...both Yeowoon and Grandma are alive right? I can't say I'm upset about that part.

But we still have a system error? That can't be good, but the doors are green. Optimizing can be a positive thing. Although it typically means removing unnecessary components or streamlining processes. What's considered unnecessary here? We've already lost days. I'm going to be thinking on that....as I sleep. Sleep is very necessary, and I'm going to rest in the knowledge that both Yeowoon and Grandma are safe.

(Pause)

So I was told in the comments on the last post to make sure I watched episode 7 and 8 together. Between vacation and my big work project, that meant I had to wait almost a month before coming back to this show. I just haven't had a big enough chunk of time.

But here we are, with Myungha now running through the green doors. This hallway isn't pleasant looking though. Are we back in a maze? There is red again. He's in a stairwell with someone approaching. Do we go up or down?

Apparently neither. We're going back through the water. This conversation is interesting. Do you choose to break up and save yourself the pain or stay together longer even if it involves pain?

Country music song entered my head. "I could have missed the pain, but I'd had to miss the dance." And I'll be honest, I'm not going to dwell on this dialogue much at the moment. It would get way too personal too fast. But it doesn't surprise me that Myungha chooses to "break up". We've seen before that he tries to avoid pain. In some ways, he runs from it. He had started running towards Yeowoon instead of running away, but old habits and mindsets are hard to break.

I find it interesting that he's focused on "didn't you say we get to part on good terms?" I like how senior isn't making the choice for Myungha. He's saying things like "is it?" Making sure Myungha thinks about it, but he's not necessarily leading him in a particular direction.

The filming of this scene is fascinating to me. Yes, I will focus on that for now. We're seeing the silhouettes. This is an abstract conversation that's providing the outline. But it's an outline where Myungha can't see all of the details of what that really means. Senior's line "is it?" takes on more meaning in that context. Is that really the best option?

Holy hell. Of course he'll choose to sacrifice himself. I have strong feelings. I'm not sure exactly what they are at the moment. But they are strong. As in I want to smash all the keys on my keyboard level strong. It makes sense that Myungha would choose Yeowoon. He already tried to make a third option, and the game didn't allow it. I'm just going to hope that Yeowoon comes through with his apricots somehow and finds the magic door. He wouldn't want Myungha to sacrifice himself.

Myungha really didn't take a lot of time to make that decision. That one was easy for him.

Yeowoon is happily planning the future, and this feels like a more serious version of the vibe when Myungha and Kyunghoon were talking about college. Myungha knows he doesn't have time.

So you're telling me that the GIF I discounted as a spoiler because it's likely he was going to say "I love you" at some point was made when YEOWOON COULDN'T HEAR IT!!!! 😭😭😭 And Yeowoon has no clue what's going on. I'm having keyboard smashing feelings again.

I do wonder if he'll start to pick up on Myungha's mood though.

Lol. Yeowoon is pouting. "I wanted to be alone with you." Sorry, you're having a party with our friends...complete with the video game music. It feels like a while since we heard that music, but let's be real -> I've spread this watch out over so many months at this point that I have no idea which episode I heard it in last.

The bickering kills me every time though. "That's why Myungha likes me (and not you)."

OMG. Complete with sticking the tongue out! I love this relationship, and the pettiness between them. I'll fully admit that I got in a lot of trouble on more than one occasion when I was younger for sticking my tongue out at people. Is this also when I admit though that I'd have no idea how to grill the meat? It's the reason I've never ordered anything with a tabletop grill at a Korean/Asian restaurant.

While I love that our quad is having another shared meal together, I don't love that this feels like Myungha saying goodbye to them.

LOL. Sangwon stole the lettuce wrap.

Aww. We're at the picture from the intro. But unlike the intro, Myungha is staring at Yeowoon instead of the camera. His face isn't shown. That's interesting.

Cha Yeowoon is getting popular which means Myungha has earned a reward. He can change something. Intriguing. That feels powerful.

Yeowoon is precious, and Myungha has to be having big feels. Because Yeowoon is basically saying bad things always happen to those around him. If Myungha dies, where does that leave Yeowoon. "Good terms" doesn't necessarily mean they're both happy afterwards. Actually, it could mean Yeowoon is still devastated.

"But I only have you. Never leave my side." 😭😭😭

This conversation got deep. Yeowoon doesn't think Myungha likes him, because he still doesn't rely on him. These conversations have to be ripping Myungha apart. The tears in his eyes are going to rip me apart. Yeowoon won't be having an easy time either though. It has to feel like Myungha is putting walls up.

Yeowoon saying "I Love You" triggers another system error. Why? It's possible the system errors are related somehow to Myungha and his emotions. But I'd have to go back and track when each of them happened. It'd work for the two in this episode at least.

This is a great shot. Myungha sitting underneath the label of the high school. Arrows pointing in two opposite directions. One of them with water.

Myungha is granted a magic pen. I thought there may be writing on it, but I can't see it clearly.

Myungha has a fever. Sangwon helps him. Meanwhile, Yeowoon is meeting with the company rep. He agrees to be the brand model. Anyone know what the neon sign in the back says? I'm assuming it's just the name of a place, but neon signs always make me curious. This one has the window bar blocking it though so I can't translate.

Yeowoon is learning that Myungha is playing a role in this agreement. And...that's got to feel in some ways like Myungha going behind his back and not letting him take care of his own business. The business he specifically asked to be allowed to take care of himself.

Yeowoon is going to join a competition on August 14. That definitely seems like it's after Myungha would "die". (Note: I'm not accepting that currently.) Giving the competition a date feels purposeful.

Yeowoon is looking in on Myungha's desk. I'm having flashbacks of episode 1. Where Myungha was looking for Yeowoon initially but Yeowoon wasn't there. That resulted in Myungha running to save Yeowoon. But apparently the reverse isn't happening...yet. Boo. I still think it will at some point. It just makes narrative sense.

Sangwon isn't at school. LOL. Yeowoon still didn't have Sangwon's number. I make no judgment there.

We're running! It did happen. But he didn't find Myungha.

Yeowoon only found bars. He is definitely being kept out of the loop and blocked out of Myungha's decision making. I'm distracted by the fruit tree in the garden.

Myungha is at Yeowoon's? With a gift? After Yeowoon has been searching for him all day and couldn't get a hold of him? I'm not sure that I'd be angry in Yeowoon's position, but it feels like something that a lot of people would be angry about. And Yeowoon is angry.

Oh. I hadn't thought about that implication. That's enough to make Yeowoon angry for sure. Because it's been the one thing he's wanted all along. And for it to seem like Myungha chose Sangwon over him? That's going to hurt.

Why do you always deal with everything on your own?

Yeah. I'm not touching this dialogue right now either. But it's powerful. Emotions are complex. Relationships are complex. There's often layers and multiple things can be true at once. As a side note, I know it's not important, but the neon sign in the back apparently says "mountain church" according to my translation app.

Yeowoon: "I think I'm really unhappy."

Ooof. That was Myungha's mission. That's WHY he made his choice was because it was supposed to mean Yeowoon's happiness. But he had only seen the outline. The silhouette. And Myungha didn't see everything that was within those lines when he made that choice.

There are so many great shots and frames within this show. The way Yeowoon is trapped here while Myungha can't be seen at all as he's behind the wall.

Side note: The heart flower on the gift bag is really cute.

Myungha is back at Sangwon's. We see Myungha get the text about the competition. We've now seen it twice. It's important for some reason. Oh, this was a flashback. He bought him medals.

But I'm more focused on the clocks that all show different times. Same place, but different times. Is this like The Little Prince quote? Hmm. It doesn't look like any of them show 3 or 4. Reinforces my thought that one of them may have to wait on the other. Unless, it's really just time ticking down. But in that case, there would be no need for the multiple clocks. I'll keep thinking on this one.

Myungha is stewing. Yeowoon is stewing.

Myungha is spiraling really. "Who am I to think I could make you happy?" Oh boy. Um. Red alarm. Red alarm. That phrase has all kinds of self-loathing in it.

Days are ticking down. Yeowoon is still running. He's no longer in the blue shoes. He had them on a minute ago as Myungha looked at him through the window, but no longer. No! Yeowoon is crying too. I hate it here.

SENIOR! How is this parting on good terms?!?! HOW?!

Yeowoon specifically asks Myungha to leave him alone and lets go of his hand. "I'm in agony" 😭😭😭

Myungha: "It's my fault." "Let's break up."

I'm weeping. Both of them are hurting so much.

Myungha has a lot on his mind, and his choices aren't easy. But Yeowoon is devastating me in this scene. He's begging to be loved. That was Yeowoon's dream. His drawing. To be loved by the people he loves. And he doesn't think Myungha loves him in the same way. He doesn't feel like he's enough for Myungha. But he's begging Myungha to let him love him anyways.

Ok, his voice breaking and lip quivering may have made me ugly sob. Him promising to not doing anything that Myungha doesn't want. I'm going to have to pause a minute.

(Pause)

Yeowoon saying I love you causes a system error again. Myungha walks away. 😭😭😭

Myungha is devastated too. Really, both of them were in a place where they didn't think they could make the other one happy. But so much of that had to do with the fact that they weren't communicating about the problems. I can't imagine how that conversation could possibly have went from Myungha's perspective. "So...I'm from a different world...." But it is true that he was not trusting Yeowoon.

Time left: 3 days; And a close up of the magic pen that is going to have to be put into use soon.

HOW DO WE RESOLVE THIS? What change could Myungha make that would "fix" things per se? I hesitate asking that, because I'm sure from Myungha's perspective it's something self sacrificial. As grandma said, he doesn't do a good job of thinking about himself.

Pen is opening, and that's an interesting transition.

Similar tone to the shot that stressed me out in episode 6. Reflection shot again. Can't see his feet at all. He's not grounded at the moment.

Will you use the "Original Author's Pen" on the character you chose? I'm confused. I'm assuming that means the pen is senior's. But this means he changes something about a character?

Yeah. The next frame says it's a "characterization" being changed and they'll be charged with your accumulated affection level. This feels like riddles. Because this was the reward. But it's the ability to do it that is the reward. The choice he makes still has a cost, but what exactly would "being charged" mean? Reduced health? The day count is already pretty low. Couldn't he just write down "Make Yeowoon happy"? I mean, I know that undermines the entirety of the show. But....it feels like an option here.

He starts to write "Cha Yeowoon" and then it cuts out and we see him close the pen.

Error/Settings Error. He's back in his room.

😒

I'm having not nice thoughts at the moment. What did our self-sacrificing hero do? I'm guessing that's why we didn't see him finish the sentence. Because writing "Make Yeowoon happy" or similar would not delete Myungha. Unless that was the cost? Hmm.

This feels like it goes back to that line of "Who am I to think I could make him happy?" I again don't know for sure what feeling I am experiencing, but it's one that makes me want to smash my keyboard. I'm probably supposed to feel sad right now, but I want to reach through the screen and wring Myungha's neck. He did something. SOMETHING STUPID AND SELF-SACRIFICING.

The question I guess will come down to...what did he actually write?

I find it interesting that his bowl is still left there. In both this scene and the one with his grandma/Yeowoon, his place setting is still there. So even if he's being deleted himself, the evidence of him existing remains? That feels important. I can't see the full quote on the bowl. It does look like a penguin on the cup. They typically symbolize love and loyalty. Resilience yet again. Actually, it's a really good symbol for Myungha as they also evoke selflessness and they are often associated with parenthood.

Myungha runs out of the room, and we see both globes within the narrow space that's left ajar. The door closes. Interesting. The door has closed on the two worlds?

I would be panicking, but I'm now fully latching on to the symbols. Penguins go on long journeys. They come back. The Little Prince came back. Plus, there's a whole episode left and I know there's at least one gif I haven't seen yet lol. That's cheating. I don't care.

No one can see Myungha. The server is damaged.

He remembers the buff from running into Yeowoon, but Yeowoon isn't answering calls.

Ok. So what did Myungha write? Because if he had wrote something like "make me disappear", it shouldn't be surprising to him that it happened. This feels like the being careful of your words thing all over again.

We're running. Always running in this show. He's trying to run towards Yeowoon. He asks where Yeowoon is. I find it interesting that Yeowoon can hear him even when no one else could.

Uh...........

The world is falling apart. I've ran out of screenshots. For the record, those two sentences are not connected.

The signs on the stairs are interesting. "Stay hungry, stay foolish". "If you can dream it...". Doesn't really matter....the entire floor and walls are cracking.

Myungha said to come to the rooftop. Yeowoon is running.

The sky is ripping itself apart into a night sky. There are no stairs down anymore. Yeowoon trips coming up and is bleeding.

Penguins. It'll be okay. Myungha is a penguin.

But this feels like an apocalypse. 🫣

"Cause of error is being deleted".

Myungha yells Yeowoon's name, but we end up with a splashing sound and Myungha falling while reaching. Presumably, Yeowoon didn't make it in time.

End episode.

Yeah, I can see why you said I need to watch both 7 and 8 together. My heart rate is up and I feel stressed.

WHAT DID HE WRITE?!?!?

[lesbicosmos-writes]

day 7 of @painlandweek

day 7 prompt: free day

summary: edwin gets magic hiccups that get worse based on emotional responses. unfortunately for him, they overwhelm him and keep getting worse. charles tries to find a remedy

notes: saw a tumblr post about how barely anyone includes hiccups in fiction and a few hours later this fic was born! i'm kinda sad i only wrote two fics for the event this year but it's all fine because the reason for that is this week i went to italy to visit my girlfriend!! <33

also on ao3!!

the case of edwin's hiccups

“Charles, could you pass me the - Blood and Bone compendium please?” Edwin says from his place at the desk, hidden behind a pile of ancient books. He pauses strangely in the middle of his sentence.

“Uh, sure, which shelf is it on?” Charles asks, moving over to their mini library.

“Back - bookcase, three shelves - down,” he pauses again between words.

“Got it.”

Charles takes the book from the shelf and returns to the desk, dropping it on the top of Edwin’s ‘potentially helpful’ pile.

“Are you okay?” he asks, eyeing Edwin suspiciously. He notices his chest jolt slightly.

“I’m perfectly - fine, Charles.”

With every pause, his mouth closes as though trying to hold something back.

“Nah, mate, I can tell something’s wrong, what is it?”

“Nothing is-” this time, instead of a quiet pause, Edwin hiccups loudly. “I’m fine. Let’s just get on with this research before poor Emilia loses all sanity she has left.”

Edwin reaches for Blood and Bone, but Charles gets there first, stopping him.

“Charles, pl-” hic “-ease.”

“Ah, you’ve got hiccups!” Charles says, trying not to laugh.

Edwin huffs, rolling his eyes.

Charles chuckles, then his smile disappears.

“Hold on. How can ghosts get hiccups? This has never happened before to either of us.”

“I don’t know, but that really isn’t our priority right now.”

“But what if it’s dangerous? We should at least look it up. We don’t need to breathe, so that’s weird.”

Edwin looks up at him, visibly annoyed but also clearly in agreement. The worried look on Charles’s face is what ultimately convinces him.

“Fine, I’ll need Spectral Maladies.”

Charles retrieves it from the shelf. It’s one of the books they rely on often, so he knows exactly how far along which shelf he needs to go to grab it.

“Thank you,” Edwin says, opening the book to the contents page and running his finger down the alphabetised list. “H, H, H-” hic “-hiccups.”

Charles snorts back a laugh. “You hiccupped right when you said it.”

“Yes, I noticed. Now…”

Edwin skims the page, then reads aloud.

“’While very rare, ghosts can - get hiccups just like living people. Despite not breathing, the - diaphragm can still contract. In ghosts, hiccups are – not harmful. However-,’ ugh.”

“What is it?”

“’However, much like with hiccups in humans who are still living, there is no - guaranteed cure. The malady must simply be waited out until it subsides.’”

“Oh, so it’s literally just like normal hiccups,” Charles shrugs, visibly relaxing in the knowledge that Edwin isn’t at any risk of harm.

“Not entirely,” Edwin replies. “’The one thing that differentiates the living from the spectral in this case is that a ghost’s – experience is much more dependent on their emotions. Frustration and anger especially can lead the ailment to get - worse, and can lead to them persisting for longer.’”

“Right. So wait and keep calm, pretty much.”

“Yep. And there is no danger. So-” hic “-let’s continue with the case, shall we?”

Edwin closes Spectral Maladies and places it on the pile of books to his left, a stack of tomes which he has deemed unhelpful in their research on pine pixies to help save a young girl having visions of terrifying futures every time she closes her eyes.

An hour passes. The pile to Edwin’s left only gets taller – and the hiccups still persist.

Edwin has his head in his hands, a book on supernatural psychology open in front of him, desperately trying to read over a page on hallucinations; but having to reread every other line since his thought is interrupted by yet another hiccup. He huffs in frustration.

“You alright, mate?”

“These damned hiccups won’t – go away.”

“I know, but that book said they get worse with frustration, yeah? This case research probably isn’t helping.”

“It definitely isn’t, but we - need to figure out - what’s happening here - Charles.”

“Yeah we do, but don’t you think it’s time we had a break? It’s nearly 4am,” Charles says, putting the book he was reading down and pacing over to the desk.

“We don’t need - sleep, I do not see the - point in a break.”

“We need a break because-” Charles plucks the book from Edwin’s hands. “-you’re getting overwhelmed. We haven’t gotten anywhere with these books in two hours, let’s at least stop til this goes away so you can focus.”

“I suppose – you have – a point.” Edwin can barely get a word out now; his hiccups are so intense.

They move the piles of books away from the desk and onto the sofa for now, so they’re hopefully out of Edwin’s mind. Charles proposes they try some of the ways his mum used to try and help get rid of hiccups when he was a kid.

“Hold your breath, maybe?” he suggests.

“I doubt – that would work, Charles. We – don’t breathe unless we – choose to anyway. The diaphragm – would contract regardless.”

“Try?”

Edwin takes a deep breath and holds it. The hiccups still continue at the same frequency. Charles sighs.

“Never mind then. Are you still frustrated at the job, mate? They don’t seem to have calmed down at all since we put the books away.”

“No. Well – yes. But not – entirely. I always – got overwhelmed with – hiccups as a child. They’re – not a particularly - fun sensory experience.”

“Alright, let’s just focus on getting rid of them then.”

Charles hums, thinking.

“My mum always said chugging a glass of water was meant to help.”

“We can’t drink – Charles.”

“Yeah…it never worked anyway. The only other thing was…” Charles’s eyes move away from Edwin’s to look above him.

“What?” Edwin asks impatiently.

Charles doesn’t reply, just stares over the top of Edwin’s head in silence. Edwin turns to see what he’s looking at, but there doesn’t seem to be anything of note there, just the dim glow of the streetlamps below.

“Charles, what? What - else helped?”

Still, Charles doesn’t move.

“Are you-“

“RAH!” Charles suddenly shouts, leaning closer to Edwin, who jumps back a little in his seat, one hand clutching his lapel.

“Charles you scared the daylights out of me.”

“Exactly. Mum always used to try and make me jump to like, scare the hiccups away? That actually sounds stupid now that I think about it.”

“Well, maybe – there is some logic there. If – the diaphragm experiences – a sudden jolt, perhaps – it would stop – the spasms.”

“It didn’t work though, clearly.”

“Try again, perhaps.”

“But you’ll know it’s coming, it won’t work.”

Edwin huffs in frustration.

While Charles thinks, Edwin’s hiccupping only seems to get worse until eventually they’re happening so rapidly he sounds like he’s hyperventilating. One hand sits on his chest, as though somehow trying to compress them to stop them escaping.

“Hey, mate, it’s alright,” Charles comforts, putting his hand over Edwin’s on his chest.

“I – just – want – them – gone,” Edwin manages, clearly very overwhelmed. He had already taken off his jacket and vest, but now he’s also taken off his bow tie and undone the top few buttons of his shirt, as though he’s struggling for breath.

“I have one idea,” Charles says finally.

He really doesn’t want to. This isn’t how he wanted this particular thing to go, but he was at a loss, unable to think of anything else that could scare or shock Edwin that he wouldn’t be anticipating. This is the final option. Besides, he can’t leave Edwin sitting there suffering. He may not be in much pain but this is clearly affecting him as though it is, and he seems on the verge of tears.

Charles takes a deep breath, and crouches on the floor in front of Edwin’s desk chair. He moves his hand from Edwin’s chest up to his collarbone, and his other hand joins it, mimicking the comforting motions he used on the way out of Hell.

At the simple motion, the hiccups seem to slow down, and Edwin breathes deeply, focusing on the sensation. Slowing down is good, slowing down means Edwin’s less frustrated and overwhelmed. But the gentle touch wouldn’t make them go away completely.

“Right, I really wanted this to happen at a better moment but I think it’s all I have left, okay?”

Edwin nods, confusion evident on his face.

“Do you trust me?” Charles asks seriously.

“Yes.” Edwin responds immediately.

“Are you sure?”

“Always, Charles.”

Edwin has no idea what he’s expecting Charles to do. What he certainly does not expect is for Charles to lean forwards and kiss him.

Edwin gasps as their lips touch. The kiss only lasts a split second before Charles pulls back, checking Edwin’s face for signs of discomfort and further distress; he finds none.

“What-” Edwin begins.

“I’ve figured it out mate. Turns out I’m in love with you, too.”

“Really?”

Edwin can barely believe this. A moment ago, he was bordering on hyperventilating in overstimulation, and now he’s breathing just as quickly for an entirely different reason, that he could not have possibly anticipated. Charles…feels the same?

“Yeah,” Charles smiles, leaning his forehead against Edwin’s. “Proper gone for you. When I really think about it, it couldn’t be anyone else, could it?”

Edwin pushes his face further forward, capturing Charles’s lips in a second kiss. How else is he supposed to respond? His hand reaches to hold Charles’s face, pulling him in as close as possible as their lips begin to part and the kiss deepens.

Edwin had dreamed about this moment for so long, but he couldn’t have predicted the true feeling of Charles’s mouth moving against his own. It was infinitely more than the kiss with Monty: he could feel the warmth of Charles’s skin, his breath on his face each time they momentarily parted, the slight roughness of Charles’s chapped lips. It’s clumsy, but it’s soft, and it’s perfect.

Eventually, they pull away, looking into each other’s eyes and smiling widely.

“Well,” Charles says, a little breathless. “Looks like that worked.”

“Worked?” Edwin is equally out of breath.

“You’re not hiccupping anymore, mate.”

Oh. Charles is right. His chest is calmer, the ache within it beginning to fade away. He is able to focus properly on more things around him – his notebook open on the desk in front of him; the pile of books dropped onto the sofa; Charles’s hand on the back of his neck, gently running through his hair. He is no longer overwhelmed by the feeling of his chest spasming, now only by the love and shock of what just happened between him and the grinning boy in front of him.

“Oh. It appears not.” He says simply. Then one corner of his mouth moves upwards into a slight knowing smirk. “Well, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to continue…just to be absolutely certain this cure has worked.”

He can’t help it. He’s been given one of the things he has been both wanting for months and simultaneously trying desperately not to want. Now he has it, he’s insatiable. He misses Charles’s kiss already, and it’s only been seconds since they parted.

“Oh, definitely,” Charles agrees, nodding with enthusiasm. “It’s a proper investigation, innit?”

“Precisely,” Edwin replies, tugging Charles back in by his chain necklace and causing a quiet yelp to escape his throat before being muffled by Edwin’s lips.

“This better not happen again, the hiccups thing,” Charles says when they move apart once more.

“Why?”

“Well, I don’t think I’ve got anything else that’s enough to shock you out of them,” he laughs.

“It wouldn’t hurt to attempt this tried and tested method again, I wouldn’t think,” Edwin raises one eyebrow slightly.

“Yeah? Who would’ve thought, snogging as a cure for hiccups.”

“It’s certainly not mentioned in Spectral Maladies. Although, I may add it in as a footnote. Just in case.”

“’Course.”

Edwin stands up from his desk chair, purposefully brushing past Charles on his way to grab the book from the sofa. He brings it back, sits back down and opens it to the page on ghost hiccups. He takes his pen and jots a note in the bottom corner of the page:

Approved methods of remedy:

- Kissing 

Smiling to himself, he drops the pen back into the inkwell and looks up at Charles. He still can’t quite comprehend what has been established in the last few minutes.

“Are you…certain? About your feelings for me?” he asks, just to be sure; just because he wants to hear it again.

“Absolutely certain.”

“Because…you know you don’t have to return my affections. I am perfectly fine with our relationship continuing to be strictly platonic,” Edwin reassures.

He hopes Charles knows that his confession had not been intended as an expectation.

“Mate, do you really think our relationship has ever been ‘strictly platonic’?” Charles laughs.

He does have a point.

“Well, I will admit we’re not exactly your average pair of close friends.”

Would normal friends be able to live with one another every day and night for thirty-four years? Would normal friends run from Death herself together for eternity? Would normal friends literally go to Hell for one another? Edwin doubts it.

“That’s an understatement,” Charles says. “I, uh, I talked to Crystal about it, since she seemed to notice we were a bit weird right when she met us.”

“And what did she say?”

“She kinda suggested something to me that made me rethink everything. She said maybe the reason I didn’t think I was in love with you was because I didn’t have a crush.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, in my mind, romantic relationships kinda always go down the route of: you meet someone, you develop romantic feelings, then you get together. Or if you’re friends first, there’s a big moment where it hits you that there’s something else there. I never felt that with you. But I guess the reason I never noticed it was because there wasn’t one moment. It’s happened so gradually I was never even aware of it.”

“I suppose not everyone gets thirty years for their relationship to develop.”

“Exactly. So I guess instead of having an oh shit I’m in love with my best friend moment, after your confession I kind of had an oh shit I’ve beenin love with my best friend for years moment. It was…a lot.”

“Well, this certainly is an unexpected development.”

“I’m just sorry I made you wait. I fully realised a month or so after we got back from America but I was trying to plan something proper special. And, well, apparently ghost hiccups count as special enough.”

“I would have waited an eternity for you, Charles Rowland, if it meant I could have this,” Edwin confesses, taking Charles’s hand in his own. “And even if I couldn’t, I would wait still. Your mere presence is worth everything to me.”

Charles doesn’t know how to respond to that, can’t respond, so he does the only thing he can: lunges forward to kiss his partner yet again, this time much more intensely and passionately, one leg lifting to kneel beside Edwin’s thigh on his chair. He holds Edwin’s face in his hands as he all but devours him, Edwin’s own hands moving to grab his waist, gripping tightly in a way Charles wholeheartedly believes he could get drunk on. Edwin gasps into his mouth, and that only spurs him on more.

The moment is suddenly broken when the front door to the office bursts open, and Crystal enters.

“Hey guys, how- Jesus Christ!” she shrieks upon spotting the boys practically on top of each other on Edwin’s desk chair.

She covers her eyes dramatically. Charles carefully lifts himself off Edwin, desperately holding back laughter.

Edwin clears his throat, attempting to fix his collar.

“Good morning, Crystal.”

“Hey,” Charles says, grinning.

“Can I uncover my eyes now?” Crystal asks.

“Yeah, yeah, we were just kissing don’t panic.”

“Good,” she says, taking her coat off and hanging it up beside the door.

She walks over to Charles, a knowing smile on her face. “Why didn’t you tell me you were planning something?”

She hits him lightly on the arm.

“It wasn’t exactly…planned,” Charles laughs.

“What happened?”

“Uh…hiccups?”

Crystal raises an eyebrow.

“I’m not even gonna ask,” she shakes her head. “But now that this”- Crystal points at them, indicating between the two– “is a thing, we’re gonna need some rules for this office so I don’t actually get fucking traumatised.”

Crystal sits in the clients chair opposite Edwin, expectantly. Charles gets the message, perching on the arm of Edwin’s chair as Crystal begins listing her rules for working with a couple of repressed teenage ghosts now in the honeymoon phase.

Meanwhile, Edwin silently thanks whatever fate or god gave him those damned hiccups.

[lyngracetalksnwritesnstuff]

Yilling Wei Sect AU Chapter Ten

Ao3

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Wei Wuxian remembered that conversation.

"What did you want to talk about?" He asked, a little nervous that Lan Zhan had closed them in. That meant he was serious.

Lan Zhan sat down, motioning for Wei Wuxian to sit across from him. "I have questions. About your relationship with Jiang Wanyin."

"My relationship with Jiang Cheng?" Wei Wuxian parroted, confused. Why was Lan Zhan asking about that?

Lan Zhan closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath as if bracing himself.

"Are you in love with Jiang Wanyin?"

The question seemed to knock the air out of Wei Wuxian with the absurdity and unexpectedness of it. Of all the things he'd thought Lan Zhan might ask him, this was not one of them.

Lan Zhan seemed to take his stunned silence the wrong way and looked down in understanding. "I see, I—"

"No," Wei Wuxian interrupted him. He couldn't bear to see Lan Zhan follow that thought path any further than he already had.

"I'm not, I'm really not," Wei Wuxian assured him. "He's my brother, my sometimes-nice sibling. Also, I think he would rather choke to death than be involved with me romantically, as would I."

Oddly, Lan Zhan seemed to relax. "I see," He said, with real understanding this time.

"What prompted you to think that?" Wei Wuxian asked, curious as to how Lan Zhan had fallen under that assumption.

Lan Zhan looked down, the tips of his ears burning red, signaling to Wei Wuxian that he was embarrassed.

"I saw you run into him during the challenge. You sent your thoughts through the communication talisman. Then you said his name in your sleep while you were unconscious. That, along with your refusal to talk about him, gave my imagination a bit to run away with, I'm afraid." Lan Zhan admitted, ears still burning.

Wei Wuxian laughed. "The great Second Jade of Lan, making assumptions?" He teased.

"I apologize for not clarifying sooner," Lan Zhan said. He still hadn't met Wei Wuxian's eyes.

"Ah, Lan Zhan, it's okay! I suppose without the necessary context, someone could easily think that and be justified! It's okay to be shy about asking someone something regarding their romantic lives!" Wei Wuxian told Lan Zhan, trying to cheer him up.

"I will do better not to assume things," Lan Zhan finally looked up, seeming determined.

A knock sounded on the door, and Wei Wuxian got up to open it.

"Are you ready to deliver the note?" Meng Yao asked. "I've finished it, so you should be good to go whenever you're ready."

"Thanks, Yaoyao," Wei Wuxian grinned, ruffling Meng Yao's hair as he took the note, laughing as Meng Yao swatted his hand away.

"Lan Zhan!" He called to Lan Zhan, who stood and came to his side. "Ready to leave our friends a message?"

"Mn," Lan Zhan affirmed.

They set off for the woods as Wei Wuxian looked through Meng Yao's final draft.

"I understand that your intention is to kill me," He read aloud to Lan Zhan. "I wish to meet with your leader to understand the reasoning behind this and hopefully come to a consensus."

"Short and to the point," Lan Zhan nodded approvingly.

"I still find it funny that you thought I was in love with Jiang Cheng," Wei Wuxian laughed. "In all seriousness, though, you know I wouldn't do that to you, right? Arranged or not, we're married, and I intend to honor that."

Lan Zhan looked down. "I thought you might want a partner you actually love to raise the children with."

"Lan Zhan, really? I don't blame you for thinking that; I probably would've come to the same conclusion, but I've no intention of searching for a partner. You are everything I could've asked for as the kids' other parent."

Lan Zhan rewarded him with a smile, looking back up. Wei Wuxian thought his heart might actually stop from the sheer beauty of it.

His smile was barely anything, a slight upward tilt at the corners of his lips, the faintest crinkles around his eyes. However, it was reminiscent of moonlight, feathery and delicate, gently dancing on the still waters of a lake, its silvery beauty shining for those who looked for it.

Wei Wuxian realized he had stopped breathing, mesmerized by Lan Zhan's smile, and shook himself. If you stare at him the whole time, you'll trip and fall and look like a dumbass in front of him, He reminded himself sternly.

"So, Lan Zhan, what do you like to do?" Wei Wuxian asked, trying to distract himself.

Lan Zhan gave him a confused look. What are you asking that for? The look said.

"Well, I realized I don't actually know very many mundane things about you! And that needs to change! You can ask me questions, too." He explained.

Lan Zhan nodded. "I enjoy playing the guqin, sparring with my brother, discussing cultivation theory with my uncle, helping with the younger disciples, and feeding the rabbits."

Wei Wuxian gasped. "You like rabbits!?"

"There is a colony in the back hills," Lan Zhan told him. "I could take you to see them after we deliver the message."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Wei Wuxian exclaimed. "A thousand times, yes! Oh, we should bring the children too, they'd love seeing rabbits."

"They would enjoy it," Lan Zhan affirmed. "What is your biggest pet peeve?"

"Oh, do not get me started," Wei Wuxian groaned. "The worst, most annoying thing a person can do is call my cultivation path demonic cultivation.

Lan Zhan frowned, prompting him to continue.

"Okay, so what I do, is I mess around with resentful energy, right? Now, small-minded, ignorant people like to just call this demonic cultivation and go about their day, unknowing of the heinous error they have just made." Wei Wuxian started, gesturing as he spoke.

"What I do is ghostly cultivation. This involves the manipulation of resentful energy and the use of it to put the spirits to rest. I take the harmful energy and put it to good use and help the ghost move on. Demonic cultivation, on the other hand, is much more about stirring up resentment and using it to harm others, therefore creating more resentment." He explained passionately.

"Interesting," Lan Zhan mused. "I was not taught about ghostly cultivation, simply that anything to do with resentment was demonic and evil in nature."

"Yeah, that tracks," Wei Wuxian sighed. "Close-minded people and their inadequate education systems.

"We have arrived," Lan Zhan informed him.

Wei Wuxian looked up to realize he was right; they were in the clearing where he'd first been attacked by the assassins. The stump where the guqin player had sat was empty now, but it brought back vivid memories of that day.

"Well, let's place the message and get out of here," Wei Wuxian said, forcing false cheer into his voice.

"Wei Ying. I know it is not easy to be back here," Lan Zhan frowned, catching his wrist as he made to drop the message on the stump.

"I'm fine!" Wei Wuxian insisted, freeing his wrist from Lan Zhan's grasp.

"Okay," Lan Zhan seemed to drop the issue without protest. "But it is also okay to not be fine."

Wei Wuxian sealed the message and placed it on the stump before slumping in defeat and turning back to Lan Zhan.

"I just hate the memories here, y'know?" He admitted.

Lan Zhan nodded. "That is a natural trauma response. People who have experienced trauma often don't like to visit the place where the trauma occurred."

Wei Wuxian sagged in relief. He wasn't the only one who experienced this.

"Do you have places like this too?" He asked tentatively.

"Mn," Lan Zhan confirmed. "I do not enjoy visiting the places where I was on the front during the Sunshot Campaign. I hope I never have to see Nightless City again."

"I feel the same," Wei Wuxian agreed. "It took me a while to get back to normal, though I'm not sure if I'll ever be the same."

"That is an odd phrase," Lan Zhan mused. "I wonder why people say it like it's a bad thing. People grow and change, and that is okay. You were put through many traumatic trials as a child, and they changed you. That is okay. It is okay that you will never be the same as before. I don't think I will either."

Wei Wuxian leaned onto Lan Zhan, affection filling him. "How are you so wise, Lan Zhan?"

"It comes with the territory of having an overly-concerned older brother, I suppose," Lan Zhan said, smiling a little. "He was always talking to me about emotional intelligence and how to recognize signs of different mental ailments."

Wei Wuxian laughed at that, imagining a small, stoic-faced Lan Zhan learning about how emotions work.

Then he had a thought. "Is... is that why you got so freaked out when A-Yu and A-Yang were dissecting that body?" He asked hesitantly, preparing to drop the subject as soon as the words met air.

Lan Zhan's face went defensively blank before he sighed and spoke. "Yes. I had a particularly... unsettling experience during the war."

"Would you, would you like to talk? About it?" Wei Wuxian fidgeted with his decorative tassels as he talked.

Lan Zhan didn't say anything for a while. Then, "I suppose it couldn't hurt."

"What happened?" Wei Wuxian asked.

"Part of the group that attacked the Cloud Recessed when it was burned were teenagers, some even younger than I was at that time." Lan Zhan told him quietly.

Wei Wuxian felt sick. Yeah, they'd been teenagers themselves, but they hadn't been prepared when the Wens attacked, and none of them had been younger than seventeen. Lan Zhan was talking about teenagers A-Yu's age, put in the middle of a war, and told to fight.

"I saw them burning buildings, killing people, fighting. It was so horrible..." Wei Wuxian drew closer in alarm as Lan Zhan trailed off, his face scrunched like he was going to cry.

Lan Zhan turned towards him, face distraught, and Wei Wuxian took that as a sign he needed a hug and wrapped his arms around him.

Thankfully, Lan Zhan didn't push him away and sagged into the embrace.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Lan Zhan, I shouldn't have asked about it." Wei Wuxian murmured, holding his husband close.

"Wei Ying did nothing wrong," Lan Zhan insisted. His face was still pressed against Wei Wuxian's shoulder, shuddering against him.

"You asked me not to bring it up again," Wei Wuxian argued. "I should've respected that."

"Wei Ying," Lan Zhan looked up, frowning. "It really is not that serious. I chose to talk about it, and I knew the risks. You do not need to beat yourself up for this."

"Ah, I'm sorry," Wei Wuxian apologized, fiddling with his hair.

"Do not apologize," Lan Zhan said sternly, looking into his eyes.

Wei Wuxian's breath caught in his throat as he realized how close their faces were. If he wanted to, all he would have to do is lean forward slightly to... to kiss Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan's eyes were pretty. Gold, with flecks of darker and lighter shades that made Wei Wuxian never want to look away.

"Er, should we grab the toddlers and visit the rabbits you told me about?" Wei Wuxian asked, stumbling away awkwardly.

Lan Zhan didn't seem to have any visible reaction, though Wei Wuxian could've sworn he saw a flash of disappointment at his sudden distance.

"Mn," Lan Zhan agreed, starting to walk next to Wei Wuxian again.

"So do we still think it was Jin Guangshan who has been trying to kill you?" Lan Zhan asked as they neared the camp.

"I'm not sure anymore," Wei Wuxian admitted. "Who else could it be? But the attempts also seem more reminiscent of a cult or small sect than a group of randomly hired assassins. They also seem to have some kind of personal grudge against me, which would be odd for hired mercenaries."

"Meng Yao told me he caught a glimpse of a red symbol on the inner sleeve of the person who was holding him at knifepoint." Lan Zhan told him, seeming unsettled by the suggestion of the assassins having a personal grudge against Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian frowned, mulling that over as he found his children, who were playing with Shu Junlai, A-Yu, and A-Xia.

"Can I borrow my babies?" Wei Wuxian asked, grinning as he approached the amusing scene. A-Yuan and A-Qing chased A-Yu and Shu Junlai while A-Xia and A-Xiao giggled and threw grass at them.

"Sure!" A-Yu turned to him, ushering the toddlers his way.

"Baba! A-Die!" A-Yuan squealed, running towards them, his siblings close on his heels.

"Qing-Gugu said you were on a secret mission," A-Xiao said seriously, looking up at them.

"It was something like that," Lan Zhan answered, a smile twitching at his lips.

"Where are we going?" A-Qing asked as Lan Zhan started to lead them to the back hills.

"You remember how we told you that A-Die grew up here?" Wei Wuxian reminded them.

"Yeah!" A-Yuan exclaimed, his eyes brightening with recognition. "The place with ten million rules!"

Wei Wuxian hid his choked laugh behind a sleeve as Lan Zhan shot him a look.

"It only has three thousand rules, baobei," Wei Wuxian corrected A-Yuan, who nodded sagely. "And there's a group of bunnies that live here that A-Die's taking us to visit."

"Bunnies!" A-Xiao shrieked with excitement. "Where!?"

"You like bunnies?" Lan Zhan asked curiously, looking back at A-Xiao.

"Bunnies are my favorite ever!" A-Xiao told him enthusiastically, starting to say to him all of the bunny facts he'd collected over the years.

They finally reached the back hills, and by then A-Xiao was bouncing in anticipation, his siblings peering into the woods curiously from behind him.

"Shhhh," Lan Zhan reminded them, crouching down and pulling a food-looking leaf from his sleeve.

Mere seconds later, a dozen or so rabbits made their way out of the woods, curiously sniffing at the apparent food.

"Sit cross-legged," Lan Zhan instructed them, handing them each a bundle of leaves to feed the rabbits. "They will come to you."

A-Xiao stared in wonder as one of the rabbits took an interest in his leaves and hopped into his lap to chew on them contentedly.

"Baba, baba look!" A-Yuan exclaimed quietly, pointing to the bunny in his own lap.

A-Qing had lured two into her lap, a fact she held above her brothers' heads until A-Xiao got sad, and she transferred one of her rabbits into his lap.

Wei Wuxian sighed, watching his family play with rabbits. He pushed all of his earlier worries away to feed the bunnies, allowing himself one peaceful moment before the meeting that would either save his life or condemn it.

Sorry, this wasn't as long (I think)! It's like 2:30 am rn, so I am tired and this may contain mistakes. I'll probably edit this in the morning morning.

Yes, I know the fact that they fought in the war as teenagers is traumatic and horrible, but I'm writing this from Wwx's pov and y'know what his favorite thing to do with trauma is? (Especially his war trauma) Pretend it doesn't exist, so he is downplaying it in his mind.

M'kay, I'm gonna go to sleep now. Have an amazing day/night, and thank you all so much for the comments and kudos, and general engagement! It means a lot, and I appreciate you all!

Oh, and I won't be able to post again until Thursday cause I'm being dragged on a family camping trip.

[chiropteracupola]

the 'smattering' of blood poll option for Teresa?

Kill, girl, kill!

[tomaturtles]

She finds Kaworu in the same place she left him, sitting against the wall with his head in his hands. The candlelight sets off an amber glow, and in the halo of light, she can see Kaworu’s shoulders shaking, his breath hitching in little hics. The tallies drawn on the wall behind him shine like hundreds of tiny white gravestones.

Kawoshin Week Day 5: Rebuild/Q + Timelooping Gays Crossover! Based on the Evangelion x Madoka Magica crossover fic graduation day by phollie, which I adore

[just-french-me-up]

Behind Closed Doors

Jayvik | E | 3.7k | Canon Divergence : Secret Relationship Main tags : Set in the season 1 time skip, Sneaking off, Making Out, Frottage, Foreplay, Jealous Viktor, Implied Trans Viktor

Investing in a couple is risky business. The whims of love are unpredictable, and stability is the key to a profitable investment. Unwilling to jeopardise their Hextech dream, Jayce and Viktor keep their relationship under wraps to keep investors in. But the secret weighs heavier some days than others. Especially when half of Piltover keeps throwing their daughters at Jayce in hopes of a good match. Tonight's gala is no exception. And Viktor finds he can't quite take it. Or keep his hands to himself. Read on AO3

[savemeafruitjuice]

Wanted to make a Captain Underpants fic... Super self-indulgent but this idea was a daydream of mine a couple months ago and I think it's cute. This is set pre-season 2 finale, hope you enjoy! 😁👍

Also if someone is apart of the cu fandom and wants me to tag them when I make tickle content like this, just tell me! (Also I would love to interact in general, as long as you're sfw and not a creep ofc)

Speaking of which, tags for moots!: @sunsetsandsunshine (especially you 🥰🥰), @hypermoonlover, @rice-cake-teen10

Lee: Melvin

Ler: Melvinborg

TW!: Light angst!

Word count: 2,143 (literally my longest fic yet omg?!?!)

THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR THE END OF SEASON 1, AND LITERALLY ALL OF SEASON 2 BTW!!

BY THE WAY- THIS IS NOT A SHIP, OR IN ANY WAY ANYTHING LESS THAN PLATONIC!!

-----

"No, no. I've already tried submitting that."

Melvinborg sighed, tossing his blueprint to the side for the umpteenth time. He continued racking his brain for some of his more impressive inventions. "What about the Pump-it-Upinator...?"

You see, for the past hour, Melvin and his future self had been discussing possible ways to help the former get accepted into his dream school.

Despite the obvious intellectual qualifications the ginger-haired boy had, Eliteanati Academy just didn't seem to grasp his true potential as a student.

At least, that's the only thing he could think of that was keeping him from his dream.

One of the ways they decided would help boost his reputation with the school was to present some of the inventions he had made in order to impress the staff. Although Melvin had already tried using the majority of his creations when applying, the two were beginning to get desperate. Plus, there were bound to be a couple that he had overlooked, right?

The pre-teen shook his head. "It was destroyed, remember? And even if I were to rebuild it, I'm not so sure that I want to risk another.. Flabulous incident."

Melvinborg bit back a chuckle. In retrospect, that entire situation had been pretty funny. For a machine with such potential, the disaster could have gone a lot worse than a teacher getting a huge butt.

"Oh, I bet the Time Toad 2000 would get me enrolled in an instant!" The boy rummaged through the stack of papers on the desk before finding one with a detailed drawing of the design, along with notes about how the time-travelling invention worked.

As soon as the stationary found its way into the younger's hand, it was promptly snatched up from the elder. "Nope, terrible idea."

"lt could totally work!" Melvin rolled his eyes, attempting to reach for his paper.

"Wouldn't."

"Uhm, would!"

The cyborg scooted back in his chair, forcing his younger self to lean awkwardly from his spot on the office desk to grasp at the blueprint. Beyond annoyed, he swatted at Melvin's hands as they got just a little too close to their desired prize. "I'm from the future, you unlit candle. And that means-

The older man scoffed as he was swatted right back. In a moment of petty ignorance, he scooted his chair back abruptly, fighting off the child who was now clumsily toppling into his lap.

"I know better than you do."

"That's a terrible explanation. Why don't you at least try and think of a good reason as to why I'm wrong?"

"I don't need one. It's obvious that using the Time Toad is a bad idea!"

Their swatting turned to pushing, and Melvinborg grunted as an arm was pressed into his face. Melvin was attempting to climb over him now, showing absolutely no remorse as he smushed his palm into the taller's face.

"Teaming up with you in the first place was a bad idea! You just want to do things your own waaHAHAY!-"

"..."

The both of them froze. Melvin's eyes shot down to the hand that had grasped at his side, then back to the surprised face of his future self.

You could practically see the gears turning in the cyborg's head, as he finally realized why the uncanny noise had left the other's mouth. Before he could open his mouth to speak, Melvin quickly snatched his paper back, jumped from the chair, and made a break for the door.

Melvinborg looked stunned for a brief moment, before getting to his feet and following suit.

"Get over here!"

"Never!"

The shorter grabbed for the door handle, squeaking as arms wrapped around his torso at the same moment that he made contact. He thrashed, desperately holding onto the door with all his might, but it did little to prevent the stronger man from yanking him up into the air.

"Let me go!" Melvin squirmed desperately in his grip, clutching the paper in his hand tightly, and held it as far from himself as possible. There was no way that his future self would be jeopardizing his future because of this dumb argument.

Melvinborg just rolled his eyes. "Then you give me the paper." His fingers dug slightly into his side, a smug grin growing on his face as his younger self yelped, clearly fighting back a smile.

"There's.. Thehere's no reason toho! Ahack- stop ihihit!" He squeaked as his sides were suddenly pinched, strained giggles forcing their way past his defenses.

The young scientist kicked, trying in vain to free himself from his future-self's arms, but it was hopeless. He shoved frantically at the cyborg, but his jelly-like limbs only succeeded in flailing tactlessly about.

"There's no reason to?" Melvinborg asked with feign interest, readjusting his hold on the child so that he could support his weight with one arm, the other reaching around the squirming mess to poke under his arm. "You wouldn't say this is reason enough to give me what you stole?"

A squeaky shriek pierced the office as Melvin's squirming increased ten-fold. He desperately fended off the digits that were attacking his armpit, simultaneously fighting the urge to clamp his arm down. Bringing the blueprint any closer to his body would result in it being snatched away, and every stubborn bone in his body was screaming at him to just hold. onto. that. paper.

After a few more pokes, Melvinborg understood that he needed to up his game. He huffed, digging into the younger's armpit with intent this time, completely set on getting the ginger to yield.

"StahAHAP! Stop ihit, I SWEHEHEAR! SNRK-"

In spite of the infuriatingly ticklish sensations shooting through his torso, Melvin kept his arm up. He threw his legs around once more, successfully landing a few smacks to the monster that had him in its clutches.

"You know what I want!" the robot snapped, "But since you're so insistent on making this difficult.."

Melvin squeaked as he was suddenly lowered to the ground, wrestling with the hands that were once again attempting to reach for him. He however quickly deciding on just hugging the sheet to himself in an attempt to keep it out of the other's possession. It may have been a less than ideal position to put himself into- but at that point Melvin figured that anything was better than throwing in the towel now.

"Ugh, just let go already!"

"Ihi- I refuse! It's my creation!"

As was expected, Borg tried to pry the boy's arms away, only succeeding in getting a couple frantic kicks to his arms in the process.

"Your logic doesn't make any sense! It's my invention too, you misaligned tire."

He shot a glare at his past-self when a particularly hard kick forced him to pull away. The preteen only gave him an indignant "humph" in response, forcing his tickle-induced smile away to really sell his attitude.

The elder rolled his eyes, sitting back on his legs. His patience was wearing thin, and he wondered internally if he'd always been as stubborn as this.

Who was he kidding.. if anything, he's even moreso now.

His eyes drifted to the legs that had gone back to kicking at him. They were admittedly weak blows for someone of his age, but persistent ones nonetheless.

"That is it. I didn't want to have to do this," Melvinborg caught one of the limbs right before it collided with his arm. "But I think it will help in convincing your underdeveloped mind to see this my way."

"WAIT! Noho, no! Don't you even dare!" Melvin positively shrieked, because he knew what was coming next.

As of late, the student had discovered- via two unbearably annoying friends (cough George and Harold cough cough..)- that his entire lower half was very ticklish. Espeeecially his knees.

How would the two know this, you may ask?

Well, it turns out that refusing to help one of the simple-twins with.. an admittedly tough math problem in their homework is not the way to inspire self-sufficiency in their minds. What it did inspire, however, was a certain child with a t-shirt and a bad haircut to try and get his attention again by spreading his fingers over one of his knees.

When that earned a jolt that shook his entire desk from Melvin, he and George decided to repeat the motion over and over and over again until he finally agreed to help them. By the end of it, the bespectacled preteen had lost the energy to fight, slumped out of his chair and out of breath.

Which is exactly why he's so anxious now. Borg was most certainly aware of this weakness- probably moreso than he was if he was being realistic; and very likely was planning on leveraging himself on that to get Melvin to give in.

What he was most worried about was that he knew it would work. And his future self knew he knew.

In short- he was screwed.

"Normally, I wouldn't. But as of now you're risking a time paradox that I don't have the exuberance for, the body for, nor the time for.." Melvinborg's free hand came up, and the younger tugged desperately at his entrapped limb. "So I'm willing to do what it takes to prevent that from happening."

Down on the floor, Melvin took to slapping profusely at his attacker's hands, eyes scrunched with giddy panic at the threat of being tickled again.

"Plehease! Juhust let me up!"

The half-robot held his hand out to give Melvin one last chance at escape. "Are you gonna give it to me?"

There was a hesitation, then paper was clutched tighter to the boy's chest; and so, Borg's hand returned to its place at his knee and squeezed.

"AH! Haah- SNRK! NOHOHO!" he screamed, head thrown back in hysterics. "IHI NEEHEHED- SNRK! IHIHIHIT!"

"No, you really don't."

Melvin's laughter jumped in pitch as a little more pressure was added to the tickling, surrendering internally as he tossed an arm over his eyes. Unable to withstand any more torment, he blindly chucked the accursed map towards the cyborg, ripping his limb out of the robotic grasp as soon as the grip was lessened.

The boy sucked in a huge breath, feet scrambling to scoot him further away as his other arm came up to shield his eyes.

After a few moments had passed; and Melvinborg still hadn't said anything, Melvin peeked through his arms, only to burst into giggles all over again at the incredulous look he was being given.

The man crossed his arms slowly, eyes wide as he collected himself enough to speak.

"..Why on Earth would you choose to throw it at me?"

Melvin brought his arms back down, propping himself into a sitting position with a smile. "Duhunno." he shrugged, watching as the other grabbed the blueprint from the floor and reached to set it back in its rightful spot on the desk.

"Hey," Melvin looked up to meet the eyes of the other. "I'm still going to get you into Eliteanati. You're aware of that, right?"

The younger's eyes shot down, residual smile fading away as he remembered what they were arguing about in the first place. "..I know you're trying."

The cyborg's face fell a little. "No- No, not just trying. You're going to get into that school, and you won't waste your years struggling for something that you just are not going to reach." He sat back down across from his younger self, speaking deliberately, as if he could force his words into fruition if he just.. tried hard enough. "I don't want to watch you end up like me."

For once, Melvin felt like he couldn't formulate the right words. The real weight of what he was saying sunk in. He conceived the fact that this version of himself had just.. given up on whatever timeline he had existed in, just to give his nine-year old self an opportunity to do what he couldn't.

"Uhm.." he started, fixing his glasses before starting to fiddle with the hem of his shirt. "For the record, I don't think you turned out to be the worst person in the world. You're working really hard to help me, and- I don't know.. it's just a pretty cool thing to do. I mean, you became the principal of the school in barely a week's time."

Borg laughed quietly. "Yeah, but that wasn't very difficult- Krupp is an idiot."

Melvin shook his head with a smile. "I guess. But still, I mean it about what you've done for me. I think there are worse fates for my life than getting rejected again."

The young ginger caught a shift in the other's gaze, but just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone; replaced with a look of newfound determination.

"..Don't worry. I'll get you into that school."

----

[meirimerens]

the bickering habit