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"{what's got you upset, mr. sun?}"
mind perked their head up, raising an eyebrow. the two have been playing an hour long game of uno at the dining room table, atlas winning with only three cards in his hand and the sun with eight. "[well, for starters, you're absolutely cheating. i know you have 5 cards hidden away, i saw them mys-]" soul interrupted, tone laced with a hint of concern "{that's not what i meant and you know it. you're deflecting,}" he paused, putting down a yellow 6 whilst not breaking eye contact "{if something's bothering you, then you can just say it. you've been off all week, man}"
mind's artificial heart panged as he put down another card, shifting from their criss-cross position awkwardly. they bit the inside of their cheeks so hard he could taste a bit of iron "[well, it's none of your business frankly,]" they faltered, pausing as they tried to gather their thoughts. "{none of my business? don't take this the wrong way, but you've been slacking off. if something is bugging you i wanna fix it ey, so... y'know, things will go back to normal,}" soul peeked over to the pile of cards, silently cursing as he drew a card from the deck.
"[....]" the sun let out a defeated huff, shutting their eyes as they leaned forward in their seat "[well,]" they drew a card from the deck aswell, continuing "[my... code's been inefficient lately. i've been having er, bugs. that've been slowing me down,]" mind admitted, voice barely above a whisper as his modulator emitted a jarring static in the now quiet room. the only sounds that could be heard were the drawing of cards. "{bugs? 'coulda just said that, mate. wanna describe them?}" atlas tried.
mind shifted nervously once more, feeling the burning stare from the other. "[have you ever felt like you're forced to be something you aren't? like, everyone...]" they trailed off, once again gathering their thoughts "[it's stupid, but these bugs have made me feel trapped. i feel like i'm, i'm going to. burst or somethin', i don't know,]" the sun paused again, desperately praying that soul will drop the subject or something so they didn't have to keep talking. unfortunately, soul only stayed scarily silent. mind played a wild card, announcing "[blue.]"
"{c'mon man, don't change the subject! we were getting somewhere, screw this game for a second.}" soul put its cards down, resting its arms on the table. mind hung their head at his words. "[this- that, that's exactly what i'm talking about! every time you - i mean, not just you, heart too, - you guys call me stuff like.. man, mister, bro, dude. it makes my head hurt even more than it already does,]" the sun half-shouted, their hands shaking as their face grew hotter in annoyance. "[i wish it wasn't, wasn't so hard to function with this nuisance of a bug, but i can't help it. my programming is worsening, and i don't understand how to fix it.]"
mind looked up, dreading souls response as the other blinked, seeming to be deep in thought. they felt like they were going to pop at the anticipation.
"{hmm, are you saying you don't like being a boy?}"
mind faltered, modulator filling with static "[w- well, i guess so. but i didn't suddenly, choose to have these horrendous feelings. this kind of stuff is hearts domain, i've no experience with... any of this. honestly, i think-]"
"{if you don't like being a boy, then.. you could always just be a girl.}" mind dropped their cards on the table, groaning and resting their head in their arms. "[it's not that easy, soul. someone like me cant just become a girl, it's impossib-]"
"{why not? whats stopping you?}"
"[i-]" mind stuttered, peeking over to soul wide eyed. what is stopping him? what does it even mean to become a girl? was mind ever even a boy to begin with? what defines someones gender? "[....i guess. ive,, never thought about that...]"
soul grinned, continuing "{well, if that's the case, and you want to be a girl, then i think you're a beautiful one. the prettiest girl to ever girl, even,}" atlas laughed, mind hiding her face again. "[i- um.. i'm a girl then. right..]" mind trailed off, deep in thought. souls smile only became wider, cheering "{yeaaahh!!! thats the spirit, ey? you should probably tell mr. moon of your new revelation later, ey miss sun?}"
"{oh, by the way, uno !!!}" mind made a confused noise, peeking over to the deck of cards. her eyes widened as she saw the draw 4 wild card that just got thrown down "[what- how?!? you're clearly cheating!]" atlas cackled triumphantly as the sun whined. "{sounds like a skill issue, not gonna lie. color's red!!!}" soul leaned back in his chair, arm slouched over the back in a way that looked jarringly uncomfortable to mind. "[whatever, fine,]" mind sighed in defeat as she drew 4, putting down a red card
"{uno out!}" soul cackled, throwing the red skip out rather aggressively, nearly falling out of its chair as it celebrated its victory. "[boo, you just got lucky,]" mind rolled her eyes, soul putting an L out tauntingly "{all jokes aside, if you need help adjusting i gotcha. it sucks that this has bothered ya so much, aye,}" he smiled, mind couldn't help but letting a small smirk slip. "[yeah, whatever... thanks,]"
"{no problem, ma'am!}!" atlas stood up and walked away, forgetting all about the game and leaving mind to clean up the mess.
mind rolled her eyes as she cleaned up, silently cursing at soul for not even caring to help her.
typical soul behavior, but atleast he helped her understand.
mind couldnt help but smile