#bold of you to ask about time

[vsnotresponding]

Happy STS!

I know you like writing about time, so how many stories have you written with time as a central theme? Do they differ on how they deal with time much?

hi!!!!! happy (late) STS and thanks for the ask!

you just triggered an unskippable cutscene that got very very long

i don't know if i like writing about time or just thinking about it lol. it's just,,, time as a concept is unreal as fuck. and when you get to think about its nature things get even wilder.

this all started because my high school philosophy teacher read us a text from Nietzsche, the good old Thus Spoke Zarathustra. there's a portion on circular time, a portal that's an instant, the past before it and the future beyond. we then talked about circular and linear time. it truly is one of my fondest memories from that class.

a reflection about time was one of the questions of our final that year, how ethics and morality are affected by whether time is circular or linear.

my two short stories Event Horizon and Microwave Background (aka the surface on a black hole were light stops being able to escape its gravitational pull, and the first ever image of our universe we can obtain) deal with that question, or at least the original version did (which was quite literally what I answered in that exam. the first paragraph of Event Horizon is how my response started) (i also ended my answer with the word eternity on purpose so it would start and end with the same word)

the original version argued that in circular time we are not responsible for the terrible things humankind has made through history, but that we can't also take credit for what little good we've managed to make. freedom doesn't exist, regret is not a thing because "it was the only way"... even death loses its meaning. but there's also comfort in the cycle, in being part of a perfectly tuned machine that moves the same every time a new cycle starts.

then there's linear time, in which we are free, but also responsible. and insignificant. your actions won't affect the cosmos' order, you are nothing to chance, but there's morality to be found in your actions. because you are choosing them. they are yours, and only yours. and there's, of course, the end. forever.

what's posted in here is much more poetic and abstract, and still 70% what the original text looked like.

i'm still satisfied with the changes i made. i like the little hope there's in Event Horizon, of being able to change what's been determined by circular time. of perhaps, maybe, if we just *try*, we'll break the cycle. i wrote Microwave Background a year after Event Horizon, this time taking the side of linear time, imagining what the end would be like for an immortal being that finds themselves floating in space awaiting the death of the universe.

now i realize that in both of them i ended breaking time. in EH i call for breaking the cycle of circular time, and in MB, the immortal makes a choice. It isn't specified what they choose to do, and i don't even remember what my original idea was. but now i read as the immortal somehow changing time to prevent and endless ending.

in hindsight i can now see how these three stories (the original version, EH and MB) informed what Untitled Project ended up becoming.

I'd had this idea of a man feeling like he'd lived through his life before, only that his memories were slightly changed, and that that change was the presence of a mysterious person almost hovering over him. it eventually developed into what UP is now.

along the way i picked up circular time (it just fit right in with the story), and things just naturally cascaded down from then on.

time breaking in UP is the source of the main conflict, yes, but that's not the end of how much my previous stories about time have shaped it.

ely's arc in the final part of book 1 it's all about understanding circular time, because we are not programmed for it. we understand life with the before, the now, and the after. it's just one after the other, no going back. and it makes sense, it's how we experience it. we have no way of knowing if our time is circular or linear, we'll never have. time will keep on going, humanity will eventually perish, and so will the Universe cool and then... there might be a Big Crunch that reexplodes into another Big Bang, or there might be just nothing.

in UP time *is* circular, and it shapes everything. prophets don't see into the future, they remember. this has all already happened. "she's been dead since the beginning" and all that. but no character is aware of it, not Lyric, the "messiah", that has been raised to believe it's his destiny to save humanity; not Akira, who's death is non-negotiable.

no character is aware of it, until ely dies. they die protecting a god that can't die and is then gifted with eternity. but to master it they first need to understand it. they need to live through History until time breaks and feel every single moment, feel every death and every first breath, every life coming and going.

this was a theme in Zarathustra too. to look at circular time in the eyes and say yes, to accept it, accept it all. all of History, all the terrible things humankind has done through its run. yes, i would do it all again, yes i *will*. i will doom every single people to die again and again, because this, whatever it is, is worth it. all the happiness i've felt is worth it, all the pain if felt is worth it too. i *am* worth it all.

ely embraces it, the first lost soul doesn't. and so she sets to break time. and she does! she breaks it so much lyric has to be brought back and back again only so he can die when he had to.

the thing is (and this is why im so feral about the concept), the thing is that "this was the only way". this has already happened.

once the characters become aware of it, they have two choices, the only two real choices they have: say yes, or say no. ely has to truly say yes, lyric needs to say yes too (and, trust me, he fights against it until his last breath). hannah has to confront her feelings about destiny and prophecies (she hates the concept), and the first lost soul has to come to peace with what her life was.

and that's the thing with UP, in the end, it's all about that choice. because lyric's chosen not because of destiny, but because his legend was a comfort to a little lost child in time. because that little child found him in the first time thanks to a crow learning to say yes to the pain he'd gone through, only to be able to see his best friend again. because that friend would choose to save him, again and again, unknowingly, no matter time broken or iteration, to put himself in between blade and body.

the characters themselves say yes to their own story. to do it all again. and so it all ends with a god, once a kid lost in time, that has lived for eternity upon eternity saying they are ready to live it all again, and it all begins with an old man saying he's ready to die.

[zu-is-here]

Advice for basic poses/anatomy I’m really struggling with them. What’s ur process?

[mantisgodsdomain]

Finally, we get the opportunity to put our Spy Cards worldbuilding in a work. Though there are many questions about such things as "regulation" "how these cards are printed" "who approves a single spy card", and so on, we are here to present a bold new take: this game is based like 60% on obscure roach memory-reading tech that got turned into a card game with absolutely No card-game-related intentions included in the original tech and most of the card vetting is just from the fact that there aren't too many card printers out there and most of them make cards that need to be translated from Roach.

Strictly speaking, as a card game, it is not a terribly good or well-balanced one. It's popular primarily because of a mix of the difficulty involved in getting the data for high-level cards, the fun of seeing the variety of monsters that can be brought to the table, and the incredible amounts of ham and drama that goes into specifically the professional scene.

[mushiemellows]

Another Day in the Sun

Chapter 1: Mechanical Precision

Rating: T

Summary:

Sometimes, days on the open sea tended to blend together. The Strawhats didn’t really seem to mind. No one’s noticed that they keep living the same day over and over again, but the machine keeps ticking.

((The crew gets stuck in a time loop. Franky and Robin need to play Matchmaker in order to try and break them out))

extra notes: I'm doing a bunch of writing warm ups out of a book I'm reading. I figured I'd use this new fic as a sort of practice space. I'm trying to keep things fun and casual, but there's a story here. It won't be nearly as long or detailed as my other stuff, but I'm having fun writing.

(tagged initially as Frobin and Zosan just bc that's what I'm setting up in these first chapters, but there will be a lot more.)

[lailuhhh]

Okay okay so I had this AU idea but it’s not something I could pull off so I’m here going to yell about it because I can’t stop thinking about it. And maybe because I think you’d write it so well

What if Mac didn’t want to join the army? What if Harry or James forced him too? And he’s been banned from coming home(for a specific period of time). Is it because Harry’s sick and dying and doesn’t want his grandson to see him like this? Is it James for a more sinister specific reason?

So Mac doesn’t want to be there. He wants to go home. He’s had basically bad experiences with most of the people he’s interacted with(I’m a sucker for Mac’s previous overwatches being awful to him) and Peña was the exception but he’s gone and now he’s stuck with Dalton and he’s got so much time left here still and Dalton gets to go home soon.

They still don’t get along but Mac still saves Jack and he’s shocked when Jack stays because he gets to go home and choose to stay. Ahh it would be so interesting.

✨✨✨✨✨✨BESTIE✨✨✨✨✨✨

Okay what if Mac’s considered a troubled child? He has a record of everything that he’s done and really the only big thing was exploding the football field. He’s the weird kid but is still the Mac we know and love

Assuming everything is still pretty much the same, Harry and James still talk and James gets updates on everything Mac does and that was like the decision of him going to the army. Harry opposes it because he knows the horrors of it but doesn’t really have the final say in anything because while he’s technically Mac’s guardian, James is— unfortunately— still his father

Let’s assume Mac got a scholarship, but it’s really James setting his plan into place and through the magic of television, through signing all the paperwork and everything and getting the scholarship settled, Mac said he’d join the army when he turned 18

So Mac more or less gets literally escorted out of his dorm and shoved onto an army bus and taken away to basic, all while calling Harry trying to figure out what’s happening but Harry just tells him he signed a contract. Mac even calls the Bozers to try to help out because they actually care and don’t want him sent into a battlefield

Training and everything passes, old overwatches come and go, Peña is the only person who says the whole situation is fucked up and tells Mac he’ll look into it because legally the contract Mac signed was null and void because he signed as a minor without his guardian present so he really shouldn’t be there. James gets word of it because that’s just a big problem so he had a plan to keen him from finding anything out, but Peña ends up dying from the Ghost’s bomb and James doesn’t have to Deal With Him™️

At that point, Mac is pretty much cut off from everyone because he didn’t want to be there and the only person that seemed to care and believe him died. Then he gets transferred and the whole interaction with Jack happens and the scene where we see Mac disarm the IED with a battery and gum, how they’re kinda warming up to each other, Mac is still completely closed off because he just hates it there so much, even though Jack is trying to be a decent guy

And then when Mac goes off on his own—

“Now, we need to get on the same page, kid, and I mean right now. That is, if you want to keep breathing. Next time you wait for me to take my position before you go scampering off like that, you hear me?”

“Whatever. Not like it would’ve mattered.”

Which leads to a blowout of Mac yelling how much he hates it there and that he was basically kidnapped from college because he knew that, while he didn’t read the full contract, any agreements would’ve been void like Peña said because he was a minor and he didn’t have the power to consent to actually joining the army

When Mac saves Jack, it’s more of a if it was just me I wouldn’t really care but I’m not going to let you die just because my life sucks and Jack can see Mac going in a downward spiral and knows that if he doesn’t stay then Mac won’t make it out of the sandbox

The last few days is basically how they first met, but Jack’s making an effort to actually be the guy we know and love but Mac doesn’t want anything to do with it because Jack’s leaving and what’s the point of trying to be friends with someone you’ll never see again

So when Jack actually pops into the side of the humvee

“Why’d you come back? You had the opportunity to go home.”

“My home will still be there. I told ya before that I get all my bomb nerds home and yer no exception. You were dealt a real shitty hand and it’s fucked that no one will help ya get to the bottom of it. So I’m gonna stay here, make sure ya get home so you can stick it to those that fucked ya over”

So Mac’s tour gets finished, and since Jack actually holds power, they leave and Jack gets on contact with his buddies up the ladder to help get to the bottom of it and it takes a while but they eventually get the documents Mac signed and then consent forms signed by James and that just starts a whole whirlwind of the true James Hate we deserved

**Bonus points for if Harry died while Mac was deployed but they didn’t let him go home because James knew he would go AWOL so all his free days and leave had to be on base, also Mac assumed that Harry was the one that consented to him joining so he pretty much hated him until he found out the truth

All assuming Mac signed the scholarship forms when he was like 16 because you can legally sign up for the army when you’re 17

[ectonurites]

sometimes i think my mom was designed in a lab to make me feel the need to punch a wall

[palfriendpatine66]

The day has come when my Ewan McGregor Pinterest board is too big for me to find what I’m looking for and settled on the two most important subcategories to begin with: “motorcycle Ewan” and “Ewan white pants collection”

[quietlyblooms]

PREFERENCES — SEXY SUNDAY EDITION. explicit below the cut. feel free to steal & repost for your own muse(s) .

bold = yes

bold + italics = favorite

italics = maybe or partner dependent

nothing = no strong opinion

striked = never

INTEREST!

submissive / dominant / prefers to top / prefers to bottom ( at the beginning ) / likes to switch / heterosexual / gay / lesbian / bisexual / pansexual / asexual / demisexual / enjoys sex with men / enjoys sex with women / enjoys sex with genderfluid , agender , demigender , or non binary individuals / enjoys sex with all genders regardless of identity / enjoys sex with multiple people at a time ( only if she's in a closed poly relationship ) / enjoys intimacy with women / enjoys intimacy with men / enjoys intimacy with genderfluid, agender, demigender, or non binary individuals / enjoys intimacy with all genders regardless of gender / initiates / waits for partner to initiate / spits / swallows / morning sex / night sex / sex any time / no sex drive / low sex drive / average sex drive / high sex drive / hypersexual / fluctuating sex drive

BODY & APPEARANCE.

slender build / medium build / athletic build / muscular build / curvy build / voluptuous / chubby build / wears boxers / wears boxer briefs / wears lingerie / goes commando / shaves / trims / waxes / goes natural / naturally smooth / cup size a b c / cup size d-f/ 1-5” in length / 6-9” in length / 10” or over in length

SOUNDS.

silent / quiet ( tries to be at first out of shyness ) / loud / grows in volume over time / bites hand / bites partner / bites pillow to muffle self / calls out partners name / curses / fakes / exaggerates / prefers a quiet partner / prefers a loud partner / prefers a partner who grows in volume over time / turned on by dirty talk!!! / turned off by dirty talk

TURN-ONS & KINKS.

having their hands pinned / pinning partner’s hands / having own hair pulled / pulling partner’s hair / being watched ( by their partner ) / being watched ( by a third party ) / watching their partner / receiving oral / giving oral / giving praise / receiving praise / biting or marking / being bitten or marked / spanking / being spanked / teasing / being teased / having toys used on them / using toys on their partner / giving anal / receiving anal / choking / being choked / giving vaginal / receiving vaginal / being tied up / tying partner up / being worshipped / worshipping partner / humiliating / being humiliated / degrading / being degraded / knife play / blood play / being pegged / pegging partner / partner wearing lingerie / wearing lingerie / whipping / being whipped / roleplay ( would depend on the scenario but she'd try ) / titfucking / cockwarming

PLACES.

bedroom / shower / bath / pool / ocean / kitchen / home bathroom / public restroom / car / tent / alleyway / field / forest / university / empty or abandoned building / library / rooftop / terrace / dressing room / elevator / parking lot / museum / cemetery / beach / closet / hospital

[localthumbcache]

Can I just. Scream in the tags

[fabdante]

Not sure if you'd like my taste in music, but on the off chance you find something you like, here's some songs for the reboot, both for the lads and just the general vibe of Limbo City:

-The Protomen (the band). A couple of their albums, namely "The Protomen", "Act II: The Father of Death", and "This City Made Us".

Songs I liked specifically:

1. "The Hounds" from the Act II album. I know for the reboot it'd probably fit best for Bob Barbas, since he's the big information demon, but personally, I always liked it as Vergil's villain song instead- if he ever came back and decided to just wreck Dante's life after the events of the game, I mean. It's got a nice personal element to it that Dante and Bob just don't have, but Vergil and Dante do/could. That and it's catchy as hell and if Vergil ever decides to try and set himself up as the new demon king of the human world, my dude deserves a good villain song for it.

"There is a flame that I've been fanning

There is a fire waiting to catch

There is a hell that has been building from the moment we first met

If there ever was a time

If there ever was a chance

To undo the things I've done

And wash these bloodstains from my hands

It has passed and been forgotten

These are the paths that we must take

Cause you and I, Tom, we are men

And we can bend and we can break

If you think that you can run

If you think that you can stand

Well, you forget who turned this city on

You forget who plugged this city in!"

2. "Keep Quiet" (Act II), "Light Up the Night" (Act II), and "Hold Back the Night" (This City Made Us album) for Kat and Dante and the Order. The first two are more hopeful, the last one not so much, but it could fit, depending on what you want to write. Gonna throw in "This City Made Us" song from the album of the same name, too, just for the general vibe of Limbo City under Mundus. And maybe even after him, tbh, again, depending on how you wanna do things.

3. "II B: Unrest in the House of Light", "III: the Will of One", "IV: Vengeance" from "The Protomen" album, for general Sparda family drama vibes, specifically their beef with Mundus and, eventually, each other.

Songs for reboot Dante specifically:

-"Lost Boys" by the 69 Eyes. It fits better with the Lost Boys (1987) movie, but fuck it. I like the general Goth rock vibe for Dante. Mostly because of that costume of his that looks like it's inspired by Eric Draven from The Crow (1994), because I love that movie and that costume (it looks good on him!), so he can have this, as a treat.

-"Remedy" by Cold.

-"T-Rex" by K.Flay.

-"You're Not Alone" by Kissin' Dynamite.

-"Dead Inside" by Younger Hunger.

Oh I'm a big fan of music! Incase you are interested, here's some links to my Way Too Many DmC Playlists (also here's my main playlist tag) This is a compilation of what I call my 'essentials' playlists for the reboot trio, they're sort of a sampler platter for their larger playlists. And this is a compilation of all of my playlists for the Reboot Trio (I'm almost done with a set of playlists for a general DmC Reboot Vibe as well)

Anywho carrying on, I haven't heard any of these before so I'll need to check these out more in depth! On cursory listen I'm liking these so far! I also support more villian songs for Vergil (my favorite for him is Flickers by Son Lux )

I also love the Dante/Crow parallels, it's a little detail I love in the costumes but also just kinda like Dantes whole vibe.

My personal all time favorite song for Dante is Sleep Patterns by Merchant Ships which I realize is an odd choice (it doesn't even really sound like most of my Dante playlists or even the rest of Merchant Ships discography) but something about it is very quintessentially reboot Dante to me

[princesamermaid]

nobody ever acknowledges how difficult it is to be a shy extrovert ..💔

[wuffgang-ameowdeus-moozart]

what qpr ships do u ship that most see as allo & why do you ship em in a qpr/pr way? like what makes them interesting for you?

basically.....every ship to be honest?

tho it is especially bad if you are particularly fond of female characters specifically (✨ misogyny✨)

there are three main reasons why I tend to prefer qprs:

1. I hc a ton of characters as aromantic and while it is theoretically possible to be an aro in a romantic relationship (if you're a happily dating aro-spec more power to you) I personally could never. and thus my version of the characters that live in my soul and love gnawing on my remaining braincells wouldn't, either.

2. fandom and spite. I'm just so tired of all the stupid "there is no platonic explanation" (yes there is, it is called loving your friends) or "a platonic friend wouldn't do that" (yes they would, it is called loving your friends) or (picture of two people hanging out) OH MY GOD CHECK OUT THEIR ROMANTIC DATE FULL OF ROMANCE (<- cannot stress enough how these are just two ppl enjoying each other's company. do allos just hate their friends)

the most annoying part of that is the way it devaluates every friendship that isn't somehow (forcibly sometimes) linked to romance (they only sacrifice themselves for each other because of their *romantic* feelings specifically, everything they do with and/or for each other is basically just buildup for their REAL important relationship - as if, if they never started dating, it would all be "a waste" or "for nothing")

3. we've all seen it. two perfectly fine complex layered interesting characters become a couple and along with their new relationship status they also receive a new personality trait: being a couple. unfortunately for them, that is now also their only personality trait.

but I think that with qprs that is much more difficult to do? when you speak of romance everyone has a pretty clear picture in mind for what that means; qprs however are by definition undefinable. meaning that in order to make a qpr work you are more or less forced to have a little character study (even post relationship): how do they perceive the qpr? how is it different from other friendships and/or past romances? or even: how do they deal with being in a relationship outside of the widely accepted romance/platonic binary? (and that's just off the top of my head)

(though I think that another big thing for me is that for the longest time I thought that "being in love" and "having a crush" were synonyms. my nine yo brain thought that after confessing (regardless of the outcome) these feelings just started fading after a while since theyd outgrown their usefulness. so even if the feelings were reciprocated you just stayed together out of convenience after a while - until you "fell in love" with another person. I know by now that that's ideally not the case but I think that I've thought of it that way for long enough for it to be baked into my worldview lmao)

ft rant below the cut

its probably bc I'm thinking bout her a lot but it's pretty bad with Lucy Heartfilia. I feel like the devaluation and dismissal of Natsu's and Lucy's friendship is so bad (especially considering they are at the core of the show) ,,,,,, I honestly believe that if they were to start dating it would actually take away from their dynamiC AND! UNDERMINE!! THE!!! ENTIRE!!!! MESSAGE!!!!! OF!!! THE!!!! SHOWWWWW (THIS IS LITERALLY THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP MANGA GUYS THEY ARE ALREADY SOULMATES STOP ACTING LIKE THEIR BEAUTIFUL RELATIONSHIP IS JUST A STEPPING STONE IM GONNA START BITING FOR REAL)

anyways. thanks for coming to my ted talk<3

[theflyingfeeling]

Do you think Aleksi is bi because I think he might be he gives the vibes (and I don’t like mean to speculate but I know he won’t see this)

honestly speaking I am yet to form my final opinion on the matter lol but based on recent events (=him being fruity on his live streams) I'm ready to say he might at least be bi-curious, if you know what I mean 👀

whatever his sexual orientation is, he's such a cool dude and cute as heck too 🥺

[kingofmyborrowedheart]

Swifties like you are trash. You worship her current bf and villianize her ex, no matter what. You make her life harder by attacking people she loved, who did nothing bad to her.

You've obviously never had a real, healthy relationship, that simply didn't work out. You think people only break up because one person did something terrible.

What a loser. You'll never be happy.

I have never villainized Joe, I’ve never even had a strong opinion on the man; I just think it’s kinda shitty that he couldn’t show up during a big moment for Taylor. I also never claimed that the split rested solely on one party I quite literally said “People change and grow apart and that’s normal, it doesn’t mean one person was at fault!” which directly undermines what you’re trying to accuse me of saying.

Yeah I’ve never had a real relationship but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand that relationships require give and take and effort, healthy communication and if things aren’t working after you’ve tried to fix it then maybe it’s best to cherish it for what it was, use it as a learning experience and move on.

It seems like you’re just looking for someone to be mad at and get a rise out of, but unfortunately for you I’m not a punching bag and my anger isn’t triggered by people like you. I don’t think I’m the loser in this situation since I’m not the one sending anonymous hate on tumblr.com, that would be you anon! Have a lovely evening! 😘

[reztruck]

the only acquaintance i made in college that i enjoyed was a palestinian, and anytime we met up. She was like let's go eat...and i thought that was so cool bc white people in general have like 3 stages of getting to know them before it gets to that (maybe i am not that likeable lol)

[appalachianapologies]

More GA au thoughts 😅

But I was watching our staff baby(just about the cutest thing ever my word) and I couldn’t help but think about Jack watching over baby Mac. like babies(in my personal opinion) inspire such protectiveness because they literally can’t defend themselves. And Jack Freaking Dalton is a guardian and protector to his core.

I mean, think about it. Baby Mac laying in his crib. Alone for hours. Maybe he’s got a dirty diaper and he’s crying softly. Maybe he’s hungry. Maybe he’s learn(even at a few months old) that no one is coming. And he looks up to see Jack leaning over him. And he just grins up at him. Ughhhh

This is just a rant about babies and Jack and Mac and how this is the ultimate state of vulnerability and Jack is still there and Jack is watching out and Jack cares when no one else does.

Does he change Mac? Does he get him a bottle? Does he cover him up with blankets? Does he hum the lullaby he heard from a different parent an age ago? Idk but it’s so much fun to think about 🥺

hehehe so we have this snippet from Chapter Eleven of Upon taking lethal damage, enter resurrection,

“I wasn’t just there in the shadows, Mac,” Jack replies. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. For as long as I was able, knowing that when you grew up you’d never be able to remember it, I was there with you. You used to lay there in a crib and just cry.”

Even with the street lamps, Mac can barely see Jack’s face in the moonlight. “You expect me to believe that?”

“But you weren’t like other babies. You never ever cried loudly. Never screeched. And unless you were making a racket, your parents would never check on you during the day.”

Mac’s throat feels tight. “That’s not true.”

“You’d lay there, for hours at a time, tears silently falling from your face. You were uncomfortable, I could tell that, but you’d never make any noise. So I’d stand there with you, knowing that you wouldn’t remember, and that your parents wouldn’t ever go upstairs and accidentally see me.”

which is all that Mac really knows (at the end of part I Mac has begun to understand that the nice warm and soft feeling is from jack, but doesn't know it's from his wings). What he doesn't know is that it was times like these that kind of made Jack more... human? Gave him all of those human emotions and feelings of needing to protect someone who can't protect themselves.

Jack has definitely hummed and sang songs to Mac (I'll paste a part of one of the Jack drabbles below), he'd cover smol Mac with his wings to keep him warm and safe, and just. UGH the feelings you are making me feel!!!

It isn’t strictly life-saving, but Jack still reaches out. Barely touches the baby’s fist with his first finger, pausing when he uncurls those little fingers and wraps them around Jack’s offered appendage. The entire fist barely reaches up two knuckles, but the grip is stronger than Jack was expecting.

Slowly, and far too quiet for anyone else in the house to hear, Jack begins to hum.

Some song that he heard a million times because Ellen had a cassette tape she listened to every day when she drove to work, and this song was the second track on side one. Jack’s heard it at least twice every day for months.

The song itself doesn’t mean anything to the baby, Jack knows that much, but maybe it’s the soft humming that calms him down. Whatever the case may be, the squirming stops, and his other hand slowly uncurls until it’s back to five small fingers attached to an open palm.

Though the one holding onto Jack’s finger stays tight.

When he falls back asleep, Jack will take his finger back. Disappear back to a place where humans can’t see him. Can’t comprehend him.

full drabble here