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erosanova-blog · 8 years ago

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Star-crossed or Simply Cross?

(Reader's note: This is a paper originally submitted to a CSU class Fall 2015, I simply posted it for your entertainment. I believe the original requirement for page length was 5-8. This paper was 18 pages. Only minor changes have been made, mostly formatting for the blog's sake. I may update it as necessary.)

“WELCOME BACK TO 98.99 F.M., THE TORNADO! UP NEXT WE HAVE BLAKE SHELTON’S HIT SINGLE “God Gave Me You.” THIS ONE GOES OUT TO ALL THOSE STAR-CROSSED LOVERS OUT THERE, SO GRAB YOUR HONEYBEE AND PUT YOUR BOOTS TOGETHER!”

“I've been a walking heartache I've made a mess of me The person that I've been lately Ain't who I wanna be

But you stay here right beside me Watch as the storm blows through And I need you

'Cause God gave me you for the ups and downs God gave me you for the days of doubt For when I think I've lost my way There are no words here left to say, it's true God gave me you

There's more here than what we're seeing A divine conspiracy That you, an angel lovely Could somehow fall for me You'll always be love's great martyr I'll be the flattered fool And I need you

God gave me you for the ups and downs God gave me you for the days of doubt For when I think I've lost my way There are no words here left to say, it's true God gave me you

On my own I'm only Half of what I could be I can't do without you We are stitched together And what love has tethered I could never undo

'Cause God gave me you for the ups and downs God gave me you for the days of doubt God gave me you for the ups and downs God gave me you for the days of doubt For when I think I've lost my way There are no words here left to say, it's true God gave me you, gave me you Gave me you.”

(Shelton, 2011)

Easy to grasp but often impossible to feel; sometimes invisible to the eye but apparent to the mind; it sends you into the depths of the ocean and the height of the clouds, but eventually everything comes back to its final resting place. It’s easy to say but difficult to be sincere, it’s easy to taste but hard to digest, it’s held in high regard to some but stomped on and spit at by others. It will take both a juvenile woman and a grown man to his knees, and it controls the very world around us. Love. Merriam Webster defines it as

“1a (1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties <maternal love for a child>

(2): attraction based on sexual desire: affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3) : affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests <love for his old schoolmates>

b : an assurance of affection <give her my love> 2: warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion <love of the sea>”

(“Love,” merriam-webster.com)

Also, according to this website, “love is currently in the top 1% of lookups, and is the seventh most popular word on Merriam-webster.com.” However, if you look up “true love” there is no definition. So what is true love, and how does this ideology skew our perspective on the world? Who benefits from this given version of the truth, how are the material benefits socially distributed? The answer should be obvious: profit-seeking corporations. In the search for revenue firms leave no stone unturned, and even if an anti-Valentine’s-Day-day were proposed by those willing to fight the system so many fall into, businesses would find some way to squeeze every penny from their pockets, from T-shirts to billboards to chandeliers, nothing is sacred. As income goes up on the individual level, higher expectations of monetary dispersion often arise-the richer a person becomes, the more is demanded of that person from their spouse or partner. Instead of buying fifty cents of construction paper and using an old rusty pair of shears to compose something beautiful, Americans find it necessary to throw paper and plastic down in the name of love, even more so when they believe it to be true love. Newsflash: companies like Hallmark, FTD flowers and Cadbury own true love, and in order to discover it, you will most likely need to make an investment towards their capital. There is no way to storm the proverbial Bastille, and people will remain serfs to Cupid’s arrow. Sonja Foss defines an ideological critique as “looking beyond the surface structure of an artifact to discover the beliefs, values, and assumptions it suggests” (Pg. 209).

The concept of true love affects everyone, whether they know it or not. Click your radio on to any given frequency (maybe not a public broadcasting station, unless someone is truly passionate about politics) and chances are you will encounter a song about love or true love. Some claim that the country music genre contains more songs about heartbreak and true love but UP NEXT ON 102.7 F.M., THE POPSICLE, WE HAVE MAROON 5’s NEW HIT, “Sugar,” SO SNAP OFF YOUR SNAPBACKS AND KICK OFF THOSE SKINNY JEANS!

“I'm hurting, baby, I'm broken down I need your loving, loving I need it now When I'm without you I'm something weak You got me begging, begging I'm on my knees

[Pre-Chorus:] I don't wanna be needing your love I just wanna be deep in your love And it's killing me when you're away, ooh, baby, 'Cause I really don't care where you are I just wanna be there where you are And I gotta get one little taste

[Chorus:] Your sugar Yes, please Won't you come and put it down on me? I'm right here, 'cause I need Little love, a little sympathy Yeah, you show me good loving Make it alright Need a little sweetness in my life Your sugar Yes, please Won't you come and put it down on me?

My broken pieces You pick them up Don't leave me hanging, hanging Come give me some When I'm without ya I'm so insecure You are the one thing, one thing I'm living for [Pre-Chorus:] I don't wanna be needing your love I just wanna be deep in your love And it's killing me when you're away, ooh, baby, 'Cause I really don't care where you are I just wanna be there where you are And I gotta get one little taste

[Chorus:] Your sugar Yes, please Won't you come and put it down on me? I'm right here, 'Cause I need Little love, a little sympathy Yeah, you show me good loving Make it alright Need a little sweetness in my life Your sugar! (sugar!) Yes, please (yes, please) Won't you come and put it down on me?

Yeah I want that red velvet I want that sugar sweet Don't let nobody touch it Unless that somebody's me I gotta be your man There ain't no other way 'Cause girl you're hotter than a southern California day)”

(Maroon 5, 2015)

“WELCOME BACK TO 95.7 THE WAVE, YOUR SOURCE FOR THE MOST COMPLACENT SONGS OF ALL TIME! UP NEXT WE HAVE “Here Without You,” BY THREE DOORS DOWN. SO SLIDE OUT OF THOSE GRUNGY LEATHER PANTS AND TORN FLANNEL SHIRT AND HOLD ON TIGHT!”

“A hundred days have made me older Since the last time that I've saw your pretty face

A thousand lies have made me colder And I don't think I can look at this the same

But all the miles that separate They disappear now when I'm dreaming of your face

I'm here without you, Baby But you're still on my lonely mind I think about you, Baby And I dream about you all the time I'm here without you, Baby But you're still with me in my dreams.”

(Three Doors Down, 2002)

“Change it.”

“…didn't have to cut me off Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing And I don't even need your love But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough No you didn't have to stoop so low Have your friends collect your records and then change your number I guess that I don't need that though Now you're just somebody that I used to know

Now you're just somebody that I used to know Now you're just somebody that I used to know.”

(Gotye, 2011)

“That’s horrible too *tears welling,* please change it.”

“…if you love me, let me go. And run away before I know. My heart is just too dark to care. I can't destroy what isn't there. Deliver me into my fate - If I'm alone I cannot hate I don't deserve to have you...

My smile was taken long ago If I can change I hope I never know

I still press your letters to my lips And cherish them in parts of me that savor every kiss I couldn't face a life without your lights But all of that was ripped apart when you refused to fight

So save your breath, I will not hear. I think I made it very clear. You couldn't hate enough to love. Is that supposed to be enough? I only wish you weren't my friend. Then I could hurt you in the end. I never claimed to be a saint...”

(Slipknot, 2009)

“What the hell is wrong with the radio today?!” *Click*

“… See a Robin weep, When leaves begin to die? That means he's lost his will to live. I'm so lonesome I could cry.

The silence of a falling star, Lights up a purple sky. And as I wonder where you are, I'm so lonesome I could cry. I'm so lonesome I could cry.”

(Cash, 1958)

“Awful! Terrible! If one more station tries to proselytize me I’m turning the radio off!”

“Try the Oldies station!”

“… if your baby leaves you And you have a sad tale to tell Just take a walk down Lonely Street To Heartbreak Hotel And you will be, you will be, you will be lonely, baby You'll be so lonely You'll be so lonely, you could die

Well, though it's always crowded You still can find some room For broken-hearted lovers To cry there in the gloom And they'll be so, they'll be so lonely, baby They're so lonely They'll be so lonely, they could die.”

(Presley, 1956)

“That’s it! I can’t take it anymore!” *CLICK*

*GPS chiming in* “If you want to avoid a steep cliff, take an immediate right. Take an immediate right. Take an immediate right. Immediately take a U-turn to return to County Road 18.”

Note the parts in bold and their applicability to my argument. As you can see, no station is safe from the resounding break of a heart, and songs about heartbreak are equally as likely to generate revenue to corporations as songs about true love, and equally as likely to make or break someone’s day. From modern day to the classic rock of the 1950’s, people have always been subconsciously pulled into the waiting arms of a mythical romance, whether it ends badly or not. All of these songs represent love, whether it be true, “normal” or inexplicably absent, from several different genres in a multitude of time periods. Blake claims that a “divine conspiracy” brought a true love to him- but if the story is based on real life occurrences consider his recent divorce from Country singer Miranda Lambert (Shelton, 2011). Maroon 5 claims, “You are the one thing, one thing I'm living for,” which seems to have a slightly morbid inference, and also, “when I’m without you, I’m something weak” (2015). What would the average music-lover in modern America procure from these lyrics? That some divinity scribbled their name next to another's and they were meant to be, and if they lost them or couldn’t find them life wasn’t worth living? That seems like a rather depressing interpretation, but the fact of the matter is our speakers shout these ideas into our subconscious, segregating the lucky few from the unlucky masses. The ideology that star-struck lovers exists causes emotional, physical, and monetary distress. It is an unnecessary idea based loosely on consumerism and false attraction, and the artifacts of this misconception are ubiquitous in our daily lives-they can surround and strangle at any given moment. They also lie in popular music, television, movies, and are even embedded in the scriptures we peruse on Sunday mornings. This epidemic is present throughout the ages as well. Notice the references to heartbreak or losing “the one and only” in the 1950’s rock classics by Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. The minute differences are songs like “Sugar,” and “Somebody I Used to know” disguise disheartening lyrics with buoyant beats, distracting the listeners from the real message being conveyed.

How about a little micro-narrative to further illustrate my point? Her lips taste like summer strawberries still on the plant, so sweet and growing sweeter by the day. Her eyes are lonesome brown caves echoing with curiosity, reverberating blandishments to every snooping spelunker. Her hair cascading like a muddy spring waterfall, twirling down over soft pink lobes and semi-precious stones; its autumn leaves welcoming a fall frolic with growing humidity. Her skin is a light olive, mellifluous, clean, and delicate. She was different, this was meant to be… forever. She is the epitome of perfection, and their paths were scribbled in the stars- inscribed in twinkling incandescence.

Who believes it? Almost everyone who wears a heart on their sleeve, even if they’re wearing camouflage to disguise it. Although the target audience for a lot of these songs are monogamous straight couples, anything can affect a person who wears the right set of ears; who has suffered or embraced extreme forms of love. This drivel is churned out by the bucketful, spooned onto everyone’s plates, from infant to elder, and it controls nearly everything. There are several different kinds of love, let’s begin by defining those. There is familial love, which is, shared between members of a group or family, is purely platonic (sorry Oedipus). Then there is love as companionship, that is, the love between two good friends or the love between a human and a pet. There is mutual adoration, such as the love between spouses or partners, or the love of childhood friends-this is stronger yet similar to love as companionship. There is self-love (no not a teenager’s sticky copy of Marie Claire he keeps under his mattress), that is, caring for yourself, a fathom before narcissism. There is sexual love or attraction, which is based on personal preferences and sensual satisfaction. There is romance, which can be similar to sexual attraction, only embodied with more slow rhythmic music, candles and rose petal breadcrumb trails. Then there is adoration, like the look I’m currently receiving from a red-merle dog named Barley; this can be similar to companionship, or it can be the initial stages of mutual love. Then there is one-sided love, that is, the love of the person sitting in the bushes outside your window at night (not like Romeo calling to Juliet on a balcony, more like an astronaut driving cross-country in diapers so she doesn’t have to stop to go to the bathroom), or a unrequited love. To clarify, many different types of love exist and are very apparent in most everyone’s lives, but true love, destiny, fate, or providence subsists only in fairy tales.

True love seems to be a fallacy spewed by corporations to take our every penny. A man is supposed to spend three month’s salary on a wedding ring… who came up with this idea? You’re supposed to buy flowers, candy or gifts for Valentine’s Day… Why? Granted, this is hardly applicable to penurious individuals or homosexual/transgendered couples (not sure about the intricacies of who buys the ring, or who spoils who in those situations). If true love exists it shouldn’t need material goods to prove its worth, it should be alive and well based on its own merit. If you don’t give a gift on that particular February day, does it mean you don’t love that person? This perception can make some feel gifted while others feel the cold sting of rejection-all based upon the sum of the monetary value collected. The concept that true love could be embodied in chalky red-lettered hearts is borderline imbecilic, yet we waste our money and dental health, buying them up by the millions. What is your love worth?

While some choose to find perfection wherever they can, others settle for less, idolizing the fallacy that true love exists and they are in the midst of it. The cliché that “ignorance is bliss,” can adequately describe at least half of the relationships in existence today. The rationalization that you let your partner get away with lying, infidelity and other sinful activity based upon the fact that you love them and “love conquers all” is a blissfully unaware delusion, and a good example of one-sided love.

Hardened, callous individuals often reject the slightest notion of love, while gushy, love-seeking teenagers desperately obsess over finding it immediately, which usually ends in a less-than-desirable situation. If there are over seven billion people in the world, and there’s only one “true love” out there for each individual, the chances of finding that person are astronomically low. Some people may devote all of their time, money, sweat and tears in the search and still come up empty handed. People buy expensive vehicles and houses, they go as far as buying drugs and alcohol, and they give their social security numbers away on dozens of websites created to find your “perfect match.” Nobody is perfect. If true love existed then two people wouldn’t care about each other’s flaws, they wouldn’t necessarily care about common interests or similarities, they would simply exist to care for each other, unwavering, until their time was up.

The play “Romeo and Juliet,” by William Shakespeare was based on star-crossed lovers from rival families who found each other and died for each other… this is the concept we’ve impressed on our society, that true love is worth dying for. But if true love existed, one partner would want the other to go on living even after their death-to think that they would commit suicide because the other did is simply selfish. However, if two star crossed lovers from rival families can come together, how about two star crossed lovers from different social classes? You rarely hear of real life stories of a janitor marrying an heiress do you? Because of the stratification between classes, finding similarities between one another may be difficult. Sure, there can be a physical attraction, but that only takes the love boat so far; to find a permanent dock here is a rare occurrence. So if the chance of finding true love is one in seven billion, and we rule out all the social classes other than that specific person’s, you’re eliminating at least seventy five percent of the possibilities around the world.

Consider life in the 1950’s; why is the concept of soulmates so much more important now than it was back then? Because people were realists. They were willing to settle for the girl with the prettiest bow or the guy with the sharpest moves at the local barn dance. They came together and took their wedding vows seriously-in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, in good times and bad-they stuck together like glue, they didn’t run off with the pool-boy with the nice posterior or the secretary with a bountiful bosom, with the exception of unusual cases. There was no eternal search for the greener grass on the other side of the fence. People today can barely commit to a monogamous relationship, they prefer polyamorous, which some may consider an eloquent way of saying they want to whore themselves out all over town. Back then, your soulmate was who you cared about the most, you didn’t have to search through seven billion people to find them-they just stood out in the crowd more than the rest. Back then, the criteria for true love was who could provide for a family, not who could spoil you with the richest calories and prettiest petals money could buy. Yet somehow, in the modern era, we have put a price on love.

It is rather difficult to write an essay like this with an unbiased opinion without seeming jaded or spiteful. We are all in search of Sehnsucht (roughly translated as “a pleasurable yearning for some utopian thing or place” (Tokumitsu, “In the Name of Love”). Personally I’ve been repeatedly assaulted almost my entire life with the idea that there is one person who I was meant to be with somewhere out there. And yes, I am fairly jaded, but also exceptionally observant when the plane of true love crashes down into a smoky mass of melted metal and crumpled plastic strollers. When I believed I was in love, and it was true, the radio caused a foot-tapping, smile-starting sensation that inspired goosebumps on every facet. When tragedy struck, the frequencies haunted me, and I found my fingers flicking presets to isolate a few notes that didn’t force my heart into my throat and bugs in my eyes. Tokumitsu goes on to say, “You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do” (“In the Name of Love”). So what if you don’t love what you do, but force yourself into copulation because you believe it will force the lump out of your throat? Many people believe the quickest way to get over someone is to get under someone else, and this cliché is responsible for many undesirable situations; it can force one sided love into matrimony with one broken contraceptive, it can force people to do ghastly things with their bodies to move on, or get over the fact that their “true love” ran off with their best friend. Some days you are searching the summit for a higher point with none in sight, others you are tapping relentlessly at a keyboard, hoping the strokes will bring them back to the place where you once threw flowers from overhead to brighten their studies.

And for those with a poetic air swirling about them, this doth proveth that true love is impressed upon thee from the remote reaches of thy kingdom, with heart in sleeve and love on lips:

“Two of the faintest stars in all the heaven,

Having some business, do entreat her eyes

To twinkle in their spheres till they return.

What if her eyes were there, they in her head?

The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars

As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven

Would through the airy region stream so bright

That birds would sing and think it were not night.

See how she leans her cheek upon her hand!

O that I were a glove upon that hand

That I might touch that cheek!”

……

“Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father and refuse they name,

Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,

And I’ll no longer be a Capulet” (Shakespeare/Hankins, pg. 45).

So let me get this straight… Romeo briefly meets Juliet at a party then decides to go wait outside her window, spies on her and wishes he was something she was touching? Creepy! Then Juliet decides that if Romeo denounces himself from his family or she leaves hers they can be together? I suppose that’s what makes this story a tragedy, the fact that something must be sacrificed for true love, but in the end everybody commits suicide in the name of it. The modern day reality? Sorry honey, the contemporary Romeo decided it was easier to fornicate with his main squeeze down the block; it was easier for him to assuage the woman of cavalier attitude than to chase the dream of forbidden star-struck love. In his prowler-style brain you may be his “main,” perhaps you’re the exception to his adulterous rules, but he is still with someone else. The brief glimpses you shared at the ball did nothing to waver his bigamous intent. One day he may be willing to die for you but somewhere on the other side of town Mary will be concerned the next day when Romeo doesn’t show up for his morning fellatio. Sound vulgar? Welcome to love- the driving force for many cultures-sometimes even greater than money or power. You ever been “snipe hunting?” “Friends” drive you out into the woods in search of a mythical creature (that simply does not exist), then desert you in the darkness, where you sit and wait until a sense of abandonment creeps in. This epitomizes a lot of the relationships in modern society. Waiting around for something good until you grow impatient and realize everything you believed in was a lie.

Not every example of love, or true love, is as depressing as this essay may make you believe. For example, scientists uncovered two skeletons in Leicester, England who were buried together and apparently holding hands. Although this article makes a lot of inferences, the idea that two people died with each other in each other’s arms seems to be the epitome of true love. In a vast world wide web, corrupt with gossip of celebrity divorces and opinionated arguments, there are a few examples of truly compassionate devotion. Vicki Score, a University of Leicester archaeologist even claimed they, “have seen similar skeletons before from Leicester where a couple have been buried together” (Keller, Mic.com). Also, if we turn to the animal world,

Carl Zimmer claims, “Less than 5% of mammal species live monogamously, with males and females staying together beyond mating, and fathers helping mothers care for babies. We humans aren’t the most monogamous species of the bunch, but we’re closer to that end of the spectrum than the other end, where mating is little more than ships bumping into each other in the night,” and the author goes on to explain that, “It seems that for prairie voles, love is a drug. When male prairie vole mate, their brains release a chemical called vasopressin (National Geographic.com).” There are many examples of monogamy in the animal world, like wolves, Gibbons, swans, black vultures, French Angelfish, and Albatrosses just to name a few. So if true love and monogamy can exist in the animal world, why can’t it exist for humans? We are, after all, animals; some more than others.

The ideology of true love has been commercialized by musicians, corporations and authors to bleed your checkbook dry. Love undoubtedly exists in several forms but the American public could benefit by disregarding this fatuous myth that star-crossed lovers exist, particularly the starry eyed younger heterosexual couples that corporations love to bombard with this sort of propaganda. My suggestion? Don’t let yourself be affected by the hype, and most importantly, embrace the cliché of following your heart, not your wallet. The greatest love you can find may not be at the expense of your checkbook, after all, (to toss in another cliché) it’s the thought that counts. The next time a love-struck holiday comes around, or an anniversary or even a wedding proposal, don’t buy into it-make your feelings count, not your pennies. If your spouse, partner, or even your pet truly loves you, the best proof of this is time spent together, not money. Don’t spend your whole life gazing at the greener grass on the other side of the fence when the blades on your side only need a little time, upkeep, and maybe a sprinkle of fertilizer (I realize that this is a rather gross analogy of sprinkling a certain something to provide necessary sustenance, just keep your minds out of the gutter!). My mother always told me to do whatever made me happy. The irony is, while I was writing this paper, I told her I met someone new, someone who was almost unbearably sweet to me. She responded with “maybe it was meant to be.” I had a good chuckle, then realized how much I love my family, and how lucky I truly am. Sure, we may not be the embodiment of a textbook household, but we deeply care for each other. So instead of walking into the leg hold trap greedy corporations set in your search for true love, take a moment and reflect on your life. Is being star-struck really that important? Or is caring for those you do love held in higher regard?

Works Cited

Elvis Presley. Heartbreak Hotel. RCA Victor, 1956. MP3.

Foss, Sonja K. Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and Practice. Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2009. Print

Gotye, and Kimbra. Somebody I Used to Know. Gotye. Samples 'n' Seconds, 2011. MP3.

Johnny Cash. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry. Columbia Nashville Legacy, 1958. MP3.

Keller, Jared. "Archaeologists Just Discovered the Proof That True Love Really Exists." World Mic. N.p., 17 Sept. 2014. Web. 01 Oct. 2015

Maroon 5. Sugar. Interscope Records, 2015. MP3.

Shakespeare, William, and John Erskine Hankins. "Act II, Scene II." The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. New York: Scholastic Book Services, 1969. 45. Print.

Shelton, Blake. "God Gave Me You" Blake Shelton. Warner Bros., 2011. CD. From the Album "Red River Blue."

Slipknot. Snuff. Roadrunner Records, 2009. MP3.

Three Doors Down. Away From the Sun. Universal Records, 2002. MP3.

Tokumitsu, Miya. "In the Name of Love." Jacobin n.d.: n. page. Web. 2 Oct. 2015. <https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/01/in-the-name-of-love/>.

Zimmer, Carl. "Love Is A Virus." Phenomena Love Is A Virus Comments. National Geographic/Phenomena, 16 June 2004. Web. 02 Oct. 2015. <http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2004/06/16/love-is-a-virus/>.

Update:

They say the search for love is blind, that if you look for it love will pass you by. In my first semester at CSU, a philosophy professor loosely defined love as something you seek but can never attain. They also say you should stick to your guns and be persistent and resilient. I have one question: Who the fuck are THEY? Why are we letting society define what will make us happy or not? If all is fair in love and war then why the fuck do we have rules for both?

The truth is it's not fair. Sometimes you have to be devious and underhanded to succeed, but is that really success? If a man fishes all day and catches one is he happier than a deckhand who throws his nets and catches 50 in a day? Certainly. But contemporary romance resorts to guerilla tactics, a war of attrition to burn every bridge before cutting the last string. We don't break up with people anymore, we break people. Why? If there are so many possibilities for love out there why do we cause others such torment instead of moving on?

Because its fucking hard to move on that's why. One day you spend every moment with a person, from dawn to dusk, from pillow to pillow; the next... you wake up staring at an impression in the pillow, the one lingering remnant that they even existed. You try to throw everything away or give it back, every little knick knack or scribbled library love note, but you can never get rid of it all... it's like the glitter of a relationship.

And you try to move on but you can't. Just like every other transition in America, there's a waiting period. It's a period where nobody wants to hang out with you for fear you're "on the rebound." It nips notions of relationships in the bud; you're lucky to even get a coffee date. Everyone has their guard up: they either don't want to be ridden hard and put away wet, don't want to go out with you because they like you and it would eliminate any possibility for a future relationship, they just plain don't like you, or they're already taken or interested in someone else. There's this fucking dating limbo we get stuck in after breakups. It's bullshit. We need to end the cycle.

It has taken me years of jealousy, forgiveness, acceptance, hatred, and a multitude of other emotions to get where i am today. I've been thinking alot recently and I think I know why so many relationships fail. Consider a monarchy: one person in power. In most relationships, there is a dominant person and a submissive person. We've been teeter-tottering like this for the last century at least. So this is the idea I've been toying with, although it is extremely controversial and I'm sure I'll be attacked for it: a tripod or table is much stronger and more stable than a bipod. Now I'm not condoning polygamy, because I don't necessarily believe in marriage; marriage in America has become more about tax write-offs than love. It's become about saving relationships, not strengthening them. If you don't believe me consider this: I used to dj weddings and was once hit on by a bride whose husband just returned from serving in Afghanistan.

Because that is the norm, that is what is expected. People wait for others, people put themselves through misery and torture because they think it will look good on Facebook. They have to capture every little fucking emotion to prove their existence. "I think, therefore I am," not, "I post to social media, therefore I am." But the rant on how technology has spoiled romance will have to wait for a later date.

Back to my primary point: when we invest so much in one person, and suddenly that person is gone, our world is upside down. We are fucked, we cry, we sob, we get depressed, and we spend lots of time alone. Why? Most likely an argument in which both parties were too passionate or stubborn to give up and make amends. There is no mediation, and if there is, it's done by a third wheel that is not really involved enough to give a valid opinion. If there were three or more, if one person disagrees with another, the third can mediate or take sides if necessary. I think most political science majors will agree that an oligarchy is much more stable than a monarchy. With an equal dispersion of power and influence, success is more likely.

So why hasn't this happened before (I'm sure it has, but I'm trying to distinguish between a tripod and polygamy)? Well until recently, the ability to be free and open about your sexuality was repressed. When I say a tripod, I don't mean the guy would have two girlfriends (or however you want to configure it with people of different sexes or the same sex), there is a lack of ownership and titles. A couple doesn't always have to mean two. I'm talking about a quid pro quo of caring, love, and even fidelity. Each party cares about each other equally, and shows their love in such a way.

So attack me if you want, this is just a hypothetical rant from a man who has been broken so many times by traditional relationships he's beginning to feel like Humpty Dumpty (which I just realized has an interesting interpretation if you have a mind residing in the gutter). I'm not trying to reform relationships, I'm not trying to force ideas on anyone or offend anybody. I'm just a man in search of happiness, that's why my mother taught me.

Regardless of what you think of my opinions I hope you, the reader, finds happiness, finds (whatever you define as) love, and finds someone (or several) you can grow old with. Even if it's just a number of feral neighborhood cats and whatever plants spring up naturally in your yard. :)

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49scribes-a · 8 years ago

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Cursed Castle Chatzy 2 [Archive]

Icarus is placing his portion of potatoes and mushrooms and such on a stick by the fire

Junior is still kind of being a pillow for Deak

Smolma hes just chilling in his corner

Deak is still using junior as a pillow while also avoiding interaction and speaking still :I

Lavi busying himself making food

Allen is humming and trying to lift this stick and impale a potato with his powers. They seem to be shaking in the air and keep missing each other. The stick even snapped in half. Allen eventually reached out and impaled it by hand.

Junior: omg Allen lol } Junior kind of half-asleep but also idly watching Allen try to magically impale potatoes Junior like wtf Allen why you gotta be all mysticy they're just potatoes Smolma hes making small shards of ice appearing near him

Allen wants to practice gdi. He's humlifting another potato and slowwwwlllyyy bringing the stick and potato together but he runs out of breath and they both drop to the ground as he gasps for breath.

Smolma hes practicing in case more of those monsters come

Icarus: (i read humlifting as humiliating and imagined a potato in a gimp suit getting whipped.....)

Junior nudges Deak a little Junior: Hige no }

Lavi humming quietly, he's fine with Allen practicing since he needs it as well as Alma Lavi: || w h y

Icarus: ((THATS WHAT ID LIKE TO KNOW))

Junior: gonna be honest I read it as "humiliating" too but I stopped those thoughts short xD } Junior bro look at the sideshow trying to magically skewer a potato Junior brooooooooo

Allen magically skewers the potato and it just. Turns to mashed potatoes. Both of them just press against the stick like a long potato ice cream bar with some potato peel sticking out. That works.

Junior snorts

Allen holds it over the fire this didn't look too bad

Icarus raises eyebrow but continues munching on his own unsalted skewer

Lavi writes in fire by Allen 'You tried' and gives the other an amused smile before looking back at the cooking food.

Junior isn't starch flammable...?

Smolma tummy growls real loudly Smolma falls over ded

Deak no Deak leave me alone smh

Allen his stick turned into a torch great. Looks dully at Lavi before trying to blow it out without success. Runs around waving his stick like stop burning plz

Lavi snaps fingers and puts the flame out for Allen

Junior bro don't be like that to your pillow its v rude

Deak shush pillow just shh Deak moves away though and just lays on something else then

Allen thinks he put the fire out and cautiously takes a lick. It's hot! Ow!

Junior is gonna just follow and use Deak as a pillow then Junior squish

Lavi: Food's ready. Lavi grabs a potato stick for Alma and peels it for the small one before going over to him.

Smolma he just gets up and follows where he heard lavi

Junior kinda wants to say he's not hungry but is actually starving otl

Smolma and he runs into lavi- Smolma: Oof-

Lavi grabs Alma's shoulder to keep him from falling over Lavi: Woah, there, gotcha

Smolma: Thank you!

Lavi takes Alma's hands and puts the potato on a stick there. Lavi: Careful you don't burn yourself when you bite it Lavi: Okay?

Smolma: Okay~

Smolma holds the potato and lets it cool Smolma doesn't want to freeze it by blowing on it

Lavi goes back to grab another two potatoes on a stick and goes over to his moody brothers that he still very much cares about even if they're not speaking to him. Lavi crouches down next to them. Lavi: Eat, you two.

Junior: ......................

Smolma feels round for allen so he can sit by someone

Junior takes the potato

Allen eats his potato popsicle that's the opposite of ice, really. All burnt and stuff.

Junior he can't remember the last time he ate tbh

Lavi: Deak.

Junior between being here now and the getting chased by asshole humans

Smolma cold hand finds allen! Allen !!!!!!???!!! Smolma sits by him

Allen didn't hear him coming lol

Junior nudges Deak in the ribs Junior you should eat bro

Smolma writes 'i was trying to find you!'

Allen sits down too Allen: Ooo 'cared me! *he chuckles*

Smolma 'Sorry'

Junior just gonna take that second potato Junior and wave it under Deak's nose tbh

Lavi sighs and moves on to get himself his own food to eat as well

Allen: S'okay. Allen nibbles around stick

Smolma starts eating his potato

Lavi slowly starts to eat his potato after a quick glance around to make sure everyone's eating.

Deak takes the potato thank u

Junior lets the potato cool and then starts eating it once its not ready to scorch him from the inside out

Deak juggles the potato

Allen chews on the stick tbh it wasn't very tasty but he's hungry

Smolma finishes potato then plops cross allens lap

Junior ye its a pretty plain potato but whatever he hasn't eaten in days

Allen ice pack on his legs felt nice. They were walking for a while. He reaches out for Alma's hair and tries to mess with it. Smolma Allen's lucky he loves it when his hair gets played with Lavi finishes eating his potato and just scoots over so he's sitting by Alma and Allen

Junior finishes eating his potato Junior gets up to stre-- aaaaaah fuck its really hard to get up from the ground when your tail bone hurts fuc--

Smolma Almas slowly dozing off

Junior just grin and bear it Junior ow ow ow Smolma hair pets are the best

Junior hair pets ARE the best

Allen is gonna hair pet Alma's and his own worries away tbh

Junior don't get frostbite on ur fingers

Lavi knows that you're in pain even if you're trying to hide it, Junior

Junior is totally not you saw nothing

Smolma his hair ain't cold tho

Junior has been avoiding contact with the smol so doesn't really know where or when he is or is not cold Junior isn't very fond of the cold honestly

Icarus is gonna go doze after eating his food

Deak stops juggling the potato

Smolma he can't control how cold he is without sight to know if hes cold

Lavi reaches over and pets the small one's hair a bit.

Smolma its warmmmm

Allen starts braiding Alma's hair.

Junior are you gonna actually eat that potato Deak or just juggle it

Deak i was planning on just juggling it tbh im not hungry Deak would you like it

Junior how are you not hungry Junior have you been holding out on us on food Junior have you been sneaking food and not sharing

Deak what no im just Deak not hungry

Junior squints

Smolma 'have I made your legs too cold?"

Lavi squinting at Deak

Junior: you should hold onto that for when you are Junior: No telling when we'll find anything edible again in this place

Deak shrugs

Allen: no...

Deak continues to juggle the potato then

Allen can't feel his legs anymore

Junior: RIP Allen }

Smolma: Lavi is he lying....

Junior is gonna go investigate the open gate then Junior you coming?

Smolma misses being able to lay on peeps without making them cold

Lavi: He's lying

Smolma but sits up and hugs his knees

Allen casually rubs feeling back into his legs

Lavi: You can lean on my legs, Alma

Deak gets up to follow junior

Lavi reaches over to rub some warmth back into Allen's legs Lavi: Oh...

Junior idly hums and heads to the open gate for a look-see for what's waiting for them on the other side

Smolma plops cross lavi's lap

Lavi: Actually, we should continue on, we won't get out of here by just sitting around-- Lavi stands up and picks up the small on with him

Smolma tilts head curiously but nods

Lavi 'Allen, c'mon, we should keep moving'

Smolma: Mh, okay

Allen It's kinda weird to have someone else rub his legs, but Allen's accepted the help. He stands up at the message and shakes out his legs.

Icarus was ready for a nap tbh, but gets up to follow

Junior stepping through the open gates and looking around

Smolma lays against lavis chest

Lavi follows after Junior and Deak

Allen follows Lavi

-- -- through the open gates is another, narrower courtyard. Ahead is another large gate, this one near-identical, but closed. On either side looks to be a stone crypt with a dark, open doorway, and iron-wrought fence with spikes along the top. Past the fence looks to be a grassy graveyard, on both sides. In the very center, a black statue, this one looking skeletal, but the bones are a big mangled looking and the face looks like a dog's skull. -- -- a very big dog skull

Smolma puppy!

Junior you have strange taste in "puppies" Junior tilts his head and circles around it a bit at a distance

Icarus: Looks happy to see us. We should go pet it.

Smolma since he feels better, his body feels warmer

Junior: Then go pet it

Smolma: What looks happy to see us?

Junior: Maybe it'll wag its tail at ya Junior: Roll over and let you scratch its tummy

Smolma: ????

Lavi describes to Alma what the statue looks like, it's definitely not happy to see us.

Deak casually kinda gets a bit closer to it

Lavi swear to fuck, Deak, if you get in trouble

Smolma shivers because it sounds creepy

-- -- oh woops now that everyone's through the gates, they're closing behind you

Deak: .................

Lavi looks behind the at the closing gate

Smolma: ...... Smolma: G-good thing we all left?

Deak oh well just gonna kinda slowly move closer to the statue

Icarus only one way out and its probably forward anyway

Smolma does not want to get separated

-- -- there's a bit of a cracking sound

Lavi tenses

-- -- the statue moves a bit and then its eyes light up

Lavi: Deak, move away from it

Junior just grabs Deak and yanks him back a few paces

Lavi: Move away from it right now

Allen: Gonna... figh'... a cer. ber. us?

Smolma perks up as he tenses up

Deak jhggh Deak rude af

-- -- shadows form around it and the skeleton rips itself free from its pedestal mounting and snarls

Lavi to Allen 'let's not jinx it'

Junior um excuse u I'm saving your life

Allen smirks nervously

-- -- its a very big wolfish shadow on two legs

Smolma he heard growls

-- -- have fun

Lavi: .......

Smolma getts down from lavi

Icarus: (the furry it cometh))

Lavi lets Alma get down

Icarus: Maybe it wants to play, anyone got a stick? Icarus is wishing it hadnt left his at the fire

-- -- howls loudly and lunges towards the closest person(s)

Deak waIT I STILL CANT FIGHT SO Deak rUN A WAA AAAY

Icarus is furthest away of course....

Lavi BLASTS THE SHADOW WITH A HUGE FIRE BALL

Smolma judging on the sounds HAS SPIKES STAB UP AT THE MONSTER

Lavi bETTER NOT FUCKING ATTACK HIS BROTHERS

Allen takes deep breaths, ready to use his magic to push it away if worst came to worse. He didn't want to hurt anyone's ears. He's a bit in the back, by Icarus

-- -- howls and staggers a little but instead just turns and lunges towards Lavi now barely slowing

Junior was kind of following Deak but is also looking around for a weapon of some kind fuck fuck fuck

Lavi kind of facing the consequences of using his powers because his hands really hurt but he still shoots another fire ball while dodging

Icarus decides to make himself useful by rushng in to jump ontop of the furry to...idk...poke its eyes??

-- -- fireball just kind of staggers it and slashes at Lavi with a snarl

Smolma heres a new idea

Junior there's a... um... a... brick?

Smolma an ice spear appears in his hands

Deak thrOW IT

-- -- howls and shakes itself violently when Icarus leaps onto it

Smolma then HE THROWS IT AT THE MONSTER

Junior thROWS THE FUCKING BRICK

Allen sees the bricks flying and lets out a shout to make the brick go faster

-- -- gets hit with a brick and shakes ow did you really just throw a fucking brick bitch ur next

Lavi throws a mini fire ball grenade into the shadow's mouth

Allen hopefully it doesn't hit Icarus lol

Smolma did... did he miss?

Icarus is trying to poke the monster in the eyes..if it actually has them..at the least hes getting in the way of it seeing

Deak hey good job @ junior & brick

-- -- shakes off the fire and flips around to its back to attack Icarus with claws and fangs both

Lavi: You didn't miss, Alma, it just didn't really feel it

-- -- nah sorry its eyes are pretty much just like little fires or w/e -- -- clamps down on a limb

Lavi doubles over, clutching his hands to his chest because that really burns

Junior oh look another brick

Lavi yells directions to Alma SO HE CAN IMPALE THAT WOLF

Junior motions to Allen to do the sound thing again when he throws it and then just fucking hurls it

Icarus tries nt to scream, winds up saying ouch really loud

Allen oh no, uh, he does the sound thing Allen tries to shout louder this time to accelerate that bit-I mean brick faster

Smolma this could be dangerous but its needed Smolma 'keep it distracted for a bit allen!'

-- -- staggers a little from that hit ow that hit fucking hard but nah just gonna kinda shake its head and try to take that limb off that limb belongs to it now you can't keep it

Lavi buRNS THE SHADOW'S FACE

Smolma then he begins to make ice lotuses starts to appear all around

-- -- scREECHES AND LET'S GO -- -- okay, just gonna take one of YOUR limbs then

Junior ohshit

Lavi try and get it, bitch

Smolma once theres enough the petals breaks apart and fly towards the sound

-- -- leaps straight for Lavi

Allen picks up another brick himself and throws it with a shout-acceleration

Lavi FUCKING DODGES OUT OF THE WAY AS FAST AS HE CAN

Junior fuck throwing, just gonna pick up a brick and chase that bitch down tbh

Deak stays away bc he'd just be in the way

-- -- twists around and snags his leg

Deak is smart

Smolma sharp shards begin to stab said beast

-- -- just gonna YANK and pounce on top of him

Lavi shouts in pain as he falls Lavi thinking 'I'm gonna regret this' as his hands begin to glow

Junior jumps on top of that fucking thing and just tries to cave its stupid black skull in with the brick

Allen runs back and forth trying to find an opening, carrying another brick.

-- -- keens as ice shards impale in its ribs and mc-Jerk-Face here rams a BRICK into its skull

Lavi shoots a fire blast from his hands at the monster.

Allen gonna be merciless and throws a yell-amplified brick at one of the side of the ribs

Smolma since the petals found the monster Smolma they gonna keep slashing him

Junior keeps bashing that brick into its stupid skull

Icarus is glad to have his limb back but is going to try to keep jumping in the monsters face then leaping away using his wings, playing keep away and dodgeball all at once! Icarus since, you know, he left his stick and only actual weapon apparantly

-- -- ow, ow, ow, fucke--

Icarus can kick it too though, and he does.

-- -- shakes the fire off and just twists around to snap onto Junior's arm

Icarus inthe face

-- -- your limb will suffice

Lavi: MOTHERFUCK--

Smolma all that ice stabs the monster at once

Junior oWWWWW

Lavi ANOTHER FIRE BLAST AT THE MONSTER Lavi screams in both anger and pain

Junior just Junior SLAMS THAT FUCKING BRICK INTO ITS JAW HINGE

-- -- jaw hinge fucking bREAKS EXCUSE U ASSHOLE

Allen runs to get more freggin bricks to throw at this thing and then keeps throwing them

Icarus kicks it in the same jaw that just broke

Junior rips his arm free and scrambles back

Smolma tries to find the monster with his hands out stretched to freeze him

-- -- jaw snaps off okay fuck you

Allen with a side dish a sound telepathy of course, hopefully it doesn't hit anyone as Allen is forced to git gud quick.

Lavi has to stop using his fires because the pain is too much right now.

-- -- ow, ow, ow, more -- -- fucking -- -- bricks

Smolma guide the smol lavi

Lavi tells the small one the shadow's location

Smolma runs to said monster and freezes part of him

-- -- okay now cannot move b/c there's ice wtf

Smolma ‘hit those parts with the bricks!’

-- -- is struggling and howling

Smolma finds its face tho and uses ice knife to stab em

-- -- keens and slashes at the smol -- -- motherfuck-- -- -- you're all so VIOLENT

Allen gonna throw some SOUND PAIN TIME brICKS AT THE ICE THEN

Junior just fucking kicks one of its frozen legs and snaps it tbh

-- -- screams and the lights of its eyes go out -- -- goes limp

Smolma barely manages to throw self out of way of slashes Smolma no more getting his wounds burned shut pls

Lavi: .....Is it dead...

Smolma thnk Smolma: G-good.....

-- -- it ded

Smolma feels round for lavi Smolma his cold will help him!

Icarus: Sorry ol yeller~ Icarus not sorry at all

Allen throws a couple more bricks at it for good measure tbh

Lavi heavy pained breathing and he passed out.

Smolma trips over lavi Smolma found em!

Junior just gonna collapse for a moment and regain his bre-- Junior oh shit Lavi

Smolma sits up Smolma makes light frost cover lavis chest to cool him down

Lavi pained breathing eases up some

Junior crawls over to Lavi, kinda hard with one arm bleeding but w/e, standing back up hurts too Smolma freezes some of lavis arms too Allen coughs a bit and runs over to Smolma and Lavi.

Nea hey there junior how you doing pal

Junior: Lavi! Junior ...w h a t

Nea is just gonna casually borrow this body of your's if you don't mind.

Lavi still out cold but his breathing is a lot less ragged

Junior I reiterate:

Nea what did you DO to this thing holy shit.

Junior what

Icarus is trying not to showhispain, it's still coming through as a grimace as he looks at his bloody arm

Smolma non the wiser smol working on cooling lavi down

Junior who--

Icarus: (the casual body snatcher)

Lavi: || Deak's totally not worried for his two older bros

Icarus: (this should be some sort of mini series of books tbh)

Lavi: || best body snatcher

Nea blinks in Junior's body before shaking his head and looking over at the dead creature

Junior: lolwut }

Nea: || he's just. casual.

Deak: ur rite hes not ]

Deak: he's casually just juggling his potato again ]

Lavi: || w o w

Allen waves weakly with his hands at Lavi like a fan thank goodness Alma was there

Junior: Junior: Let a guy use you as a pillow and this is what he does with it }

Lavi groans as he starts to come to Smolma the groan makes him squeak

Deak: shrUGS ]

Nea: || something like thaT Nea whistles impressed

Deak: is not a fighter ]

Smolma then hugs!

Nea: You guys reeallly did a number on that thing.

Smolma: You're okay!!

Junior: Junior: isn't either but still managed to find a brick smh }

Icarus: 'you guys?'

Lavi makes a quiet 'ow' and pats the small one's head

Icarus: ?

Smolma: .... Junior, you helped?

Lavi: Thanks...

Smolma junior has confused him while hugging lavi Smolma: You're welcome

Icarus is distrcted from his pain by the odd sentence

Nea: You guys-- This guy, too

Junior they did do a number on it, didn't they?

Lavi looks Junior and immediately tenses

Junior they should be proud

Nea pats Junior's chest. his own chest. w/e

Smolma: .... you're talking funny

Deak ???????

Smolma: Junior...?

Junior also who the fuck let you in here

Lavi: Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my brother's body.

Nea: What kind of name is Junior?

Allen looks at Junior why was everyone looks at em strangely?

Nea I invited myself

Smolma noticed lavis tense

Nea don't be rude?

Icarus is warier than usual of most people, his feathers are all poofy like a scared cat

Junior clEARLY

Smolma: Whats going on?

Deak: D'ya kill 'im when you took 'im over?

Icarus: What brings you to the party?

Nea gets up on his feet

Junior have fun with that hurting tail bone lol Junior also that arm

Icarus doesngt know the person, isnt sure whats going on, but its best to assume a ghost has posessed someone, cause whynot at this point

Lavi: Someone possessed my brother

Nea ooooh everything hurts

Smolma: Oh-

Lavi: And he better not be dead

Nea: He's not dead Nea rolls his eyes Nea err. eye?

Lavi: Good

Junior eyes

Nea: You guys are quick, though

Junior just can't see one of them

Smolma: ...... Who are you?

Nea eyes.

Lavi not that Nea would know with the eye patch on.

Smolma literally can't see

Allen lmao he has no idea what's going on

Junior oh woops no one's supposed to know that haha

Nea: Nea. And I wanted THAT body Nea points at the beast Nea: But you all had to rip it to shreds

Lavi: Nea, a girl's name.

Smolma: .... oh Smolma: Whoops

Deak good job junior

Nea: So now I'm-- Nea: ........

Lavi: And you gripe about Junior.

Nea if my everything didn't hurt I would STEP on you, boy.

Smolma plops carefully on lavi

Icarus kinky

Lavi even if it's my brother's body, I'll slap you and apologize to him.

Deak irritated looking back elsewhere

Nea ew

Junior Junior is a perfectly valid name you hijacker

Nea: AS I WAS SAYING

Deak: 'Course y'take the only person I cared to talk with.

Junior excuse u Lavi do not ruin my perfect face

Deak: Fuckin' lame.

Nea: Now I'm stuck in... What is this, a pirate?

Lavi I wouldn't ruin it.

Smolma: Hes a pirate?

Lavi: Everyone always calls us pirates, We're not.

Smolma: Ohhh

Deak: Definitely pirates.

Nea I'm wearing a pirate

Smolma: Why do they call you pirates?

Junior that's really fucking creepy man

Lavi throws his hands up, whatever, guess we're pirates for today.

Junior get out

Smolma confused smol noises

Lavi: Alma, can you make a small cube of ice really quick for me?

Allen: mmh???

Nea I mean I can but I'll just jump in one of the others

Smolma: Mhm!

Nea are those your brothers??? Nea one of them could work

Smolma: Where?

Allen confused snowball noises

Junior good go jump inside the--

Lavi: In my hand.

Junior no not them Junior go for the Chickenstub

Nea the what

Smolma nods before holding lavis hand

Icarus excuse you? dont touch me

Nea did you just sneeze?

Junior the Chickenstub Junior the winged guy

Lavi if he wants to possess someone then he can go for me

Smolma then makes an ice cube in his hand

Junior the guy with the mangled wings

Icarus ....kinky

Lavi: Thanks, Alma Lavi: Allen, here.

Smolma writes 'junior got possessed by a ghosty goo'

Icarus posess flambo instead, I bet he's begging for it by now

Lavi hands him the ice cube, 'eat that and hydrate a bit and it'll do your throat some good.'

Smolma 'the ghosty goo's named Nea'

Allen nods and takes the ice cube. Allen: 'hank ooo.

Nea please, everyone, there's enough possession to go around

Allen put ice cube into his mouth

Icarus God no, there's more of you?

Nea: Is there anyone here that ISN'T in excruciating pain?

Junior haha that's funny Junior ...............

Smolma him but he can't see at all

Deak: Nope, I think we're all extremely in pain.

Junior oh wait there is one isn't there Junior not gonna say who tho

Nea don't you want me out of here??

Junior Like I said, try the Chickenstub

Nea fine Nea HEY ICARUS, MAKE ROOM

Smolma lays on lavi chest Smolma ultimate ice cubeeeee

Icarus you touch me and I swear to god Icarus not having nnone of that shit right now

Nea I'm not a physical entity right now so I can't ACTUALLY touch you

Lavi stands up carefully with Allen in his arms, he's feeling a lot better now that his arms are cooled down again

Junior go for it, he'd probably secretly be into it anyway

Icarus I feel like you can touch my mind, nd that's as close to rape by a ghost as I don't want to be Icarus you aint gotta kinkshame me like this

Smolma: alma not allen??))

Junior: Nah I bet they secretly eloped or something while everyone was distracted by Junior } Junior: Imeanwhat }

Smolma just lets his lil body be superrrr cold

Lavi: || yeah my bad

Deak: Does it hurt to be possessed by you?

Nea: How should I know? Nea: I've never been possessed by me.

Deak: Well, I would assume you understood how your own possessions worked.

Smolma ......

Lavi sighs

Nea: I'd say it hurts me more than any of you

Deak: That's terrible, I'm sorry.

Icarus: What do you want, anyway?

Allen crunchy crunchy ice at least he can feel the vibrations. It felt good on his ears.

Lavi adjusts his hold on Alma

Deak: Can you not permanently host with someone to avoid it?

Smolma nuzzles lavi Smolma he warm

Deak: Or do they just kick you out after a while?

Junior either pay me rent or gtfo

Smolma then pokes possessed junior to make nea cold

Junior: Its funny tho b/c } Junior: Junior was like "possess Icarus so I won't feel bad when I punch him in the fucking face for possessing me" xD }

Allen hums experimentally

Nea hey alma how you doing Junior fINALLY Junior ooooh... feelin' a little dizzy now that he's back haha

Lavi: You okay, Junior?

Nea I hope you can orient yourself fast enough that you dont fall down junior lmao

Lavi reaches out to grab Junior's arm and steady him

Junior um was sort of bleeding everywhere from his arm while he was possessed so--

Nea wait this kid can't fucking see holy shit

Junior: ....oh yeah, I feel just peachy...

Deak gOOD JOB LOL

Lavi I know all that, junior, just making sure you're alright after being possessed

Deak: Peachy is good. Deak: We should figure out where to go next since you're all alright.

Nea keeps turning Alma's head as though that'll fix things???

Lavi: Alma?

Junior going down

Lavi: Shi-- Lavi grabs Junior's arm Lavi the GOOD ARM

Deak casually walking around to look around

Junior: ...just gonna... si'down for a moment

Nea: What happened to this kid's EYES

Deak: Torture, probably?

Allen sits down. Are they talking? Okay he'll rest right now.

Lavi startles because, wow, that is not Alma's voice Lavi: Some asshole humans carved symbols over his eyes Lavi: They carved something on all of us

Junior: ...mhm... Junior well didn't actually get anything carved into... more like something carved off haha Junior RIP tail

Nea: Well I know that Nea: I just didn't think they'd go straight for the eyes... Nea prods his face

Junior sitting kinda hurts now that tails are mentioned so he's just gonna lay down instead

Lavi: Stop that Lavi swats Alma/Nea's hand away from their face

Nea jumps a little

Smolma ...... starts freezing himself

Nea: Who did that? Nea whoa whoa whoa

Deak rip nea

Nea: What are you doing, kid

Lavi: Get out of his body, you're scaring him.

Nea: This is the only one that isn't totally messed up!

Smolma keeps freezin Smolma enjoy the cold neabitch

Lavi not feelin' the cold really.

Nea actually really hates the cold Nea abort abort

Smolma cant breath but keeps goin

Nea jumps to Lavi because he's the closest and trying to find someone else while blind is Too Hard

Lavi !!!

Smolma suddenly unfreezes and falls on lavi

Nea oh this is nice and toasty.

Lavi you're lucky I can't burn myself since I want to protect my brothers and that requires me to live

Nea: Alright, now that THAT'S over with

Smolma takes deep breaths

Lavi oh god, this feels weird

Deak is disappointed but just gonna ignore u all instead

Smolma: St-stay... O-out.... mh body... Smolma jump into deak

Deak w hat Deak w hy

Nea maybe after I warm up a bit

Smolma hes not messed up

Deak fuck off alma

Lavi where the hell did you leave your body?

Deak fuckin brat

Smolma nah

Nea just sort of removes this frosty child from his new 'outfit' Nea I don't really remember actually

Smolma nottt a good idea nea Smolma lavi was covered in burns

Nea why n-- oh Nea grabs the frosty child again

Smolma feels round for allen-

Lavi they've cooled down a lot thanks to Alma

Smolma op. hes been grabbed

Lavi hey, be nice to the kid

Nea: You guys might've shredded that thing, but it sure fucked you all up in return.

Smolma: So.... whys mister ghost possessing us?

Lavi well you could've done something instead of waitin' for so long.

Smolma: Are you a ghost with no body?

Nea like what buddy. jump in the big monster while you all tore it up. sounds fun. Nea: I'm not a ghost.

Smolma: You aren't?

Deak walks up to the closed gate to observe it casually

Lavi you could've jumped into it and got the fuck out of there Lavi or, I dunno, attempted speech?

Nea: No. I was brought here like the rest of you. Nea gestures vaguely to the group

Smolma: oh-....

Nea Do you ever shut up? Nea: How long have you all been here?

Smolma feels a bit bad for freezing nea now Smolma: Donnu Smolma pokes allen and writes 'How long have we been here?'

Junior: ...hard t' say but maybe half a day? Junior: Maybe a day?

Smolma: Um, sorry for freezing you.... my ice kinda goes out a whack a bit when i'm scared

Junior: ....it was a bit dark in that dome to be watching the passage of time

Nea: Not that long, then...

Lavi hums a merry tune

Nea looks at Alma

Lavi loudly

Nea is that elevator music?? just for me?

Smolma scratches his cheek sheepishly

Junior: 'said you were brought here like us. How long have you been here?

Lavi I don't like you enough for elevator music

Smolma it just you

Lavi but I appreciate your humor.

Nea: Don't worry about it, kid. I've had worse reactions. Nea turns back to junior

Smolma that gets a smile!

Nea: A while. It's kind of hard to keep track

Junior: Y'know the way outta here then? Junior hopeful

Nea laugHS Nea: If I did do you think I'd still be here?

Junior okay so that's a no

Smolma holdin onto Nea/Lavi

Junior: Hell if I know why you're still here. Maybe you like it here.

Nea annnd he's not laughing anymore

Junior is kind of salty his brother is being possessed tbh

Nea: Are you serious? I haven't stopped looking since I got here.

Junior: .......

Smolma: Well, do you have a body somewhere safe? Mister.....

Junior: He said his name was Nea

Smolma: Oh! Nea

Nea nods Nea: Somewhere Nea: It's easy to get turned around in this place

Smolma: Do you know where?

Junior: Maybe you're just not good at navigation

Deak snickers

Nea frowns Nea I don't like your friends, dude

Junior is actually his identical brother not his friend and you get one you're stuck with all three kthnx

Nea: I lost track of it a couple days ago

Smolma only the one you’re possession has been my friend so far Smolma and allen Smolma: ...... Smolma: How does one do that?

Nea: It's easier just to hop around those creatures

Junior: He's probably bad at navigation

Smolma giggles

Deak: True.

Nea: Oh, shut up

Junior has been tying up his arm with his scarf while he talks Junior its not perfect but better than nothing Junior gonna need a new scarf tho

Smolma would offer to freeze the wound Smolma but doesn't know if it'd help

Junior does not want his wounds frozen and/or burned thank

Deak: cauterize it.

Junior both suck Junior: Nah

Smolma: ... Can i help in any way?

Junior: I'm fine

Deak: You're bleeding, don't be stupid.

Smolma just nods and rests on nea/lavi

Junior: Just a little~

Deak: Have Nea cauterize it.

Junior: HELL no

Nea blinks Nea looks himself over Nea I can cauterize, huh

Smolma you'll need ne afterwards nea

Junior: He probably couldn't even hit the broad side of a barn, I ain't trustin' him with it

Deak: He doesn't seem harmful.

Nea: Hey Nea: I'm standing right here, you know

Smolma: Making him angry won't help

Lavi you talking to me?

Junior: That's not the point, and yes I know you're standing right there Junior: Watch where you aim-- Junior wordless motioning

Smolma gets down so nea can aim

Junior: anything

Nea wow they're seriously gonna let me do this huh

Smolma just sits

Junior: In fact, just don't

Lavi and if you decide to use my powers, I suggest not using it since the symbols they carved on my arms make it so they feel like they're burning after I use my powers.

Deak: Or just switch bodies again and let Lavi do it, whatever's easier.

Nea pain sounds like the opposite of I want

Nea: That's a great idea

Deak: Regardless of whatever option, cauterize it.

Junior: I don't need anything cauterized

Nea hops to Deak Nea you suggested it

Deak i dont really care, just dont hurt me and it's fine

Smolma sittin starts crawling to find allennnn

Deak cauterize it now since it's just lavi

Nea no worries there

Allen kind wandered off at this point. It's just a few feet but he's staring at the sky.

Nea why do all these redheads look the same

Smolma finds!!! allens foot!

Junior bc we're identical triplets duh

Deak we're triplets, of course

Smolma hugs his leg

Allen !!!!! COLD HANDS

Lavi give him a moment to orient himself

Deak junior already said that

Nea freaky

Smolma don't worry hes at a close to normal temprature rn Smolma since hes calm

Allen oh, cool hands then.

Smolma yeye

Deak its a natural occurence, so i don't see how

Lavi but as soon as he's good to go, he good to go, Lavi moves to Junior to cauterize his arm.

Nea you still don't see it that often

Allen: 'ello Alm.

Smolma hugging allens leggggg

Deak fair point

Smolma writes 'hi!'

Junior backs off and holds his hands up Junior: Nonononono no Junior: I'm fine

Deak stop bein' a bitch junior Deak goddamn

Nea: Just do it

Junior um excuse u Deak next time u can fight the shadow thing

Lavi: Just, bite your scarf...

Nea: It'll just slow everyone down later if you don't handle it now.

Deak i can't fight, so um no

Allen: wass goin on?

Nea foot tapping

Deak thank u nea for being more sensible than junior

Junior: We Junior: are Junior: not Junior: cauterizing

Deak j u n i o r

Lavi grabs Junior's arm carefully and brings his fingers over where the wounds are to start sealing them shut. He really doesn't wanna do this.

Smolma 'lavi's going to burn close juniors injured arm'

Lavi doesn't wanna hurt his brother with his power that he's always used to /protect/ them.

Allen nods.

Deak u guys are stupid jfc hurry up Deak its just cauterizing

Nea are they always like this

Junior just clenches his teeth to muffle a strangled cry of pain oW FUCK FUCK FUCK FUC--

Deak yes

Lavi Deak, i swear to fuck, you would be screaming if it were you

Allen: do you wan, t, to cooo ih down?

Lavi SO IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO COME OVER THERE, SHUT UP.

Deak yes, but i would understand it was for a good cause and let it happen

Allen: the woun.

Nea it's just common knowledge I mean if he bleeds out he's gonna die and if he got an infection we'd have to take the whole arm--

Junior squirming like crazy h o l y s h I t

Deak thats true

Lavi trying to seal them as quickly as possible.

Smolma 'when it's done

Allen: okay.

Lavi annnnnd he's done Lavi: Alma, can you come over here?

Smolma: Lavi? Can i help now?

Nea claps

Lavi: Yes

Smolma: Mhm!

Nea: Good job

Junior: Jesus Tapdancinfg fucKIng christ

Deak ..............

Smolma carefully stands and starts going over, blind

Lavi tells Alma the exact spot and height of where Deak's mouth is so he can put another ice band around his mouth to shut him up.

Smolma he does this

Nea exCUSE ME

Junior just waving his arm ow that fucking hurts ow fuck shit god damn son of a--

Smolma finds lavis hand

Nea WHAT IS THIS

Smolma: Where's juniors wound?

Lavi leads Alma to Junior and puts his hand on Junior's arm

Smolma it be ice

Junior: yoU'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE ALCOHOL FOR THIS FIRST YOU DICK

Deak you're a bitch lavi

Lavi: Right here

Allen just kinda sits on the dead beast nearby and watches

Smolma holds on before letting his hands get sups cold

Junior: I'M NOT DRUNKE NOUGH FOR THIS

Deak i fucking swear to every fucking god right now Deak and you fucking too alma like lol fuck off m8

Smolma then makes the arm cold but not too cold

Lavi You were both being unhelpful with the peanut gallery commentary.

Deak a n d? Deak you could have ignored us couldn't you? but nooooo you didnt Deak assholes, ugh

Lavi Be glad Nea hasn't left your body or else you'd be crying right about now

Nea I don't like this group anymore, I should just take my superior knowledge elsewhere

Deak fuck you

Lavi love you too, baby brother.

Junior winces okay the ice kind of helps but that all still fucking hurts

Deak and maybe if your superior knowledge helped with finding your body then you'd be free from this group Deak but it doesn't, so you aren’t

Smolma makes it a bit colder Smolma trying to control it

Allen if they iced Deak's mouth he must have really been saying some terrible things

Lavi watches Junior with worry.

Nea I mean I can just hop in the next shadow thing and vacate

Smolma snaps his fingers and the ice on deaks mouth disappears

Nea I'll find my meatsuit sooner or later

Deak you could Deak i dont care either way so Deak you do you, man

Lavi: You picked the most dramatic brother to reside in, Nea

Nea muffled grumbling

Smolma: Is this too cold junior?

Nea rubs his face. so cold.

Deak you should try and figure out how to get out of here while they're busy coddling one another, just saying

Junior: ....its fine

Allen rests his chin on his hands and closes his eyes, he kinda wanted to take a nap, maybe?

Nea thanks, captain obvious.

Junior um excuse u who was coddling who just a few hours ago Deak Junior remind me

Nea glances around the room.

Smolma: Um, should i leave frost on it so we can start moving> Smolma: ?

Deak shut up, arent you busy anyways

Junior sighs

Lavi squints at Deak

Deak oh, so NOW everyone wants to fucking move

Junior: Yeah... I'd like to get out of here

Smolma: It'll be harder to move, but you can still kinda move it

Deak whatever, im done talking anyways

Allen nearly falls off the beast and remembers that they were trying to get out of here. Yeah. No time for napping. He jumped off the beast and walked back to everyone.

Lavi Clearly.

Smolma nods before leaving a thin layer of frost on juniors arm

Junior: So which way we goin'? Looks like we got three options. Either... the gate ahead, assuming it'll move, or the crypt things on either side.

Smolma steps back and stands there cause he doesn't want to risk falling over something

Lavi picks Alma up and moves so that he can go towards the crypts.

Nea are you always this snappy, redhead #3

Lavi: Me and Alma will check out one of the crypts

Smolma lays on lavi

Deak yes.

Junior he is

Deak i have a very bad temper.

Junior we love him anyway

Lavi #1 most dramatic brother

Nea I like your brothers' heads better

Deak you can leave mine, i dont really care, like i said

Lavi with the most unhelpful or irritating commentary, yet I still fucking love him.

Nea: Alright, who wants to give me a lift, all this apathy is actually painful.

Junior: Deak giving you trouble? Junior grins

Deak see i dont think anyone does

Lavi: I'd let you hang with me, but you have to carry Alma.

Deak that's too bad isn't it

Junior good job little bro

Nea: I don't know how you put up with him

Junior: ......... Junior hums

Smolma: laviiii don't forget allen!

Nea jumps back to Lavi.

Allen rubs his own shoulders, especially around his neck.

Lavi: We grew up with him, plus I'm the one that mostly took care of them growing up. Don't know what the hell I did to---

Smolma dont leave his white haired friend

Nea: Oops

Lavi a little warning next time, yeah?

Smolma: Nea you need to hold allens hand

Nea Nah

Junior actually this might be good

Deak just kinda stands around for a second before continuing his walking to the crypt

Nea: What am I Nea: A mom?

Smolma: He can't hear

Junior: Oi Junior: Ghosty

Nea: I'm not a GHOST

Smolma: Yes Smolma: a mom

Junior: Yea, yea, whatever Junior: Listen up

Lavi Allen's deaf and he usually ends up sticking with me and Alma.

Nea So this one's bossy, the other one's dramatic. What does that make you.

Junior: Unless you really, really need to, like life and death need to, do not use any o' my brothers powers... and try not to let him use it unless absolutely necessary either

Lavi Hm...not sure.

Deak: Hurry up, we're splitting up right?

Junior: He's fire's got a recoil now, and it'll hurt him, so try not to use it

Deak: I'm going on ahead.

Nea gives a sarcastic two finger salute Nea: You got it.

Junior squints

Lavi at least one of them cares about what the hell my powers do to me. [very flat tone]

Junior I'm-watching-you motion before he turns after Deak

Allen: Alm. Can I 'ave anoth'r ice hube? A small one.

Deak leave into the crypt bc yall are slow

Smolma nods before motioning him to come over

Deak leaves

Nea is so not thrilled about being a baby sitter

Smolma a lil ice cube grows in his palm

Allen walks over to Alma and holds out his hand.

Junior um excuse u u are not going off by yourself Deak Junior is following right behind him

Smolma puts it in allens hand

Lavi Sorry.

Nea grabs Allen by the wrist because apparently he has to be a guide now.

-- -- the crypts on both sides as you enter them are very dark at first, but there's a light further down. As you go, it looks to be a wall-mounted torch bolted in, and the halls leading into the ground fork in separate directions

Allen pops ice cube into mouth. Allen looks to Lavi, he seemed angry?

Junior mmmm maybe they should've brought Allen with them now that he thinks about it

Junior: ....so... Junior: which way do you think we should go? Junior: Left or right?

Nea drags his 'crew' along

Lavi Ease up there. You're guiding him, not drag Allen, Nea. Allen why was Lavi holding him so hard? He walks closer so he's practically stepping on his shoes, and looks around alarmed.

Nea glances at Allen

Smolma writes in the air 'the ghost is possessing him allen'

Deak shrugs

Nea: So he can't hear anything? At all?

Lavi He's deaf.

Smolma 'the nea ghost' Smolma: Nope

Deak: Right? Deak: Or I'll go right you go left?

Allen blinks at Lavi. Was he trying to say something to someone behind him? He looked away in the direction and then looked back, confused

-- -- the halls of the crypt are just wide enough to walk single file

Allen wait, a ghost?

Junior: hmmm...

Allen: Who...?

Junior: I don't like the idea of splitting u-- Junior oh

Smolma 'Nea!"

Junior ponders

Nea who decided it'd be a good idea to let the man who lost track of his body lead people

Junior: We don't have to go different directions!

Lavi Well, I can guide you from in here. Lavi if you want.

Junior: You can stick with me, and still check out the other pathway

Deak: ...What.

Nea Fine.

Deak did not follow

Junior drags a hand down his face

Allen: oh. 'Ello Nea...?

Junior: ...you can be in multiple places at once, 'member?

Nea raises an eyebrow at Allen while they walk

Deak o shit u rite

Nea sort of waves a little

Junior: So you stick with me and one of your copies checks out the other way

Lavi Hm... Go left.

Allen waves back.

Lavi Deak's ability would sure be handy about now.... -sighs-

Deak: Alright, sounds good!

Allen Nea weren't hostile, so that was okay.

Nea: Lavi says we should go left, so remember to blame him and not me if this goes poorly

Lavi Wow. Lavi Says the guy who couldn't make up his mind.

Junior: So we'll go... right, and the copy will go left, I guess

Nea shut up.

Smolma 'lavi said to go left, #blamelavi if wrong'

Deak makes a duplicate self and sends the duplicate to the left bye bye self Deak: Okay, let's go then.

Junior nods and follows Deak down the right pathway

Lavi: || I thought for a moment that Deak would go left and the duplicate would go with Junior Lavi: || Since he wants to be on his own so much xD

Nea honestly feels like he's leading schoolchildren while taking them to the left

Deak: tBH HE WAS GOING TO SUGGEST IT ]

Junior: r u kidding Junior ain't letting the original be on his own in dangerous territory xD }

Allen gives Nea a dull look but ok

Deak rip u nea

Smolma its not their fault nea

Junior: He's gotta protect the baby bro B) }

-- -- the passageways of the crypt are narrow, just wide enough for single-file. They don't go straight for very long, turning, and turning again, and seeming to double back without much rhyme nor reason to their direction. Most of the place is dark but every so often you find torches on the wall

Junior: ......... Junior: The amount of turns in this place is ridiculous

Allen being dragged in a single file line hurrah

Nea nobody is happy about this situation

Deak: Well, it's the same in the other hallway too, so we'll just have t keep turning I suppose.

Lavi Hey, can you let me take control and still share head space with me?

Nea just keeps glancing around like he's expecting the worst

Junior: ......... Juniorsquints

Nea ...Probably. Why? You're not exactly missing much.

Junior: I feel like Junior: we're running a rat maze Junior: and there better be cheese at the end of it

Lavi Yeah, I know, but at least you won't be irritated with leading Allen around or carrying Alma.

Junior not like literal cheese he's speaking figuratively

Allen wants to hum and sing but his throat's still kinda sore...

Deak: I can make another of me to send backwards and see what happens. Maybe we'll run into one another eventually.

Smolma writes 'need more ice?'

Deak it would be funny

Junior: Maybe...

Lavi: || Isn't Deak gonna start feeling the backfire of his powers soon? o:

-- -- somewhere you all hear a dull CLICK and something heavy scraping -- --: oh he will B) }

Deak: no never hes 2 go-- ] Deak: wow rude ]

Nea Fi--

-- --: He hasn't used them much up to this point tho like Lavi has }

Lavi What was that.

Nea pauses

Allen: I would lihe' hat.

Smolma flinches at the sound

Nea: Shh.

-- -- actually make that a lot of heavy somethings scraping

Deak just keeps walking

Smolma: .....

Nea puts his hand over Allen's mouth

Lavi Switch with me. Switch with me right now.

Nea tries to figure out where that noise is coming from

Junior: ....you hearing that too or am I just crazy?

Nea Hold on

-- -- its coming from everywhere, technically

Deak: Hmm, no I heard it too.

-- -- not like all at once but interchangably

Deak: And twice.

Smolma hands allen another piece of ice so he can use his power better

Junior: ....and three times Junior: I hear a lot of it

Nea grabs Allen's wrist again and starts walking faster

Deak

: There's no point in just standing around. Let's keep going.

Allen nods and takes the ice. He pops the ice into his mouth as they walk faster

Junior sighs and follows

Deak: As far as I'm concerned, the other me is still alright so it's fine at the moment.

Junior: Yeah you're right

Nea: Whatever that sound is, I don't like it.

-- -- and a wall starts sliding out right where Allen and Lavi/Nea's hands are joined to try and make another wall between them now

Lavi !!! Lavi !!!!!!!!!!

Deak lavi use ur words

Nea YANKS ALLEN REALLY HARD. MOVE KID. Nea OR I'M LEAVING YOU

Allen JUMPS ONTO NEA PRACTICALLY

Nea JESUS

-- -- nope sorry the wall is coming in too fast to squeeze through this is a narrow passage

Lavi Shit, ALLEN!

-- -- better move your arm before it gets caught

Nea yeah no okay sorry kid you're on your own

Smolma screeches

Nea lets go and side shuffles

Deak bye allen

Smolma: ALLEN?!

Allen well shit. Pulls his hand away quickly after slamming into wall

Smolma whats going on?!

-- --: lbh here, the real victims are everyone's arms in this lmfao }

Allen: ((rip arms, literally))

-- -- and the wall slides into place, separating Allen from the rest

Junior: like literally }

Smolma his heads whipping around and op his bodys getting colder naow

Nea shakes Alma a little Nea: Don't start freaking out now, it's time to go

Deak dont shake a baby nea

Junior: ........

Deak smh

Junior: ...though I heard somethin' else

Nea don't boss me around

Smolma op that made him disoriented

Junior strains to hear but there's just lots of scraping

Deak: What?

Junior: ...dunno Junior: An echo?

Smolma but he just nods still worried

Junior: ...better not be more damn shadow things

Allen well he's gonna press against the wall to try to budge it and then scream to try to move it back.

-- -- and the scraping stops

Deak: Well, it's probably still fine.

-- -- it quiet now

Lavi Quietly worrying inside his own head.

Deak: ...

Junior: ....it stopped

Nea is only really concerned about these noises Lavi is worried about his brothers.

Junior: ...think the others are okay? Junior is mostly thinking of Lavi tbh

Deak: .... Deak: I'm sure they're fine.

Nea How important is this kid to your group

Allen since there was no response from the walls he walks back from where he came.

Deak: We haven't the time to just stop, so just keep walking.

Lavi He's important.

Nea frowns

Junior: ....I.... don't like it down here

Lavi His powers are helpful against the shadows and he helps me when my powers backfire.

Deak: Neither do I, but just don't focus on that and keep walking.

Nea grabs alma's wrist and starts walking again

Junior: I'm not saying to not go forward, but maybe we backtrack a bit

Deak stops and turns to look at junior Deak: Why backtrack?

Junior: Or at least send a copy back, I dunno?

Deak: I can send a copy back, but I don't think backtracking is smart.

Junior: Fair enough

Smolma yelps before following after Nea

Junior mumbles just doesn't like splitting up with Lavi like this tbh they should have all stuck together

Deak sighs and makes another copy that goes back the way they came

Lavi Nea, don't drag him. I get that you're annoyed with the situation but scaring Alma with rough treatment isn't the way to go about this.

Smolma hes scared, but does his best to keep calm

Deak: Okay, let's keep goin' now? Or d'you need to rest?

Junior: No, I'm fine. I can rest when we get out of here. Junior motions Junior: After you

Nea I'm barely touching him.

Deak: Okay.

Nea Besides, we have to move

Smolma but hes more scared that nea will leave him

Deak turns around and continues walking

Nea: Stay as close as you can without tripping me

Lavi I know that but you could tell him, nicely, to walk faster.

-- -- if you backtrack, you'll find that the pathway is no longer the same one your original followed in. Shortly after, there's another CLICK and the scraping starts up again

Nea: I'm not getting an arm stuck in one of those walls.

Junior: ...there it is again

Lavi Maybe you should carrying him on our back. The passage doesn't seem that narrow.

Deak: Wait, it changed?

Junior: Huh?

Smolma: O-okay, I'll try

Nea makes an annoyed noise

Junior: What did?

Deak is confused

Lavi sighs.

Deak: The path, it changed?

Nea You know what? You handle it.

Junior: .....

Lavi Sure.

Nea shoves Lavi to the forefront of their head

Smolma Nea hates him...

Lavi: Woah

Allen sings softly to himself because he's in a small dark hallway that can crush him. He's hella nervous.

Lavi: At least I got a warning that time.

Allen: iiii beeen... working... on the ralroad... alll the yive-yong yayyy...~♪

Junior: Are you sure?

Lavi stops walking and turns to kneel down in front of Alma. Lavi: Hey, Alma, Nea's taking a break

Smolma stops since nea? did.

Deak: Yeah, I memorized the path we took so it should have been the same but it's definitely not.

Smolma: ...o-oh

-- -- aaand a wall just behind Junior moves to cut them off from the path they came from

Junior: ........

Smolma yup nea hates him

Junior: Oh shi-- Junior: That's what that was

Lavi: Wanna get on my back?

Deak: ................... Deak: I guess that means... no turning back?

Smolma: Sure....

Lavi: That way we won't get separated

Nea Don't stop moving. Who knows what's going to happen next.

Lavi turns around.

Junior: ....not the way we came in at least...

Lavi: Climb on, quick.

Deak: ...Even so, both of the other mes are still alright, so it should be... fine?

Smolma quickly climbs on

Deak: Let's just keep going.

Lavi I had to stop to let him on my back. Lavi quickly starts walking in the direction they were going, taking long strides.

Deak just continues to walk forward

Junior: Right

Smolma rests chin on lavis shoulder

Junior follows close behind Deak

Lavi softly hums under his breath. Nea is all sorts of restless

Allen stops singing after a basic song and crosses his arms, just keep walking, just keep walking, just keep walking walking walking walking

Smolma: Mh sorry, i didn't mean to go so slow

Lavi: Don't worry about it. Nea's just not good at this whole guiding thing.

Junior is determined not ot get separated or have anything bad happen

Nea Oh, shut up.

-- -- a wall comes up ahead and behind Lavi and them. One to their side opens up.

Lavi Stops walking for a moment

Allen feels so fckin lost and lonely right now lmao

Lavi: Okay then, guess it wants me to go this way... Lavi goes down the newly opened path cautiously

Nea stay alert. Anything it wants you to do is probably a bad idea.

Lavi I'm well aware of that...

Smolma holds a hand out a bit

Lavi worried about his brothers and Allen.

Smolma ice knife grows in it just in case Smolma but hes worried about allen too since hes alone

-- -- @Deak you start to notice a radiating sting in your hands that's starting to snake its way slowly up your arms. Its dull for now, but steadily pulsing a little bit worse as time goes on

Nea is mostly just worried about getting out of this hallway

Deak: rUDE ]

Lavi Were you alone when you woke in this place? Or was there someone else with you?

-- --: deAK HAS TO DEAL WITH HIS HANDICAPS TOO }

Deak ignores it and just keeps swimm-- i mean walking Deak: i am fEELING ATTACKED RN ] Deak: i jUST CAME OUT TO HAVE A GODMOD TIME ]

Nea There was a whole group with me

-- -- the scraping stops. for now.

Junior: lmfao }

Lavi Friends? ......Family?

Deak: That's really annoying.

Junior: ....I feel like we're going in circles...

Deak: What if we tried going backwards now?

Junior: I don't know, maybe?

Deak: Let's just attempt it.

Nea Doesn't matter, they're gone now.

Junior: I'm guessing your copies didn't find a way out yet...

Deak: Go and I'll be right behind you.

Lavi sighs and breathes fire a little bit

Junior: Alright

Deak: ...No, they didn't.

Junior takes the lead, grumbling under his breath Junior: ...this was probably a bad idea

Deak follows right after Deak: Everything here is a bad idea, to be fair.

Junior: I mean I'm used to running around tight tunnels but this is crazy, the ones I go through don't usually CHANGE

Allen claps his hands while he walks

Deak: Well, we just gotta deal.

Junior sighs Junior: yeah

Lavi keeps walking at a fast pace. Lavi: You okay, little guy?

-- -- the scraping begins again

Deak: ............

Junior: Oh, great...

Smolma: I'm.... I'm okay

Deak: That's really annoying when you hear it from three separate places.

Smolma: Let's keep going

Junior: ....it is

Deak sighs

-- -- also the moving walls might've just caught one of the copies woops shoulda moved faster

Deak: Wa--

Deak: .........................

Allen puts his hands against the wall, he could kinda feel it vibrating. Whoah. Weird. He returns to clapping his hands in different rythmns

Deak: Oh that's not good.

Junior: .............

Junior: What's not good?

Deak: Other me got crushed by a wall.

-- -- in other news, a wall opens up to reunite Allen with Lavi and company

Junior: ............... Junior: Oh Junior: Shit

Deak: Poor other me.............

Junior: So... we gotta be careful Junior: Are you okay though?

Deak: I'm wounded dearly from the bottom of my heart. Deak: He was a good soldier until his final moments. Deak: Being crushed by a wall was no death he deserved.

Junior pets the bro

Deak wipes away a fake tear

Lavi perks up Lavi: Allen! Lavi 'Allen!'

Junior is a little bit anxious though that could've been the original Deak

Smolma perks!! Smolma Allens okay?!

Allen Almost passes it, but a casual glance back makes him stop. He immediately runs over to the others with a relieved grin.

Deak im the original dont say that

Lavi grins back at Allen

Deak: Let's just... keep moving.

Junior: ....okay... so we have to try and get outta here fast as we can

Lavi 'You're not hurt, right?'

Junior starts moving Junior: stay close

Allen shakes head.

Deak follows quickly

Smolma holds allens shoulder with none ice knife hand

Allen: Are you ok?

Lavi 'Good, let's keep moving. Oh, and Nea's taking a break right now so he's just....chilling in my head?'

Smolma nods

Lavi starts walking again before sending back a quick 'stay close, don't wanna get separated again.'

Allen squeezes Alma's hand with his and then follows Lavi.

Nea 'Chilling'

Lavi: This tunnel just really likes being a nuisances.

Deak ew being crushed was terrible and i just thought about it

Lavi Well, it was either that or sulking.

Junior just try not to think about it bro

Deak ewewew Deak no its too late Deak now im thinking about it

Nea I'm not sulking.

Lavi adjusts Alma on his back a bit.

Junior just breathe and focus on something else

Lavi Brooding then.

Nea I just don't like dealing with liabilities.

Deak no it was gross Deak i didnt see you get crushed Deak no it was me and it was terrible Deak i feel sick oh god it was just

Smolma: ouch))

Lavi dead silence in his mind enough to chill.

Junior bro do you need a hug or

Deak nO DO NOT TOUCH Me Deak im ok just keep walking Deak as long as other me doesnt get crushed im fine

-- --: :3c }

Nea isn't taking that back

Deak: d O NOT ]

-- --: :3c }

Deak: s t op ]

Junior okay okay Junior keeps moving

Lavi So I guess, if, say, one of your companions or a family member were trapped here with you and were blind. You wouldn't like dealing with them?

-- --: "stop" what? I haven't done anything }

Lavi So you'd just leave them?

Smolma least im trapped in someone elses body Smolma not helping at all

Lavi What if that person were a sibling or a close friend? Still gonna ditch them because they're a liability?

Deak follows a little more lethargically

-- --: I'm thinking about things tho :3c }

Nea Would you shut up?

Deak: s quint s ]

-- --: I didn't say what kind of things exactly tho }

Deak: s quints ] Deak: what kind of things exactly :3c ]

-- --: things }

Lavi Oh, am I annoying you? So sorry that you're not happy with this situation that we're /all/ in.

Allen when will this place end

-- --: things that I had planned and have been foiled and trying to figure out how to do anyway lAUGHS }

Deak: squints x4 ]

-- -- a wall comes out almost right about when Junior is about to get there

Junior really quickly backtracks

Nea All I'm doing is being REALISTIC. Someone gets hurt, or needs help-- Other's get hurt trying to protect them. And then it just /repeats/.

Junior: shIT that was close

Deak slaMS INTO JUNIOR bc not paying attention

Junior ooOOF

Junior aaand he had a meeting with the wall anyway

Deak: S-Sorry! Deak rip junior i am so sorry

Junior kind of

Lavi And maybe we'll need their power to get the fuck out of here and then they're dead because we decided to leave them simply because they're a 'liability'.

Nea Did I fucking /say/ we're going to leave them for dead?

Junior: Its fine

Lavi I'm being realistic as well, Nea.

Junior sighs Junior: Not going this way I guess

Lavi You /sound/ like you wanna leave them for dead.

Nea I said I don't LIKE it.

Lavi You rather not deal with them and just let them fed for themselves, which would end badly.

Nea And I don't

Deak: So turning around again?

Junior frustrated growliing Junior: Doesn't look like we have much choice...

Deak: The other one of me is fine still, so we just have to try and follow whatever path as best as we can.

Junior: Yeah...

Deak turns around and begins to walk the other way agAIN Deak: Just keep up.

Lavi Well put your big boy pants on, Nea. You're gonna have to deal with it.

-- -- aand a wall comes up just in front of Lavi

Deak rip lavi

Lavi stops and turns on his shoulders so he hits that instead. Lavi: Rude, Wall.

Nea Ugh

Lavi: I was walkin'

Nea Put the kid down and turn us around.

Deak why did you capitalize wall

Junior b/c clearly he was addressing THAT wall specifically

Allen was daydreaming so he walks into Lavi

Junior: Not too hard t' keep up

Lavi exactly what Junior said.

Deak: Are you sayin' 'm slow?

Junior: ............ Junior squints Junior: .....

Nea You can coddle him again once we're facing the right way

Junior: ...slower than usual...

Nea These halls are too damn tight.

Allen: 'orry.

Deak: This is my normal pace, bro. Deak: Rude as heck.

Junior: No you're definitely going slower

Deak: I'm definitely not.

Allen turns around and walks in the other direction.

Junior: Definitely are.

Deak: Not.

Junior: Are.

Deak: Not.

Junior: Are.

Deak: NOT.

Junior: ARE.

Deak speeds up his walking then >:I Deak: THERE.

Junior: I never thought I'd see the day they pulled this argument xD } Junior: ......

Deak: s a me ]

Lavi He's /blind/, Nea, his powers react with his emotions from what I've seen so far. It'd be bad if it got out of control because he got scared.

Junior: Its a good day to be alive B) }

Deak returns back to his "normal" pace

Lavi: I'm gonna put you down really quick, Alma, the hall's too narrow for me to turn around with you on my back.

Nea wishes he had eyes to roll

Deak that walking was too much effort

Smolma just nods

Lavi I wonder if I could put you in a mental box.

Nea Don't even try it

Lavi crouches down to let Alma down before moving so he's on the side of him quick before crouching down again.

-- -- aaaand up goes a wall between Lavi and Alma woops

Smolma gets down

Lavi

: Shit!

Deak oh dang

-- --: :3c }

Deak mumbles not

-- --: Sorry what were we talking about, something about getting scared }

Allen: ((o shit))

Junior mumbles are

Nea Well that's /unfortunate/.

Deak n o t

Junior a.r.e.

Lavi mentally swearing in multiple languages while mentally throwing a bar at Nea Lavi runs to go catch up with Allen

Deak: Am not.

Allen lmao this snowy boi didn't even notice

Lavi spots Allen and grabs is shoulder

Junior

: are too.

Allen stops and turns back to Lavi.

Smolma tenses wayyyy up

Allen: Where Alm...?

Deak: Wait, were we saying are or am........?

Lavi 'Alma's gone! The wall split us up'

Smolma: L-lavi.... Allen?

Deak: I forgot.

Smolma theres no reply

Junior: You were using "am" and I was using "are".

Lavi: || Guess this castle is gonna become a winter ice land now

Deak: Right I was right okay.

Smolma his side of the wall becomes much colder

Smolma: yup))

Junior: Yep~

Deak: I'm tired'a walkin' ugh.

Allen his eyes widen, he takes a deep breath in and out, he looks behind Lavi as if to hope he was walking down the hall

Smolma quickly starts pounding on the wall

Junior: Smolma's gonna become ElSmolma }

Deak: l eave ]

Smolma: yUP)) Smolma: SHIVASMOL))

Junior: n oPE }

Lavi: || The snow glows white in the castle tonight

Junior: NOT UNTIL I'M DONE TORTURING YOU A-- I mean... }

Nea Keep moving.

Smolma op nows theres frost slowly starts spreading across the walls

Allen: ... 'eep goin. e'll meet up.

Lavi Oh, you're still present.

Smolma keep moving, just. keep. moving

Lavi 'We have to keep moving, we'll run into him like we did you.' He hopes.

Nea Walk or I'll walk for you.

Allen hopefully he would. Nods and keeps walking forward.

Lavi Shut UP

Junior: ....y'know...

Smolma though hes scared, terrified really, he turns before quickly walking the other way, using the wall to guide him

Junior: that scraping is goin' on for an awfully long amount of time

Lavi walks as well, he's taking long strides so he's gonna end up passing Allen

Deak: Yeah? Deak: It's kinda dull noise now, but I guess so.

-- -- you mean he's going to end up goosing Allen b/c these passages are narrow

Allen the wall's too narrow to pass, Allen ends up increasing his own pace to a semi-jog

Junior: Might just be getting used to it? Doesn't sound any more dull to me...

Lavi ‘Ah, hold on, let me squeeze through to get in front of you.’

Smolma just clutches his ice knife tighter, all while hes shaking

Deak

: No, I think I'm more focused on remembering my fake organs being crushed actually.

Junior

: ...............

Deak laug h s Deak does not think its funny

Allen: op' over.

Junior: Deak, you doing okay?

Allen crouches

Deak: Yep!

Lavi hops the fuck over and starts walking hella fast again

Deak: Other than me not wanting to walk. Deak: But that's normal.

Allen jogs behind Lavi

Junior: ....then.... I'll carry you, so we can get the hell out of here

Deak: There's no room.

-- -- mmmm woops and there went the other copy

Deak: ..........................................................

Junior: We can make it work, I think Junior: ......you okay?

Deak is not okay™ Deak: Yeah! I'm! Totally cool!

Junior: .......

Deak walks faster gotta go fast

Junior: You don't sound totally cool Junior follows after Deak wow someone lit a fire under his ass and it wasn't Lavi for once

Nea Walk faster. There has to be an exit somewhere. Smolma ohhhh hes shaking

Lavi I'm walking as fast as I can, if I start jogging I'd leave Allen behind.

Deak hyperventilating in small spaces is bad so calm down Deak: Okay, okay, so there's an exit somewhere right?

-- -- a wall springs up in front of Deak

Deak: We're not stuck yeah?

Deak sLAMS INTO IT

Smolma all while on the verge of tears

Junior: ...I--

Lavi RIP DEAK

Junior: You okay?

-- -- also a wall springs up just ahead of Alma

Deak just kinda l augh s Deak staggers for a second ow

Lavi: || lAUGHING

Smolma slAMS INTO IT

Deak: U GO LAUghS ]

Smolma falls back with a yelp

Lavi: || EVERYONE JUST SLAMMING INTO WALLS

Smolma: HE IS BLIND))

-- -- to be fair its hella dark in most of the maze

Deak: I-It's okay, let's just go somewhere it's fine.

-- -- except those few places where there's torches

Deak: Your way, go your way-

Smolma whimpering, he carefully gets back up and goes the other way

Allen is gonna trip over Alma lol

Lavi lights a small flame in his hand to see better

Junior: Okay...

Smolma as he walks, those walls are getting frozen

Junior turns to go the other way

Deak follows after junior quickly again

-- -- another wall comes up in front of Junior after a few turns

Junior: fuCK

Deak: ......................

Allen yeah he's still following Lavi

Nea is just getting more and more restless

Deak: I'm going to scream.

Junior: Okay, there's gotta be another branching path from here... Junior: Between where we were and are

Smolma ice shards are forming on the now frozen walls

Nea ...What's your name again?

Lavi Lavi.

Deak: Lavi Lavi ]

Lavi: || Lavi Love

Junior: So let's try to find another way

Nea And the other's? I never got a formal introduction

Lavi The first you possessed was my younger brother, Junior. The dramatic one was Deak, he's the baby brother.

Deak: Okay, what if I leave a copy here to see what happens when we walk back? The path keeps changing, right?

Junior: .......

Junior: I... don't think that's a good idea Junior: I mean, if something happens to it.....

Lavi Allen is the deaf one, he has sound telekinesis. Alma is the blind one with Ice Illusions and manipulation.

Deak: It's fine. Plus, what if the path is changing when we walk back to where we don't see?

Junior: You see and kind of feel the same thing, right?

Lavi Icarus is the one with the messed up wings.

Deak: Don't worry, it's just one. It won't hurt anything.

Nea And you have fire.

Junior: If you say so...

Lavi Yes. Deak can multiply and Junior used to have a tail that was his talisman to be able to shift into an animal.

Deak makes another duplicate to just kinda sit and wait there before turning to walk back

Lavi But they chopped it off.

Deak: Okay, let's go back again~

Junior follows after Deak shit shit they should not have come down here

Nea Sounds painful.

-- -- @Lavi/Nea feel free to slip on the icy floors any time

Smolma now the floors getting frozen from his steps

Allen is gonna slip on the ice and grab the wall

Lavi almost slips as well and barely catches himself with the walls. Lavi: Shit.

Smolma alma was there

-- -- @Deak there's a turn coming up somewhere on your left that wasn't there before

Deak

: A new path?

Lavi: Shot in the dark Lavi: Alma?

Junior: Looks like Junior runs a hand through his hair Junior: Let's hope THIS one leads somewhere

Allen: *calls* 'LIMA! ALMA!

Lavi keeps walking, trying not to slip on ice.

Deak: Wait maybe I should just-

Lavi: || Lima

Junior: lima }

Nea: || lima

Smolma: alma is now lima))

Nea: | lima bean

Allen: ((lima bean yes))

Smolma: i mean he smol enough ))

Junior: "should just"?

Deak makes one more duplicate to stay put at the new turn

Junior oh that

Nea: || deaks just droppin duplicates like breadcrumbs

Junior: seems like lmao }

Deak: thumbs up at bread ]

Lavi: || he must be feeling the pain

Deak: oh shit ] Deak: i forgot he had a potato ]

Junior: xD } Junior: of all the things to think about } Junior: You choose the potato }

Deak: does the potato also duplicate tho ]

Junior: uh??? I don't think so??? }

Deak: rEGARDLESS when youre crushed by walls three different times im p sure u kno ur in pain ]

Deak: and dang so its just w/ original that sucks ]

Junior: xD }

Deak: imagine six times the potato ]

Junior: maybe if he did something special to it idk }

Allen: ((get m a s h e d )))

-- -- op and there went another duplicate. The further away one.

Deak: wOW UNCOOL ]

Lavi: || rip to the duppy

Deak: so much for tHAT IDEA ]

-- -- also there seems to be a lot more scraping sounds than before

Junior: duppy } Junior: ....uh...

Smolma its getting harder to keep moving

Junior: why are the scraping sounds getting more numerous?

Allen quickly learns how to skate without skates. Brrr, btw

Lavi: || got lazy

Deak just gonna not die through that pain and being crushed a fourth or fifth time he forgot

Lavi: || didn't wanna write it all so duppy

Deak: Let's go, just move.

Junior: ...I'd say... Junior: Lets move fast

Deak turns the corner and just,,, moves fast

Smolma his entire body begins to tremble

Deak: That's... probably a smart idea.

Smolma small shards of ice begins to grow on his skin

-- -- btw that more numerous scraping sound is on Lavi's/Nea's/Allen's/Alma's side too

Junior follows behind fast Junior: I have my moments

Deak snickers

Lavi is just ignoring the scraping sounds.

Nea What do you think's at the end of this?

Deak: At least now we know not to enter crypts?

Lavi is actually melting the ice with each step he takes so... Lavi More fucked up shit.

Junior: ...this isn't a typical crypt

-- -- should find Alma near another wall-mounted torch fairly soon

Smolma lavi must be in pain cause the walls and floor are covered in ice

Allen decides to just use his arms to push himself forward, using his feet to just slide. This would be kind of fun under different circumstances. He ends up tripping on lavi's footprints though so he just hops into each once instead.

Deak: Hmm, true~

-- -- Deak and Junior should be passing up a torch about now too

Smolma just chokes out a sob

Nea Your brother told me not to let you use your powers

Lavi it doesn't take too much effort to give out more heat than to use his fire. Lavi Yeah, well. Too bad.

Smolma tentitively forces himself to move again

-- -- aaaand a wall comes up just ahead of Deak and Junior

Deak: Are we able to take the torch or is it stuck?

Lavi: Alma?

-- -- the torch is stuck

Lavi calling out some more to see if he's nearby

Deak lame Deak laME x2

Junior: damn it!

Deak: .....Another wall.

Junior: Its like the thing fucking knows where we're trying to go

Smolma covers his ears as he hears that voice scream in his head

Deak slides to the ground and just stays there Deak: I'm done. Deak: I'm going to die right here, I'm not moving.

Allen just keep joggin'.

-- -- and in the place where that wall came up, another one comes up again just a little closer. And then another one after that.

Junior: Um, no, we are not giving up! Junior: I'm not letting you give up!

Lavi: || At least it's just moving walls and corridors changing and not trap doors B)

Deak already gave up

Junior: B) }

Lavi: || B)

Allen: (( 'o'))

Junior: Deak, y'can't just give up, we just go back, and try again until somethin' fucking works

Deak: I'll just be crushed like the rest of me, it's okay, I've felt it seven times anyways.

Junior: No it is certainly NOT okay

-- -- and a wall comes up from the other side they came from now -- -- woops

Junior: ......

Junior: fu

Deak lauGHS

Junior: cking Junior: shit

Deak: We're dead now.

Lavi is a little fed up and uses his flames to send a long tendril of flames ahead of him along the path. It stings a bit.

Deak just covers his face and laughs this is fine™

-- -- btw the other crypt maze should be experiencing something kind-of the same tbh -- -- walls closing in and all that jazz

Smolma op that flame barely misses alma, making him scream

Junior is just looking back and forth fuck fuck there's no other passage

Lavi stops walking because of a fucking wall Smolma ohhh hes trapped hes teapped Smolma just slowly slides down the wall and starts crying Smolma ice spikes growin all around him

Lavi

: I'm hating this place more and more

Junior just laughs a little and sinks down next to Deak

Nea is it possible to hyperventilate in someone's head becau se

Lavi rubs hands together because it's time to bring the heat. Lavi Hopefully you won't feel this too much.

Allen backs off from Lavi oh boy walls closing in

Junior: ....this is not how I pictured dying

Nea Just do SOMETHING

Smolma by now the spikes are pillars

Deak: If it helps, it'll hurt a lot?

Junior: ....it doesn't help, but thanks for the warning anyway Junior: .....d'you think that....?

Lavi FIRES A BLAST OF FLAMES AHEAD THAT'S HOT ENOUGH TO BE A LASER TBH, SO THIS IS REALLY GONNA FUCKING HURT HIM.

Junior: .......... Junior: Nevermind

Nea FUCKING HELL BUDDY

Smolma: goood thing that ice was up))

Allen WHOAH LAVI

Smolma: its so cold it withstood that blast, or else it'd be kentucky fried smol))

Junior is just gonna snuggle up to Deak's side and wait for death haha Junior: I love you, bro

Lavi and that's a really hot beam

Smolma why was there weight against his pillars?

Junior: Like one comes up, then another flush against it, et cetera } Junior: I'm not good at explaining things I guess xD }

Lavi: || But shouldn't it come down like after a few of the walls are up in front of them? Giving a fighting chance if they have some strong power? Lavi: || Like centipede-ish effect

-- --: MMMM NOPE }

Smolma: yeah having them all die by wall seems sudden))

-- --: There is absolutely a way out of this but that isn't it B) }

Lavi: || trap door >_>

-- --: Mmmmm close }

Deak: just accept ur fates and die like deak and junior ]

Lavi has to stop because it hurts too much and leans against the wall gasping while clutching his hands close.

Smolma bet you want alma there now nea you jerk

Nea has shoved himself as far back in lavi's head as he can Nea yeS HE DOES ACTUALLY

Lavi: || You mean, accept their fate without fighting or even thinking of their beloved older brother in their final moments.

Junior: yea that } Junior: xD }

Lavi: || You know, the brother who TOOK CARE OF YOU TWO AND NOW YOU'RE JUST IGNORING, DEAK?

Deak: yes exactly ]

Lavi: || wow, one of these days, he's gonna stop caring.

Smolma more and more of his ice begins to stab the walls and floor

Deak: wow ]

Smolma its becoming violent

Deak: i am hurt : ( ]

Lavi: || Lavi's hurt

Nea Come on, come ON! There has to be SOMETHING

Junior: Junior thought about it but he didn't bring it up b/c he didn't want to make things even more depressing lol }

Lavi: || mentally and phsyically B(

Deak: deak is also hurt ] Deak: also mentally and physically ] Deak: i didnt see lavi get crushed by walls seven times ] Deak: s m h ]

Junior: That was his "...do you think....? ........nevermind..." xD }

Lavi: || You're the one who kept leaving so many behind

Junior: tru }

Deak: I DIDNT THINK THEYD ALL GET CR USHED ]

-- --: :3c }

Smolma as hes sobbing, the entire halls beginning to have spikes shoot up from the ground

Lavi: || Kit's merciless, you should've known

Deak: i should have ] Deak: s m h @ self ]

Lavi slides down the wall and curls up a bit

-- --: You know what the definition of insanity is? Doing the same thing repeatedly expecting a different result }

Nea Get UP

Lavi in his possible final moments, he's hoping that Deak, Junior and Alma are okay. ( Mostly his brothers though. Sorry Alma. )

Smolma wow Smolma thanks Smolma always knew he was the one everyone would perfer died

Lavi ( At least he looks out for you and you actually appreciate him. )

Nea makes a frustrated noise

Deak stands up again and just looks around Deak: There's gotta be somethin' we can do to not die...

Smolma that may lessen since hes the one alone and no one really cares about

Junior just leans on Deak. Least he'll get to spend his last moments with one of his brothers. Both would be nice. Or, y'know, not dying. Not dying would be ni--

Smolma out..... let me out

Nea shoves Lavi back because if you one move then he'll have to

Lavi You're gonna hurt a lot if you switch with me now.

Smolma those ice shards are stabbing harder

Nea I'd rather hurt then fucking /die/.

Smolma oh look, hes damaging the walls

Lavi Give me a moment to fucking recover from the crippling pain, ass hat, there's no way OUT THAT I CAN SEE I JUST MADE A HOLE IN THE WALL AND IT GOT COVERED BY ANOTHER WALL.

Deak: Junior, get up 'n do somethin'

Nea THEN LET ME LOOK

Lavi FINE

-- -- @Deak/Junior the walls close in from both sides aaand... stop at the edges where the light from the torch starts

Deak: ................What.

Lavi SHOVES NEA TO THE FOREFRONT OF HIS MIND

Smolma shakily stands

Nea retakes contro-- /hooooly shit/ Nea curls in on himself Nea: FFFFUCK.

Lavi Enjoying yourself?

Deak was it

Junior: ............

Smolma holds his hands up against the wall right infront of him

Deak too hot

Lavi Get up and do something, Nea.

Deak: Hey, we're alive.

Smolma a hug pillar that dented that door way back when begins forming above his head Smolma streeetchhing down the hall

Nea presses his back against the wall and struggles (really struggles) to his feet

Junior

: We are?

Deak

: Yeah, it stopped.

Lavi still hissing in pain himself, he still feels it, damn.

Smolma that halls temp near him is wayyy below zero

Deak: We weren't crushed by walls for an eighth time! Deak: Er... well... first for you.

-- -- @Alma the walls are still coming up but they're getting partly jammed by the ice in the way

Nea clenches his jaw shut tight and starts look around for anything of use.

Deak: Regaaaaardless, let's figure out the way outta here.

Junior: ....why did it stop this time?

Smolma more ice forms to pust them down

Nea knows it's probably useless but he's not gonna just sit around

Smolma oh look, some frost touches the tips of nea/lavi's fingers thats on the wall

Deak: It looks like the light from the torch has something to do with it? Deak: At least, that's where it stopped.

Junior glances up at the torch

Smolma sHOOT THAT HUGE ICE SHARD AT THE DOOR

Lavi too bad we don't feel the cold thanks to my powers....

-- -- its not really a door its a wall lo

Nea more like his forearm, since his hands are too wrecked to touch anything right now

Deak: Maybe we can... pull the torch or something?

Junior: Maybe? Junior picks self off the floor and pulls on the torch

Smolma fine, ice forms on nea/lavi

Lavi I fucking hate this.

-- -- there's a Click and the torch moves off the wall just a little, then the wall where the torch is mounted starts sliding back to form a hall

Nea: I don't... I don't see anything.

Deak blinks

Lavi: || I don't think Nea/Lavi are near a torch xD

-- --: I did mention they'd find Alma near a torch X3 }

Deak: just conveniently put a torch there ] Deak: ;' ) ]

Smolma accidentally places his hand on torch

Lavi: || But the wall thing happened and I thought they were separated again Lavi: || like, blocked off

Smolma op it slips down

Lavi: || because of the damn walls

-- --: no the wall was ahead of where Alma was and behind where Lavi/Nea and Allen were XD }

-- --: CLEARLY I CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO COMMUNICATE }

Nea: || O Nea: || that makes... more sense

Deak: LAUGHING ]

Lavi: || I'm usually good at keeping up but gd

-- --: its probably my fault lbh here xD }

Deak: Well, lets go!

Junior shrugs Junior follows the hall what have they got to lose at this point?

Deak adventures forth

Nea somehow just now notices alma

-- -- the accidentally grabbed torch by Alma opens the pathway lol

Nea and that path. congrats kid you're redeemed in his eyes

Smolma flinches a bit at the noise. Did... it the path open again?

Lavi Grab him Lavi But let him know it's you.

Smolma tho that halls still frozen

Nea laughs a little Nea: You did it, twerp

Smolma like its covered in frost and ice shards

Lavi S i g h i n g

Smolma: ....

Nea slip slides his way over to Alma

Lavi At least call him by his name.

Nea he's just radiating relief. getting crushed sounded like a bad time. Nea: I mean-- Alma.

Deak it is a bad time

Nea Happy now?

Lavi but at least Alma will know that it's them now. Lavi Yes.

Deak its a very very bad time

-- -- the newly opened path is very long, but its a straight shot all the way through, until hitting a wider path in the center where the two torch walls come together. Lavi and Deak, you turn right, Lavi/Nea and Alma, left, upon reaching the wider hall.

Lavi since he'd never call Alma a twerp.

Smolma guess who locked himself up b/c of bein aloneeeeee Smolma this smol

Lavi: || Lavi and Deak Lavi: || U mean, Junior

Deak: lAugHin g ]

Nea: ...Kid?

Lavi: || Existential Crisis is gonna hit

Nea I think he's broken

Junior: I CLEARLY CANNOT BE TRUSTED TO COMMUNICARTE }

Lavi Let me out

Smolma just shaking and crying

Junior: communicate* } Junior: fml }

Smolma u b rite nea

Deak: U TRIED ]

Nea shoves Lavi forward again

Lavi: Woah

Smolma now hes like the coldest hes ever been

Deak stops at the wider part of the path and just sits down Deak: Wait, wait, I'm dead, slow down.

Lavi shakes himself off before crouching in front of Alma, radiating warmth because that boy looks way too cold

Junior is just gonna sit down and lean against Deak

Lavi: Alma, hey, buddy. It's just me....and the other guy. But right now it's me.

Junior: ...me too...

Smolma like his skins completely white by now

Lavi reaches out to rub Alma's arms, it cools his hands so him using more heat to warm Alma up doesn't hurt.

Nea Can't you just pick him up and go?

Lavi: C'mon, c'mon....

Junior: ....think Lavi's okay? Junior kinda didn't want to think about it but welp haha Junior here they are

Deak: He's tough, 'm sure he's fine.

Junior: Yea.... Junior is trying not to sound unsure but its not working haha

Smolma steam actually comes out under lavis fingers

Deak: Well, the sooner we move the sooner we can meet up with him again. Deak: Let's go, if you're ready?

Lavi ice shards have been melted, he's gonna grab the small and start running his ass down the damn hallway of jackassery

Nea The path is RIGHT THERE.

Lavi and by grab, he means, carry him

Junior: "the hallway of jackassery" lmfao }

Lavi: || Well it is

Smolma yup now theres just steam where ever almas touching lavi

Junior heaves a sigh

Lavi: Shit. He's never really been that cold.

Junior: I guess?

Deak gets back up Deak srry junior who was leaning on me

Deak returns to lethargically making his way to the right

Junior gets up with a wince. Really feeling that tail bone right about now tbh Junior: .......... Junior: I hear.... Junior: footsteps Junior: and Junior: hissing?

Deak: ...What? Deak: I don't hear anything?

Junior has really sensitive ears

Deak only has sensitive ears for being crushed by walls atm

Junior kind of a side effect of being an animal sometimes

Nea Can't you move any faster?

Lavi Bossy.

Junior: No, I hear it. Its getting closer.

Nea I'm impatient.

Deak: ...?

Lavi Goes for a run to a goddamn sprint since this one just wants movement, you're lucky he wants to get out of here too or else he'd slow down to a walk.

Junior moves in front of Deak protectively but he's hoping that's Lavi coming

Deak i will throw this potato as a weapon

Lavi makes it to the place with the wider hall

Junior !!!!!!!! Junior: Lavi!

Lavi !!!!!! Lavi: Junior! Deak! Lavi skids to a stop and jogs over to them, still holding on to Alma, who be steaming.

Junior: ....what the Hell are you carrying and why is it hissing

Deak flops to the ground again

Smolma yuuuppp be steaming

Junior op and down goes Deak

Lavi: It's Alma, we got separated and his powers went out of control

Junior: ...oh Junior: Okay?

Lavi: Yeah. Lavi: Also, I had to use my powers when the walls started closing in

Junior is just happy to see Lavi alive and well tb--- Junior squints

Nea Haha oops

Junior Nea what did we fucking talk about

Lavi: I'm fine now. Alma's helping, even though he's out of it right now.

Smolma oh look the walls are freezing over

Nea whistles innocently even though only Lavi can hear him right now

Junior #Betrayed Junior: ....h o l y hell its getting cold in here...

Deak: He needs to calm down.

Lavi: Alma. Alma, c'mon.

Deak: If hes gonna freeze everythin' up, get him outta here. Deak is too dead for this shit thanks

Junior rubs his arms holy shit

Smolma screw you deak peeps actually care bout you

Nea is very glad that he's wearing someone who doesn't get cold

Lavi adjusts his hold on Alma and rubs his back while quietly telling the small one that he's got him now, he's safe again.

Deak shut up, i wasnt talking to you

Smolma: wearing someone))

Junior that still sounds creepy Nea. Like some Most Dangerous Game kinda shit.

Deak control your goddamn ice, kid

Lavi slowly cranks up the heat to both warm Alma up and the room.

Nea: || skin suit.

Lavi: || Meat suit.

Deak just goes back to hanging his head

Junior: I'm just gonna stop you both right there }

Junior goes back to Deak and flops down next to him Junior: R-run into a bit of trouble on your side, did you?

Smolma you try being alone, being the one who can die and not really have an impact with his death, and considered being a liability after getting his sight stolen Smolma aka, fuck you deak

Deak fuck off brat Deak do whatever the fuck you want, but do it away from me

Smolma no you fuck off

Deak fine

Junior also, flopping down when you had a tail cut off from the end of your spine... not recommended. That hurts.

Deak gets back up and walks away the way he came

Junior: ......

Smolma thanks to lavi his ice isn't spreading, but hes still silent

Junior: Deak! Junior grabs him before he can run off

Lavi keeps trying to comfort Alma with quiet words. Lavi: || look man, I'm terrible with words, so imagine that Lavi's talking to Alma like he's one of his brothers back when they were younger and scared about something. He sounds very motherly tbh. Like gdi, Lavi, why are you such a mom. But he's doing his utmost best to calm Alma.

Nea This group still has so many problems

Junior okay but did we survive longer than your group?

Smolma doesn't mean hes listening rn

Deak: What? It's cold here so I'm walking away. Let me go, jeez.

Smolma or that he believes anything thats being said

Deak scowls and pulls away to keep walking off

Nea not yet you haven't

Junior huffs and goes to follow dragging Deak with them

Lavi he's still gonna keep talking and kind of walking around. Lavi: || oh god, he's doing a baby bounce type shit. JFC

Smolma though hes not crying anymore, so progress

Junior: wow Lavi xD }

Smolma: thats so cute tho-))

Lavi: || He's such a mom.

Junior: tb fair tho he is the eldest of two brothers even if they're technically the same age haha }

Nea is stuck in a mom and his only other host options are out of range

Lavi: || he usually gets along with other little kids younger than them so he just moms them. Lavi: || Especially if they're orphans. He tries to make their day a little better somehow.

Nea See what I mean? One person ends up holding up the entire group.

Lavi I don't really see a place to move on from here. So can it.

Junior are you calling us incompetent

Lavi: || He's grown attached to little Alma. ); Lavi: || Gonna mom him.

Nea But you could be looking. Instead you're just being a mother hen.

Lavi glances around the room while 'motherhenning' Lavi Oh look, didn't see anything. Lavi Other than walls, and torches and a goddamn ceiling.

Nea :/

-- -- the wider hall, which is wide enough for six people or so to walk down it side-by-side, goes on for a ways. Its mostly dark, but likewise has some torches lining the path. At the far end of it, you come to a smallish chamber with a pedestal in the center. On top of it is a gleaming object.

Lavi: Junior

Junior: Hm?

Lavi: Do you smell anything around here? Wood, maybe? I'd feel better if you had a stick again.

Junior: ...what Junior: Oh Junior inhales

Lavi walking along the path, before Nea yells at him again, while continuing to quietly comfort and mom Alma.

Junior: ...mostly just old stone. Dust. You guys. Not a lot in the way of wood.

Lavi makes a frustrated sound at being told that. Lavi: Maybe the next room we come across. Lavi keeps walking down the path.

Smolma: hope they won’t need smol powers for a bit))

Junior shrugs Junior: Nothing more specific planned for Alma yet lol }

Lavi spots the pedestal. !!! Lavi: Junior!

Nea What's /that?/

Junior tilts his head

Lavi: Come look at this.

Junior: Yeah, I see it

Smolma: yet/))

-- -- on top of the pedestal looks like a large gemstone or other. Its got markings carved into it. They look vaguely familiar from somewhere.

Lavi: Correct me if I'm wrong but, I think this might be a talisman.

Junior: Is it? Junior tilts head

Lavi looks at Junior.

Junior: Not the kind I typically use if so Junior: I mean, its similar

Lavi: It could help

Junior shrugs

Nea Are you sure we should touch it

Junior: Maybe

Lavi: Hm... Nea's right.

Nea Of course I am

Lavi: Shut up. Lavi: Not you, Junior.

Junior hums

Lavi Shut up.

Nea is laughing

Lavi: It could be a risk to touch it.

Deak yawns and closes his eye call me when u guys r done

Lavi hello mental box, ur old friend.

Junior bye Nea

Nea you know what?? screw this

Junior: It could be.

Nea jumps to Junior. he doesn't want control right now, he's just sick of Lavi's shit

Junior: It could not be. Junior um excuse u who invited u in

Lavi He invited himself

Nea I'm just going to hang out back here for awhile.

Lavi: If he gets too annoying, put him in a mental box

Junior: Did I say you could jump into my fucking head? Junior why can't I just evict him instead

Nea Don't do that.

Lavi: Our old man's mental training helped out great.

Nea I don't know where I'll go if you throw me out

Junior fucking watch me.

Lavi: Well, you could always just give him a mind smack

Nea JUMPS BACK TO LAVI

Lavi Welcome back.

Nea I don't like him.

Junior good.

Lavi chuckles and adjusts his hold on Alma, petting the small one's hair.

Junior: We could just... leave it here

Lavi frowns. Lavi: Wait Lavi: Did Deak ever eat his potato?

Junior: .............

Nea He has a potato?

Junior r we really doing this Indiana Jones shit

Lavi yes, we r Lavi you got a better idea, then say it now

Junior that doesn't actually work Lavi

Lavi We found some potatoes earlier and had a small lunch.

Nea Damn.

Lavi: Okay, fine, you don't wanna try it then leave it there or just risk grabbing it.

Nea Get it, it might work.

Lavi Deak and I aren't on speaking terms and if I ask for the potato he might eat it to spite me.

Nea ....

Lavi I know

Junior he really just might Junior whatever, he's just gonna grab it Junior YOLO

Deak: deak never moved since hes sleeping ] Deak: with his potato tyvm ]

Nea: || lazy butt

Deak: tRU ] Lavi: || diva lazy butt

Deak: w/e ur still not getting his potato ]

Lavi: || but they can B)

Deak: he'll punch u stay away ]

-- -- after grabbing the gem thingy, nothing happens. There's a flight of stairs and a door just ahead.

Deak: that is HIS potato ]

Lavi: || He's close enough in Nea's range Lavi: || Ah nvm, ur lucky stairs appeared

Junior: Don't steal Deak's potato he's the only one that never ate lol } Junior: rude af }

Deak: ye tru he didnt eat dont take his potato ] Deak: :' ( ]

Nea: || dang it deak, eat

Lavi: || then eat the damn food Lavi cooked for you so you don't keel over

Junior: xD }

Deak: no he is currently napping s m h ] Deak: and also still reeling from being crushed eight times smh who do u think u r ]

Lavi: || Drag h i m

Junior: xD }

Junior: We r not dragging Deak smh } Junior: not in that way anyway xD }

Nea: || drag him up the stairs Lavi: || either he wakes up or he's gonna get dragged

Deak: LAVI UR SO ABUSIVE ]

Nea: || thunk thunk thunk

Junior goes to pick up Deak c'mon bro time to go get on ur feet

Nea If Deak's just gonna be lazy then... I mean...... Nea jumps to the Drama Triplet

Deak get-- Deak srsly

Lavi a bit whoozy

Junior: LOL }

Nea If you're not going to use this, I will

Deak i said i didnt mind so Deak u do u im going back to sleep

Nea brushes himself off Nea: There we go

Junior: .........

Lavi: You just gotta deal with his 'I don't cares' and 'whatevers' Lavi: But let's move on

Junior: That.... works I guess?

Nea: It's a small price to pay

Lavi heads on up the steps

Deak also leave my potato alone Deak thats my only request thank u

Nea You better stay awake, if I need to jump you're gonna just flop over

Lavi: Trust me, he can also evict you like Junior and I can.

Nea Can I eat the potato Nea starts up the stairs

Deak no, please dont

Nea But I'm hungry.

Deak okay you can eat it

Junior follows Lavi

Deak im going to sleep dont wake me up or be stupid

Junior y'know its just gonna end up in your own stomach anyway Deak

Nea ...man you give up easily. Nea Pulls out the potato and just straight up bites it

Deak its not giving up, i jut dont care honestly Deak just

Lavi: Want me to heat it up for you?

Nea ! Nea: Yes, absolutely Nea tosses him the tater

Deak dozes off dont let nea kill me pls

-- -- up the stairs and through the door, you come into a room loaded full of just... stuff. Lots and lots of stuffy. Most of it shiny stuff.

Lavi keeps his hold on Alma and catches the flying potato

Junior oooooooh treasure trove

Nea: ...That's a lot of loot.

Lavi heats up the potato Lavi: Wow

Junior suddenly likes this castle a little bit more

Lavi: I don't recommend touching anything.

Nea: ...Yeah.

Junior or maybe like moderately more Junior: Why not?

Nea wants all this shiny stuff, but... Nea: Why would you touch ANYTHING in this castle?

Lavi hands the potato back to Ne Lavi Nea*

Nea: || ne

Deak: ne ]

Lavi: || nene

Junior holds up the gemstone thingy

Nea munches on his baked potato

Junior: I touched this and nothing happened

Nea: And you think we're gonna get that lucky twice?

Junior: I touched a torch and a pathway opened up Junior: I touched like four levers and it opened the big gates

Nea: .........

Lavi: Junior

Junior: Touching things is good

Nea: You know damn well what I meant Nea: This place doesn't want us to have good things. Nea: It wants us dead.

Junior: Inanimate objects have no concept of desires

Lavi sighs against Alma's hair. Yup, this castle definitely wants us dead.

Nea B|

Lavi: Whatever twisted asshole made this castle wants us dead.

Nea: You're a smartass, you know that right

Junior: I like that phrasing better

Lavi eye roll and continues on through the room, trying not to touch any of the nice shinies

Smolma oh look he leans a lil into lavi

Junior: but I still think you're both paranoid

Nea: It's not paranoia if you're right

Lavi rubs Alma's back while walking.

Junior goes and picks up a jeweled flagon and waves it around Junior: Oh look I'm touching a thing

Nea looks around suspiciously

Lavi: ............

Junior: and nothing

Nea Deak your brother is a fucking maniac

Junior: is happening

Lavi: || delayed reaction, perhaps, give it a moment

Smolma his tiny fingers curl into lavis clothing

-- -- literally nothing happens.

Nea: ...

Junior: .... Junior: mmm

Lavi: I'm still not touching anything in this room, it'd just weigh us down.

Junior: still waiting on that impending doom

Lavi: Junior.

Nea: It's not like any of this stuff matters in here

Junior: Hm?

Lavi: Enough.

Junior rolls eye Junior: Y'really take me for some greedy gold hoarder or something?

Lavi honestly, he's paranoid about something bad happening because he doesn't want anything bad happening to his goddamn brothers (and Nea) or Alma and his brother gives him fucking flack. Lavi is just gonna keep walking.

Junior is just gonna browse the room a bit lol bye then

Nea grumbles around a mouthful of potato

Lavi if Nea were in his head right now he'd hear some very dark thoughts.

Nea sorry man I gotta pilot your lazy bro

Lavi dark and negative af.

Nea: Let's just... Leave. Nea all this shit is too tempting

Junior also he's keeping that jeweled flagon it nice

Lavi if there's another door or some stairs in this room then Lavi's gone fromthat room.

Smolma look who has some color in his flesh

Lavi sees that Alma's regaining color and sighs in relief. At least he's getting better.

-- -- there is another door. The room beyond also has some stuff, all very nice stuff but less shiny. Lots of wood and cases and odds and ends. There's some weapons too, mounted or sitting inside other stuff

Lavi stares at the weapons. Nope, he's not going to touch them.

Nea exits the room of temptation. except this one isn't any better

Lavi it's something that could actually be helpful but more of a risk that some stupid shit will happen.

Nea: ...Some of those could be useful

Lavi: I know. Lavi keeps walking

Junior is just gonna keep browsing alone then I guess

Nea: .... Nea is weeeak. look at those weapons,,,

Lavi: I wish I had my knife on me.

Nea realizes that nothing he takes will actually stay with him. B( Smolma when hes in it again, he can make you guys weapons

Junior already added some coins and jewels to his pockets tbh... found some fancy dishware...

Nea really needs to get back to places he recognizes

Junior some rolled up papers that look costly

Smolma groans

-- -- the third room is much like the second room was, a little more rustic looking. Beyond that, the next door leads out into the street outside.

Lavi: || There's a street

-- --: yep }

Lavi: || A street?

Smolma the smols moving

-- --: Yep }

Lavi: || guess he's on the street then

-- --: Not a huge street, but a street }

Smolma but his eyes remain dulled tho

Lavi: Hey, Alma. You awake?

-- --: did u think I misspelled a word xD }

Junior found this cool dagger mounted on the wall--

Smolma shrugs a bit

Junior !!!!!!!

Lavi hugs the small.

Smolma just rests on lavi Smolma the hug feels really really nice, even if he doesn't respond much to it

Junior polished stones!!!

Nea is just gonna follow Lavi outta here. bye junior.

Junior gathers them all up and explore the next room

Lavi glancing around the street Lavi: || junior, you don't have a bag to carry all this shit omg xD

Nea looks around. everything looks the same.

Lavi: Didn't expect to see a street here.

Nea snorts

Junior: tbh he dropped p much all but the flagon and stones xD }

Nea: Really?

Lavi: || g o o d Lavi: || even tho I feel like that flagon will haunt him later

Nea: This place is huge.

Lavi: True. Lavi: Wait, how long have you been here?

Nea: Weeks, maybe?

Lavi: ........

Smolma: had to look up what a flagon was))

Lavi: Fuck.

Junior: Junior: um excuse u flagons carry stuff to drink in them and none of us have had a lick of water for like a day in a half at least }

Lavi uh-oh, he's looking concerned now.

Smolma they can make water Smolma you know, fire n ice elementals are there

Lavi: || As long as it doesn't have poison on the metal

Nea: I honestly wasn't expecting to find anyone else here, but I guess they got sick of looking for me.

-- -- in the street are a few smaller buildings on all sides. The street gets a bit wider after going around them. To each side, the streets bend around until you can't see down them and they disappear. Ahead is a zigzagging path up some cliffs to what looks like a Keep above.

Lavi: Nea Lavi: Recognize anything?

Nea: Huh?

Smolma: .... where....

Nea: Uh...

Lavi quietly tells Alma where they're currently at, describes it for him in detail.

Junior oh yes he hit the jackpot

Nea scratches his head and walks around while looking around

Junior fucking s c o r e Junior comes scampering out after where Lavi and the others went

Smolma hes coming back to them

Nea: I haven't explored much out here...

Junior ....uhhh assuming he can find them RIP

Lavi: Hmmm

Nea: I've just been keeping up around the tower.

Junior did not think Lavi would really go that far ahead

Lavi pets Alma's head.

Nea: And half the time I wasn't really paying attention to where I went

Lavi: .......... Lavi s i g h s

Nea didnt expect to have to remember this shit later

Junior: LA-VIII???

Lavi turns towards the doors. Lavi: JUNIOR? Lavi turns back around with an eye roll

Junior follows Lavi's voice with a grin on his face Junior is skipping tbh Junior like hardcore skipping

Smolma leans into that touch tho

Lavi is not seeing this skipping since he turned back around to look at Nea and is petting Alma's hair.

Junior um well too bad b/c he's going to skip an excited circle around you Lavi Junior: Guess what?

Lavi: You found something.

Junior grins bigger Junior: I found materials

Lavi: Daggers? Lavi: Oh Lavi: O h Lavi: To make a talisman?

Junior: Mhm~

Lavi: Nice!

Junior: Not a GREAT one, but they'll do the job for now

Lavi: Whatever works

Junior: But yes I also got daggers

Lavi nods

Junior: And a small sword or two Junior which are all tied to his belt and look ridiculous all together tbh

Nea snort s

Junior but hey he's only got so many hands Junior: So I vote Junior: We take a breather

Junior: so I can make some talismans and we can all get some rest

Lavi: I'm fine with that. But we also need to hurry up and find Nea's body Lavi: He's been here for weeks

Nea: It'll survive without me Nea maybe. probably.

Smolma: it'd be funny if it was in the treasure room))

Nea doesn't actually know

Nea: || because he's a gem Nea: || ba dum tsh

Junior so like you really are terrible at navigation huh

Lavi: || HAHA, Just hidden under the coins

Nea: || haha jk he's a nasty lump of coal

Junior: lmao }

Lavi: The small buildings, perhaps?

Junior nods Junior: Maybe we'll even find a bed...

Lavi starts walking towards the buildings

Junior follows but also fidgeting. Little bit excited tbh Junior just a little

Nea follows after them

-- -- the inside of the buildings, after searching a few rooms, appear to have a lot of beds. Lavi he's gonna set Alma down on one after warning him a little that he was setting him down on a nice bed. Smolma he doesn't respond Smolma there's not enough progress for that Junior is just gonna find the biggest bed and drag both his brothers to it Nea is in one of your brothers excuse me Lavi is dragged, ends up dragging Alma too bc he doesn't wanna leave him alone.

Smolma: daww that was cute lavi))

Junior then go into some mental corner or something

Nea wow okay fine im not invited Nea retreats to a 'mental corner' enjoy your unconscious brother

Junior I will thanks that's kinda the point of sleep anyway Junior: RIP Nea }

Nea: || rip in rest Nea: || shit tho that was rad af, thanks for lettin me swoop in uwu

Junior: ye I'm glad u liked it xD }

#Chatzy #archive

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