acierage ;

| night of the sentinels | & wolfram

Yoonji was entirely aware of how friendships and alliances that sprouted from such a companionship, in this competition at least, proved to be entirely unreliable. Stories of friends killing other friends in the arena for the sake of survival flashed in her mind the longer her gaze stared toward the boy in front of her, but she had to trust him—in order to get out of… whatever this situation was. It was her only option, however she had no leeway to let her guard down in the slightest, unsure of what tricks her partner would pull.

“Shaken up?”

Yes. Yes, very much so. She wasn’t sure if she should actually respond, knowing that if she showed any signs of weakness, she would meet her demise rather quickly. However, by the look of Wolfram’s eyes, she could easily assume that he knew how worried she was.

Lily was certain she would die tonight.

Not trusting her voice, she simply nodded, slapping a grin, albeit shaky, in order to prevent looking too pathetic. “Not really, no… I ran outside when I heard the intercoms go off. My… my brother… yeah,” she didn’t want to finish. She did not know if he was alive or dead. She didn’t want to dwell on the idea.

The boy opened his arms up to her, and she was hesitant to accept the offer of affection. Of course, the embrace would prevent her from having a full-out panic attack, from the fear of never seeing her kin again, but she didn’t want to essentially give herself to him, the fear of being hurled off the roof of the building they sat atop of dwelling in the back of her mind. Something in the boy’s eyes made her assume the offered hug was sincere, and she didn’t want the silence to marinate into anything more awkward, so with a mental decision of fuck it, she decided to crawl toward the boy, silently enough that the mechanical robots hopefully wouldn’t pick up on her movement, and allowed the boy to wrap his arms around her thin frame.

“Art time?” the girl questioned after a short moment, her voice quiet. She was right, the warm embrace in the chilly air did allow for her nerves to calm in the slightest bit, her breaths evening into a slower, calmer pattern. “What do you mean?”

#mwxlily #mw:sentinels #.r #p.night of the sentinels #[ THIS DIDN'T TAKE A YEAR OR ANYTHING

brothers -- the concept was foreign to him. even more so was the idea of family. he no longer remembers a time when he would’ve cared; these days he is a living hunk of metal, and metal didn’t feel. to be aware that he could often resulted in the inability to hold himself together, in the literal sense, and he was useless when he was but a mere puddle of liquid alloys.

no -- to survive was to be useful, and wolfram, for all his faults and his inability to maintain a humane mindset, knew very well that death was a Bad Thing. the fear of the inevitable did not faze him; it was the fear that he would be worthless when it did happen. (although as to how, he couldn’t really be sure.)

he knew, however, that others feared death in a different way. most people he’d met wanted to get off the island, or kill arcade, or both. frankly, he couldn’t see the point in avoiding death here even though they would still die, one way or another, in this island or out of it. thus, although he lacked the empathy, he knew it was a Big Concern. granted, it took a while in the company of others to realise such a thing, but he got to this realisation eventually, and for that he thought himself as close to being human as he could possibly get -- and he didn’t want to get any closer.

“is he dead?” came the simple question. his arms tightened slightly around her frame -- firm enough not to crush her, he hoped. he’d had lots of practice with hugs, at the very least, and sought to put them to practice as much as he could.

to her question he nodded quietly (a minuscule movement of his head, if anything). he wasn’t a man of many words. kwangjin didn’t have a past to compare his current behaviour to -- all that was lost in the years he had been under arcade’s often-not-so-gentle care -- but he had long come to the conclusion that the past only weighed other people down. take lily, now, for example: had she been free of her concerns for her brother, she surely wouldn’t have been so alarmed -- right?

“art. haejin.” he paused, and added: “disglair.” surely, that was enough to convey his previous actions. with another small nod, as he was satisfied with his own explanation, he loosened his grip and took a step away, mind now set on a particularly narrow goal as soon as the name of the other male slipped from his lips. “we need to find him. he’ll know what to do.”

“There is good and there is evil. Right and wrong. Heroes and villains. And if we’re blessed with wisdom, then there are glimpses between the cracks of each where light streams through. We wait in silence for these times when sense can be made, when meaningless existence comes into focus, and our purpose presents itself. And if we have the strength to be honest, then what we find there, staring back at us, is our own reflection, bearing witness to the duality of life. And each one of us is capable of both the dark and the light, of good and evil, of either, of all. And destiny, while marching ever in our direction, can be rerouted by the choices we make. By the love we hold onto, and the promises we keep.”

#.mw #[ YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

kiihong

Swimmer Shownu on Cool Kiz on The Block

#.wolfram

— тιк тσк dєαяιє。

“I can feel the tension in your words just screaming for me to understand what you’ve been thinking, what you have been feeling but I’m not a mind reader. I’m supposed to be the vague one around these parts dearie– It doesn’t suit you. If you’re angry with me tell me why. I don’t have the time to decode your cryptic messages, I’m meeting someone in half an hour, so do me a favour and make it quick, would you”

#mwxjinx #.r #p.tik tok dearie #[ I HOPE IT'S OK IF I REPLY TO THIS I -- WHEEZES

-- his words are scarce. lately they come soft, quiet: undertones to nightly terrors that echo well into the night. his brow furrows; metal creaks and groans. “danger.” he tells her: a warning. his point is made when he uses his index, directed at the ground, at the bear trap, waiting for her foot to fall in its jaws. “look where you’re going.”

mwxchvnyeol-deactivated20160802

| Pain In My Butt ; | Chanyeol vs. Wolfram

Chanyeol bursted out in laughter.

He abruptly stopped in his tracks, releasing the boy’s wrist and placing both his hands on his knees for support. “wolfram is not…buttfucking…you. wolfram does not understand why your…ass…would be in pain.” He had said! He had actually just said that! Chanyeol couldn’t stop laughing at it. It has been such a long while since Chanyeol had geniunely laughed out loud like this, but Wolfram had managed to make him do it. His laughter slowly died out and Chanyeol raised his upper body, turning around to the boy, wiping away the tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes during his fit of laughter. “You misunderstand, Wolfram, that was figure of speech. You don’t actually give me pain in my ass.” He made quotation marks with his fingers. “ ‘being a pain in the butt’ means that you cause someone a lot of trouble or worries or hardship.” He explained, still snickering in the aftermath of the whole ordeal.

#p.pain in my butt #.r #mwxchanyeol

he did not understand why his statement would be funny. it was only something he’d assumed from observation and from overhearing conversations of those who liked to engage in such activities, although for the life of him he still could not understand why anybody would find such a painful act (or, at least, it sounded painful) pleasurable. but he supposed that those were their tastes and he had his own.

so he continued to observe, as he always did, and only tilted his head as the male’s laughter died down. the sight of tears baffled him greatly; people didn’t cry if they were amused..right? as the explanation was presented to him, however, he slowly grasped the situation, and gave a small nod. “i see.” he paused, and added: “ha ha.” his own version of a laugh was decidedly different from chanyeol’s, but that was to be expected. “wolfram would be a comfort to the ass. not a pain.”

#.mw #[ WHOA #[ I SCREAMED

For a star to be born there is one thing that must happen. A nebula must collapse. So collapse. Crumble. Because this is not your destruction. This is your birth.

mwxaurum:

The complexity of the human brain impresses with its capability for mental arithmetic. Intellectuality varies in every being. Her memory is a primacy – amnesia has done its part in wallowing up stories of the past and there’s a chunk of knowledge that had been hacked off along with every single recollection of going to bed after watching barbarism from behind glass walls. This cruelty is her new moral: she is ivory skin with a blackened heart.

There are more than a few seconds worth of silence that ensues after his question that evokes more tension in the air. Notice the way she tilts her head, the way her eyes roll to the side in blatant avoidance. How peculiar for this to come from the girl with a hole on her lip, beguilement sparking from a sharp tongue that knows no limits to offense and umbrage.

Aurum clears her throat, answers with a hastily built esteem in complete refusal to admit her handicap:

“992.”

…She doesn’t seem right.

“Tell me I’m wrong - I dare you! You’re allowed to guess what’s going to happen to you next. And it’s going to have something to do with my fists.”

he didn't know where all this violence was coming from; he was actually just very curious. he was good at creation, not numbers, and besides, he could grasp much more complex concepts when it came down to it; the use of numbers without letters in an equation baffled him completely. then again, he probably shouldn't have expected much from someone in a place like this, so he only blinked and clarified himself in as little words as he could.

"huh?"

yes, that would definitely get his point across. not only was it a short vocalisation of confusion -- well, actually, that was the only reason why he said such a thing. he looked at her fists, then at himself, all glinting metal underneath torn clothes that haejin would berate him for later if the other male ever saw him in such a state. the thought of someone punching his form with her very human physiology almost made him laugh, but all he managed was: "ha. ha." that, he thought, was enough. "is 992 the final answer you are giving wolfram?"

#mwxaurum #.r

| night of the sentinels | & wolfram

“Dad gave us toys.”

Out of the years that Yoonji knew the boy, only interacting in very short instances scattered sporadically along those years, she realized how little the boy had changed. His monotonous voice was as emotionless as usual, she realized. It was odd how little her acquaintance had changed since the first time the two met, excluding the years-worth of growth the boy was bestowed with.

Of course, thinking of these things allowed for her to not have a heart attack from the thought of an electronic canine chasing the two with the programmed need to kill. She heard another monotonous reply from the boy, immediately feeling the air hit against her face with a significantly more brutal force as the two moved faster away from the beast.

It was only mere seconds before she watched the ground disappear beneath their—well, her friend’s—feet, and a rather loud shout escaped from her, quickly to be muffled by her own hand, having to remember that other people could be nearby. She felt the boy collide with the ground, another quiet, startled noise escaping her sealed lips as the two made contact with a concrete roof of some building she had no idea existed.

Obviously shaken, the girl climbed off from the boy, needing to take a moment to sit down beside the railing of the roof, her mind still reeling with what just occurred—the loud barking beneath the two serving as a reminder that what she just experienced did just happen. Her friend transformed from a metallic statue of a person into what appeared to be a normal human in front of her, his voice sounding much less… robotic, as a result.

“Yeah, I… was shaken up a bit, and I saw you, and… yeah,” she was quiet, her bated breath preventing her from speaking full, coherent sentences without needing to take a breath. She wasn’t entirely sure if she should tell the other about her missing sibling; of course he was a friend, but she did not know how their friendship held up after not seeing each other for who knew how long.

#mwxlily #.r #p.night of the sentinels #mw:sentinels

kwangjin knew fear when he saw it. although he usually would not care -- fear paralysed the brain, the muscles, made the person suffer from tunnel vision, preventing them from being creative in looking for a way out -- lily was...a friend. of sorts. or as close as one could get to having a friend around these parts. his definition of it was very, very loose, and 'friends' involved practically everyone who did not try to kill him. which was great, because he very much liked being left alone. otherwise he'd be doing the killing, which simply took up too much time and effort.

"ah." his small, muttered outburst was due from the fact that he had once again drifted off into distant thought, totally ignoring the loud, mechanic howls of more of...those things. he wondered, briefly, if arcade was creative enough to make them all diverse, at the very least. that would definitely be Very Fun; lack of variety was No Fun, and kwangjin trusted arcade to be as creative as he could be.

"shaken up?" he repeated, head tliting to the side as he enjoyed this moment of (relative) silence. he relied on her to tell him if the thing that they were running away from was too close for comfort. besides, being on such a high point was an advantage, he thought, even though it looked just about ready to come crashing down and potentially killing them both (or just her, come to think of it).

he paused once again. words weren't his strong suit; they never had been, but oh, did he try. "did they try to chase you too?" he closed the little distance between them and, once he was close enough, opened his arms wide for a hug. granted, this probably wasn't the best time for one, but kwangjin had always been the simple-minded type. ( too simple-minded compared to most others, actually. ) "hugs make it better. i am also upset."

that was probably the most he said in one breath, but he was on a roll today.yes, he thought happily, improvement! good job, kwangjin. very good job. "they interrupted my art time. i do not like that."

mwxchvnyeol:

Chanyeol tightened the hand holding the other’s wrist just a little bit while he walked on a steady pace through the woods, dragging Wolfram behind him and he turned his face to look at the other metalhead. “No, you’re not a child. But you definitely need parental supervision.” He remarked with a grin. “You might get lost and that would be a pain in my ass.”

he merely blinked at that. why would he be a pain in chanyeol's ass? oh! yes -- maybe it was that thing that he'd heard other contestants talked about before he killed them, the loud ones who kept touching his hands, who poked and prodded him with their weapons while he ate. "wolfram is not...buttfucking...you." the term seemed odd on his tongue, but he used it nonetheless. "wolfram does not understand why your...ass...would be in pain."

#mwxchvnyeol #.r

mwxdisglair:

[ ☆ ]—haejin wasn’t one for slipping and falling into grassy pits set-up as traps for the unknowing, but today was a particularly bad day. he was on a hunt with kwangjin (unwillingly–but the metalhead just followed him as if that was he was made to do; typical, really), and they were barely an hour away from the facility when he stepped unto a leafy patch and fell seven feet deep into the earth. thankfully, he landed upon a particularly grassy portion, and the only thing he would get from the incident was a few bruises on his behind. and maybe a wounded pride.

“aww, that’s cute.” he quipped, voice laced with his signature sarcasm, as his former cellmate jumped into the pit to check on him, his lack of eloquence surprisingly managing that adorable (read: unnecessary) reminder. “would wolfie miss me too much huh?” his pretty face radiated its usual offense as he spoke, before slowly standing up and dusting himself clean from the leaves that stuck to his clothes. “now get us out of here. i don’t really fancy being stuck in another small space with you.”

contrary to popular belief, kwangjin had a sense of humour. really, he did. it was just that not many people appreciated it. he jumped into the pit, his intention was to check his companion for injuries – haejin had been around for a while, after all, and kwangjin, for some bizarre reason, had chosen to feel the slightest bit protective around him. however, he ended up letting a short laugh devoid of emotion, unable to help himself from being amused. the faces that haejin made around him always made him wonder why people seemed to like him.

“not really,” he answered with a shrug, before reaching out and aiming for the back of the male’s clothes and bending his knees, then jumping high enough to get out of the pit. he didn’t wait for a proper landing before he dropped haejin, his own feet making a loud thump against relatively solid ground. “you have a funny face.”

#mwxdisglair #.r

` catch and release ;

mwxshinhoseok-blog

It was cooler now. Well, at least once his body had relaxed after working hard to put together this makeshift hideout. Staying out in the open not only left him open to attack but the sun was beginning to drive him crazy - kind of like when he was at home and forced to work on his family farm. But at least then he had endless supplies of cold water and was able to take shelter as and when he saw fit. The little things he took for granted were soon made apparent.

It wasn’t as though he was tired but sensibly he figured taking a nap, or at least getting comfortable enough to do so might give him the energy to survive the night. If this were to play out like any of the books he’d read and the movies he had seen then people attacked at night and he was a sole mutant, new to the game and highly vulnerable. His ability, almost useless in a field of mutants who were more than likely stronger than he and a knife, a close combat weapon that would no doubt serve him more misfortune than serve him well.

It didn’t stop him from clutching the hilt of the blade though when he heard a rustling from the entrance of his little hideout and then finally the face of another male. His heart leaps up into his throat, suddenly regretting his choice of hideout realising above all else it has left him cornered but it doesn’t take long for him to settle again as he gazes upon the male, who looks a little worse for wear - perhaps only in comparison to his own fresh self having only been on the island now barely a week - and he looks hungry? No, maybe it’s something more than that.

Who’s there? If you’ve come to steal from us you’ll regret it. I’m armed. I’m warning you.

Mister, do you have any food?

Strange, for a memory to come back and hit him like that. It was a memory he was fond of, but a memory that also taught him the harsh reality of life. Metal? He didn’t think twice about the request, although it wasn’t what he’d expected to be asked for. It took a while for it to click with him but he remembered he did have something. He rummaged quickly in his bag and from it he removed a steel rod, he’d found it among the rubble of a nearby collapsed building, probably originally part of it’s structure. He figured if he lost his knife it would be the closest thing to a weapon.

Trying to keep from making eye contact, he didn’t want any sudden mishaps and he certainly didn’t want to trigger his own ability - if that were even possible - he held the steel rod, clean and untainted, out to the stranger.

“If you want to kill me I understand but, c’mon, if I was dangerous do you think I’d be hiding.” He said, daring to laugh at his own expense, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

#mwxshinhoseok #.r #p.catch and release

by the look of things, this man really was new. and probably wouldn't last long, if he kept this up. shelter wasn't to be made, not outdoors. there were other places on the island that could be occupied. although -- to be fair, they were already probably taken, but the ones who owned those territories could be killed, and if wolfram saw fit, he would. but he didn't sleep much himself, and had no need for shelter when he was in no immediate danger of being harmed by weapons when he was in his metal state. he didn't miss the other's reaction at his presence, but really, if he wanted to kill the guy, he would have already.

yet wolfram wasn't as bloodthirsty as others, no. he only killed when he was instructed to, or if he was attacked, and he supposed that killing here could be justified as self-defense if it ever came down to technicalities. wolfram never thought it would, either. who would sue them, bring them to court? surely, arcade would definitely take care of such problems, and wolfram would gladly help. this was the only life he knew, and he would protect it in whatever way he was required to.

at the sight of the rod, however, he practically sparkled ( there wasn't much light to do so, but the thought remained ). a normally blank face immediately shifted and a sight rarely seen was displayed: wolfram smiled. it was that of genuine happiness -- it was so hard to find good, clean steel nowadays that wasn't tainted by rust. ( that always made him sick, and being sick wasn't something everyone could afford to do in this world. ) his smile wasn't one everyone saw, and he'd always been told he looked silly with such an expression, but it wasn't as if he could help it. even haejin laughed when he saw wolfram's smile.

it disappeared too quickly, mostly because he was too self-conscious, and if he could blush, he would have. instead of immediately biting down on the rod, however, he managed to catch this new contestant's words. new people were always so funny. they thought that hiding could do them any good. wolfram almost always took it upon himself to give some good-natured advice, from veteran to...someone who looked pretty damn easy to kill.

"do not hide," he stated bluntly, poking the male's shoulder lightly with the other end of the rod. at least -- he thought it was a pretty light poke. the guy looked sturdy enough to withstand at least that. "you will die. do you want to die?"

| night of the sentinels | & wolfram

“Wolfram!! Wolf—oof!”

Upon watching the boy swerve across the plains, the strange contraption crashing into a tree behind him, she was she was quickly swept into the boy’s arms, being practically forced to watch from behind as the two sped away from what appeared to be a robot wolf of some sort… When it barked, it only confirmed Lily’s assumptions. Those were the things that Arcade was referring to.

She was rendered silent for a moment as the two sped away, her arms gripping onto the boy’s shoulders for dear life in order to prevent falling. Her eyes were frozen on the mechanical wolf that emerged from behind the tree it ran into moments ago, and how it seemed to move at impossible speeds, speeding toward them faster than she could comprehend.

“What the hell is going on—” her voice was shrill, but the volume was no higher than a whisper as her nails dug into the metal-like flesh that made up her friend. The wolf-thing was nearly a few feet away from them, and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she made eye contact with the automaton’s eyes.

Her eyes were fixed on the illuminated eyes of the robot, which appeared only a yard or two away from them. Her eyes were transfixed on the fiery eyes of the robot; the crimson LED’s brightly illuminating the ground in front of it in an intense ruby, nearly bloodlike hue.

“Wolfram, you might want to speed up—” her voice wobbled with worry, struggling to hang on to the boy that only held her with a single arm. Her voice was caught in her throat, it was nearly impossible for her to speak up with her eyes locked on the thing that would more likely than not cause her demise at that night.