a bit too old to run away

children's games in city...oh lets play house ! you be the mother, distant and quiet, you be the father, gone all day, i'll be the sibling, training for guard. nursery rhymes that could stray into horror, echoes of their holy nine, the neon ringing their city, the things that happened to the next door neighbor. mommy, what does seized mean? they said be good or they'll seize you. we're going out to play! no, you have to stay inside. they don't want to see you like that. it's not good for the people. reading a bedtime story but all the books are new, spines not cracked and the fairy tales happened in recent memory. they wrote all the fables up in their towers, took their ideals and religion and veiled it for a eight year old. dad, what's outside the city? nothing, just a monster who will eat you up. dad, are we safe in here? under the nine we're always safe. go back to bed. you have school in the morning.

no no no put me back in the loop I almost did it perfect please put me back just a few more tries and I think I could really nail it please put me back

ohh so a drag path etched in the surface (them as kids) can you find me (singing at each other years in the future)

do youuu ever. Think about saiclancy and get genuinely a little bit nauseous.

thinking about Trench time dilation… it’s not always consistent, but time generally moves much faster in Dema. weeks seem to blur together, whole seasons can pass without notice, hair grows grayer quicker, and there’s barely any time to be a kid before suddenly you’re grown. out in Trench, time slows. for new escapees, their first night feels like it lasts a week. sunrises feel like they last for hours. summers last for years. it takes a while for them to realize they’re not aging the same. new Banditos find freedom in that extra time, but it also comes with a sense of dread and responsibility because they know time is still moving fast back in Dema, those still trapped are being left behind. people dragged back to the city can lose years of their lives in the weeks it takes Banditos to come find them again.