Sugarcane

you walk and walk, turning corridors and trying to avoid looking at those nice pretty crystals everywhere. but you do. big ones small ones. green pink purple blue.\neventually your crystal notices and a small shard emerges from it, pricking you in the hand. you wince and yelp\nblood runs down your palm\na bit of blood smears the smooth gleaming purple surface\n\nwhat do you say\n[[it was my fault]]\nor\n[[why do you hurt me]]

the stinging ringing feeling in your ears emanating from the crystal overwhelms you and you abruptly drop it to the ground\n\nit screams at you in the language of hums\n\nW̲͊̽H͍̻̠̒ͯ̏͐Y̶͖͍͇͕ͮ̄͋\nW̲͊̽H͍̻̠̒ͯ̏͐Y̶͖͍͇͕ͮ̄͋\nW̲͊̽H͍̻̠̒ͯ̏͐Y̶͖͍͇͕ͮ̄͋\nARE YOU NOT HAPPY HERE?\nAM I NOT GOOD ENOUGH\nTHERE IS NOTHING FOR YOU THERE\nYOU ARE H͈ͭU̪͇͎̭̮̲͈̐ͭ̅̚Rͫ́ͬ́T̝̉̌̊̓̃ͨ͘ͅĨ͖͂̌̊ͯ̃́Ṇ̪̜̫̭̔ͣͬG̳̺͇͙̣ͧ̊ͫ̔ͮ ME\nYOU DROPPED ME\n\n[[SORRY SORRY SORRY I WILL STAY]]\n\n[[RUN]]

you run quickly your legs hurt but you keep moving\nmaybe the surface is somewhere maybe it's just a story but you just hope for no dead ends\nthe crystal spreads behind you\n[[run|onward1]]

in your sleep you feel something cold and crystal crawling on you\nthe immobile cannot outrun\n\nyou were whole\nnow you are empty [[again|not]]

you scoop up the water with cupped palms and drink it, repeating this several times until you are satisfied\nthe cool refreshing water drips down your chin\n\nwhen you are finished, you stand and gaze around the room\neverything is so beautiful\nthe crystals glow and glitter. now that you can observe them without the painful reproach of your other crystal, you notice so many details- they glow so much more warmly. your crystal was not perfect as you had taught yourself to think- upon comparison it was full of scratches and imperfections\nsome of the crystals you see, you think, are true beauty\n\nyou approach a small cluster of gleaming emeralds embedded in the wall\n\nwhat do you hear\n[[nothing]]\n[[hums]]

you kneel down\nyour crystal is still angry but it sees this as an opportunity\nyou are weak now you need the crystal it will protect you\nyou were so wrong for trying to leave like that\n[[there's nothing out there for you.]]

there is nothing for you here\nyou climb into the water and lay down trying to be peaceful but the red rubies at the bottom prick at your back and your lungs hurt and it is all very uncomfortable\nsuddenly you hear the rubies humming\nthey are frantic\nare you sure about this\n\n[[get out]]\n[[stay in]]

it will be over soon\nthe rubies are just confused\nthey've never seen someone so silly before\nwell, they've never seen someone\n\nyou choke on water but more just floods in\neventually you try to change your mind because hurts hurts hurts but you drown even though you climb back out\nyou drown as the cool water that has filled your fragile lungs cannot be expelled\n\nthe end

you hold in your lap a heavy gem\n\nyour crystal is perfection, its purple iridescence shimmers warmly for your eyes yours and yours alone\nyou've seen some other nice crystals but this one is [[yours]]\nbut do you [[really]] want it to be?

shimmering caverns: a weird autobiographical metaphorical thing\nmy first twine\nthere are seven endings\n\n[[begin]]

you think the crystals are kinda cute in a way. they are also different- their humming is sweet and warm, they hum hello, they glow softly\n\nupon examining them you realize how different they are\nyou realize that purple gem is actually not perfect but the thought shocks you- it's not right, you two are bonded. however you cannot help but notice that your crystal has lines and imperfections whereas these are smooth and glimmering and friendly\nyou feel guilty\n\nthey rest loosely in little sockets from which they can be picked up, just like all crystals here\nthey hum invitingly\n\n[[take one]]\n[[look but don't touch]]

that night, the shimmering spires emerge once more and\npierce\n\nyour hand\nthen your leg\nnot too deep but it still hurts\nblood dribbles out\n\nbut somehow you wind up apologizing\n\n[[onward]]

"i know\ni am sorry"\n\nyou feel weak\nyou could continue your plan to go to the surface but the gem in your arms does not want it\nso tired\n\nyou sit on the ground\n[[...|there's nothing out there for you.]]

you apologize\nyou apologize some more more for getting blood on your pretty crystal but you don't talk about it too much. if you get too sad the crystal gets angry because why do you care about yourself so much? what do you want it to even do to help you? why are you so self-centered? is it not enough that you have a beautiful crystal? why be sad?\n\nyou wipe the blood off of the gem's surface and keep walking\n\nonce you've walked down a few too many tunnels, the crystal hums the hum that asks a question\nthe question is 'where are we going'\n\n[[the surface]]

you push the crystal away\nit hums so loud that your ears ring\nit glows intensely and you look at the ground\n\nyou understand the language of humming for you have been unexposed to the speech of your kind for innumerable years\nit has always been this way yet your dissatisfaction builds\n\n"why do you push me away\ni didnt mean to hurt you\nyou are hurting me\nhold me"\n\nit keeps talking and talking so loud so loud\n\n"why why\nwhy\nyou love me dont you\nwhy are you looking away\nwhat are you looking at\nstop. apologize\napologize for pushing me away"\n\n[[refuse]]\n[[im sorry]]

you admire them for a while and think\nsuddenly\n\nsomething is moving fast out of the corner of your eye and it is humming like a wasp nest\nyour crystal, spreading down the corridors like a coating of gems, and it's angry\nit crushes the crystals you were looking at along with any others in the vicinity\ntheir hums are cries of fear before they go silent and some shattered pieces, now no longer glowing, fall on the ground\n\nyou are aghast\n\nthe crystal turns its attention to you\n\n"why were you looking at another crystal\nwe are together\nnobody would ever like you, you're too sad\ntoo dissatisfied\nthey'd never stick around\nyou're lucky you have me"\n\nwhat do you do:\n\nyou decide you were wrong and you dismiss your thoughts. you are tired and drained now. "[[im so sorry let's go home|sleep]]"\n\nor\n\n[[i am not lucky]]

you love the crystal love love love love you swear but is it really love\nyou can't remember ever being parted\nyou can't remember not loving\nit's been so long it must be love\n\nbut the shimmering caverns are full of other crystals dwarfing yours in size and beauty- you realized this long ago but you try to deny it. yours is the most beautiful...\n\na thought flits by of what\nthe surface\nmight be like. does it exist? perhaps it is the product of an overactive imagination\nyou are very curious- maybe you could [[explore for it]]\n\nmaybe you should [[take a walk]]? looking around might clear your head\nor it might be better to [[stay|just stay here]]

"i am just going for a walk"\n\nyou know you should not have lied because the crystal knows\nit only becomes more angry than if you had told the truth\nits glow seethes\nits surface ripples with small emerging shards like the ocean before a storm\ntumultuous humming\n\n"no\nyou are a liar\nwhy do you lie to me"\n\nit doesn't know whether to guilt trip you or just go on a tirade\n\n"apologize"\n\nit doesn't care about the truth so much as try to make you feel bad\n\n[[i am sorry]]\n[[goodbye|onward1]]

"that is better"\n\nyou are unsure now... maybe it's better to [[stay]]\nand yet a voice says [[run|onward1]]

strength and heat fill your body\nyou run and run\nyour legs move so fast and you look back\n\nthe crystal has less strength than you can recall as it slowly moves, humming lowly\nperhaps you were more important to it than you thought? you dart in corridors randomly, throwing the animate crystal off of the trail. you pant but you push yourself hard\n\nyou are weak yet you run longer than you have ever\neventually you find yourself in a large round room with a lagoon that glows crimson from the clusters of ruby encrusting its shallow bottom. you are [[thirsty]]. you must stay awake\n\nhowever you are also tired- [[sleep beckons]]- and you feel a bit empty inside\nbut are you imagining that feeling\nis a part of you truly missing\nis something wrong

that night, shimmering violet spikes grow from your crystal like beautiful spires\n\n[[>]]

your fault your fault\nyou cry a bit\nwhat is wrong with you\n\nthe crystal hisses and hums sharply and persistently\n"why do you always cry\nwhy do you act like you're the only one with feelings\nstop\nyou're hurting me"\n\nyou [[stop crying]]

"stop"\n\nyou kick and squirm and try to break loose\nbut you feel\nweak\n\nit's [[futile|forever]]\nbut your efforts\nshow maybe you could have been strong

the crystals hum happily as you approach\nthey all clamor to speak to you\nthey sound so warm and inviting\n\nyou pull one out of its socket in the wall and it glows even more excitedly\nit wishes for you to stay\nit wants to explore the caves with its friends and to get to know you\nperhaps even share the wisdom of the world which reverberates through nature, even little rocks\n\n[[sure]]\n[[i can't|you have to leave]]

your eyes ache\nlight floods them as you turn around the corner\nwarmth\n\neverything tingles\nyou hear birds\n\nyour language is forgotten you can only hum but soon you will be reunited with your kind\nso many questions\nfreedom\n\nthe end

you wake up after hours and wipe the remaining dried blood off on your legs\nlong smears of coagulated brown-red are on your thighs and the purple gleam of the crystal beside you reflects on your skin\nare you angry\n\n[[yes]]\n[[no]]

the crystal does not relent\nperhaps you must [[sleep]]\n\nyou seem to have exhausted your other options, anyway

"that's better" it hums\nit does not forgive you though\nyou are never forgiven\nfor all of these transgressions\n[[you sob a little|no]]

suddenly an urge fills you to [[run and run and run]]\nyou see purple crystals climbing the walls slowly around the corner with a familiar hum and you know you are about to be hurt or reprimanded\n\nbut maybe this is bad, to run from your troubles\nmaybe you should [[confess]]

you try to feel at peace, but you are afraid\nthe soft peaceful humming is an attempt to console you\nsoon you are covered in crystal\n\nyou sleep\n[[forever]]

LIGHT\n\nyou turn a corner and everything is flooded with LIGHT it's so bright but it's so far away and yet you are overwhelmed\n\nthe crystal seems dismayed\nit howls and howls\n\n[[are you afraid]]?

you continue apologizing in the form of the humming crystal language and the soft touches you provide but it doesn't work you just feel worse and worse and worse like you're sinking\nthis is all your fault\n\nyou hum the hum that asks for an apology\nthere is no reply\n\n[[please]]

you gently pick up your crystal as you stand, cradling it in your arms like a fragile infant, and are rewarded with a soft hum. you will be together forever. your pale skin lights up purple\n\nyou begin [[walking]]

it's just you that causes the problems\nand you're determined to stop\nso you do\nyou let yourself be hurt\n\nyou stay with the crystal\nits energy keeps you alive long past your normal lifespan\ntogether forever\nthis is bliss\n\nthe end

you awaken to glowing crystal corridors providing the caves and caverns with luminescence in myriad colors.\n\nit is another day\nyour sleep schedule is a bit arbitrary in the shimmering caverns where you live without sunlight but you have never known the surface or at least it has been innumerable years. what is light?\n\nyour crystal hums softly and contently in your lap as you think about your life\n\nhave you considered trying to [[find the surface]]\n\nyour crystal seems to sense your restlessness and it hums a bit louder\nmaybe you ought to [[just stay here]]

every day the same routine\nperhaps a bit boring, but there's warmth and security in [[it]]

you make many friends all in that one instant\ntheir green energy pulses through you\nfriendship\n\nthey tell you of nature and wisdom and warmth\nyou go on adventures through crystal caverns and long diamond caves and luminescent trenches with them, plucking them out of their sockets individually to befriend them and take them on a little journey before returning them home\nevery day is something new\n\nit is nice to be cared about\n\nthe end

you know you're in for trouble but you come 'home' anyway\nthe gem knows what the feeling was and is full of rage which barely boils below the surface- indeed, the rippling purple surface of it looks almost as if it is about to melt\nit feigns sadness when you know it is anger\na spire extends as you sit beside it and pricks your arm, a small bead of crimson blood oozing from the stinging puncture\n\nit talks for hours about how you are betraying its trust and how it only wants the best for you and you are not a good partner\neventually you enter a fitful [[slumber|>]]

"i am leaving\ni want to find the surface"\n\nSUDDENLY EVERYTHING\nIS LOUD AND HURTS\n\nit hurts\nthe crystal screams and buzzes\nbut you try to remain calm\n\n"i am leaving" you say simply, and back off a bit\n\n"no you are NOT\nyou are with me you are mine\ni will keep you here\nthere is no such thing as the surface you were born here"\n\nyou shake your head and try to brush these thoughts away but they stir in your mind like angry bees\n\n"you are nothing without me\ni am the power which keeps you alive"\n\nyou leave anyway\n[[goodbye|onward1]]

you stay still as the crystal creeps across the ground like a pestilence. you think that is what it is, at this point. a cancer.\n\nit hisses at you\nit wraps itself around your feet\nit hums at you, asking you to [[apologize|i am sorry]]\n\nor do you [[stay silent|there's nothing out there for you.]]

you make many friends all in that one instant\ntheir red energy pulses through you\nfriendship\n\nthey tell you of nature and wisdom and warmth\nyou go on adventures through crystal caverns and long diamond caves and luminescent trenches with them, plucking them out of their sockets individually to befriend them and take them on a little journey before returning them home\nevery day is something new\n\nit is nice to be cared about\n\nthe end

you pluck one out gently and cradle it in your palms. it is cool and heavy and pulsing. however, your moment is short-lived as a sharp pain seems to pierce your head. the crystal falls to the ground with a thud\n\nyou tried to break the bond\nyou tried to touch another crystal\nhow could you do such a thing\n\nyou can't tell if these thoughts are your own or the thoughts of your crystal- still lurking wherever you left it- but you still feel guilty\nstill, your crystal must have felt the pain too\n\n[[return]]\n[[leave while you have the chance]]

the crystal's energy keeps you alive\nforever\nentombed in gems\nyou have a humming conversation with your crystal forever and sometimes it still pricks you with shards when it gets angry\neventually you go into a coma but it is a very long time\n\none day years in the future explorers find you and break your crystal, setting you free\nyou crumble into dust\n\nthe end

you resign yourself\n\nthere is no surface\nthe surface is an overactive imagination\na fairytale\na false hope echoing in your head like discarded trash\n\nyou were born here\nand you will be here forever\n\nthe crystal slowly spreads over you, all purple illumination and hums that echo against you and through you\nit does not want to risk you leaving ever again\n\nyou chose to [[stay|forever]]

shimmering caverns

your crystal hums loudly in protest as you try to walk away, try to ESCAPE down the corridor lined in glittering minerals\n\nevery step sends it into a louder humming buzzing fervor and you see small pointed protrusions beginning to emerge from its violet surface.\n\n[[console]]\n[[leave]]

you feel a bit bad\nyou return to your crystal's side and squat beside it, humming softly in reply\nthen you reach out and give it a light caress\n\nit hums sadly still, its glow recedes, it is no longer filled with the energy and irritation that it had as you tried to walk away. walk away from it. why would you do that? you have never been apart.\n\nnow you feel very bad, not just a bit\n\nno matter what you do it doesn't seem to feel better\nit wants to make you feel bad\nbut you deserve it\n\nguilty guilty\n\n[[stay here]]\ntry to take [[a walk]] again

are you sure you want to leave it in this state\nlook what you've done\nit is\nlonely\n\nit wants you\nmaybe it doesn't show it\nit loves you\n\n[[leave]]\n[[stay here]]

you stay and stay\nthe crystal is pleased yet you have some slight feelings of longing\nyou push them away- at least you're together. at least you have something.\n\ntime to [[sleep]]

you shake your head and walk away\nif there's anything you've learned it's that crystals cannot be trusted\neven if they pretend to be nice\neven if they're purple\nor red\nred is one step away from purple\nyou shudder at the thought of purple\neverything is so frightening you can't trust anything anywhere you find yourself walking in circles not really thinking about it just paranoid and shaking and it is dark\n\nyou go nowhere\nthere is nothing to really motivate you\nsometimes you bash your head on a crystal and bleed a bit\n\neventually you die\nthere is no crystal bonded to you to feed you its energy and keep you alive and there is no food down here\n\nthe end

you toss the crystal to the ground with a thud and begin running almost on instinct\na feeling of redemption washes over you\nyou run and run. the screaming emanating from the crystal seems to only be getting louder and you look back as you run to see why it has not faded\n\npurple crystal climbs on the walls like a spreading disease\nit crushes the other gems, smothers them with purple light\nit wants to crush and smother you too- it kind of already has\n\nyour heart thumps as your feet do, one against the ground and one inside you like someone is punching your ribs from inside\n\nit is so swift\nbut not as swift as you\n\n[[suddenly]]

quickly you stand and shake your head with newfound vigor, though you had just recently been blinking away the blurry remnants of sleep\nyour wounds ache\n\n"no"\n\nyou work up the courage to say it\nthe words bubble in your throat\nyou feel\nburning\n\n"i don't want you" is all you can force out before you [[run away]]

AͨͭA̯̤̦̓ͨ͊̀̿͌͊͢A̢̱̗̙̯̔́̽ͅA͖̗̞̦͈͊̆ͧA̱̼̩͘A̦͉͕̫͕̍̓̽ͬ̍̽̂A̠̱̤͙̤͉Ä́ͦ̑҉̲̱͕͕̹A̡͓̪̼̠̯͔Ȧ̠͕͊̏̒͌̕A͖͔̳̕A̶͕̯Ā̸̱̻͙A͕̦ͣ̋̍̍̄͛ͣ́Ä̛͍̟̯̥̖͍̱AA̗̳͊ͪͨ͆A̾̿ͨ͗̀Äͭ̚͏͚̯̠͙A̰̻̮͖̼̣̓̅̂A̪͙̟̯̔̾̃͑̎̈̀A̫̼̪̖ͬͣ̒̓ͨ̊Ȁ̧͚̤͔͎̖̩A̪̹̹̺̒͑̇A͍͖͇̯͕ͦ̑̓̑̅̌͟A̧̼̖̲̭ͦ̏̔̿ͣͭ͑A̅ͭ҉̝̺A͉ͯ͐͗̍A̲̱ĄA̵̹̩̫̖͎̩̒̅ͭͧͦA̸̼̲̹̰͙̠̗̽͗ͩͥ͐Å̭̼̪̰ͬ̌͒́a̗̱͔̘͓͗̇ͩͩ̀\n\nyou run and run. the screaming emanating from the crystal seems to only be getting louder and you look back as you run to see why it has not faded\n\npurple crystal climbs on the walls like a spreading disease\nit crushes the other gems, smothers them with purple light\nit wants to crush and smother you too- it kind of already has\n\nyour heart thumps as your feet do, one against the ground and one inside you like someone is punching your ribs from inside\n\nit is so swift\nbut not as swift as you\n\n[[suddenly]]

you live in the open air in the forest as your pained eyes slowly adapt to light\neverything is so imperfect that you find it more beautiful than glowing shimmering gems\n\ndays, weeks pass\n\nall is well until you hear...\n\n\n\n\nhumming\n\nyou look up from your slumber\n\na long trail of glowing purple gems has wound itself around your bare leg and is\ncreeping\nup\n\nno escape\n\n\n\n\n\nthe end

the crystal shrieks at your words but you try to talk over the persistent din that it creates\n\n"i am not lucky\nyou killed them\nyou're disgusting\ni don't want you"\n\nthe words come out so quickly and you're pretty shocked at yourself. the crystal becomes a seething mass, rippling\nit is so loud that you think you will go deaf and for a moment you stand awestruck\nit surges toward you\n[[you bolt away]]

despite your fear you also feel powerful\nyou feel like you could run for days\nyou feel like you are flying through the caverns\nit cannot reach you though it snaps at your heels\n\nyou turn corners rapidly and gain ground quickly hoping to throw off the trail\ninstead of anger, the gem spreading behind you begins putting on the pitiful act\n"i always loved you. look what you're doing. you should feel guilty. come back to me please"\n\n[[run away]]

you feel a sense of determination as you stand and think of which passageway to go down\nthe gem knows something is up and it pulses with unearthly light\nit hums, the language of crystals which you have honed over these innumerable years\n\n"what are you doing"\n\n[[truth]]\n[[lie]]

purple crystal climbs up your feet your legs encapsulating you slowly\nshimmering gem creeps up you and hums soft and low\n\nyou are so tired and you want to be beautiful, only crystal can make you beautiful\nmaybe this is for the [[better]]\nor is it [[not]]

you quickly dart up to the surface and throw up some water\nthe crystals sound pretty concerned\nthey all ask why and you explain, you just kind of let it all out without really thinking, but it all boils down to you being alone\n\nthe rubies want to be your friend\n[[you have to leave]]\n[[you choose to stay]]

you walk away\n"i'll be back" you say over your shoulder but you aren't so sure.\n"i'm just taking a walk for a little"\n\nit's humming something but you don't care to listen. you think you detect fear\n\nyou stroll along the corridors until you find a familiar intersection\non your [[left]] passage is the way to a lagoon\nin the [[right]] passage are opaque powder blue crystals that glow softly and shyly

you set off on your own\nthe crystal hums lowly\nit wants you\n\nbut you feel\n(to mixed feelings of fear and liberation)\nthat you do not want it\n\nit creeps along the ground weakly but is soon out of sight as you turn the corner\nthe yelling and noise were a facade- it has no power over you\nyou smile.\n\nyou search for the outside for a long time\nyou can't tell if you're lonely or if you are just new to this feeling of not being attached to something\nthis might all be futile\nthe outside probably doesn't exist\nthis is all there is\nis it?\n\n[[but then]]

that night, the crystal stabs you in the arm\n\nyou don't want to start a fight though\nso you [[forget about it.]]

you hear nothing from them\nthe crystals silence themselves as you approach- they have not seen one of you, they do not care about you, they are bonded to one another in happy pairs\nwhen you walk away they resume their humming\n\na feeling of great loneliness washes over you\nyou do not want to return to your purple gem\nbut what else is there for you\n\n[[explore some more|you have to leave]]\n[[drown yourself in the lagoon]]\n[[sleep|sleep beckons]]

the crystal hisses and hums back\n\n"i never hurt you never i know you're planning to leave and abandon me\nyou don't really want me\ni only hurt you because you make me\nit's your fault"\n\nyou can't tell if you're overwhelmed with guilt and wish to [[apologize]]\nor whether you want to [[drop it and run]]\nmaybe both

yes\nyou are afraid\n\nbut you will keep moving\nyou burst out into the open air\n\ncrystals have no power here\n\nyou are blinded and yet it is still beautiful\nthe humming is long behind you\nthe songs of nature surround you\n\n[[redemption]]

princefawn

it is yours how could you not love it- you gaze at its purple glow and smile softly\n\ndo you truly love\n\n\n...\n\n\n\nof course you [[do.]]

you take a short walk to a lagoon\nthe large circular room is dominated mainly by the glowing green pool from which massive quartz crystals jut out to nearly reach the ceiling\nyou enjoy the peace but there is not much else to do from here and you are getting tired from not having your crystal beside you\nperhaps it is time to [[go back and sleep|do.]] - if it's not already looking for you