#tried to keep the water color style for ghostbur

[rozugold]

Past n Present :]

Redraw of thisss

[shyrose57]

Ghostbur's relationship with the wilderness is...complicated. If it has anything to do with Wilbur, they're in perfect sync. Anything else, the world seems ignorant to his call.

Needless to say, after Ghostbur comes, they get a lead on Tommy's brother after a day or two of readjusting to supporting two people, and Ghostbur learning basic survival skills. The wilderness seemed to think him learning how to survive was the perfect time to try to kill and eat the poor apparition, and it totally used Ghostbur's weakness to water against him. Tommy and Ghostbur decided quickly that they should stop trying to teach him survival skills, so he didn't melt in the monsoon that decided to happen just as they started the lesson. Sadly the monsoon stuck around a bit after the "lesson", so they fled a few miles out to get away from it.

The reason the wilderness decided to go apeshit on Ghostbur trying to learn how to survive... is b/c it recognized the similarities between that and Wilbur, and that would be a kind of backwards way to tell them how Wilbur was doing. Literally the only differences were the fact Tommy was there, they could easily escape (after they called it off), and the method.

Ghostbur was hurt by the ordeal. I'm not talking physically, though he was hurt physically. Mentally. He was a peice of Wilbur, and the wilderness seemed to want him dead? Was something wrong with him? Did - was he a bad part of Wilbur? He cried again, how could he - was he really that wrong?

Tommy left Ghostbur, looking for something that might cheer him up. Animals were too - there was no telling if they would crawl away from him. So flowers, then. Red wasn't very calming, it could be, but that didn't seem like Ghostbur's style. "Hey," he spoke to the wilderness, "I'm looking for something to calm my friend. Have any ideas?" It struck him then, that the way to calm someone was to be understanding. Partly, at least. So a color that was sad, but not quite. He stumbled across some light blue hydrangeas, and made a flower crown. He said his thanks to the flower bush, and went back to the apparition. He was still crying, silently sobbing into his black jeans. Tommy nudged his knees, and handed him the crown. "I'm not going to pretend to understand how you're feeling," he started, "but... I thought this might cheer you up."

Ghostbur stared at the crown warily.

"Well, put it on. That - it's not going to attack you, I promise. I can put it on first, to prove it to you. I was in that monster of a rainstorm with you, the wilderness probably just didn't realize..."

"...how could - how could it not know? It tried to kill me - it tried to kill us." He handed the crown back to Tommy with careful fingers. Tommy reciprocates the carefulness.

"I know, big man. Maybe - nature works in mysterious ways, maybe it was trying to tell us something?" He lays the crown gently upon his head, adjusting it slightly.

"Maybe... it looks pretty on you. It matches your eyes, in a way."

"Oh, it does? Neat! Y'know, maybe I should keep it. Nah, I'm kidding, you try it," Tommy lightly lifts it off, reaching it out for Ghostbur to take.

"It's... not trying to kill us? I'm... okay?" He leans his head forwards, and Tommy lays the crown on his crown.

Anticlimactically, nothing happened. Ghostbur looks back at Tommy in shock.

"Not anymore, at least."

"...I like blue! It's calming!"

"It is a very pretty color," Tommy notes, ignoring the fact it was the only color on Ghostbur, "maybe we should see what other colors you like?"

"That would be awesome. Ooh, what else can we do??"

(We still need to get him his iconic yellow sweater, btw)

I absolutely love the flower-crown bit, but I kinda want the world to be nice to Ghostbur-he's still part of Wilbur after all. His banishment from the oceans he loved is a shared sorrow between them.

As for his sweater, well. They'll be picking up plenty of people on their quests, who do you think should give it to him? Or maybe he makes it himself?