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fanaticsnail · 7 months

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You Kissed the Clown? Part 8

Part 8 you guys! Here as promised, and only at just after midnight this time!

I've also uploaded everything to my Ao3, just in case you prefer that platform over the formatting here.

Word Count: 6,528

If you like my work, please leave a comment. I love hearing your thoughts about this series! ❤️

Part 7 back here.

You were cursed.

That was the only logical explanation that was presented before your mind as you sat beside the incapacitated swordsman who was now donning a gaping wound in his chest. You cradled one of his hands within your own as he slipped somewhere flittering between life and death.

You assumed you would’ve been nursing back Usopp to the land of the living, holding his hair back as he regurgitated in the bathroom due to his intoxication from last night’s over-consumption of alcohol. Staying well out of the way of the administrations of the head chef of Baratie as he placed fish skin over the weeping wound after performing a well-practiced stitch routine, you allowed soft tears to spill slightly from the corners of your eyes.

You paid no attention to the others in the room, focussing only on the steady rise and fall of the swordsman’s breath to note any inconsistencies or irregularities in their movements.

“He’s got one foot in each world right now, caught between life and death,” you finally brought your ears to focus in on the conversations taking place in your surrounds. Your orbs snapping to meet the eyes of the retired pirate Captain as he continued. His eyes softened slightly, still baring and air of authority.

“You have to find a way to keep him tethered to our world,” he continued, causing you to hang on his every word. “Talk to him, tell him stories, sing him sea shanties for all I care,” he added with a tone of authority, “he may not reply but he will know his crew are still with him.”

You all moved him into Nami’s quarters, the most well organised and least dangerous of the rooms; noting the many sharp objects in Zoro’s room and the volatile chemicals you use for maintaining and polishing antiquities.

“I’ll take first watch,” you notified the crew, “you all get some rest.”

There was no protestation with your crew, exhaustion overcoming them as the many drinks, sleepless night, manual labour – in Luffy’s case – and anxiety from the anticipation of the fight.

“Nami,” you added, “take my room. Less messy than Zoro’s and the majority of items in there already belong to you.”

She nodded, glancing one last time in sadness at the body of your fallen swordsman, before removing herself from the room. Once she closed the door behind her with a small click, you returned your gaze on Zoro as he lay unconscious atop the table.

“Mihawk,” you growled in a low tone, “you had to fight Mihawk?”

You walked around his body and snarled at him.

“Dracule fucking Mihawk,” you uttered again through clenched teeth. You reached for a chair and dragged it over to rest beside him, placing your hands on the vacant place beside his head.

“And here you are hanging shit on me for simply kissing a clown,” you angrily spat at him, “as you go so candidly up to pick a fight with one of the most fearsome warlords of the sea.”

You thumped your fist beside his head in anger as warm fresh tears threatened to spill again from your eyes.

“And you call me stupid,” you growled before allowing a soft whimper fall from your lips. You reached your arm down into the bag attached to your belt, finding a broad concealed flask and swiftly opened the tin lid. Taking a swig and feeling the burn to calm your nerves as you began your next tirade.

“You listen here, you stupid, stupid boy,” you threatened Zoro, “you are going to hear every word I am going to give to you, and you are going to hang on every syllable.”

You stared at the swordsman, focussing on his expressionless face as he began to steady in his unconsciousness.

“I am going to tell you everything,” you whispered into him, “and it is going to absolutely bore you so much, you will have no choice but to wake up just to get me to shut the fuck up.”

You slapped your back into the back of the chair, slumping down and taking another sip as you focussed on the events that just transpired, thinking if there would have been anything different you could’ve done to change this fate.

“Let’s start at the beginning,” you spat to him, making yourself comfortable as you began to relay your past, your present and your future to him while continuing to reflect of on the battle that occurred moments ago.

----------------------

You slept through the night relatively peacefully before being rudely shook awake by a heavily intoxicated Usopp as he spluttered over his words. You couldn’t comprehend anything he had to say as he continued actively shaking you. You caught a few words like, “fight,” “battle,” “warlord,” and “big ass sword,” before you managed to break yourself free of his grasp.

You shoved him off you, recoiling slightly at the smell of stale, day-old alcohol lingering on his breath. Sheets flung unceremoniously from your form, revealing your night-clothes to the crewman before you; you shoved his body through your door and slammed it in front of him. You rapidly peeled your clothes from your body, changing into a light dress and fastening your belt in place, you flung the door open to reveal Usopp attempting to stabilise himself against the wall before you.

“Get up, Usopp!” you barked at him, “fill me in, damn it. Annunciate your words!”

“Hawk-eye,” Usopp panted, clutching his chest, “Mi-hawk.”

Your eyes widened as you began to sprint past him towards the upper deck where you saw Zoro with his black bandana atop his brow, marching toward the make-shift dock of Baratie with Luffy behind him.

You widened your eyes as you clutched the rigging before hurdling your way towards your Captain and his First Mate, noticing the dark form of the swashbuckling warlord you knew to be Dracule Mihawk. You couldn’t make out what conversation they were engaging in, not quite understanding the entire situation Usopp neglected to relay to you. For all you currently understood, Zoro and Mihawk could simply be sharing tips on how to polish their blades more efficiently; but from their stance you assumed something more sinister was currently in play.

“Enough,” you heard Zoro utter, “let’s begin.”

Mihawk reached to the small clasp at the back of his neck and removed the chain from its place fixed at his scruff. He tossed the material to the side heeding it no mind as he unsheathed the smallest blade you had ever seen pass for a sword. The blade looked similar in style as one of your large scalpel tools you used to cut through leather in your antiquities.

“What the hell is that, I’m here for a sword fight,” Zoro uttered to him, insulted at the production of such a small weapon.

“I don’t hunt rabbits with a cannon,” Mihawk rebutted carelessly, unblinking in his hawk-like gaze.

“Dracule Mihawk,” you said with a small curtsey, bringing his intense eyes to rest on your form. You bowed your head in greeting with a sweet smile falling over your face.

“Ah,” he purred slightly, “the Artificer’s daughter,” he addressed you with a slight sinister smirk playing on the corners of his lips.

“It has been so very long since the last time I laid my sights on you, sweet thing,” he added.

A burning, fixed beam of sweltering fury bore into you at that moment; the source being from the green-haired swordsman at your side.

“You are fucking with me,” he uttered in a voice low enough for only you to hear with an upturned snarl. You chose to pay his words no mind as you took a step forward towards the warlord.

“It has been long indeed, my lord,” you addressed him, “and in absence, fondness blooms in its stead. Shall we to the bar and enjoy a glass or two of Sangiovese while we catch up on the years that has stolen away from us.”

He narrowed his eyes, not entertaining your words in the slightest.

“You flatter me, little mouse,” he quirked his brow at you, ��your mother taught you well.”

Your sweet façade fell from your face at her mention before you collected it back again to your face. Mihawk studied your every movement like a hawk fixated on a helpless little hopping mouse caught in the clutches of a wolf-spider.

“I learnt only from the best, my lord,” you smiled, “what say we leave this place and take that drink now?”

“As tempted as I am, sweet thing,” he turned his gaze back to the green-haired swordsman as he watched this interaction with absolute disgust, “I am a little hung up with this rather insignificant rabbit at the present.”

“I’m no rabbit,” Zoro snarled darkly while unleashing two of his three swords.

“That remains to be seen,” Mihawk taunted.

You side stepped to remove yourself from the equation as the two sword wielders engaged in single combat. You could not bare to watch your friend in their inevitability to be cut down by Mihawk but stood strong yourself to hold firm your sights on the battle commencing.

----------------------

“-And that is how I came to be the oldest of fifteen children,” you concluded your incredibly drawn out tale. You snickered slightly, knowing the tale of how your parents fell in love and held onto it throughout the years would’ve bored Zoro so much he could cry.

“Now, shall we move onto something more juicy?” you snickered slightly, knowing he would absolutely not want you to continue your absolute mind-numbing experience of relaying insignificant events from your childhood.

“I have a confession,” you said, swigging from the brass flask once again, “and you’re going to kill me when you wake up.”

You leant in close to the tri-pierced ear of the unconscious swordsman, bringing your lips to the lobe as you closed your eyes and whispered without more than the breath it was required to speak the words.

“I am in love with Buggy the clown,” you spoke slowly, so he could catch on to every word that was relayed to him. You held your face close to his, focussing on the fact that this was the first time you had passed that information (willingly and knowingly) onto another person. The person in question being the first individual you had grown unwittingly closest to aboard the vessel. And the person likely to die in the next upcoming moments, to which’s limited time in the land of the living was spent pondering something as insignificant as a love confession from a crewman.

Pushing your body from the almost intimate proximity, you sat back in the chair again and almost pitied the swordman at his absolutely unwilling participation in hearing your confessional words. You reached for his limp right hand and laced your hand within his and gave it a small squeeze to comfort him.

“And if you continue to remain in this state,” you squeezed his hand again, this time more threatening and raising your voice to a regular speaking voice now, “I will actively do everything I can to seek him out, bring him into this room and desecrate your resting place with sounds so absolutely illicit, you would need to seek exorcism to rid your soul from the memories and images conjured to you every time you close your eyes.”

You laughed at your threatening words, knowing they were absolutely untrue in all shapes and sizes as the door began to swing wide. You looked over to your captain who had a forlorn expression adorning his face.

“Captain?” you asked him, semi-horrified that he may have caught the final words you uttered to the resting swordsman, “are you unable to sleep?”

“I just-,” he began, shrugging his shoulders forward slightly and avoiding eye contact, “I just wanted to-.”

He paused his words as they caught in his throat. You released Zoro’s right hand from your grasp and stood to walk over toward him. You maneuvered your head to retrieve his gaze from the floor, while placing your left hand on his shoulder.

“He will wake,” you said, finally catching his eyes, “I am sure of it.”

His eyes searched yours as his brows upturned, deepening his shaken and depressed expression.

“How can you be so sure?” he questioned you, his signature grin nowhere in sight.

“He has no choice, Captain,” you smiled broadly at him, patting his shoulder in comfort, “he has too much to achieve in this life to welcome the next so suddenly.

Luffy attempted to relieve you from watching over Zoro; but you absolutely disregarded those notions and was adamant in your refusal.

“Captain, with all due respect; each time I find myself away from you all, something far more sinister occurs. I refuse to be apart from Zoro in his recovery. I will not miss this,” you said firmly with a ferocity that had not graced your face for the entire time you had ventured.

Luffy sighed through his nose with a frown on his face. You watched as his jaw softened, indicating he had relented this battle with you.

“Go and get some rest, Captain,” you said again, “I will be here when he wakes up.”

And you were. You remained in these quarters, tinkering with the same piece Nami gave you to work on several days earlier. You endured your position while each member of the crew took turns in addressing Zoro; relaying information to him in stories from their individual travels. You listened as Nami read to him children’s stories before she went and picked a fight with your Captain.

You remained silent as Nami continued to lay insult into your Captain, flinching slightly at the disrespect she posed to him.

“I didn’t think he was going to lose,” Luffy said in absolute belief in his First Mate.

“you could’ve tried to change his mind-,” Nami began, only to be cut off by Luffy.

“I would never do that,” he said lowly.

“So you’d rather see him like this?” she gestured to his resting form, “he might die, Luffy.”

“And I’d do anything to save him. Anything,” he said with a small, tight-lipped smile coming to his face, “except stand in the way of his dream.”

You bit your lip at the words your captain disclosed, squeezing your eyes shut to make yourself as invisible as you could as your entire body seemingly quaked with emotion. Your Captain’s words sang to your soul; his innocence and absolute ignorance was a beautiful combination to your mind.

“We all have dreams, Luffy. But we outgrow them-,” Nami began, to be once again cut off by Luffy.

“Is that what you really think?” he asked her with a shrug, “don’t you have a dream?”

You finally opened your eyes to gaze on Nami before pulling your sights over to the rise and fall of Zoro’s breath.

“Yeah, for right now it’s to not have Zoro die in my bed,” she shouted, a small almost undetectable quiver slightly hidden in her voice.

“But isn’t there something that you want? Something more?” he said, his former grin returning to his face as his eyes beamed at her, “more than anything else in this world?”

Nami paused her words before quietly uttering: “not everyone gets to follow their dreams.”

She left the room without anymore words exchanged between the two of them, leaving the three of you alone once more in Nami’s bedroom.

Luffy turned to meet your eyes for a moment before resting on Zoro’s form, which continued to remain in their unmoving state.

“You have a dream, don’t you?” Luffy uttered quietly to you. You jumped slightly at the words, not thinking he was to engage with you so suddenly after the heated discussion with Nami. You paused before collecting yourself.

“I do,” you said in a low tone, standing again and making your way to stand at Zoro’s side.

“And what is that?” he prompted you, taking a small step towards you and halting to stand at your side, bringing your gaze to rest on Zoro.

“Call it an intermediate agenda,” you quirked your lip up slightly at the corner of your mouth, “several small plans to achieve a larger goal.”

Luffy laughed slightly at your response, nodding his head at your words; “care to disclose it with me?”

“My dream-,” you began, words halting slightly in your throat as you rifled your mind to seek the appropriate words, “is to be like my mother.”

“Oh?” he asked you in response, attempting to prompt you on.

You sighed with a warm fondness at her memory.

“She was kind,” you began, “and incredibly intelligent. She lead first with her heart, searching later for the appropriate means to achieve that end.”

You smiled, nodding while staring at the floor; “and she was loved by all who met her, most of all by my father.”

“And you wish to be like that?” he continued to prod, “to lead with your heart?”

“Not quite,” you smiled at him, bringing your eyes to meet with his, “she was also a tinkerer. She worked with harsh metals, precious gemstones and crafted some of the finest pieces known throughout all corners of the world. She was the one that crafted several pieces for-,”

Your words halted in your throat as you again gazed down to the fallen swordsman below, “-for Mihawk. I was more in my youth when I first met him. Young and stupid, as I like to call it.”

You chuckled slightly at the memory before shaking it from you to not lose your thoughts.

“That is my dream,” you held on tight to the words as they formed, “to become the greatest finery smith in the world; to create something worthy for the King of the Pirates.”

You nudged Luffy’s shoulder slightly with a warm smile before adding, “and I will make you the most beautiful piece, it will be the finest item in the entire collection. This I swear.”

Luffy grinned wide before placing his hand atop your shoulder.

You dwell in that moment together before he left you alone to be with the swordsman, watching over him as he slept.

You chose to not sleep through the night, willing yourself to remain awake at his side to not only be with him as he awoke; but to not miss any other stupid situation your crew dug themselves into. If you were being perfectly honest with yourself, you weren’t much better – smithing a weapon some nights ago that was intended to claim your life at its hand.

You witnessed the dawn rise, your crewmen coming in sporadically to check on Zoro. You noticed the blonde waiter was alongside them, who offered a mug of scorching hot coffee into your hands with a warm smile.

“You look as if you could need it, Miss,” he offered with a smirk playing at his lips.

“Are you saying I look a little worse for wear?” you toyed with him slightly, accepting the mug into your fingertips and cradling it slightly.

“Not at all,” he quickly added with a small widening of his eyes, now a slightly nervous smile adorning his face.

“I’m messing with you,” you reassured him with a small laugh before bringing the mug to your lips.

“That you are,” he confirmed with a slight nod, eyeline to the ground being caught off-guard by your confidence. His tongue darted out to dampen his lower lip, which you noticed his teeth began toying with a small silver-balled object between them. “A piercing? Interesting,” you thought to yourself.

He turned on his way, leaving you alone once more with the unconscious swordsman. You heard some commotion engaging above the deck, but your absolute stubborn reluctance to leave Zoro held to you like a tight leash to a firm, wooden post.

You remained behind; continuing to tinker with the circular, clock-compass item in your hands. You spent some time with it, placing it on the small space available to you next to Zoro’s unresponsive head as you turned several screws and aligned cogs upon its face. You resolved to not utilise the several desks near the window, as you were determined this time to not miss a single moment with your crew; especially at the side of the wounded swordsman who continuously found himself in dire situations, often engaging in battle.

You clicked a screw in a different direction, accidentally activating something within the face of the compass. It began ticking, something you did not account for; especially in its proximity to Zoro’s head. As a tinkerer; ticking usually meant one thing. That thing was a bomb.

You immediately sprung to your feet, cradling the small object in your hands and rushed over towards the window in an attempt to find an exit to cast the item into the sea. The ticking hastened its rhythm, prompting you to release several expletives from behind your lips as you attempted to shimmy the window open. The windows were thick, meaning you would need to return back to where Zoro was resting to retrieve your hammer to smash one open to throw it into the deep water ahead. As the ticking held a rapid beat, you flinched as you had no choice but to embrace your impending doom. However, it never occurred.

The object opened, revealing the most beautifully crafted creation you had yet seen in your life. Two figures holding one another in an embrace enchanted you as they danced in a circular motion with one-another. A metallic melody ignited a memory from within you as you sighed out a small laugh in surprise. You focussed your sights on the dancing figures, noticing how they were painted and allowing a single tear to escape from your eyes.

“Mother,” you whimpered slightly before laughing at the music box, “Zoro, this was my Mother’s. This was hers.”

You rushed over to his side and placed the now truly identified music box beside Zoro’s shoulder.

“This melody,” you said to him, “she use to sing this to me – to us – when we were children.”

You hummed along to the tune before you placed the words as you could best recall them to the melody. You swayed yourself to the music while half-laughing alongside the lyrics, your entire being fully overcome with a mixture of many emotions.

Your thoughts were brought back into the present as you heard several splashes in the water, assuming someone decided to go for a cool plunge to shake their form from over consumption of alcohol. You almost laughed at the thought, before sitting down at Zoro’s side once more.

“Now,” you began, “how do I turn this off?”

You knew exactly how to shut off the music, now knowing that it was not only a clock, a compass and a music box – the additional cogs made sense within your mind at how it truly fit together. You just wanted to get one final rise from Zoro to see if he would get angry enough to join you back in your reality.

After several minutes of Zoro enduring your humming along to the tune, you decided to finally shut off the music with a small flick of the switch to end his suffering.

“If that wont wake you, I’m afraid nearly nothing will,” you uttered sadly, gripping Zoro’s hand again and squeezing it, “he needs you, Zoro. Come back to us, but especially come back to him,” you said again in a voice just above a whisper.

You barely noticed as your Captain returned to you, this time an unreadable expression falling over his features. His hair was slightly dishevelled, as if he had a bath recently; prompting you to quirk your head to the side.

“Captain?” you asked him, “something the matter?”

He walked over to the hanging bed Zoro was laying on and hoisted himself up to sit at his legs. He ignored your questions, choosing to smile at you before fixing his attention on the unconscious swordsman.

“Hey, Zoro,” Luffy began, “you sure missed a big fight.”

Your eyes widened at the knowledge that you had also missed the aforementioned fight. You indeed, as you concluded earlier yesterday, were continuing to remain cursed in your misdirected absence. You elected to not speak up, hoping your Captain would disclose any further information to both you and the First Mate.

“Those fishmen guys were tough,” he said with a small smile, “you would’ve loved it.”

You stifled a gasp, hoping Luffy would continue to bare his soul to Zoro as so you could be privy to his innermost thoughts also.

“And we all had a pretty great dinner, all of us sitting around and listening to Usopp’s stories,” he turned to look at you for a moment, “with the exception of your guardian who protested to be removed from your side.”

You hung your head, knowing how you argued with Luffy earlier to remain with Zoro to again not miss out on anything. He chuckled at your reaction slightly before again returning his gaze to Zoro’s, his eyes hardening.

“Only I kind of messed it up,” he added, staring ahead at the vacant wall in front of him, “and now I lost Nami. I lost the Grand Line Map.”

He held a large pause before speaking once more; “And maybe I will lose you too.”

“I didn’t know what to say before,” he continued on, “but I know what to say now, and it’s so simple.”

You felt almost as if your presence in this moment was an invasion of a greater connection between two friends, but opted to remain in the room for a moment longer.

Luffy closed his eyes and furrowed his brows in passionate resolve, before strongly uttering: “I need you, Zoro.”

“I need you,” Luffy continued, “to wake up.”

You too closed your eyes as you willed those words into fruition, holding strong your own resolve.

“Are you going to keep talking or let me get some sleep?” you heard the swordsman utter from beside you. Your eyes flittered open to reveal the moment Luffy leapt onto the wounded torso of Zoro, wincing yourself in empathy as you thought of his large wounds.

“Zoro!” your Captain shouted in glee with a loud laughter, “Zoro, you’re not dead!”

He pressed his entire body against Zoro and gleefully held him in a friendly embrace. You grit your teeth as you watched Zoro writhe in pain at the pressure from the body above him.

“Right now, I’m wishing I was,” he groaned out in pain. Luffy leapt off him to sit at his lefthand side, prompting you to rise from your feet and sit to his right.

“I had the strangest dream that Nami left,” Zoro uttered with his eyes held closed.

“She did,” Luffy confirmed with him, “it’s my fault.”

Zoro opened his eyes and gazed at the roof, brows creased in thought.

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Zoro reassured him in a monotonous voice, “you acted like a Captain.”

“But our crew is falling apart,” Luffy said, shaking his head slightly

“No it’s not,” Zoro again added his reassurance to the Captain.

“I, Roronoa Zoro,” he began a vow in the presence of both you and your Captain, “vow to stand by your side.”

He turned his gaze to the best of his pained ability to meet the eyes of his Captain as he continued his vow.

“From now until the end,” he added, emotion displayed slightly on his face now, “until we find the One-Piece, or die trying.”

The faces of your Captain and his loyal knight joined together in smiling with determination.

“So bring on the Marines, or Pirates or Sea Beasts,” Zoro raised a closed fist and placed it against the heart of his Captain, “you’re my Captain, Luffy. And I’m your first mate.”

Luffy clasped his right arm over Zoro’s left enclosed fist against his heart and held it to seal their promise together. You smirked at their display of affection for one another, all the more determined to aid your Captain in his dream of acquiring the One-Piece.

“Zoro!” you heard Usopp’s voice call from the hallway as he hurried into the room, “I wasn’t worried for a second.”

“He’s,” Luffy thrust Zoro’s left hand into the air, “alive!”

Zoro groaned in pain as you held out your arms in defence, cringing at the pain Luffy inflicted upon his First-Mate.

Usopp began relaying moments you knew did not occur from your exposure to the variety of his tall-tales prior and chose to laugh at his fighting moves imitating the movements. Zoro also joined in laughter at Usopp’s boldness.

“So, what do we do now? Plot a course for the Grand Line?” Usopp suggested after halting his combat display of recollection.

“Nope,” Luffy shook his head, holding his lips in a firm line.

“But I thought we were going after the One-Piece?” Usopp added with a slightly puzzled tone.

“We are,” he began, looking to his three remaining members of the crew, “but we can’t do it without our whole crew.”

“First, we’re going after Nami,” Luffy said, placing his straw hat atop his head and adjusting the hanging toggles on the side for it to fit him comfortably.

You nodded your head to him, agreeing at chasing the orange-haired navigator and bringing her to join once more with your crew. Zoro turned his head to meet with your own.

“You really didn’t leave my side?” he uttered, furrowing his brows in confusion slightly.

“I didn’t want to miss anything,” you shrugged, “and it really turns out no matter what I do, I always seem to miss the action.”

“That’s a good thing, given the way you fight,” he laughed slightly, “going in mouth first and all.”

You groaned and flung your head back in agitation before joining him in his chuckling.

“Luffy,” you addressed your Captain, “do you think the chef you had in here earlier may be interested in preparing something for Zoro?”

Zoro looked as if you had just said he had achieved his dream of becoming the world’s greatest swordsman, a glimmer in his eyes at the mere mention of something to eat.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he said, “I’m definitely keen on getting some more of the meat we had earlier.”

You laughed at the notion before moving yourself to grasp Zoro’s right arm. Usopp trailed behind him, excited at the thought of eating at Baratie again.

“Do you have strength enough to stand?” you asked Zoro. He looked down at his torso and tested himself against the weight of his body, wincing at the pain.

“Lean your entire weight on me,” you uttered in a low tone, “I may be smaller in size than you, but I can take it.”

You had a slight aura of mischievousness, prompting him to chuckle at your comment.

“Keep it up, tinkerer,” he almost playfully warned you while placing his arm around your shoulder to enable you to lift him, “we really need to have a chat about your words.”

“Oh?” you said, hoisting him up to rest against you. He sighed out a low rumbly chuckle.

“I,” he paused, “heard everything.”

You halted your lifting, pausing at what exactly he was telling you.

“I’m not embarrassed about anything that I’ve said to you over these past few days,” you shrugged, pulling him to his feet to stand, the yellow and gold blanket falling from his legs to pool at the foot of the bed.

“You should be,” he jested before adding, “again with the clown? It’s always the clown with you.”

You laughed at his comment before leading him out of the door, down the hallway to his bedroom.

You searched the room for some attire to place over his chest, shielding his wound from the air, settling on a light blue and navy collared shirt. You wordlessly maneuvered the material over his right arm and over his shoulder before inching it down to keep his other arm moving as little as required to be brought into the other side. You reached your hands behind his neck and pulled the material up to rest on his shoulders, smoothing your hands over the creases before adjusting the material to comfortably cover his back.

“Thank you,” he murmured slightly, keeping his eyes on the ground.

“For what, Zoro?” you asked him, a tight-lipped warm smile coming to your face.

“I dunno,” he said with a shrug, wincing slightly at the movement, “mothering me, for lack of a better word.”

You tilted your head at him before finding your place at his lefthand side and maneuvering his arm over your shoulders to hoist him up once more.

“Even the strongest of us need support sometimes,” you shrugged slightly, hoisting him up once more.

You brought him to the deck, as he leant on you for support in his movements. You sat him down close to the ship’s steps, just as Sanji made his way alongside Luffy to come aboard.

“Are you fine if I leave you here for a moment? I haven’t changed my clothes for the past few days and I’m in desperate need of doing so before we cast off,” you asked him.

“You do look a little worse for wear,” he jested, acknowledging the fact he was processing some of the words uttered around him in his unconsciousness.

You scrunched up your nose at him before dismissing yourself to your quarters.

Placing the newly discovered to be a music box atop your desk, you shed yourself of your clothes and began to ready yourself for a new voyage to collect Nami from what you assumed to be Fishman Island; a theme park commonly known as Arlong Park being the major port.

You rolled your shoulders, slight exhaustion overcoming your features; the toll of being awake for a multitude of days finally hitting you. You shook those thoughts away from yourself, knowing you were able to find sleep once you were cast off.

Searching your draws for some fresh clothes, you placed a light blouse on your upper body while you found a skirt to hoist over your hips to settle on your waist. You also found a pair of light under shorts and shimmied them up your body to settle below your skirt.

Once fastening your pouch of many mechanical tinkering tools on your waist, you made to search for your crew and seek instruction from your Captain as best to aid them as they set sail.

As you approached the deck, you noticed the ship had already embarked on their journey out to sea; leaving the beautiful restaurant-ship behind on the horizon as you embarked on your journey to collect Nami.

After looking around, you noticed none of the crew were above deck currently. Your brows were momentarily perplexed before you heard a flurry of raised agitated voices coming from the ships kitchen. You shrugged before making your way to the location of the elevated voices.

As you reached the kitchen, you almost clashed into the looming form of the injured swordsman as he exited the kitchen. He firmly clasped his left hand around your right wrist and spun you away from the door.

“You,” he grunted out, wincing slightly in pain as he maneuvered you away from the kitchen door, “are forbidden from entering that room until I otherwise command you, you hear me?”

Frowning in anger at his sudden orders, you whipped your wrist from his grasp and searched his aggravated expression for explanation.

You heard loud voices again from the kitchen, prompting you to turn your gaze from Zoro to the space the arguing voices were arising from.

“Don’t,” Zoro warned you, bringing your gaze back to his momentarily, “don’t go in there, I mean it.”

“You haven’t given me valid reason not to, swordsman,” you spat your rebuttal at him, still angry and confused by his sudden mood shift from earlier.

Zoro strung several expletives together, almost poetically as he again reached for your wrist and more gently clasped it this time.

“Control yourself this time,” he warned you in a low tone. Your anger shifted to puzzlement, your eyes flittering between his to find any hidden meaning behind them.

“Zoro,” you added before gently bringing your other hand to his and kindly unclasping his grip from your wrist this time, “I am always in control.”

He groaned slightly at your words before turning to follow the source of the noise.

Upon silently entering the kitchen, your eyes settled on the blonde chef who dutifully prepared you a coffee earlier in the day who alongside Usopp and Luffy seemed to be arguing with something loud atop the felt-lined hanging table attached to the rafters in the kitchen.

Something spherical: hues of blue, white and red seemed to be hopping slightly atop the table and hurl insults at the troop. You trailed your eyes over the form as it gruffly taunted your Captain with some kind of jest you couldn’t make out.

“You said you would cooperate,” Luffy warned the object as it halted its jumping and fixing it’s gaze on him.

“And I will, just as soon as I-,” he halted its speech as he turned again with a small jump, fixing his tourmaline eyes to rest on your form. All speech was removed from his thoughts as the very breath from within him was stolen away.

Your eyes met with his, your mouth became partially parted in shock at the sudden meeting of the current occupant of your fixation. His eyes flittered between your eyes and triangulating down to stop on your lips. You focussed on his gaze, noticing he seemed to be as bewitched by you as you had become by him somehow. You noticed a barely visible whimper hiss out shakily from his lips as he slowly blinked his eyes up to focus on your eyes once more.

Although initially incredibly frightened by the fact there was a severed head plopped unceremoniously atop the ships dining table, as soon as you noticed the figure the head belonged to, and the lack of gory blood and bits, you deduced this to be the detached head of the infamous clown captain, Buggy. You were entranced by the way he was looking over you with a combination of insatiable desire laced with desperate hunger, and the apprehension of a puppy being scolded for destroying a prized shoe while searching for forgiveness.

“Gee, if we knew all it took to shut him up was to bring her up here, we should’ve done it ages ago,” Usopp commented with a shrug. You snapped out of your moment, bringing your attention to focus on Usopp and shooting him with a slight disciplinary frown, scolding his words.

You brought your gaze back to focus on Buggy’s as he opened his mouth to speak again.

“I-,” he said in a serious tone for the first time, keeping his eyes locked on your own, “-will cooperate.”

Part 9

Tag List:

@thesadvampire @a-phan-of-youtube @multifandombtch @plan3t-plut0 @tiredemomama @tfamidoingwithmylife @bimboshaggy @plan3t-plut0 @vixnicknacks @tesha-i-guess

#one piece #opla #x reader #buggy the clown x reader #buggy x you #one piece live action #captain buggy #opla fic #buggy

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brighter-by-the-daly · 9 months

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Ruesha Littlejohn x Reader

You Ruined Love for Me

Part of the Beth McCarthy mini song series

If You Loved Me Right

If you didn't lie to me

Tell me you'd die for me

Break every promise

If you were honest

I wouldn't be crazy

If you didn't call me names

If you didn't try to change

Every part of me

Every part of me you hate, I

Know that if you loved me right

I wouldn't be crazy

On the plane to Australia you were catching up with the latest Ruetube, they always make you laugh and couldn’t wait to see if you had made this week’s cut. Midway through, you could tell your bestie wasn’t her usual happy and crazy self; she seemed distant and the sparkle in her eyes had faded. Always the light of the party and the clown of the locker room Ruesha had the power to make anyone belly laugh their way into next week. You could be having the worst day of your life but could guarantee Rue would change that with a single sentence. You never had to tell her you were having a bad day, she could always just sense it and would do everything she could to try and cheer you up. She was everyone’s pick-me-up and none of you had noticed how sad she truly was lately. She’d been painting on a brave face every day of training but the camera doesn’t lie - the despair in her eyes was undeniable. That’s why watching her online made you feel so guilty, you knew she was going through a tough time with the break up and being released from Villa but missed the sadness behind the mask she paints on every single day.

Looking behind to spot Rue a few rows back as she made her way through the aisle pretending to be an air hostess, singing Busted as she went, most would be fooled to think she was truly happy. You knew how much she had been worrying that she wouldn’t make the squad. You knew her break up with Katie was messy and that she didn’t get a choice about leaving Villa. Everything she’d known for years had gone. Disappeared. Her life had been turned upside down and you just hadn’t noticed how much it had taken a toll on her until you watched it back on the laptop. She may be laughing and joking behind you but it’s all pretend.

“Oh hello madam, may I offer you a refreshing beverage?” Rue tapped on your shoulder sounding exactly like Mrs Doubtfire. Entertaining her efforts as she served your drink but ignored Katie who was in the row opposite - you can hardly blame her! Everything had come at such a shit time for her and when she finally slumped back down in her seat, it didn’t take her long to put on her headphones and pull the hoodie over her eyes. Unable to watch her combust any longer you made yourself known by dropping hard into the empty seat next to her. She’d purposely stationed herself in the empty back row, moving from the seat in front of Katie before take off. Nudging her hood back to spy who had invaded her space to see it was you and immediately forced a smile back on to her face. “Wanna watch a movie?” your voice perky, “I’m not really in the mood (y/n/n)” your friend grumbled behind the jumper covering her mouth. “Okay..” thinking of another approach, “I have cards? Entertain an old lady would ya?” nudging her gently as she laughed a little at your statement. “I’m older than you ya cheeky hen, whats that make me?!” snatching the cards out of your hand to shuffle them.

A few games in, Rue finally took the bait and started talking. Just as you expected, life had just got a bit too much for her lately and putting on a front had become tiring. Determined to not let her be sad the entire tournament and knowing you were underdogs with this being Ireland’s first time at a World Cup, she should be enjoying it. So you decided to make it your mission to drag her through the shit and into the light so she could fully appreciate her first time in Australia and at a major tournament, knowing it would most likely be her last chance too. “I’m so glad you made it mate, I couldn’t imagine doing this without you” trying your best to make sure she knows how much the team love her. “Very nearly didn’t come, didn’t know if I could face that for weeks” gesturing towards Katie with her eyes. “But Shebhan convinced me, said I would never forgive myself if I stayed home” her eyes never faltered from the cards in her hand. “Well I’m glad I’ve got my best friend here” nudging her shoulder as you slapped down the winning card. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right? Sometimes the person who makes sure everyone’s okay needs someone to ensure she’s okay?” Rue nodded as she as shared out the cards again. Playing non stop for a few hours she shared her worries of not knowing how she’s going to cope being stuck with Katie for so long, at home she can escape but here she’s got to see her ex every single day. She was also hoping to be picked up before coming away but nobody had enquired about her and made the prospect of retiring suddenly more real. She didn’t know what she would do next but you told her you would pay a hell of a lot of money to hear her commentating and you’re sure others would too!

Once you’d arrived at the hotel you made sure Rue was your roommate so you could stabilise her mood and bring back a spark of joy we’re so used to seeing. You thought it was working but when the day of your first game came you could tell she was on the war path - snapping at everyone and losing it over the littlest things. You hadn’t put two and two together until you were in the tunnel stood across from Australia, noticing Caitlin Foord directly opposite Ruesha, suddenly everything made sense. As your eyes burned into the back of Rue’s head who was burning holes into her rival’s - on the pitch and off, you could tell by her stance she was angry. Echoes of Rue’s voice shouting for Ireland bounced around in the metal tunnel, bangs on the side rippling through the line up. By this point it was too late to address her as you walked out with your team, grabbing her after group photos to ask if she was okay. “Yeah why wouldn’t I be?” she replied in loud arrogance. You knew this was going to be a looong 90 minutes.

———-

Shoving Rue back into the locker room Katie was in her face and not letting up as she screamed at her that she was psycho. Laying into her ex for ignoring her new girlfriend in the line up and lashing out after the game. There’s a lot Rue did wrong but she played a superb game regardless, she hadn’t played 90 minutes in ages and it didn’t show for a second. Noticing Rue was about to blow you put yourself between the two exes just like you did on the pitch with Caitlin. You knew Rue was gonna boil over and being the nearest to her, you had to pull her away.. And here we are - a screaming match after our first ever World Cup game.. it certainly leaves a lot to be desired for the rest of the tournament! Being only one person in the middle of two very passionate people right now, it didn’t take them long to simply walk around you. Every time you moved between them they just swerved your body to face each other again. Two Irish women screaming at each other made your ears ring. “If you were a decent human being I wouldn’t be fucking crazy would I!” Rue shouted literally through you towards Katie. “You tried to change everything about me and that still wasn’t enough for you!” this time standing on the bench to shout over the top of you. “It’s always the same argument from you isn’t it! Can you blame me for not being honest if this is how you react? I don’t love you anymore Ruesha, I haven’t loved you for years!” That statement from Katie made your eyes bulge in shock, that was a spiteful thing to say. “You always liked to keep your options open didn’t you!” still standing on the bench and kicking Katie’s belongings onto the floor. “You’re so over emotional and unpredictable Rue, what the fuck even was that out there? Are you trying to embarrass all of us? You don’t deserve to be here!” Katie picked up a boot to throw at her. “WOAH, THAT IS ENOUGH!” you screamed to get their attention, grabbing the boot out of Katie’s hand and throwing it across the room. “RUE! OUT! NOW!” pointing at the door. Ruesha’s arms folded as she refused to move so you did the only thing you could. Grabbing her legs and throwing her over your shoulder you carried her out as the screaming continued behind, kicking the door to open it as you marched the midfielder out of the changing room. Placing her feet back on the ground, as soon as the door closed she burst into tears, lowering her down gently as she collapsed onto the floor. Cradling your best friend who wailed into your lap as the rest of the team walked past, you waved them on determined to not make it a big scene. Once they’d passed, you scooped her up to carry her into an empty room and attempted to her calm her uneven breathing, fetching cold towels for her forehead before she gave herself a migraine.

Exhausted from all the crying she soon fell asleep on the coach, your back was against the window with your legs draped over her - feeling like you were protecting her against the world and the childish snickers from the back of the bus. Arriving back at the hotel you carried her limp body into your room and tucked her into bed, holding her into the next day, ready to take on the world again - in more ways than one.

#ruesha littlejohn #Ruesha Littlejohn x reader #ireland wnt #katie mccabe #woso masterlist #woso imagine #woso x reader #woso fanfics #woso one shot #Spotify

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randomwelcomehomestuff · 9 months

Text

Unfinished Business: a Welcome Home Corpse Puppet AU fanfiction

A/N: Just here to let you know that I'm not creative. Like, at all. This is a fanfic of a fanfic inspired by a fan-made AU of a completely unrelated work, but I couldn't get it out of my head so maybe now my brain will be at peace so I can work on my original story (or it will come up with fifty other fanfic ideas because that's more fun than editing).

Anyway, Welcome Home belongs to Clown/partycoffin, the Corpse Puppet AU belongs to @sketchquill, and the fanfic this is based on is a Corpse Bride/Nightmare Before Christmas crossover fic called The Undead Groom by moviefan_92 on Ao3.

Spoiler Alert for all of that media, plus a little for the novel The Pumpkin Queen just because there's a reference here and there, but not too much.

Also C/W: There's a lot of major character death in here.

I may add more to it later if inspiration strikes. Let me know in the comments if you are interested in that.

Okay, I'll shut up, now. Here's the fic.

The carriage jostled down the muddy dirt road. You wrung the handkerchief in your hands as you gazed out the window at the grey sky, occasionally distracted by the raindrops trailing down the glass. Try as you might, you just couldn't cry. You wanted to, but no tears would come.

At least the dreary weather was appropriate for a funeral.

Howdy was watching you. He wasn't one to judge his spouse's appearance, but he did decide that funeral black did not suit you particularly well. Not when he'd seen you in so many other bright, cheerful colors, when you had been happy. When you were like this—mourning—the sparkle in your eyes was gone. He thought you were beautiful when you were happy, somehow still hauntingly so when you were sad, but he would be lying if he said he didn't prefer seeing you smile or laugh.

“Are you alright?” he asked. “I know you and Eddie were close.”

You sighed. “I'll be fine. This isn't my first time dealing with grief.”

Yes, Howdy knew that all too well. The first several days of your marriage had been more awkward than they probably should have been for... obvious reasons. Any time he caught you staring despondently out the window, he knew deep down that you were thinking of Wally.

That didn't have a negative impact on your marriage, though. You were strong and optimistic, and Howdy shared many happy memories with you. You taught him how to play piano, and he in turn taught you how to garden. You even started a small orchard together. Howdy couldn't think of many more signs of a happy home than the smell of apple blossoms in the garden and hallways filled with the sounds of music and laughter. You were comfortable, and your fortunes were secure, (that was the most important thing to both of your parents, and neither of you could ask for much more than your parents' satisfaction).

Most of all, you and Howdy loved each other. Howdy had accepted long ago that yours was a love built off of friendship and mutual respect rather than romance, but it was enough for him, (considering what he grew up witnessing from his parents, he counted that as the greatest success of them all). You recently celebrated your copper anniversary, which baffled Howdy. How could seven years fly by so quickly? Thinking back on everything, he knew that he was completely satisfied with where his life was, as long as you were by his side and happy.

Which is why he hated to see you so sad. He wouldn't rush you through your grief, but he could at least help lighten the load. “Would you like to talk about it?” he asked.

You looked down at the handkerchief in your hands, wadded up beyond recognition, but still as dry as it was when Howdy handed it to you. You smoothed it out over your lap and stared at Howdy's initials embroidered in green in the corner.

Howdy watched you, patient. A deep rumble of thunder rolled through the sky outside.

“I just... hate how somber it was,” you said.

“Funerals typically are.”

“I know, but Eddie wouldn't have wanted that. He was so much more cheerful and... and colorful than that. He'd want people telling funny stories about him and celebrating his life, not... just standing in silence while the dirt is thrown over his casket.” Your shoulders stiffened. “I should have said something.” Now you could feel the tears building up, but they simply would not come. I should be crying. Why am I not crying?

Howdy leaned forward and took your hand, and you finally looked into his eyes. He was smiling. “He's in a better place, now.”

You smiled at that. Seven years ago, those words would have felt like a hollow attempt at consolation, but now they were a real comfort. Howdy was there when the dead came up to the Land of the Living. He witnessed Eddie and Frank briefly reunite. Now they would never be separated again, and he knew it as well as you did.

Perhaps that was why you couldn't cry: you knew that good things were waiting for Eddie on the other side.

The tears finally spilled over and rolled down your cheeks, but they were not tears of sorrow. You were happy.

Howdy used two of his free hands to cup your face. His smile was soft and understanding as he thumbed away your tears. You stood and shifted over to the seat across from you so you could sit beside him, and his four arms wrapped you up into a tight hug. He pressed a kiss into the top of your head, like he had so many times before. “Everything will be alright,” he whispered.

“I know,” you mumbled into his shoulder.

Lightning flashed outside, followed by a loud clap of thunder. You gripped at Howdy's coat as he leaned forward to look out the window. “That storm is getting much worse.”

“Should we stop somewhere?” you asked.

He nodded. “Most likely.” He reached up to knock on the ceiling of the coach. “Johnson? How are the roads looking?” he called.

Johnson, the driver, shouted something back to Howdy, but his voice was drowned out by a deafening crash. A blinding white light flooded the carriage and the horses whinnied outside in terror. You tried to lean forward to look out the window, but the horses bolted and the momentum sent you crashing to the floor of the coach. You could hear Johnson yelling. Howdy grabbed your arm and tried to haul you back into the seat, but when you looked out the window, what you saw made you freeze.

Lightning had struck a nearby tree. It was on fire. Johnson seemed to have lost the reins, because you could see them flapping in the wind by the window. Howdy was calling your name. Johnson was screaming at the horses to stop.

The carriage was passing the flaming tree right as it started to crackle and groan.

You jumped back into the seat and grabbed Howdy. One of his hands grasped the back of your head and his body tensed around you as if he was bracing himself.

It only took a few seconds—three at most—but it felt like an eternity.

Wood splintered around you as the carriage shattered. A heavy weight came down on you and Howdy, and for a brief, macabre moment, you were amazed by how fragile your bodies really were.

Then everything went black.

There was nothing but darkness for a long time. You tried to move, tried to call out for Howdy, but nothing happened. You were just... nothing.

That thought scared you. There was so much more than that. Light. Color. Noises and smells. Life. You couldn't be nothing, that just wasn't possible. You had memories and goals. You had a spouse and a family. You had an estate to attend to you. You couldn't just... not be.

Panic twisted your stomach into knots, clawed its way up your throat, and came out of your mouth as a scream: “Help! Help me!”

“Alright, alright! Calm down!”

You stopped. That voice sounded familiar, but you couldn't quite put your finger on who it was.

Then you heard another, timid voice. “Is it always like this?”

That one you did recognize, because you had just heard it a few days ago. It was Eddie. Your instinct was to gasp, but you couldn't. I can't breathe. Oh, God, I can't breathe.

The first voice spoke again: “Often, yes. It all depends on the person and how at peace they are.”

There was a shuffling nearby. It was odd, despite the panic coursing through you, your body was strangely... calm. You expected your heart to be thumping fast and heavy in your ears and for your palms to be sweaty, but there was nothing.

The space above you shifted with a low creak and light stabbed your eyes. You flinched, blinked, then stared at the two faces above you blurring into focus.

Eddie and Frank were leaned over, looking down at you. They both offered you sad, soft smiles.

Your neck was stiff as you looked around. Your were laying in some sort of bed. It wasn't comfortable; even though it was all silk, there was no cushion, and the pillow at your head was much too small. Your mind was sluggish like you had just woken from a long nap. You had to blink several times and crane your neck to the left before you realized that Frank was holding open a lid.

You were in a casket.

Your tongue felt like cement in your mouth as you stammered, “Am... am I d-dead?”

Eddie gave you a pitying look. “Oh, Y/N.”

“Come on,” Frank said, “the sooner you get on your feet, the better you'll feel.” He and Eddie grabbed you under your arms and hoisted you out of the casket, which was sitting on a table. They helped you find your footing and Frank instructed you through some stretches to shake off the rigor mortis. You took a moment to look around.

You were in a sort of cavern, full of other caskets sitting on tables. Some looked new, others old and decayed.

“Where are we?” you asked.

“The Land of the Dead. Specifically, an offshoot of our village, just below the graveyard where you were buried,” Frank said.

You felt dizzy. “So... the crash... I didn't make it.”

Eddie put his hand on your shoulder. “No one made it except the driver. When the tree fell, he got thrown off, but he survived. Poor man blames himself for what happened. Thinks he should have kept better hold of the reins or suggested you leave sooner to avoid the storm.” He squeezed your shoulder. “They say you and Howdy died in each other's arms.”

“Howdy...” Your stomach was churning and you wondered if you could still get sick even if you were dead.

Eddie nodded. “Frank had to break a couple of rules, but we went to the Land of the Living to see your funeral—”

“From a safe distance, of course,” Frank interrupted.

“Of course. Your parents spared no expense. They got you a big, beautiful gravestone and there were flowers everywhere. You and Howdy were buried next to each other in the outfits you got married in.”

You glanced down at yourself for the first time and realized he was right, you were wearing the outfit your mother had picked out for your wedding, complete with your wedding band on your left hand.

Not only that, but you were also wearing the other wedding band on your right hand. Wally's wedding band. It was the same ring Wally had worn all those years ago, after you had practiced your vows in the woods. You ended up keeping it for myself since Howdy's mother insisted that you purchase new rings for your next attempt at getting married, (”I'll have no cursed rings at this ceremony,” she said). You could never bring yourself to get rid of it, though, and eventually fell into the habit of wearing it on your right hand while you wore your actual wedding ring on your left.

You were surprised that you had been buried with it, considering everything. Perhaps your family decided that since you wore it all the time, it held sentimental value to you and you'd want to keep it. Or, you shuddered to consider this, your hands were too swollen to get it off.

You shook those thoughts away and looked back to Eddie. “Where is Howdy?” you asked. “If he was buried next to me, shouldn't he be here?”

Frank and Eddie exchanged a glance. “We aren't sure where he is,” Eddie said.

“We've been keeping an eye out for him, but we think he's gone to the upstairs,” Frank added.

“The upstairs?”

“Heaven, Paradise, Nirvana, whatever you call it. You can go to whatever version of the afterlife you choose once you pass on. Unless you're someone like Julie.” They frowned. “Someone like that who has caused suffering for others doesn't get a choice. She's downstairs.”

“So, if there's an upstairs and a downstairs, where are we? The ground floor?”

Frank's mouth twitched into a smile. “Something like that. The people who end up here usually either can't make up their mind where they want to go or have unfinished business. You could join Howdy upstairs, if you wanted.”

You considered this, but the idea made your head spin. Where exactly did Howdy go, and how would you go about joining him?

Frank nodded to a nearby hallway. “We can talk more about this, later. Come on, the others are waiting to see you.”

The others. You perked up a bit remembering them. Sally, Poppy, Barnaby, even your old dog, Scraps. You followed Frank out of the cavern, and Eddie fell into step beside you, whistling a cheery tune as you walked.

The bells were already ringing by the time you reached the village, and as you got closer to the old tavern you could hear a chorus of voices all calling out, “New arrival! New arrival!”

Eddie chuckled beside you. “Poppy is up to her ears in cooking. They just had a Welcome Feast for me the other day.”

You tried to swallow, but your mouth was too dry. God, Eddie's, funeral was just the other day, and now here you were. You weren't sure if you could take part in any kind of feast; your mind was still reeling from everything that had happened.

You entered the tavern and were immediately greeted by Sally, the tragic Shakespearean actor, who gripped your hand and was roughly shaking it as soon as you stepped through the door. “Well, it's about time you showed up!” she said.

“Easy, Sally. Y/N is still adjusting,” Frank said as they came in beside you.

“Yeah, yeah,” Sally said as she tugged you across the room and sat you down at a bar. “So how'd it happen?”

You cleared your throat. “Um. A carriage accident.”

She whistled. “Wow, that's a rough way to go. Do you remember any of it?”

“Not really. I got knocked out pretty quickly.”

There was a loud thud beside you as a familiar, tall blue dog plopped down in the seat on your other side. “Welp, that's good at least,” Barnaby said as he handed you a frothing mug of beer.

“Sure is. Not remembering violent deaths makes the transition a little easier.”

Barnaby leaned over, his eyeball rolling into his right socket, and peered at you. “And judging by all the schmutz on your face, I'm guessing it wasn't a pretty sight.”

“Schmutz?” You gently touched your face and realized that you had a very thick layer of makeup on.

“Oh yeah! We need to get that off you right away. It looks awful.” Sally stood up and cupped her hands around her mouth. “Poppyyyyyy! I need a mirrooooooooor!”

“One moment, please!” a high-pitched, crow-like voice squawked from the kitchen. “Goodness me, I'm going to start molting again from all these feasts.” Poppy walked into the space behind the bar, wiping her wings on her apron, and she looked up at you. “Oh, my dear Y/N. I heard the rumors, but I didn't know if they were true. I'm so sorry.”

You couldn't help but smile at Poppy, remembering the way she comforted you when you first came here and were scared out of your wits. “I'm fine. It's good to see you again.”

She smiled back at you before digging through her apron pocket. “Let's see, I think I have a mirror in here, somewhere. Ah!” She withdrew a tiny hand mirror and handed it to you. “Please don't be insulted, but whoever did your funeral makeup certainly did you a disservice.”

You looked into the mirror and blanched when you realized that they were right. The makeup didn't match your skin tone and made you look horribly discolored, and they seemed to try and make up for that by applying huge splotches of rouge to your cheeks and lips. You grimaced at your reflection.

“Uh huh. Here,” Sally said while handing you a rag.

You went to work cleaning up your face and neck, scrubbing the makeup away. You froze when you glanced at your reflection again and noticed just how much you had changed. Your skin had taken on a bluish tint, and you had massive stitches across your neck and down your right temple. You gently prodded at your temple and flinched when a fraction of your skull shifted under your touch. No, the accident wasn't pretty at all.

Sally noticed this and took the rag and mirror from you. “Here, I'll finish,” she said.

“You'll get used to it,” Barnaby said as Sally got to work. “Imagine how Poppy was when she first got here and saw that half of her face was missing.”

Sally finished and nodded with satisfaction. “There. Now you look like one of us!”

“The stitches are a nice touch, too. Makes you look like a pirate,” Barnaby said.

Sally gasped. “Oooo. We could do a production of The Pirates of Penzance! Are you a good singer?”

“Me? Well, uh—”

Barnaby laughed then stood up. “Care if I go ahead and audition?” He started singing “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” before anyone could protest, going out of his way to use a silly voice and make larger-than-life funny gestures.

Eddie took Barnaby's seat beside you and helped himself to the drink that Poppy put down in front of him. “So, what do you think you're going to do now?”

You pondered this for a moment. “I'm not sure. What can I do?”

“Whatever you want, really. You could move on to another afterlife upstairs, or you could stay here. Take care of whatever unfinished business you have.”

You shrugged. “I guess that's why I'm here, huh? I just can't make up my mind?”

Poppy leaned against the bar and giggled. “Oh, no. I think you do have unfinished business.”

You tilted your head. “What?”

Sally's attention was brought back to you and she propped her elbows on the bar, giving you a sly smile. “Oh, yeah. And I bet we all know what it is.”

“I'm confused,” you said.

“Oh, come on. Do we really need to spell it out for you?” she said with a groan. “How about the guy you almost drank poison for?”

Your eyes widened. “Wally?”

Sally and Poppy both nodded. Barnaby gave up on his performance when he realized no one was watching him juggle three empty beer mugs and approached you again. “Sounds about right,” he said.

“But that's not possible. Wally, he... he's gone. I saw him disappear.”

Frank approached you from behind and placed their hand on your shoulder. “He's not gone. Souls don't just disappear like that.”

“Yeah, and he visited us a couple of weeks ago,” Barnaby added.

You felt something deep within you—your heart, maybe? even though it wasn't beating anymore?—jump up at the revelation. “Where is he? Upstairs?”

“Nah, I think Poppy would have let us know if he was living in the attic.” Barnaby laughed when Frank gave him a sharp glare.

“Not precisely. Last I heard, he's residing in another in-between kind of place. It's a little bit harder to get there since it's separate from our world, but he's figured it out well enough that he still visits us from time to time,” Frank said.

Your throat clenched like a fist and your eyes were stinging. You pressed your hands against your mouth and sniffled.

Poppy grinned. “I knew it.”

“Please. We all knew it,” Sally said.

“How do I find him?” you said.

Frank put a hand to his chin. “Well, he told me that there are a couple of ways to get there, but for most of them you have to know what you're looking for. I haven't been able to go there, myself, so I won't be very much help, there.” They tapped his jaw and hummed a bit in thought. “I suppose I could give you the spell I gave Wally before. It's a bit of a gamble, but I'm sure it won't be much of a problem for you. It's a spell to help you find your heart's desire. I gave it to him when he first got here in case he ever changed his mind about that unfinished business of his, and he kept it with him for years. Didn't use it until that day in the Land of the Living.”

You remembered that moment vividly, when you watched as Wally's body dissolved into hundreds of blue and grey butterflies. “That was a spell? I thought he was gone.”

Frank shook his head. “I think once he decided that he was satisfied, he needed something to help him move on. He's happy where he is now, if not a little lonely.”

You hugged yourself. You had never considered the possibility of seeing Wally again, and now that you were told that it was possible, your heart seemed to sing at the idea. But something was holding you back.

“What about Howdy?”

Frank sighed. “I can't help you with that. I'm afraid that's a decision you'll have to make on your own.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” Eddie said, “you're not limited to one place. You can visit each afterlife whenever you want. I visited my parents in the upstairs the other day, but I'm staying here to be with Frank.” As he said this, he took Frank's hand and gave them a sweet smile. “So, uh, if you want to see Howdy again, you can. But you don't have to stay anywhere. You're free to do what you want.”

That seemed to loosen some of the tension in your chest. You took a deep breath and let your heart take over. “Okay. How do I use that spell?”

Frank smiled. “We'll need to get some things out of my office.”

You stood and followed Frank out the door. Sally whooped behind you, “Woo hoo! Lover boy's getting his partner back!”

“We'll have that Welcome Feast another time, alright?” Poppy called.

Barnaby just hummed to himself, considering adding another verse to “Remains of the Day” so that the story would have a happy ending, after all. Then again, he'd probably have to sacrifice the catchy instrumental part in the middle so the song wasn't too long, and he wasn't willing to do that.

You and Eddie stood in silence as you watched Frank dig through his various supplies. He scrutinized their spell book as he carefully measured and combined the ingredients. When they were finished, he handed you a small capsule the size of a marble.

“This is it?” you asked.

He nodded. “It looks unassuming, but it is a very powerful spell. All you have to do is crush it in your hand and you'll be sent to wherever your heart's desire is. Though, you may need to try and focus on one thing, or else you may get sent to the wrong place.”

“But don't worry. If you get lost, just find a graveyard and enter a crypt to go underground, and you'll find a village associated with that grave yard. You should be able to find your way back from there,” Eddie said.

You nodded, staring at the capsule in the palm of your hand.

Without warning, Eddie pulled you into a hug. “Take care of yourself, okay, bud? And you'd better visit us all the time, or I'll come find you, myself.”

You smiled and leaned into his hug. “I will. I promise.”

Frank sniffed and cleared their throat, trying to hide the fact that you reminded him of themselves when he was young and fell in love with Eddie for the first time. “Alright, go on before Eddie decides to make you stay here.”

You turned to Frank and gave him a hug, too. “Thank you,” you whispered.

They awkwardly patted your back. “Of course.” He led you out to his balcony that overlooked the village. “I will warn you, it may be a bit of a bumpy ride.”

You walked to the edge of the balcony, looked back over your shoulder at them as Eddie put his arm around Frank. You took a deep breath—just out of habit at this point, and it was an odd sensation to feel your lungs stretch for the first time in a while—then turned your face up. You closed your eyes and pictured Wally, wherever he was, then you squeezed your right hand until the capsule burst and a fine powder spilled out between your fingers.

Nothing happened, at first. You opened your eyes again and looked down, wondering if you'd done something wrong.

But then you felt another strange sensation: an unraveling, like your body was falling away from you. A gust of wind swirled around you, your feet and the tips of your fingers tingled, and your body transformed into hundreds of butterflies.

Just like Wally.

Normally, you would have been frightened. You weren't. Your heart jumped up in your throat with excitement. You almost laughed, but your face and mouth had been transformed by then.

You were jumbling, fluttering, riding on the wind current, spread out in a great cloud of delicate wings. You tumbled through the air, trying and failing to grasp what was happening and where you were going. The world flew past you in a blur. You felt free.

You jolted when your feet suddenly met solid ground. You blinked, held your hands out in front of you and found them whole again.

You were in a circular clearing in the middle of a grove of trees. You spun around in a circle, taking in your surroundings. The trees were all tall and dark, and each tree on the edge of this clearing had a door carved into it. A four-leaf clover, a big red heart, a Christmas tree? An Easter egg? These were all symbols associated with holidays.

“Oh!” a quiet voice sounded behind you. You turned to face them and stared, slack-jawed, at the person who met you. She was a tall, slender woman standing at the edge of the grove. Her skin was made of a blue fabric and she had long, red hair and wore a colorful, patchwork dress. A small basked was hanging from the crook of her arm, stuffed with sprigs of lavender. Her round, glassy, babydoll eyes blinked at you. She smiled and dipped her head down. “I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting to find anyone else here.”

You struggled to find your words as you were still wrapping your head around the concept that a giant rag doll was talking to you. This was all a lot for you to take in one day. You coughed and said, “No, I'm sorry. I'm just... looking for someone.”

The woman tilted her head. “Is that so? Who are you looking for?”

“A man named Wally Darling. He's a...” You hesitated, unsure how foreign this would be to her.

But she finished the sentence for you. “A corpse? Like you?”

You smiled bashfully. “Yes.”

The woman grinned even bigger. “Then it's a good thing I found you. He's from the same town as me.”

That jolt of excitement shot through you again. It seemed like the spell that Frank made for you worked like a charm. “Really? Can you take me there?”

“Of course.” She walked up to you, her stride small and with a noticeable limp, thought she didn't seem to be in pain. She held out her hand. “My name is Sally, by the way,” she said.

Another Sally, you thought. You shook her hand and introduced yourself. She nodded, then motioned to the side toward a tree with a door shaped like a jack-o-lantern in it. “We'll be heading to Halloween Town. This is the fastest way there,” she continued. She limped to the tree, turned the knob that was disguised as the jack-o-lantern's nose, and the door swung outward. You cautiously approached it and looked down into the hollow tree. There was nothing but darkness, and the door opened to a steep drop-off that you couldn't see the bottom of.

“I find it easiest to just close my eyes and jump,” she said. “I know it can be a bit intimidating sometimes, but I promise, it's perfectly safe. My husband and I come through here all the time.”

You swallowed, grabbed hold of the doorway, and shut your eyes. A gentle breeze blew through, carrying the comforting scent of fallen leaves and caramel apples. A smile crept onto your face, and you pulled yourself through the doorway and jumped.

There was only a second of free fall before you landed smartly on your rear end in a giant pile of leaves. You grunted and clambered to your feet.

Sally appeared beside you. “Are you alright? That happens a lot for first-timers.”

You straightened up and said, “Yeah, I'm fine. Not like I can get much worse.”

She giggled at that and motioned for you to follow her. You walked together down a dirt path that cut through the woods and she asked you about where you came from and how you got here. She was a good listener as you told her everything.

“How do you know Wally?” she asked.

“We, um...” Your face heated up and you found yourself fiddling with the band on your right hand. “It's a long story. Let's just say we're... old friends.”

“I see,” she said with a knowing look that made you blush more. But then she looked forward and said, “Here we are.”

You both crested a hill and looked down on an archway with “Halloween Town” spelled out in black, iron letters. A large town bustled with activity down below. The architecture was conflictingly made of a combination of twisting, curving lines and jagged, sharp angles, and the citizens seemed to enjoy and monochrome color palette with occasional splashes of bright color. You followed Sally down the path and entered the town.

You had to keep yourself from gawking when you saw the first couple of citizens gathered in the town square: a wolf man dressed in tattered flannel chatting with a bulking man dressed in overalls with an axe stuck in his head. They both gawked at you, though, when you came into a view.

“Look! Queen Sally has brought in someone new!” the wolf man exclaimed with a gravelly voice.

You glanced at her. “Queen Sally?”

She blushed. “Ah, yes, I didn't mention that. I'm the Pumpkin Queen.”

“Oh!” You fumbled and started to bow, but Sally stopped you.

“Please, don't. That's exactly why I don't go around announcing that to everyone. Just treat me like you would anyone else.”

You nodded. “Sorry.”

“And don't apologize, either.” She hooked her arm around yours and said, “Now, let's go find Wally.”

She led you away, but not before you noticed that a trio of women, (witches, you guessed, based on their clothes and pointed hats) had gathered around the wolf man and were whispering conspiratorially.

You hadn't gone far before you stumbled upon two more citizens: a man wearing a long trench coat and tall, thin top hat, and an even taller, thin, and gangly skeleton dressed in a pin-stripped suit with tails on his coat and a bat bowtie. They were both leaned over something on a table.

Sally perked up a bit beside you. “Oh, that's my husband over there. He may know where Wally is.” She waved her free hand and called, “Jack! Jack!”

The skeleton looked up and his face split into a wide, toothy grin. “Sally! Perfect timing! Mr. Hyde and I were just testing out his newest creation. Would you care to see?”

She nodded and walked to the table, where Jack presented her with a large, orange bowl of candy with a small sign taped to the front that read “Just Take One.”

“A seemingly normal bowl, yes? Perfectly welcoming to trick-or-treaters.”

“Of course,” she agreed.

“Go and take a piece. Just one.”

Sally did as he said a delicately picked up a wrapped piece of butterscotch. She waited a moment, then raised a brow at him. “Is that all?”

“Precisely, because you were good and only took one. Now, pretend you are a greedy trick-or-treater and try to grab a handful.”

Sally nodded and drove her hand into the bowl, grabbing a large handful of candy, when a ghostly hand jumped from within the depths of the bowl and grabbed her wrist. She gasped, startled, then laughed. “What fun!”

Jack clapped Mr. Hyde on the back. “You see? A brilliant idea! I knew you were an excellent choice for the knew town scientist. Well done!”

Mr Hyde chuckled, pleased with himself. “You flatter me, Jack.”

Sally gently tugged at Jack's arm and whispered to him. He looked at you and his eyes lit up. “Oh, my apologies! I was so caught up in my work, I hadn't noticed you there.” He swept into a low bow. “Jack Skellington, Pumpkin King and Co-Representative of Halloween.” He stood upright and draped an arm over Sally's shoulder. “And you've already met my wife and partner, Sally.” He looked you up and down, then beamed. “We don't get very many new faces, but you seem like you'll fit right in, here.”

You cleared your throat and said, “Actually, Mr. uh, Skellington—”

“Please, Jack is fine.”

“Jack,” you corrected, “I'm actually looking for someone. Wally Darling?”

He raised a brow and glanced at Sally, who only smiled up at him. “Your name wouldn't happen to be Y/N, would it?”

Your eyes widened. “Yes. Why?”

“He talks about you all the time. Oh, he'll be over the moon when he sees you!”

You could have sworn that your heart thudded hearing that, but that couldn't have been possible, could it?

Jack tilted his head and hummed. “I just saw him a moment ago. I may know where he is. Follow me!” He let go of Sally and strode away. You glanced at Sally and she nodded to you, urging you forward, then you jogged to follow the skeleton.

Jack led the way down a twisting cobblestone path that led out of the town and into farmland that mostly consisted of pumpkins. He led you through a graveyard and up a steep hill, and his long strides took him up the hill faster than you could keep up with. You couldn't run out of breath, anymore, but that didn't stop your muscles from aching as you hiked after him. As you reached the top of the hill, you could see another hill in the distance that made the shape of a spiral. As you took in the view, your gaze wandered from the massive spiral and down to the bottom where another there was another pumpkin patch.

You froze when you saw him. There was no mistaking him with his blue, patchwork skin and signature hair style. He wasn't wearing the wedding tuxedo anymore; now he donned a simple white shirt and blue striped pants. He was seated at a stool in the middle of the pumpkin patch with an easel in front of him, hard at work on a painting. You would have gasped if you still had breath, and your body moved before you completely comprehended what you were seeing.

Wally.

As you came closer, you could see that he was recreating the view of the spiral hill on his painting. His back was to you, and he hummed quietly as he worked, so deep in thought that he didn't notice you and Jack approaching until Jack called his name.

“Wally! I thought we'd find you here.” Jack leaned over Wally's shoulder and looked at the painting. “Ah, is this my commission? It's coming along swimmingly.”

All you saw was Wally's side profile as he smiled up at Jack. “Thank you. I'm just touching up a few details, right now. It should be finished in a day or so, when it dries.”

“It will be a wonderful anniversary gift. Sally will love it!”

Wally turned back to his painting, and Jack glanced at you like he'd just remembered you were there. “Actually, Wally, I needed to speak to you.”

“Hm?”

“It seems,” Jack said, putting his hand on Wally's shoulder, “that someone is here to see you.”

Wally gave Jack a confused look, then turned.

His eyes widened, and the paintbrush fell from his limp fingers.

Neither of you moved. His eyes trailed up and down your body. He stood, took a few hesitant steps forward, and said, “Y/N?”

You smiled. “Hello, Wally,” you said.

Jack was beaming.

Wally blinked, then shook his head. “I'm dreaming.”

You almost laughed. Your hands were shaking. “No, you're not.”

“I am. You... you can't be here. It's not possible.”

“Wally...”

“I'm going to open my eyes, and you'll be gone.”

You approached him, took his hand, and pressed it against your face. His eyes dilated and his mouth fell open.

“I'm here,” you whispered.

He studied your face, and his fingers trailed down your jaw and to your neck, where they found the stitches. He glanced at them, and his mouth opened wider. “Oh...” His other hand found your neck and he gently traced the stitches. He gently turned your head from side to side as he looked you over like he was just noticing the bluish tint your skin had taken, and his gaze fell on the stitches on your temple. “What happened?”

“A carriage accident.”

He covered his mouth. “Oh, no...”

You took his hand again. “It's alright. I don't remember anything.”

You noticed tears forming at the corners of his eyes. “I'm so sorry.”

You cupped his cheek. “Don't be. I'm alright.”

Jack coughed. “I believe you two will be wanting some time alone?” He leaned down and whispered to Wally, “I recommend the top of Spiral Hill. Very romantic spot.” He winked, and Wally started to blush.

“Thank you,” he mumbled before he gripped your hand tightly and led you toward Spiral Hill. You trudged to the top together, hand in hand, and you looked out over the view of the graveyard and pumpkin patch, grey and black with dots of orange.

Wally turned to you and took a tight hold of both your hands. “Tell me everything.”

You didn't speak, because with him holding your hands I noticed something for the first time. When you had met before, when you were still alive, whenever he touched you his skin was always freezing cold. Now it wasn't. You realized it was because we were the same temperature. It made you want to hold him closer.

“I already told you, I was in a carriage accident.”

“No, no. I mean... tell me about your life. What happened after I left?”

“You want me to tell you all of that? Right now?”

He nodded. “We have all the time in the world, now.”

You grinned, and then you did just that. You told him about your marriage to Howdy, the relationship you had formed, the good and bad times, and you told him that during those seven years, you never forgot him. You were afraid that he would be upset or sad when you told him about your marriage, but he seemed to be the contrary.

“I'm glad,” he said. “I was hoping I was making the right decision. It's good to know that you lived a good life after I was gone, even if... even if it was a short one.”

He had looked away, and you gently cupped his cheek so that he would look at you. “The others in the Land of the Dead said that the reason I stayed behind was likely because I had unfinished business. At first, I didn't know what they were talking about, but I think I do, now.” Despite building up to that, you suddenly became bashful and couldn't quite find the words.

Wally touched your hand on his face and leaned into it. “You were looking for me?”

You nodded. “The thing is... I missed y—”

He interrupted you by pressing his lips to yours.

He had only ever kissed you once before, that night on the bridge. You weren't sure if that even counted since you fainted when he did. You remembered being terrified back then, your stomach swirling and your heart thumping so hard and fast you thought you were about to have a heart attack. You remembered how cold his lips were, and how dizzy you were from the fear.

This was different. Obviously, you weren't afraid, now, but it was more than that. It was rushed and passionate, not the formal seal of the vows that Wally had done before. And it was warm. You still felt dizzy, though.

When he pulled away, you stared into each other's eyes for a moment, then you took his shoulders and pulled him back to you for another kiss. Your hand went to the back of his head and your fingers tangled into his soft hair. His hands trailed up and down your back. You gripped each other as if the second one of you let go, you'd be lost forever. You finally pulled away again when you heard the sound of an applause in the distance.

At the top of one of the nearby hills, a small crowd of monsters and ghouls had formed, and they were whooping and cheering. Jack and Sally stood at the center of the crowd, smiling up at you as Sally leaned into Jack's shoulder.

“So much for alone time,” you muttered. You turned back to Wally to see him beaming up at you. His eyes sparkled.

He wrapped his arms around your waist and lifted you up into a twirl. You yelped in surprise and gripped his shoulders. He laughed heartily as he set you back down, then he leaned his forehead into yours, and for a moment you simply relished in each other's company.

“Thank you,” he said. “I've missed you, too. I know that I was selfish before, but I really am glad that you came to find me.”

You were surprised to feel your heart melting a bit when he said that—it seemed that even if your heart didn't beat anymore, it was still capable of swelling and melting with emotion.

The ring on your right hand glinted in the moonlight. A knot formed in your throat. “I think... I think I know what my unfinished business is, now.”

Wally tilted his head, curious.

You took the ring off your finger and held it up to him. “I want to try again. Properly, this time. Nothing in our way, and no interruptions. I want to give you the wedding you deserve.”

Wally's eyes widened a bit, then he chuckled and shook his head. “It was never just about the wedding, you know. I wanted true love. A happy ending.”

“Exactly,” you said. “I want to give you that. A big, beautiful ceremony to celebrate true love, and a real happily ever after.” You cleared your throat, suddenly nervous. “If you'd like that, I mean.”

He broke into a wide smile. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

You nodded. “Yes. Will you marry me? Again?”

He laughed again and pulled you into a hug. “Yes. If you will have me.”

You closed your eyes and leaned into the hug. “Of course I will.”

You finally pulled apart once again to slip the band on Wally's finger, right where it belonged.

A/N: Yes, I already know I'm cringe. Don't look at me.

#welcome home fanfic #corpse puppet au #wally darling x y/n #wally darling x reader #nightmare before christmas crossover #jack x sally

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accio-victuuri · 3 months

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XZ’s GQ February issue candies 🍬

now that we all had the time to appreciate the lovely photos and videos from that cover & collab — which is honestly a whole meal on it’s own, now is the time for some sweets. 🫶🏼 nothing too extravagant, a few similarities and clues we have connected only. i think the best candy still is the fact that it’s now confirmed that zz & wyb both have a good relationship with gq. even rocco going as far as choosing xz to start having simultaneous cover releases with other countries. sit tight and wait for all the toxic narratives to be proven wrong. don’t sweat it. the road ahead is long. let’s enjoy life and support the boys! 🫶🏼

One thing i noticed, and was actually surprised about was WYB posting an ad for Super X as early as 8:00 AM. Tho he may post at 8:05, which is rare, he usually does ad posts at 10:00. The 8:05 is mostly done by the brands. We have talked about them trying their best not have work overlap, this is a minor one, but as soon as GQ posted at 9:30 i feel like i know what’s happening. Then it didn’t stop till 12:00 nn. It doesn’t help cause i’m clowning that the short film feature for this cover was assigned Chapter 8. WYB posted at 8, the full short film is 8. What a nice coincidence!

Knowing WYB is not a stranger to doing short films with GQ and their love for movies! It wouldn’t really surprise me now if GG does a full feature about LOCH with them. These two really chose the same publication to do exclusive for their projects 😌😌

the similarity that i love is them in the bathroom and then looking at the mirror. tho wyb’s are scenes from HB, these stills were first seen @ GQ.

there is a story here 👀👀

it’s nice too how GQ used ZZ’s photos and put them in the frames. what a nice touch! since this is essentially his dream 💭

+ peter pan pop up art book on the bed too!

overall, there is really not that much we can clown about when it comes to photos alone. tho what gg is wearing has an interesting story as shared by @rainbowsky here. some may say it’s the stylist and magazine’s choice but we still love seeing the association. In addition, the clothes were inspired by Nicole Kidman’s clothes in a Chanel perfume ad. i love the unconventional wedding dress choice here, it fits them! <3

moving on to the biggest way we can cpn tho is the interview & cover story.

i especially liked the questions, it wasn’t cutesy. it asked what needed to be asked.

here are some of the similarities i found with them and their outlook in life and career. 🤍

First of all, being professional is an unavoidable topic. You can have a non-major background, but you must have excellent professional skills. This is what I want to do, this is who I am. I feel that I am not enough, and i’m too far behind.

I think (improving acting skills) is a cumulative process. You can’t make a big step forward with just one movie. This is difficult for me to happen. So you have to keep filming, but you have to keep filming good films and don't consume yourself.

It’s the intent to be a better actor and the self awareness of not having that “background” people expect them to have. However, they can compensate by being professional. by being the hardest working person in the room. Sometimes I feel like it’s okay for them to praise themselves and not always be this critical, but i guess that’s what make them the best too cause they have high standards for themselves.

At present, I want to be an actor who makes the audience like you. Maybe everyone is not your fan, or even not particularly interested in you, but you know that he has a drama, Do you want to watch it? His dramas are all good. I want to do this. This is my current goal. Is it possible to become the actor I like? This is a rule.

THIS. This!!!!!! I feel like they both have this outlook. They don’t need every single person to be their “fan” but the goal is to become known and liked by the general public. That people are familiar with them as good actors with excellent works. It’s why there is absolutely no need to beat yourself up on who is the better fan. It doesn’t keep the boys up at night. Lol.

There are many. For example, Zhou Xun has always been my favorite actor.

Zhou Xun! Who has worked with WYB in various projects, primarily with Chanel! I hope ZZ gets to work with her too.

I used to take the subway every day. for me there’s nothing I can't do. What do you think I can do? Say hello and leave. It’s just that I don’t want to cause confusion and trouble for everyone or cause a bad reaction.

The two of them have the same intention of not wanting to cause trouble to the people. That means making sure their fans do not cause unnecessary public issues like gathering in certain places.

Everyone has their own boundaries, and some people have no sense of propriety. I stay away from such people, but when the boundaries are broken again and again and the bottom line is touched, I will get very angry.

Chongqing pepper is here! lol. I see them being very patient and understanding cause they know what people expect of celebrities. But they won’t also take things lying down. They will fight if need be.

In principle, I am a very rigid person. If I insist on something and I think it is right, it will be difficult to be convinced. For example, if I want to be an actor, I don’t want to do anything other than being an actor.

I just want to do it well, just try my best right now. Maybe the result is not good, but what should I do? This is all I can do.

Sounds familiar? Especially the part that says I want to do it well? They have the same braincell 🙃

Now let’s look at the cover story. First, i wanna point out the comment of the interviewer about ZZ: “Before meeting, I thought Xiao Zhan would be very cautious about interviews. To my surprise, Xiao Zhan had a rare sense of relaxation, answered all questions, and even had some humor.”

Which is actually a common misconception about XZ or — you know what? he was kind cautious before but as time goes by, he became more relaxed and candid with his answers. It’s still insightful, but not as practiced. In the Q&A, he mentioned that there are things that cannot be said. Setting boundaries like that. Similarly, WYB is the same. We’ve heard stuff saying that he is in a more relaxed state now. I love that for them!

I still sneak out to ride a bicycle, take a walk, and do a CityWalk. Only once, just now in after walking in the alley for 5 minutes, I was recognized. I also sneaked into the cinema to watch a movie. No one will care about you, really. after leaving the Internet, many things will be solved easily. Sometimes the world is right in front of us.

This goes out to everyone that says how can they go out? How are the CPNs of them spending time together be true? Well this is the answer. Sneaked into a cinema to watch a movie? I hope they do that together too ^^

When he goes to different cities, Xiao Zhan will bring the same type of pillows and quilts. "I will bring everything that can help me sleep well." He has also tried aromatherapy lamps, lavender essential oil, and various other products that make him fall asleep when applied on his body.

This is such an easy cpn for us. Remember that time DLS clowned WYB about the aromatherapy candles? HAHAHAHAHAHA!

-END.

#yizhan #bjyx #there is no science here i’m just clowning like i always do #sorry this is so late i was so exhausted lol

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ageingfangirl2 · 5 months

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You Could Do So Much Better Than Me! Buggy (OPLA)

You are a princess from a small island kidnapped by Buggy and his crew. Little did Buggy know he'd kidnapped the wrong princess, and after time together he feels sorry for you and asks you to join his crew. Buggy x Reader (Female)

Your head was groggy, why couldn't you remember anything? Yes, you drank but never enough to blackout. You groan loudly and attempt to stretch your hands but hit something metallic. Your eyes dart open in fear, and you have to cover your eyes from the light because it makes your head hurt more.

'Finally, the princess wakes up,' an unfamiliar male voice chuckles.

A clown was crouched down in front of you, you scramble backwards but your back hits metal, 'WHY AM I IN A CAGE? WHERE AM I? WHO ARE YOU?'

The clown grins menacingly at your fear, 'I kidnapped you princess. You're on my ship, everyone calls me Buggy.'

You click your tongue as realisation dawns on you that you'd been kidnapped by a notorious pirate, 'Buggy The Genius Jester, I've seen your wanted posters. Why kidnap me?' you question, calming down a little.

Buggy's eyes sparkle when you use one of his other names, 'I'm glad you've heard of me, princess. It should be obvious why I kidnapped you. I've already sent a ransom demand to your family, royalty will pay a lot of berry.'

You can't help but laugh, 'now that's funny. Do you know nothing of lineage?'

Buggy frowns, 'why are you laughing? I kidnapped you, you should be scared.'

You try to control your laughter and wipe a stray tear away, 'you couldn't have picked anyone worse to kidnap. Everybody knows I'm, the throwaway, the expendable one. You should have taken my sister since she's next in line for the throne. I'm the spare to her heir.'

'QUIET!' Buggy growls and slams his gloved hands on the cage, 'they'll pay, otherwise, I'll have to send them body parts as an incentive.'

You bite your lip and roll your eyes, 'I bet the ransom money they don't do anything. You can slice and dice me, sell me, or even kill me and they won't bat an eyelid. I'm a realist Buggy.'

Buggy huffs, stands up and storms up the stairs leaving you locked in a cage in the depths of his ship. This wasn't your first kidnap attempt, but the first successful one. Buggy could be dangerous, and you didn't know how he'd react if he didn't get his way.

1 WEEK LATER

BUGGY

'You're going to want to see this captain,' Cabaji says, holding out a newspaper to me.

I snatch it from him and my heart sinks a little at the headline halfway through the paper not even considered major news 'ROYAL FAMILY DEVASTATED BY DEATH OF BELOVED PRINCESS - ASK FOR PRIVACY WHILE THEY GRIEVE'

'I kind of feel bad for them, doesn't even mention a kidnapping. Puts all the fault on her for being careless,' Cabaji sighs.

I wasn't annoyed that they didn't mention my excellent kidnapping or ransom demand, but I was angry they blamed their own daughter making them out to be a bumbling idiot while their older sister couldn't do anything wrong. I guess I better show this to y/n and decide what to do next.

I'd had the cage moved to my quarters to make y/n more comfortable, I wasn't a monster and they'd been the perfect hostage. Over the past week, we'd talked about a lot of things, especially my adventures since y/n had never left their island. They may have a fire and a yearning for something more than a title, and I maybe kind of wanted to help them because it was nice having someone else intelligent on the ship.

I enter my quarters and y/n looks up at me from inside the cage and waves, 'You're back quickly, it usually takes you half an hour to check things over.'

I hand them the paper between the bars, 'I might owe you than ransom money. Your family are assholes.'

y/n reads the article and snorts, 'I never asked to be royal Buggy. I hated the etiquette and the dresses, and don't even get me started on arranged marriages. I spent my days sparring and fighting with my tutors. I'm pretty good with a blade.'

Next thing I know they pull out a blade from behind their back and twirl it in their hand, 'Now where did you get that?' I ask, intrigued.

They smile, 'took it from one of your crew on my daily walk around the ship, no one even noticed me.'

I'd have to punish the crew member who let a princess steal one of their weapons, but an idea popped into my head and could benefit the pair of us, 'Join my crew. I'll turn you into a feared pirate and we'll destroy your family.'

Their eyes light up, 'sounds like fun Bugg--I mean captain.'

Hearing them call me captain had a nice ring to it. If they could fight and thief they'd fit in fine, and with their knowledge of royalty we could easily make a lot of money and boost our reputation. They insisted I'd chosen the wrong princess to kidnap, but it looked like I'd chosen the right one. With them by my side things would get a lot more interesting around here.

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t4t4t · 1 month

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I could never, at bottom, take advertising seriously. I felt it as demeaning. It seemed to me to be really a shell game, based squarely on the sucker principle. One could scarcely respect the people who went for all this okeydoke, who were, indeed, addicted to it. The sense of life with which advertising imbued them—or vice versa—made reality, or the truth of life, unbearable, threatening, and, at last, above all, unreal: they preferred the gaudy image, which they imagined to be under their control. Thus, they entered the voting booth as blindly cheerful and incoherent as they were at the supermarket, reaching out for the “brand” name, the name, that is, which had been most ruthlessly and successfully sold to them. They did not know, and did not dare to know, what was in the package: it had been “guaranteed,” and everybody else was buying it. True, there were occasional scandals, moments which might cause one to suspect that the public confidence had been abused: but the noise of scandal was swiftly conquered by the sprightly music of the next commercial. The music of the commercial simply reiterates the incredible glories of this great land, and one learns, through advertising, that it is, therefore, absolutely forbidden to the American people to be gloomy, private, tense, possessed; to stink, even a little, at any time; to grow gray, to wrinkle, to be sexless; to have unsmiling children; to be lusterless of eye, hair, or teeth; to be flabby of breast, belly, or bottom; to be gloomy, to know despair, or to embark on any adventure whatever without the corroboration of the friendly mob. Love, here, demands no down payment, though it must have the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, and, though love may be driven from Eden, it is only so that it may “mature” among friendly neighbors. This stupefying ode to purity has pornographic undertones: consider the classic hair-ad which has the portrait of a lady in the foreground and a naked infant in the background. The legend reads, hair color so natural only her hairdresser knows for sure! The legend is a dirty street-joke, and has reference to the lady’s pubic hair: but the presence of the baby washes the legend clean. The infant’s presence informs us that this is, indeed, a lady, a married one at that, and a mother, and her husband has nothing to fear from her hairdresser—who, probably, furthermore, like all hairdressers, is a faggot. Faggots, of course, never appear in this technicolored bazaar, except as clowns, or as the doomed victims of their hideous lusts, and it goes without saying that here, death shall have no dominion.

Much later, I was to realize that my discomfort was due to the fact that I was operating far, too far, beneath my level; or, in other words, I had more to give than was being demanded and I was being weighed down by the residue. I was also realizing that, though people endlessly fool themselves, they cannot really be fooled: what you really feel shines through you. So, my co-workers, and my superiors, in spite of the camaraderie, sensed my real attitude toward advertising, and, therefore, toward them, and distrusted me—soon, inevitably, they would dislike me. I could not blame them, for, if my attitude toward advertising as concerned the great, white, faceless mass was, at best, ironic, my attitude toward advertising as concerned black people was very painfully ambivalent. I felt that black people had a sense of reality far more solid and arresting than the bubble-gum context in which we operated—though I had days, God knows, when I wondered about this, too.

But who was I, anyway, after all, to have an attitude? I was doing the same thing, in the same office, and for the same reason: we had to eat. And we were expected to be aware, too, that the presence of blacks in advertising was a major sociological breakthrough. Was it? for our breakthroughs seemed to occur only on those levels where we were most speedily expendable and most easily manipulated. And a “breakthrough” to what? I was beginning to be wary of these breakthroughs, was not certain that I wanted a lifetime pass to Disneyland. On the other hand, here we were, and you can’t have your cake and eat it, too: we would simply have to find a way to use, and survive and transcend this present breakthrough the same way we had survived so many others.

Just Above My Head by James Baldwin

#the person who posted this quote turned off rbs for some reason

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comradekatara · 10 days

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So I know you've mentioned a few times that although you like Zukka, you kinda avoid the fanbase around that ship (totally understandable cause sometimes those opinions are 😬). My question is what is your opinion about Zukki- Sokka, Zuko, and Suki. Your answer doesn't need to be in depth or anything. I was just curious

yeah i mean it’s not just an avoidance of the fanbase, it’s a fundamental disagreement regarding what even constitutes “zukka” and what their dynamic entails. but i don’t need to get into all that rn. as far as the suki of it all [gravity.mp3] goes, i truly do believe that sokka and suki will spend the rest of their lives together (save for one ill-advised breakup that suki immediately regrets) but not in any sort of marital configuration. they’re usually long distance and in an open relationship, especially when they’re not in direct proximity, but they also make an effort to see each other as much as possible because they are deeply in love and that never changes. so suki would theoretically have no problem with sokka dating zuko, and in fact even encourages it because she thinks that zuko deserves a W tbh, but sokka is mostly just like “…..nah. im good.” and i know that in the comics zuko and suki do have some romantic tension going on, but i truly hate those comics so bad and thus do not have to subscribe to that idea. namely because zuko is way too gay to care about suki in any way other than thinly-veiled jealousy. i think a lot of people who ship the three of them together seem to think that they would love to invite zuko into their relationship, but like. he’s really not all that. ty lee and mai, yes. sokka learning how to enter the spirit world at will at aang’s behest so that he can reunite with yue, also yes (sorry). like i see both sokka and suki as being technically bisexual but with a major preference for women. they do like zuko but more in a “this is our pet clown” kinda way. and yeah he’s like eric andre “let me innnnn” but sokka doesn’t even notice and suki does notice but after a while she stops caring. so like, it’s technically real in the sense that in “the boiling rock,” zuko and suki are positioned the same way in relation to sokka; that framing is undeniable (my two gfs. and yes they are in supermax). but how their relationship would grow and develop from there is not…. well…… let’s just say it is not “the zuko show”

#32beesinatrenchcoat #asks #sokka #zuko #suki #sokkaxsuki

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cerastes · 9 months

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Arknights God, how do I use Reed the Flame Shadow? I got her and I've leveled her but I think I'm missing something, because it doesn't seem like I'm doing the damage she's supposed to be doing.

So step one is that we need to stop with the Arknights God thing because I'm flattered that you and others have a high opinion of my gameplay advice but it also makes me look like a narcissistic jackass. I appreciate the compliment and I'm happy my advice helps, but to everyone not familiar with the whole "I like to play a heel clown character on my blog for funsies with my friends" will think I'm actually addicted to the scent of my flatulence and the rhythm of my own words. It makes answering these a tad awkward.

Step two is understanding that Reed' skill selection, and which skill is the correct answer to any given issue, has a lot of factors going for it, more than the majority of Operators. If you use Cantabile, for example, you know that both of her skills are bangers, and while they have their respective jobs, they are not hard-slotted into these. Reed's S2 and S3 are similar in this regard. You'll be ignoring S1.

Before we get into that, though, here's some fundamentals about the Flame Shadow: You position them differently from other Medics and most other units. A good Reed tile is one where she has both enemies and allies in her range, so, if you placing her at a front, you'll want her to be a bit behind, but not fully behind, your line of engagement. She needs to be able to attack in order to heal, and her allies need to be in her range in order to get healed. This may sound obvious, but it needs to be taken into account. She's not a Marksman or a Medic, she's her own beast. Another thing that needs to be taken into account is that her healing comes specifically from dealing HP damage to enemies, not barriers. Greytails and the Rat King, for example, have shields that must be broken with Arts damage before exposing the succulent flesh within, right? Well, until the shield breaks, Reed is not giving anyone any succor and they might in fact just explode because while she's dealing damage to their shields, it doesn't count as valid damage for her healing. Keep this in mind so you don't run out of sustain while fighting shielded enemies, since shielded enemies tend to also have high attack. The Final Reed Essential regards her Cinders (AKA Firebrand), which she always has a chance to apply with her attacks and skills (with S3 guaranteeing it): The way it works is that, if an attack would apply Cinder, it applies it before the attack resolves, meaning, the Arts Fragility will be in effect and that attack will already be dealing 30%(32% with Potentials) extra damage off rip. Or, in other words, you don't have to apply Cinder and then start capitalizing on it on the next attack. Arts Fragility, by the way, stacks multiplicatively with Fragile, and they count as different debuffs, despite the similarity in name.

You made it past the tutorial, now let's tackle 1-1:

S2, or as Harvard scholars call it, the Spitroast, is a damn strong skill. For the purposes of this post, I'll be using the M3 versions of the skills. Spitroast grants two allies, with Melee tile priority, 3 fireballs that'll deal 240% of Reed's Attack as damage to enemies they touch every 1.5 seconds, with this 1.5 second timer applying only for each unique target. The fireballs do in fact have a hitbox, so if there's enemies on either side of the fireball unit, you'll trigger two fireballs at once, one for the enemy on one side, and another for the other. Each fireball then takes 1.5 seconds to refresh (they'll look darkened around the Operator) and once they are a vibrant orange again, it means they are ready to explode again. Each time these fireballs deal damage, they'll heal their Operators as per Reed's trait (so 120% of her Attack), and each fireball has a chance to inflict Cinder as per any of Reed's attacks. You can test this yourself by putting fireballs on Operators so they hit enemies outside her attack range, and you'll see that they do in fact also have a chance to inflict Cinder. Be mindful that the fireball's instance of damage counts as a Reed instance of damage! This means that for the purposes of Counter effects, it is Reed that's the source of the damage, so for Spike Chests, Reed WILL receive the reflected damage, and for The Last Knight, Reed WILL freeze if the fireballs hit him, etc etc. The lane-holding application of this skill is that you can grant your cornerstone immense Arts damage and healing independent of everything else they have going for themselves, including through Status effects like Freeze or Stun, as the fireballs are independent entities separate from the Operator. So if Mudrock gets stunned by Nervous Impairment and has sweet dreams of beautiful rocks that go on adventures with her, she's not completely helpless, as the fireballs will keep shredding enemies while she's in dreamland. This actually leads us to the next point: Fireballs cannot be placed on Summons, so if you had dreams of making the sickest Stainless turret surrounded by industrial flames or picturesque mindblasts about Ling's Great Thunderer's surrounded by godly plumes of cleansing conflagration, well, stop being silly and come back to reality, also rent and student debts are due. Fireballs can be placed on 'Enmity' Operators, such as Musha (ie. Akafuyu) and Juggernauts (ie. Mudrock), but they won't receive the healing from each of their hits, as the healing is mechanically counted as direct healing, thus, they may not benefit from it. Well, at least they can always take a whiff of Lena's wonderful fragrances instead. With all this in mind, we get to the Spitroast part of the Spitroast: If you jail an enemy (sandwiching them between two Operators) and use Reed's S2 to give them her mighty balls, now that enemy is getting assblasted by both sets of balls, so a whooping 480% of Reed's attack as damage, which in turn is very likely to diagnose them with Cinder due to how many times they'll be taking Reed damage, so that final damage is now also increased by another fat 30%, in addition to being inflicted with Cinder's ATK -20%, so your engager is safer as well, on top of being healed a lot. So, in practice, let's say your trusted Specter the Unchained is currently blocking Yamcha Jesselton, and as they are engaged in mortal combat, you then deploy Skadi S2 on top of Jesselton as well. But this is all within Reed's range, so you use her S2 and now the shark and the orca also have fireballs around them that further obliterate Jesselton, and he can't even damage Specter in a way that matters because 1) she leveled HP and 2) she's getting an absolutely unholy amount of healing from Reed's hot balls, so, in short, he'll never have another birthday. This MELTS bosses, but obviously, it's a rather expensive endeavor, necessitating 3 deployment slots dedicated to the bit. But no one said being funny was cheap, and end of the day, it's funny seeing bosses melting down to nothing under what's practically two fire buzzsaws.

Ideal Operators for these strats involve your prim and proper engager, someone tough that can take a hit and also hit hard, like either Specter or Skadi S3, but you can also make this engager a dedicated tough slab of meat like Hoshiguma, and your drop-in assassin with huge damage, like Texas the Omertosa, Surtr S3 (two girls that will appreciate the Arts Fragility Reed can inflict!), Skadi S2, Nearl the Radiant Knight S2, et al. 'Enmity' Operators work as well but you'll not be received the healing, just keep that in mind, but they work splendid as well. Once again, Arts Fragility stacks multiplicatively with Fragile, so break out the ol' Suzuran S3 or, if the boss can be Frozen, Gnosis S3 for some more immensely violent peacekeeping.

That was a lot, but trust me, it becomes second nature once you see it in action once, it just clicks and now you know exactly how to roast that spit.

Woah, look at all the progress we made, it's time to start 8-12:

So, S3, the big flashy and fun explosions that scream "I'm a healer, but," in big red flaming text. This skill does a fair amount of things, actually! First of all, Reed will have multitarget attacks, two per attack, and her attacks during S3 will always 100% of the time inflict Cinder, so that +60% ATK buff she's getting is actually bigger than that, given that she'll always have her final damage increased by 30% Arts Fragility on top of that. What's more, Cinder's CANNOT expire for as long as the skill is active, and now have the additional effect of inflicting a Damage Over Time effect that deals 60% of Reed's Attack as Arts damage (so, again, amplified by Arts Fragility). And, of course, as we all know and love, if an enemy dies while having the Cinder's effect during the skill duration, they explode for 140% damage in a 1.7 tile radius, and enemies damaged by these explosions, you guessed it, also become inflicted with Cinder.

That's a lot going on, but it's also pretty self-explanatory once you lay it out like that. Ace detectives might have gleaned something from this river of letters: Cinder is a very strong effect. Cinder lets you deal more damage, take less damage, and receive more healing, since Reed's healing is based on damage dealt. S3 takes Cinder to the next level: Guaranteed proc, now with a DoT, and will never expire until the end of the skill. Not only that, but the multitarget makes it easier to inflict more and more enemies with Cinder, it's truly a fire gone out of control, for the enemy, anyways. S3 lends itself to mob control and killing large crowds of enemies with the power of friendship, but do not neglect its utility in engaging with troublesome elites and bosses! While S2 is her premiere boss-killing tool, it required set-up, deployment slots and tiles you might not necessarily have in high-end content, and in these situations where the boss isn't the only issue, but you also have to deal with an overall dangerous map that's threatening as a whole, S3 may just be the perfect tool to have a more balanced and yet still very potent approach.

This is what makes the Flame Shadow such a fun unit! Your skills are not really locked by circumstance, and they can be used with several different objectives and goals in mind, depending on what the rest of your team is and who your enemy or what the challenge of the map is. With her incredible adaptability and wide array of applications, Reed the Flame Shadow absolutely shines and can be a core part of any team.

#arknights #Reed the Flame Shadow #dreamknights

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proshippers-against-censorship · 4 months

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Just a little bit of housekeeping. Bear with me.

You may call me Jackal. I'm an adult and literally do not give a hoot about what pronouns you use for me. I do not claim to be a good person. If I was a good person, this account would not exist. I am a civil and polite person, though, and I expect you all to be the same. I am a mechatronics major who previously was pursuing a degree and career in psychology, before determining that I didn't like dealing with people's self-issues and switching majors to mechatronics, though I do try to continue with psych courses as I do find knowledge of human psychology to be key when programming. From the ages of 14-18, I worked in childcare at a highly acclaimed summercamp, along with smaller day camps and after-school activities. From the ages of 10 to 18, I took a variety of classes focused on childcare. This has led me to realize that I absolutely hate children. So, believe me, I will not hurt your child and they will receive the best care that I can give with my training if I have them for whatever reason, however, I do not want kids anywhere around me period, much less do I have any desire to touch, let alone fuck them.

I do not write nor read most lolicon, incest, or bestiality content. I do not support pedophilia, incest, rape, or bestiality in real life. I do read lolicon of adult women with more youthful bodies, because that content helps me grow confidence in my own body, as I'm constantly mistaken to be a child despite being above the age of 18. I do hope all child-touchers, animal-fuckers, rapists, racists, and anybody else who harms a living thing out of ill will rots in jail. To reiterate, this account is strictly ANTI-CONTACT. You can't control paraphilias but you can control the harm they cause.

I do support the protection of all things fictional, because if we make the things a few people find morally wrong to be illegal, we've then already lost when the folks on top go after fiction supporting LGBT, non-christian religions, etc.

I also support the protection of vent pieces, even if that vent centers around things like pedophilia, rape, etc. I am proud of you for taking yet another step towards healing from abuse you suffered in the past and/or from the harmful paraphilias that you struggle with currently.

This account is built on the notion that any interaction will be productive and good-natured regardless of the involved parties. You are free to give your stance on why proship is bad...so long as you accept the fact that people are then welcome to debate back on why proship isn't bad. Any debates that turn hairy will be ended, however, healthy debate and challenging your beliefs is a wonderful way to continuously educate yourself.

Despite my account, I do not intend on forcing an belief on you. In fact, I greatly support that you look at both anti-proship and proship content, and make the effort to educate yourself as well as possible and determine what belief you truly belong to. There is no good in trapping yourself in an echo chamber.

You are free to submit any points as asks or submissions. So long as they are productive and good-natured, I will post them, regardless of what side they take. If they are not productive or good-natured, they will either be deleted, or I will post them to both clown on you for being an asshole and educate you the best I can on why anti-proship is a rather harmful belief system.

Feel free to draw my attention to any posts I haven't reblogged yet that would fit in to this blog. I'll look them over and reblog them.

Most posts will be reblogs, asks, and submissions. However, I may occasionally post my own thoughts. These will often be tagged with #jackal barks, but sometimes I will forget. Any hate comments will be simply tagged as #hatemail.

I have an alternate account called @proshitters-against-constipation . I use that blog to reblog content from antis and shower it in compliments. Look, it's funny watching them sob because a 'nasty, nasty person' gave them a genuine, heartfelt compliment.

Please just block this blog if uncomfortable with the content. It's very glitchy on my phone, so most of the time, tags are incredibly minimal. I will not hold anything against you for blocking the blog. The whole point is that you are the one responsible for curating your online existence. If you dislike incest ships, block em. Dislike noncon content, block it. Dislike the contents of this blog, block me. You control what you see, just as others control what they see. Curate your feed, don't curate others.

Thank you all for reading this, and remember, if you let them destroy the fiction you find morally despicable, then when they come for what you enjoy and support, you've already lost.

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Ask/submission tagging system!

#pro stance - proshipper asks

#anti stance - antishipper asks

#no stance - asks of indeterminate standing

#birthday wishes - B O R T H

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If you actually scrolled down this far, have a fun, exciting, and inconclusive list of beings I would be down to smash:

•Stain (MHA)

•Overhaul (MHA)

•EVA-01 (NGE)

•EVA-02 (NGE)

•Xue Yang (MDZS)

•Kurloz Makara (Homestuck)

•Mothman

•Bigfoot

#jackal barks #introduction post #blog housekeeping

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iennoganan-aha · 10 months

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SPIDER-MAN OC‼️‼️ holy fuck the new movie was so good I’m going insane! I craved to make my own Spider-Man oc, it was strictly necessary or else I would have exploded.

I don’t usually post oc stuff on tumblr but fuck you I NEED to share my boy, clown spider deserves to be seen 😤😤

His name is Solomon Barret, he’s an 18 year old art student. They were bitten by a radioactive spider when his art class was having a field trip at an art museum that was close to the science lab that made it. Solomon didn't even notice being bitten since he was hyperfixated on taking notes of an art piece they were observing.

When he woke up the next day, he noticed some strange things in his body but chalked it up to the few hours of sleep he had gotten that night while working on an art project.

He started noticing major differences later on. After discovering his powers, he wasn't inclined to do anything with them. He has never fantasized about being some kind of hero. He decided to use his new powers of being able to stick to walls and surfaces to paint murals onto. He started to paint beautiful murals onto places where no human could get to. He started signing the paintings with 'spider-pierrot' since he loves pierrot clowns and french art and characters.

He designed his costume after a pierrot clown to further his persona as a performance act. He used his powers to be more of a figure who painted beautiful art with powerful messages. He wasn't interested in becoming some kind of vigilante or superhero.

His canon event is that because he didn't use his powers to stop crime, one night as he's working on a painting he sees a someone run past him, the man is shady, but Solomon does nothing and returns back to his painting. He later found out that the shady man was involved in an incident that gets his older brother Esmé killed.

He decided to begin taking his powers more seriously and using them seriously, becoming a vigilante.

He incorporates pantomime into his fighting style and aerial acrobatics, an art form he's very interested in. He uses pantomime as a distraction/diversion tactic, to confuse is enemies. He also will pantomime quips instead of verbally humiliating or joking with them. He has always been selectively mute, and uses sign language to communicate mostly aside from pantomime, but will speak if necessary. He uses his webs in a somewhat puppeteer like way.

He has the standard spiderman powers such as super strength, stick to walls, spider sense, he can naturally create webbing instead of using a device, still deciding on any unique powers he may have, but his fighting style keeps him unique enough for me!

Uhh yeah I like him a lot :>

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twig-tea · 9 months

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PHEW, ok, now that I've compiled and read all the meta (everyone is amazing, I love all of you, thanks for the love back!) and slept on it, I feel like I have processed enough to gather some thoughts and make a prediction on ep12 [clown checkpoint at the end of this long post].

Pre-Prediction Groundwork i.e. what the heck are you thinking and why did this take you two days

First, I want to say, I still think the montage over the years was not off. The depiction of a happy couple that annoys one another, accommodates one another, is sometimes just happy to be in one another's presence and sometimes happy because of one another's presence, is a perfect summary of a long-term relationship to me. Some folks mentioned that it seemed like they were unfulfilled but as an introvert and a homebody I can tell you when I look back on time spent in relationships these are the moments I think about. Yes, I've gone and done fun things with significant others, but those moments aren't the ones that necessarily feel like they're about us. It's the moments doing nothing that feel like they really capture a relationship, to me. And @rebel0777 hinted at this in a post: sharing food has been the love language for this couple all along, so for it to have mostly focused on them sharing meals doesn't feel strange at all. Anyway I'm fully ready for the show to have a different message but reading everyone's thoughts didn't change my mind on this.

That being said, the thing that other people have said that has swayed me most is the idea that Pisaeng does have some things he left unsaid, and going back in time gives him a chance to say them (whether or not Kawi is fine in future). As mentioned in the roundup, @bengiyo and @incandescentflower get credit for their thoughts on this theory.

In a conversation with @pandasmagorica the potential for a time loop was raised; I laid out why I don't think the show will go that route here--writing this also helped me frame my thoughts around what the show is trying to say and where I expect it to go as a result.

One thing that I think Pisaeng hasn't really been called out for in this series yet is how dedicated he is to Kawi--maybe that's just romance tropes doing their thing, but this man really has been through it in the various timelines. He fought hard for that plushie, celebrated his confession-aversary for at least 8 years, continued to follow and support Kawi's career even when he removed himself from his presence to save him from gay rumours...Pisaeng may need to learn to not sacrifice for Kawi's sake.

The other thing that I've been thinking a lot about is why Kawi seems to have a sense that the amusement park date has already happened [based on the ep12 trailer], when in the other timelines nobody had that same feeling of deja vu, and the reason I came up with is: in all of the previous timelines, Kawi made significant changes to his behavior that rewrote the timeline so profoundly nothing in it was the same. He spent time with his dad; he befriended Pisaeng; he went on the departmental trip and confessed to Pear; he tried out for student council and joined a band; he convinced his dad to get surgery; he confessed to Pisaeng. Because of these major changes every time he goes back, we don't see Kawi relive any days from his original timeline (or any of the other timelines) except kind of the first one (and even that one has major differences).

However, to my mind Pisaeng must be terrified of doing anything differently, other than maybe put some things into words (as mentioned above) and/or staying away from Kawi entirely [and I highly doubt that could work since Kawi knows Pisaeng's tricks from the other timeline as per @zzh3], so if he tries to relive their date from the latest timeline, the events would be similar enough that there could be multi-verse/timeline bleed-over. [There are other potential explanations, and of course this is fully blown out of the water if I'm wrong and Pisaeng does decide to make major changes to the timeline, but this is the one that my brain kept chewing on].

This also made me realize that if I'm right and only Pisaeng's consciousness travels to the past, and if Pisaeng does not decide to make any major changes to the timeline, if Pisaeng stays in the past, it will not make Pisaeng and Kawi equal, but will instead give Pisaeng a huge knowledge advantage, because Pisaeng will have lived all of this once before; in the last timeline, in contrast, Kawi did not jump ahead to peek at his future before sticking with the timeline after making significant changes, so he didn't know what was going to happen (he just had the imbalance of knowing what could happen, which he did share with Pisaeng though it's not the same to live it as to hear about it). The only real way in which they would be equals is if Pisaeng jumps back to the future [so they will be equal in their time travel experience and opportunities to make change], or makes a significant enough change in the past that their lives will be completely different [so that both of them will be equal in their uncertainty]. This is not quite counter to, but is a wrinkle to the points made by @bengiyo, @grapejuicegay and @he-is-lightning-in-a-bottle about relationship equality being achieved with Pisaeng time travelling, which at first really resonated with me and I think still hold true if they go one of the two routes I mentioned above. [And yes, I do think leaving things as they are would still put them on equal footing because choosing not to make a change is still a choice, and is still exerting power over their future that the other doesn't have.]

Speaking of this, thanks to a great conversation with @pandasmagorica and @thegalwhorants I went back and dug into the timeline of the series here, but TL;DR I think we could in theory have reached a few months before Kawi time travelled in the first timeline. That doesn't massively affect my prediction but I wanted to capture it because I do think it's relevant re: the balance between Kawi and Pisaeng; if Pisaeng goes to the future and I'm correct that this lines up closely to the point at which Kawi first travelled backwards in the original timeline, then in the current timeline both Kawi and Pisaeng will be at a truly equal point where neither has seen anything past where they are.

Shifting focus slightly, @grapejuicegay's thoughts about consciousness and the mechanism of time travel also made me wonder, if Pisaeng jumps back to the future [going to keep saying this because it continues to be funny to me], does the consciousness of the version of him who he took over from in the past go back to being the one in control? Is that why the Kawi of the past always seemed to stagnate whenever he jumped into the future, because the person left in Kawi's body had not had the character growth and life experiences that allowed him to make the changes in his life, so he was his former self living a slightly better life but without the personal growth to really take advantage of it? Essentially what I'm getting at here is, if Pisaeng doesn't make a change and does go back to the future, maybe the version of their relationship captured in the montage isn't lost after all, because they would make the same choices? [shout-out to the mourning of the montage by @ellaspore that got me thinking about whether it could be salvaged]

One last point I want to make: As much as it would be deeply satisfying to see Pisaeng and Kawi fight for their rights like @rocketturtle4 theorized, or going abroad so that they could get married like @marbles290 posited, or even working out a lavender wedding arrangement like @grapejuicegay suggested, I think the show already made points on these possibilities with Max and the changes to his choices, and so it would be repetitive to make it with Pisaeng and Kawi [I would not mind if the show did this, I just think this show has so much to say that it will take the opportunity to make a new point]. I think instead it's going to help Pisaeng learn the same lesson Kawi had to about time travel not being able to solve everything [hat tip @waitmyturtles], and needing to be brave and resilient enough to face the future without knowing what the future will bring, and reinforcing appreciating the time you have by being present in the present and not sacrificing your own happiness.

This show has set up so much that could happen, and this isn't the only ending I would be satisfied with by any stretch, but what I think would be most satisfying (at least for me, as I write this) would be if Pisaeng learns to accept that he can't fix everything and goes back to his future to live in the present, not knowing what the outcome will be. Also can I just say, it is really exciting to have multiple endings that I could be satisifed with?! I feel like that doesn't happen that often, at least for me.

Theory time!

So, all that being laid out, here's my Official Clown Theory about what happens in ep12 (adding lots of details so that there are a lots of opportunities to be wrong):

Pisaeng goes to the past and tries to play it cool; they re-live their first date and when Kawi notices something off, Pisaeng tells Kawi that he time travelled [this is based on the trailer so I'm not numbering it as a guess, though this show has done such a good job recontextualizing what we saw in the preview before so this could still be clowned]

Pisaeng is able to put into words what Kawi means to him

Kawi helps him come to terms with not being able to change everything the way Kawi had to come to terms with it too

[More because I want it than because I think it will happen but I'm writing it to manifest it] Pisaeng also talks to his mom while in the past to say hey, if you care about my future, help change the politics in Thailand rather than sending me abroad--giving his mom a chance to change with her kid like how Pear's dad said she should

Pisaeng jumps back to the future

We get the montage again and it looks almost exactly the same maybe just sped up, also maybe [because I've been good and deserve a treat] added bits about marriage equality moving forward?

Kawi recovers, and Kawi and Pisaeng are the ones married May 2027, at the beach [because almost all BL weddings are beach weddings, I don't make the rules]

Kawi tries to give Pisaeng the same speech Pisaeng gave him about if how he does die in future, Pisaeng should try to move on [credit to @tinycowboybro for thinking about the importance of this speech]

Pisaeng responds by reprising Unable [Gawin's OST which I have become recently obsessed with] or one of them performs a new OST we haven't heard yet? [GMMTV seems determined to milk having two protagonists who can sing]

Kawi and Pisaeng confirm neither knows what will happen from here but they'll face it together in the present [YAY]

Post-credit cut scene is Not being given the chance to go back in time by Time Travel Guy [this is still the funniest possible ending to me and I'm not going to stop speaking it into being until it's proven wrong]

Alright we'll see how many of these 10 guesses I get right on Friday. [You may have noticed I ditched the his-death-was-inevitable theorizing I did initially, even though my timeline deep dive does potentially support it, and it could still work with a lot of the above, but I just decided to go with what would make me happiest. I would still be satisfied if they do go that route or leave it ambiguous, as long as they lead up to it well.]

No matter how this goes, it has been an honour and a privilege digging into this show with all of you!

[That being said I realized I will be travelling on Friday and Saturday so depending on the train wi-fi, I may end up being late to the final episode].

cc. the other folks whose writing I was thinking about and have linked in the round-up post but didn't reference directly here: @telomeke; @benkaaoi; @jjsanguine; @stuffnonsenseandotherthings; @shortpplfedup; @williamrikers; @heretherebedork; @visualtaehyun; @knighthacker; @minorista; @neonsbian; @nemesis-21; @snidgetwrites no pressure to interact I just want to give you all credit becuase reading what everyone wrote has informed my thinking [though of course if you disagree with my conclusions, I am the only one to blame (and also I'd love to hear about it)!]

#be my favorite #be my favorite meta #be my favorite ep 11 #twig theories #typed so i can stop thinking it #clown checkpoint #long post

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lanaevyssmoved · 5 months

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Baldur's Gate 3 Companion!Tav Ask List

What if your Tav was a recruitable companion, instead of the main character? (contains major spoilers for the game, and for some dark urge runs as well)

General

Where can your Tav be recruited? Are they first encountered on the Nautiloid, or in the Nautiloid crash region? Or are they not recruitable until a later act?

afhiri would be recruited in the crashed nautiloid near the dying mindflayer!! you'd find her looking around at the floor for her flute, they'd be rushing about back and fourth but not actually grabbing at or moving things around to see if it's under anything - just lots of staring and hoping it'll suddenly pop out, they'd also be yelling out "where are you? where did you go?!" "pspspspsp come out!!!" and other various things fdlfdkgdg yes yes there's a mindflayer about but there's more IMPORTANT THINGS .. when recruiting them you can be like "so that mindflayer over there" and afhiri will let you know they hadn't even noticed it <3

Do the other companions have special comments or reactions upon recruiting your Tav?

scene.. afhiri is still obsessively looking for her flute. its almost like u didnt just recruit them

gale: "well they're certainly.. enthusiastic. we best keep an eye on them else we may lose them... hm." accepting he's about to become a babysitter

shadowheart: "are you sure it's wise to bring them along? they'll be more of a hinderance than a help." literally does not want afhiri here

astarion: "wonderful, you've recruited an actual clown! at least we'll have some on road entertainment." completely sarcastic btw... also doesn't want afhiri here

lae'zel: "chk, if nothing else they will be decent cannon fodder in the battles to come." ALSO doesn't want afhiri here.. fuck man

wyll: "what a delight afhiri is, it's good to have someone around who can find the joy in things despite our predicament." happie :)

karlach: also looking around for the flute now. been dragged into it

Does your Tav have any comments or advice when you recruit other companions?

@ gale: "oh my god he came out of a rock!!!!!!!" eyeing him up intensely.. "A CLOWN!!!!!!!!!!" proceeds to lose her shit

@ shadowheart: "she's quite pretty, isn't she? i like her toy! i wonder if she'll let me play with it too" ^_^

@ astarion: eyes him up and down "i think i've seen him before...." never mentions this again and if u ask them about it they're like huh??

@ lae'zel: doesn't really have anything to say.. "lae'zel looks pretty cool" with a big smile :D

@ wyll: "I'M SO GLAD YOU BEFRIENDED WYLL DID YOU SEE HIM AT THE GATE DID YOU SEE HIM STAB THAT GOBLIN WITH HIS QUIPPY ONE LINER HE'S SOO COOL HE WOULD MAKE SUCH A GOOD PERFORMER I WONDER IF HE'S EVER BEEN ON STAGE BEFORE!!!" bursting at the seams

@ karlach: "it would have been a crime to kill someone so hot..." nods sagely. misses the literal irony in her statement

What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

in general afhiri is super easy-going and befriends people who don't even like them.. ^_^ so losing approval will be harder but that doesn't mean raising is super easy! afhiri is just very nice to people in general!

raise:

helping tieflings

helping the poor, the downtrodden and lower class

being disrespectful to authority figures!

making jokes and doing silly things (includes lying)

performing! (you gain a lil bit of approval on performing even if you're bad)

lose:

siding with the goblins (this is the largest approval hit)

hurting + killing animals

not taking new opportunities (refusing to do quests, attacking enemies before letting them talk, etc)

being a stick in the mud with a pole up ur ass!! have some fun!!

scolding her for her antics or otherwise talking down to her

you can honestly view afhiri's approval as similiar to sera from dai if you're aware of her general likes and dislikes !!!

Are there any instances where your Tav can permanently leave the party, depending on player character actions?

no, but afhiri really won't like you killing the tieflings. they don't really give a shit about the druids but heavily empathises with the tieflings and this is the literal only time you can make afhiri genuinely angry at you. it's super easy to convince afhiri to calm down and stay however, and you can even gain the lost approval again depending on how you approach her at the party!!! (manipulation goes a long way <3)

Do they have any secrets that can be revealed? What are the prerequisites for this secret coming to light?

afhiri doesn't necessarily have secrets, but you CAN learn that the afhiri you know is essentially a persona. it requires maximum approval and very specific dialogue choices - afhiri will reveal to you that they're running from themselves and they don't plan on stopping. if you try to encourage afhiri to accept who they are and stop running, you'll take a large approval hit and afhiri will cut the conversation short and you'll take small approval hits if you ever try to bring it up again ^_^

Do they have their own personal quest that spans the course of the game? Can it take different branching paths depending on the choices the Player Character makes?

they do but not in a typical sense.

act 1: getting afhiri a flute, once you do this you'll unlock new bardic abilities for gameplay and combat! afhiri will also be seen playing the flute in camp ^_^ you can only pursue afhiri's romance once a flute has been gotten.. other instruments don't work !

act 2: you will get a sweet scene where afhiri tells you she's written a song about you and wants to perform !! afhiri will sing and dance and play their flute for you and the song will be from a selection of pre-made ones based on various decisions made in act 1! at the end of the performance you'll be given options that allow you to continue or end the romance ^_^

act 3: you've forced afhiri to return to where she's running from :) afhiri will, if your approval is high enough, mention her family. you Cannot visit, but if you encourage afhiri to pop in to see them they will Without you. if you ask afhiri how it went they'll be super dismissive and just say it was fine with a smile, afhiri won't say more even if you press the issue. it won't be satisfying and will likely get "i wish they did more with this" "did they cut visiting her family?" "that was pretty shit"

though there is some stuff that kind of counts if you keep reading ^_^

What do they say when the Player Character asks them to stay in camp? How about when the Player Character asks them to come adventuring again?

stay: the biggest wet eyes and pout you have ever seen. you are going to make the clown cry. their bottom lip is wobbling. oh my god. if you confirm they are indeed staying they snap out of it immediately revealing it was a manipulation and just sulks like FINE

come: THIS PROVOKES PURE JOY!!!! afhiri is bouncing and resisting grabbing you (where their hands instinctively go to grab changes if ur romancing!) biggest smile ever. gonna play their absolute best for you u will NOT regret this!!!!!

Does your Tav have any escalating conflicts with one of the other companions, like Lae’zel and Shadowheart’s knife-fight?

no but afhiri will have escalating flirts :).....

Are there any unique NPCs associated with your Tav that can show up during the course of the game?

hehe.. yeah <3 candor

candor will appear and if you agree, will join as a camp companion! (ideally they'd both be companions but that isn't what this is ABOUT) you get a scene in each act where afhiri and candor interact with each other and you can chime in with your thoughts!!

act 1: they meet again for the first time since tadpole, afhiri jumps into candors arms and they have .. a moment. that feels invasive to watch. this is a scene that makes you think afhiri is Not available for romance ^_^ afhiri asks you to allow candor to come with you!

act 2: you accidentally walk in on them talking quietly by themselves. afhiri is resting her head on candors arm and it has its hand on her leg... another moment where you think afhiri isn't actually available.. extra drama if you're romancing afhiri !! this is the moment where you can ask about them, you learn about afhiri being poly, you're given the option to end the romance if you're not comfortable.

act 3: takes place after afhiri's act 3 quest, meaning you need that approval to see this! afhiri and candor are having a heart to heart about being back in the city and about afhiri's wild magic!! this is when candor confesses to afhiri that it's been protecting afhiri from wild magic for longer than originally thought. you can chime in, side with afhiri, who is upset specifically because she believes candor could have done more, befriended her sooner, helped her with her loneliness and troubled childhood, or side with candor, who believes it wasn't its place to interfere and only chose to eventually interfere because it felt it had to for afhiri's continued survival - it wasn't required sooner because afhiri wasn't in danger despite the hard life they were living. you also have the opportunity to not get involved, either by not taking a side and seeing BOTH their points, or by walking away.

in order to see afhiri's TRUE FULL QUEST!! u need to bring candor as a camp companion :) fuck everyone who refused candor to join. especially if they did it out of possessive jealousy of afhiri!!!!!!! PUNISHMENT!!!!!!! (yeah. gamers wouldn't like me)

Are there any moments in the game that trigger unique dialogue for your character? (Like Gale’s anecdote about the barfight after you save the goblin prisoner)

the first time you perform ^_^ so it requires you to either be a bard, get the instrument proficiency feat, or just play a random instrument you find very badly! so it's pretty missable!

no matter what, even if you're bad, afhiri gets excited and wants to play with you!! you also gain approval ^_^

Story Specific

How does your Tav advise the player character when it comes to the Dream Visitor?

afhiri has no advice :) it was just a dream man idk. did you eat something funky

How do they advise the player character on Raphael?

raphael looks like a rich snob with too much money so afhiri DOES NOT LIKE. so afhiri will, not really getting what's going on, not want you to take the deal on the fact that he looks like a prick they should rob instead

How do they react to Astarion biting the Player Character?

afhiri, not knowing or understanding what a vampire is, "did you at least ask for consent"

How do they react to the Player Character letting Abdirak whip them?

head tilt of curiousity and naivity until there's blood and you're screaming and then they're looking around like what the fu

How do they react to the Player Character taking their first tadpole power?

afhiri will think it's kinda icky but won't comment beyond that!

Will they stay with the Player Character regardless of siding with the goblins or the tieflings, or is it possible for them to leave the party permanently?

they'll stay!

What can they be found doing at the tiefling/goblin party?

performing! afhiri will be playing her flute in her idle animation ^_^

Do they have comments on who the Player Character chooses to spend the night with?

i'm gonna say no because i highly doubt afhiri fucking noticed or fucking cares. like if you approach afhiri and you're like HEY.... DID SMTH NASTY LAST NIGHT WITH WHATS ER FACE. yeah afhiri's interested now... but in general afhiri is not shoving nose where nose is not wanted. act 1 too early for afhiri to be a prying bitch

Do they have unique dialogue if the Player Character lets them die when they steal the Blood of Lathander?

probably smth really dumb like. "well that was bright!!!! anyway hi :D"

How do they react if the PC licks the dead spider in the Gauntlet of Shar?

"did it taste good? can i lick it?" you're both dead on the ground

What do they say if the PC tries to force them to go up on stage with Dribbles the Clown?

this is the best moment of afhiri's life. feels kinda nervous because oh my god, oh my god, it's DRIBBLES!!! this is their moment. their moment to prove themselves. FINALLY! FINALLY THEY CAN SHOW DRIBBLES THEY ARE THE BEST CLOWN!!!!! afhiri is PUMPED. this moment is EVERYTHING. this is the afhiri's nightsong moment, afhiri's ritual.. you get the point

Is it possible for your Tav to be kidnapped and replaced by Orin? How is Orin's deception revealed? How do they react to the PC rescuing them in the Temple of Bhaal?

afhiri cannot be kidnapped because afhiri would simply dodge orin. u cannot kidnap a circus weirdo. however i could have some insane thoughts about orin ATTEMPTING it and giving up with frustration :)

How do they react to the PC either allowing Astarion to ascend or convincing him to spare the 7000 spawn?

afhiri does not grasp what this means. afhiri cannot visualise 7000 souls as 7000 living breathing people - except they're not they're uh. dead. anyway. afhiri can't do it. so will afhiri react? no. very like "huh?" and no one will take the time to explain . gale might explain later at camp. then its "huh..." and u got nothing else cuz THEY CANNOT VISUALISE IT ......

How does Tav react to the PC becoming a mind flayer? Can they offer to become one themselves? Does their reaction change if they’re romanced?

afhiri would give a very chill oh that's cool!! that's pretty sick!!! ohhhhhh !!!! awesome !!!!!! type of reaction. would not offer however because afhiri don't understand what the fuck goin on thinks ur doing it just for funsies. cuz u wanna. ^_^ romance would get no other reaction beyond maybe a line about being curious how u kiss each other now and also what those tentacles do

How do they react when the Dark Urge first reveals their amnesia and murderous thoughts to them?

afhiri don't rly know what amnesia is. once u explain its very oh..... okay..... F. reaction. emotionally stunted and unavoidable gamer reaction. murderous thoughts? very haha and then what. afhiri doesn't take this Seriously.

How do they react to the Dark Urge killing Alfira?

see this will make afhiri very sad because ALFIRA BARD FRIEND. WEARING A FUNNY JESTER OUTFIT. ALFIRA :HANDSHAKE: AFHIRI!!!!!! so afhiri would be sad to find out alfira is dead but likely would not believe the durge did it because durge is friend :)

If romanced, how do they react to the Dark Urge trying to kill them in Act 2?

i basically just answered this huh. haha and then what :) its so funny how i keep saying afhiri don't take shit srsly. like afhiri would not believe ur actually gonna try and kill them. they're just vibing and think ur being a bit kinky

Romance

Is your Tav a romanceable character? Are there any specific requirements to romancing them?

afhiri is romanceable and without the flute from her act 1 quest the romance is locked out entirely. if you enter act 2 without giving the flute, romance is locked for good!

Does your Tav need to be flirted with to start the romance, or will they approach the PC themselves if approval is high enough?

afhiri needs to be flirted with at least once for her to see you in that light. if you don't keep flirting, afhiri will approach you!

Are they a polyamorous or a monogamous option?

poly!!! if you ask afhiri to be mono it will ONLY work if you didn't recruit candor or you sought to drive a wedge between them, so they never reached a romantic point, however they will STILL be very close and intimate, otherwise afhiri will say no because candor is too important to them.

afhiri will accept poly with every single companion no questions asked ^_^

Do they have a special romance scene at the tiefling/goblin party?

afhiri does!! you approach them and they're all exhausted and tired but immensely happy and in their element because they've been playing and performing the entire party, and you talking to them is giving them a short break. if you ask, afhiri will come to you after the party when they've finished performing and everyone's going to bed!

the scene will be you and afhiri by the water. u sit down and afhiri gives u a private session thats a much more delicate and gentle song just for u . she doesnt sing its just a tune. (note: if u romance her in act 2 she will play this same tune but this time will start singing a song she wrote for u) u then talk a lil bit about the party and everything uve been thru so far. afhiri is pretty useless during it but its used as a way to show the player how disconnected afhiri is. afhiri acts as escapism for the player from the story!

Does the romance have different branching paths, or just one route to take?

it'll have just one path, but micro changes (like small dialogues) based on candor things!

How do they react to the player character breaking up with them, or choosing another character over them?

hmm.. afhiri would ultimately be very chill about it. theyd be sad about the fact you cant hold hands and cuddle at night and kiss and stuff anymore. and theyd ask if you CAN still do that stuff but as friends (offering a fwb alternative!!!!) if you say no theyll be fine but a tiny bit moopy because they had fun with you and liked being close to u. but ur not gonna get no grand statements or tears from afhiri! and would be happy for you if u found love with someone else c:

What questions can Zethino ask the PC about Tav in the Love Test?

question one: what kind of performer has afhiri always dreamt of being?

available answers: a bard, a clown, something unique and different

something unique and different is the correct answer! no approval changes.

question two: afhiri has left their life behind on nothing but a whim, what is afhiri running from?

available answers: responsibility, their family, dribbles

dribbles is the correct answer and gains approval! if you select responsibility or their family it will also be considered correct but will gain disapproval.

question three: what does afhiri need the most?

available answers: to grow up and act like an adult, freedom, to become the best clown in the world

to become the best clown in the world and freedom are both correct. no approval changes!

If they’re poly, do they have a reaction to the PC engaging in a relationship with Halsin?

down for it. down to be a polycule. down to also date halsin. down for threesomes. down for it all!!!!!!!! afhiri a free spirit baby.

How do they react if the PC has sex with Mizora? The Emperor? Haarlep?

GET IT!!!!! GET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! afhiri doesn't really have any concept of like. sleeping with a devil or an incubus is like, realistically a bad idea, so its just. DAMN YOU FUCKED THAT HOT PERSON?? NIIIICEEEE!!!! high fives!!!!! with the emperor its just the same thing. you got laid? fuck yeah. high fives!

Will they join in with the PC and the Drow Twins, or no?

ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!!!!!!! AFHIRI IS DOWN!!!!!!!!!! u have got the most giddy tiefling right behind you, going 'eeeeee' with excitement, bouncing up and down looking at you with large pleady eyes CAN WE PLEASE? CAN WE PLEEASSE??? I REALLY WANT TO!!!!!!! if tav says no you bet ur ass afhiri is hanging around there like hehe can i anyway

What are Tav’s plans for the future? Do they propose to the PC, or is marriage not something they’re interested in?

afhiri is an independent soul .. doesn't wanna get married ... doesnt rlly wanna move in either.. being with afhiri longterm is accepting uve got a partner whos adventurous and wants to explore and see the world and meet new people!!! now afhiri WILL settle down after years together because afhiri will lowkey become commited with you without labels - if YOU involve labels thats just gonna push afhiri away. so just be patient with her.. like a stray cat who sleeps in ur house and eats ur food. one day they'll just stay if you're patient with them!!!!!! also being with afhiri is accepting her free spirited nature... afhiri is gonna date and sleep with other people, AND YOURE ALLOWED TOO!!, so afhiri long term is not for anyone who wants the domestic monogamous life

#fray.txt #oc afhiri #ok this took me forever but i finally fucking finished #im not tagging anyone cuz its SO LONG and it was an ask game first #pls let me know if i didnt answer smth or left smth unfinished. i cannot read thru this again LOL

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