castaside | Heart Game: dreamwalker variety

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I — okay, touché — [ FACEPALMS ]

[ hides her facepalmed face against his shoulder ]

He chuckles softly and leans his cheek against her head. "Just as I'm in your heart more than I was initially, right?"

[ Her wings fluff ]

... Yeah. [ She grumbles, embarrassed. Maybe one day affirmations won't hit like a landslide? (x to doubt.) ]

Can I have some strawberries?

"Coming right up, babygirl." He reaches into the picnic basket and pulls out a bowl of large, perfectly ripe strawberries.

Thank you, Mr. Menace.

[ IS THIS EVEN MENACING, KORONE ...

Boops her forehead to his shoulder and then shuffles around so she can cuddle and nom. ]

... S'there anywhere you know you don't want me to go?

[ Picks out a strawberry to delicately nibble. ]

Hmm. He considers this.

"The North door on S1 is anger. There's nothing to be done with him, and he'll try to kill you. The West door on U is where the Lady Bone Demon is trapped. Lots of light blue in the mirrors. She's trying to use Epsilon as a lure to draw people in, so she can try to escape. I won't say don't go in, just be careful. Everywhere else should be safe enough, even if it doesn't feel like it is."

S1 North ... Okay. Good to know. [ She gives him a small squeeze, remembering what he'd asked of her when they'd been working towards his first heart game. ] I'll avoid that one.

[ The same way she avoids Desolation unless she has an extremely damn good reason. ]

And the West ... [ She makes a Face at the idea of that awful woman fucking with Epsilon, wings bristling. She actually starts growling faintly before catching herself and swallowing it back. ] ... If I go in, I promise I'll be extra careful.

"Good, then." He's grateful that she won't have to encounter his anger, that asshole wouldn't be any good for her even if she crawled away alive.

"The Lady Bone Demon's big thing is mentally screwing with people until they lose their shit, so just watch out for that and you should be fine."

[ Are there circumstances under which Korone will take massive risks during a heart game? Sure! Unfortunately! Is this one of them? Absolutely not. ]

Thank you for trusting me, Dad. [ Nuzzles his shoulder. ]

No wonder that stupid game paired her up with Nyssa. [ U. G. H. Korone huffs. ] Is there any chance she'd know my taboos to use them against me?

"There's no one I trust more." So there.

"Hm. I can't say what she has found out since she's been in here. So there's a chance. But I would bet hard money that if she tried that with you my heart would lash out at her, hard. So she might just try her little psychological games and leave it at that."

[ wait. wait? hold the fucking phone???

korone stares at him, wide-eyed, mouth slightly open. red blossoms across her cheeks.

... slowly falls over and disappears into a wing cocoon, possibly on his lap, peeping faintly all the way. ]

He chuckles at her reaction, petting her wings since they're the only thing available.

[ She's dead now, brutally murdered by a monkey wielding a steel chair with expert precision. Goodbye. Remember her fondly. ]

[ aaaaaaaaa ]

[ SHE. WILL NEED A MINUTE. Or several. To interpret and process that ruthless bludgeoning. Part of her tries to deny it, tries to assume he's lying (he isn't) or joking or babying her (he wouldn't), because — even accounting for the fact that there's definitely people he trusts at least as much — it's high fucking praise. So high it feels … impossible? improbable? bewildering? that it could possibly be for her???

AND YET? ]

[ aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ]

[ peep peep peep ]

She's too cute for words, really.

"Let me know when you're feeling up to talking again, babygirl." He reaches into his basket and pulls out a plum, which he starts eating.

[ Just over four and a half minutes later - ]

... Hi.

[ Peeks out from between two primaries. ]

"Hey there." He has an expression that is both soft and amused.

[ her first response is a (frankly adorable tbqh) quiet huffy grumble. korone is less tsundere than her younger self, not not tsundere. ]

Papaque is enjoying the steel chair too much.

[ wiggles up to sit, still leaning against him. also still blushing. ]

"You can't blame me too much, you're cute when I'm loving you into a cocoon." He reaches into the basket and gets a warm blanket which he wraps around both of them, keeping his arm around her.

Dad —

[ HMPHs even as she snuggles against him ]

Remind me later to kick your ass. [ He deserves it for bullying her, nevermind that she is also a bully. ]

Absolutely. My ass will be thoroughly kicked. [ He keeps her close and his amused expression doesn't change with the threats. He deserves it. ]

The most kicked.

[ How dare heeeeeeeeeeeeeee. ]

... But first - [ Ahem. BACK ON TOPIC, ]

About that bitch. I'm guessing if I went in there with the intention to help, one of the cards she'd play is the old, 'ooooh but what if doing anything to me hurts him oooooooh' routine?

Edited 2025-04-03 15:06 (UTC)

"Mmhmm."

But okay, back into serious mode if we're talking about her.

"Probably a good guess. She might try to use some blue light on you, use Epsilon somehow. The Samadhi fire is probably connected somehow since that's what got rid of her control over me, so that could play in. Her main thing is using your vulnerabilities to make you doubt yourself though, and she'd try to find what those are for you, using my knowledge of you to do that."

Charming, isn't she. [ Korone snorts, patently unsurprised. ] That was one of Nyssa's favorite play-books too.

[ Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. ]

If she tried to weaponise Epsilon, that could be an issue. [ She looks at her hand, gently flexing her fingers. Thinking back to the Memorial Garden, and the choice she'd made; to the flood of electric blue settling into her synapses. ] Hard to say for sure.

"Tell me about it." His least favorite person, really, on a number of levels. And Nyssa can also get fucked with the wrong way.

"Hm. Use your judgment, I guess. Being ready for it can only do so much sometimes. Much as I want her blasted out of my soul, and much as I think you'd be a great prospect for being the one to do it, if it would be rough on you then it's not worth it."

[ you'd be a great prospect for being the one to do it ]

[ what if! even more hug! … somehow. ]

I'm gonna try. [ She smiles a little, quiet steel amidst the softness. ] I wouldn't walk away from this anymore than I'd walk away from Nyssa if we find her in Wash-nii's soul. You're worth fighting for ... and I know I can help.

Heart Game: dreamwalker variety

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