#vortex rot

"I am… as usual. Nothing has changed."

"…The world is cruel. I-I am safe, in this citadel… but my caretaker tells me of such horrors that I have not been able to sleep for the past month… I have been able to fast comfortably for as long as I can remember, but never have I ever felt so faint and ill…"

"…It's been tiring. I'm alright. Nothing has changed. I'm still trying to find my brother. I hope he's safe out there."

Tiny Choco is very afraid of the world… but they have a safe, stable home at least, and they have their friends as a support system. They've recently been getting into painting however, and adore watercolours. They usually paint the sky, since clouds are fun and easy.

Brutalise Choco's condition is currently stable. They are happy that their hair is growing. These days they are able to keep down rooh afza. Rooh afza is a Pakistani rose syrup people usually have with either water or milk, the latter of which being what Brutalise prefers. The mangled prince seems a little bit happier when their father comes to gently tip their head and let them enjoy their favourite drink.

"I'm ok… my speech therapy is going… well… and lately my girlfriend's been… kinder to me. I've been brushing my hair. It's nice. S-she also... seems to like my hair. The kind neighbour brings us Punjabi samosas at… sunset every week. Appa tells me I… I won't be allowed to have… a nose piercing… sadly… but, I still have the fake one… the one my girlfriend made for me…"

"…"

"My health has been deteriorating."

A younger, raspier voice chimes in unannounced.

and hi guys!! do you guys like trinkets?

-🎀

"Once again, I am not an infant... or yours... and I am becoming somewhat annoyed... but I suppose I do. I still have the keepsakes my father's friends gave me when I was an actual baby, and I collect whatever I find if I cannot find the owner, such as shattered arrowheads and rusted blades. Sometimes the villagers offer me things, usually sending their children over with little carvings or other things of the sort. Come to think of it- hey- they might also think I am still an infant with the amount of toys I am given-"

"I do not collect any sort of trinkets, but my cohabitant does. They have... dolls. I used to mistake them for little people. They're very realistic."

"...no. I don't have any belongings except what I carry by hand."

"I like the things my cousins have given me. They're usually Turkish or Iranian plates, and while they don't suit my apartment, they look alright in the corner with the Georgian paintings. I don't remember which one went to Paris and brought me back a painting of the Eiffel Tower."

"Yes!! I love crochet things, like- like this squid my girlfriend made for me! And this star, and- and I love buttons-! See see, she sewed these all onto my cardigan for me! I also love little plush keychains and the like, as seen on my backpack-"

star holding̴̈́͒ͅ ̴̢̮̏͗k̷̟̇͊e̶̩̺͂̀ȳ̶̻̈c̶̬̞͗̀h̶̡̔a̸̲͕͐͆i̶̜̔n̴͈͓̿͌s̵͉̈́ ̴̛̳͔͌a̵͙̦̅ǹ̸̜͕ḍ̴̢̓ ̴͇̯̉p̴̢͓̃a̴̜̰̐̔p̸̤̍é̴͖͝ȓ̴̰c̵̤̾lips

"Very much... I pick ù̶͕ͅp̸̛̟͙̀̇ ̶̼̖̱̏̎w̸͇͖̱̏̏̚ḧ̷͇̰́a̴̢̦͖͠t̷͎͐͊͠e̵̻̐̌v̶͉̫̞̈e̷̟͐̈̐r̷̪͑̎ ̷͓͖͆̐͝h̶̫̩̀a̵͚̜̐̅p̴̢̈̍p̵̯͑͆e̸͕̽́̓ns upon me, mainly being thin̶̠̫͚̚g̷̼͔̕ṩ̷͉̣ ̶͕͍͐ľ̶͇̏ï̴̠̦̼̿k̶̟̅͂e cool bottle caps, broken keycha̵͉̐̀i̴̛̬̱n̵̪͛͊͑s̸̼̕ ̶̛͖͖̈́̔a̸̦͕̣̅n̸͖͂̿ͅd̵̰̱̞͛͒̕ ̶͇̔̽ą̶͓͛̈́̆ ̵̹̗̒̓͑s̴͍͖͆̔̌u̶͈̓̂̋ŗ̸̂prising amount of papeŗ̷̰͝c̶̮̼̀̑l̸͎̳̖͗ǐ̷̛̟̣͒p̵̫̓ͅs̵͉̻̀.̴̍ͅ.̵̤̣͒͜.̶̜͓͕͐̋͠ ̵̰̔I̷̪͈̘̊͗ ̸̞̌ͅl̵͗͊͂ͅi̴̛̝̭̼͛k̶͓̼͙͊e̷̼̘͂ ̵̠͊̃̓t̷͈͐͌͒ơ̴̗̬̋̆ ̶͔̜̑̋̌m̴͕͊̏ake bracelets oú̴̲̭̐ṫ̶̥͚͘ ̷͕͍̋̉̃o̸͈̤̓͋̄f them for myself and m̵̧̱̃ỳ̶̜̳̍ ̵̯̳̃f̵̫̖̏̅a̵̯͛ͅt̴͚̋̓h̶̗͊e̴͕͉͒̎r̶̼͇͐."

"Oh! I don't have much, but I have this doll dress that I saved from someone looking to throw it, but it makes me very happy! I really wish I had more, but it turns out tiny clothes can be just as expensive as big clothes..."

"Ah, not really. We need to reuse whatever materials we can get our hands on, so anything small or trinket-like that comes my way is immediately donated to our survival efforts. I don't get attached to those kinds of things.*

"I do not know. I never... asked... or perhaps I did once know their name, maybe even... what they looked like... but I cannot see them, can barely hear them now, so what does it matter. It is because of them that I cannot even explore the possibility that I can indeed die if left without sustenance and support."

"Only a fool would dedicate themselves to caring for a fallen king ill-fitted for the crown."

Rot Choco pauses and sighs.

"My apologies... but those are worthless as well."

"I do not really know… it has been so long since I have had anything to eat without the sole purpose being sustenance… if I had to try to remember though, I think I would say I miss yakgwa the most. Sometimes it was a reward from the Watchers for doing well in my sword training. Father never did that."

"I don't snack, so I'll tell you my favourite drink: sweet lassi."

"Oh! I love snacking… but I do my best not to actually get any snacks, so I snack on leftovers instead… I love chocolate lollipops though! They're just chocolate… circles on sticks, but I love the cute wrapping on them and the cool shapes…"

"Oh, but that barely answers the question though, sorry… um, I like… spinach fatayer! A-and cheese sambouseks, and these little mini falafel shawarmas, and when I can, I get them with sujuk too… there's a lot of cheap Arabic food where I live, so I like to get my meals from there and I love love, love, love sujuk and falafel now… oh and there's this local chicken shop that's not really cheap, but they sell this snack-wrap too, and it's so spicy and the sauce is so yummy and I love that so much…"

"Oh, it's so hard to choose, everyone brings me such fun things to eat… is it ok if I give a small list? I love yugwa, hello panda, mochi, pepero, choki choki, oh and sometimes when I go to the markets I get to have corn dogs and taiyaki! My father also makes homemade potato chips from time to time, and he puts smoked paprika and tomato powder on them, and they are the best things ever! Sometimes I'll make myself a paratha roll though if I have the energy, maybe anda paratha with hot sauce, hehe..."

"Snacks? Cacao nibs, I guess. I like the crunch."

The little one is currently going through a verbal shutdown, so they drew their favourite snack. From the looks of it, it seems to be a few pieces of papar and yugwa.

"I often visit my aunt's kingdom and admittedly gorge myself on strawberries and raspberries… at home, I enjoy pani puri."

Tiny Choco enjoys vanilla pudding and Swedish pancakes, often sharing with their friends. They all choose these own fillings for the Swedish pancakes, and Tiny Choco likes to fill theirs with nutella and strawberries. They all have delightful little tea parties.

Rot Choco almost didn't hear you.

"Oh… um… I do not truly choose what I eat… because... I never get anything myself, nor do I ask for anything in particular… I do like the fresh mango I sometimes receive, however, and the kimbap and samosas they rarely make: only on special occasions they say."

Brutalise cannot really eat, but they do seem to like the rose milk that they are occasionally gifted. They come in pink boxes they try to hold sometimes to try and regain fine motor control.

"Appa makes nice kimbap for my school lunches sometimes… and… whenever I get hungry at my girlfriend's house… she makes me a bowl of this sweetened soy yoghurt with… strawberries, sorry, I… forgot what they were called for a second… and she lets me have as much konjac jelly as I want. My favourite flavour is the peach one. Or… actually maybe… peach and jeju mandarin are both yummy. I like them both."

Mama Choco sits towards the back with their child. So far, this seems like such a frivolous endeavour with particularly eccentric members of the general public that makes no sense at all to them. Who would participate in such a strange and menial activity? Their child has tests to study for; why is it facilitating these foolish interactions?