[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]

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...

[deem]

[With his hand freed, he simply places it over Jude's]

I told you before that I don't mind, right?

[He's swing his legs, were they not on the floor. Jude said before that he wanted to touch them, after he got a change of clothes, and he seemed to believe something wasn't okay about that.

For 9S, though, it's hard to fathom why he wouldn't be okay with such a very small thing]

I'd rather hear things you want to tell me than ask if you have no choice but to answer.

[talim]

Maybe it is the drug.

[ jude feels a little lightheaded, a little heady, and he doesn't think that's the drug. he thinks it's the realization that he suddenly has the desperate urge to tell 9s certain things he didn't plan on breaching anytime soon. uncharted territory.

a truth serum, perhaps. it's not an unlikely conclusion to come to. his hand creeps up to 9s' thigh, just under the hem of his shorts. his skin is as soft as it looks, so pale in contrast to his clothing. ]

I'm scared of screwing things up between us. All because of selfish human desires.

[deem]

[9S may not be very concerned with his body, certainly not in the way a human is, but he notices how Jude's hand travels. He regards it thoughtfully for what seems a very long moment of dead silence...

...after which he simply pats the back of his hand]

You're not a very selfish person at all. Something like this is fine.

[Jude's world doesn't have anything like him. And he's the curious, investigative sort just like 9S himself is. Surely that's why he'd want to do such things]

[talim]

[ jude leans over to bury his head in 9s' neck, hiding his deep blush as he nods. his hand doesn't travel any further, and 9s' hand over his is welcome reassurance. ]

... Do you remember that time when we practiced kissing?

[deem]

[The question is what makes his face warm under his goggles, because that gesture is far more intimate to him than a touch is. He still isn't sure that it's alright for him to do something like that.

But Jude is happy, isn't he? If that's the case, it should be okay. He hopes]

...Yeah, I remember. I hadn't thought about it that way, but I guess that's what it was.

[Though there's something embarrassing about it]

[talim]

I haven't stopped thinking about it.

[ he doesn't move an inch, keeping his face hidden. ]

But I want to know how you felt about it. Because for me, it was...

[ he swallows. ]

... something I want to try again.

[deem]

[Where Jude is being incredibly forthright, 9S finds himself reluctant to do the same. The answer is complicated, because his feelings on the subject among so many others related to it are conflicted. He both has autonomy and core programming, and it's a struggle to reconcile the two.

It may be impossible to do so. This thought he keeps to himself as he looks down at their hands]

That's...not something I have much experience discussing. But I like being close to you.

[He always had, and it didn't matter in what way]

[talim]

And it's not something I knew how to bring up at all.

[ jude comes out of his hiding spot to look at 9s, slipping out of his grip just so he can remove his goggles for him and meet his eyes. this seems like something important enough to justify holding his gaze.

that's better. ]

I don't want to pressure you. And I never will. But it's still something I want to... figure out together. It's something that's been on my mind, and...

Don't get me wrong. I'm happy with the way things are. Happier than I ever could have imagined. But.

But...

[ truth serum or not, it's a struggle to get the words out. ]

You really don't think I'm selfish, for wanting more?

[deem]

[Whenever his goggles are off, he always feels exposed. There's something uncomfortable about it, being unable to hide his eyes. They tell more than he likes at times, but at least Jude's question is easy for him to answer]

Of course you're not. Geez, Jude.

[Where does all that worrying even come from? He'd rather be made aware of how Jude feel than otherwise, though they don't have time to do much about it while they have people to save.

Strange concoctions aren't something they have much control over, so the timing can't be helped]

[talim]

Geez, yourself.

[ jude presses their foreheads together with a slight chuckle, tangling their fingers together and squeezing. ]

I should let you get back to your work, but... Can I ask you one more thing?

[deem]

[He should get back to work, it's true, much as he enjoys Jude's company. Likewise he"s worried about whether talking so openly is the only effect that foreign serum had.

Maybe he can get Jude to stick around while he works, just to be safe. But first there's his question]

You can always ask. Why would I say no to that?

[talim]

[ jude just gives his hand a tighter squeeze in response to that. ]

Will you kiss me?

[ he... doesn't think he's ever explicitly asked before. it just sort of happens. and that's more than okay with him.

right now, though... that's all he wants. ]

[deem]

[9S recalls a time when Jude asked him this before, but the circumstances were vastly different. Now that he better understands hi own sentiments, warmth stains his pale cheeks and he glances down at his knees]

You don't...usually ask...

[And the pointed nature of it proves sufficient to fluster him. His poor black box]

[talim]

[ his poor black box indeed. ]

You're right. I don't.

[ jude keeps their hands tied together, but cups his cheek with the other, thumb brushing over delightfully flushed skin. ]

So can you make an exception?

[deem]

[For just an instant, 9S finds himself grateful that Jude isn't quite this frank on a general basis. It might be a bit too much for a unit like him otherwise.

And no goggles to hide his reactions just makes it all the more difficult]

...So long as you don't take any more foreign substances just to see what they do. Fair trade?

[He doesn't need to set a condition, and he'd oblige anyway. No doubt Jude will recognize that, but it helps to distract from how exposed his face feels in this moment]

[talim]

Fair trade. I promise.

[ and jude never breaks his promises. he has to admit that seeing 9s so terribly flustered is a bit of a treat, though. ]

[deem]

Okay. [A pause, and he straightens his posture] ...er, close your eyes then?

[That's what people do, right?

Besides it's harder to do anything when he's being watched like this]

[talim]

9S.

[ jude laughs softly and loops his arms around his neck, pressing their noses together and closing his eyes just as 9s instructed. poor 9s, but this is probably the most endearing thing in the world. ]

[deem]

Now it's 9S?

[A huff of breath escapes him, a soundless laugh as he shakes his head. His nose brushes against Jude's but he doesn't pay it any mind, swallowing his nerves.

It still feels like he's on the spot, in a situation like this, but he pushes the thought aside and tips his head to gently press his lips against Jude's.

He still isn't quite sure whether he does this sort of thing right, but...]