#i say predictable because its a common pattern . genuinely weirded out and scared that there are people taking videos of these kids at

[paandaan]

really weird (but predictable) that there's a subsection of people on twt who have their accounts dedicated to the child actors from koreeda's monster ...

[dweetwise]

day 1: ouija board

prompt from: cocktober (don’t let the name fool you, this one’s very sfw!) pairing: felix x ace notes: some silly humor to kick off the challenge! warnings: none word count: 1300

”Honey, you’re not seriously doing this?” Ace asks, quirking an amused eyebrow as Felix, for some crazy reason, gets up to join the girls in their dumb little game.

“Why not?” Felix shrugs. “I’m curious to see who answers.”

“Wait wait wait,” Ace realizes. “You actually believe in that kind of crap?”

He eyes the worn, pathetic board that looks like something you’d buy right alongside other overprized spiritual crap like healing crystals and tarot cards. There’s a mismatch of symbols printed on the board’s edges, like someone was trying to shove all supernatural elements they could think of on it; there’s a few sigils, what looks to be Latin inscriptions, and even the Chinese zodiac.

All in all, it looks like a child’s game and not the paranormal relic the girls insist it is.

“Um, Ace,” Zarina starts, clearing her throat. “Are you saying you don’t believe in the paranormal? After everything we’ve been through?”

“Nothing weird about a demonic spider-god and being resurrected every other day, no sir,” Meg snarks.

“I didn’t say that,” Ace scoffs. “Just that there’s no such thing as ghosts. All that psychic powers, lingering spirits shit? A massive con—I should know.”

“I still think we should give it a shot,” Felix says, and Ace resists the urge to roll his eyes. He knows Felix is a little lacking in the street smarts department, having spent most of his life tucked away in comfortable luxury, but this is the first time Ace has seen him completely disregard common sense.

“Yeah, I didn’t go through the trouble of stealing it for nothing!” Nea insists, puffing up her chest and expecting even more cheers for having managed to nick the item from the Legion’s hideout.

“I think we’ll definitely get an answer. We know there have been survivors before us,” Zarina tries to rationalize as much as the idea of ghosts can be rationalized.

“Knock yourselves out,” Ace dismisses with a wave of his hand, lounging back against the log and preparing to watch the group make complete fools of themselves.

“Alright, let’s do this!” Meg announces when all of the four take their places on each side of the board and place their fingers on the wooden marker. “Who’s gonna ask the questions?”

“I think Zarina should do it!” Nea says. “I’d probably just piss the ghost off.”

“Alright,” Zarina says, taking a deep breath. And then, someone starts frantically moving the marker around.

“Wow, looks like a really angry ghost is possessing Meg’s hand,” Ace smirks.

“We’re warming up the board, dumbass,” Meg shoots back.

Jesus H Christ, Ace didn’t know there was a protocol to this kind of thing. It just makes it even more ridiculous.

“I think we’re ready,” Felix says, and everyone stops the marker.

“Are there any spirits present?” Zarina asks, and the way she stares at the board with a dead serious expression is almost enough for Ace to lose it.

The pointer, predictably, is still, until someone decides to slowly move it to “Yes”.

“It’s working!” Meg exclaims. “Come on, do another one!”

“Are… were you a survivor?” Zarina asks, hesitating a little bit.

Ace really wants someone to move the marker to the rooster zodiac symbol in the background so he can make a cock joke.

He’s out of luck, because the marker only spins in a slow circle, until someone pushes it to “No”.

“You…” Zarina starts, much more meekly than before. “Were you a killer?”

Someone yanks the pointer immediately to “Yes”.

“Shit,” Nea curses, eyes going wide.

“What do I do?” Zarina hisses to the group.

“Ask if—” Felix starts, but then quiets as the marker starts moving.

“L… E… T… M…” Meg’s eyes fly over the board as the marker moves. “E... O—” she gasps as it makes its way to the final two letters.

“’Let me out’,” Felix murmurs, and there’s a genuine fear in his expression that makes Ace do a double take. He’s really buying into this stuff, huh?

“We can’t do that,” Zarina addresses the board, having somewhat collected herself. She looks like she’s about to say more, but almost loses her grip on the pointer when it zips to “Yes”.

“Oh fuck,” Nea curses. Ace doesn’t think he’s ever seen the headstrong tagger look genuinely scared before, not since first arriving in the realm. Which one of them is controlling the marker?

“Ask what it’s after,” Felix urges Zarina.

“What do you want?” Zarina asks, her voice trembling just the tiniest bit. Shit, even the Ice Queen is scared? Meg is doing a fantastic job pulling the strings.

The marker goes crazy, frantically moving between letters, seeming to repeat a pattern that spells—

“’Kill’,” Meg gasps, retreating her hand as if burned, and it just keeps moving, almost like it’s possessed, and damnit, that means it’s not her doing it—

“Meg come on, we need all of us to bind it!” Nea says, and they’re all seeming to struggle with getting the marker under control, like it has a mind of its own.

“Quick, ask it something!” Felix says, an urgency in his voice as he addresses Zarina. Suddenly, Ace doesn’t want to know what happens if the marker manages to get free from their grasp.

“Who? Who do you want to kill?” Zarina nearly shouts, pressing down on the rogue game piece with both hands to get it under control.

Nea’s finger slips when the pointer flies across the board, landing on A and then moving to C—

Ace’s eyes go wide when he sees the violent spirit spell out his name on the board, his heartbeat suddenly thundering in his ears and no longer feeling safe at all, despite the familiar glow of the campfire and being surrounded by his companions.

And then it gets so much worse when Felix turns to look at him and his face blanches in fear, and Meg is doing the same, looking behind him and yelling out a warning—

“Ace!”

Cold hands emerge from the shadows and grab at him before he can turn around, and Ace shrieks and scrambles away, not about to let the ghost drag him to the void—

And then the ghost starts laughing in a very familiar manner and his companions are quick to join in, and Ace’s adrenaline-fueled brain finally allows him to turn to face his attacker and realize the fluffy-haired ghost looks awfully familiar.

“Steve,” Ace addresses the teen through gritted teeth.

“Oh man, you screamed like a girl!” Steve cackles, actually doubling over in laughter.

“I told you it’d work!” Nea snickers, elbowing Felix.

“Wait, you planned this!?” Ace screeches, turning to face his lover in accusation.

“Maybe,” Felix smirks like the infuriating bastard that he is.

“Remember the time you scammed me out of my skeleton keys?” Zarina asks with a sickly sweet smile.

“Or when you got that chest and let me die on hook?” Steve adds, still chuckling.

“Wait, you were all in on it?” Ace realizes.

“Payback’s a bitch!” Meg sing-songs, and Ace can’t help but be impressed at their coordination. It was a perfectly executed prank, and he can’t believe Felix managed to fool him so completely.

“You,” Ace demands, an accusing finger pointing at his lover. “You’d better make this up to me.”

“Of course, darling,” Felix smirks, and Ace resigns himself to his fate of seeing that smug little smile for at least the next couple of days. Felix walks up to him and places a cute kiss into his hairline, and Ace is maybe, maybe prepared to forgive him.

“I’ll protect you from the scary ghost,” Felix murmurs and when Ace snaps his head back to gape at him in offense, Felix has the audacity to laugh.

Since when has his boyfriend been such a little demon?