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

[ Of course she'd started bolting forward the moment Macaque had fallen — only to skid hastily to a stop when the Blood King rises.

… Oh, there's no way she can let this slide without doing everything she can to help. Doesn't matter that speaking out will give her away. She'll just have to get out of dodge really, really fast. ]

This is hurting him. It has been hurting him for a long, long time. And we all know, he knows, that trying to deny the pain he's in isn't going to help him truly heal and move on. [ She gets moving the moment she's said her piece, light-footed and swift. ]

The Blood King glances over, sharp-eyed, eyes unseeing but not able to doubt what it heard. It aims an attack toward the spot where Korone was in a second ago, punching deep gouges in the ground behind her heels.

"What would you know, child? You only just met him. You barely know him, and he's told you so little about himself. He hasn't mentioned all the times that he hurt others and enjoyed it. If you could see those pieces of his past, it would about make you sick."

[ Okay, that was worryingly close. Close enough that she casts an equally invisible shield around herself just in case. If she slipped up bad enough to take a direct hit, she doubts she'd be getting up again after - ]

[ - snorts ]

[ okay, no, sorry, she outright laughs ]

Oh, you can fuck right off with that melodramatic nonsense. The past informs; it doesn't define. [ KEEPS MOVING, because as funny as that was, ending up as paste wouldn't be ] Not unless we let it.

I think it's safe to say … that he doesn't want to let it. He wants to find acceptance, for himself and for and with others. He wants to be able to feel his feelings, to reach out and meet in the middle, to love and be loved, even when it's fucking terrifying.

And, you know what?

We'll be there to meet him.

We'll be there to reach back, and remind him that he doesn't have to struggle alone. As many times as it takes.

[ GETTING OUT OF DODGE INTENSIFIES. ]

That's a lot of words. A lot of Bloodkong being able to pinpoint your position. So it's a good thing that you cast that second shield, off which a hit that would definitely have sliced you in half glances, harmless but for the splotch of blood it leaves drizzling down the shield. Which is also a dead giveaway, and Bloodkong grins. Might want to cancel that shield and recast it.

Your ring shines at we'll be there to reach back, and remind him that he doesn't have to struggle alone. As many times as it takes. Seems like that is effective.

"And what is it that you think you can do? You're too fragile to hold yourself together, every little thing makes you jump or crumple."

[ Yep, definitely recasting that shield. Fucking yikes, that was close enough to get her heart pounding. ]

We're stronger together. [ Firmly, with the kind of conviction that burns. ] Anatawa hitorijanai. You are not alone. He isn't alone, and every single person here will fight tooth and nail to be there when he needs us.

That's what it means to be family. That's what it means to be - [ a chirp, macaque's: home ]

[ Another dodge! ]

"He had a so-called family, and they deserted him. He had a home, and it burned. Why do you think he did needs me? I protect him from any of that happening again."

The chirp that sounds back is grating and sneering: abandonment.

And the series of attacks it launches Korone's way is devastating, or would be without her shield. Three miss, but one hits dead on the money, so hard that her shield will leave a sizeable dent in the ground as it's entirely splattered with blood. Good thing there's no more cast limit!

[ D. DEFINITELY A GOOD THING. DEFINITELY A GOOD THING. She recasts the shield again, leaning gently into Donnie's ninpo for the extra support he offers. ]

[ It's also a good thing that Korone is used to fighting for her life; she's used to working through pain, heartache, and fear. This isn't the first time she's squared up to someone who could annihilate her where she stands. It won't be the last. ]

You aren't protecting him. You're holding him back. This - you ... this isn't what he wanted. This isn't what he or Donnie set out to do. And we're all here, fighting alongside him, because he trusts us and believes that we can make it through to the other side. All of us, together. [ She dodges back again, trying to switch up any patterns in movement so she's less predictable, with a little extra speed from her Wild City powers to boot.

Her magic has been finicky ever since they started hitting the lower levels. It wouldn't surprise her if the Blood King could smash through if he landed a hard enough hit. ]

Her ring dimmed a bit at that first thing, about the block holding Macaque back. But it shines all the brighter when she says we're all here, fighting alongside him, because he trusts us and believes that we can make it.

Bloodkong starts using horizontal strikes instead of vertical ones to clear more space, and one of them strikes the shield so hard that it'll send Korone flying, though she'll be unharmed.

"Donnie didn't know what he was doing. He was just so desperate for approval that he did it without thinking. And you, you're so desperate for a parent figure that you never stopped to think whether it would be good for him to become one. Selfish, the both of you."

[ Ah, the hamster ball experience. It doesn't hurt, but she still winces - just as she'd winced when she saw the glow dim. Okay. That definitely hadn't been the right thing to say ...

She'll try to keep that in mind going forward.

Just as she's keeping in mind that this specter is very specifically going for the throat with every single thing he says. ]

You say selfish like it's a bad thing. [ Her thoughts flash back to Donnie, months and months ago, stitching her back together and reminding her that he'd be more upset with her hiding her hurts than he would be over her asking for help. ] It doesn't have to be. There is nothing wrong with wanting to reach out to others and to have others reach out to you. Donnie chose to help when he was asked to, and here he is, still choosing it, choosing it with his whole heart and soul, because he loves Macaque. Same for me. I chose him, and he chose me. We chose each other. Every step we take into the future, every choice we make -

It's with each other in mind. Because that's part of what it means to be a family. We're not giving up on him and we know he'd never give up on us.

[ She adds an extra layer to the shield and keeps on moving, putting some distance between herself and her adversary. ]

Korone's ring is practically its own sun by this point. What she's saying is working, even if Bloodkong keeps viciously attacking like it isn't. Three more strikes slam into the ground all around her, shaking the entire mountain, and one more hits the shield, gale-force.

"He might have chosen you, but what he really wants and needs is Wukong. And that ship sailed centuries ago." Seems like it's conceding the point about family, but that's not what the block was there to do.

[ jesus fuck jeSUS FUCK JESUS FUCKING CHRIST ON A TRICYCLE she is going to spoil Macaque rotten when this is all over! For now, she tries to keep focused on keeping up and keeping moving.

The vicious strikes against her shield leave her shaken and stirred, but still — thank every star in every sky — not hurt. She can still do this. She hopes. She hopes she can help, and she's certainly not about to back down now. She grits her teeth and keeps at it, letting her heart and the light of the ring guide her. ]

He wants to be happy!

And we want that for him, too! That's all we want — for Macaque to be happy!

"What do you think I'm here for? He was miserable, and then he wasn't. I did that. I took away his despair. None of you could do it."

Bloodkong seems to lose track of her in between the shaken-and-stirred and when she speaks next, since she's saying less words there are less points of tracking to help him zero in. So he strikes uselessly at the ground a few times and then manages to get a glancing blow against her shield with his final strike.

"Better to have a void than to be in misery."

I get that you're looking out for him the only way you know how — but this isn't the way.

[ Keep moving, Korone, keep moving! It's hard to find the balance between using her words (the best, the only weapon they really have here) and not turning herself into a sitting duck for him to whale on. But all she can do is try. ]

We can't take his feelings away from him, but we can help him work through them. We can support him, help him heal, and make sure he feels heard, seen, and loved with all our hearts.

Bloodkong rears up with what looks to be a killshot... but then it pauses, staff in the air.

"You'll leave him eventually. Just like everyone always has."

I will never stop fighting for him. [ She doesn't stop moving, even with that pause. Staying in one place feels like too big of a risk to take. ]

For as long as I live, for as long as I draw breath, I will never stop fighting for him, and to be with him.

Bloodkong stays paused. Considering.

"You sound awfully sure of that," it says. It's tone measured and cautious instead of hissing and caustic.

"Just be sure he won't regret this."

And with that, Korone's portion of Bloodkong dissolves into red mist.

[ Korone lets out a deep, DEEP breath, but she doesn't allow herself to waver. Not yet. MK, Red Son, Wukong, Donnie, and Wash ... their fights are still on-going. She's gotta stay on the ball, just in case someone needs an assist.

Speaking of needing an assist, she scoots around the fighting to check on the fallen Macaque. ]

Edited 2024-03-25 08:50 (UTC)

Macaque is soundly sleeping. He seems still and peaceful, but he won't wake up no matter what you do.

[Heart Game] From the ashes we can build

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