castaside | [Heart Game] From the ashes we can build

The gold vision shows you that the shield is glowing brilliantly, gleaming with pure light that is warming and comforting instead of blinding. It is easily gripped with even a light touch, as if it wants to come to you. There is a golden monkey in the center of the shield, a clear pattern. As with the dagger, you want to hang onto this. It feels important. It feels like it will help you keep others safe.

Nothing else in the place is any different with gold vision on.

"Got it," MK said with a smile. He moved the shield and kept it on his arm. This felt good. He could do this. Now the memories.

"Memory time. Let's grab them. Which one first?" He asked, looking at Red Son.

"Okay. We'll need to go in turns for memories, I think. You catch me with the floating rock if I go down, I hold you if you need a break, okay? I'm going to try for the scales," Red Son said.

As you're reaching for the scales, you see a fast-moving object out of the corner of your eye. Another shard comes flying down and comes through the ceiling, zooming down and comes right at you. Red Son seems to have been READY this time, or perhaps it's the use of wind powers, because he not only moves so that the shard would miss you both if it continued on its trajectory, the wind stops it dead in its tracks, there for the taking if you care to pick it up.

There is a golden monkey on the shard, which is jagged on the edges, but it's different than the golden monkey on the dagger, shield, and lantern. It doesn't feel important in the same way. Hard to know without touching it, though.

The slightly less good news is that the cage is teetering after the impact. But it seems to be settling, more or less, there isn't any immediate danger of tipping.

Edited 2024-03-10 19:18 (UTC)

Red Son is used to paying attention to the wind. It was often a signal from his mother, either her trying to keep something subtle, or they were in a chaotic situation and he had to be ready to move with whatever she would need him to do. Its why out of all the wind abilities, the movement aspect often came easiest for him.

Controlling it may be difficult, but when it comes to letting him body move through it, that came easy.

He feels the shift in the wind, a hiccup in the flow, and that meant something else in the slip stream, pulling MK close as he directs the wind into something harder to intercept the path.

There it is.

The shard. "...okay. Or...I touch that," he said, twisting a finger in the air to keep it contained in an air bubble. He glances around the cage, but...its still holding. Okay. "Okay, yes. Get a platform ready, Noodle Boy. We should probably try and keep the shard with us. Less damage, hopefully, but it may have a memory," he said, pulling teh shard closer.

A lot happened all at once. MK gasped as the shard came flying at them but Red Son caught it. Right! Time for a platform. He focused and created a rock under them. A nice stone platform for them to ride on. He pulled it up under Red Son's and his own feet so they wouldn't drop. He focused on keeping it up under them and the sand over their heads.

"Got it. One floating platform for two. It's not the cloud but it'll work. Whoa. That thing looks so weird up close. Looks feral almost. Not like the other golden monkeys." MK held up his shield next to the floating shard for comparison.

"Its likely a representation of the fragmentation. Shrapnel," Red Son said as the wind brought it close.

He takes a breath and reaches through the wind to grab the shard carefully, trying to not cut himself on it.

The shard is jagged, but not quite sharp enough to cut, except for the very tip, so as long as you avoid that, you're in no danger of harm.

You are Macaque, and you're in a Mood.

Wukong has been home for all of two days, most of which you've spent convincing yourself not to follow him around like a puppy who missed his master, and he just announced that he's leaving again tomorrow. You're flummoxed to the point where you offer nothing but a terse nod. You can't help that this makes you look grumpy instead of what you really are.

But what could you possibly say? 'Stay with me, I need you here, you have enough power, I'll do anything if you don't go again'? No, absolutely not. You refuse to sound as desperate as you feel.

So you go do your own thing while Wukong talks about his near-future aspirations with one of your brothers or another. You don't especially want to hear it.

You do wonder why you're not enough for him to want to stay. You wonder if you ever will be.

At least he doesn't suddenly drop. It still hurts. He can understand that desperation. That want to be enough and not feeling like it, yet still refusing to let go of what little pride there is.

He does stare at the shard for several long beats. He wonders if Wukong ever really understood.

He lets out a soft breath and opens his bag to drop the shard inside. "More insecurity," he said. "Let's check the other ones."

MK watched Red Son. More insecurity. Okay wasn't going to touch that. They needed to keep it safe. He moved some of the sand to wrap around the sharp jagged parts and let it harden.

"There. So the scales? We're almost there," MK moved the stone toward where the scales were standing. "I'll grab this one," MK said and reached for the scales. He grabbed them.

The scales teeter when you grab them, much like the cage itself. But no matter what, they never seem to find any equilibrium. They never balance.

You are Macaque, and you're dodging agents of Heaven.

Wukong is imprisoned beneath a mountain, trapped and helpless, and you can't fix it. You know that. Hasn't stopped you from trying, from portaling into far-flung libraries out on the edge of the map, the ones that always have the answer in stories. Nothing materialized.

So eventually, you just bite the bullet and go to see him anyway. Empty-handed, or nearly so... a peach is all you can think that might be of any comfort. Perhaps just seeing you will do him some good. That's the hope. But first you have to make sure you're not seen, because who knows what will be done with you if they catch you defying Heaven again already.

You draw a breath, and listen. You hear his heart beating, you hear the echoes of his breathing on the walls of the cavern, and you can map it well enough. So you portal in beside him.

He's furious with you. Accuses you of not helping him. And what can you say? You didn't. You couldn't. Every angry word is another crack in the dam that's been breaking slowly, eroding every time he left you, ignored you, had better shit to do.

You wanted this to go differently. But that's the story of your life, isn't it?

The memory he's seen before from the outside in. It's easier to take the emotions. The way the fight exploded. The way Macaque felt as he was pushed and that dam finally burst open. The way it all went wrong. Macaque had tried but nothing could fix what happened. Everything was here now and it was unbalanced. It was all over the place, like this cage.

"Okay. I know this memory. I've seen it. In the scroll. It was his fight with Monkey King, under the mountain."

Red Son nodded. "Well, that probably explains the cage," he said. He had seen the fight before, with Wukong. The first time they really actually managed to get through a conversation all right without MK around.

"I can try the empty syringe?" He said. He had a feeling that would be Choco and Donnie related and with how MK HAS been....well, might be better he sees it.

"Alright. One syringe coming up," MK moved the rock toward the syringe now. It was an odd one. MK wasn't sure what the memory would be and would let Red Son tell him what it was.

Red Son nodded and reached down to pick up the syringe.

The needle of the syringe is rusted and looks like it's spent a long time here, exposed to the splash of salt water.

You are Macaque, and you are determined.

Wukong put together this little band of sworn brothers, but despite the name, so far they only tolerate you because you're Wukong's favorite. They are various degrees of baffled and resentful about it.

That's fine, honestly. You're used to needing to prove yourself. They're all big and flashy, which isn't the way you operate. You know your strengths, and you'll use them to show them what you can really do.

It'll take time. More with some than others. Yellowtusk respects thoughtfulness, which you have. DBK respects strength, easy enough. Peng and Azure... those are trickier. One gets off on being a bully, one is jealous. Not much to be done with that.

It's workable. You don't need their approval, you only need them to stop whispering about you in dark corners as if you can't hear them.

Shutting them up is going to be fun.

"????"

Red Son looks at the syringe in confusion. "I'm not entirely sure how this is related," he said. "Its him wanting to shut up the other sworn brothers about him being there. Determination and spite."

A pause. "A fairly accurate read on how they operate though," he said. His father included. He didn't always understand the strength of things until he saw it in action. "Next one."

He has the wind ready to support the rock and to keep a hold of MK.

MK watched the confusion. He hummed and listened. He tilted his head.

"Maaaaybe it was a give them a taste of their own medicine kinda thing? I dunno?" MK said with a shrug. Alarm clock next, I guess," MK moved the rock and felt his magical energy draining a little. But not too bad. Not yet.

"I'll take this one," He said as he reached and grabbed the clock.

When you touch the alarm clock, you are consumed by the ticking. It rings in your ears. You can feel it in your throat. The other sounds in this area fade out entirely, and all you hear is the ticking.

You feel the stress of limits. You want to overcome them, and are determined to do so, despite that they worry you. You feel them, even the ones you can beat into submission. You're willing to work hard, but what if it isn't enough? You'll have to make certain that it is enough, in the end. The alternative is always wondering what, indeed, you're actually worth.

"Maybe?" It seems the most likely explanation. That or the metaphors are getting mixed up.

"How is it?" He asked.

What was that thing Kornoe said? Same hat?

Same hat.

MK shoved the alarm clock into his bag and covered his ears with his hands. The ticking. The ticking! The rock waivered as his concentration broke. He forced it back up and the sand closed in around them. Like it was forming a dome or shell. He groaned as he felt the weight of it all.

"It's...loud. Ticking. And...feeling unworthy. Wanting to be worthy but thinking maybe you're not. ...Not a good feeling. Not at all," MK said as he shook. He focused on his breathing and pressed his head against Red Son's chest. He listened for his boyfriend's heartbeat. He could focus on that.

"I'm okay. I'm okay...just...can you grab the next one?"

Red Son kicked up the wind around them, stronger winds to help support the rock, keep it up, and his arm tightening around MK.

He puts his hand over MK's exposed ear, pressing him more to his chest. "I can grab the next one. Just focus on me, okay. Eat a candy. It'll be okay," he said, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "Just breathe, okay? Turn the rock into sand if you need to let go of your concentration, I have you."

MK nodded. The ticking was fading away but he was having a hard time concentrating. Sand would be better. He shifted the rocks into sand and held on. He moved them toward the next memory object slowly. The spoon and the rotted bowl.

"There, there. Just breathe," Red Son said, breathing deep and letting it out slowly. Keeping his own heart rate calm. "Tell me when you're ready to catch and I'll take the next memory. Don't rush. We're fine."

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

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Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

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Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door

Re: Level S (sub 1) - South Door