smdh | [closed] with yaywon

[what about the serious threads pixi WE CAN DO THOSE TOO!!!!]

Would you still like me if I had a tail

[what about the serious threads yaywon WE CAN ALSO DO THOSE TOO!!!]

you're friends with marius, right? what's he like?

[Today is a bad day, for Luke.

Before the Eudora--no, before dying, when he didn't know that death would become a beautiful reprieve, Luke was in pain more than he wasn't. The pills he took kept him alive and helped him function, but even government-developed painkillers couldn't stop his body from breaking down, piece by painful piece. He remembers how his lungs had seized up in the alleyway, how he'd rushed to hang up Rosa's call as his arm failed to respond to his commands, his nerves burning white-hot. Even he could only tolerate so much agony before it brought him to his knees.

With the wish from the Eudora, Luke, technically, had an easy out--but he'd declined to take it. Part of it was inherent mistrust of intangible magic, even though he'd urged Eunhyuk to get cured by whatever means possible. It was also, in part, practical foresight--even if Luke were selfish enough to use such a powerful thing on himself, it made no sense to him to use it on his illness instead of holding onto it in case of an emergency. He'd never forgive himself for wasting it, should they be caught in an inescapable situation in the future.

Mostly, however, Luke set his wish aside because of Scien. He'd already gone back on his word and asked Scien for help--there was simply no way he'd turn around and change his mind again at the last minute, especially in favor of something neither of them wholly trusted. Scien had assured him of a cure within the year, and Luke had chosen to believe in him. And, despite his reluctance to open up about his health, Luke had shared all this with Eunhyuk, too, trusting him to understand why Luke might choose the medicine and technology of a close friend over the quick and easy, but invisible, power of vague prayers.

Science is a longer, slower process, though, even for genius Relivers, especially when they're busy. It means that Luke's visits to their island are few, and it takes time for them to begin at all--and when they do, there's still an experimental factor at play, unavoidable given the obscure nature of his ailment.

(Before then, Luke has his usual pills to tide him over, and luckily, his flare-ups are mild as they get Eunhyuk and Eunyoo settled in Stellis--though he does his best to hide his pain from Eunhyuk anyway, since some habits can't be broken so easily.)

Today is a rare trip to Arpechele--a quick one, Luke had promised, just to pick up the pills for his second attempt at treatment. He'd slipped out early in the morning, murmuring gentle promises to return quickly, pairing them with soft, sweet kisses as if to urge Eunhyuk back to sleep. And Luke is just as needy as Eunhyuk is, so really, there's no reason not to believe him.

(...Except that he'd known, immediately, that it would be a bad day. He could feel it from the moment he'd woken with a cut-off gasp--the pain in his body worse than its been for a while, and his mental state dark and staticky to match, bits and pieces of old nightmares percolating in his mind. He couldn't risk Eunhyuk waking up enough to catch on, so he'd left quickly--running, as usual, though at least this time he'd run to grasp for something that might help him get past this, once and for all.)

It's later in the day than he'd promised, and Luke still isn't back--but it isn't late enough to be concerning, fortunately. Good thing Eunhyuk is probably having a totally normal day, completely oblivious to all of this and with no particular plans for anything special, right? Definitely. The way this starter is just 95% unrelated backstory]

I was reminded of this when I was looking at screenshots

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