Inbox: Iyashikei

[jesterlies]

soon there will be somehting

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time is confusing, in person

[purevanillacookie]

[ Feeling he has given Shadow Milk plenty of time now to rest and recuperate, Pure Vanilla will track him down. While he's gotten used to the other popping out from under his robes, he also knows the Beast has been moping around like a dejected cat as well.

Which means its time to talk, and get the other introduced to the rest of the Cookies proper. Oh sure, he's come with Pure Vanilla plenty of times, but hiding amongst his robes. ]

Shadow Milk Cookie?

[ Of course he's going to check his room. Which is pretty much Shadow Milks room now... ]

time??? exists

[jesterlies]

[He is not moping, he is biding his time! He is laying low, this is all very strategic! He has agreed to allow Pure Vanilla to take the lead for whatever this life might be now, powerless and pathetic as he is, so really he's being very gracious in how well behaved he's been!]

[He could be doing much, much more to the people here. He could be- but he hasn't.]

[Just because he's too tired to do much doesn't mean!! He's moping!!]

[Anyway, he's certainly taken over the room. He's added some of his own flair to it, covered it in colorful banners and such.]

Present.

[Hm, he could hide under the bed and scare Vanilla maybe. Ugh, that takes effort though, he's going to just continue floating here, lazily letting a needle stitch at another piece of fabric.]

[purevanillacookie]

[ The banners makes him pause for a moment, amused. Well they certainly look very... Spire Inspired (haha) but it's also quite something to see him sewing again.

Memories... all alone in the moonlight...

Then he studies the blue jester, thoughtful.

Nods. ]

How are you feeling? All healed finally?

[ It's time you get a Job, Son- ]

[jesterlies]

[He looks up just enough to slide his gaze over at the Healer.]

Oh? Are you worried? Haven't you been seeing to that yourself?

[He inks down, disappearing into the shadows again, this time a score of eyes blink open from all around him. His little sewing project drops to the bed. That phrasing... "Finally"?]

Is your patience beginning to run out, Vanilly?

[purevanillacookie]

Of course I am.

[ He sighs as Shadow Milk disappears into the shadows. Oh, no you don't! He stares back at the eyes now blinking at him.

Then smiles, sweet as always, and lays his hand on his chest. ]

Never. Instead, I think it's time you got out more! There are many things to see in Iyashikei, and though you have been coming with me, there's still much yet to explore!

[jesterlies]

You're kicking me out?

[What the fuck, he was right? He's actually kind of shocked??? After all that?]

[purevanillacookie]

No!

[ HUFF. Dearest other half, come out here- ]

This is your home, Shadow Milk Cookie! So long as we remain in Iyashikei! I merely think it's time you explore from a different point of view!

[jesterlies]

Ugh, and what point of view would that be?

[The eyes watch him very closely for a moment before he slowly rises back out of the shadows again, this time from under his bed rather than his robes.]

I follow you around all the time, what else could you possibly want?

[purevanillacookie]

[ There we go!

With a smile he holds out his hand to the other, the bracelet laying in it. ]

1/2

[jesterlies]

[The bracelet.]

Canon update

[purevanillacookie]

[ "The Council said it would take a day so I'll be back tomorrow!"

Is what Pure Vanilla told Shadow Milk on taking a trip home to check things out. It'll be all right, he assured, he can handle whatever goes on. It's not his First War, after all, and though such things pulls and weighs heavy on him, he can't go any longer without knowing. Without seeing everyone.

A day goes by, and perhaps ... perhaps Pure Vanilla shouldn't have gone.

Because when he arrives back, there are deep dark bags under his eyes, and he looks a little skinnier than normal. The War is over, and he's been trying desperately on Earthbread to forget.

Everything.

He doesn't announce he's back but Shadow Milk should be able to feel him. Or, well. Feel the lack of him. His Soul Jam drained. The Light of Truth quiet. He sits in the kitchen and sips some tea. ]

[jesterlies]

[He tries. Without telling him why, of course, but he does try to stop him. Of course, there are things that he doesn’t want him to see, and obviously thats the only reason he doesn’t want him to go back, so why wouldn’t he?]

[But he goes and Shadow Milk scoffs like a stubborn cat and slips off into the shadows. And he stays there, anxiously the entire time. What if he doesn’t come back? What if thats it, Pure Vanilla gave up on him for good and left him here? Well! Well, that’s fine!! Its his house now! Obviously!]

[He’ll do whatever he wants! Maybe he will change the decor around! Maybe he will sew together some table cloths in his colors and banners and put a new doll on his bed and- ]

[Unfortunately what Pure Vanilla is greeted with is the results of a manic episode and fabric and sewing all over the living room.]

[It takes a moment for him to realize he’s back. Relief and trepidation run through him. Eventually Pure Vanilla might feel the shadows watching him.]

[But then suddenly a little blue and black quilted coaster will find its way under his tea.]

[purevanillacookie]

[ For a moment, he stares at the coaster under his tea. Shadow Milk really went sewing insane over just that day, huh? He sets his tea cup down onto it.

It's ridiculous how this is what finally breaks him down again. This one simple act of kindness, from someone whose tormented and tortured him, whose ripped him apart, who dropped him into the milk of his soul and tried to drown him in his memory... but is trying now.

And he knows it's not a lie. He might have thought so, had they not made that little bit of breakthrough earlier.

But it's also been not terribly long since the War ended, since Shadow Milk dug his claws in and tore and then-

Sorry, Shadow Milk.

Pure Vanilla covers his eyecings with his hands and begins to cry. Not as bad as he did before but silent big fat drops. ]

1/2

[jesterlies]

[Hey what the fuck]

[jesterlies]

[Uh! That was not his intended reaction, and he figured- okay if he went back and lived through what he remembers then that means him hitting him with the airship, their rematch, him dropping him in the milk lake of truth, the torment nexus, green bean-]


[Yeah okay, so he was expecting a liiiittle hostility? But not tears!! What the fuck happened? Did he actually kick the bucket?? No, no, that can’t be it. Pure Vanilla wouldn’t mourn h-]

Whoa, Yikes uh.

[The shadows recede again and then suddenly Pure Vanilla gets a familiar shadow milk doll dropped on him.]

Did you miss me that much, Silly Vanilly? Jeez!

[purevanillacookie]

[ The suddenly doll startles him enough to drop his hands and look down towards it. He hasn't stopped crying, he doesn't think he's going to stop yet for a while, but he does wipe at his eyecings with his hand before picking the doll up. He sets it on the table in front of him. ]

You- [ sniff ] - you are so insufferable.

[ He sounds tired, a little flat. A very familiar tone of voice. ]

I don't think I will ever understand you.

[ It sounds almost like an admission of defeat. There's no follow up of but I want to. There's none of his usual optimism.

Even with the time spent in Shadow Milks memories, as the Prophet, the Cookie is an enigma. Hot one moment, cold the next.

Tears still track down his face. ]

[jesterlies]

[There's a marked silence following that statement. A thick feeling in the air of suspension, of a breath being held.]

[Shadow Milk picks him apart meticulously from the shadows, still having not shown himself. Eyes gaze from corners in the kitchen. So, did Pure Vanilla hit his limit with forgiveness? Was Shadow Milk just fooling himself when he finally agreed to take his hand? Was it always going to be that they were just a hair apart from finding that understanding?]

[...Something isn't quite right, though. This does not look like the Pure Vanilla he left back home. So ...he's seen more, then. Something beyond what he knows.]

He doesn't want to be seen right now, to be exposed or vulnerable, but he needs to know more. It's not because he's worried, obviously. It's just- it's unsettling seeing this person finally hit their limit. He remains where he is for now.]

That's kind of the brand, Nils. [Being insufferable.] Do you regret it now? Offering your hand to me in this place?

[purevanillacookie]

[ Since Shadow Milk remains in hiding, Pure Vanilla will talk to the doll. Stare at it's adorable little smile and remember finding it on the chair in the Spire. Unsure if it had been a gift or something to mock him. Ultimately accepting it as a gift.

That loneliness in Shadow Milk that still lingers.

He sighs to the question, reaching out to rearrange the dolls hair, lifting his hand to wipe at his eyecings again. He's beginning to feel a little sticky. ]

... No.

[ It's easy how it comes out of his mouth, and Pure Vanilla lets it settle on his tongue. Tests it. Yes, it's truth. ]

No, I don't regret it. But I can't forgive you for what you did to my friends. To me once more. I can't help but worry you will do it again, once your power returns to you. That you will decide my attempts to understand you will set you off again, and you will pull me down once more.

[ He reaches out and gathers the doll up again, hugging it to him, his eyes closing as he leaks on it. ]

Can you promise me? Can you promise you won't lash out like that again?

[ He doesn't want to lose him. Not after... not after seeing his body with the other Beasts, Jam shattered and dough lifeless and still. But he can't go on without some reassurance he won't have his mind ripped apart again, the pain and agony screaming through him. ]

... Please?

[ It's quiet. ]

[jesterlies]

[…is he truly mourning him? Is that what’s happened? No, there must be more, but he can’t help the way something in him aches when he pleads like that.]

[Once upon a time, he would have howled at Pure Vanilla acting so pathetic. Shoved his face in the ground and paraded his ego endlessly over such anguish. Now, he just feels empty. And yet, even now, he is still reaching for him.]

I never asked for forgiveness. Everything I’ve done, I’ve done without remorse.

[So, he accepts he wont get it. But too, its a little white lie. There is something he regrets still. Its an uncomfortable feeling.]

[It gets worse because of what he’s asking. He could lie very easily, and just agree. Reassure him with empty lies, but this feels so fragile for them both.]

No.

[Which sounds like a refusal at first. Instead, Pure Vanilla will feel something bump against his legs. Something soft and weighty. A cream sheep has loafed down under the table.]

But I promise that I will try like before, to reel them in.

[Like when he did the one time, when Vanilla offered him the bracelet.]

Believe me or not, I don’t find any joy in hurting you these days.

[purevanillacookie]

[ Without remorse hurts, but he understands that at least. Everything Shadow Milk did was for a purpose. He remembers the memory. Witches, where were you? Why, after everything, you wouldn't intervene?

He sighs softly and grimaces to the No, but it seems like the truth, at least. Shadow Milk could have placated him, kicked their carefully built biscuit bricks out from under them by telling him he promises. He's not sure if that pleases him or not.

Instead he just feels even more tired. A slump in his shoulders.

The movement against his legs makes him look down and he pauses. A cream sheep.... Shadow Milk. Yes. Shadow Milk has distinctive looks even when shapeshifting.

He's silent for a moment then puts the doll back onto the table. Shadow Milk gets no warning as Pure Vanilla slides off the chair and under the table to take hold of the milk sheep. And flop his face into the wool.

He's not sure he trusts him. Not fully. But he wants to. He hurts so much and he doesn't want to hurt anymore. He's lost Lily. The Beasts are dead. Dark Enchantress Cookie's fate was cruel and dismal. ]

I believe you.

[ The but lingers silently. But Pure Vanilla is hanging on a candy floss. ]

I ruined the 69 comments... 😔

[lilyoftheark]

[So, it's been a while since Maria's decided to stay with the two Cookies, with the aid of her own transformation bracelet, and while she's exceptionally close to one of the two magic users...she only really sees the other a handful of times. But, given that she still attends school, and has to regularly check in at the hospital to make sure her health is in order, it makes sense their schedules don't line up. However, Maria's wanted to delve into something that's only really possible here in Iyashikei, with the help of its academy.

Magic.

She's felt pretty damn useless for a while now, and being as intelligent as she is...her studies really are mostly for socializing than anything else. She needs something more, something that will actually challenge her brilliant mind. But while she has to wait on her application to get approved for the academy, Maria decides to take some initiative. After all, she lives with two people who know magic like the backs of their crispy little Cookie nubs, and one...possibly more than the other. So! After a lot of deliberation, Maria putters her way down the hall of their shared home and brings her fist to knock on the door of a certain jester's bedroom.]

...Shadow? [A beat, and she catches herself, floundering for a second.] M-Milk! Shadow Milk? Are you home?

into the shadow realm with you

[jesterlies]

[Shadow Milk has kept an eye on this one. Though he might have fussed and stamped his foot when Vanilla told him she was moving in, he did not fight too much, and more or less just kept to himself. Though, Maria likely could tell when he was watching. Just!! Making sure she wasn't getting into trouble or anything.]

[Perhaps a weak or two in, Maria found a plush doll of a silly rabbit dressed like a little squire, complete with a fluffy ruff and tabard, somewhere near her things. No note, of course. Like it simply appeared!!]

[This is the first time she's come knocking, though. Hm. Maybe if he ignores her, she'll go away? How long will she keep knocking. Ah, no, he can hear Vanilla's voice now, and he might get that Look about him so-]

[A portal opens up under her.]

[It'll drop her onto some pillows inside the room, where Shadow Milk will be floating, working on some sewing project.]

You rang?

BETTER THAN THE TORMENT NEXUS wheeee

[lilyoftheark]

[In all honesty, the first few days of her moving in were probably incredibly boring. A lot like the jester himself when he arrived, Maria kept mainly to herself and her room, hiding away in the dark or sleeping as much as she could. It was only after perhaps the third or fourth day that she began to get active again, little by little, and through his observations Shadow Milk probably pieced together just how incredibly bright this young girl actually is. The bookcase in her room is chock full of thick tomes about earth science, history, astronomy, and so, so, so many books on robotics and engineering. She's even started her own various small projects when she can, desk littered with notes, designs, and tools to put things together and take them apart. It wasn't difficult for him to drop the plush in her room silently, once she was absorbed in something, Maria would rarely break free from it until it was either done, she hit a snag, or her biological needs had to be met (food and water). Of course, once she did notice it, the cuddly plush henceforth had a permanent place on her bed with a few others, and she frequently sleeps with it.

Still, despite knowing it was Shadow Milk who gave it to her (it's not hard to discern, given the aesthetic), Maria kept out of his way for the most part, though any time he did slither out of his hidey-hole, she was always cordial and pleasant. Today really is the first time she's actually seeking him out, and oh...today is also when she realizes just who she's dealing with, and why he got bonked on the head with Pure Vanilla's staff upon their first meeting. That portal opens under her suddenly and she is falling, a squeak much like the one before cut short as she floomps onto that pile of pillows, stunned and a little dazed. G-Give her a minute, she's reeling, and needs to settle her heartrate down to a manageable level first. It's been a while since she was warped anywhere, and the effects are always...hourgh.]

Ah...hah. Y-Yes, sorry to bother you, if you're busy... [Getting up, and adjusting her headband, Maria stares up at him, then around his room curiously for a moment, taking it in.] I wanted to ask if you could do something for me. A bit of a favor, I suppose, i-if you have the time, that is.

[jesterlies]

[He has taken note of this, which is amusing but he also well, he approves. He likes to see someone value intelligence! Especially so young! He might be paying attention to what she's interested in and what she might be missing as far as studies go...]

[FOR NO REASON.]

[Anyway, here she is! He grins wide, seeing her startled, because of course he wasn't going to answer the door like a normal fucking person, who do you think he is? That would be boring.]

[He watches her, eyebrow quirking as she struggles to get out what she wants. That she wants a favor from him gets a bark of laughter. He floats closer, head propped by his little cookie hands and all the eyes in his haircing hone in on her in amusement.]

A favor. From moi? Oh, this will be good. What could you possible want from me? C'mon now, out with it. I'm a busy cookie!

[lilyoftheark]

[Her interests aren't hard to pinpoint - science is the big one - but her lacking studies are mainly things like more advanced math, literature, and history. She's probably got a college-level mindset, literally a genius (it runs in the family), but Maria is still just a child, too. She's got a lot of growing to do.

ANYWAY. Maria doesn't seem overly intimidated by the little Cookie, blinking back at all the eyes in his hair looking at her, and she tilts her head to the opposite side in response. How curious, and fascinating...do those work like actual eyes? If she were to poke one, would it hurt him? What it someone were to try and brush his hair? Would it get caught on one of those? Haha, that's gross to think about...and Maria's lips quirk up to one side for a second in morbid delight before she clears her throat.]

Will you teach me magic? Please? [Not can, because of course he can but if he will is a real mystery.] I've already signed up for the academy, but it'll take a few weeks for them to process everything, so I thought, since you and Vani can do it so effortlessly...I'd get a head-start learning the basics.

Plus I...don't want to learn just healing, either. You're so much better at magic that does other things, Shadow Milk.