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

"Alright! Let's do this," Mk turned to the side and squeezed by the wall. "Come on, Red Son! Doodleque has something to show us!"

Edited 2024-03-14 04:24 (UTC)

"I'm coming," he said and he'll turn into a butterfly to move through the ceiling gap to follow Doodleque.

....maybe touch him.

Depends how close he's allowed.

Once you're through the wall Doodleque will lower himself down to your level to encourage you onward. It's far darker in this area, but for the band of light coming through the gap between walls.

Touching the doodle give you the impression of trying new things, wanting desperately to succeed at them, wondering if your efforts will be worth it. You know that others are depending on you and you need to make sure you do well. It's pressure, but it's exhilarating.

Is it possible to take Doodleque with you? Hmm.

Other than that, you find a dark corridor that leads around some beds.

MK reached out for a fist bump with Doodleque and smiled. He felt the emotions and chuckled. That was cute. He held out a piece of blank paper next to Doodleque.

"Wanna come with us, you cute guy? Let's like you to come along," MK asked. He looked forward and saw the beds down the corridor.

"Huh. Is this a place to rest or is there more to it?" MK asked.

"So there is fear, but there is also hope and anticipation," Red Son said after he changes back from a butterfly. "The excitement is very cute. I can understand it. Its scary when you start something new, but when you figure out how to do something? It really is exhilarating," he said.

He'll snap his fingers, making a fire in his hand to see if he can help light up thing.

Doodleque motions them onward down the hall, bounding around cutely. The fire lights the corridor quite well and also makes fun little shadows which Doodleque makes shadow puppets in. From what you can tell he's just doing random things: a heron, a bear, a tea kettle, a huge ship with three masts. The feeling back here is much less oppressive than the rest of the maze.

"Ooooooh. Look at how cute those all are. The heron and the bear are having tea before they set sail!" MK said and just looked at them with big shining eyes. "So cuuuute!" MK giggled and moved toward the beds. He checked around and under them for any memories first.

"Pretty sure this is a rest area. We can take a break here. Let Doodleque do a great shadow play puppet show for us then keep moving. Love built in rest stops! Macaque you really did thing of everything!"

Red Son snorted at MK's description. "It is very cute," he said. Both Macaque and MK. He moved over to the beds to look above and below them, sit on them and see if there's any feeling.

"He did. He was very careful and thorough. He really did a good job to try and keep us as safe as he could. And he's even spoiling us with his wonderful shadow plays," he said.

The beds are soft and comfortable, perfect for a rest. There are two of them but they're large enough for more than one person. There is also a mini-fridge. One of the beds has a void under it, so perhaps fix that before testing the mattress. Other than that, it appears to be somewhere to take a break.

Doodleque mimes some bashfulness about the compliments and then creates an elaborate shadow scene of the two of them trudging through the maze with Macaque's shadow following them, observing, looking touched.

A void under the bed. Alright. They needed a memory in there. MK had an idea but first!

"Minifridge!" MK ran over to it and opened the door. Time to check everything inside. Was there a memory in the fridge?

No memories, just feelings (which you can also toss in the voids, you can toss anything in.)

Inside the fridge there are a variety of snacks and cold drinks. Everything from sweet chocolate snacks to very spicy snacks, since Macaque didn't know who would find this space. Touching the food or drinks gives you a sense of peace and comfort, though you know it's temporary. You know it can't last. So there is a looming dread even in the comfort.

Eating/drinking these things will make that sense stronger. You feel like snuggling up with your love while also knowing they'll be gone in short order and you'll be missing them. It's sweet and it's painful.

Why was everything in this fridge so bittersweet feeling! He grabbed some of the spicy snacks and some chocolate ones. He didn't want cherry for once. He had those on tap. He moved and looked under the bed again. He had an idea.

"So...would the anchor be good to put in here? It's hopeful and might help this place. Everything here is so...afraid everything is temporary. Maybe having something to counter it would help." MK brainstormed.

A beat.

"You know I'm thinking of becoming immortal and if I do that whole temporary thing is a lot less likely, right Macaque?" He looked over at the Doodgleque with a smile. Hoping that idea might be comforting, even a little bit.

Doodleque looks surprised, then makes a wide motion with his arms and there's a shower of confetti! Yay for MK being around forever!

But then the confetti settles and Doodleque looks pensive, a bit sad. He looks this way and that way, up and down. He doesn't see anyone else. There's a shadow play of MK and Red Son leaving the bed area and then Doodleque looks sad. He'll be lonely back here when you go.

"Just come with us," MK said as he walked over and held out a piece of paper against the wall.

"Can you get on this? We can take you with."

A blink of surprise! Doodleque approaches the paper. He looks at it. He tries to step onto it but hesitates. Then he takes a running start, jumps, and--

Doodleque looks a bit dizzy for a second, but he is on the paper! He looks around, then grins at MK and gives him a thumbs up. You have acquired one (1) sentient doodle.

"And I ain't done yet!" MK grinned. He started to draw a little more on the page. He drew a car seat with a seat belt, safety is important. A couch. And a bowl full of mangos.

"There. Now you got your own little rest area on the page too."

Ahhh! Doodleque looks around all excited and little hearts float out of his head, as is appropriate for a cartoon.

He takes a mango and flops down on the couch to eat it, giving MK a big smile. Happy Doodleque is happy.

"The anchor would be a bad idea here," Red Son said. "These voids are part of the room's structure. The walls." At least he's pretty sure that's how it works. "If you put the anchor in here, these contradictory feelings will always be tied to the anchor's feelings, and this is like....this is the want for things to be better, but also afraid that it might not work out. Anticipation and uncertainty."

But good at Doodleque. "And of course you're welcome to follow when we leave the bed. Or drag us back. You're quite good at that," he said with a chuckle.

Edited 2024-03-14 18:03 (UTC)

MK nodded. He swallowed and opened his bag. This room felt like how he felt too. He understood this maze in a way he wish he didn't. Or wished neither of them did. Maybe...maybe...

"Then either the score card or the sun plush maybe. He always seems like that with me. One of these two would fit. The plush I think is the better fit." It was hard to admit. But that's how it was for them, wasn't it? Anticipation and uncertainty. Wanting it to be better, scared it wouldn't last or get worse. It was complicated like that.

MK held up the sun plush. Was he wrong? It wasn't really contradictory. It matched. It would fill the void. But would they be stuck like this? Could they work through the maze of it all? He isn't sure, he's scared, but fixing Macaque was more important. It was the most important thing right now.

Red Son raises an eyebrow, but reaches out for the Sun Plush. "May I?"

MK put the sun plush in Red Son's hand.

Red Son gets the following memory:

You are Macaque and you are curled up with MK in a field of swaying grass, under a warm sun. You feel unusually good, but it's not all the fairy dust; it's that spending time with MK makes you happy. Being able to be close makes you happy... even if MK is acting a little cagey, claiming he doesn't want to push so he's not going to want anything from you.

You groom each other and you talk. Really talk. You open up about how special MK is to you, worth the risk of opening yourself up, even if that's difficult. You find yourself wondering why it can't be like this all the time. Because MK really is special to you, even if he seems not to believe it--

He wouldn't believe the truth any more: MK isn't just special to you, you love him. He's so precious to you, more than anyone else. But it almost seems like he doesn't want to hear that, so you don't say it.

He says he's attracted to you, and you hear yourself blathering on about Wukong and complications, even though right now it doesn't feel complicated. You wonder if perhaps you're overthinking, overfeeling, since the very last thing you want to do is hurt MK or make him pay for someone else's... not mistakes, exactly, just associations that ping some feelings that are overwhelming in all sorts of ways. It's not his fault, and he's being extremely kind about the fact that he's paying for it regardless.

Are you being too careful? Not careful enough? Everything feels precarious, like you're going to mess it all up if you move a hair too far in any direction. You already messed everything up once, and it was the biggest regret of your life, if you lost MK by making the wrong decision...

MK says he'll be patient with you, and you swallow past a sudden lump in your throat. It means so much that he's willing to give so much when by all rights he should tell you to get your shit straight and then talk to him. But he never does. He's too good for you, and you have no idea what to do about that.

But maybe you should give him a little of what he's looking for. Maybe he'd like that. You'd sure like that. Even if it might be fleeting because of your stupid bullshit issues.

Red Son closes his eyes, considering the memory. "....it does have the feeling. The excitement and the worry. A little bit trapped in wanting the sun," he said. "I think it would work."

"Alright," MK said with a nod. He took the sun back. He held it for a moment to just soak in the feelings. He moved under the bed and pushed it into the void.

With the sun in the void, it knits closed. The feelings of comfort and safety in the room increase just a bit.

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