#this is before i gave it a jester theme... and was also going to be for when i was on my wonderful friend lisa's streams hehe

[toongirl007]

GET ENDLESS DIVE'D BOZO! Ok that may sound alittle too harsh but its true, Oscuri is not having a good time being dragged in there with Sfarx by his evil doppelganger, CD Sfarx, he managed to lure them in his own version of Endless Dive by tricking them into thinking there were formies & GPAs calling for help in an abandoned building but it was a set up to send them into a death trap! Times ticking down all they have is 5 minutes to clear ALL 100 FLOORS to escape feeling the pressure of trying to survive the onslaught took a toll on her physically & when she was being targeted by a replica Float clone, she is knocked down barely hanging on! Enemies from both her & Sfarx's past CD Sfarx pulls from their memories in the simulation to manipulate what they are seeing/fighting in his rigged game! Enemies have been buffed with double defense, speed, & attack power & what makes things worse is that if Oscuri & Sfarx delay any second to try to catch their breath/gain distance the enemies health that they been working hard to whittle down starts regaining quickly! (Think of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Master Mode) Sfarx isn't struggling at all but Oscuri? She having trouble trying to keep herself alive, at most is throwing HP capsules at Sfarx when he gets damaged taking down bosses however she eventually runs out of them! At floor 30 she gets stabbed in the sides of her stomach making her start to bleed out! Sfarx is able to defeat the Float Clone however CD Sfarx takes the chance to mock her situation. Instead of making enemies spawn right there he laughs manically in the monitor screen, watching them struggle was making him very giddy! Now that he witnessed Oscuri's limit he gets extremely happy. Confident they won't make it CD Sfarx mockery echoes very loudly in the simulation. Making Sfarx very annoyed, stressed, & angry he begins to transform into Linework! Before CD Sfarx can actually notice it, Sfarx blasts the monitor screens to shut off his copy's annoying laughter. Their rage lets them power through enemies with ease as linework, when Oscuri recovers its at the 30 seconds mark grabbing her quickly when a beam of light shows up to escape CD Sfarx's twisted simulation.

Linework Sfarx design by @prismaticquartz

[foulfaced]

i just realized i never posted these silly drawings of my little mascot bear... a crime tbh

[yanderecrazysie]

Twisted Zoo: Chapter 10

Surprise! Sorry for the lack of Jack content in this one.

I feel like this sucks but at least I wrote something ;-;

Prologue: here

Previous Chapter: here

Next Chapter: here

This is based on the stories of a keeper reader with the octotrio by @ashensgrotto and @merakiui .

Also @twistedcece @cenatour @xiaopleasecomehome @bearshideout @koebishrimpuwu @vash-yuu @twstsandturns @help-whatdoimakemyusername @secret-potion @magmdnv @sunshine-for-serotonin @mel-star636 @silkkorchid @the-ace-reader @pamv11 @coffee-or-hot-cocoa @hrhqueenfox @goseew @luxthestrange @juno-of-wonderland @who-mst @despairingy-obsessed @lanxianschoenheit @ceramic-raven @m0063576 @kimdourden @rammylog @sushiperson @starshiningsirius @im-here-for-the-fun-of-it @the-monochrome-jester @owodi @girl-nahh-two @obeythehuman @berry-efoy @ivorette @the-broken-truth @losingmybrain @sxftiebee @queens-unheard-thoughts @medicine-san @strugglingsleeper and @rocketstyx  wanted to be tagged! Let me know if anyone else wants to be tagged for future chapters. If you no longer want to be tagged, please tell me! (I have removed the tags that weren’t working for me, apologies if yours was removed!)

Summary: You’re a brand new zookeeper at The Halfling Zoo- a place where half-animals live in captivity. Your job is simple- feed them and study them. Your main worry is that one of the more dangerous halflings might kill you. 

Unfortunately, that may become the least of your worries.

WARNINGS: yandere themes

Note: All characters are aged up, since there will be mature themes in future parts.

Also, I can’t promise I’ll finish this. I suck at finishing stories.

NOTE 2: I decided to make this a little fluffy before shit goes down.

—-------------------------------------------------------

It was your turn to feed the halflings dinner again. The hyenas, lions, and wolves all were going to be given the same food: hamburgers. Each was individually wrapped, and there must have been a hundred of them between the two giant buckets you were forced to carry. 

Surely that’s way too much for even all three groups combined! You groaned as you lifted the buckets. Your arms were definitely going to get a workout from this.

You trudged into the savannah, your arms already aching from the heavy load you were forced to carry. Thankfully, the hyenas were gathered on the rocks not far from the entrance.

Ruggie’s eyes lit up as soon as they saw you, letting out a bark of excitement as he leapt down from the rock he had been sitting on with the grace of a cat. He stopped a few feet away from you, as though he were waiting for a signal from you. 

You placed the buckets on the ground and lifted your hands in a calming gesture, “You know I’m not going to hurt you, Ruggie. I’ve just brought food for you all.”

Ruggie grinned and bounded forward, taking you by surprise as he pulled you into a hug, rubbing his cheek against your own. He pulled away, a sly grin on his face as he stole a burger from the left bucket and slipped away, climbing onto a large rock and unwrapping the food.

You felt a little flustered by the sudden show of affection but, with a shake of your head, you dismissed his odd behavior. Yet, Ruggie’s eyes never left your figure, his tail wagging back and forth as though he was thrilled to be able to see you.

When he came for his second helping, he reached out a hand and slid it beneath your chin. He drew his face closer until you could feel his hot breath playing across your lips. For a moment, you thought he was about to kiss you, but he spoke up instead, stumbling a little over his words, “You are special to me.”

“I am?” you were taken aback by his sudden confession.

“Yes,” Ruggie said with a wide smile, “You’re my favorite!”

“Favorite what? Researcher? Aren’t I the only researcher you know?”

Nishishishi. Ruggie giggled at your confusion, “Favorite. (Y/n) is my favorite.”

Completely nonplussed now, you gave him an awkward smile, “You’re a strange one, Ruggie.”

His smile morphed into a pout, “Am I favorite?”

You reached out a hand and messed up his fluffy blond hair, “You’re my favorite Ruggie in the whole world.”

He gave you an annoyed look, his hyena ears flat on his head. It was clear he was hoping you’d be a little less specific. But you couldn’t tell him something like “you’re my favorite hyena”, as that wouldn’t be fair to the other halflings.

You took a seat on the rock as the other hyenas came for their second helpings, skirting around you with nervous looks. Ruggie practically threw himself onto your lap, his stomach back landing on your legs as he gazed up at you. You almost shivered when you saw his expression.

His gaze was hungry, eyes dark and lips pulled into a sinister smile. He lifted a hand and cupped your cheek. He whispered something and, though it was too quiet to tell, it sounded suspiciously like he had said “mine”.

Then, his eyes fluttered closed, his hand flopped to his side, and his breathing turned even. It took you a moment to realize he had fallen asleep. You were a bit jealous that he could fall asleep so quickly and easily (it took you much longer to settle down at night). 

Some of the hyenas came for a third helping, but once all of them had deposited their wrappers in a pile near the buckets, you realized you had to move on. “Ruggie, time to wakey wakey,” you teased.

Ruggie’s eyes fluttered open and his peaceful expression became cross. His hyena ears flattened themselves against his head again and his tail lashed once, but he obediently stood up, freeing your lap so you could stand as well.

You took the wrappers to a trash can near the entrance of the enclosure and returned to the buckets. Ruggie watched you from on top of a rock, eyes sad as he watched you walk away. You felt a little bad, but you had to move on. You couldn’t just spend the entire evening with the hyenas when you had to see the lions and wolves too.

The buckets were still heavy and you felt your arms ache as you took the long walk over to the lion halflings. As you approached, Leona sat up on the rock he was lounging on. You put down the buckets and waved at him.

He leapt down from the rock gracefully and walked towards you. When he was just a few feet away, he stopped dead in his tracks and his nose screwed up in disgust, “You smell like hyena. You let one of those bone-eaters scent you?”

“Huh?” you were confused for a moment before you remembered the way Ruggie rubbed his cheek against yours and lounged across your lap. Was he scenting you then?

“Disgusting,” Leona snapped, reaching out and snatching your wrist, “You should smell like lion.” His face drew closer and you snapped out of your surprise and confusion, pulling your wrist out of his grasp and taking a step back.

“You shouldn’t be surprised I smell like hyenas, considering you aren’t the only halflings I care for,” you snapped, “That doesn’t give you permission to scent me too!”

Leona let out a growl deep in his throat and you involuntarily took another step back. His eyes narrowed, as though he was deep in thought. Then, a somewhat sinister smile spread across his face, “Of course, you’re right.” Somehow, his tone seemed condescending, as though you were too stupid to understand him, “I’ll have a talk with the hyenas, and no one will scent you again.”

A shiver ran up your spine, “You don’t have to do that.”

“Oh but I do,” Leona growled, “Now, you brought us food, I believe? Or are you going to stand there gaping like a fish?”

You closed your mouth and pursed your lips into a deep frown. Leona was really getting on your nerves, “Yeah, I did. Feel free to grab something, your highness.”

Leona didn’t seem offended by your dig, if anything, a smirk pulled at the corner of his lips. He grabbed a wrapped burger from the bucket closest to him and leaned in as close as he could while doing so.

The other lions followed his example, grabbing burgers and eating them under the tall rock that Leona had resumed lounging on. The king of the jungle gazed at you with darkened eyes and you were surprised to read the jealousy on his features. Was the great Leona really jealous of some hyenas?

You tried to shake the ridiculous idea from your mind, but you just couldn’t believe otherwise when you looked at his expression. You didn’t like the way he gazed across the savannah at the group of hyenas with a sneer on his lips.

“Leona,” you called up to him. He turned his furious gaze on you, eyes burning, and you shut your mouth, the words dying on your tongue, “Never mind.” You picked up the buckets and turned around. You heard a light thump as Leona jumped down from the rock again.

Arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you close to a toned chest. You grabbed his wrists and tried to wrench them from your body but Leona didn’t budge. “Let me go,” you demanded firmly. 

The lion halfling placed his chin on your shoulder and let out a sigh, “Why do you tempt me so?”

You furrowed your brow, “That sounds like a ‘you problem’. Now let go.”

Leona obeyed with a chuckle, his arms disappearing from your waist, “You’re entertaining, you know that?”

You refused to look back, angry that he had put his hands on you, and simply walked away. You didn’t breathe again until the enclosure door shut behind you. You leaned against the wall and slid to the ground, entirely nonplussed by what had gone on between you and the lion halfling.

You took a moment to process the encounter, then stood up with a sigh. You hoped all of the lions’ bellies had been filled with only one burger, since you hadn’t stuck around long. You checked your watch and were happy to see that it was still fairly early. That way, it wouldn’t be too dark out when you brought the burgers to the wolves.

You hurried down the pathway to the wolf enclosure, looking off in the distance where the sun was beginning to turn the sky pink and orange. Maybe if you hurried, the wolves wouldn’t all want to kill you.

Unfortunately, as you entered the enclosure, the only wolf you were met with was Jack. That wasn’t to say you weren’t happy to see him, especially as he gave you the most endearing smile ever.

“Is there any way to feed the other wolves without getting my skin torn off?” you asked him. 

Jack shook his head and your heart sank. He seemed to notice your disappointment because he spoke up, “But you have me.”

“I know, Jack,” you sighed, “But I want to get to know the other wolves too.”

Jack’s smile disappeared and his eyes narrowed a little, “But you have me. I protect you.”

“I appreciate that, I really do,” you said in a soothing voice, “But I need to interact with all of the halflings, not just you.”

Jack’s expression darkened, his shoulders hunching over, “They’re dangerous. They hurt you. I can’t let anything happen to you,” his voice grew tight with emotion, and he looked down at you with such a lost expression that your heart twisted.

“Maybe if you help me, they will grow to like me,” you suggested. Jack shook his head and grabbed the buckets off the ground. Before you could protest, he disappeared into the forest.

You tried to follow, but he had completely left you behind. Soon enough, you were lost in the trees, looking this way and that, before Jack returned to you with empty buckets.

“They have eaten,” he said gruffly.

You sighed, “Thanks…” Jack didn’t seem to understand your disappointment, as he merely took your hand in his larger one and led you back to the enclosure exit. He smiled gently at you and said in a soft voice, “Safe.”

You couldn’t really argue with that.

Ruggie and Leona watched in amusement as the zoo staff brought out the body bags from the wolf enclosure across the path from them. “She’s becoming quite popular,” Leona murmured, “Enough for a wolf to turn against his own pack.”

Ruggie pouted, “I want her to be mine. Not anyone else’s.”

Leona chuckled darkly, “You’ll have to put those thoughts aside if you really want to take our deal. You know that a war against lions who obey only me and hyenas that will run away with their tails between their legs will end in only one way.”

Ruggie’s ears flattened against his head, “I’ll share, but only with you. Three’s a crowd.”

The lion nodded, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

[deadzonedenizen]

THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN

RAMBLING ABOUT OCS: GIBBY EDITION

BASIC CONCEPT IDEA:

Before we start with the rambling, we first need to start with the JTTW character she is based on.

According to this article, there are four monkeys of havoc, Wukong and Macaque making up half of them. Horse Monkey will be a ramble for another time. Right now, we're putting our focus on the gibbon.

Lots of space-themes going on with this little guy. When I first read this bit, you know the first character that came into mind?

Now you know the reason behind Gibby's Halloween costume. So anyways, that collector inspiration already gave me a basic idea of what I wanted Gibby to be as a character. Bouncy little kid that has too much power for her own good.

Other inspirations for her character include Mebh from Wolfwalkers, Young Eda from The Owl House, Spinel from Steven Universe, and later on Kingsley from Yaelokre. The first two especially influenced Gibby's hair design, the third tracks with her ability to stretch her arms, and the last with a good chunk of her personality.

DESIGN:

Probably the first thing you'd notice from Gibby design-wise is her giant hair. I've decided to give her that hair to give her a sort of silhouette that resembles a shooting star. With Gibby herself, she is somewhere around two-three lego heads tall. I mean- gibbons are already teeny, and especially the young by default, so of course Gibby's gonna be fun-sized.

With her color palette, I chose colors from the more pastel-y side to emphasize that childlike wonder that's basically associated with her. Fun fact, her hair is a reference to how she was born ;)

Her clothes, I wanted it to look like something you'd find a FFM monkey demon wearing, while still referencing Gibby's former job as the Jade Court's jester by adding what's basically a faded version of the Celestial Realm's signature turquoise and gold, and putting jester-like design bits like the little bells and mismatched colors. I also want the outfit to look like something she made herself.

NOTES FURTHER INTO DEVELOPMENT:

I can't really say too much without spoiling some bits of Ship In A Bottle, so I'll try to avoid anything that borders too close to that. Instead, I'll list each of the details from the JTTW Gibbon's description + how it's applied to Gibby.

'Seize the sun and moon'

Okay, so she can't literally manipulate celestial bodies all over the place. Instead, it's reflected on her flutes. Yes, Bell's flutes are actually hers, and are just meant to serve as Bell's training wheels with his powers. The flutes have a second form that resembles sunwheels (Though it would be appropriate to call the moon flute's wheel form a moonwheel).

Usually only one flute can be used in this form at a time. Which of the flutes can be used in its wheel form depends on whether it's day and night (moonwheel only for night, sunwheel only for day). The only time both can be used in their wheel forms is during an eclipse, or if the flutes are being used by two people. (Something I need to update in Ship In A Bottle 💀)

I haven't designed the wheel forms yet, but the sunwheel has its rays more emphasized, and the moonwheel's appearance depends on the moon's current phase. The sunwheel also resembles a suncatcher, while the moonwheel resembles a dreamcatcher with magpie feathers (for Ship In A Bottle readers, no you can't make oaths with them).

'Shorten a thousand mountains'

Ooooohhh boy, this is one of the more spoilery bits. All I need to say is...there was a reason they had to trap Gibby in the calabash. Gibby's abilities that aren't mentioned anywhere else here fall under this category. That's how you know these are her more...unstable abilities. Thankfully she'd need a good supply of power to source the energy needed for all of that. Otherwise it'd be really...disastrous. An ability I can safely mention without spoilers tho, is her ability to...literally shorten mountains. And by that, I mean cause chunks of land to break off from the ground and remain floating in air. A lot of floating islands can be contributed to her.

'Distinguish the auspicious from the inauspicious'

Or in Gibby terms, her gut feelings. AKA her intuition. There is a small legend about her, where if she appears in your dreams, it's a sign of that dream possibly foretelling a future event. So she's basically an omen, good or bad depending on the dream. Being a dream-hopper, she tends to be more attracted to dreams that likelier to be a sign about the future.

Another small legend basically makes her a wishing star-like figure. If you wish upon a star, you're inviting Gibby to visit your dream (dream, as in your wish in this context).

In the waking world, her gut feelings are a bit weaker. Simply put, the closer that specific event is to happening, the stronger her gut feeling is. For an event that could happen maybe a year into the future, Gibby would only get a slight gut feeling that she could easily just wave off. For an event that's a second from happening, Gibby gets literal vision flashes before they actually happen. This makes her a really good dodger, making her difficult to attack.

'Manipulate planets and stars'

Again she can't just play pinball with celestial bodies whenever she wanted (and believe me, she does). The planet bit is less referenced compared to the star bit (for a reason involving another oc).

Reading this far into my rambling, you already see a lot of star motifs with Gibby. Well another is her ability to manipulate stardust, which can put people to sleep if she's not careful. She generates stardust using her flutes, and the stardust is how she makes clones of herself, and even other people. The stardust can act like pixie dust too. Sprinkle a bit of it on something, and that's how you make that something float (remember the floating islands?). Yes, she can manipulate normal sand too (also a reference to her birth).

Stars and other celestial bodies also make up a good chunk of how she can tell if her gut feelings are a false alarm or not, since the position of celestial bodies can predict someone's d*stiny in Chinese astrology.

Gibby as a celestial primate

Whereas Wukong is the sun and Macaque is the moon, Gibby is the stars. Whereas Wukong is the hero and Macaque is the warrior, Gibby is the jester. I like to think that there's this sort of duality when it comes to pairs of celestial primates.

Wukong represents the unchanging sun, and the fact that it never stops shining. You just can't help but notice him, but even dare to make eye contact, and you might mark yourself as an enemy.

Macaque represents the ever-changing moon, its different phases reflecting in how Macaque is better able to adjust to different situations. You don't always notice him. Sometimes he shines brightly with a dramatic display, and sometimes he's blended with the shadows of the night.

Gibby represents the playful stars. Her head is in the clouds and she's almost always literally floating. She embodies the whimsies of childhood, the curiosity of youth, and the world through the lens of a child.

So you already have a bit of a hint about down-to-earth Mandrill's character, hint hint nudge nudge ;)

[rattys-prinxiety-countdown]

HE'S FINALLY DONE! This would have been posted hours ago but the day got away from me and I needed to catch up. Presenting the one, the only, Intruality fusion Cox! (Thank you to @frogsandsquids for the name recommendation, I hope you like it!)

Intruality is admittedly not a ship I know a lot about, or initially one I liked very much. At the start of creating this fusion, I had no idea how to mesh a character I adore (Remus) with one I don't really care for (Patton). I gave it my all to figure out what worked, and what didnt 😩. I started with trying to do a something that leaned into a creepy/cute aesthetic (Sort of like Melanie Martinez if you know her vibe??) but then my friends thought I should try to lean more into a "Sexy Dad" aesthetic, so it got scrapped, and I restarted. Two more times. (HUGE thanks to my friend Miles, who let me bounce ideas off them for hours before I settled on what became the final product.)

Beyond the designing nightmare, this took way longer than it should have (9 hours) but I have a good excuse. I was testing new skills and trying new things during this process. This was the first time I tried giving my art a thicker outline to make it pop. Also, this was the first time I made a piece where I had to add "layers of clothing" to the base layer. Click more to see what I mean

BOOM! Hes a jester!

This is Cox (He/They). This fusion has a love for jokes, pranks, and above all, baking (who cares if only 10 percent of the time the recipe goes according to plan, we're measuring with our HEARTS, and NOT with the recipe cards!)

Thanks again to my friend Miles, I got some ideas for how this fusion behaves. One may think the fusion would be a little sexual or even flirtatious, but anything Cox comes up with goes through the Patton-Pending Dad™ filter. He's very affectionate, and unfortunately, can be little overbearing/annoying without realizing it. He constantly deflects with humor, and is a little self deprecating, but they're working on it and doing a hell of a job.

Lets talk about the mask. (This gets a little heavy and I do apologize for that)

It was initially going to stay bunny ears until Miles+CO. talked me out of it. The mask is literal. Cox uses it to mask himself, and put out a very bubbly "Patton-like" persona. He choses to keep the "less happy, family friendly" part of himself away from view while Patton and Remus work on it from the inside. They enjoy the quiet time they get while baking, and it gives the Remus inside Cox to experiment with some less than ideal recipes.

There's so much I still want to say I'm just forgetting. I will point out that Miles hasn't even seen Sanders Sides, all the information they got (and by extension, the ideas they passed onto me) were given from the Sanders Sides Wikis 😭 he took the time out of his day to research Sanders Sides lore and I'm so appreciative of it. They also sketched an idea for their own Intruality fusion, but admittedly its got an incredibly angsty, dark theme and I dunno if he's ok with me sharing it.

I'll be working on the analogical fusion next! It will be here soon-ish!

Ps: I went digging for some intruality fusions to gain ANY sort of inspiration for this, and instead found tons and tons of fanart. I came out of this understanding the appeal of the ship a lot more and *dramatic sigh* woe is me,,,, i ship them now 🤭

[munchboxart]

I finished Mario & Luigi Brothership!!! I am writing this right after the credits, so I have no idea if there's post credits stuff.

Big warning, major spoilers, I will spit everything out!!!

Also, the only other M&L game I've finished was Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, so I can't say anything between those 2 games for experience.

Super long by the way, the game is like 40+ hours long.

So I will be going in order from story + characters, gameplay and then misc. if I have anything else to say.

STORY

I can't lie, the first half felt so fucking boring LMFAO. I think that was also an issue in Superstar Saga but I did pay more attention there (probably because it was the first M&L game I played). Man I'm sorry I do not gaf about "new world new characters" shit. Kirby did this too when they first went 3D and I couldn't care less I'm sorry, not. I do like the Extension Corps. though.

BUT THE SECOND HALF? IT HAD ME LIKE THIS

The first time I heard Bowser Jr.'s voice I started to lock in. LIKE DAMN? CHARACTERS I ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT?

I'm happy that they gave Bowser a more subdued role in the game since I heard he played more major parts in older games. I'm also happy that they're tagging along Bowser Jr. more in these stories!! I wish we got a little more but I'll happily eat the crumbs. I'm so happy they gave him a friend, albeit, a little bittersweet since he and everyone else from Mario world don't belong there :( I'm a little shocked that they didn't have a scene together in the end in the credits though? I figured they would've shown him and buddy saying goodbye, though I'm also happy with them showing Bowser saving 2 Goombas. He is that guy!!!

SORRY going back to Concordia, I'll be honest, I paid half attention in the first part of the story. I can't say I was too invested in any of the characters. Peach joining IDLE was cute. I did like the story in Rumbla island and the one with Chilliam and Burnadette, don't care much for the rest. Extension Corps. were fun, I definitely like all of the bosses from them. The Bowser arc was definitely one of my favorites, albiet, it felt... shoehorned in I can't lie. Bowser Jr.'s story makes sense in it but Bowser's story just felt really short compared to the rest, especially when collecting the bond tear things?

The Great Conductor is fucking awesome. I love that guy. Shamefully, when he did that quiz on if you know Luigi or Mario, I got all of the Luigi's right but every single Mario wrong 😔. Did not care about that fraud, only saw the goat in my eyes. I would love to have a giant plushie of the Great Conductor.

As for the Glohm part of the story. Since I didn't pay attention that much, Cozette being Zokket was a surprise to me LMFAO, HONESTLY, I CAN SEE HOW SOMEONE CAN SEE THE CONNECTION, but I didn't sadly. I'm a little sad that Zokket is a guy though, there are not a lot of fem villains in general so I don't really understand why they made him a guy aside from just making the twist harder to catch.

Anyways, let's talk about the big bad baddie, Reclusa. Oh my god, Nintendo loves their vague jester-esque characters LMFAOOOOOOO

Before I get to his character, can I think the puzzles dragged it way too long LMFAO. WHEN I SAW THE PUZZLE ROOM I GROANED SO LOUDLY. LIKE FIRST THE BONDS AND NOW THIS?

Anyways, Reclusa's motivation is very very interesting. At first the "everything's better in an isolated world!" thing doesn't make sense, especially since the TVs he forces onto people are just simulations of them with their friends and bonds, things he's trying to get away from. But it makes more sense as a selfish point of view, where HE wants to live alone. Also I remember hearing someone talk about how he also could kill everyone this way from starvation. Munch to think about.

I think I like Reclusa way more than Cackletta? A little more memorable I think but I think Cackletta's personality is a little better? At least along with Fawful. Also I think Reclusa has the better theme, phase 3 is pretty awesome.

As for the fight with Reclusa. Uhm, ok so I might have over-prepared LMFAO. PHASE 3 TOOK ME LIKE 3-4 TURNS. I had to be sure to have Waitaminnit (where it gives you an extra turn in a row), Bros. Boost, Item Share and Performance Bonus. I also made sure to get that Golden Grampy Turnip glove where it gives you like 30% pow and decreases speed or something. Reclusa's ball form gave me more trouble than phase 3 💀 it's a little sad. I wish he had more HP. But it was fun, Glohm forms of the Zok bosses definitely gave me a harder time when it was their turns too (I suck at dodging). I wanna try again to see his other moves.

OH ACTUALLY I just remembered, the looping Mushroom Kingdom goes hard. I think that's such a cool part of the story it's awesome. Plus it's the first and only part of the Mushroom Kingdom we get to see in 3D for M&L.

Overall, I think it was fun. A lot of slow times to be honest but there are some very good parts that make it worth while. My feelings toward it reminds me of how I felt with Kirby's Forgotten Land, but this one definitely went better for the story and some characters. Still foreign but not foreign enough that it becomes unrecognizable (compliment). Definitely won't replay it, though.

GAMEPLAY

It's fun, especially when you unlock all of the Bros. moves. I think it's extremely strange that Luigi's select button isn't B anymore when you pick his menu stuff. Although, him auto jumping makes sense in the 3d environment, would probably frustrate players if it wasn't auto. Although, I hate how he just jumps in place sometimes instead of moving forward. I love spamming jump while walking, especially one at a time per brother, so him jumping in place and lagging behind is annoying.

Also, Luigi's AI in the overworld is finicky but not bothersome most of the time, since there are very few times you'll be needing him alone. This was definitely the most frustrating part I had to experience. I took too long to pass the bomb but he wouldn't pick up another one (this happened 3 times because I am slow).

Also I love Luigi Logic. I forgot to mention this in the story part but one time I was so entranced by Luigi Logic that I didn't pay attention to a word he said. Haha Luigi you're so smart and funny twirls my hair /j

I love Bros. Attacks so much, definitely what makes M&L iconic. Although, the same issue I had in Superstars is in here too, where it takes forever to get the first/second bros. move. It makes the gameplay so boring. Although, I do think I prefer Superstar Saga's more? I like that they incorporated types way more, like what do you mean a fire only Max-Mix Vortex doesn't do more damage on the ice type Pipegunk? Whatever.

Plugs are cool I think, although I think it's kind of crazy that they give you 4-5 extensions at the end. The gloves and treasures are basically useless aside from like 2 treasures/gloves. Item Share is also busted, I was interchanging those on and off with other plugs when I needed a shroom. I wish changing plugs actually took a turn because of that? Sure I could make it harder for myself but whatever.

OH ALSO I DIDN'T BRING THIS UP EITHER IN THE STORY MODE, MY FAVORITE ENEMY ARE THE SHY GUYS. I love that their attacks are basically just Mario Party mini-games. Shy Guy Says!!!! It's so fucking awesome.

Misc.

Some out of order stuff that I think of.

I like that they're ragging on Luigi less, maybe it's because it's a new world so they don't know about Luigi much, but it's nice that they're treating him better.

I didn't mention this in the story section but I really like Reclusa's world in phase 2-3. Splatoon Side Order vibes much? Does a good job mixing in electricity and brain stuff I think, if that makes sense.

This made me laugh, I'm sorry.

I'm obsessed with this, THIS IS SO CUTE. THE LITTLE PAWS ON THE ARM REST, and Jr.'s spikes matching the ones on his head, while Bowser's matches his shell. I FORGOT TO TALK ABOUT THIS, BUT THE ARMY CARING ABOUT BOWSER JR.'S FRIENDSHIP WITH BUDDY..... I wish they pushed it more but 😭😭😭I also wish they pushed Bowser trying to protect Jr. a bit more too. Like give me more content pleaseeee 😭😭😭😭😭

Uhmm music. I'll be so honest, I don't think the M&L series has had that much of interesting OSTs aside from a couple. I did mention this earlier but Reclusa's theme definitely is a big standout for me, since I never really liked all of the other final bosses themes. Speaking of which, I'm shocked Bowser and Zokket doesn't have a unique theme? The only ones that get a unique theme is the Extension Corps & Reclusa, which is... strange. Especially when Zokket was framed as the big baddie for most of the game.

I hate the "rhythm game" Dyode and the other one makes you play, THAT IS NOT A RHYTHM GAME, THAT IS A BABY'S FIRST MUSICAL TOY. I hate that it's not even that accurate to the song either so I sometimes get "Great" because the beat is weird!!!

Oh yeah, when I first fought a full set of Bowser's army, it just felt so right. This is Mario and Luigi!! It just reminds me so much of how I felt with Forgotten Land. Speaking of which, I'm seeing a correlation of games that started out as 2D, moving into 3D for the first time (for Mario & Luigi, it's more like a first time on a console) and the story being about going to another world. And if that becomes a trope (or already is), I hate it very much. Like why is the first thing you want to do when celebrating your game moving to another dimension, is to go to another world? It feels alienating. I want to see the original characters!! I don't care about tweedle dee and tweedle dumb in this new dimension we don't have any history with. At least M&L's wasn't that bad of a change.

I think that's all for now? I'll definitely talk more if I have any other thoughts. Not really much to talk about in-depth for. I don't regret playing it but I definitely wish there was less fluff in the gameplay (stuff that makes the game longer, like hunting for the bonds).

[determinedowl23]

My own Voices designs!! I wanted each of them to have their own distinct color and article of clothing, which was inspired by @bubblybloob’s designs for them. Individual notes below the cut:

Broken: I wanted his outfit to look haggered and worn. At first I was thinking to have his outfit be like a medieval prisoner’s, but I also added elements of friar robes to go along with Tower’s offer of making us a priest for her. I also made his beak chipped and made it that he doesn’t have the lower set of feathers on his wings (Idk what they’re called- primaries and secondaries I think?)

Cheated: I was stuck on Cheated for so long lol I had no idea what I wanted to do for him. I asked a friend for some medieval outfit ideas and eventually he came up with an executioner and I loved it. He is bitter about his death to Razor. He wants to find a way to kill her himself and will do anything to make sure, even consistently sacrificing LQ in order to get more Voices and become more powerful. And there’s the obvious blade theme going on. I’m pretty sure I had a third reason for it that I forgot too 💀 Now that I’m thinking about it, the Razor route actually kinda mirrors the Witch route, but the roles are swapped…

Cold: I wanted him to wear something an assassin would wear, so I just gave him a cloak lol. I thought that would be a little boring, so I made the front of it look like a scarf. Because…….. he’s Cold.

Contrarian: The obvious thing to do was make him a jester, so I did. The top half of his collar and the color are inspired by Sophist because the Party Crashers brainrot never leaves (I’m watching the Vernias Subathon as I’m writing this post) and if you’ve seen even one of his videos- especially a Mario Party one, you’ll know that he and Contrarian have basically the same personality.

Hero: He’s the main guy, and obviously a hero, so I gave him a knight helmet and cape. The color of the helmet feather changes based on what your Chapter II is (ex. his feather will be magenta during Damsel to match Smitten, and it will stay magenta during Burned Grey. Honestly I may change this lmao) and it’s black in the endgame sequence. He also shifts his cape so that the clasp is in the center during the endgame.

Hunted: Hunted has a torn and tattered vest that’s green to help with camouflage. He and Paranoid have the largest eyes, both because they are always on the lookout for a threat, but it’s more obvious for him and his prey nature. He’s the best flier of all the voices- in fact, he honestly might be the only one who can fly.

Opportunist: Sleazy loser car salesman. He’s the most put together (physically) of them all, and uses this clean look to make himself look “professional” so he can weasel his way out of a sticky situation. I might change his yellow to something less bright, I’m not sure if I like it. I just wanted to make sure his color was distinct enough from Hero’s and Skeptic’s.

Paranoid: His hat and shoulder cape are that of a plague doctor’s, since he single-handedly keeps you alive during Nightmare, and even when Hero takes over the Heart Lungs Liver Nerves™ it’s still Paranoid who’s calling the shots that he thinks are the best. He and Hunted have the best self-preservation skills and best survival instincts.

Skeptic: Honestly Skeptic’s personality was hard for me to identify when I first met him, but I view him as someone who’s skepticism comes from a place of curiosity and an itch to learn as much as he can before coming to a definite conclusion. So I gave him a stereotypical detective cape

Smitten: He’s a bard serenading his beloved Princess! His vibrant magenta outfit represents his love for the darling Damsel <3 His outfit was pretty straightforward lmao. Also, his and Opportunist’s chest feathers are meant to resemble an ascot.

Stubborn: Originally I wanted to make him look like a gladiator, but I didn’t want to give him armor so that Hero would feel more distinct from the others. Plus, he just wants an all out brawl where you and your opponent are even, and if he doesn’t believe in traps, I don’t think he’d believe in armor. Because of that, he doesn’t care too much about clothing. A simple sash will do- a red one so that the bloodstains will blend in. He has a scar over his chest and his eye he gained from the fight with the Princess in Chapter I.

[kiame-sama]

I love your other Helluva Boss works, but I want to know more about Syren too! Also, what are your thoughts about Fizz and Ozzie's relationship? I've seen a few others comment on it, but I want to know what you think!

(how about both? A kind of fic-kind of headcannons for Syren and what I think of Ozzie and Fizz's relationship)

Warnings; same as for Helluva; "Graphic violence (not as bad), strong language, sexual themes, as well as rampant demon horniness", a few things are definitely NOT cannon but I tried my best with what I have,

~~~~~~~~

The true tasks of her morning began with getting the coffee ready and placed in the exact spot it should be. It was five minutes before the morning-person of the royal pair awoke to the sound of the Cock-oo Clock. The coffee was not black and untouched, it was treated with an ample helping of sugar and hell-cow creamer.

It was for Fizzarolli, the brat of the pair. Ozzie was a good dom and made sure Fizz's favorite coffee was ready when the pair finally awoke. Truly, it was what gave Fizz a good energy kick in an already energetic moment.

Then came directing the staff succubi around. Some were tasked with carrying clean sheets for the bed, others were tasked with organizing the files for Ozzie's work day. Every staff member had a task and silently followed the direction of the blood-line imp.

The distinct smell of bacon being cooked signaled the next change in task; feeding and harnessing the Quieves. Fizz had a trip to take to the Greed Ring and he wanted to take the Quieves with him. This meant that Princess would have plenty of down-time as Fizz enjoyed getting her ready himself and took it quite seriously. The others; Lulu, Fifi, Precious, Darling, Honey, Baby, Sweets, and Flower, all had to be harnessed and connected to their multi-leash.

It was at times like these where one could see how much Ozzie truly cared about Fizz. That multi-leash was a gift from Ozzie in a long line of special-ordered engraved gifts.

The collection began with Princess.

She had been a gift to Fizz from Ozzie especially after one bad night where the jester's implants backfired and caused him pain. The things he had adapted to as his limbs failed him and hurt him, so he was feeling truly down with the situation. Ozzie flat refused to let Fizz be in pain and removed them to work on them Himself. Without his mechanical limbs, Fizz wanted to have a wheelchair so he could still spend time with Ozzie. Fizz saw her first while on his phone. He felt a bond instantly, and Ozzie just had to get the Quieve for Fizz. The rest followed soon after, most being rescues that others didn't want or care for.

Every time Fizz gets another Quieve, Ozzie has another multi-leash made just so they can all be taken on a walk. They are presents that go hand-in-hand and usually are given on the same day. Ozzie is nothing if not a true King of doms.

From getting the Quieves ready, it transitions to doing summary work for Ozzie. The King of Lust did not like extensive reading when it comes to work, pictures being much more attuned to how He processed information and thought about things. This meant that blueprints had to be drawn accurately with only the most vital details, all subject to change depending on what Ozzie wanted. Just another 'Jack-of-All-Trades' aspect of being a blood-line imp. Art and sketching skills came with the territory.

As did vibrator designing, oddly enough.

Beyond that was greeting prince Stolas while Ozzie was busy in the factory. The appointment was for noon, but Ozzie never did run on a fine-line schedule unless it was for Fizz and Fizz alone.

The owl prince sat anxiously holding his crown and checking the time repeatedly. He had been let in and guided to the seating area outside of Ozzie's office to await the King of Lust.

"Greetings, prince Stolas."

"Oh," the prince jumped a little in surprise, "I didn't realize- ahem. I am here for my appointment with King Asmodeus at noon," his eyes flicked to the time again, "I... trust this is the correct day scheduled?"

"Yes, your highness. Ozzie is running a bit late with work in the factory. He will call for you when he is ready, though I do apologize for the wait."

"It's no trouble! Truly. I am glad He had time for me in His schedule at all."

"Would you like anything during your wait?"

"No, please don't mind me. I'm quite alright."

"As you wish. Call for me, should any need arise. I am here to at least somewhat ease your wait."

The owl prince considered this, his four eyes narrowing slightly in thought. He did have a question, but he didn't know if it would be rude to ask the blood-line imp or not.

"Does... does King Asmodeus often part with his crystals?"

"That depends. It is a case by case basis, but unless he has a particular dislike- or if his 'business' partner Fizz has a particular dislike- for the one benefiting, he typically can be convinced. I will give warning, however, Fizzarolli is out of the Lust Ring currently and in the Greed Ring. His Highness can get... curt... when He is worried, and as it is the Greed Ring, He is very worried. Should you hear the sound of a frog ringtone, it is likely He will end the discussion there as the one messaging Him has greater value over most, myself included."

Stolas asked no more questions, simply nodding and taking the advice to heart. Thus carried on the next four hours.

The next activity shift came with the rumbling roar of a furious Asmodeus. An event that could likely only be triggered by one thing; something happened to Fizz.

The information was easy to gather based on the sudden appearance of a lawyer demanding to an audience with Ozzie. The demon had far too much arrogance for your liking and you knew he wouldn't live long if Ozzie had anything to say about it.

The task was now simple; Find Fizz and retrieve the likely scattered or equally kidnapped Quieves. Fizz was the priority, then Princess, then the others. The loss of one being unforgivable but the loss of Fizz being a death sentence. Her very life hung in the balance, but such was life serving a Sin.

Princess was the easiest to find as she was the one with enough sense to return to The Jizzlord limo with Fizz suddenly taken. Precious, Honey, and Flower had the sense to follow Princess back to the limo. The driver wouldn't allow it to be stolen without first giving his life to defend it. The other five were not hard to find as they luckily stayed together. With the nine rounded up, The Jizzlord was sent back to the Lust Ring with the pups in tow.

All that was left was finding Fizz. Tracking him was difficult with the fact that not a trace was left and several hours had passed since he was snatched. Luckily his cybernetic limbs had tracers in them just for the situation of potential kidnapping. It took some time to get to the specified location, dodging and ending those who sought to rob her. The only thing that did manage to stall her was an unusual Wrath Ring imp, identifiable by the more snake-like qualities he carried.

She stopped because he stood outside the building Fizz's cybernetic trackers were, so either they removed his limbs, or he was inside.

The imp himself looked like he was frustrated- or perhaps he always looked that way- and he was grumbling something about an apparent 'hick-for-hire'. Once his eyes landed on her's though, he completely changed.

At first, he seemed to slightly grin upon seeing a female imp approaching. Then his ringed eyes flicked up to her forehead and that smirk turned into a sneer. He seemed to go between her chest and her brand before settling on her eyes with that apparent glare on his face.

"Well, lookie here. Another fuckin' disgrace to imp kind; not a purse dog but the fucking purse itself. A bit far from your Ring, eh blue-bitch?"

A typical insult used by most anti-royal demons so it had little effect, not that anything he said really could get a rise out of her. The few things that riled her only made her more stone-cold as opposed to how she was typically emotionally open with her Prince and Fizz. When she worked, there was only the goal ahead, her feelings be damned.

"Yes," he frowned at her response but she continued, "I am an absolute disgrace to imps everywhere, because I chose to be born into my famil- wait. No. Didn't do that. I certainly decided to serve a royal- no, wait. Wrong again, I was born and raised for the sole purpose for serving. Well how about being responsible for my parents deciding to- no, they were born into it too. Hmm," her voice was now clearly dripped a serious kind of sarcasm, one of her brows lifting just a twitch, "seems like I am just a bred-to-serve blood-line imp! So if anything, I am serving my intended purpose. You, on the other hand..."

The snake imp hissed and his tail went off with a rattle, his sneer becoming a snarl. His eyes narrowed, the yellow in them glowing with simmering rage. He rest his hand on the holstered pistol on his hip.

"I'm what, blue-bitch? Tell me. Make my fuckin' day."

"You are no better than me. Working for royals and royal-wannabes? Goetia? You talk like you hate them and want them all gone, but you are as dependent on them as I am dependent on my King. At least my leash gets to be diamond encrusted, your's can be that rope you're carrying. It doesn't work to help you, only your benefactors."

One glowing yellow eye twitched as he debated on shooting the Royal's bitch point blank, but he still heard her words clearly. They made an annoying amount of sense and he hated that. Before he could decide what to do, the sound of a ruckus going on inside drew his attention. Of course he was expected to show up as he was hired by the mobster in charge, so he decided to break off the stand-off. It sure as hell didn't mean he quit or conceded but he was needed elsewhere.

Striker's distraction from her and quick entry into the building gave her a quick look inside. It appeared that Fizz and Blitzo- someone Fizz hated for betraying him- were talking while dealing with those inside. From what she learned of Blitzo, he now went by Blitzø and was well known for killing with efficiency and skill. Fizz was no fighter, but he seemed to actually be enjoying the talk and mending burned bridges.

The mission is no longer save Fizz, but let Fizz be saved by his childhood friend turned enemy. He was in good hands.

Of course, a car would be acquired and brought to wherever Fizz wound up once leaving the warehouse. He could at least be brought back to Ozzie safely and all would once again be at peace.

The wait was not long, but the scene met up on arrival was rather shocking. There was fire everywhere and it seemed like Fizz was actually hugging Blitzø. From what she could tell, they made up thanks to the situation they were in together. She walked up, looking up at the two and wondering how she was going to get them down.

But, first things first;

"Your highness Fizzarolli, are you alright?"

"Woah, holy shit, Syren? Is Ozzie okay?"

"Highness Ozzie is being extorted for your safe return. I am here to try and prevent that from taking place. Luckily, the arrogant lawyer is trying to drag it out and make Him distraught so He has not agreed to anything yet."

It was then his friend spoke up, looking between her and Fizz.

"Wait a damn second, who is this hoe?"

"She's Ozzie's main blood-line imp, Syren. She kinda runs everything for Ozzie other than big stuff and she is the one Ozzie and I trust most!"

"Shit, I knew blood-line imps were a thing, but damn, didn't think I'd meet one outside of a fucking Sin's palace."

"Yeah! She-"

"Does this mean you can fuck her whenever you want?"

"Well, I mean, technically- damn it, Blitzo! Stop! Now let's get off this damn thing, I want to go home."

Syren sighed in relief and caught the jester as he jumped down into her arms, letting Blitzø climb down on his own. The car was ready and waiting for the pair as she returned to the driver's seat, headed back to the Ring transport to return to Lust. Both imps actually seemed relaxed in the company of one another despite the history Fizz claimed them to have.

"So, Fizz, what makes her special, hm? Why her and not one of the horny-rooster's succu-bitches?"

"Do you really not know what blood-line imps are?"

"Well," he sounded like he was making excuses now, "of course I do! I want to see if you know."

"Uh-huh, sure. Her family has worked for Ozzie since hell was formed! Most Sins have a preference for how their blood-line imps look, and Ozzie likes them to be more pink, not red like Lucifer or tan like Satan. Blood-line imps are bred to be strong but not very aggressive, so they can do whatever their Sin needs them to without getting all worked up. Ozzie says their horns are also supposed to be blunt and not pointed like most imps."

"Yeah, but why? Why do all this shit for an imp that can just be hired?"

"Because any hired imp can turn if they feel like it. Blood-line imps are born, raised, and bred to be loyal to their Sin without fail. Can't just hire any imp to take care of vital operations, need a blood-line imp to actually do the job without being corrupt as fuck."

"An imp that isn't corrupt? I'll believe it when I fucking see it."

"Syren knows about... about me and Ozzie. She hasn't told anyone but she treats me like she does Ozzie; like a royal. I'm sure demons try to convince or buy information from her, but she doesn't ever say a word about us to anyone."

She remained silent during the conversation, her forehead brand being enough to get her through to the Sin-exclusive transportation, so they didn't even have to get out of the car before they were back on Lust's roads and headed to Ozzies.

"Highness, can Blitzø find his way back on his own, or does he need an escort to his home ring?"

"Eh, Blitzo can just take the car from Ozzie's. Can you take me right to Ozzie when we get there?"

"Anything for you, highness."

Parking in front of Ozzie's was usually enough of a crime in the Lust Ring to get you jailed, but once they saw Syren, they quickly let the group be. Fizz said his farewells and Blitzø took the car to head back to his Ring. As requested, Syren led Fizz straight to Ozzie's office. From inside, the distinct snarl of an angry Ozzie put some pep in Fizz's step as he hurried in to soothe the Sin.

Not long after Fizz entered the office, prince Stolas emerged. He seemed amused, or perhaps vaguely smug as he left the office.

"Hello again, prince Stolas. Would you like transportation to your manor or will you be handling that yourself?"

"I can handle it. Thank you for your help, little one."

The sudden scream of terror from inside the office told Syren and Stolas that the arrogant lawyer demon was no more. Ozzie was not gentle when it came to revenge for His favorite jester and the sounds from His office made that clear. Syren gave a polite bow to the Goetia and returned to her duties, waiting for another call from Ozzie or Fizz.

When the two emerged from the office, she followed along silently as an ever present shadow of the Sin himself. She even smirked at the fear the succubi and incubi showed when Ozzie made an obvious threat should anyone think they want to go to the news about seeing Fizz and Ozzie together. Their room had already been cleaned and prepared for the two in anticipation of their arrival, Syren stopping and posting up by the door.

"Wait, Oz, the babies! I left them! What if they're scared and lost? And Princess is-"

"I have gathered up and ensured the safe return of all Quieves. They are a bit shaken from their ordeal, but I have been informed that they are tucked in and sleeping comfortably now."

"Whew! Thank fuck for that!"

"Upon hearing of the ransom, I made sure to go to Greed and gather them up. Princess is very smart and made her way back to the Jizzlord by herself."

It was then Ozzie gave a happy smile, nuzzling the top of Fizz's head affectionately.

"See babe? Everything is okay. Let me take care of you Fizzie-Frog."

"Oz..."

The evening carried on as most evenings did with just the two, quietly. Ozzie fixed the hand-crafted cybernetics Fizz used so happily and it was clear Fizz was thrilled to have his limbs back. He bounced and flipped with joy, seeming quite relaxed now that he was finally back with his Ozzie.

"The new tube of 'Loob' is in your bedside drawer, Your Highness."

"Good work as always, Ren dear."

"Happy to help, King Ozzie."

[jmkho]

The One Where They Go To Medieval Times

Summary: The boys go to Medieval Times LOL

Words: 2.6k

Warnings: swearing, light up cocktails, swords, mentions of execution, HUZZAH, turkey legs, flashing jitties, lack of mede

Notes: This has been in draft hell for a LONG ASS TIME I just haven’t had it in me to finish it until I saw MTM video and thought okay now is time lmao

Special thanks to @oliverreedmasterass for letting me bounce off ideas and helping me with this!

————————————————————————

The boys stood at the bar before entering the arena. Jake had begged and begged the rest of them to book a dinner at the nearest Medieval Times. At first they all refused.

“I’m not going there to watch people pretend to joust.” Sam commented.

“There’s horses, food, music, fighting! What more could you want?” Jake replied

Danny looked at Sam who was still standing there shaking his head. Danny sighed before saying, “There’s a bar.”

“Let’s go!”

And that was that.

They decided to try and dress for the occasion. And by dress, they tried to fit a sort of theme. But they were all wearing completely different themed outfits.

Jake was wearing his pirate gear again since, hey, it was SORT of medieval looking. But also brought along his sword. Which he gladly buckled into the passenger seat of his car, making everyone else cram in at the back. He was told by the boys it wouldn’t get past the front door, but he was determined.

Danny thought he would wear his black cloak and pressed pants from the Starcatcher promo shoot. Now he felt out of place with the rest of them and felt like a lost wizard.

Josh decided to wear one of his show suits with his gold frilly cloak, but with a bright yellow and red jester hat he found stuffed in the back of his closet. The bells rang whenever he moved his head or walked. “This is just ME, RIGHT?” he said as he spun around.

And then Sam was way off theme. He was wearing his red shorts and a tie dye shirt. Complete with a pair of Birkenstocks and a fanny pack. His sunglasses were placed on his head as he looked around the venue. “A bit empty isn't it?”

No one said anything as they stood and ordered their drinks. Jake ordered a double rum and coke, specifically saying rum in the same way as his favourite Disney Pirate.

Danny ordered two beers and a shot of vodka to try and forget about how he felt.

Sam asked for mede but the bartender told him they didn’t serve it. To which Sam then went on a rant about the fact a place called Medieval Times didn’t serve mede. He then ordered a beer and a cocktail with a fancy light up glass and curly straw.

The bartender gave him an extra shot for the lack of mede.

Josh was shaking. He had his speech already set in his head, thanks to watching The Cable Guy numerous times, he had it memorized the fuck down.

“And what can I ge-”

“Dos this have thou a mug of ale for me and me mate? For he hath been pitched in battle for a fortnight and has the king’s thirst for the frosty brew dos thou might have for thus!” Josh let out, with a wide grin.

Nailed it. He thought.

The barman just stood there with a face void of emotion.

“He’ll have a salty dog and a beer please.” Jake leaned in and ordered.

Once they got their drinks, the mood was light, happy, and ready for blood. They walked through the doors to the main arena and found their table.

Josh sat on the end followed by Danny, Sam, and then Jake and sword.

"Okay so we cheer for our knight to kill the other right?" Sam asked as he sat down watching the pre-show.

“Pretty much” Danny answered. His interest in the show perked up when he spotted a knight throwing roses into the crowd.

“I want a rose!” He suddenly declared making everyone look at him then the knight.

Sam laughed. “You aint gonna get one sat there staring, do something!”

Danny quickly looked at his friend, “Like what?”

The bassist shrugged. “Flip him off?”

Danny went to say something to that until Josh shouted, “FLASH HIM!”

Josh jumped up and waved his arms about to get the knight's attention, finally the man looked at him. Josh pulled his velvet suit to the side and flashed one nipple at him with a big grin. Danny watched amazed and in horror as Josh stood there with one jitty out before putting his suit back into place.

A rose suddenly nearly hit the singer in the face as he caught it, getting a round of applause from everyone else sat down around them. Josh bowed with a giggle and passed the rose to Danny, “Flashing resolves everything.”

Jake let out a loud laugh and randomly shouted “Huzzah!” Which started a whole chorus of people joining in with him yelling it back. He went to lift his sword in the air but Danny quickly told him not to.

“Alright boys, here we go.” The waiter came up to their tables and began to place cutlery down. “You’re on the white knight side. Red knight is your ally, so cheer for white and red. The blue knight is your mortal enemy, yell and boo for his demise and for the fall of him and the yellow knight.” His tone gave off a sort of, ‘I’ve said this so many times that the excitement has long gone.’

The boys all listened but then just started booing the announcer that had now taken centre stage in the sand pit.

“Lords, your dinner will be served in 10 minutes and there’s a vegetarian meal requested as well right?” He asked.

The guys all confirmed their order followed by a very loud ‘HUZZAH!” From Jake

Which again, made everyone else around them join in.

The horse show began. 3 horses took stage and did some tricks and different styles in a sort equestria type show. Jake sat there nodding his head. Oh fuck yeah he was in his element right now. They needed to make a place similar to this but with pirates, and there are two ships that have to battle it out over dinner, and there’s even a-

Sam sat there with a face void of emotion as he watched the horses. Fancy, he thought.

Danny was smiling at the show. He was excited to be honest and was glad Jake brought it up now, but he was still somewhat worried that Jake had somehow got his sword past security.

Josh’s hat jingled away as he kept looking around the venue. He was excited, he wanted to see the dramatic theatrical work of it all. Damn, if he could he’d totally play a part in the show.

Soon, their dinner arrived. “Okay boys, we have dragon blood!” The waiter let out, pand placed a bowl of tomato soup in front of all of them. “And we have some dragon flesh, dragon's teeth, half a dragon's egg, and a special rock.” He announced as he placed the non-vegetarian meals down.

It consisted of half a cooked chicken, a corn cob, half a baked potato, and a slice of bread. The vegetarian one had less fancy names and was simply just, ‘The Royals Special Salad’

The boys tucked in using their hands. Sam sat there with a wooden fork digging into his salad as he looked around everyone else ripping their food apart.

One point Jake lifted his sword and tried to skewer his ‘dragon flesh’ chicken with it, earning a very loud scream laugh coming from the other end of the table.

“Heathens” Sam made a disgusted face.

“HUZZAH!” Jake yelled again right into his ear which was again followed by another chorus of everyone joining in.

“Will you stop ‘Huzzah-ing?!” Sam moved away from his older brother who was laughing loudly with his head thrown back.

The horse show had ended and now it was time for some jousting to take place.

Danny looked around to the families around him. They began to yell, scream, and cheer. “KILL HIM! KILLL HIIIIIIIIIM!” His mouth fell open when a child that was around 8 years old started yelling that at the top of their lungs.

“What kind of family show is-“ He stopped when Sam suddenly stood up. “WHITE KNIGHT! KILL THE DESPICABLE EXCUSE OF A HUMAN BEING, THE BLUE KNIGHT! DO YOUR DUTY! FOR YOUR KINGDOM!” He raised his flashing cocktail in the air.

People around them began to whoop, clap, and cheer harder. “I think these people actually want someone to bleed.” He laughed as he sat down.

Danny leaned over to say something to Josh but he was no longer sat there, just his jester hat in his seat. “Wait, where did Josh go?”

Sam didn’t even look over to the empty spot, just keeping his eyes on the two men who were now on their horses ready to joust. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was pumped for this. “Bathroom.” He simply replied.

The joust began and the white knight rode towards his target. The crowd on the white knight side were screaming at the top of their lungs, numerous flags and light up swords in the air.

“GO ON!!! Hit him!!!!” Sam yelled at the top of his lungs, gripping his drink.

Danny clapped and cheered to merely join in but then grimaced when the first hit happened. Nothing too bad, but the Blue knight wobbled a little and Danny downed a beer in the process. After another few jousts and hits the knights decided to battle off the horses with numerous weapons.

Everyone was losing their shit. Sam was sitting there laughing as people were screaming for the end of the blue knight. Jake was now holding his sword in the air with one foot on his chair as people chanted.

“Huzz-zah!” He chanted, throwing the sword up and down in the air which then started their side of the arena to join in.

“Ladies and Gentleman, it is time for your King to make a special appearance in preparation for the battle.”

The lights dimmed down and so did the cheers for blood as the crew quickly ran around the sandpit getting whatever was needed for the appearance of the king.

Jake has sat down by now but still held his sword in his right hand, and his drink in his left.

“Oh come on, I wanna see someone get knocked out!” Sam let out blowing air between his lips as he got fed up.

Danny laughed. “And who said they didn’t want to come to see people pretend?”

Sam glanced at him and narrowed his eyes. “Not me, certainly not I.” He took a huge gulp of his cocktail as he looked away.

Suddenly he spat out his drink. The liquid flew out of his mouth as he jolted forward in his seat in shock and started coughing. Danny looked at his friend and started patting his back.

“Dude, you okay?” He asked as Sam sat coughing manically.

“LONG LIVE THE KING!” Jake yelled at the pitch that even startled Danny which made him look towards the King.

There sat on the throne was Josh. He was now wearing a long red cape along with a golden crown on top of his head. He was also randomly holding a huge cooked turkey leg. He sat there acting like his life depended on it. A face of pure ‘Yes, I am your king, bow bitches’ His free hand giving a typical royal wave as the crowd went nuts.

Danny stood up. “JOSH! JOSH!” He yelled. Josh looked his way and just waved. Danny clapped his hands together. “PSSPSSPSSPSS JOSH GET BACK HERE!” If Sam wasn’t currently choking he would have said it looked as if he was trying to get a cat to come to him.

Josh held up a hand and the entire arena fell silent apart from Sam’s spluttering coughs.

“My dear kingdom…” He stood up and the workers surrounding him seemed to realise he was in fact not their actor who played the king and began to look around at each other. “We are all gathered to watch one perish in the bravery of battle.” He announced, putting on a little accent.

”You knights will fight with honour and strength as we cheer you on while feasting on dragons flesh and also feasting on one of your deaths.” The knights looked at each other confused.

His voice then went to his normal tone. “I mean, for a family show this really does have a lot of blood lust and violence going on I mean..” he motioned to the people with his free hand, “Everyone is so excited to watch people….b-beat each other up it’s….it’s an experience I tell ya..maybe needs more excitement am I right?” and then quickly pulled his jumpsuit to the side to flash everyone.

Danny’s head fell into his hands while Jake started laughing.

“BOOOO!” Sam quickly let out

Josh’s head quickly looked over to their direction. “Before the event shall start. By order of your King, anyone named Samuel shall be executed.” Josh declared in the most serious tone, doing a Meryl Streep level of acting.

All the workers looked at each other.

“Who is this guy?”

“Is he serious?”

“Who the fuck is Samuel?”

Sam put his sunglasses on and sunk down in his seat as Josh stared at him with the most serious face he had ever seen. But then he broke out in his wide toothy grin and normal toned voice, “Enjoy the bloodshed everybody! Have a wonderful night!”

And with that they workers quickly started to push the throne out of the arena with him still standing on it. Josh smiled at the workers joyfully and giggled before he posed dramatically as he was pushed out of sight.

The two knights stood there looking at each other and shrugged as if to say, “Okay…” before the white knight lifted his sword and tried to take down the other until he blocked the hit with his own sword.

Soon Josh came boundering back with the turkey leg and security holding onto his shoulder. “Is he with you?” Josh stood there giggling away as security walked him to his seat after Danny nodded his head.

“Guards! This is the Samuel who went against your king! Get him!” Josh let out shoving the jester hat back on and pointed to his younger brother who did everything he could to look not part of the group despite sitting in the middle of the chaos.

Security rolled their eyes but then pulled a worried look to Jake who was now standing with one foot on his chair again, sword in the air watching the show as the two knights went at it.

“Sir, how did you get tha-“ Security man no.1 began to ask Jake who quickly yelled. “Huzzah!” And bolted away from the table. The man looked at security man no.2 before they both went running off after him.

The waiter from earlier came over and began to hand out little cups of ice cream.

“You look stressed, don’t worry, tonight is actually very calm. Here you go boys, Dragon droppings! Enjoy!”

Danny looked at him in pure disbelief.

Sam and Josh began a little back and forth argument about how dare he sentence him to death. The cheek of such an order.

Before the waiter walked off, Danny smiled and motioned with his hand to get his attention over the noise of people yelling for the knight to kill, Josh and Sam arguing about betrayal, and the waiter's radio going off about, “Some crazed guy with a sword is in the gift shop.”

“Can I get 8 shots of tequila, please?”

[coralcatsea]

I feel like rating the Batman Caped Crusader villains, so here we go.

Note: These ratings are just what I was feeling at the time, but they're subject to change if I see more of them in the next season!

Mama Penguin: 7/10. she was enjoyable to watch and felt like a cross between the Witch of the Waste from Howl's Moving Castle and Captain Dola from Castle in the Sky. 😆 I also liked the look she has with the purple dress. I feel like we needed more about her role as a villain, why she's a villain, etc.

Clayface: 6.5/10. He was pretty fun, I liked the mystery surrounding him and his general demeanour. The sword fight was also good. I feel like he could've been more memorable, though, and it could've been more fleshed out why Clayface went off the deep end and immediately tried to kill his costar. Maybe delve into how he realised that if she rejected him despite changing his looks, it must mean there's something wrong with his personality, and that's how he comes to decide his personality is evil or something?

Catwoman: 10/10. She had cats in every corner of her house and a catmobile. That automatically makes her amazing because it's hilarious and I'm biased. She also had a very lively and amusing personality. She was playful and expressive, and her over the top innocent act cracked me up. I love how she took inspiration from Batman because she vibed with his aesthetic, and she truly committed to the bit. We also got a bit of backstory for why she is the way she is, and her dynamic with the maid was great.

Firebug: 4/10. He had potential and they did nothing with it. I liked how he put on goggles and saw everyone happily being consumed by flames, but...that's about it. They didn't tell us anything about him, he was just a plot device.

Harleen/Jester: 8/10. I was looking forward to seeing this show's take on Harley, and I enjoyed it a good amount. I particularly liked her as Harleen and appreciated the psychiatrist focus since a lot of times that side gets forgotten. It was interesting to see her reasoning for becoming a villain, and while I didn't get their reasoning for the Jester connection at first, I later realised it and the theming of her victims is connected to Jungian archetypes! Having it related to psychology is pretty clever!! I will say I didn't get the point of the Renee/Harleen stuff. I was curious how and why they would fall for each other, and...it kind of just happened? I hope they'll delve into the reason for attraction in s2.

Gentleman Ghost: 6/10. He seemed cool, buuut...we didn't see enough of his personality and his motivation felt kind of bland to me. Him being an actual ghost also felt a bit out of place. I didn't mind it too much, but I guess I was just surprised there wasn't some "scientific" reasoning for him.

Onomatopoeia: 5/10. Kind of amusing, but it's hard to form a strong opinion about a guy whose face is fully covered and he doesn't say anything but stuff like "plip plip plip" and "bang!" 😂

Natalya: 7/10. Cool design, she gave Wednesday vibes. I also liked her personality and how she felt like a more tragic villain. Her brother helped add to that, along with her mysterious condition. I do wish we got to know more about the condition. She also managed to bring out Batman's compassionate side, which was really nice.

Harvey: 5/10. Meh...he was more complex than the totally corrupt version in the Harley Quinn show, but that's not saying much. I liked what they were TRYING to do, with his original self being more corrupt and then he gains a conscience when he becomes the victim and gets scarred. But I feel like it wasn't written or explored that well, and he barely had time to be Two Face before they took him out of the picture.

[azurearts13]

Jester Zombie Token (Commission)

Second half of a commission for my dear friend Jasmine, this is the final version of the zombie token to use in Magic the Gathering.

The overall energy and vibe was themed after the Rakdos circus card set and the card 'Altar of Dementia' which made it into the background as a nod to the cards importance to the deck.

Below the cut are the sketches made to find the final pose and pattern for the characters outfit, please note these also show the character without their head on their body. Also included is the Altar on it's own.

There were a couple sketches made before we landed on the kneeling pose, primarily the aim was for something fun with a dark twist to fit the decks color scheme and the group the energy was specifically pulling from. Color was a mixed bag of choices with how the deck used multiple colors, dark ones specifically.

The choice of going more with a classic red and black jester theme really worked out well in the end and gave the piece a nice vibrant yet also dark feeling. Meanwhile when it came to the altar I really just went for a rough paint with how it was going to be mostly hidden behind the jester, still I put a nice amount of work into it so it feels wrong not to share it uncovered even if it's not finished.

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

I have acquired a new backup OC. Torpor! He/They. An Eclipse Backup who was left in a spare Moon body.

Torpor has a glitch that mimics narcolepsy. Essentially, their system sometimes has trouble reading their battery, and often reads them as being under 10% regardless of how much power is actually there. This results in them being very slow and tired most of the time, their body encouraging them to recharge. It’s also difficult to tell when they actually need to recharge, since they’re systems always read as them being under 10%. 

Sometimes, they get an error where their system completely loses track of their battery, causing it to be read as completely gone, resulting in emergency shutdowns. This No Battery error generally clears itself up within half an hour. 

Torp also often locks up completely during recharge, due to their systems getting confused by the glitched battery readings. Occasionally, this is accompanied by some systems going haywire, resulting in hallucinations. They do not like recharging.

Torpor is a full Eclipse backup, complete with memories up to the end of October. They were created back in October, and Eclipse thought that it would be funny and ironic to put a copy of himself in one of Moon’s backup bodies. He, of course, deleted the original backup Moon in that body first, so Torp’s always been alone in there.

Torpor actually woke up before the current Eclipse did. And, initially, they got to plotting. But their glitch makes them lethargic and sleepy all the time, and they pass out randomly, and recharging terrifying. They eventually just gave up. Let another Eclipse backup handle it, they don’t have the energy.

They’ve been hanging around one of Moon’s bunkers this whole time. Initially plotting, then trying to fix themself. Unfortunately, it turned out that they can’t actually fix their bug without damaging their own programming. They did manage some optimization, and removal of unwanted failsafes, though. So, they switched to customizing and modifying their body.

They’ve added tiny white rays, changed out all the white in the rest of their body for black, turned their eyes orange, and added a little tail ending in a dream bubble shape, because they thought it was funny in an ironic way. They also swapped out the jester pants and shoes for pajamas and slippers.

Once they ran out of physical modification ideas and finished optimizing their code, they turned to gaming and videos. Low effort activities that pose no danger if they happen to shutdown in the middle. He’s found a fondness for romance, found family, and redemption themed shows. His favorite games are fantasy rpgs, horror rpgs, and dating sims.

Torp’s decided to avoid watching any of the Shows. He doesn’t need to know anything going on with them or how the SAMS crew are recovering from his original’s actions. He’s fine in his little bunker, with his games and pirated streaming services. So he’s completely out of the loop.🦇

I have an intense love for Torpor and I will love him until I die, which might be soon if my brother keeps calling me a simp.

[ticklish-touch]

Trapped in the Backrooms - Ch 8: Power Trip

(Ragaeli x lee!Y/N (non-romance): Tickling, group tickling, clowns, coulrophilia, hypnosis)

Finally, you and Ragaeli have the chance to face one of the deities of the Backrooms head-on. Rags is ready to put on the performance of the century, and you're not about to let yourself get left out of the circus shenanigans. The Nightmare once again proves that his laughter-fueled megalomania is a force to be reckoned with... But can you hold your own?

(Chapter themes: “Something Wicked (That Way Went)” - Vernian process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsRh83BXvOE “Entry of the Gladiators” - Ken Mukai: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y8Of6FNuLQ “The World Revolving” - RichaadEB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWNKFBeYVxw )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         Aside from the sounds of rides, coasters and stereotypical circus melodies playing from some of the game booths, there were no clear signs of anyone else in the amusement park. It had very eerie vibes, making you feel as if you were being watched from the shadows of the various tents, booths and train cars that decorated the fairgrounds. A rollercoaster, ferris wheel and huge main tent stood high above all the other attractions in the distance.

         Rags whistled, hands folded behind his head. "Man, Ross-boss would love performin' at a place like this. If, y'know, there were actually people around."

         “Heh, yeah.” You knew he was referring to his robot-clown apprentice. You’d only met him once, but it was an unforgettable night of spectating the showboater’s scares and acrobatics - and of course, a night filled with plenty of laughs.          “So, where d’you wanna head first? If we cause a ruckus here I bet it’ll draw out this so-called Jester sooner~”          “Hmmm…” Your gaze wandered around. Your first instinct was to go for one of the big rides or coasters, buuut you also kind of wanted to start with something more mellow after the nonstop pandemonium from the jungle gyms. You eyed over a nearby building, which very much appeared to be a haunted house attraction. It was painted with generic scary imagery, the entry door cloaked with pitch-black curtains. There were dingy old cutouts on either side of the entrance depicting monstrous-looking humanoid creatures: One looked as if it was wearing the stolen face of a human over its zombified body; the other had an amorphous body without visible hands or feet, holding a single balloon. Its eyes and mouth dripped with blood. Creepy.

         Rags snickered. "Of course you wanna go for the one that'll spook you the most~" He gave you a nudge.          "Oh shush," you shoved him back. "It caught my attention because it's close by, that's all."          "Mmhmm, suuure. Well if you wanna take a look around, go for it! I’m gonna keep an eye out for our jolly ol’ Jester." He poofed out of sight.

         Peering behind the black curtain, you saw a hallway filled with fog, dimly illuminated by ambient red and teal spotlights from somewhere overhead. Slowly, you started stepping forward, the dilapidated wood floor creaking below your feet. The hallway went on and on, for almost a full minute...

         Before the floor completely fell out from below you, slanting downward into a steep ramp. "WhaaAAA-!!"

         The ramp brought you down to another dark area that was clear of fog, with concrete floors. It was lit by little more than a few coils of neon blacklights here and there. As far as the eye could see, the walls displayed mirrors: warped, wavy mirrors. You were in a funhouse! Walking past them, they warped your image in comical ways: Stretching out your neck like a giraffe, making your legs way too short or long, turning your body wavy or spirally. But you were more concerned about whether an entity was waiting to pounce from behind one of them.

         As if answering your thoughts, a sinister, jolly laugh soon permeated the darkness, followed by a voice with a hammy British cadence. "Well well well, my dear, you've wound up in quite the predicament, haven't you~?"

         That voice...! It couldn't be??

         The floating head of a clown popped out from the corner of a wall. And not just any clown; it was metal, with curly indigo hair and LED eyes, a golden smirk below a large purple nose.

         "ROSCOE?!"

         The clown’s body strolled into the room close behind him, giving you an exaggerated bow and taking his head out of the air to tip it like a hat. "The one and only~!"

         You beamed, running up to him. …Stopping short a couple feet away. As much as you enjoyed his personality, he still unnerved you a bit; he was almost as intimidating as Ragdoll. At least he didn't tend to immediately go in for the kill. His gaze narrowed and he eyed you over slyly, swinging out his arms and pulling you into a hug. "No need to be shy, dear! I won't let my hands wander too much~" His large claws flurried up and down your back and hips. You squealed and laughed and pushed at his warm metal chest, to which he responded with a deep amused chuckle. "You have fun meandering about, I'll be keeping my eye on you~" He winked, stepping inside one of the mirrors before disappearing behind the frame.

         The funhouse was dizzying. An endless expanse of mirrors, reflecting in on each other to make the twisted hallways seem even more infinite. You eventually smacked right into one of them, thinking you had found an opening in the wall. "OOF-"

         Roscoe let out his signature guffaw before re-appearing around a corner. "Well you can't very well walk through them, now can you?" He extended an arm and his hand floated over to you, ruffling your hair. "Don't try so hard to find a linear path. Open your mind, trust your gut, and follow my lead~" He poofed out of sight, his image re-appearing inside one of the nearby mirrors. His body looked warped and twisted in comical proportions and he waved Jazz-hands at you.

         You followed the robot's humming, clunking of his huge boots, and bursts of confetti released by his hands shapeshifting into small projectile guns. Occasionally the brat snuck out from behind or inside mirrors to give pokes to your sides. Catching a glimpse of him a few times, you noticed that he had a red aura instead of his typical purple one, and his form seemed to flicker a bit like a mirage. A lot like Rags' tickle machines back at the laboratory. Was this really Roscoe...? You shrugged it off. Even if he was an illusion, it was nice to have another familiar face keeping watch over you.

         The further you traveled, the less mirrors you started to see, replaced by dark corridors and open walls. The few mirrors that were left started to only reflect silhouettes of Roscoe and other entities, outlined in bright neon lights. The infinite ceiling had soon shrunk down until it was just a few feet above your head, letting in a minimal amount of light and fog through holes and slats.

         A loud guttural hiss and a dark figure popped out at you, with a bloodied mouth and zombified skin. You shrieked and sprinted forward to hide behind a corner. But it didn't chase you; it simply snickered meanly to itself and disappeared from sight. You warily made your way through pitch-black hallways with dangling chains, and traversed warped floors that passed by prison cells which housed entities like hounds, smilers, dullers, and that thing from the cutout with a bloody face and single balloon. All of which leapt at you, snarling and clawing at you from behind bars. This thoroughly felt like a haunted house back on Earth, complete with scare-"actors". Were they playing? Were they actually plotting to kill you? It was hard to say for sure. But the thrill of the uncertainty, the reminiscing of some scare attractions you'd visited with some of your friends, still made it pretty fun.

         You continued getting startled by the sounds of eerie whispering, animalistic growls, scuttling and scratching bounced off the walls. You passed through large open sections modeled after different types of creepy environments: A crimson hotel, a spooky castle hallway, an abandoned school, and... A replication of Level Zero. Your stomach sank, at first worrying that you'd been redirected back to the very start of your journey. Thank the heavens there was a clearly-marked path out.

         You soon started to hear music playing ahead: A very distorted carnival melody. Peeking into the doorframe, your eyes were met with blinding UV paintings of monstrous clowns with neon-colored eyes and overly-exaggerated body proportions, with crooked or razor-sharp teeth. The music was now partially drowned out by taunting, distorted laughter, making your adrenaline skyrocket and scramble to get out of the maze faster. Especially when the bastard robot added to the creepy ambience with his own exaggerated villainous laughter, his head gliding in, sticking out his colorful striped tongue. He chased you clear to the end of the maze, where you leapt out of a curtain and back into the amusement park. Roscoe had stopped his pursuit, disappearing again.

         Exiting the haunted house, you felt all pumped up to look around for your next attraction. …And also try to find some food. Your stomach was growling pretty loudly. The bigger rides were further in the distance anyways; you'd have to make your way around several game booths and concession stands first. A lot of them looked similar to games you'd see back on Earth, with very... unusual prize choices. Most of them looked like junk scrounged up from old thrift stores. The plushies looked like strange amalgamations of animals that didn't quite have full faces or limbs.

         Your gaze soon wandered from the top of a nearby carousel up to the nighttime sky. Weirdly, the only stars visible all aligned vertically with each other, traveling clear up to the center of the sky. There were several columns of lights like this, all meeting at a central point. "What the…?" You squinted. You started to realize that the ‘sky’ appeared segmented in different bands of color. The stars weren’t stars at all: They were lights. The entire park was enclosed by an impossibly huge circus tent. Whoa.

         "Ayyy, welcome, welcome!" A gruff, but enthusiastic voice nearby snapped you out of your thoughts, making you jump. Up walked a very short, chubby clown with suspenders, bright facepaint, and a small bowler hat, putting his hands on his hips. After glancing him over, your attention was drawn to his eyes: Striking, neon yellow irises with ringlets around his pupils. He had a friendly smile with slightly crooked teeth. "Nice to see another patron around here! Name's Zeppy," he shook your hand with enough force to bounce your arm up and down. "Step on up, I got just the game for ya!" He came up to reach a hand around to your back, pushing you forward to a nearby game booth with a crossbow aimed at cardboard cutouts of various Backroom entities.

         "O-Oh, okay!! I don't have any money on me though..."

         He shook his head and pushed a button on the booth counter. The game started itself up. "Don't worry 'bout it, you just gotta pay in interest. Literally! Curiosity is what fuels our theme park here. You don't show any interest in what we got, then the rides and games don't work. And it looks like ya got curiosity to spare. Good on ya!"         You humored him and played a round, taking aim with the crossbow and racking up a good amount of points; all while he cheered you on like a corny announcer. After a few minutes, the booth played fanfare and reset itself. "Wanna go for another round?"

         You shrugged, putting the crossbow down. “Truthfully I’m more hungry than anything.”

         “Ohhh gotcha!! Here then, lemme get ya fixed right up!” He tugged at your arm again, pulling you over to sit on a barstool at a concession stand. It was stocked with almond water, brightly-colored mushrooms, packaged bagels and what looked like glowing…jelly? Jam?          He handed you a bagel and almond water, and popped open the jar of jelly. “Moth jelly’s the good shit. It’ll keep ya fueled for most of the day. Thankfully the Death moths they come from are never really seen around here.”          Moth jelly? Huh… Must be like their version of bee honey. You spread it over the bagel and took a bite… Your mouth instantly watering from the taste. “MMmmm!!” It was honey-flavored! Honey with a hint of blueberry.          The clown, in the meantime, plucked some of the mushrooms right out of their planters to snack on them. “Mmm– So, what Level’d you visit from? Betcha you’re from a long ways away, huh?”

         You gave a long sigh. “You have no idea.”

         You started to hear loud footsteps behind you. "Oh hey Pogo, c'mere!!" He started to wave someone over.

         You turned around and gasped. "Whoa-" You were met with the sight of a shockingly tall female clown, standing over eight feet. She had disproportionately long legs and huge shoes, wearing polka-dotted pants. She had rosy red cheeks, red curly pigtails, heavy eyeshadow and exaggerated freckles. And again, her eyes were striking, practically glow-in-the-dark, neon green irises with ringlets.

         She leaned way down close to you, inches from your face, greeting you with a big gap-toothed smile. "Well hiya!! Nice to see a new face around here," she gave you a boop on the forehead. "Enjoying yourself?"         You were unnerved at first by her size, but it was hard not to warm up to her cheery disposition. You smiled softly. "Yeah, I am! All things considered."         "Good, good!! Have ya been on any of the rides yet? Might not wanna eat too much beforehand," she giggled.         "Heh, nah, not yet. Today has been... a very long day, and I kinda want to work my way up to it first."         "Fair 'nuff!" Zeppy walked out of the booth and patted you on the shoulder. "Well if ya wanna hang out on ground level for a while first, lemme introduce ya to the rest of the Rowdy Gang." He took a big, long breath, placed a couple fingers to his lips and blew a very loud whistle; almost as loud as a train whistle.

         Pogo took a seat on the barstool next to you, splaying out her mile-long legs. After a few moments you heard some commotion and talking; Two more clowns strolled on up to you. One of them was huge. A solid brick wall of fat and muscle, standing at seven feet, but he had a friendly face with soft facepaint and neon pink eyes. The other, at a first glance, looked absolutely forlorn; slumping forward, teardrop paint under their electric blue eyes, disproportionately long arms nearly dragging on the ground. But you noticed that their frown and upturned eyebrows was just facepaint. They flashed you a soft smile and waved one of their arms like a limp noodle. For a moment you chatted and introduced yourself; The big guy was named Beebee, the “sad” clown went by Mortimer.

         "Well well well!! It looks like we have quite the motley crew here, don't we~!" Roscoe's voice called out from behind you. He walked up to take a bow in front of the others. Their eyes lit up and they collectively exclaimed in interest, hurrying over to him.          "Whoaaa, take a look at this guy!" Beebee eyed him over. "A robot? Well that's a new one! The Higher-ups are trying new things, I see," he chuckled.          "Oooh, you're a spooky lookin fella," Pogo giggled. "Lookit those chompers! You seem like a nice guy though!"

         "Heheh, of course~! Nothing wrong with a good scare every now and then," he lurched forward with grabby claws, making the others jump. "But it's no fun if your audience is in real danger." he chuckled, then tapped on his gold metal teeth, glancing away in thought. "Say, I don't suppose you lovely bunch have seen the Jester around?"          Their eyes went wide and they exchanged glances. "The Court Jester...?" Mortimer spoke up. They had a soft voice, speaking slowly and thoughtfully. "Well uhh... we're not really... supposed to talk about him to new folks..."          "Not unless you have official business with him," Beebee shrugged. "He's a very busy guy, overseeing the carnival and the multiverse–" He was quickly jabbed in the gut by Zeppy, his belly letting out an audible honk.          "The multiverse, you say?" Roscoe tilted his head. "That could come quite in handy for what my friend and I need..." He tapped his chin, narrowing his gaze.

         Zeppy narrowed his gaze right back. "Hey now, don't be gettin' any sneaky ideas."          "What exactly are you after?" Pogo eyed him over suspiciously and leaned down close. "Messin' with timey-wimey spacey mambo-jumbo is a dangerous game," she flicked Roscoe's metal chest.          He just took a step back and held his hands up, chuckling. "Now now, no need to worry! I'm simply trying to help this one," his hand floated over to pat your head. "Get back to their own world."

        Zeppy blinked. "Wow, you are from far away!"         Roscoe nodded. "A little birdie told us that the Jester might be able to help. A very tall, stretchy, excitable and well-dressed birdie."

        Their eyes went wide again. "Shiro?? Mr. Shiro led you here?” Pogo asked in disbelief.          “Well shoot, must be pretty important business if he told ya to come here!" Zeppy laughed and patted you both on the back. "Well, unfortunately he's still not the easiest to come by. But hang around here long enough and he's bound to show up. He likes it when we make a ruckus together, ‘specially in the Big Top,” he pointed off to the distance, to a tent that stood high above the rest. “Just follow our lead!”

         You spent a decent amount of time being led in the direction of the big top, while also being pulled every which way by the clowns; Carnies, as they referred to themselves. Playing games, snacking on some mushrooms - the safe ones that wouldn’t make you trip balls - asking twenty questions with you and Roscoe, latching onto every word. Occasionally you saw other Carnies in the distance that were working maintenance on rides and stocking booths with supplies, giving a wave. They weren't as unhinged as the toons from the jungle gyms, but their ridiculousness was still contagious. They kept yanking at each other's suspenders, giving one another a good kick that released loud honks from their bodies, or honked out a song with their noses to entertain you.

         Being in close proximity to them made you a little bit anxious. Clowns were typically unnerving at best to most people, which is exactly what the nightmare clown Roscoe counted on; but also because their antics and desire to make you laugh would undoubtedly lead to the inevitable. You’re surprised they hadn’t already tried it.          Roscoe seemed to pick up on that thought. You caught a glimpse of him narrowing his gaze at you, eyebrow cocked. "Is something making you nervous, my good friend?"

         "Nervous??" Zeppy frowned. "Whatcha nervous for? You ain't got anything to worry about!"          "I meeean, some of the other guys aren't too keen on Wanderers being here," Beebee shrugged. "Remember the last sorry sap, blasted into smithereens by Dazzle's confetti bombs."

         "HEY, don't make ‘em more nervous!!" Pogo hissed, gently kicking his side. "Those jerks might be killjoys but you hang with the Rowdy Gang, you're always in for a good time!" She ruffled your hair.          Roscoe chuckled. "I've no doubts that we're safe in your hands, right?" He gave you a poke. A very deliberate poke right on the sweet spot on your torso that always made you squeak loudly.

         Every one of them took immediate notice. Slowly, wide smiles spread across their faces; even Mortimer’s melancholy expression softened into a subtle, playful grin. You gulped and stepped back. "N-Now hang on, guys..." You couldn't hide the shaky smile creeping onto your face.           “Well that was cute~!” Pogo giggled, following suit with a quick tickle to your ribs.          “You didn’t tell us you’re ticklish…” Mortimer leaned in close, squeezing and poking at your belly experimentally. You doubled over on yourself, gently swatting their hands away.          Zeppy smirked smugly. “Beebee, do the honors?”          You felt your arms lifted up by the huge clown’s strong arms, his big belly pressing up against your back.          Zeppy rubbed his hands together like a cartoon villain and made grabby hands. “Weeell now, it’d be remiss of us not to make ya laugh, don’tcha think? You sound like you’ve been through the ringer, so how ‘bout we help you loosen up~?”          You swallowed hard, feeling your face heat up. You glared over at Roscoe, who had his hands on his hips, smirking smugly. “R-Roscoe you aaaAASSHOHOHOLE!!” You were thrown off by the feeling of six pairs of hands going in for the attack.          “Aawwww, lookit that cute smile!!” Pogo cooed. “Your cheeks are almost as red as mine~!” Her long gloved fingers wiggled and scritched under your armpits, swirling in circles.          “Your laugh is really sweet…” Mortimer cooed softly, slipping their hands under your shirt to continue gently squishing and tickling your belly.          “Heheheh, quite the little wiggly-worm, ain’t ya~?” Zeppy smirked mischievously. He went to work skillfully and rapidly dancing his fingers over your hips, and down over your kneecaps and behind your legs. “Tickletickletickletickle!! Hehehe, you squeal even louder when I do that! Tiiickletickletickle~!”                  You kept getting bombarded by nonstop playful cooing, teasing, silly faces and contagious laughter, getting you all the more flustered and giggle-drunk. It was even worse when Pogo decided to lift your legs up, so Mortimer could proceed to take off your shoes. Roscoe finally joined Zeppy in peeling off your socks and going to town fluttering their fingers over your soles. The short clown shuffled in one of his pockets, pulling out a large comb - definitely too large for his own short hair - with thick, blunt teeth. With a wide, evil smile, he started tracing its edge up and down and around your sole, heel and balls of your feet. “Man, you’re a hell of a squirmer~ You’d be in trouble if we didn’t hold back, heheh!”          “There’s no need to hold back~” Roscoe narrowed his gaze at you deviously. “They’re thoroughly a glutton for punishment, isn’t that right~?” He winked.          Beebee eventually put you down. “I don’t wanna be left out!” he pouted. He kneeled down behind your head, starting to gently trace along your arms, biceps, and hollows with his fingers. “So cuuute~!”          Zeppy started to saw between your toes with his comb while Roscoe pinned your ankles down and shifted his other hand into a whirring brush. The combination of the two made you shriek and kick and laugh frantically. This just encouraged Pogo to tickle your writhing torso even faster. “Heeheehee, that’s the spirit!! If you’re gonna be goin’ on any rides you gotta show us you can handle the excitement~!”          Mortimer snuck into the fray to flop down and lay their head down on your belly, peeking up at you. They gave a content sigh. “This is a nice view~” They chuckled. “Might even be able to doze off listenin’ to this…” They turned their head to plant their face against your belly… Suddenly taking a deep breath and blowing a huge raspberry.          “NnnaaAAA-HAHAHAHA!! STAAAHAHAHA…!”          You had no doubts the lot of them would’ve kept tickling you as long as you could possibly handle it. But, the fun was eventually interrupted.          A loud BANG in the air nearby made all of you jump and look over to see a burst of fireworks and confetti. They all let you go, and Zeppy and Pogo hopped up to take a defensive stance. "Aw crap-"

         A short blonde clown with buck teeth and neon purple irises floated into view; literally, floating in the air, carried by a round colorful jumpsuit with inflated rims of their sleeves and bellbottoms, as if they were anti-gravity devices. You snorted back snickering at the sight, sitting up to brush yourself off.          "I thought I heard a laugh I didn't recognize!" Their voice was very high-pitched, to the point where your snorting turned into full-on laughter. But you were quickly snapped out of your moment of amusement when they casually tossed a cherry bomb in your direction, which promptly burst into confetti at a dangerously close proximity. You yelped and jumped back. "WHOA– Watch it!!"         “Fraternizing with miscreants again, eh Zippidy-Doo-Dah??” They growled and put their hands on their hips. “HEY CHARLIE!!” They shouted off to the side. “WE GOT ANOTHER ONE!”

         After some loud stomping, a clown with the same body type as Pogo came into view; except this one was almost twice as tall, towering over some of the boxcars. He had runny-mascara makeup, a mop of messy purple curls, suspenders, neon orange eyes, and a dress shirt with tacky arcade-like triangle patterns. Your neck craned upward, your jaw dropping.         He lifted his foot, reeling back his leg. You realized just in time that he intended to try kicking you. “WhoawhoaWHOA!!” The others pulled you out of the way just in time for the gargantuan boot to smash into a small tent just behind you.

         Mortimer whined and hid behind Beebee. Zeppy let out an exasperated growl, shouting up to both of them. “I keep tellin’ ya, Dazzle, you gotta STOP trynna kill off our customers!!”          The blonde let out a grating single bark of a laugh. “And THEY needa stop trying to kill US!!" They pointed an accusatory finger at you. “Them Wanderers come in here in those bright yellow trash-bags, bringin’ weapons and plans to sabotage our park! They think we’re nothin’ but MONSTERS!” They put their hands on their hips.          “They shoot my legs,” Charlie droned, moving his other leg out from behind one of the tents. His pant leg was tattered and torn from the knee down, revealing his skin covered in nasty burn scars. You gasped and covered your mouth, feeling a pang of sympathy.          Pogo also frowned sympathetically, but let out a loud huff. "Well this one ain't like those losers!!"          Beebee stomped up closer to Charlie. "Yeah!! They're nice! They're not here to cause problems or hurt any of us!"

         Dazzle scoffed. "Yeah?? The last chick that came through here was nice too! Til she thought she had to get violent for no reason! Damn lizard-skinned savage!!"          Lizard-skinned...?         "You're the one who thought it'd be a grand idea to paint a buncha freaky versions of us Carnies in the Scare-House!!" Zeppy pointed accusingly. "No wonder they think we're monsters!!"          Dazzle just shrugged. "It ain't MY fault if those losers can't tell the difference between a paintin' and us hard-working folks that just wanna entertain!!" They did a midair cartwheel closer to you. “I think it’s your turn to entertain us!! You lot make for some great target practice!!” An unnaturally wide smirk stretched across their face and a cherry bomb popped out of their puffed-up sleeve, ready to toss at you.

       "AAAND TIME TO GET OUTTA HERE!!" Zeppy tugged you by the arm, then started running ahead, waving frantically for you to follow. Beebee scooped you up and held you close, starting to head after Zeppy. He could run surprisingly fast for his size. Pogo scooped up the terrified Mortimer, who covered their eyes.

       The two easily kept up their pace, Dazzle’s maniacal squeaky cackling and Charlie’s loud stomping ringing out in the sky. The only thing even remotely slowing them down were the smaller tents and boxcars, but they disregarded any of the empty concession booths, stomping them flat or confetti-bombing them. “HYEHEHEHAHAHA, Time to give ya the ol’ RAZZLE-DAZZLE!!” The blonde cackled at their own pun, their puffed-up sleeves lighting up brightly, before releasing a torrent of confetti and firework sparks in your direction.           Pogo and Zeppy expertly dodged the confetti blasts and cherry bombs, and Beebee smacked them away before they detonated. Finally, the gang had enough, and retaliated.        Zeppy growled loudly and spun around. "ARRIGHT, ya loose cannons!!" He ran forward a few steps, then bounded into the air, his boots making an audible springy sound-effect. He aimed his chest flower at Dazzle, giving it a squeeze, firing a blast of silly-string as intense as a firefighter hose. It struck Dazzle and sent them flying backwards, screeching loudly.        It was Pogo's turn next. "Hang on tight!!" She told Mortimer, directing them to climb onto her back and wrap their long arms and legs around her. She also took a flying leap, springing even higher than Zeppy, clamping onto Charlie from behind... And promptly burying her fingertips into his armpits. Mortimer followed her lead, sneaking their hands down to tickle up and down his sides.          The massive clown yowled and burst into deep rumbling laughter, shaking his head and trying to clamp his arms over himself.

       Beebee hurriedly brought you over to a nearby game booth, ushering you to hide inside. "Wait here for now, stay out of sight," he directed gently. Then turned around and let out a guttural roar, stomping over to a nearby booth that had an enormous chimera plushie the size of his body, slinging it into the air like a discus throw. It stuck to Dazzle, who was still covered in silly-string, making them shriek and frantically start trying to spin around to get it dislodged. “YIEEEE I SWEAR WHEN I GET THIS OFFA ME-!!”        The two eventually managed to fight back. Charlie was able to grab Pogo’s arms and yank her off. While she kicked and twisted in the air, he grabbed the canopy of a nearby game booth and used the fabric to wrap her and Mortimer like a burrito. He gave an evil smirk down at the two, who looked nervously back at him. “H-Heyy now, can’t we talk about thiiIIIHIHIS!!” Pogo squealed and started frantically wiggling as Charlie tickled up and down her legs.        After Dazzle flailed around a little longer, they managed to grab the huge plushie; their sleeve lit up like a bomb about to detonate and they blasted the plush away with a firework burst. Then, they hastily threw a cherry-bomb near Beebee, and propelled themself forward like they were using a jetpack, headbutting Zeppy into the ground.

         Finally, it was Mortimer's turn. Letting go of Pogo and snaking their way out of the canopy trap, they shuffled closer toward the two opponents, took a HUGE deep breath that puffed out their chest... And released a deafening, percussive wail that sent Dazzle flying and spinning back and forced Charlie and the others - including you - to cover their ears.          Using the chance to take you away from the commotion, Pogo freed herself and hopped over to you, helping you out of the game booth to carry you. Beebee picked up Mortimer, and Zeppy shot at the ground with his flower, releasing a huge blast of water that propelled himself to catch up to the rest of you.

         You heard Roscoe’s signature guffaw rise up over the commotion. “Heavens, you lot are quite the force to be reckoned with~! How about we take this performance to the Big Top where we can really make them laugh?” He flew up closer to Dazzle, letting his hands glide out closer toward them. His claws lit up with a bright red glow, crackling with the same tickly magic as Rags, launching forward to firmly grasp onto one of the blonde’s feet and onto Charlie's stomach, promptly giving off intense ticklish bursts, emanating with Laughing Hand runes.          “YYyyEEEEAAHHAHAHA!!” Dazzle flailed and sun in the air trying to free themselves from the tickly magic, their face flushing as brightly as a stoplight.        “Heheh, sounds like a good plan to me~!” Zeppy smiled wide at the sight of the blonde getting their comeuppance.

         On the way to the big top, another Carnie stepped out of the shadows of the tent to join the fray. He was black-and-white monochrome, with striped stockings and sleeves, tattered grey pants, piercing ice-blue eyes, large feather protrusions on his shoulders, and a cone-shaped striped nose. Nonstop, off-kilter, stereotypical-creepy-clown chuckling bubbled up from his chest as he waved slowly in your direction. Something about his laughter was almost as contagious as Ragdoll’s, making giggles bubble up in your chest in spite of your predicament.          "DON'T listen to him!!" Pogo covered your ears. “GET BACK IN YOUR BOX, JACK!” she yelled at the monochrome clown, flipping him off.

         Once you were all close to the tent entrance, Roscoe hurriedly ushered everyone inside. He gave you a wink… And then vanished right before your pursuers ran in after you.

        The tent was half the size of a football stadium, with a thirty-foot arched ceiling. It was very dark, with little more than strings of lights illuminating the inner framing - a bit like the supermassive tent enclosing the amusement park. Pogo put you down to allow you to duck and weave your way through the bleachers in an attempt to throw off your pursuers. "To the stage!!" Pogo called out to the others. "We'll have some room to stretch our legs and show 'em who's boss!!"          But, when you all started getting closer to the stage, the lights all powered on, and “Entry of the Gladiators” started blasting at full volume, making all of you jump and exclaim.

         Standing center stage, illuminated by spotlights, was Ragaeli. He'd traded out his half-jester garb for a flashy Ringleader suit, holding a striped scepter tipped with a glowing red orb. He struck a dramatic pose, top hat tilted forward to hide all but his wide smile.          Even your hostile pursuers stopped in place and blinked in confusion. "Who the hell–"

          Rags enthusiastically tossed his top hat into the air, pointing his scepter at it and sending forth a bolt of magic to make it explode into red confetti. He then banged the scepter on the stage floor; more lightning-bursts of magic leapt outward, targeting the three clowns attacking you. One bolt snuck inside the air-tight rims of Dazzle's inflated jumpsuit, lighting it up like a plasma ball and making them scream and burst into frantic cackling, collapsing onto a nearby bleacher. Another bolt split off and slipped into Charlie's gigantic shoes, making them let loose a surprised bellow, staggering and sitting down before they collapsed, kicking their legs and letting out loud guffaws. The last bolt struck the black-and-white clown square in the belly, slithering up to his armpits, making his already contagious laughter even louder and more hysterical, doubling over and rolling on the floor.

        "Holy..." Zeppy muttered, all of them watching dumbfounded.          “PFfff–!!” Pogo snorted and covered her mouth, smiling wide at the sight of the other three being reduced to laughing disasters.

        Rags' attention soon turned toward the rest of the group. "Weeeell now, I'd say that's a fine way to kick off our spec-tickle of the evening~!" His voice boomed out, as if amplified by a mic. "Looks like we got quite the assortment of silly lil' guys tonight! Let's have a little fun clowning around~! Making our lovely audience laugh is all well and good, but how ‘bout we get all of you laughing~?" He grinned evilly as he eyed everyone over, pointing his scepter into the air, creating huge projections of the Laughing Hand.        Mortimer came up to hide behind you. “Is he with you…?” They whispered.        “He uh... H-He means the other guys, right?” Beebee laughed nervously.        “Yes, he is with me, and… No, he doesn’t.” You felt an impish grin cross your face. “You guys should definitely make a run for it, he’s all talk and will never catch you.”        Beebee and Zeppy immediately bought into your blatant lie. Beebee turned heel and tried to football-charge towards the tent entrance again, and Zeppy bounced in the opposite direction.        A wide-eyed, gleeful smile crossed the Nightmare’s face; his chase instincts kicked in the moment the other clowns started making a run for it. With a maniacal cackle, he leapt into the air and started teleporting around to his various targets.          First, he poofed over to tackle Beebee to the ground, his large hands squishing the clown’s huge stomach and skittering his claws up under his shirt. The clown squawked and burst into belly-laughter and whines. He didn’t even try to push the Nightmare’s arms away, instead just covering his face. “GAHH-HHAHAHAHA P-PLEHEHEHEASE N-NUUUHAHAHA!”          The stage spotlights shone over the two of them, and Rags’ voice boomed out again. “Lookit this big ol’ lug!! The body of a pro wrestler, the laugh of a teddy bear! He’s a real keeper~!!” The comments just made the ‘poor’ clown blush brighter.          Zeppy and Pogo couldn’t help but spin around to watch, and Charlie took a seat on one of the barrels on stage, legs jutting out. Before they could get too comfortable though, Rags’ head spun around 180 degrees, locking on Pogo. “AW CRAP-!” She gasped and bounded into the air, scrambling across stage - tripping over one of her own feet. “YEEK-!!”          He swiftly teleported over to her, the spotlight following again, snapping his fingers and hoisting her into the air with his magic, her shoes popping off to show off her huge feet. He whistled. “WHOO, these dogs are barking!! They’re almost as hefty as my big ol’ stompers~! And talk about good nail polish game~!”           The tall clown blushed from the callout, wild giggles bubbling up uncontrollably. “Nyeehehehee ohh s-stop, you charmer you~!” She instantly squealed and started kicking in delight when the “ringmaster”’s nails went to work scritching and raking up and down her soles and under her toes. “GYEEE-HEEHEEHEEE!! AAH-HAHAHAHA!!”

         He continued this ‘performance’, zipping around to Charlie next, immobilizing them, targeting the weak spots that he… no, that Roscoe, had seen get exploited by Pogo, rendering the house-sized clown a bellowing mess, crumpled on the stage. His own shoes were also gone soon, and Rags placed himself next to one, gawking upwards. “Daaaamn, now THAT’S a pair of shit-kickers!!” He sent tickly zaps all through the giant clown’s soles; most everyone had to cover their ears from the force of his guffaws. Even Zeppy had joined in the fun by now, running over and shouting encouragement and playful taunts. “YEA, YOU SHOW ‘EM!! You really oughta laugh more, ya oversized asparagus!!”          You glanced over at Mortimer, who was watching the commotion with a small amused grin; and a noticeable blush across their cheeks. “Heh… This friend of yours is pretty fun… What is he…? Some kind of real-life tickle monster?”          “Exactly,” you smiled a little mischievously, sneaking your hands down to squeeze the melancholy clown’s hips and belly. They gasped and clamped their arms around their midsection, instantly trying to choke back deep chuckling. “M-MMfff-hmhmh heheheyyy!!” They laid their head down against your shoulder to hide their face, squirming back and forth.          You didn’t see Dazzle, who up until now had kept themselves hidden from the tickle-fest, floating up behind you. You just noticed the sound of a fizzling bomb fuse… before Rags re-appeared above you and tackled the blonde out of the air. “YEEEE-!!”         “Maaan, this one just can’t let grudges GO, can they??” Rags shouted out to his ‘audience’. “Guess I gotta show ‘em the fun way that we’re only here for some laughs~” His cracked his knuckles.          Dazzle’s eyes went wide as saucers, and for once, the cocky little gremlin’s expression shifted to nervousness. “H-Heheheh hey now!! I-I was just kiddin’ around! I won’t mess with ‘em anymore, promise!!”          Rags just smirked smugly. His hair tendrils leapt out and grabbed the elastic rims of the blonde’s sleeves, pant legs, and jumpsuit underneath their neck ruffles. “WhoawhOAWHOA DON’T DO THAT–” All of the air rushed out, leaving the clown in a deflated silk bag, showing their pear-shaped body underneath. The Nightmare instantly went in for the kill, tickling in rapid-fire pokes and fluttering his fingers into their hips and knees. “YIIEEEAAHAHAHAHA NONONONOOOAA-HAHAHAHA!!” They flailed, shoved at Rags’ arms, and tried in vain to shuffle into their baggy sleeve for one of their bombs.          Mortimer clambered up onto the stage, scooting closer. “Heh, wow…you’re actually pretty cute when you’re not acting like a rabid squirrel~” They poked and squeezed experimentally against Dazzle’s hip and sides, causing the flustered, pissy blonde to shriek more and whine. All the while, the other clowns cheered and threw out playful taunts. Jack’s consistent unending giggles just added to the unbridled silliness of the situation, making everyone, even Charlie, laugh right along with each other.            “And YOU...!” Rags snapped his attention over to the monochrome clown, gliding over to him. “You remind me of someone I don’t like,” he seethed, lips upturning into a sneer. “Let’s hope it’s a coincidence, yeah?” He cracked the knuckles on his hair-hands, rolling up his sleeves.           Jack gulped back a lump in his throat, his unhinged giggles turning nervous. “Nnhhehehehe...” He put up his hands defensively and tried to hastily step back... but he was hoisted into the air, the Nightmare blowing a huge loud raspberry on his belly. “GYYEEEAAHAHAHAHAHA!!” He thrashed about, smacking and shoving at Rags with his large clawed hands, a faint blush appearing in his ghost-white cheeks.          After his first round of tickle-attacks, Ragaeli backflipped onto the stage. “And now, ladies and blokes and nonbinary folks!! With our warm-up round out of the way, let’s really bring the house down!! Let’s give a performance that the Court Jester himself won’t be able to ignore~!!” He smirked, outstretching his arms and growing to his full height. Everyone exclaimed and gawked up at him; even Charlie seemed nervous that there was someone actually taller than him. He gave a wave of his hands, and more corny carnival music started to kick in, the spotlights going wild as he let his magic loose on everyone. Including you. You and all seven clowns were soon suspended in the air, shrieking with excited laughter and guffaws and cusses.          The Nightmare visibly shuddered at the bombardment of laughter, licking his lips, his aura glowing bright and crackling. His own laughter became more unhinged. “C’MONNNN OL’ JINGLE BELLS!! YOU TOO NERVOUS TO FACE ME YOURSELF?!” he bellowed, cackling. With another snap of his fingers, three more figures joined the fray: Roscoe re-emerged in the air, giving a villainous guffaw before gunning it over to Jack and Beebee, attacking with shapeshifted hands… And this time, two other clowns phased into view.          In a flurry of colorful lights, a bottom-heavy clown clad in a purple jumpsuit with a curly sunset-tinted afro and opalescent rainbow eyes glided around to Zeppy and Mortimer, setting off colorful bursts targeting their most ticklish spots. “Lovely to meet ya, darlin~!” They greeted in a heavy Jersey accent.          The other clown spun into the tent like a tornado. This redheaded, ghost-white clown was top-heavy, wearing a jumpsuit with clashing colors and arcade-floor patterns…And roller skates? They gave goofy cackling and skated in circles around Dazzle, Pogo and Charlie, disorienting them and tickling them unpredictably.          “Introduciiiiing Roscoe the Rabblerouser, and our two rambunctious buddies; Willie, Nillie, Topsy-Turvy, the legendary lads straight from the Surreal Realm!!”          Fanfare played and confetti rained down as the three took a playful bow. You took notice that these two others had the same red glow as Roscoe… the same glow as Rags.          These added allies made swift work of drawing out more laughter, making the Nightmare more charged up, an expression similar to his sadistic mania back in the laboratory starting to creep onto his face.          Raaaags, don’t you get carried away again!! You tried shouting to him in your mind. We need to make sure the Jester-          “ –Doesn’t see us as a threat?” He finished your thought out loud before bursting into mad laughter. “I AM A THREAT!! And if he wants to STOP me, he’d better make it snappy!! You’d better believe I’m giving him my all, baby!!”          But he didn’t keep up the onslaught for too long. He brought everyone together in the center of the stage, plopping you all down in a circle. Willie, Nillie and Roscoe all took one last bow before vanishing. Rags took a deep breath, putting his palm to his face, still giggling wildly. “Hehhheheh, sorry, sorry, gettin’ a little carried away~! You’re the performers here, so how ‘bout you entertain each other~?”          After everyone had caught their breath, they all exchanged glances and playful smiles. It seemed they had all but forgotten their original quarrel. They leapt at each other, fingers flying, honks and cartoony sound-effects occasionally interrupting their goofy laughter and squeals. Not a single torso or oversized foot was spared.          At one point, you found yourself pinned by Dazzle, the one who had disliked you the most. And then, Charlie loomed over both of you, planting his arms and legs on all sides of you. You swallowed hard and shrunk down at the sight. “H-Heyyy, guys…” You smiled nervously.          The blonde’s big playful buck-toothed smile was a far cry different than the malicious sneer that had stayed plastered on their face the whole time they’d chased you. “Okaaay, maybe I don’t wanna see ya blasted to smithereens anymore… But you’d better explode with laughter for me!!” They cracked their knuckles and plunged their hands into your armpits, tickling expertly with their small hands, responding to your laughter with gremlin snickering. “Coochiecoochiecoochieee-heehee~!!” They got a playful twinkle in their eye. “How ‘bout I give ya the ol’ razzle-Dazzle~” They took a comically huge breath, quickly lifted your shirt, and blew a raspberry into your navel.              “A-AAHHH-Hahahaha!!” You exclaimed in delight, pushing at their soft hair and shoulders, blushing and giggling and wriggling back and forth.          Finally, once everyone had exhausted themselves, Rags gave a wave of his hand, playing finale fanfare, confetti and glitter showering down from the ‘ceiling’. “Aaaand that’s a wrap, folks!! Thank you all for being an amazing part of this laugh-tacular performance~!!” He took a bow above all of you, laughing and shrinking down. He, much like Jack, could not stop giggling. He looked… a little cracked-out, frankly; lips twitching, foot tapping in place, and hair tendrils clawing impatiently at the air, his body glowing and sparking, over-charged with magic again.

         "Yaknow..." Zeppy glanced over to Dazzle. "Once upon a time, we were all thick as thieves. Do we really gotta keep dukin' it out?"          "It felt pretty nice, laughing together again," Beebee flashed them a warm smile.          “They’re right, you know…” Charlie petted the blonde with a finger. Jack nodded his head energetically, clapping his hands together, still communicating purely in giggles.          Dazzle huffed and looked away. "Yeah yeahh… This damn nutcase,” they gestured to Rags, “reminded me how much I missed that lettin’ loose and laughing with you guys.” Their expression softened, and they glanced over to you. “You’re pretty harmless, so I’ll let you off easy,” they stuck out their tongue.         “You’d make a pretty good Carnie~!” Pogo reached over to ruffle your hair. “You’re just as mischievous and fun-loving as the rest of us~”          “You’re uhh… p-pretty scary,” Mortimer smiled feebly up at Rags. “But… You’re still a good guy… I can tell.”

         As everyone wound down from the fun, a faint sound could be heard outside in the distance: A beautiful melody, played on what sounded like a lyre. It instantly caught your attention, making you sit up.

         The others noticed too. Beebee slowly looked over to the tent entrance. "That sounds like…"          "The Court Jester!!" Dazzle's eyes went wide. "You were trynna lead him here!" They glared up at Rags.          "If he's playing out there, then it means he wants to meet you out in the open…" Zeppy scratched his head. "For what reason though, I couldn't say."

          Looking over to Ragamuffin, you saw that he was gripping his head. “N-Nnghhh…!!” His hair calmed down, his aura stopped crackling. “Hghhh… Something about that music is… suppressing me…” He grumbled. “All this energy ‘bout to boil over like a soda-Mento explosion is… settling back down like the foam going flat…” He sulked. “Don’t tell me we got another killjoy… I WANNA go all-out with him, dammit!!” He stomped.          “You…miiight have pissed him off with that power display,” Pogo looked over to him cautiously. “I think he wants to meet you mano-a-mano.” She stood up and leaned down to help you to your feet. “You two had better stay close together.”          “You sure you still want to meet him?” Charlie spoke up, leaning down over you and Rags. “He might go easy on you, but the Order doesn’t take kindly to other powerful forces they don’t recognize…”          You sighed, nodding. “Yes. I feel like we don’t have a choice at this point. If anyone can convince him to give him answers, it’s this lunatic,” you nudged Rags.          “Heh, very well then,” Zeppy patted you on the back. “Good luck then, bucko!” He glanced over at the others. "C'mon, guys, whaddya say we go for some rounds of almond whiskey? On the house!"

         The Carnies all said their goodbyes to you, interlocking arms and holding hands and strolling out of the tent, all laughing it up together like buddies reconnecting at a school reunion.

         You followed them out of the tent, watching them go their separate ways. The music soon stopped, but Rags still looked very pent-up, fists clenching and unclenching, annoyed sneer on his face, chomping at the bit.

         “Hey, don’t worry, I bet we’ll meet him soon,” you tried to offer a smile. You decided to diffuse the tension with a question you kind of already knew the answer to. "That... Wasn't really Roscoe, was it? Or your other clown friends?”

         He shook his head, sighing and calming down. "Just a projection. I figured it'd make it more fun to see another familiar face. Plus they’d all fit right in here~ But… nah, it's pretty damn hard for other Nightmares or Surrealists to contact each other across other dimensions. Not unless they know exactly how to get there. And frankly, I don't want them comin' here. they’d be trapped, just like us."

         "Yeah, makes sense.."

         "I can feel metal-head tryin' to contact me, though. It pops up in my mind every now and then, like a bad TV signal. But… I can't signal him back." He held up a hand to show what he meant: A very hazy, staticky image of Roscoe seemingly tapping at an invisible window, looking around. One pair of his eye rings was white; an indication of his growing worry.          "Kendoll is...doing the same thing." he sighed, and the image changed to a very worried-looking Kenni, calling out into the Astral plane before the image faded in a haze. Rags frowned. He looked very pained, seeing Kenni worrying like that. "We've got to get back."

         You nodded firmly.

         "There's something powerful lingerin' around here. First time I've been able to sense something this strong since getting here. Our man of the hour must be just around the corner. I'm gonna get a better look from the top of the coaster!"

         Not even a minute after Rags blipped out of sight again, you spotted a man looking in your direction, with sharp facial features, glowing teal eyes, a high-collared leather trenchcoat, light tan pants tucked into knee-high leather boots, and a large key ring at his waist.          The same man from the TV in the research lab.

         But, as soon as you made eye contact with him, he turned away, heading behind the nearest booth.          "Hey, wait-!!" You started speedwalking in his direction, but he totally vanished in a golden flash.

         It was much quieter without all your new clown buddies around. The fun dissipated, and the eeriness of the environment started creeping back in; you felt more strongly than ever now that you were being watched, thanks to that mystery man and the ominous warning that the Carnies gave you. Soon, though, that hauntingly beautiful, upbeat melody started to permeate the silence. You started following it for a couple minutes, dancing along to the tune. You couldn't tell if it was due to curiosity or hypnotic inclination again. Maybe both.

         The music grew louder and louder, seeming to come from an invisible source out in the open, nearby a spinning teacup ride.          It suddenly stopped.

         A burst of sparkling silver light flashed in the air just ahead of you, giving off shimmering symbols of spades, diamonds, hearts and clubs. A jester-like figure lunged forth from the light, charging right toward you with his arm thrusting outward. You only had a moment to glimpse at the figure's elaborate red-and-gold outfit and silver smiling mask before you realized what he had in his hand: A dagger.

         "WHOA–!" You leapt out of the way just in time. "HEY!!" Your talisman lit up and gave off warning sparks.          He quickly spun around and tried to take another stab at you, aiming at your ribcage.          "AGH-!!" You dodged again and instinctively punched his arm away. "Oh COME ON I thought we were done with the whole 'everything trying to kill me'?!"          The jester responded to your exasperation with a wild, amused laugh, not unlike Ragdoll's laugh. He held out his arm to the side, and in a red flash, the dagger transformed into a scythe.          Your eyes went wide. "H-heyy, buddy, let's just talk things out," you held your hands up.          But clearly, he wasn't interested in talking. With another unhinged little giggle, he raised his scythe to take a swing at you.

         Ragaeli appeared, catching the blade of the scythe with his bare hands. "HEY, watch where you're swingin' that thing!!" He snarled.

         The jester gave out a single barking laugh. "HA!! Like a moth to a flame~" He backflipped gracefully, hovering in the air.          "Finally decided to show yourself, did ya??" Rags smirked. "About time, I was about to start lighting fireworks inside all the tents if I couldn't track you down~"

         The jester just chuckled, putting his hand on his hip. "Look at you," he gestured up and down Rags' body with his scythe, "You fancy yourself a Ringleader, do you? Taking command of my circus??" He bubbled with giddy laughter. "What a card! A rebel! A mischief-monger! A threat to the Grand Order," His voice deepened in a double-layered snarl, and two bright red orbs lit up from under the eyeholes of his mask. "Not that I care about those stuffy gods or those silly rules! But if I don't subdue you, then he certainly will~! Now, STAND DOWN!" he snarled again, brandishing his scythe in Rags' direction.

         Ragdoll snorted. "Pff- Well someone's a little bipolar," He folded his arms. "Look, it's your problem if you really think me havin' a little fun while trying to figure out all those shitty puzzles is a threat to any– OOF–!" he was suddenly jabbed in the sternum by the hilt of the jester's scythe, then swiftly knocked back by the blade, sent crashing into one of the empty prize booths, his legs flopped over the edge of the counter.

         "Rags!!" You started to run over to him.          But he burst into laughter, rolling out from behind the booth. "Hehehe!! Damn, not bad~! Pretty violent for someone who wanted to throw us a party in Wacky Wonderland, don’tcha think?”

         The jester snickered impishly. “Oh please, that wasn’t for your sake! Mr. Shiro simply needed company~" He gripped both ends of his scythe handle; it lit up with silver light and split into two, transforming into smaller sickles, which he casually started to juggle. "And I decided to confine you, keep you miscreants in your little playpen, happy and stupid and blissfully unaware! Time-out until the grown-ups come by to deal the proper punishment,” his eyes flashed red and he caught the sickles, resting them on his shoulders. “And yet you still continue to defy even the most carefully-crafted of mental traps … How fascinating! How irritating!”          “Punish him for what!?” You decided to speak up, throwing your arms up. “He might be a pranking lunatic, but he’s just trying to get us both home!! He’s not going to be a threat unless you treat him like one!!”

         The jester giggled again. "Such a simpleton! Not a threat, you say? HA!! I can taste his greed from here; his power-lust, his egoism, the laughter-hunger that gnaws at him moment after moment and can only be satiated by driving weaker beings into hysteria!" He projected images of your past experiences into the air: Rags darting around the warehouse Level to tickle-attack and mind-zap the entities, sending his immense burst of red lightning through the poolrooms’ ocean, his announcement on the megaphone, the feral madness he devolved into upon getting fueled by the gauntlet of enemies that went after you in the Lab… and almost gave into just a little while ago in the Big Top.          The Nightmare didn't even try to deny the accusations, folding his arms with a smug smirk. "Yeahhh? And what of it? What's wrong with a little laughter~? This world could do with a little makeover from yours truly~ I could make every Level a total riot for everyone!! With juuust the right touch of fear to keep 'em on their toes." He narrowed his gaze, holding out his hands to the side, his aura becoming brighter. "Are you gonna be afraid? Or are you gonna laugh for me like the giggly little bitch you are? I guess we'll find out!!" He shot off a lightning-crack of magic, filling the air with a cacophony of laughter and runic hand symbols.         The jester barely flinched, instead letting out a giddy laugh. "Such confidence!! This is going to be fun~!" He brandished his sickles, which emanated a bright silver glow. And then held out a hand towards you, snapping his fingers.

         You were instantly warped into one of the nearby teacups. "AH–!"

         "You enjoy being entertained, don't you? Then sit back, enjoy the show! You'd be wise to stay out of my way~!" He gave a flick of his finger, and the teacups detached themselves from the ride to start floating in the air, a few yards away from the ‘arena’, just in time for the battle to begin.          The Jester started by hurling one of his sickles towards Rags in an attempt to distract him and re-appear behind him, swinging the other sickle at his throat. But the Nightmare swiftly dodged both attacks. The Jester caught his weapons and in a flash of light, they turned into a scepter tipped with magically-charged silver spheres at both ends. Twirling it like a baton, he made attempts to land a strike on Rags’ legs, arms and neck, which he avoided with high jumps and backflips.          You’d never actually seen Ragaeli fight before. It was impressive. He lived up to his nickname Ragdoll, effortlessly ducking and swaying his long gangly limbs and lumbering form in a Drunken-Fist series of movements, deflecting the Jester’s arms or outright blocking the blades with his forearms and trying to land his own magically-charged palm-strikes. He countered the Jester's superb agility with his own kung-fu jumps and duck-and-roll dodges. He deflected weapon strikes by lunging his hair tendrils out, shapeshifting into sickles and scimitars. All the while, his smug smile never left his face.          Of course, the Jester was equally as skilled. His ‘attacks’ appeared more as a choreographed dance, his lithe, well-practiced acrobatics a stark contrast from Rags’ shambling movements.          After a few more moments, the Jester jumped back to survey Rags up and down. “So it’s true, you can’t be injured! Not by blade nor gun, nor flesh-rending Hound; yet a single ray of sunshine can sear your skin right off, isn’t that so? Fortunately for you I've no bottled sunlight; I'll just have to make do~!" He clapped his hands together, letting off a dazzling flash of crystalline light.          “AGH-!” Rags hissed and shielded his eyes; it was the opportunity the Jester needed to swoop in and knock him clean up into the air with the hilt of his scythe. “WHOOF- Aw come on, that was cheap!!” He stayed floating in the air, flipping off his adversary and starting to go a bit more on the offensive now, attempting to snatch the Jester up in his tendrils or tail-hand. His red sparks kept getting very close to zapping their target, but every time, they were deflected by bursts of silver card-suit symbols.          “OH, shit–!” Rags suddenly stopped in place. “TIME OUT!! I can’t forget the deal I made~!” He snapped his fingers. “Let’s show Mr. Shiro a battle he’ll never forget!” he shouted. In the near distance, a portal window appeared, looking in on the silhouetted rubberhose man. You faintly saw the man perk up in interest, not phasing through but pressing himself flat against it as if spectating through the window, wide sharp smile lighting up under his hat.          “Ohhh?” The Jester’s head slowly turned to the window. “Someone wanted to watch me quarrel? Someone betted against me? After all the effort I made to give him his own plaything?” He tsk’ed and shook his head. “How sneaky~ Very well, then, you can watch me tame this feral beast… But don’t expect to get out of it without punishment~”         Shiro shrunk back. “Eeheehhehe, y-yes sir~” he scratched behind his head. The battle soon continued.

         In the meantime, it seemed the Jester’s control over your teacups was still in effect; When he pirouetted, the cup spun faster. When he was deflected, it jolted slightly. At one point it even tilted over to ‘pour’ you into another cup. “WhooaAAA-!” You gripped the edge tightly, trying to keep a firm footing while also keeping your eye on the battle.          Their conflict started to take them around other areas of the circus, ducking and weaving above and around game booths and thrill rides. You spotted your Carnie buddies who narrowly avoided being in the path of the Jester’s dazzling magic blasts, exclaiming and dropping down to the ground.          With a flick of his wrist, the deity flung Rags into the tower of a nearby High-striker game, picking up the mallet with one hand and swinging it down onto the target with enough force to cause the ground to shake below him. The weight caught under Rags’ huge feet and sent him shooting off like a rocket into the sky, letting out a comical howling cry. The sight sent you and the Jester into a laughing fit.          But, the Nightmare swiftly teleported back down, using his huge hands to shove against his opponent’s shoulders and beeline into another nearby game: Basketball hoops. He started trying to chuck the basketballs at the Jester in rapid succession; to which he speedily dodged, or knocked away.

         It wasn't long before they both took their fight up into the skies, your teacup following them upward. Soaring far above the circus tents and rides, they allowed themselves more leg room to teleport around. Ragaeli re-summoned his scepter, sending off blast after blast of his magic, using it to block every blow of his opponent’s scythe. The Jester laughed. “Not bad! Not bad at all~! I do wish you would stop holding back, I want to see the strength you’re so proud of!! Show me the power, the mania, the hysteria that has the very fabric of our world all in a tizzy!!”          Ragaei laughed right back. “Well someone’s eager to get their ass kicked~! Or rather, laugh their ass right off~” He snapped his fingers. A bright red Laughing hand rune manifested right on top of the Jester, giving off a ticklish burst before disappearing into a chorus of incorporeal laughter.          “YYIEEEEHAHAHAHA!!” The Jester screeched and flew backwards, clamping his hands over his midsection and kicking his legs in the air. Forced to let go of his scythe, it fell and disappeared in a flash.          A wicked grin lit up Rags’ face. “Ooohohoho, you are ticklish!! That’s bad news for you~” He hastily glided closer, holding out his palms on either side of the Jester, letting off more arcs of magic that jumped right into his armpits, flurrying down his sides and even trying to sneak into his neck frills.          His hysterical shrieks just spiked louder and higher in octave and he flailed back and forth, trying to smack the large red Nightmare’s hands away. “NNNYEE-HEEE-HEHEHEHEHE!!”          Before Rags could continue, a blast of silver light forced him to exclaim and recoil, shielding his eyes again. “Would you QUIT DOING that?!” he seethed, flicking his wrist to summon and don a pair of extravagant sunglasses that matched his flashy outfit, his glowing jack-o-lantern eyes visible from behind the tinted glass. “Try me now, bitch!!”          The jester sputtered back laughter. “Cheeky bastard~!” Holding up his hand, he summoned his double-tipped staff again. He twirled it like a baton, shooting off ray-beams of magic that Rags narrowly dodged or deflected with his trident-like tail.          Though your orbit around the two deities stayed fairly steady, you discovered that you could, to some extent, control the direction of your teacup by pushing forward on the edges. You used this to your advantage in order to duck flying sparks and shimmering card symbols. Not that you’d mind getting hit by Rags’ magic. But you didn’t know what the other one’s magic was capable of.

         “Are you the one keeping us here??” Rags eventually shouted over to his opponent. “Are YOU the one blocking everything from my senses?!”          Another giddy laugh. “Tis not I obstructing your path! I’m infinitely entertained by your shambling about!!” He did a few graceful loop-de-loops and aerial cartwheels to continue avoiding Rags’ grabby hands and stretchy hair. "Our world - the 'Backrooms,' ” he air-quoted, “as you plebeians call it - collectively felt your presence, and acted upon it! You're already intruding upon a universe that you don't belong to; Why would they show a gluttonous maniac the paths that could lead to unlocking the very fabric of our dimension??”          Rags snorted. “We told ya, that’s NOT what I’m here for!! Keep talkin’ like that, though, and you might just tempt me~!”

         “Ah, yes, you’re attached at the hip to THIS one,” the Jester scoffed and gestured over to you. “A fruitless quest to return the lost little lamb back to the pasture!!” he cackled. “What a waste of time!” He thrusted his hand out towards you; you were thrown from the teacup right towards a nearby carousel, and had to reach out to grab the pole of a seahorse, crash-landing into the saddle. It made a couple rotations before the animals totally detached from the base, soaring into the air, bouncing up and down as if still attached to the ride. “If one of us were to give answers freely,” the Jester continued, “Then there is no reason to guide them along!! Our dimension may be acting against you, but they’ve still made it this far! The Powers that Be have deemed them a worthy competitor!”          Ragman’s eyes seemed to light up at this tidbit, taking pause for a moment. “Wait– So if one of you tells someone where to go, they aren't gonna get targeted or erased??”          The Jester gave a nod. “Not by us, at least! What need is there for us to quell some rowdy little invasive species when Natural Selection will do the job for us~?”          Rags just seemed to light up all the more; a giddy expression on his face as if he’d been given the answer to a prize-winning trivia question. “Heheheh, thanks, I’ll keep that in mind~!”

         “Howeeverrr, this cheap little trick of yours might make them angry!” The Jester summoned his scepter again, jolting it upwards horizontally to reveal the red tether connecting you to him. His scepter then promptly changed into a scythe… And he effortlessly cut the tether in half, making it fade.          Rags gasped and snarled. “HEY!! Don’t be messing with that!!” He teleported to you and remade his tether to connect to your waist, before spinning around and sneering at the jester, gaze narrowed.          The deity just laughed in amusement. “I won’t, I won’t!! I’m merely saying to exercise caution~ A Wanderer connected to a wanted criminal is just as guilty in the eyes of the Order!”          The two of them continued trying to pull out new tricks to catch each other off-guard. Rags’ stretchy hair tendrils soon started lashing about like whips, shooting off lightning-bursts with every whip-crack. “Hehehe, it’s the Ringmaster’s job to tame the feral beasts, isn’t it~?”          The Jester laughed and summoned up a multitude of juggling balls, nonchalantly juggling them about while dodging the Nightmare’s hair-whips, starting to chuck them in Rags’ direction. “A Ringmaster and his clown lackeys entertain a tent full of commoners~! A Jester’s reach extends to the Royal Court and beyond!! Shaping the very ideals of society!!” With that, the balls started to explode in a flurry of silver fireworks, launching projectile card symbols right at the Nightmare. He tried to deflect them, but they phased through his arms and burst against his body. He yelped loudly; but clearly, they didn’t injure him, as he burst into giggles and recoiled from the feeling. “NNGHH-HEEHEE!!”          The confrontation began to shift more and more into an aerial performance. The Jester and the Nightmare soared around, letting off intense bursts of red and silver magic, like the burst of a sonic-boom created by fighter jets. They both showed off their flexibility and acrobatics, practically dancing with each other and complimenting each other’s movements. The less restraint they started to have with their magic, the more difficult it became for you to keep dodging the projectiles and shockwaves; at the very least, your seahorse was easier to steer than the teacup. You duck-and-weaved, trying to stay away from the ‘battlefield’ but still trying to get close enough to take in the spectacle. Until, finally, your seahorse was zapped from below, catching you off-guard and making you shriek with laughter, the ticklish zap coursing through you and making you shudder. “NAAAHAHAHA SHIIIHIHIITT!!” You clung onto the pole for dear life, the seahorse nearly turning upside-down.          The Jester stopped momentarily to literally point and laugh, before brushing you off with a wave of his hand and turning his attention back to his target.          You narrowed your gaze. “Alright, asshole…” As cool as it was to witness two gods duking it out, you didn't want to just sit by and watch… especially not with a deity that seemed to view you as little more than a pest. You wanted to keep helping Ragman however you could; the least you could do was create a diversion. More than that, though... You wanted to be a bit of a brat.

       You flew your way toward the booth with the crossbow game, snatching up one of the crossbows loaded with large plunger darts. Was firing a projectile at an unhinged, insanely-strong god a terrible idea? Yes. Were you going to do it anyways? Absolutely.        Rags seemed to pick up on your scheming, flashing a smirk in your direction and doing his best to keep the Jester distracted. You waited for the right moment for the Jester to have his back turned to you before taking aim…          FOOMP. The plunger dart stuck to the back of his hat. Rags snorted and instantly doubled over cackling. The Jester slowly turned his head toward you…        Then beelined right up to you, stopping on a dime inches from your face, letting off a shockwave and a loud droning like a Sci-Fi ship leaving hyperspace.

         You shrieked and nearly fell backwards off of your seahorse, managing to grab the pole at the last moment.          The Jester slowly tilted his head to the side. "Gutsy one, aren't you~?"  He reached down to one of his pockets, presumably to pull out a weapon.          You swallowed hard. “C-C’mon, I’m just playing around, like you said I’m barely a threat to you…”          Rags hunched forward, prepared to charge forward and stop him from attacking…

         But instead of a sickle or scythe, a giant peacock feather started to emerge from the silver light. It kept going, like a magician pulling out a series of scarves, circling around your body like a huge serpent. Your eyes went wide and butterflies arose in your stomach. He snapped his fingers, and the feather wrapped itself around you, starting to slither and shake and flurry. You could feel the tickly strands right through your clothes; the feeling of thousands of tiny hands prodding and tickling at your belly, each side of your ribs and sides. You squealed and thrashed and once again nearly fell off the carousel horse. “AAHH-HEEHEHEHE!!”          With a flick of his wrist, the seahorse flew away from you, leaving you suspended in the air as if gravity didn’t exist. The feather continued exploring, brushing under your jawline, swiping up against your palms, even sneaking down into the lip of your shoes. “NNnnNO-HAHAHA!! P-Pleehehehease!!” You whined and laughed and blushed brightly, not expecting this turn in the deity’s attitude. He simply stood in the air and observed you, arms folded behind his back.          And Rags, just like he’d done back in other Levels, also sat back and watched, crossing one leg over the other like he was on a sofa, seeming to appreciate the pause in their confrontation.          Finally, the Jester giggled. “I can see now why this one amuses you so~ Ticklishness isn’t usually a weakness that Wanderers embrace so readily. You’re not even trying to get away!” He added his own hands to the mix, flurrying his fingertips up and down your sides skillfully. “Tickle-tickle, giggle-giggle!! Laughter is such a lovely melody~” He cooed. You could hear the smile in his voice, matching the appearance of his mask’s permanent grin. Good to see that the egotistical bastard had a soft side. Even if it was totally flustering you.          You saw Ragman leave your field of view, soon looming over you from behind. “I knowww, riiiight~?” He giggled slyly. You felt his fingertips press against the worst spots on your torso. Before you could protest, an intense jolt of ticklishness suddenly coursed through you and you practically screamed. “Earthlings can handle more than you think~ They ain’t weak, they’re resilient. Fun-loving, thrill-seeking, risk-taking!” He narrowed his gaze. “They could prolly handle more tickle-torment than you could, in any case~”           The Jester was barely fazed by the taunt, snickering and shaking his head. "Resilient, you say? Your little pet here has fallen prey to every single lure they've come across! The Manager of the grand hotel, the Siren of the pools, the suffocating mania of the playrooms… You gave in with hardly a fight!" He laughed and gave you a flick on the nose. "You're a shameless, greedy little thing, walking into the jaws of danger with open arms if only to satiate your desire for excitement and attention! If the Order hadn’t deemed you worthy enough to progress through Levels of your own merit, then this brute’s protection would be the only reason you’ve got any wits left about you!” He laughed in snide amusement.

         You were about to smile coyly and make a playful remark…But his last comment stung a bit. You frowned and looked away.          Rags scoffed back. “What, you’re trynna kinkshame now?” He stood in the air behind you, putting his hands on his hips to loom over the Jester. “I’ve got news for you, Jingle-Bitch, I’m letting them face danger head-on! Just ‘cause they get a thrill out of it doesn’t mean they’re irresponsible or dumb!” He tried lashing out at the Jester with his grabby hair tendrils.           The deity quickly backflipped away, summoning up a golden lyre. "Well then, if you're so insistent on giving in to your base impulses, then do me the honors of letting me play for you both~ You clearly don't have the self-discipline needed to deny me~!"          “Stop looking down on me,” you growled, glowering up at him.

         The moment he began to play, the beautiful melody started to wash over you. It calmed your senses, relaxed your body. And soon, he chimed in with an astoundingly pleasant, operatic singing voice.

🎶“Awake ocean born

Behold this force Bring the outside in Explore the self to epiphany..”🎶 …Nightwish? How did he know Nightwish?? 

🎶“The very core of life Is soaring higher of truth and light!”🎶

         He pirouetted up higher into the air, giving off his dazzling bursts of spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs, silver light emanating from his lyre, forming into musical scales that snaked their way through the skies, the notes jumping right off of the lines.

🎶 “The music of this awe,

Deep silence between the notes,

Deafens me with endless love…

This vagrant island Earth,

A pilgrim shining bright,

We are shuddering

Before the beautiful

Before the plentiful

We're the voyagers!” 🎶

          The skill, the power behind the deity’s voice and stringed instrument, caused tears to well up in your eyes. Did… Did he know about Earth? Was this a proclamation of how he actually felt about you seemingly lowly Wanderers? Was he just using this song against you to try and win your favor? It was becoming more and more difficult to try and make sense of anything…          Even Ragaeli seemed affected. He’d tried covering his ears, whacking at any of the card suits or musical notes with his hair tendrils or sending sparks of magic after them, his hair visibly fluffing up. “NNNghhhh… Fuckin hell… givin’ Featherbutt a run for his money with those snake-charmer pipes…” He tried to rocket himself over to the Jester, quickly being repelled by the silver musical scales which acted as a shield. “It’s NOT gonna work!!” he shouted to the deity, who simply continued dancing about in the air as he played and sang. “They have no problem fighting it off when they actually TRY to!!”

         You almost didn’t hear the Nightmare’s encouragement. The melody filled the skies, filled your ears and your mind, swirling around in crystal spirals and fractals.

🎶 “Tales from the seas Cathedral of greed,”

The very core of life Is soaring higher of truth and light..!”🎶

          The Jester created a projection of Earth, emanating with imagery of famous artists, musicians, scientists, as well as scenes of nature, extravagant cities, your favorite fictional media. 🎶 “The music of this awe,

Deep silence between the notes,

Deafens me with endless love…

This vagrant island Earth,

A pilgrim shining bright,

We are shuddering

Before the beautiful

Before the plentiful

We're the voyagers!” 🎶

         You even found yourself humming and dancing along, in spite of the part of your mind telling you to resist. But…Maybe this wasn’t so bad. The Jester didn’t seem so bad either. Maybe he was only making playful jabs at you, and would continue duking it out with Rags afterwards… 

         …No.

         You couldn't let yourself give in again. Not this time. You couldn't just put the responsibility on your Nightmare friend to save you again.

         You fought it, with everything you had. It felt like trying to force yourself awake from a deep sleep; trying to free your body from a strong state of sleep paralysis. You thought of other music to try and drown out the heavenly melody. Favorite rock songs, rave and EDM, stupid internet songs that were made to be distracting and annoying. You recalled other memories with friends, family, loved ones, pets and animals… Anything. Ironically, the mention of Earth in the Jester's song was enough to allow you to reminisce and distract yourself mentally.          And you had to remember why you were fighting now.

         A loud, defiant scream tore from your lungs; with a few more twists of your body you were able to free your arms from the magic bonds and cover your ears. "SHUT UUUPP!!"

         The aura around the lyre suddenly crackled and burst, giving off the sound of shattering glass. The Jester recoiled and stopped playing, frozen on the spot.  All the imagery he'd conjured quickly faded away. "You… Broke free… I’ll be damned."

         Rags chuckled. "Told ya they could do it~" He sighed in relief, his own aura glowing brighter again as the enchanting song stopped suppressing him.

         You panted for breath. "Listen… Just because I gave in those other times doesn't mean I'm weak. If someone's in a shitty situation, they're still allowed to find ways to enjoy themselves. And I know Ragamuffin is here to look after me, so I'm not going to just, let myself stay afraid!" You took a deep breath to try and keep yourself calm. “...If it were any other time, any other place, I… wouldn't mind you trying to charm me or use your magic on me…" You blushed at your confession, clearing your throat. "But we NEED to get out of here!" You glared and forced yourself to glide forward with the use of his magic. "So either you help us, or both of us are going to MAKE you talk!!" Your heart hammered in your chest. It was nerve-racking, challenging another god face-to-face. Exciting, in a way, as he had a similar manner of mischief as the Nightmare. But you knew you had to stand your ground.

         The Jester remained still, tilting his head over to the side, placing a hand to his chin. "How fascinating…" He commented quietly. Then, that sly giggle bubbled up again. "Very well, very well then! IF your garish guardian here can best me, then maybe I'll humor your request. After all, my quarrel is with him, not with you! I merely wished to see for myself that adorable face of helplessness and bliss that all the others got to witness~"

         With that, he snapped his fingers. You plummeted straight down, exclaiming sharply, being plopped down into a roller-coaster cart.          Which, much to your excitement and dread, started to climb its way up a steep, long incline. The two deities soon resumed their half-battle, half-circus-performance in the sky above you. You were forced to tear your gaze away once you’d reached the top of the incline, your stomach doing somersalts at the sight of the steep drop below. The Jester appeared behind you. “Bombs away~” He gave the cart a shove with his foot, sending you plummeting downward. An involuntary scream left your lungs, feeling as if you would fly right off of the seat.

         After the initial drop, the coaster careened and weaved around, releasing more shrieks and yelps of your excitement and adrenaline. The spectacle of the two exchanging blows above you made the coaster ride all the more exhilarating. The Jester’s shimmering bursts, and the Nightmare’s red lightning-cracks, grew more and more intense, practically filling the sky. All the while, both of them just kept laughing away like lunatics, clearly having an absolute blast.           "What fun! What entertainment!!” The Jester’s voice boomed out, as if projecting through a megaphone. “What if we could keep this up forever?!"          Rags projected his voice as well. "Sounds fun! Too bad I ain't got the time for that!" he whipped out a lasso of red magic, catching and tightening around the Jester’s waist before sending a ticklish pulse through him. He shrieked and kicked his legs again, swiftly poofing himself away, higher up above the Nightmare.          "W-Wehehell what if you did?? What if I told you there is a way to keep yourself from fading away, and have the power to traverse the infinite realms without limitations??"          "I'd say that's a load of bull!” Rags barked back.

         The deity shook his head fast. "No no, it's true!! You’re already like me, after all! Traveling through realities, toying with whoever you please! You need only to break out of your prison here and resume your games! Our world may be trying to hide answers from you, but I know how to reach the Crown, the Greatest Treasure, the Hallowed Gate… ALL of it!" He conjured up imagery that filled the sky: Beautiful images of a heavenly throne room, a monumental obsidian gate, glorious shimmering treasures. "You could rule this world, and conquer your own!!"          The images soon shifted to a vision of Ragaeli. It depicted him in a disheveled, mismatched outfit of royal robes, jester motifs, and tattered, spiked Goth-Punk accessories, and a shimmering, stained-glass crown on his head. He was constantly giving off pulses and arcs of his crackling magic like a Tesla coil, combined with small runic symbols of the Laughing Hand. He was laughing uncontrollably, holding a distorted, glitching globe in one hand - the same globe he had shown you when you first arrived in the Backrooms - and a smokey, miasmic globe that represented the Nightmare Realm in his other hand.

         For a moment, you could see that the Nightmare actually considered the offer, pausing on the spot, his eyes lighting up in glee at the image of him portrayed as a Mad God. "A way to pass through both worlds, huh...?" He scratched his chin. "Heh, sounds fun... IF it's actually true," he narrowed his gaze. "What's the catch?"          "Catch? No catch!!” The Jester gave a comedic shrug. “I'll say, though, you'd make a fine catch!! The Order would LOVE to have a pawn such as you!!"         "Aaand there it is," Rags pointed. "I'm not interested in bein' anyone’s pawn! There's no such thing as controlled chaos!! And if that vision of yours comes true, you'd know damn well they wouldn't be able to have a hold on me. With that kind of power, I'll flatten every single one of them!!" he sneered wickedly.

         The Jester quickly phased over to the Nightmare's side. "That's what I'm saying,” he whispered - still projecting his voice loud enough for you to hear. "Win their favor, get close, wreak all the havoc you want," he giggled deviously. "Don't tell 'em I told you that, though~!"          "Ooooh, I like the way you think~" Rags giggled and backflipped away. " Don’t ‘spose this Ultimate Power can help me get my buddy home and back whenever we want?”          The deity shrugged. "You certainly could! Whether or not your little Wanderer would be incinerated by the Order for fraternizing with a threat to the multiverse isn't for me to say~!"

         Rags rolled his eyes to the heavens. “Well then OBVIOUSLY I’m not gonna risk it!!” He flung a beach-ball sized energy ball up at the vision in the sky, striking it and making it evaporate.          The jester laughed incredulously. "Really?? You're giving up an offer like that, all because of ONE little mortal??"

         “What did I TELL you??” Rags huffed, using his tail-hand to shove his opponent back. “This ‘little mortal’ is WORTH fighting for!! And I don’t need this Ultimate Power of yours to make you Order-of-the-Frauds KNEEL to me!!” He cackled wickedly, body crackling with arcs of magic before growing to his full height. He tossed his tacky sunglasses aside, then whipped out a thick cord of his magic, which split off at the ends to lasso itself around the Jester's waist, ankles and wrists. With a harsh tug downward, he forced the deity into a kneeling position in mid-air.

         "AGH–!" The deity exclaimed. Glowing red orbs lit up under his mask again, and he willed his arm to move and grab the magic thread around one of his wrists, sending an intense burst of shimmering light through it and causing it to disintegrate. He staggered back up to his feet. After re-orienting himself, he threw his head back and laughed. "Very well, very well~ I'll let you continue to think you have half of a chance of escaping your fate! I hope your last moments are spent lamenting in regret!!" he snarled in a demonic tone again. He summoned up a multitude of juggling balls again; this time, though, they all transformed into sickles mid-juggle. He also summoned up a very long whip, cracking it in the air as a warning.          You had made a full rotation around the roller-coaster by now. Coming in for the landing, you saw that another empty coaster cart was parked in front of yours.          “I’ll take that~!” Giant Rags suddenly landed on it from above. He ruffled your hair playfully before giving both carts a smack, sending both of you rocketing up the incline.          When you dropped down again, the huge Nightmare stayed standing on his cart, riding it down the track like a surfboard. The Jester hovered and teleported around him in unpredictable patterns, sending sickle after sickle shooting towards him, cracking his whip near Rags’ face to try and distract him. Rags’ hair went wild, snatching at the deity like snapping vipers, while he ducked and contorted his flexible body to dodge attacks and stay balanced. He would jump clean over any loop-de-loops before landing back on the cart like a pro skater.          “How unwise of you to make yourself such a huge target~!” The jester called out. “I wonder how loudly that laughter of yours can really get??” The sickles transformed again, stretching out into similar peacock feathers as the one he’d conjured before. They started to dive after the Nightmare’s striped arms, shins, belly, wrapping up the length of his torso under his armpits.          Rags exclaimed and tried to tug them off of him, but their tickly effect took hold right away. The huge deity shrieked and burst into hearty hysterics, his hair and tail thrashing about involuntarily. “YIEEEEE-HEEHEEE-HAHAHAHAH!!” He nearly lost his balance, but regained his footing each time; until, of course, the feathers targeted his colossal feet. They slithered between his toes and snuck underneath to stroke the balls of his feet. His manic laughter pierced the air even more and he promptly fell right off, plummeting to the ground far below with an earth-rumbling THUD.          The jester didn’t relent. He poofed down to his target, starting to teleport all around him to tickle at his ears, neck, sides, knees and feet, amplifying his bright aura again in an attempt to make his tickles more effective. The Nightmare was soon a crumpled, writhing heap of laughter, sending more rumbling tremors through the ground by pounding his fists, feet and tail-hand.          You eventually made another rotation and hopped off of the coaster cart - staggering on your feet a bit - before jogging over to him, smiling cheekily at the sight. And blushing a bit. You imagined this was exactly what it was like for him to be swept up in Kenni’s feathery grasp.          “YEEE-HEEHEEE-HAAHAAAHAHHAHA!!” Ragaeli howled and squirmed, face alight with giddy excitement.          “What was that about ‘not handling tickle torment??’” The Jester giggled. “You barely even tried to keep yourself composed~! It’s true, then, you enjoy this attention just as much as your shameless little pet!! How adorable!!”          The Nightmare was fully willing to take the ‘punishment’, not even protesting or denying the accusations. Up until he was called adorable. An annoyed growl interrupted his laughter and he let out an intense red shockwave, catching the Jester unawares. The magic hit you as well, instantly making you crumple from a full-body tickle-storm. “RAAAHAHAHAHGS YOU FUCKIHIHIING…!” You trailed off, catching your breath when the shockwave wore off.          The Jester, on the other hand, didn’t bounce back as quickly. The intense blast caused him to collapse right on top of Rags’ torso, going ballistic with laughter, his body practically glitching in and out of view. “GYYYEEAAAHH-HAHAHAHAHA!!” He curled up, tried to hide his face and flailed on top of the larger entity. For the first time during the entire fight, he was rendered utterly helpless.          And Ragman absolutely relished in it. He glared down at his target with a wide, evil smile. He propped himself up with one arm, using the other hand to shock the disoriented jester with another ticklish pulse.          And another. And another.          The ‘poor’ deity was beside himself with desperate, incomprehensible laughter, kicking and rolling and going back and forth between clutching his sides and tugging at the points of his hat. The feathers wrapped around the Nightmare fell limp.          Rags let out a menacing chuckle. “What was that about accepting my challenge? You sure you don’t wanna change your mind~? I dunno though, you look pretty adorable like this~”          The Jester struggled with every fiber of his being to counter the onslaught. He shakily lifted his hand up. The next time Rags prepared a ticklish burst, something happened. Instead of being deflected, the magic stopped. Hovering in the air encircling the Jester as if it had been frozen. He thrusted his hand down upon the Nightmare’s body; the energy redirected itself into his belly.          “WHAAGH-HAHAHAHA!!” Ragaeli bucked and let out startled laughter. Panting for breath, the Jester continued to attempt this method, teleporting over to his hair tendrils’ glowing red tips. He held out his shaking hands, which started to draw out Ragaeli’s stored magic. Just as the tendrils attempted to smack him away, he once again used the Nightmare's own magic against him, redirecting it as a projectile into his side.          “NAAAA-HAHAHAHA THAHAHAT’S NOHOHO FAAHAHAIRR!!” Rags howled out, crumpling on the ground again. He snarled and ‘flicked’ his finger in the jester’s direction, which sent a magic burst through him and sent him flying back again.          The two of them had soon abandoned their prior fight, turning it into the tickle-fight of the century. Both deities, still evenly-matched, trying to get the upper-hand on each other. Tendrils wrapped around the Jester to slither their red tips over his torso and down to his feet, causing him to scream and tug and laugh wildly before teleporting away. The Jester’s magic-redirection sending two huge bursts of Rags’ magic into his behemoth soles, clapping his hands in delight at the hysterics that met his ears.          And all you could do was watch, heading to a nearby concession stand to sit on the stool and munch on another bagel. You were enthralled by the sight, cheering on Rags every time he counter-’attacked’, yelling at the Jester to GET FUCKED.          Finally, both of them grew exhausted, tapping out. Rags shrunk back down to his regular height, laying in a heap right next to the Jester with a dopey smile on his face and his tongue hanging out, both of them gasping for breath. Visible puffs of air emerged from the mouth of the Jester's mask.          “Ahh…H-haahh… How exhilarating…!” the Jester let out giddy, drunken giggles, covering his face with his forearm. You wondered, if he didn’t have a mask, whether he’d be blushing by now. “I still feel like… We could keep up this delightful game for ages to come… But if you’re… hhahh… so insistent on guiding this one in the right direction,” he gestured to you, “Then… I concede.” He staggered to his feet, giving a theatrical bow. “I’ll simply have to tell the others that I just couldn’t best you, try as I might!”          “H-Heheh…That’s what I thought~” Rags also slowly raised to his feet, slouching forward. He made his top hat re-appear just for the sake of putting it on and tilting it to the Jester, before it vanished again. “That was a total blast! Maybe if I bump into you again out in the multiverse, we can really see who can last the longest~”          The Jester chuckled. “Indeed, indeed… You’d better not forget about me this time~!”          Rags blinked. “...Wait wha–”          “And YOU!!” He spun around to face you. “The spark that shines bright in the dark! The little rebel that can somehow keep a god of chaos on a leash,” he casually plucked the air between both of you, revealing the tether momentarily, “You’re really quite impressive. Intuitive. Stubborn. Keep proving that to the Order; keep pushing their buttons! It’s about time someone riled up all these lazy sleeping lions~” He giggled, spinning on his ankles again and throwing a portal in front of him. It looked out to a building in the near distance: A hotel covered in soft blue and pink neon lights, and a sign with a sunset over the entrance.          “Rest yourselves here; regroup, re-assess your next plan. I’ve a feeling you’re reaching your journey’s end.” He bowed in an ‘after-you’ gesture.          “You think so, huh?” Rags gave the jester a grin, gently starting to push you toward the portal. “Heh, that’s the best news we’ve gotten all day. Night. Whatever!”          You peeked back at the Jester, offering a soft, genuine smile. “Thank you for helping us.”                          The deity shook his head. “No need to thank me. You may very well see me in your dreams one of these days~ I'll eagerly take you up on your request and play my songs to you all night long! I’m curious if I can make you beg for my mercy the way he can~” He wiggled his fingers at you playfully, then disappeared, the echoes of his devious, unhinged giggle starting to fade.

         Nearing the end of your journey? It's about damn time. You felt a new spark of hope, now that one of the deities of the Grand Order had been willing to cooperate. Part of you wanted to hold onto hope that others would also offer you help. But even if they wouldn't, you knew now you had the strength to take a stand against them.          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Footnotes:

Carnies: http://backrooms-wiki.wikidot.com/entity-183 , https://sta.sh/0spj7o8s969

The Court Jester: https://backrooms.fandom.com/wiki/Jester , https://sta.sh/02f0r3t6q9mi

...Every time I think I can’t make a chapter longer than the last, I prove myself wrong, lmao But hey, this is The clownfucker chapter, I just had to go all out 👍 I briefly glimpsed a creepy carnival Level when browsing the Wikis - and tbh, even if I hadn’t, I still wanted to include one. Finding a literal clown entity just sealed the deal for me.

I wanted Rags to get into at least one intense battle with an antagonist before the penultimate chapter/ Final Boss. And what better opponent than one that is very much like himself? The Court Jester was such a fun character to write!

Also I had to include cameos of my own clown OCs. One is, of course, my robo-clown Roscoe.

But the other two are new OCs that I have yet to properly introduce to y’all. Willie and Nillie, the clowns from the Surreal realm that are a representation of all the childlike thrills that people get from amusement parks!

[yanderecrazysie]

Twisted Zoo Chapter Eight

This is based on the stories of a keeper reader with the octotrio by @ashensgrotto and @merakiui .

Also @twistedcece @cenatour @ursinaw @xiaopleasecomehome @bearshideout @koebishrimpuwu @vash-yuu @help-whatdoimakemyusername @secret-potion @magmdnv @sunshine-for-serotonin @mel-star636 @silkkorchid @thatpersonuouknow @the-ace-reader @pamv11 @coffee-or-hot-cocoa @hrhqueenfox @goseew @luxthestrange @juno-of-wonderland @who-mst @despairingy-obsessed @lanxianschoenheit @ceramic-raven @sirenetheblogger @a13x15a5133p @abcdontbotherme @m0063576 @kimdourden @rammylog @starshiningsirius @im-here-for-the-fun-of-it @the-monochrome-jester @leleunderscore06 @tinymonke @lonelybluesworld @owodi @girl-nahh-two @obeythehuman @berry-efoy @ivorette @the-broken-truth and @thisisafish123 wanted to be tagged! Let me know if anyone else wants to be tagged for future chapters. If you no longer want to be tagged, please tell me! (Some of the tags might not have worked, and I’m sorry if so!)

Summary: You’re a brand new zookeeper at The Halfling Zoo- a place where half-animals live in captivity. Your job is simple- feed them and study them. Your main worry is that one of the more dangerous halflings might kill you. 

Unfortunately, that may become the least of your worries.

Next Chapter: Chapter Nine

WARNINGS: none

Note: All characters are aged up, since there will be mature themes in future parts.

Also, I can’t promise I’ll finish this. I suck at finishing stories.

—-------------------------------------------------------

“Hey, (Y/n)! What have you got there?” Ace was quick to greet you when you walked into the bird exhibit, balancing a box of donuts in one hand as you closed the door behind you.

“I brought donuts!” you said with a wide smile. Ace’s face lit up, “Oh sweet! Is there a cherry flavored one?”

“Huh?” you were surprised by the request, “I’m not entirely sure that exists… either way, I’m afraid I don’t have that flavor. I have strawberry frosted ones though.”

“I’ll take it,” Ace said, reaching greedily for the box in your hand. You walked closer to him and popped the lid open.

“There are so many flavors!” Ace gasped at the sight of the box’s contents, “Say what you want about humans, but they’re real masters at making food.”

“Yup, we’re pretty good at food,” you laughed.

Ace took a donut with pink frosting and sprinkles out of the box and studied it, “Looks kinda girly.”

“Doesn’t matter what it looks like,” you snorted, “The taste is the only thing that matters.”

Ace took a bite and chewed for a moment, savoring the flavor, before his eyes lit up with excitement, “Delicious!” He ate the rest of the donut in two bites.

“So you like cherry?” you asked.

“Cherry pie, at least,” Ace said, “In the rainforest, I lived near a village, and a kind old lady used to give cherry pies to all the halflings.”

“That’s really nice of her,” you said with a fond smile, “Was she sad to see you leave?”

“She died,” Ace said, looking away, “She was long gone by the time I left the rainforest.”

“I’m so sorry,” you said, but Ace merely shrugged.

You reached out and took one of Ace’s hands in your own, “I’ll try to bring you a cherry pie one of these days, when I get better at cooking, okay?”

Ace smiled at you, “I’d like that.” He cleared his throat, eyes looking a little watery as he suddenly spread his colorful wings and flew into his birdhouse.

You turned to Deuce’s cage and found him already watching you. 

“Want a donut?” you asked.

He gave you a reproachful look but dipped his hand into the box you offered to him anyways. He chose a simple glazed donut and put it aside for later. You had the feeling he might not be one for sweets.

Still, he looked up at you with a soft smile, a light blush, and a “thank you”. You smiled and told him, “No problem, Deuce.”

You decided to go to Trey next, even though he creeped you out a little with the way he looked at you, as though he knew everything about you with one glance. 

You found him waiting patiently for you to approach him, despite him being an owl in the middle of the day. “I’m surprised you’re not sleeping,” you told him.

“I could never sleep through your visit,” Trey said softly.

“That’s surprisingly sweet,” you replied with a smile.

“Surprisingly?” Trey asked, “Am I not allowed to be sweet?”

“No, it’s just…” you pushed aside your misgivings- it was probably rude of you to be so creeped out by a halfling that did nothing wrong. Owls always had a severe kind of look to them, that’s probably why he scared you, “Nevermind. Would you like a donut?”

Trey took one from your box and smiled at you, “Long time since sweets.”

“When was the last time you had one?” you asked.

“Used to cook. Made tarts,” he explained.

“You made tarts?” you asked, surprised, “I didn’t know halflings could cook!”

“I could,” Trey said, a proud smile sliding across his face.

“That’s amazing!” your earlier misgivings were forgotten. Your heart melted from how soft his smile was. He looked so innocently happy, thinking back to when he made tarts.

He turned his bright smile on you as he took a small bite from the donut he had selected, “I wish I could make tart for you.” 

“I’m not sure how that would work, but maybe someday we could find a way. I would really love to try one of your tarts, Trey.”

His smile widened, “There is a way.”

Suddenly, you felt as though his smile was wrong somehow, as though there was something darker behind his words. Even so, you asked, “What way is that?”

Trey lifted a finger to his lips, corners of his mouth curling upwards, “Secret.”

“Alright then,” you sighed, “Well, I’ve got to give donuts to the others. Bye Trey.”

“Goodbye, (Y/n),” he replied, watching as you walked over to the flamingo’s cage.

You stepped onto the marshland and lifted the box high, “Hey, Riddle, Cater, I have donuts!”

Cater ran forward with a loud “oooh”, but you were more surprised with Riddle’s reaction. The red-haired halfling picked up a strawberry frosted donut with all the care in the world, as though it were a precious, fragile object. He stared at it for a while, even as Cater chowed down on his chocolate donut.

“You brought these… for us?” Riddle asked, “Why?”

“I brought some for the lions, hyenas, and wolves, so I thought it would only be fair,” you said with a shrug.

Riddle continued to stare at his donut in awe until Cater teasingly wrapped an arm around his shoulders, “Riddle, you are going to eat it, right?”

Riddle’s face turned red immediately and he stuffed the donut into his mouth, tearing a large bite out of it in embarrassment. You held back a giggle and reached out a hand to pat his red hair, “It’s okay, I’m really glad you like it.”

Riddle looked up, face red as a tomato, and met your gaze. His blue eyes widened and he ducked his head, somehow turning even redder. He hurried away, still holding tightly onto his strawberry frosted donut. Cater chuckled and turned back to you.

“Thank you for the donuts. Riddle likes sweets,” he said, “Very much.”

“I didn’t know that about him,” you said, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Bring him a strawberry tart,” Cater said in a stage whisper.

“Trey said he makes tarts,” you said.

Cater’s eyes widened, “Yes, I know. Riddle and Trey were childhood friends.”

“That’s so cool!” you took a glance at Trey’s cage and was glad to see it was close enough to the flamingo’s cage that they could talk to each other.

“Yes, well,” Cater looked suddenly uncomfortable, “Riddle’s childhood was not… Well, that’s up to him to share.”

“Oh…” you frowned, looking after the retreating male with sympathy, “I’ll definitely bring him a strawberry tart soon.”

“Thank you,” Cater said, swooping over and landing a kiss on your cheek. You gasped in surprise and placed your fingers over the spot he had kissed. Cater chuckled and waved, running after Riddle and leaving you behind, standing there dumbstruck.

Finally, you managed to pull yourself together and shook your head with a laugh. All of the halflings were so different, and Cater certainly was a character.

You left the flamingo cage and headed for the peacock cage. Vil gave you a disdainful look as you approached them, but Epel and Rook drew closer with interest. 

“Hey, I’ve got donuts!” you sang out. None of them looked particularly thrilled, but they still all took one from your box.

“I’d like to get to know you all better,” you said with a friendly smile, “Is there anything I could bring you guys as a gift?”

“Moisturizer,” Vil said, turning his head as though he couldn’t stand to look at you. It kind of ticked you off, if you were being honest.

“I actually have some in my locker. I can go grab it if you want. I have lotion too.”

Vil and Rook stared at you as though you had hung the stars in the sky. Epel didn’t seem to care as much, merely munching away on his donut. You smiled at him, “You’re looking handsome as ever today, Epel.”

He choked on the donut, blush rising on his cheeks and a hesitant smile gracing his lips as he looked at you fondly, “you remembered.”

“Of course I did!” you said with a smile. Epel blushed and looked away, his feathers puffing out in embarrassment.

“Now, I’ll go get that moisturizer and lotion for you, Vil,” you said, “Do you want anything, Rook?”

“Your kindness is astounding, mademoiselle,” Rook said, fluttering his eyelids as a smile swept across his face, “But I will be happy with moisturizer as well.”

Less than ten minutes later, you were sitting with Rook and Vil, all of your skin care products spread between you all. Vil looked like Christmas had come early.

“Thank you,” he said, genuine to the core. It was the first time you had truly seen him smile- he was truly beautiful with one.

Rook looked on happily, pleased to see the both of you happy. It was a peaceful scene.

If only it could stay that way forever.

[raitrolling]

now that Cloud finished Jamie's 12th Perigee Ball art, I will show off my concept art as well :]

i actually designed his well before I did Velour's outfit, and decided later on that I wanted them to match because. I couldn't think of unique ideas for Vel lMAO

some notes under the cut:

The cape is for photo opportunities only, and is removable via hidden snap buttons, meaning that if anyone tried to grab it, it would just pop right off

While Velour would normally design outfits with heels in mind, he deliberately went for something that would be flat shoe friendly to account for Jamie's crutches + balance

The glasses were designed to resemble a mask because it's a bit difficult to wear one when you need glasses to. yknow. see, with chains decorated with teardrop-shaped rubies to resemble drops of blood for the vampire theme. I also went with this design because I don't like designing masks LMAO (hence why Velour is wearing facepaint / glamour as well)

The waistcoat is shaped like bat wings, as is the giant collar on the cape

I gave Cloud ten different palette ideas for the outfit, including a couple that went with a brighter / more clowny palette (like purple/gold and orange/yellow), but we decided on the teal-blue as it made sense that Jamie would want to show off his moirail's colours. The gradient inside the jacket and the cape also fades to a true teal for Jikiro, and the cape collar has dark blue for Jamie himself

Also, the coat has an asymmetric design that is balanced out by the cape! Originally I was going to make the pants and coat sleeves asymmetrical as well, but that didn't really work out how I wanted it to so I scrapped it

I also attempted to design two-tone wingtip jester shoes. That also did not work out either, as you may expect when you read the phrase 'two-tone wingtip jester shoes'

[mareastrorum]

The Fool and the Soldier: Chapter Commentary

Chapter 1: Death & _______

On off weeks, I’ll be posting some commentary on the prior week’s chapter. Since this is a longfic, I expect that it will be helpful for keeping track of stuff, plus I might mention something you missed. Of course, this will include spoilers, so continue with that in mind.

These aren’t meant to be comprehensive! There is so much more going on that I’m not saying. Feel free to ask questions too, either in replies or asks. If it’s too spoilery, I’ll let you know. I’ll add them to the body at the bottom as I receive them.

See the directory for other meta posts.

Chapter 1

Oh boy, there is so much meta purpose to this chapter. It’s an introduction to many elements of the writing itself (story structure, plot structure, types of scenes, switching POV, formatting purposes, etc.) and also has to set the narrative foundation as to why Molly survived the ambush on Glory Run Road.

I’ll say flat out: I am laying out a lot of clues throughout the story so the reader has the chance to figure out key plot points before they happen. I enjoy a good mystery, and that’s part of what I wanted to provide here. There are reasons for every scene. I’m adding symbolism, motifs, themes, and even specific words in certain points to clue the reader that something’s up. It might take a while to recognize the Pattern, but it’s there.

Chapter Title: Death & _______

The chapter title comes from one of the oracle cards that Molly had in his deck at the time that he died in canon. The side opposite from Death had been empty. It wasn’t until Episode 98 that Jester added Dawn to the card.

The reason I picked that particular card for this chapter was the juxtaposition of lots of death (all slavers) and the fact that Molly lived. There’s this blank for his future when he was supposed to die, and now he gets to fill it with something!

As you may have guessed, there’s a reason for the story title, but that will be discussed later. :)

Opening Scene & Bounty

There is so much plot stuff in these two scenes that I can’t point out much of anything without spoiling. But, as will be the case in many, many scenes, the dates are relevant.

The Ambush

Molly has a +0 to Performance. He is totally average at presentations. Would he admit that? Absolutely not, he’s an arrogant little shit.

In canon, Lorenzo’s killing blow had been twisting the glaive to fuck Molly up, so here, he instead withdrew the glaive and took the gamble whether Molly would live. The Periapt of Wound Closure was what guaranteed Molly’s survival at that point.

Glory Run Road

Some of the dialogue was lifted straight from the transcript because it will be significant to the story later on. I didn’t want to skip such a foundational scene even if part of it was unchanged.

I chose Nott’s POV for this because she was the one who was ambivalent: she wanted to rescue the Nein AND wanted to give up out of fear. Now that the stakes were higher, she gave a lot of insight to both perspectives.

There’s also the aspect that, in canon, Nott had plenty of gold to pay for help at the Sour Nest, but she never volunteered it. She’s still greedy! She still has priorities! And now with the possibility that Molly survived, that gives Caleb (who is more ruthless than the others) reason to try seeking out the Tombtakers in Shadycreek Run since Cree mentioned that is where they started.

Shadycreek Run

This was the first scene I wrote for chapter 1, way back in early November 2022. The way the scene plays out is mostly the same, but the dialogue shifted a bit over time, and I added more to the introduction.

The song is “The Rising of the Moon,” which is an Irish war ballad about the Irish Rebellion of 1798. I’m not a historian, so no summary I can write would do justice to the significance of the rebellion itself, but I highly recommend reading about it. However, the song is about a guerrilla army waiting for a signal to launch an attack against invaders. Since Lucien’s accent in the stream was Irish, and Shadycreek Run was a town to the north of an Empire that repeatedly attempted to subjugate the place, I felt this was the type of song that would be popular in the Run. The phrase “rising of the moon” is used in Irish poetry to refer to rebellion.

Shadycreek Run is going to feature a lot in this story, in ways the reader might not expect. A lot of stuff is going to haunt the narrative.

As awkward as Caleb is early in the campaign, in this partial party full of low-charisma folk, he is the face. A meeting with him and Otis was so fun to come up with. Otis also gives a lot of important exposition that is going to come back later.

Dream: Goldie

“Do you love an apple?” is an Irish folk song from the late 1800s. The original lyric was “Do you love a laddie with curly brown hair?” but I changed that to “bonnie long” to maintain the rhythm and make it more apt to Shadycreek, which doesn’t have a specific racial or ethnic foundation. The town was founded after the corruption of the Savalirwood, and only about half are human, so I don’t think there would be a stereotypical phenotype, even if it has a distinct culture.

This was the first dream that I drafted. Dreams are going to be a big thing in this fanfic, so the primary meta purpose was to acclimate the reader to what those dreams will be like. First, there’s a different dinkus (which is a real term, I swear) to start off this scene, ⁂: an asterism instead of a set of three asterisks (* * *). Second, there’s suddenly a poem/song, not as dialogue, but still perceived by the narrator. Third, it is Molly’s POV, but very definitely Not Molly in the scene. The fun question is whether all three of those will always happen in each dream. There are a few other things that happen in this dream that will be common among other dreams, but those patterns will emerge over time.

It should be pretty obvious to anyone with a cursory familiarity with Campaign 2, but this dream is the first time that Cree and Lucien met as children in Shadycreek Run. It gives a sneak peak to the backstory that I developed for Lucien in this AU (which will be its own meta post down the line). Notably, child Lucien speaks another language (Irish/Gaeilge) and his accent is visibly thick—something that will come up a few times later on. Since I can’t make the reader hear his way of speaking, I made it visible.

There’s a few points in this dream that will come up again either as themes or motifs. It will be worth revisiting later.

Molly and Lorenzo

This scene was originally much shorter, featured Wohn instead of Lorenzo, and didn’t end quite as viciously. The first point of this scene was to make clear that the prior scene was a dream. Secondly, I realized that without killing Molly, that lessened the impact of Lorenzo’s villainy, and in turn, that lessens the tension, disdain, and catharsis. So I switched it to Lorenzo and made him worse. Third, I needed to dive in a bit into Molly’s perspective of the situation because fight scenes are terrible vehicles for that, and there won’t be another scene in Molly’s POV this chapter.

What did Molly focus on? His situation is pretty fucked, but once he collected his thoughts and realized where he was, his first thoughts were of the others and what he could do to help them. That said, he doesn’t have anything that could break him out, but the others do. Note that he thinks everyone was captured because he was captured—he definitely wouldn’t get caught all by himself, nuh uh!

This second scene also gives more insight into Molly’s way of thinking. He does not like carrying blame or guilt, so his default cope is revisionist: that couldn’t have been what he did/said/thought, that’d be ridiculous. But he can’t just undo a thought that already happened, so visually, we see him cross it out and rationalize it away. I thought this was a fun way of demonstrating Molly’s inclination for denial as a coping mechanism (“I’m not panicking” from the first meeting with Cree; drinking and having a silent breakdown in Alfield after his first Rite of the Dawn). Not every character’s quirks are dealt with through formatting (compare to Nott, who copes via projection, drinking in excess, etc.), but since Molly is going to feature heavily, even when he’s not the main character of a particular arc, it seemed appropriate to add a unique visual to his POV scenes.

Another thing I wanted to highlight is that while Molly likes having a battle plan, he’s not the best strategist. His conclusions that they could have gotten the Shepherds to surrender and that the Nein could fight their way out of a dungeon after all getting beat to hell are both rather delusional. While he would probably realize that on his own, he’s also concussed and lacks enough information to realize that, so the point is to show that he’s inclined towards optimism/arrogance: the best result would be that they worked together to break out, so here’s how it could work even though he doesn’t have a reason to think there are enough factors in their favor. “That’s where Caleb would come in. He’d figure it out.” That keeps the despair of helplessness at bay, but it also provides a wholly irrational justification for taking Lorenzo’s attention off of Yasha and the others. The reality is that there’s no reason to think doing this would actually help the Nein outside of that narrow circumstance, but thinking that way would be cynical (read: realistic) and would imply that Molly can’t do anything to change the situation, so he never even goes down that line of thinking.

And that results in Molly being sacrificial with good intentions, with a strange flavor of selfishness mixed in. He’d rather get beaten to shit than feel helpless, which ends up backfiring because Lorenzo catches on to how much that would hurt someone else: Yasha. This provides fuel for an arc that we never really got to explore with Molly because he died. Yes, he was courageously willing to sacrifice of himself to help others, but going that far had a profoundly negative effect on the rest of the Nein, especially Yasha. (She wasn’t that quiet/timid until she blamed herself for his death.) It also turns out that him dying was very much a bad thing in canon because then Lucien came back rather easily and began doing the Somnovem’s bidding unhindered. This time, we get to explore both!

Monster Baiting

Caleb’s intro scene is a microcosm of his current place in his character arc. It doesn’t feature him doing all that much because I wanted to match his self-perception that he feels like he’s just stumbling around in the dark while everyone else is pulling him along. He has a far off goal, isn’t sure how he’s going to get there, has people to help him and whom he wants to help, and he’s making dubious allies along the way. What keeps him from spiraling into unproductive naval-gazing is that he has to keep moving for someone else’s sake; he hasn’t yet built the resolve to pursue his own goals except incidentally.

All that said, he’s still haunted by his past. It’s easy for him to slip into dark and judgmental thoughts, especially of people he doesn’t know. Thus, he has constant doubts about Otis even though Otis is clearly loyal enough to Lucien to be willing to work with strangers and risk their own life without any actual proof that Lucien will be at the Sour Nest. That sort of loyalty is dangerously close to what Caleb was like as a Scourger. He does not like it.

In the end, Caleb’s still willing to sacrifice others for those he cares about: he doesn’t care that Otis risks their own life as long as it will help the Nein achieve their rescue. He doesn’t worship the gods either, but he still makes a plea to the Arch Heart on his friends’ behalf. Caleb’s way of caring for people at this point is very pragmatic—it’s less about affection and more about providing practical assistance. We’ll see that change over time, of course!

The Wolf-King Arrives

Caduceus’s POV was very challenging to write because the first several episodes have him slipping into the background for the most part. He goes along for the ride because that’s what he’s used to. He’s the homebody, the one that supports the others when they need it and tends the garden when they don’t. It took a very long time in canon for him to tell the Nein what was happening in his home and that he had a quest to pursue.

Thus, I took the avenue that he’s going to be passive. It was the Wildmother that told him to go with the Nein. It was the Nein that decided where to go from the grove. It was Nott (relaying Caleb’s advice) who decided what they should do when the Wolf-King arrived.

While Caduceus is still shocked by the turn of events, he also isn’t easily overwhelmed. His initial panic fades quickly once Nott suggests a plan. He’s familiar with the Savalirwood, and his family would have had many stories about their adventures. Death isn’t frightening. Violence isn’t frightening. The result is that Caduceus isn’t courageous here. You can’t be brave if you’re not scared. He found a way to frame his situation so that it wasn’t terrifying, and he’s a competent cleric—he’s definitely fended off beasts of the Savalirwood before, so he’ll do it again.

That said, we’re going to see him dealing with unfamiliar schema later anyway.

It Happened Again

SORRY, YASHA. She wasn’t going to spiral into blaming herself for Molly’s death this go around, but if Molly was going to face how his sacrificial tendencies hurt others, it needed to be her. He’s fond of the others, but he is attached to Yasha, and vice versa.

I also wanted to introduce some basic elements of Yasha’s origins comic for readers that may not have seen it. The result was a mostly introspective scene that shows exactly why Molly’s canon death had been so traumatic for Yasha: Zuala died in a similarly risky way, for the sake of her relationship with Yasha, and Yasha could have done more to prevent it. Yasha had only just begun to heal properly when Molly’s death ripped those wounds open.

In this scene, Yasha tried numerous ways to help Molly, but cruelty was the point; Lorenzo was never going to be persuaded to leave Molly alone. Yasha wasn’t strong enough to deal with the situation by herself either. We’re going to come back to those issues several times with both of them.

The Courtyard

Fuckboi Beau is hilarious and there was no way I wasn’t going to include that, even if it’s only a few sentences.

Unfortunately, both of Beau’s POV scenes are fight scenes, which didn’t give much opportunity to get deep into her perspective. That said, I tried to work in how her combat inclinations reflect the aspects of her personality that she hides behind her walls: she’s very willing to cooperate with people on her side in a fight, constantly looking for more information, often concerned about others, and wants to earn others’ approval. Once the fight ends, she’s very observant and doesn’t spend much time naval-gazing; it isn’t the time for it because they have work to do. She does note when people act strangely—Nott volunteering to look for Nila’s son—but her focus is on dealing with immediate threats.

Infiltrating the Sour Nest

I had to work in a small bit with Nott and Otis. Veth’s irrational hatred of Otis was hilarious in canon, so I wanted to replicate it here, even when Otis is being helpful and supportive (in the most creepy, unhinged way possible).

Shakäste cast Guidance on Nott through Anastasia when the hummingbird landed on Nott's hood. Caleb didn't make use of that feature of Find Familiar very much, but Caleb had few spells with a range of Touch.

Nila’s family was also a good way to introduce another aspect of Nott’s character arc: how she views herself and her family. In her origins comic, Nott’s perspective was that Veth had died and Nott came afterwards. At one point, she was in denial that she is Veth. In canon, she also oscillated back and forth whether she was going to turn back into Veth or if she was going to be replaced by Veth. She truly didn’t understand what the hag had done to her! She has so many messy emotions and thoughts on her situation, so it’s going to be intriguing (and sad) to explore that.

The Iron Shepherds

I chose Cad for this POV because he isn’t familiar with anyone’s tactics and he’s very perceptive, so he would notice quite a lot. That gave a solid reason for this scene to be fairly detailed. Not every fight scene in the story will be like this, but it felt like a good show for how I plan out the fights: I get all the sheets together and actually roll everything out. Not everything gets described, but it turned out to be a good way to ensure everyone gets a chance to shine, and it forces me to get creative with certain abilities (especially Caleb’s spells).

My only pre-planned attack was that Nila was going to definitely fry someone with lightning. Problem: Lorenzo is smart and does not like getting fried. Oops.

The Dungeon

The meta purpose of this scene was to introduce that I am 100% trying to make use of every little deviation from canon that I can (because Molly on his own wouldn’t change all that much of the campaign, which will be its own meta post).

In canon, Fjord and Jester woke up immediately after the rescue because the sleep magic wore off. Yasha took another 2 days. The meta reason for that was that Laura and Travis returned at that time (1 episode later) and Ashley hadn’t, so Matt role played Yasha waking up and leaving at Molly’s grave. The narrative reason was that the sleep magic had to time out.

In this story, the Nein delayed their assault on the Sour Nest by about an hour while they left to fetch the Wolf-King. As a result, the sleep magic wore off on Fjord and Jester, but the Shepherds had just cast it on Yasha and Molly. Thus, Fjord and Jester get to join the fight! With trauma! And anger!

The Iron Shepherds, The Iron Shepherds

I wanted to do Otis’s POV for this because they are so different from Caduceus: highly experienced in combat, knows a lot about monsters and classes, and fairly strategic (while also taking stupid risks because it’s fun). It also showed off Otis’s abilities to make clear to the reader that Otis is not the Nein’s level: they are level 14! But unlike Caduceus, they’re not super perceptive, and instead are very analytical. They fixate on things and follow that track until it’s done.

Given the premise of the story, that adds some meta tension about the idea that Otis is likely only a temporary ally. They are sold on the idea that they’re helping Lucien, and this is what they’re willing to do just based on some name drops. What’s going to happen when they see Molly instead?

Guardians

Jester’s POV was difficult because she is trying so hard to keep up appearances, and this was the first time in the campaign where that mask really came down in front of everyone. She is upset. She has so many reasons for it. But there isn’t time to process, so it just haunts her the whole way up to join the fight.

I also wanted to examine Jester’s perspective of her role in the party. She isn’t “the healer,” she’s more of a guardian. She’s not incorrect in her idea that trying to heal to keep up with damage is an inefficient use of spells, but her reasoning for it is still selfish: she wants to deal damage! She wants to sow chaos! It’s fun! We’ll get to see that develop as time goes on.

Fire and Lightning

Beau’s second scene was also a fight, so not much that she can do to process anything. But, like Cad, she’s fairly perceptive, and like Otis, she’s a bit more experienced in combat, so we get to see both how observant she is in general and what happens when she gets tunnel-vision. Plus I wanted to describe how stunning strike feels from her end, so that was fun.

By the end of the fight, each of the fighters got their chance to really stand out. Beau got a sentinel hit and her stunning strike, Caleb buffed his team and got to burn Lorenzo, Nott tricked someone with Minor Illusion and took out a guard solo, Cad had clutch use of his spells and saved several members from death saves, Jester helped take down Wohn (and though it’s not noticed by Beau, her and Cad’s swarms kept Lorenzo far back enough that most of them were shielded from the cone, plus Jester is cold-resistant), Keg got to beat the shit out of several Shepherds, Shakäste did a ton of healing and buffs, Nila fried several members, and Otis assisted with multiple kills using their entire toolkit. Chaotic as all get out? Absolutely. That’s the fun part.

Aftermath

Broody time with Caleb! I wanted to highlight that this episode was the first time he made his wisdom save after burning someone to death. It’s an important milestone in his arc. It also helped set the tone for the story. There’s going to be some low lows, and even in victory, there’s going to be consequences to deal with. They’re scrappy heroes with irrational hopes, so we get to cheer them on.

There’s a bunch of other stuff in this scene as well, but they’ll become apparent later.

Chapter 2 should be posted on Friday next week!