[WORLD TWO | THE OTHER HALF]

[spellbindmods]

Who: Others not on the list of the Chosen 12
Where: Around Shehui
When:
Open/Closed: Open to All, though top levels shouldn't be made by Chosen 12 members -- however, direct telepathy links can be sent to Chosen 12 members, and Chosen 12 members can respond to open telepathy prompts. This post is meant more for those who aren't part of the Chosen 12 so they can react with others or plot their next move.

[ While your name isn't on the list that has been circulating, it doesn't mean that you're unaffected by this issue. Did someone you know -- someone you have a fondness for, perhaps? -- wind up on that list? And did they manage to evade the monitors or have they been captured?

You may have the resources to do something about it, or you may want to stay out of harm's way. Either way, changes are on the horizon -- and that horizon is now looming closer than ever before. ]

Comments

[deem]

[There is something calming about your voice.

2B had told him that once. But having heard it before doesn't stop him from being surprised when Jude expresses a similar sentiment]

Y-you... [Really think so? He almost asks, but doesn't quite manage, taking a moment instead to collect himself] Thanks. I didn't know you felt that way.

[He wouldn't have assumed it, either]

[talim]

Really?

[ jude is surprised that 9s is so surprised. he thought it was obvious. ]

I mean... I like just about everything about you. Why assume otherwise?

[deem]

[His poor black box can't take this Jude]

I— [Am having palpitations this is too much] wh-where's this coming from, anyway?

[This is the first time he's been told something like this so plainly. In the past, Jude had needed to explain a few things to him so he could better understand, but this isn't quite the same thing]

[talim]

I... To be honest with you, I don't know.

[ jude actually looks perplexed, himself. where is this coming from? it's not that he isn't open with his affection, but he's not quite this open. ]

I just... I needed to tell you. For some reason. I needed you to know.

[ maybe he's subconsciously afraid that 9s might get kidnapped, too. but jude has all the faith in the world that 9s would bust right out, so... no, that can't be right, can it?

all he knows is that everything he's saying is true. ]

[deem]

[That's a puzzling thought]

...Are you worried?

[9S has had his experiences with people saying things they think they may never get to otherwise, and he can't help wondering if that's why Jude is saying so much now. While he's certainly flattered, even honored in light of what he is and what that means, it's not quite how Jude usually talks.

So he can't help but think something is wrong, or something is on his mind, to prompt this]

[talim]

No.

[ jude says this with absolute clarity. ]

It's not that. I have faith in you. If something were to happen... I know you'd be okay. Not that I wouldn't be worried sick, regardless, but that's not it.

[ he puts a finger to his lips, searching for a proper answer to give him. but he's coming up short. ]

[deem]

Well...thank you.

[Although his puzzlement lingers in his tone. This doesn't seem very much like Jude's usual way of speaking to him, but maybe whatever's different is something he's not aware of.

If that's the case, there isn't much point in asking more about it]

It's nice to know you think that.

[talim]

There are a lot of things I think about you. I just don't always voice them.

[deem]

I don't imagine anyone says everything they think.

[Still, it's surprising that Jude thinks such things about him]

[talim]

No, probably not.

[ he leans in and thumbs at the corner of 9s' lips. just because. because he wants to. ]

Doesn't that make you curious, though?

[ if jude could choose one way to describe it, he'd say it's like his feelings are threatening to spill over. ]

[deem]

Everything makes me curious. [Which is prompt for a wry smile] I'm a Scanner.

[That's how he was designed, surely Jude remembers]

[talim]

That's right. How could I forget?

[ jude laughs, lightly. ]

But what are some of the things that make you most curious?

[deem]

[It's not a question he expects, and 9S is quiet for a long moment, watching Jude from behind his goggles before turning his gaze back on his work]

I studied machines I guess, particularly combat data, although it was discouraged. You could say it was a hobby of sorts.

[talim]

Discouraged?

[ he thinks he recalls 9s mentioning something like that, once, some time ago. about how it was frowned upon. ]

Curiosity should never be discouraged. If anything, I admire it. You really put your all into the things you care about.

And I like that about you, too.

[deem]

Well... I also wasn't built for it.

[For melee combat. Scanners didn't have functional NFCS, but he modified himself. Ironically, to defend himself against someone who shouldn't have been an enemy but was nevertheless a threat at the time.

But his wry smile softens around the edges, a certain fondness seeping in]

But 2B said something like that once too.

[And for a unit programmed to both be curious and feel guilt for the same, there's a certain comfort in it]

1/2

[talim]

You should listen to 2B.

[ jude gives him a little tap on the nose. his smile is reassuring, soft. ]

You can be anything you want to be.

2/2

[talim]

And you know I'm a curious person, too. I wouldn't be a scientist if I wasn't. Now if only I knew what this drug did... There has to be something.

Re: 2/2

[deem]

[He'll always be a Scanner, he's tempted to say, but Jude keeps on talking. So he takes his hand in his, moving it away from his face simply to hold it]

Testing what it was made of may have been the easier way to find that out. This place doesn't seem oriented around humans.

[talim]

Maybe so.

[ jude curls his fingers around 9s' hand. ]

Your hand is warm.

[deem]

You're the warmest person I know.

[Though that's not wholly a literal assessment]

Do you think maybe...talking like this is an effect though?

[talim]

[ once those words sink in, a blush spreads all the way down his neck. he... didn't expect to hear that. ]

What do you mean? Talking like... what?

[ jude gives him a confused look, still red in the face. ]

[deem]

[He notices that color, but he doesn't draw attention to it for now. For the time being, he's more concerned with the change to Jude's behavior.

It seems pretty harmless (and quite flattering), but...]

Well...you're saying more than you usually do, right?

[talim]

I guess I didn't really notice.

[ he really didn't. ]

Is that a bad thing?

I just feel like... there are so many things I want to say, and have to say, and they're all threatening to boil over. So many things I want to tell you. So many discussions I want to have. So many things I want to do.

[ that last part makes his heart skip a beat. ]

[deem]

Not a bad thing, no...

[His only concern is for Jude's privacy if he is being influenced. 9S knows what it is to have his thoughts and feelings intruded upon against his will, and he never wants that for Jude.

Not that these circumstances are the same by any means]

Are they things you want me to know?

[talim]

Nothing I said was wrong. I'm always more than happy to let you know all the good things about you I appreciate so much. But there are other things... well...

[ how does he put this. ]

It's like— if you were to ask me something, anything, I'd need to be honest with you. No matter what it is; no matter how personal. It's this strange compulsion, to verbalize every little thing on my mind.

Things I've said before, like how much I like your eyes. And things I've skirted around, like how much I want to...

[ jude trails off, swallowing thickly, but that compulsion all but forces him to press on.

instead of voicing his train of thought, though, he rests his free hand on 9s' bare knee, his blush unfading. ]

To...