sticksandbones

🤡

Who: Allen + You!
What: Holy clown boy coming to a Grove near you!
When: Beginning of March
Where: ??? Around
Warnings: None yet, will be in headers as the pop up.

I. I've tasted all your sin (Forest entrance)

[ There is, perhaps, not a single person who would say arriving in the Grove isn't jarring. Some woke up here from their own slumber back home, and that is perhaps the smoothest transition you can get, even even that has yet to be graceful. For Allen, one moment he's holding the hand of his friend, trying to wake him up from what he could only assume was a horrific coma, and then next he's... here. His hand clasps in on itself, and he's suddenly looking around in a panic. He knew that the place he'd ended up may very well kick him out of his consciousness. May lend just the right amount of strength for Nea to pull him out of the "driver's seat", so to speak, but... is that what's happening now? Now, when he was so close to saving his friend?

No.

No, no, no.

The panic sets in as he darts from out of the trees, attempting to look for something, anything that might help him figure out how to get back. It's once he gets into the Grove proper that his eye activates. He has his own questions about that - if he's not in control, where is that coming from? What would his eye see... in his own head? Before he can ponder it for too long, he at least gets one of his answers. What does his eye see? Well.

Death.

It's the first time Allen's seeing souls not attached to something else, but Allen doesn't have time to process that part. Rather, he is trying to remember how to breathe again, because as of now, seeing the horrible visions in front of him - death of his friends, of those he loves, of a fire that isn't really there - all has the air he's trying to get out caught in his throat. It's only once his eye deactivates, the sclera turning from black to white and the red of his eye back to a silvery gray, does he finally have some kind of reprieve from the overwhelm. It's not much. The panic has only gotten worse, after all.

He falls to his knees, gasping for air as if he'd been held underwater for too long. ]

II. You've lost your appetite (for sacrifice) (Timcanpy, the Inn)

[ Timcanpy is a little golden golem. He is here! He isn't sure why he's here, but he is! How exciting! He's gonna...! He's...!!!

...

Where is this!!!!!!!!!! He is going to float out of the inn room he Spawned(tm) in and??? chew on the first person he sees. Hello. ]

III. How can we terminate this parasite (Around the Grove)

[ Fortunately, although the panic attack hits Allen like a train, the fact that he's so fucking hungry does as well. Which means... this is definitely his body. He's not stuck in his head. That's?? Good. Probably. Well, it's not good that he doesn't know where he is, but it's good he's still Him. Does this make sense? No. It doesn't. Fuck, he's SO hungry-

He will very hastily try to find the first person he can and catch their attention with a friendly wave of his normal-looking hand, and in a thick, British accent: ] Cheers! Uh, I have a lot of questions, but... most important, do you know where a bloke might find some food? Preferably, a lot of it?

...

Oh, also, what is that? [ He's, uh, pointing at Moder. ]

IV. If you keep digging up the Host? (Wildcard)
HMU if you wanna do something else pls I have such a strong muse for my baby boy I'm gonna be SO annoying-

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yes, but. No matter how well you float…I’ve read about currents that can sweep you out to sea with more force than you’re able to fight against. If you’re caught in one you could get pulled out so far you don’t have the energy or strength to swim back to shore. People drown shortly after that once they’ve exhausted all of their energy treading water, their bodies bleached by the sun…

[Link are you good-]

[It's because he's the "animals are better than people" sort and the animals are making it obvious that his aura is sour.

Anyway, he's hearing Link saying this and rolling his eyes like... buddy. Dude. He told Allen he wouldn't be mean, so he's not going to be mean, but it requires some really hard chewing on his tongue for a minute while he looks for his Nice Words.]

Those currents are further out than the shore. And I think there's a giant sea serpent named Hoshibi out here that would stop us from drowning anyway. [Mizuki said something like that.]

That’s like when you’re out in the parts of the ocean that aren’t by the shore! Like… deep out there! We’re not going that far, and the tides aren’t gonna pull you out that far, either.

Besides, the ocean can’t beat the energy out of me! I’d win! And I’d just come and rescue you!!! [ Bold words for someone who’s currently wading out deeper into the water. But, yes, he doesn’t intend to go too deep into the ocean. ]

[How do you know that Allen!! He's the one who read about this and his readings told him you could Very Much Die out here, the ocean does not care about you or your dreams.]

W-well, that's fine, but-

[Nope, it's too late. Allen is already wading out further, which is pulling Link alongside him with each careful step until they're close to waist deep, with Link standing stiff as a board like he thinks he might get sucked away by the current if he relaxes even a little.]

[Buddy. Lmfao. Kanda continues to tread water while this watermelon shark swims in lazy circles around him. How does he tell you to go do something else man...]

Swear to God you aren't gonna drown. Beansprout and I wouldn't let that happen anyway.

[ Aww… Kanda… Allen looks over at him to beam for a moment, delighted by his caring. Allen doesn’t realize that if he hadn’t said anything to him in the cabana that Kanda would absolutely be making fun of Link right about now. He thinks Kanda is just being sweet.

He looks back at Link with just as enthused of a smile. ] You might even find it relaxing if you give it a chance. Try not to be so tense. You should be fluid, like water~

[MmmMMMMM

Relax...he can do this. Just focus on what you do when you're meditating, Link. Relax.

He focuses on letting his muscles slowly ease up on the tension, his hand still gripping Allen's tightly, but not tight enough to hurt. He takes a slow breath as the waves wash over his legs. It's actually quite relaxing, and the salty air smells nice and refreshing.

He takes a single step forward, his foot immediately catching on a bit of coral and slipping out from under him, causing him to pitch backwards with all of his weight while he scrambles to grab onto Allen so he doesn't fall over and drown.]

[Whoops. Down he fucking goes.]

Can't learn if you don't go facefirst into the drink, I guess.

[It is at this point that Kanda climbs partway up onto the rocks and has a seat so he can, y'know. Be a douchebag and watch.]

[ Oh whoa- Allen instinctively throws his arms around Link, and he leans back into the water so that the water naturally forces him up. A little Allen shaped floaty! He does get submerged, but only for a second, and he catches it fast enough to hold his breath in doing so.

Once he's breached the surface again, he throws a glare to Kanda. ]

Alright, peanut gallery! Save the commentary!

...Are you okay, Li? [ Bad news about swim trunks is it means when you're holding someone to keep them afloat, your bare chest gets to touch theirs. This isn't currently an issue, since Allen is more concerned for Link's wellbeing, but.

Give it a second for it to click- ]

[Link is sputtering a little as they both bob back to the surface, though fortunately it's not like the water is deep here or anything. They were only up to their waists and Link would have to try hard to drown in water this shallow, but even so...it's scary when you don't have the instincts to actually keep yourself afloat. He thinks he could in an absolute emergency, maybe, but you never know.

So alarming it was, apparently, that Atuuda popped out of his chest and is now floating in slow circles above the water like a whale. Hello Link are you dead?

Link, meanwhile, is not dead. He's clutching Allen like a lifeline, coughing a few times to get the water out of his mouth and nose as he looks back at Allen more than a little flustered...and embarrassed by the way he's holding onto him like a child that needs saving.]

I'm f-fine- I'm so sorry, my foot fell out from under me. Did I hurt you?

[Girl that was him trying to give genuinely helpful "it's okay" advice tf are you fucking on.

Whatever, Kanda is rolling his eyes and staying perched on this rock. Enjoy your swimming lessons he's going to supervise from on high. Maybe Allen will knock the Bible-beater out of Link while they're like that.

In about five minutes he'll get up on top of the rock and venture a little further out across its surface to swan dive into the water and explore more. Bye.]

[ Look. Allen just assumes anything Kanda says is taken with a hefty helping of sarcasm. Can you blame him-

Anyway, he's moving both of them so they're more upright now, and gently putting room for Jesus between the two of them as his face is now reddening. ]

I'm alright. No worries... [ h ] Things get kinda slimy in the water. I trust floating more than I trust walking along the floor.

[ Tim is also in the water now. He's floating. He will end up by Kanda at some point- ]

[Leaving room for Jesus so their bare tits aren't touching dwbi-

Link pushes his hand up through his hair, feeling his braid start to loosen now that it's heavy with water. He's probably going to have to untie it later and brush his hair out, which will definitely not make Allen feel some sort of way getting to see his hair down like that.

Realizing he was holding onto Allen's torso (and almost his hips, really), Link quickly adjusts his grip so they're along his arms instead, clearing his throat again.]

So, I. What do we do now? Do we just...float, or?

We could, yes! That would also work fine. But, no, that wasn't my plan. Here, make sure you're kicking your legs. Slow, and don't try to fight the tide that much. I'm goin' to stay right here but I'm goin' to let go of you. When I do, you can move your arms in an outward arch under the water to stay up.

[ And he's letting go of Link here, floating his way to get behind him instead, since that's a little more helpful for teaching him how to swim.

And also on his poor heart because Jesus fuck- ]

[Oh God he's letting go, oooh God.

Link, remember your training. Breathe. You're NOT drowning in two feet of water calm down.

He'll trust Allen as he lets him go, letting the salt water keep his body floating as he follows his instruction, carefully moving his arms and by extension his legs to keep himself treading water. He's not really...going anywhere, but at least he's not immediately sinking.]

Like this...?

Exactly! See, you've got this!

[ Briefly glancing over at Kanda as he swan dives into the water. There's a moment where Allen seems worried, wanting to call out to him to be careful, as if Kanda weren't the one to initially warn them of the sirens. It's... fine. Timcanpy is with him now, after all, right? He'll get him out of trouble, surely.

Then, back to Link, with a smile: ] How comfortable do you think you are with moving, or are you happy with just this?

[Don't be a coward Link. Kanda will point and laugh.]

I could try. Er...how should I...?

[ Link's honestly going to get a fairly smooth lesson in terms of learning. Allen and Kanda both just got yeeted into the water as kids and basically told "good luck"

Unfortunately, he's also going to have to deal with Allen's chest on his back as he reaches around to help him. ]

So, we're going to lean forward a little, because you're gonna feel that floatiness [ Buoyancy but ok ] on your stomach.

[ He fixes the motions of Link's arms just a little, to make sure he's got the rhythm right. ] Then you're gonna do the same motions, but forward. Makes sense?

[ He lets go, then pats his shoulder. ]

You got this~

[This is...not straight behavior. He is basically being hugged from behind right now and he doesn't know how he feels about that.

He'll focus on what Allen is showing him though, trying to remember the position of his arms instead of the way it feels to have Allen grip him like he is right now.

Do you WANT to have to go to confessional this week, Link? For God's sake.]

Right, yes...that makes sense.

[He's going to kindof...lean forward, letting the water buoy him up as he sweeps his arms through the water, slowly propelling himself forwards a little bit.

But since he rolled a 9, he hardly gets much time to celebrate before a larger than expected wave rolls up and crashes right over Link's head.]

[ AH

Okay, don't leave Link alone to deal with The Water, got it. He dips under himself and scoops Link up into his arms to bring him back up above the water. Maybe birds and water just don't mix, truly- ]

Oi, I gotcha! Are you okay?!

Ough...

[Help...help him...he sputters again with his head tossed back against Allen's shoulder, looking particularly wet and soggy right now.]

I'm fine...I think maybe the ocean is a more difficult place to learn.

[You know, with the constant waves and such.]

Well... sure... The saltwater was supposed to make it easier... [ He huffs out a little laugh, anyway. ] I guess that's my fault. This teaching thing is hard. I dunno how you manage it!

...Do you want me to take you back to shore? You can start cooking, if you want! That might be more fun than being all stressed.

N-no, no, I didn't mean to imply you were a poor teacher!

[Aaaa;;]

It's more...me. I'm just a bit distracted by the waves, I think...

But we can keep going! I just...maybe if you just stayed close? That would help.

No, it's not you. Don't say such things.

[ Allen supposes it's unavoidable. It's his fault for dragging Link out here and saying he'll show him to do something. To force him to try and have fun. To have Link trust him, even if Allen still hasn't even earned that much. It's sweet that he's trying, even now, to protect Allen's feelings, though. Thing is, Allen feels... guilty.

He gently coaxes Link in for a hug. ]

It's alright. I wasn't intending on leaving you. If anything happened to you on my watch, I wouldn't forgive myself, after all.

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1/2

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you can skip him until u need him again

i always need him

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