Elliot Ludwig

Founder of Playtime Co.

[ludwigplaytime]

Pinned!

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-Ask/selective RP blog for Elliot Ludwig from Poppy Playtime.

-This is an AU portrayal of the character, where he still lives! More info below the cut.

-Please do not ask me about FNAF. This character exists in a separate universe.

-Do not send the same ask more than once.

(If I don’t reply, there’s a reason— I might not have any ideas of how to reply, or I’m not interested in the subject matter, I’ve already gotten similar asks, I’m uncomfortable with the topic, etc.)

-Mun is 21+

-Minors please DNI. I will block you.

-Dark themes may be present on this blog! Nsfw accepted but not focused on.

-Asks welcome.

-Art used is official or my own~

-Other accounts, @yarnbby

More info on the AU—

Instead of being killed, Elliot is kidnapped by the FBI after they discover the nature of his research.

They force him to perform experiments in what is basically a prison, for a few decades. During this time he ends up experimenting on himself, effectively freezing his age at (~60 ish).

So, he’s semi-immortal in this AU.

Eventually the hour of joy happens, and the FBI forces Elliot back into the factory to deal with the problem of the numerous, rogue bigger bodies— essentially sending him on a suicide-assassination mission. Instead, he runs into Harley, who takes him under his protection because of old sentimentality.

… Which brings us to now. Elliot surviving, in a post hour of joy, but pre-main-game-events, factory.

[innovationhasnomercy]

"She had her moments where she..." He pauses, not sure if Elliot deserves to know this yet decides to share it anyways, "Where she was lucid again. Gave me false hope that I'd see her again.

I'd come home and see that smile again. Warm eyes." His head dips down for a moment as he tries to compose himself once more. The phantom feeling of a lump in his throat he can't swallow down has him aching.

"I was the one to find her. I had to settle her affairs. Alone. He sold almost all of her things. I barely managed to scrape together what I had left of her."

[ludwigplaytime]

It's unclear to him, whether her lucid moments were a blessing or a curse. As if her true self was trying to fight her way out of the fog that had been forced upon her.

He finds he has to take a few deep breaths, trying to squash down the rush of nausea that horrible, horrible thought gives him.

"She was stolen from you, by a man who never deserved her," he manages to get out, eventually. "I cannot overstate how sorry I am. Truly, I-- I do not have the words. I... I wish... ... No. Now is no time for an old fool's longing. You are right not to forgive me this sin."

[Trimmed]

[innovationhasnomercy]

"For once you say something I agree with. I never saw what she did in him. Maybe it never was there to begin with." His voice has a thin layer of static over it now, slightly distorting his speech.

"She deserved better."

He toys with the corner of the paper, still taking in the beauty of her handwriting, but he can't quite see her face anymore. He knows the details, yes, but putting them together is always wrong. It makes his heart twist painfully every time he's reminded of that. Even in her casket she looked wrong.

"Were you that close with all the parents or just her? Tell me, how close were you to her yet still didn't see her bruises? Or did you ignore them like you did mine?"

[ludwigplaytime]

“Devotion is a… funny thing. At times, it remains, even after the love is gone. I suppose when something is familiar, even when it causes you great pain, it can be difficult to let it go.”

It isn’t long before his face is colouring from Harley’s next words, however; a mix of embarrassment and shame.

“I… I was amiable with all of them, but, no. No, with her, it was… different. I won’t try to excuse my failings. But, you must understand that your mother kept them hidden. Even when I did catch a glimpse of one or another of them, much like yourself, she always had an explanation.”

But the way she spoke her excuses, it was so confident. Sometimes I think, she might have told me anything back then, and I would have believed it.”

Towards the end I began to doubt, but then she would distract me, and I always let her. I regret not pressing her, every day.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

"For her sake or yours?" He says harsher than he means, monitor lifting to glare at the man. "Because I'm sure she was a lovely distraction for you from your dead daughter and your failed marriage."

"How could you see not justime but hers as well and not connect the dots? You're as dense as you are spineless."

But once his gaze catches the paper in his hand, his attention is pulled back to it, display softening as he reads it over again. There's a question burning a hole in his mind but he couldn't—

"Do you think she'd be proud of what I've done?"

It slips before he can stop it.

[ludwigplaytime]

Elliot’s just finishing off his work on Harley’s other leg, when the Doctor replies.

Ice cold fury burns inside him, so strong that it makes his chest ache. That Harley would dare use his loss, his grief, against him— but he takes a deep, ragged breath. Curbing his temper, as painful as it is to do so.

“You, of all people,” Elliot says stiffly, “should know how grief alters the mind, and its capabilities for rationality. …My love was never false—“ he snaps the plate back into place, harder than is necessary— “but it was clouded, by pain. Your mother saw that, I wager. … Perhaps that’s why she never said anything.” He adds, soft, mournful.

There’s a silence, wherein he continues to struggle to cool his sizzling temper. Harley’s next question though, comes so unexpectedly that it completely takes the fire from beneath him.

“Y—- proud of—“ The experimentation? The man slaughter?

Elliot swallows a hard lump in his throat. He tries to ignore the way his hands shake.

“You mean… your… ‘work’? The experiments?” He clarifies, buying himself some time to think.

[innovationhasnomercy]

Harley's body jolts slightly when the pannel is replaced sharply. He tries to reduce his reaction the best he can but his screen filters with static regardless of his wishes. This certainly isn't something he wants Elliot to be able to know about. Any self soothing methods he could use would easily give him away so he bites a tongue he doesn't have anymore and let's Elliot scold him like a child.

The silence stretches as he mentally scolds himself for this blunder. He wants to divert the topic but he's not sure if Elliot would let him, or if he even wants to.

"All of it..." He murmurs softly, shaking his head then. "I've done things people could only dream of. I fought tooth and nail for everything I had after..." He could drag Elliot's name further but he knows he might not get his answers if he does. Being kicked from the YGP almost ruined him. He lost all financial backing the program offered. Lost the sense of community it provided.

He had to work himself to the bone to get where he did.

"Would she that? Or would she look at me like you do?"

[ludwigplaytime]

Luckily for Harley, Elliot’s too busy worrying about how to reply to such a question, to notice his stifled reactions of pain.

Marianne would never approve of what Harley’s done. Nor would she have stopped loving him. Those two facts are solid in his mind, irrefutable. He bites the inside of his cheek, mindful of the ever growing silence.

“She— …”

‘No’ is the short answer. But, he can’t very well tell Harley that. At best, what little headway Elliot’s made with him will be crushed. At worst, in a fit of rage, Harley might actually manage to kill him.

“She would… see you.” He says, finally. “She would see how hard you’ve worked, your whole life. She would see your pain. She would see your vision, your dedication. All of you. …As she always has.”

That’s the best he can offer him, without feeling as if he were betraying the woman a second time, by lying.

[ludwigplaytime]

Do you think Annie would have been a good mom for Poppy? I mean you saw how Harley turned out....

“You— you ought not to call her that. A little formality, would go a long way to respect the woman’s memory.”

Ahem.

“I think… I know, that she would have been a wonderful mother to my Poppy, if they had ever met. Just as she was to Harley. … How wonderful, that would have been. If only she had had more time on this Earth.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

"She had her moments where she..." He pauses, not sure if Elliot deserves to know this yet decides to share it anyways, "Where she was lucid again. Gave me false hope that I'd see her again.

I'd come home and see that smile again. Warm eyes." His head dips down for a moment as he tries to compose himself once more. The phantom feeling of a lump in his throat he can't swallow down has him aching.

"I was the one to find her. I had to settle her affairs. Alone. He sold almost all of her things. I barely managed to scrape together what I had left of her."

[ludwigplaytime]

It's unclear to him, whether her lucid moments were a blessing or a curse. As if her true self was trying to fight her way out of the fog that had been forced upon her.

He finds he has to take a few deep breaths, trying to squash down the rush of nausea that horrible, horrible thought gives him.

"She was stolen from you, by a man who never deserved her," he manages to get out, eventually. "I cannot overstate how sorry I am. Truly, I-- I do not have the words. I... I wish... ... No. Now is no time for an old fool's longing. You are right not to forgive me this sin."

[Trimmed]

[innovationhasnomercy]

"For once you say something I agree with. I never saw what she did in him. Maybe it never was there to begin with." His voice has a thin layer of static over it now, slightly distorting his speech.

"She deserved better."

He toys with the corner of the paper, still taking in the beauty of her handwriting, but he can't quite see her face anymore. He knows the details, yes, but putting them together is always wrong. It makes his heart twist painfully every time he's reminded of that. Even in her casket she looked wrong.

"Were you that close with all the parents or just her? Tell me, how close were you to her yet still didn't see her bruises? Or did you ignore them like you did mine?"

[ludwigplaytime]

“Devotion is a… funny thing. At times, it remains, even after the love is gone. I suppose when something is familiar, even when it causes you great pain, it can be difficult to let it go.”

It isn’t long before his face is colouring from Harley’s next words, however; a mix of embarrassment and shame.

“I… I was amiable with all of them, but, no. No, with her, it was… different. I won’t try to excuse my failings. But, you must understand that your mother kept them hidden. Even when I did catch a glimpse of one or another of them, much like yourself, she always had an explanation.”

But the way she spoke her excuses, it was so confident. Sometimes I think, she might have told me anything back then, and I would have believed it.”

Towards the end I began to doubt, but then she would distract me, and I always let her. I regret not pressing her, every day.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

"For her sake or yours?" He says harsher than he means, monitor lifting to glare at the man. "Because I'm sure she was a lovely distraction for you from your dead daughter and your failed marriage."

"How could you see not justime but hers as well and not connect the dots? You're as dense as you are spineless."

But once his gaze catches the paper in his hand, his attention is pulled back to it, display softening as he reads it over again. There's a question burning a hole in his mind but he couldn't—

"Do you think she'd be proud of what I've done?"

It slips before he can stop it.

[ludwigplaytime]

Elliot’s just finishing off his work on Harley’s other leg, when the Doctor replies.

Ice cold fury burns inside him, so strong that it makes his chest ache. That Harley would dare use his loss, his grief, against him— but he takes a deep, ragged breath. Curbing his temper, as painful as it is to do so.

“You, of all people,” Elliot says stiffly, “should know how grief alters the mind, and its capabilities for rationality. …My love was never false—“ he snaps the plate back into place, harder than is necessary— “but it was clouded, by pain. Your mother saw that, I wager. … Perhaps that’s why she never said anything.” He adds, soft, mournful.

There’s a silence, wherein he continues to struggle to cool his sizzling temper. Harley’s next question though, comes so unexpectedly that it completely takes the fire from beneath him.

“Y—- proud of—“ The experimentation? The man slaughter?

Elliot swallows a hard lump in his throat. He tries to ignore the way his hands shake.

“You mean… your… ‘work’? The experiments?” He clarifies, buying himself some time to think.

[limon-final-boss]

The lemon rolls past @ludwigplaytime, trailing his new friend @innovationhasnomercy him.

[ludwigplaytime]

Elliot shudders when he sees that accursed lemon, and turns away as quickly as possible.

…

Then he does a double take, spins back around—

“What in the— Harley?! What are you doing there, boy?”

[innovationhasnomercy]

"Yes because it was my choice to be kidnapped by a lemon. What an astute observation, Elliot. Is my sarcasm still working I wouldn't know because I'm stuck in a nightlight."

The eye on the small pixelated face rolls.

[ludwigplaytime]

Limon keeps rolling, and Harley keeps… harling, so Elliot has no choice but to follow after.

“Don’t you take that tone with me, Harley! I thought you had defences! How on Earth did this—“ an exasperated gesture— “happen?? Where is it taking you?!”

[innovationhasnomercy]

"Yes yes question how my defenses were breached by this anomalous abomination of a lemon why don't you instead of actually being useful for once."

Like hell he'd admit he doesn't know how this happened. One second he's nothing then suddenly he's in a glowby and being dragged by a lemon.

"How should I know what some— some overgrown citrus is taking me!?"

[limon-final-boss]

The lemon is taking his new friend on a tour of the factory. He isn’t sure why said friend is resorting to rude names, but he assumes he’s just thirsty. Maybe he can find a glass of water to dunk him in until he’s in a better mood.

The lemon swerves right, heading towards a kitchen area.

[ludwigplaytime]

“You ought to be thankful I’m following you at all, with how little you’re minding your manners!“ Elliot bickers. “You’ve tamed several creatures down here. How was I to know you didn’t direct this one to transport you?”

“…Oh, damn it all! Enough! Come here—“

But— just as he reaches for Harley, Limon turns a sharp right.

Elliot smacks into the wall, cursing.

[ludwigplaytime]

If you could change anything in your life what wouod It be?

“I would have thought that an obvious answer.”

To prevent my darling little girl’s death from ever occurring, and spare her and myself from that pain.”

[limon-final-boss]

The lemon rolls past @ludwigplaytime, trailing his new friend @innovationhasnomercy him.

[ludwigplaytime]

Elliot shudders when he sees that accursed lemon, and turns away as quickly as possible.

…

Then he does a double take, spins back around—

“What in the— Harley?! What are you doing there, boy?”

[innovationhasnomercy]

"Yes because it was my choice to be kidnapped by a lemon. What an astute observation, Elliot. Is my sarcasm still working I wouldn't know because I'm stuck in a nightlight."

The eye on the small pixelated face rolls.

[ludwigplaytime]

Limon keeps rolling, and Harley keeps… harling, so Elliot has no choice but to follow after.

“Don’t you take that tone with me, Harley! I thought you had defences! How on Earth did this—“ an exasperated gesture— “happen?? Where is it taking you?!”

[limon-final-boss]

The lemon rolls past @ludwigplaytime, trailing his new friend @innovationhasnomercy him.

[ludwigplaytime]

Elliot shudders when he sees that accursed lemon, and turns away as quickly as possible.

…

Then he does a double take, spins back around—

“What in the— Harley?! What are you doing there, boy?”

[innovationhasnomercy]

"She had her moments where she..." He pauses, not sure if Elliot deserves to know this yet decides to share it anyways, "Where she was lucid again. Gave me false hope that I'd see her again.

I'd come home and see that smile again. Warm eyes." His head dips down for a moment as he tries to compose himself once more. The phantom feeling of a lump in his throat he can't swallow down has him aching.

"I was the one to find her. I had to settle her affairs. Alone. He sold almost all of her things. I barely managed to scrape together what I had left of her."

[ludwigplaytime]

It's unclear to him, whether her lucid moments were a blessing or a curse. As if her true self was trying to fight her way out of the fog that had been forced upon her.

He finds he has to take a few deep breaths, trying to squash down the rush of nausea that horrible, horrible thought gives him.

"She was stolen from you, by a man who never deserved her," he manages to get out, eventually. "I cannot overstate how sorry I am. Truly, I-- I do not have the words. I... I wish... ... No. Now is no time for an old fool's longing. You are right not to forgive me this sin."

[Trimmed]

[innovationhasnomercy]

"For once you say something I agree with. I never saw what she did in him. Maybe it never was there to begin with." His voice has a thin layer of static over it now, slightly distorting his speech.

"She deserved better."

He toys with the corner of the paper, still taking in the beauty of her handwriting, but he can't quite see her face anymore. He knows the details, yes, but putting them together is always wrong. It makes his heart twist painfully every time he's reminded of that. Even in her casket she looked wrong.

"Were you that close with all the parents or just her? Tell me, how close were you to her yet still didn't see her bruises? Or did you ignore them like you did mine?"

[ludwigplaytime]

“Devotion is a… funny thing. At times, it remains, even after the love is gone. I suppose when something is familiar, even when it causes you great pain, it can be difficult to let it go.”

It isn’t long before his face is colouring from Harley’s next words, however; a mix of embarrassment and shame.

“I… I was amiable with all of them, but, no. No, with her, it was… different. I won’t try to excuse my failings. But, you must understand that your mother kept them hidden. Even when I did catch a glimpse of one or another of them, much like yourself, she always had an explanation.”

But the way she spoke her excuses, it was so confident. Sometimes I think, she might have told me anything back then, and I would have believed it.”

Towards the end I began to doubt, but then she would distract me, and I always let her. I regret not pressing her, every day.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

"She had her moments where she..." He pauses, not sure if Elliot deserves to know this yet decides to share it anyways, "Where she was lucid again. Gave me false hope that I'd see her again.

I'd come home and see that smile again. Warm eyes." His head dips down for a moment as he tries to compose himself once more. The phantom feeling of a lump in his throat he can't swallow down has him aching.

"I was the one to find her. I had to settle her affairs. Alone. He sold almost all of her things. I barely managed to scrape together what I had left of her."

[ludwigplaytime]

It's unclear to him, whether her lucid moments were a blessing or a curse. As if her true self was trying to fight her way out of the fog that had been forced upon her.

He finds he has to take a few deep breaths, trying to squash down the rush of nausea that horrible, horrible thought gives him.

"She was stolen from you, by a man who never deserved her," he manages to get out, eventually. "I cannot overstate how sorry I am. Truly, I-- I do not have the words. I... I wish... ... No. Now is no time for an old fool's longing. You are right not to forgive me this sin."

[Trimmed]

[innovationhasnomercy]

Elliot’s been observing Harley for some time, watching him walk to and fro, attending to his work.

Harley never says anything, and yet…

“You’re faltering in your movements,” Elliot comments, mildly. “I think you’re due some maintenance, my boy. I could be of some help, I think.”

@ludwigplaytime

Harley's movements only pauses for a micro second before he immediately resumes what ever he was tinkering with. He's bristled up with Elliot's words as unintentional and harmless they've seemed to be. "I just did routine maintenance. I'm fine and I don't need your tinkering." Did he? He remembers doing it but he can't recall when. It feels recent enough so it surely must be.

"Especially if you don't know what you're doing." He adds, gesturing his hand his direction before placing it back on the table in front of him.

[ludwigplaytime]

Elliot lets the silence linger for a while, semi-content to watch Harley work.

At the claim that he does not know what he’s doing, though, he does admittedly bristle.

“You’re going to damage your body,” he insists. “I’ll help you. I have plenty of knowledge pertinent to the task,” he snips back. “I’ll hardly damage you. Now, Harley. Sit down.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

Harley's hand twitches on the desk with that tone. His hand balls up atop it. He wants to argue more, press his point further, but he knows Elliot won't take no for an answer.

It irritates him how utterly stubborn this man is. So begrudgingly he steps back from the table and settles down on the floor. It's only then he notices the oddness in his motions. Of course, he won't admit Elliot was right. "Fine, only to stop your nagging."

[ludwigplaytime]

“I believe your stubbornness has gotten worse with age,” Elliot teases, ironically, unaware of Harley’s similar thoughts about him.

The man sinks down to sit opposite him. “Now… extend one of your legs for me, if you please. I believe you may have caught something— trapped a wire perhaps— while you were doing the maintenance you spoke of. It would certainly explain the stiff gait.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

The eye on his display rolls, but he extends a leg regardless. "And how is a pinched wire something that I couldn't handle?" His fingers drum on the floor at his side. Admittedly letting someone else handle this has him a touch nervous for a variety of different reasons. The last time someone operated on him... well.

"Just— Be careful. Replacement parts are hard to come by down here."

[ludwigplaytime]

“I’m not saying that you couldn’t fix it. Merely that, you weren’t. And since I’m here, I may as well make myself useful.”

His eyes soften at Harley’s nervousness, however. “There’s nothing to fear, now. I’ll take great care.”

He touches the leg casing, and sets about loosening it so that he may look inside. “It should only take a moment.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

Harley lets the words sink in, despite how little he actually trusts them. The thought of letting Elliot of all people tinker with him has him on edge. Regardless though, a very cautious... trust isn't the right word but he can't think of a better one.

For now, his hand pats onto the desk before grabbing one of the papers on it. He pulls it down to read while Elliot works to at least keep himself distracted from everything that could go wrong in this situation. He paused when he recognizes the handwriting however. Ah. He'd forgotten he'd managed to fetch these...

"Why did you know so much about her? Why did you have these?"

[ludwigplaytime]

Just as he suspected, it’s an easy fix. Just a snagging of a few wires, tangled up in a joint. Ever so gently, he prods them, teasing them loose.

Then stiffens.

“Her—? What—“ he glances up, to see her handwriting. Those poems. So beautifully penned. His cheeks warm.

“Oh…! You found them! I— err— you didn’t say… I would have…”

Have probably screened them for her more romantic prose.

Focusing, he pries the stuck wires loose, fixing the joint, and then withdraws his hand.

“She… well,” he chuckles nervously. “She was a generous woman. She enjoyed to share her art.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

He hums softly, more so to himself than in response to Elliot. Her penmanship was always leagues better than his. Especially if she wanted it to look nice.

He dabbled himself, writing poems. A way to get closer to her. He never found them any good. Reading this though? Makes him feel closer to her than he has in a long, long time.

"Always giving... Swear she never took anything for herself either." He murmurs, tracing her handwriting with a finger while Elliot untangles wires. "You seem to know her better than he ever did."

[ludwigplaytime]

Elliot watches him, the reverent way he traces each letter. Just as Elliot himself used to. It starts up a dull ache that sits heavily in his stomach. Then again, did that ache ever really leave?

“…No. She wasn’t fond of asking for things.”

He returns to his work, replacing the casing of the leg he’d just fixed, and moving to check the other one.

“We did spend a lot of time together. Talking. I can only presume that your father… did not.” A shake of his head— “no, I know he did not. Anyone who had the pleasure of sharing in her thoughts would never have presumed to destroy such a brilliant mind.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

Elliot’s been observing Harley for some time, watching him walk to and fro, attending to his work.

Harley never says anything, and yet…

“You’re faltering in your movements,” Elliot comments, mildly. “I think you’re due some maintenance, my boy. I could be of some help, I think.”

@ludwigplaytime

Harley's movements only pauses for a micro second before he immediately resumes what ever he was tinkering with. He's bristled up with Elliot's words as unintentional and harmless they've seemed to be. "I just did routine maintenance. I'm fine and I don't need your tinkering." Did he? He remembers doing it but he can't recall when. It feels recent enough so it surely must be.

"Especially if you don't know what you're doing." He adds, gesturing his hand his direction before placing it back on the table in front of him.

[ludwigplaytime]

Elliot lets the silence linger for a while, semi-content to watch Harley work.

At the claim that he does not know what he’s doing, though, he does admittedly bristle.

“You’re going to damage your body,” he insists. “I’ll help you. I have plenty of knowledge pertinent to the task,” he snips back. “I’ll hardly damage you. Now, Harley. Sit down.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

Harley's hand twitches on the desk with that tone. His hand balls up atop it. He wants to argue more, press his point further, but he knows Elliot won't take no for an answer.

It irritates him how utterly stubborn this man is. So begrudgingly he steps back from the table and settles down on the floor. It's only then he notices the oddness in his motions. Of course, he won't admit Elliot was right. "Fine, only to stop your nagging."

[ludwigplaytime]

“I believe your stubbornness has gotten worse with age,” Elliot teases, ironically, unaware of Harley’s similar thoughts about him.

The man sinks down to sit opposite him. “Now… extend one of your legs for me, if you please. I believe you may have caught something— trapped a wire perhaps— while you were doing the maintenance you spoke of. It would certainly explain the stiff gait.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

The eye on his display rolls, but he extends a leg regardless. "And how is a pinched wire something that I couldn't handle?" His fingers drum on the floor at his side. Admittedly letting someone else handle this has him a touch nervous for a variety of different reasons. The last time someone operated on him... well.

"Just— Be careful. Replacement parts are hard to come by down here."

[ludwigplaytime]

“I’m not saying that you couldn’t fix it. Merely that, you weren’t. And since I’m here, I may as well make myself useful.”

His eyes soften at Harley’s nervousness, however. “There’s nothing to fear, now. I’ll take great care.”

He touches the leg casing, and sets about loosening it so that he may look inside. “It should only take a moment.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

Harley lets the words sink in, despite how little he actually trusts them. The thought of letting Elliot of all people tinker with him has him on edge. Regardless though, a very cautious... trust isn't the right word but he can't think of a better one.

For now, his hand pats onto the desk before grabbing one of the papers on it. He pulls it down to read while Elliot works to at least keep himself distracted from everything that could go wrong in this situation. He paused when he recognizes the handwriting however. Ah. He'd forgotten he'd managed to fetch these...

"Why did you know so much about her? Why did you have these?"

[ludwigplaytime]

Just as he suspected, it’s an easy fix. Just a snagging of a few wires, tangled up in a joint. Ever so gently, he prods them, teasing them loose.

Then stiffens.

“Her—? What—“ he glances up, to see her handwriting. Those poems. So beautifully penned. His cheeks warm.

“Oh…! You found them! I— err— you didn’t say… I would have…”

Have probably screened them for her more romantic prose.

Focusing, he pries the stuck wires loose, fixing the joint, and then withdraws his hand.

“She… well,” he chuckles nervously. “She was a generous woman. She enjoyed to share her art.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

Elliot’s been observing Harley for some time, watching him walk to and fro, attending to his work.

Harley never says anything, and yet…

“You’re faltering in your movements,” Elliot comments, mildly. “I think you’re due some maintenance, my boy. I could be of some help, I think.”

@ludwigplaytime

Harley's movements only pauses for a micro second before he immediately resumes what ever he was tinkering with. He's bristled up with Elliot's words as unintentional and harmless they've seemed to be. "I just did routine maintenance. I'm fine and I don't need your tinkering." Did he? He remembers doing it but he can't recall when. It feels recent enough so it surely must be.

"Especially if you don't know what you're doing." He adds, gesturing his hand his direction before placing it back on the table in front of him.

[ludwigplaytime]

Elliot lets the silence linger for a while, semi-content to watch Harley work.

At the claim that he does not know what he’s doing, though, he does admittedly bristle.

“You’re going to damage your body,” he insists. “I’ll help you. I have plenty of knowledge pertinent to the task,” he snips back. “I’ll hardly damage you. Now, Harley. Sit down.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

Harley's hand twitches on the desk with that tone. His hand balls up atop it. He wants to argue more, press his point further, but he knows Elliot won't take no for an answer.

It irritates him how utterly stubborn this man is. So begrudgingly he steps back from the table and settles down on the floor. It's only then he notices the oddness in his motions. Of course, he won't admit Elliot was right. "Fine, only to stop your nagging."

[ludwigplaytime]

“I believe your stubbornness has gotten worse with age,” Elliot teases, ironically, unaware of Harley’s similar thoughts about him.

The man sinks down to sit opposite him. “Now… extend one of your legs for me, if you please. I believe you may have caught something— trapped a wire perhaps— while you were doing the maintenance you spoke of. It would certainly explain the stiff gait.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

The eye on his display rolls, but he extends a leg regardless. "And how is a pinched wire something that I couldn't handle?" His fingers drum on the floor at his side. Admittedly letting someone else handle this has him a touch nervous for a variety of different reasons. The last time someone operated on him... well.

"Just— Be careful. Replacement parts are hard to come by down here."

[ludwigplaytime]

“I’m not saying that you couldn’t fix it. Merely that, you weren’t. And since I’m here, I may as well make myself useful.”

His eyes soften at Harley’s nervousness, however. “There’s nothing to fear, now. I’ll take great care.”

He touches the leg casing, and sets about loosening it so that he may look inside. “It should only take a moment.”

[ludwigplaytime]

Do you miss your wife and kids?

“Ex-wife. And my children are here, even if they do not all wish to talk to me.

…I do miss how things were, though. Back before… everything.”

[ludwigplaytime]

And I'm guessing Harley wasn't fit enough to be her brother, was he? Do you know anything about him either? What his dreams were before you snatched them away in front of his eyes?

“Of course I knew!” Ahem. “In the beginning, I believe it was palaeontology that interested him the most. He loved dinosaurs, you see. But that quickly changed, after his mother… Well. He became interested in neuroscience, after that.”

No, though. He and Poppy would have never gotten along. … Don’t, get along. I knew they wouldn’t, when I failed to temper that troublesome ego of his.”

[ludwigplaytime]

What tomfoolery were you referring to if not in regards to James??

“That’s not what I meant. We— he— …Yes, with him, but it was hardly serious.”

… Now, I beg of you to stop asking me about it. It’s not a topic for polite conversation.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

Elliot’s been observing Harley for some time, watching him walk to and fro, attending to his work.

Harley never says anything, and yet…

“You’re faltering in your movements,” Elliot comments, mildly. “I think you’re due some maintenance, my boy. I could be of some help, I think.”

@ludwigplaytime

Harley's movements only pauses for a micro second before he immediately resumes what ever he was tinkering with. He's bristled up with Elliot's words as unintentional and harmless they've seemed to be. "I just did routine maintenance. I'm fine and I don't need your tinkering." Did he? He remembers doing it but he can't recall when. It feels recent enough so it surely must be.

"Especially if you don't know what you're doing." He adds, gesturing his hand his direction before placing it back on the table in front of him.

[ludwigplaytime]

Elliot lets the silence linger for a while, semi-content to watch Harley work.

At the claim that he does not know what he’s doing, though, he does admittedly bristle.

“You’re going to damage your body,” he insists. “I’ll help you. I have plenty of knowledge pertinent to the task,” he snips back. “I’ll hardly damage you. Now, Harley. Sit down.”

[innovationhasnomercy]

Harley's hand twitches on the desk with that tone. His hand balls up atop it. He wants to argue more, press his point further, but he knows Elliot won't take no for an answer.

It irritates him how utterly stubborn this man is. So begrudgingly he steps back from the table and settles down on the floor. It's only then he notices the oddness in his motions. Of course, he won't admit Elliot was right. "Fine, only to stop your nagging."

[ludwigplaytime]

“I believe your stubbornness has gotten worse with age,” Elliot teases, ironically, unaware of Harley’s similar thoughts about him.

The man sinks down to sit opposite him. “Now… extend one of your legs for me, if you please. I believe you may have caught something— trapped a wire perhaps— while you were doing the maintenance you spoke of. It would certainly explain the stiff gait.”