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

You keep walking. There are no more forks in the hallway. Just endless hallway that sometimes bends this way or that way. It feels interminable. It feels like suns rising and setting, every day the same. You feel disoriented sometimes, like you want to sit and rest and accept the inevitable. The lights feel too bright. The shadows feel too strange.

You come to what appears to be a dead end. There is a portrait of Macaque on the wall... or what once was a portrait. It's all torn up, Beauty and the Beast style.

There is some light peeking from beneath the wall directly in front of you.

This maze was hard to get through. Hard to keep walking. It was just beating down on them. MK was popping candies every once in a while. Just to keep some good feelings going. Finally they reach another thing. Something new they can focus on.

MK reached out to touch the portrait. See if it had any memories or feelings. Maybe see if he can see where that light was coming from on the other side too.

"Remind me...to paint him a portrait when this is all over. Sometime."

The portrait does not give you any new information about the light. All you can tell is that the wall seems to stop a fraction of a centimeter above the floor and the harsh light is streaming in from the other side.

When you touch the portrait, you feel even more disoriented. Who are you? What are you here for? Why do you keep going? What is your purpose? Why does everything you try to do feel this way? Will you ever find solid footing again?

The feeling was oppressive. Almost too much. Almost. But he's always been one to keep walking despite feeling like he couldn't get anywhere. Especially for love. He could keep going for that.

Its easier with MK to hold onto.

He looks at the portrait, frowning. "I think that would be nice." He reaches out, feeling along the wall, trying to find any kind of indent or hint for a secret switch.

Who was he? Why was he here? Why did he keep going? What was the point? MK stumbled forward and pulled back as he tore his hand away from the portrait. The feelings lingered and pressed down on MK. It was so painful yet familiar. That was the worst part. It was all so familiar. MK reached out and grabbed hold of Red Son. He just needed to hold someone he knew. Why did he do this?

For his friends. For his family. For the people he loved. His boyfriends. His mate. He did it all for them. Without them, he was empty. Without them, if he was alone, he'd be nothing. No one. MK looked up at the ripped portrait. He spilled his crayons and paper on the ground and started to draw. He looked up for reference, trying to piece together what was missing and kept going.

"You...are the Six Earred Macaque. You hear everything. You control shadows. You survive. You are on this whole not dying kick and loving it. You're a friend. A boyfriend. A mentor. That's who you are. And you're not allowed to forget it."

Red Son, while he looked for a switch, MK tried to recreate the portrait in crayon. He could stick it on. Fix the portrait. Maybe that would move it. Maybe it was a void like that. That made sense, right?

Red Son doesn't find a switch. But the wall suddenly shimmies, and opens. It knocks the portrait onto the floor.

Red Son watches MK stumble away, reaching out to grab onto him again, pull him close. "Noodle Boy...?"

But then he was on the ground and started drawing like a mad man and talking. He's just watching for a minute as he feels along the wall because. Because well. MK may needed to get that out a bit.

Then the wall is gone. Red Son kneels down to pick up the portrait, to set it aside. "Are you all right, MK?"

MK didn't hear the nickname. He was busy drawing, rambling, and just focusing on fixing this. The wall moved and the portrait fell. MK threw up his arms in triumph! His smile was forced and his eyes focused on the way forward. He moved his drawings and gently set them on the portrait, trying to piece meal it together again with his drawings.

"It doesn't feel right to leave it like this. There. Now it's complete again. Huh?" He blinked and looked up at Red Son.

"Oh! I'm fine. Yeah. I'm good. I'm used to this," He said as he pushed himself to his feet finally. He linked arms again with his mate. "Let's keep going! Gotta keep moving. Gotta keep going." Mk walked forward, pulling Red Son along if he had to.

You leave the (now revised) portrait where it is, and proceed through the passage. You only turn one corner before you come to a fork, at long last. You can turn right, or go straight.

You feel rushed. Like you should hurry. You want to be out of here. You have to keep shaking your head to avoid it fogging over with uncertainty and doubt.

"...you should eat more of the candy," Red Son said, linking arms again and going forward. He is concerned, but they have to keep going.

Especially as it feels urgent.

He takes a breath and leads them right.

You head to the right, into the offshoot. You turn a corner and... there is a void.

You feel this corridor closing in. You can almost see it on the periphery of your vision, but when you look all is normal. This place is not safe. You need to leave. It is pressing on the throat of you who are, cutting off your air.

But there is the void. Do you fill it with what you have, or leave and intend to come back later?

The panic was rising. The void was RIGHT THERE and everything felt like it could close in on them at any moment?! Do they throw in the feather? Was the feather even right? DID IT MATTER?! MK's breathing was sliding into hyperventilating. He was losing it. He popped more candies into his mouth and touched the sun plush. Everything could go horribly if they didn't do something soon!

"F-Feather or do we come back?" MK made sure to circle in black where in his map they were. They could come back. They could find more memories. All the rooms had more than one. He was so scared. What if they messed up? If this place crushed them, then what?!

The candies help ground you a little. The sun also helps a little. This space still feels wrong to you, but it's far more tolerable this way.

The candies feel like Macaque holding you and telling you it's okay. The sun plush makes you feel warm and safe and loved.

Oh MK was losing it.

Red Son feels the pressure to. He does. That running out of time feeling that leads to long nights and skipped meals.

But it's hard to panic when his beloved is.

Priorities. He is more of a priority than his anxiety and that provides clarity.

He turns to MK, pulls him close in a hug, and reaches into the bag for his stress ball and squeezes.

Red Son's stress ball ticks down to ~~I THINK~~ "4", and a shadowy Macaque peels away from one of the deeper shadows in the hallway and moves toward them. As soon as he's in sight, you feel much relieved.

This one can't speak, but he wraps his arms around both of you. You feel calm and grounded. You feel like yourself. You feel loved and cherished. You feel like this place can't beat you. The feeling will linger for a while.

Breathe. Breathe. It's alright. They're safe. Loved. This place was terrifying but nothing they couldn't handle. Just focus. Re-focus. Get in the right headspace. Don't drag Red Son down. This had to be hard on him too. Don't let it pull him down. Not again. He can't fail again. The feeling of his love was enough to get himself back on track.

"...I'm okay. I'm okay now. The feather is a terrible choice. We gotta keep looking. Don't...we're not putting that good feeling in with all this. No way."

"We'll see. I'm not sure what this room's theme is yet," Red Son said against MK's shoulder. Leaning into his and Macaque's arms, for as long as they have him.

Letting the crawling anxiety settle. There is work to do. But less the time to skip self care. "We'll also need to see if there's more voids. Feel better now?"

Macaque's shadow will hang onto them for a good minute, nearly two, before he gives them both a nuzzle with his nose and fades back into the normal shadows.

You feel bolstered. You can handle this place. It's just an annoying hallway with an attitude.

"I feel a lot better. Heh. Sorry. I came in here to ground you and I feel like we're grounding each other about the same. I couldn't do this without you. I'm so glad I have you here, Red Son."

MK stayed close and looked at the void.

"Feels like...emptiness. Like not knowing who you are. But you're right. We need to see if there are more voids. And more memories. Let's keep going."

"Worrying about you is actually helpful. It's...harder for anxiety to get to me when I have to worry about my loved ones," he said, offering one last nuzzle to Macaque as he melts away.

He looks to MK and gently caresses his cheek. "Your presence helps. We just need to keep cool heads. Mark your map and let's go," he said, and moved forward, hand on the right wall.

Feeling much better now, you head back out to the main corridor. It doesn't seem so daunting now. You can breathe. You still feel weirded out, but it's easily dealt with given that your mate is with you.

You head up a long hallway that turns around in a U shape. Down to the bottom again. On your way wiggling back up again, suddenly two walls close in ahead of you and behind you, trapping you in one spot. There is no immediate way to free yourself. There is another half-portrait on the wall, what looks to be the same one as before but a different piece of it.

Panic starts to very slowly creep in again.

What if you're lost in here? What will you do? Who will miss you?

They had each other. They could get through this as long as they did. MK was much more level now. Then the trap happened. The walls slid closed and trapped them. No going forward. No going back. They could probably smash through the walls easily enough but who knows what that would do to Macaque. He looked at the portrait. Okay. So there's another...oh. Oops.

Uh. Guess we grab it and put it with the other one? Let's see," MK reached out to touch the portrait.

For a few brief moments, Red Son's hold on MK gets-

Very tight.

A slight shake to his arms.

He.

Breathes. Slow. Even. Forcing himself too. Its fine. Its fine, they're not TRAPPED trapped, Macaque has a way out for them. There is a way out for them. Its Fine.

They're fine.

"Right. That's a good first step," he said, reaching out to touch the painting too.

The portrait makes you feel at ease, but that sort of ease that you know is brief. A quick fix between bouts of lowkey anxiety. A respite too quick to even really appreciate it before you're in need of another. Like the person you love coming home only to announce they're leaving again, and for you to wonder why you're not worth staying for.

You just want to be enough.

MK shook as he felt the feelings. Oh. Oh it was both so nice and yet not enough. So familiar. He kept his hand on the painting.

"Macaque, you are enough. Monkey King knows he lost sight of why he was getting immortalities and power. He knows he forgot it was for the two of you. For you and the monkeys. You are enough. He made a mistake. I know you're enough for me," He looked to Red Son to continue.

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door