That's kinda surprising coming from you. What do you mean you’re not gonna tell him? Void keeps his voice carefully neutral.
He's not opposed to the idea at all; on the contrary he'd insisted first, as soon as Psychic had broached the subject, that they both keep this to ourselves like nothing else matters. Because it doesn't. He might not know for sure how much Psychic tends to share with his master, but Void is confident enough in his own perception of him and his guess of a lot that he can deem the precaution necessary.
Dearest doesn't need to know. Not right away, certainly. And anyway, Void wouldn't dream of letting the Accretions know about something like this either if he can help it.
If Void can handle it, can handle keeping another secret and cutting off the last people left who know him in his entirety and watching the spiderweb of lies in the corner of his mind grow and branch out till it's encased his heart in silk and snares, so can Psychic. They have to.
Even though he knows he can't really force Psychic to do anything. That's what's surprising about this — the fact that he doesn't have to.
There’s a flicker of hesitancy in his chest before Psychic responds. He’s like that, Void is finding out. Always deliberate with his words, always waiting a moment to let the feelings settle before he answers. He supposes he should be grateful Psychic doesn't take many things personally. I’d rather not give him cause for worry.
Void snorts. What makes you think he’d worry about you?
And there’s a spike of something hot that Void can't quite make out at first. A mix of emotions, embarrassment and self-consciousness and— and anger.
Ah. That was a mistake. Too personal.
As quickly as the emotions rise, they are tamped back down, smothered by calm, if strained apathy. Void swallows, hoping his own lingering alarm isn't too tangible over it.
I mean worry regarding my performance, Psychic answers, tight and chilly. Obviously. Because I have a job, Void.
Oh, yeah, that, of course, Void says hastily. Yeah, I get that. What I meant was…why would he feel the need to worry? I mean, uh, seeing how much you're capable of handling. He knows your strengths, I'm sure he’d trust you to figure things out.
Are you saying you DO think I should tell him, Psychic quirks a mental brow. Void internally swears.
No, of course not! I'm just— I'm just saying, I didn’t mean what you— what you thought I meant, I guess.
Hmm. What did you think I thought you meant? Oh, Psychic has to be toying with him now. His embarrassment and annoyance heighten at the urge to laugh that isn’t his, but that suddenly rises in his chest all the same.
Nothing! he snaps. I mean— That's— I was just— Oh my God can't you learn to take a compliment??
A compliment, huh…? Psychic mulls it over. Well, you know what, sure. If you say so. Void.
Exactly. Void exhales. Yeah. See, it’s not that hard.
Appreciate it, Psychic adds quietly, and even now, with his thoughts clear and legible, his amusement palpable, the aftertaste of his anger still burning, threatening, Void still can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic or not.
Bound!AT is an alternate timeline centered on Purple Guys that was created on December 6th 2024. As the name suggests, the premise involves Psychic and Void becoming “bound” — they are arbitrarily cursed one day to sense each other’s every emotion and telepathically communicate all the time. Over the course of years bearing this curse, they slowly become accustomed to each other’s constant involuntary presence and begin opening up to each other, though their relationship eventually turns toxic as they become increasingly over-dependent on each other and are left to flounder when the curse inevitably breaks on its own.
This AT is for exploring the potential dynamic between Psychic and Void in a circumstance where their walls and boundaries are forcibly removed and they have no choice but to try confronting their vulnerabilities and fears side-by-side.
Like with my other AUs, I’m mostly just exploring whichever particular scenes and ideas capture my interest in the moment. This story is being told in bits and pieces, and not in chronological order.
Character designs (in progress)
Bound!AT Playlist
(not concrete yet but feel free to take a look)
All Bound!AT posts on my blog, ordered from oldest to most recent
—Tags—
#bound!at - main blog || psychic daily
#b!psychic
#b!void
—Canon—
-> Official posts.
Art:
outline in the dark - derivative work. NOT an official Bound!AT post, but heavily inspired by it
Written Lore/Oneshots:
-> Ordered chronologically.
overthinking - in which Psychic admits his unwillingness to tell DD about the curse
Pity Water (I No Longer Have Anything to Say) - in which Void jolts awake from a nightmare, startling Psychic and causing him to reflect on his inability to get away from the curse by sleeping
Bound + Favor - snippet. in which Psychic uses a reluctant Void as a distraction in public so he can do Psychic things uninterrupted.
Other/Misc:
-> Additional info and analyses. Listed in order of importance/relevance.
the basic premise/initial post
misc. facts and lore - info dump
Psychic does not know about A.C. when he and Void are first bound
Psychic and Void acting on each others' emotions
Psychic is a hypocrite when it comes to dealing with his and Void's issues
Psychic’s guilt/Void makes Psychic worse even after the curse is broken - analysis
Psychic and Void sometimes calling each other after the curse breaks
visually depicting the mental link (very abstract and not set in stone)
if canon Psychic was in Bound!AT instead of FNF Psychic - discussion/speculation
—Fanworks—
Art:
Nothing! Nothing here! - by @daily-acvoid. in which Void tries (rather unsuccessfully) to hide the existence of A.C. from Psychic.
I will not be nothing + Clear Glass - by @marshhhlmao. based on a one-off post I made about Psychic and Void realizing their shared fear of having no meaning or worth. The second doodle is referencing "Where's My Phone?" by Mitski.
