[ic] inbox for labyrinthum

[jugglery]

WELL, HELLOOOO THERE! Say the words at the thing!
[ text ⦿ voice ⦿ video ⦿ action ]

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[jugglery]

Sure.

[he stands up from the couch. honestly, Shadow Milk was bored tonight, and he didn't like being left with his own thoughts. too many thoughts about too many different people. making friends is weird.

he stretches, cracking his back]

I can be there in a jiffy.

-> action.

[crticalhit]

Okay, good! I'll see you soon.

[Tenna does not need to go there himself; he's already in the tavern. After Dreamercon ended he's been left with far too much time and silence on his hands, so hanging out in crowded taverns is preferable to lying face-down on his bed feeling Sad and Rejected. At least he can accidentally bump into people for interaction out here.

As ever, he's not hard to find. Tenna's leaning against the bar counter so he's still at least a head and shoulders taller than everyone else around him. He's fiddling with an empty glass in his hands, tapping a finger against it every so often.]

[jugglery]

[Shadow Milk is still as short as ever as a human, but he waltzes into the tavern in such a grandiose way, as with everything he does, that it makes up for his small stature. he is really curious about why Tenna called him out, and what he wants to talk about. it's... funny. that he would come to Shadow Milk at all.

but Shadow Milk is slowly discovering that people have been trying to reach out to him, and wish to learn more about him. and. it's terrifying. but warm? and complicated! certainly, he doesn't have relationships with these other characters that are similar to what he has with Pure Vanilla Cookie, but they are all meaningful in their own ways. he's very confused about it.

in any case, he sidles up beside Tenna, clapping him on the shoulder]

Mister Tenna! Fancy meeting you here!

[like they didn't just plan to meet less than a half-hour ago]

[crticalhit]

[Tenna has a hard time seeing anything happening to the side of him, given his lack of peripheral vision, but he does catch sight of Shadow Milk just in time to not be too startled by the sudden clap to the shoulder. It still makes him jump a little bit, for reasons he'd rather not call attention to, before he grins at the smaller man.]

Hey there! What's a cookie like you doing in a place like this?

[He can play along with banter, easily. Tenna puts his empty glass down and settles back against the counter.]

Thanks for coming out this way.

[jugglery]

[Shadow Milk removes his hand. he does notice that Tenna seems to be on edge, but he won't call attention to it. he was only teasing, anyway. trying to be... friendly? he supposes. he moves a stool to take a seat beside him]

Don't worry about it! I wasn't doing anything important.

[just contemplating his Labyrinthum choices]

[crticalhit]

[For his part, Tenna's not too bothered. It's nice to be distracted from his own thoughts by someone else... even if he's called Shadow Milk out here specifically because of these thoughts. Right.

Tenna slides onto a stool as well, resting his elbow against the counter.]

Oh, good! It's been kinda quiet without the convention stuff, hasn't it? Haha... bit hard to get used to.

[For him, anyway. Tenna truly loved every second of the attention. He drums his fingers on the table.]

But uh, speaking of that. You remember what I was saying on that Sleepr thing? About the merchandise everyone was selling?

[jugglery]

[Shadow Milk had loved the attention, also. even the bad attention!]

Hmmm~ Yeeeees?

[he flags down the bartender for something. he wants something sparkly and fruity, his exact words]

You mentioned that people were selling your stuff, right?

[crticalhit]

My stuff, yeah! And stuff that had both me and my old partner in it.

[His mouth sets into an unhappy line for a moment, thinking of the poster he has stashed in the back of his wardrobe. Something those merchants never should have gotten their hands on.

With a sigh, he smacks his empty glass onto the table and gestures for the bartender to refill it.]

He's turned up. Here. That's why there was so much stuff with his face on it.

[jugglery]

[oh. oh no. Shadow Milk fights the urge to laugh, because Tenna does not look happy about this. he clears his throat, thankful when his blue drink is set in front of him]

I... I see! When did you find out? He was here, I mean.

[crticalhit]

A few weeks ago. That smarmy little-- he practically snuck up on me!

[Jumped out at him, unexpected, even if all Spamton really did was happen to be talking behind Tenna at the time. It felt like an ambush. Tenna drums his fingers on the table impatiently as the bartender sweeps off to get him a new drink, his other hand gesturing wildly at nothing in particular.]

I didn't think he'd come here! I figured he had no reason to!

[jugglery]

That means he had a wish, right? Pretty sure everyone has one, no matter how well-off they seem.

[he sips at his drink, feeling less awkward, and more upset on Tenna's behalf. sure, everyone may have a wish, but that doesn't mean they would be brought here. it seems that whoever is in charge in this world picks and chooses who gets to come.

someone made the decision to bring Tenna's old partner to this world, while Tenna was here. the same way Shadow Milk Cookie and Pure Vanilla Cookie were brought here at the same time. it's very twisted!]

[crticalhit]

I guess. He must.

[It comes out a bit harangued. Now that Tenna's actually spoken to Spamton, he has to admit that the other man probably does have valid things to wish for. It's still frustrating though, because he's still angry about everything and doesn't like admitting it. This just muddies the waters, dilutes them.

When his fresh drink arrives Tenna scoops it up just to occupy his hands.]

I really didn't think -- I'd ever see him again. Not here or... anywhere else.

[jugglery]

[oh. Shadow Milk sips throw his swirly straw]

Hmm. You wanna tell me a bit more about him? What's really goin' on between you two?

[crticalhit]

[Tenna presses his lips together, grimacing, as his antennas bend forwards at right angles. He might as well... that's why he'd called Shadow Milk in the first place, after all. He's been stewing over this for weeks already and chasing his own thoughts in circles. It needs an outlet.]

It's like I said. We were partners, a long time ago. Business partners, and -- well, he's my ex too.

[Messy. Don't get involved with your business partner. He takes a sip of his drink.]

He used to help out with my show. He did commercials, infomercials, stuff like that.

[jugglery]

[his ex? damn! things are finally clicking into place for Shadow Milk Cookie. he... he's no expert on romance, but he can sense the resentment, mingled with memories.

he looks down, idly spinning his straw in his drink]

Ahhh. I take it the, uh. Separation wasn't cordial, then. If you guys are strained now.

[crticalhit]

No! He left. He abandoned me without a word! Until last week I hadn't even seen him in nearly a decade!

[His antenna bend forward at angry right-angles.]

And then he just shows up here? Just like that?? It's so-- so-- I don't even know! Who's casting this stupid show we're all on?!

[jugglery]

[siiiiiip and Shadow Milk gives an annoyed laugh at the question]

I'm crumbling to know, myself! No one here seems to have any info about who's running the show here! Useless!

[crticalhit]

What kind of boss doesn't even put in face-time with his talent? I know I put in way more effort at this kind of thing.

[Then again, Tenna is a control-freak, so his concept of suitable management styles should not be relied upon. He huffs, taking a swig of his drink.]

But -- whatever, I can't do anything about that. It's Spamton I have to deal with now.

[jugglery]

[don't worry, Tenna. Shadow Milk will find out who's in charge, and he will tell his comrades. that means he'll tell you when he finds out this place's secrets. and he will destroy]

Spamton... Silly name!

[you're one to talk!!]

Anyway, what happened when you saw him?

[crticalhit]

It's an annoying name.

[Annoying because of who it's attached to. Annoying because of everything it inspires in Tenna. Annoying because he can't let it be anything but that. Unfortunately, answering the question means he has to at least glance sideways at how things went down, which wasn't 'annoying'.

His antennas drift downwards a bit, hovering over his face.]

Okay, well - this is where it gets kind of weird. Because when he showed up he started arguing with me-- [Tenna started yelling at him first, but details] --and he was acting like it hadn't been that long since he saw me? Which is stupid, I know how long it's been, but -- he ran off again! Before I could figure anything out!

Can you believe that?

[jugglery]

Sounds like he didn't want to chat.

[Shadow Milk swirls his straw in his cup, considering. he's upset on Tenna's behalf. why?]

Probably embarrassed, but he at least owes you an explanation. I think.

[says the Cookie who runs away from his own problems]

[crticalhit]

Ugh, I don't know. It's-- complicated.

[And isn't that just the biggest pain in his panels? It's far, far more complicated than any of his most deranged daydreams. Tenna's gone over the events of the past more times than he can count, come up with countless what-ifs about how and when Spamton might reappear one day. None of it matched up with what actually happened.

Tenna has a mouthful of his drink, subsiding a bit from his loud irritation.]

I found him again a few days later and he was ... different. Said he went home and came back here years later. I didn't think that could happen.

[jugglery]

[complicated! Shadow Milk can relate.

what Tenna says next, though, has him lifting his head. his eyes widen a fraction]

Wh-what?

[he hasn't heard of that, either!]

[crticalhit]

That's what I mean by weird!

[Tenna throws his free hand up in the air, at a loss.]

Now he agrees about how long it's been but it's -- all screwy. I have no idea what to do about any of it. It's not what I expected at all!

[He expected to get mad, get into a fight about it, tear strips off Spamton for all those years of accumulated misery. None of that happened. Instead Tenna got information he wasn't ready for.]

[jugglery]

[Shadow Milk is trying to wrap his head around the "Said he went home and came back here years later" mess. he needs more information on this, but he's not sure Tenna can give him that information. he may... talk to others about it, people who have been in this world longer.

anyway, he shakes his head to clear it]

Yeah, that's a lot! Sounds like you were too stunned to properly tell him off, too.