Lullaby Pt. 2

Casino

word count: 7994

Fandom: MCYT  Pairing: Multiple Relationship: Romantic Pronouns: Multiple Occupation: Multiple Ability: N/A

Keys: N/A

Warnings: N/A

so this is the first time I’ve posted on tumblr and I have absolutely no clue how to use this platform, mostly because I use wattpad more than any other writing platform but, here you go.

this is a mcyt one shot between my oc and my three other friends. this was made purely out of fun.

that is all.

The Cursed Lands.

The wildly known Casino where the Gods go to gamble all they want. Whether it be the riches they accumulated over the years they’ve reigned in their respective realms, or if they’re really willing to risk it, then the lives of the mortals that reside in their realms along with the countless realms and worlds they own. The Lesser Gods were foolish enough to do such a thing as test their luck on Elder Gods, only to lose it all. A God can absolutely ruin themselves in the Casino, that is why it is dubbed as the Cursed Lands, because no matter how many times you either win or lose, the thrill of it all is just so addicting.

Over the bustling voices of various Gods and Goddess cheering and chattering amongst each other, the co-owner of the Casino was whistling a tune while flicking a poker chip up and down, catching it within the palm of her hand before flicking it up once more. In her other hand was a wine glass filled with red wine that glittered, almost resembling that of mortal blood. She overlooked the grounds filled with various games occupied by Gods and Goddess of ranks of all kinds, Gods of more importance or more money were led to rooms with higher risk games while Gods with lower ranks were kept on the Ground Floor. She let out a hum, smirking to herself and catching the poker chip in between her fingers before turning away and bringing her glass to her lips, taking a long swig from her glass.

“Hey, boss.” she hummed once more, looking over to see that it was one of the bouncers, which was a wraith. Most of the security in the Casino, despite not being needed, were mortal spirits that lingered around in certain realms that were brought into the Casino to act as bouncers whenever the Gods and Goddess became a little too rowdy. Hades is also a dear sometimes too, letting her borrow his Hell Hound whenever guests got a little too carried away “She’s finally arrived.” her eyes lit up at what the wraith had said, slamming the wine glass down and flicking the chip up once more before catching it in the palm of her hands.

“Wonderful!” she cheered, standing to her feet and throwing her arms open “Where is she now? What game is she playing?”

“Currently, Roulette.” she purses her lips.

“Roulette, huh?” she couldn’t help but click her tongue as she leaves the room, the wraith following close behind after shutting the door “Why did it have to be roulette? She’s going to run the casino dry with how good her luck is.”

“Would it have been better to have her play Blackjack? That was her second option.” she raised her hand, shaking it.

“No, Blackjack has better odds at winning in comparison to Roulette.”

“I see.” she turns her head back towards the wraith that was slowly following behind her before turning back forward, she noticed that a nymph, a waitress, walking by with a tray of champagne so she grabbed the entire tray and saluted the golden skinned nymph.

“Thanks for the drinks, my dear.” she cooed softly, to which the nymph smiled in return before going off. She took a glass for herself and started downing it, greeting Gods and Goddess along the way and by the time she reached the Roulette table, she only had two glasses of champagne left, the empty glasses were handed to the wraith, to which he handed them to another passing nymph “Now, where is she?”

“And that’s another win for the Mother of All!” a voice announced, followed by a rally of a mix of cheers and cries.

“Ah, there she is.” pushing through the crowd, she saw the golden-haired woman dressed in a traditional but formal Greek themed dress with a white and gold laced mask over her eyes, the woman was smiling brightly while throwing her fist in the air.

“Another win for me, neh?” she cooed softly.

“You’re just too good at this!” she scoffed slightly, looking down at her nails.

“I thought you said this was a no skilled game, my dear.” the Lesser Gods look up at her in disbelief, watching as the dealer pushed over the chips that she won and saw her grab one of the chips from the table, she flicked it up before catching it and rolling it over her knuckles then having it perched in between her index and middle finger “There’s no need for you lot to be such sore losers. Just take the loss and try another game to win in instead of sulking around, it’s rather unbefitting of Gods like yourselves to act so immature.” the Gods watched as she turned the chip so they could see just what exactly they lost, a few hundred mortal lives “Better luck next time~” they growl at her before clicking their tongues, knowing they didn’t stand a chance against a God of her caliber.

“Whatever, just stay out of our way.” she simply giggled, waving her hand to bid them goodbye as she watched the two Lesser Gods scurry away. She was in the middle of turning back to the table but stopped at the sight of a familiar face approaching her through the ground.

“Ara? Is that you, old friend?”

“It is indeed!” she gave the tray to the wraith before wrapping her arms around the taller woman “As much as I love your company, can’t you play harder games? You’re just far too good that you’re putting Tyche, the Goddess of Luck, to shame!” she giggled softly, waving her hand so a porcelain doll dealer could come and collect her chips.

“Many apologies, Zanna.” she then giggled softly, taking one of the many brief cases filled with the chips she won while the others floated beside her “Maybe if you made the games a little harder, it’d be more of a challenge.” Zanna gasped at what the Goddess said as she started walking away, taking that glass of champagne the wraith was still holding while she was at it.

“Ah! The audacity— Cybele! Take that back right now!”

Zanna and Cybele, partners in crime and friends since the dawn of time, Cybele being just a bit older than the co-owner of the Cursed Lands Casino. Cybele was that mentor type figure to Zanna, teaching her about the various duties that Gods and Goddess partake in, but the Greek themed Goddess knew that everything she was teaching to the younger Goddess was going through one ear and out the other, so she found it pointless. She was simply a freelancer Goddess that did whatever the hell she wanted, but she did find it flattering that Zanna would still come by just to spend some time with the Goddess of Life and Creation.

In return, Zanna herself would teach Cybele to act more relaxed and to be a bit snarkier, sassy even. The tone Cybele always spoke in was soft and polite, like a ray of sunshine, but Zanna was a bit of an influence on the older woman whenever she would randomly pop in for a lesson, aka, a day of tom foolery. The Promised Lands is a place where Gods and Goddesses must act modest and mature— and then there was Zanna, the opposite of what she was supposed to be. She was the lowest ranking of Goddess with not a single ounce of importance to herself or her name, everyone underestimated her, but Cybele of course. So as the years rolled on, Zanna made a name for herself as one of the youngest Goddesses that managed to secure a spot at the top beside her mentor figure.

“I hear your lover is the owner of this joint, give him my many thanks for making such a terrific establishment for us to enjoy.” Zanna chuckled, blushing softly at the compliment.

“Well, you can tell that to him yourself.”

“Oh? So, I’m finally going to meet this infamous lover of yours?” Zanna scoffed before jokingly shoved Cybele.

“Ah, shut up.” she then waves her hand “He was a mortal from one of your realms that I helped ascend to Godhood. He managed to become the God of Riches and Gambling, hence the Casino.” now Cybele was impressed, pausing when in the middle of drinking from her glass.

“Wow, really? And from one of my realms as well, quite impressive if I do say so myself.” she then looked up in thought, placing her empty glass on a tray “Is he from one of my most chaotic realms?” Zanna purses her lips, looking up in thought.

“Um... yeah, the one you visit the most.”

“Oh! The DreamSMP!” Zanna nods, Cybele then giggles softly while clapping her hands “Do I know him?” Zanna looks away, wincing slightly.

“Well, um, I think you know him a little too well.” she tilts her head in mild confusion.

“What do you mean by tha--”  

“Mi amor!” they both halt in their tracks, however, Cybele grimaced at the sound of the voice before holding back and sneer when both she and Zanna turned around “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Zanna.” soon he too came to a stop and looked at the woman standing beside his lover, even with the mask on, he could see through it and immediately recognized the face behind it, so he scowled up at her “Cy.” she only smiled.

“Quackity.” Zanna shivered, hearing the malice in her words behind that smile, she raised her hands when she felt the tension raise the longer the two glared at each other.

“U-Um, guys?” Cybele gently grabbed her arm before pointing at Quackity.

“Of all the mortals, why him? You do realize he’s got two other fiancés, right?” she simply shrugged her shoulders.

“Sharing is caring?” she rolls her eyes “Plus in every lifetime I’ve had to relive, it was always with him. I just love him so much, Cybele.” Zanna grabs Cybele’s forearm and squeezes it “I know you two have beef with each other, but please, just let me have this.” Cybele’s tense shoulders slowly relaxed at the pleading look Zanna was giving her, so she sighed, letting it go reluctantly.

“Alright fine, but I won’t hesitate to kill him if he does anything out of line.” Zanna smiled at the answer, jumping up and wrapping her arms around Cybele, her placing her hands on her hips to steady them both before they fell to the ground.

“Ah! You’re the best friend anyone could ever ask for!” Cybele smiled at that, patting her back before placing her on the ground, to which she sauntered over to Quackity, extending her hand out to her lover, to which he didn’t hesitate to lace his fingers with hers and bring her closer, Cybele rolled her eyes at the affection that Quackity usually only shared with his other two lovers.

“Best friend? But I’ve never seen you two around each other.” Zanna waved her hands.

“Psh, we’ve been friend's way before she washed up on the SMP! We’re like old time friends! She knows everything about me, and in return, I know everything about her.” Cybele waved her hand.

“I wouldn’t say that.” she looked at her, to which she pursed her lips while shrugging her shoulders, Quackity continued to glare at her but was stopped when Zanna cupped his cheeks and made him look at her.

“My love, I know you have a lifelong grudge on Cyb— I mean, Cy, but I really want my two favorite people to get along.” she kneels down to press a kiss to his forehead before pulling away and smiling softly at him “You’ll do that for me, won’t you?” Quackity gave her a skeptical look, glancing back over at Cybele and noticing that she had just as much of a worried expression as he did. He then let out a sigh, raising his hands so they could rest on top of hers.

“If it’s what makes you happy, then I have to comply, no?” she smiles before kneeling and wrapping her arms around his smaller form then standing up straight, Cybele snorted, covering her mouth with her fist at the sight of Quackity dangling from Zanna’s hold. He noticed her quietly trying to stifle her laughter, so he glared at her, flipping her the bird, she giggled softly at the futile attempt.

“Short stack.” she whispered loud enough for him to hear.

“You--” Zanna looked back at Cybele and saw she was smiling innocently.

“Shall we get going? I’ve wasted up so much of your time, Cy.” she waves her hand to dismiss the thought, watching as Zanna put Quackity down on the ground.

“By wasting my time do you mean spending time with a friend I haven’t seen in a long time? Then it’s worth wasting.” Zanna smiled at that before jogging off, probably to get a room ready for the lot of them to play a could games, both Quackity and herself were smiling fondly at her before slowly following her.

“What do you think she’ll say that her best friend had just insulted her lover?” Quackity said, she hummed.

“That it’s true and that I shouldn’t state the obvious?” he gave her a flabbergasted look; she shrugged her shoulders as she looked down at him “What? It’s true, is it not?”

“You’re unbelievable.” she then watched as he stomped away, she snorted.

“Do you rather I call you flatty patty?” this caused him to freeze, his face to the tips of his ears turning a pretty shade of pink “Oh wait, that’s what Schlatt called you, right? Many apologies, I should come up with something more original, shouldn’t I? I’m not particularly fond of using other people’s pet names.” she had to slap her hand over her mouth to stop the laughter from slipping when he whipped his face around and glared at her with the signs of embarrassment evident on his face, he couldn’t fire anything back, so he just went off to find Zanna to save himself from the embarrassment.

“Was that really necessary, Cybele?” she hummed at the sound of a new voice followed by a hand on her shoulder, turning her head back, she smiled softly at the sight of her lover.

“Ah, Foolish, were you having fun, my love?” he hummed at that, leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek.

“I am now that I’m with you.” she giggles at that before leading him to the room Zanna was preparing now with Quackity.

“How cute, Foolish.” he simply nods, slipping his hand into hers “Did you know that Zanna has become lovers with that mortal Quackity?” she then stops herself “Wait, former mortal. Apparently, she helped him ascend to Godhood and now he’s a newly found God.” Foolish gave her a surprised expression.

“Really? That’s quite impressive. If anyone, I thought Technoblade would ascend to Godhood.”

“He’s come fairly close, but he has angered a few Gods and impressed the other few. I mean, have you seen how irritated Death has gotten because he keeps slipping through her fingers?” she then snaps her fingers “And Ares really loves all the bloodshed, but Hades is also irritated with the fluctuation of all the souls entering the Underworld nearly every day. He probably would’ve lost his mind already if Persephone wasn’t by his side to quell his anger.” Foolish snaps his fingers at that.

“You make a fair point.”

“Don’t I always?” they both laugh.

“I wonder what God he has become.”  

“She told me he became the God of Riches and Gambling.” he nods.

“Ah, hence the casino.”

“Mm hmm.” when they reached the private room, they were greeted by the wraith bouncers, to which they bowed their heads to the Elder Gods before pushing open the door and they were met with the sight of various nymph waitresses, porcelain doll dealers and even a shrunken down version of the Kraken as the bartender “Wow, she’s really outdone herself.”

“Indeed.”

“Ah hah, there you are!” looking over, they both smile when they saw Zanna approaching them but Foolish squeezed her hand when he felt her irritation when Quackity was by her side.

“Behave yourself, Cybele.”

“I will, I will. I already promised her, so don’t hassle me, my love.”

“Just making sure.” when they were in front of each other, Quackity and Foolish nod at each other while the two women smile fondly at each other “It’s been a while, Quackity. I hope you’ve been doing well, managing two casinos, that is. Las Nevadas in the SMP and now this one, the Cursed Lands.” Quackity laughs at that, wrapping an arm around Zanna’s waist and pulling her closer towards him.

“True, true! If it weren’t for Zanna, I already would’ve lost my mind having to take care of two Casinos, though the management really falls into Zanna’s hands for this one, Las Nevadas is mine.” Cybele and Foolish nod at that, glancing around and greeting fellow Gods and Goddesses that pass by each time “The people that come here are also so rich, and most of the time the things they gamble are so weird.” this caused the two Elder Gods to pause while Zanna paled a little.

“Pardon?” he waves his hand, starting to walk and leading them over to a table for a game of Poker.

“Well, I don’t really know how to explain it. Well, usually, in Las Nevadas, the shit people usually trade is gold, Ender Eyes, Enchanted shit, the usual shit when they’re desperate for a win. But the stuff I see here... wow, spooky shit. See, like over there!” the three look over at what he was pointing at, and they saw another Elder God but down an orb to the table, at closer inspection, the three Gods could tell that it was a realm that the God owned, and they were risking it for a big win “You see what I mean?” Cybele and Foolish purse their lips before looking down at Zanna, who laughed awkwardly before leaning down and patting Quackity’s shoulder.

“Uh, baby, could you get the table ready? There’s a couple things I need to tell these two, if that’s alright with you?” he simply nodded.

“Sure!” he presses a kiss to her cheek before rushing off, when turning around, Zanna flinched at the stern look the two were giving her.

“Zanna, sweetness, he does know that this is an Interdimensional Casino where Gods from all around the universe and different dimensions come to bet and gamble with the mortal lives and realms under their command, right? He does have knowledge that he himself is a God, right? He is aware that the people around him aren’t mortals, right?” she remained silent.

“Um... no.” Cybele presses the palm of her hand onto her forehead while Foolish exhales deeply through his nose.

“So, he has no knowledge of what this Casino really is and that he believes everyone here is a mortal?” he then looks at a nymph passing them “Than what about the staff? He must be suspicious about the staff, Zanna!” she waves her hand.

“Like he said, the Cursed Lands Casino is under my management, all the staff that was hired were hired by me. I simply told him they were mobs, and he believed me.” they both let out sighs.

“You are unbelievable, Zanna.”

“We should be lucky he’s unbelievably stupid.” they all look over at Quackity and saw he was talking to a dealer, when he noticed they were looking, he smiled and waved.

“Mm.” she then sighs softly “But that’s what I love about him.” Cybele just rolls her eyes, Foolish shook his head in mild disappoint.

“Oh, goodness.” he waved them over and they approach, Cybele’s hand resting in Foolish’s as the approach the table, but now Cybele was staring at the dealer of the table. They weren’t the usual porcelain dolls from every other game, oh no, this was a villager that she herself knew rather well. The villager felt the intense gaze and looked up while in the middle of shuffling cards and flinches when she noticed that it was Cybele staring at her.

“Um... hello?” she greeted but Cybele didn’t drop her gaze and continued to stare at her, of course she knew this damned villager, not only was she one that was from her realm, but she’s also one that she traded with a good number of times! However, this villager was different to the usual villager because this one could talk instead of giving a hum as a response, not only that, but this villager had the best things anyone could trade with that even Technoblade praised highly and tried countless times to keep this villager in his basement, but she would always find a way to get out. Not only that, but she didn’t look like the average villager, and she even had her own self-awareness not to get trapped in ridiculous spots. She pursed her lips before placing her hand on Zanna’s shoulder once more, not breaking eye contact with the dealer.

“Why the hell is a villager from my realm here as well?” Zanna herself pursed her lips before gesturing to her.

“Well, she kinda just wandered in saying that she needed a job, so I just gave her the job. She’s pretty good with her hands, so we made her a poker dealer.” they all look at her and watched as she easily shuffled the cards, going as far as to juggling the cards over her knuckles before dealing them onto the table into their respective spots.

“That is impressive.” Foolish mused, Cybele couldn’t help but nod her head.

“But how did she get in?” Zanna opened her mouth to speak but closed her mouth when she couldn’t think of a plausible excuse.

“You know what? I really don’t know.” she then shrugs, going over and placing a hand on her shoulder “This is Honey, one of my best dealers, as I’d like to say.” Cybele and Foolish nod their heads “She didn’t really have a name, so we just call her Honey.” Foolish tilts his head to the side.

“Why Honey?” Zanna’s grip on her shoulder tightened as she gripped her shoulder with great force, causing Honey to sputter while turning her head away with a pale look on her face as a ball of sweat formed on her cheek.

“Because she keeps stealing the honey from the bar to the point that we keep running out of honey to make honey-based cocktails and drinks. It’s bad for business, so to pay off the massive amount of debt I have her as a dealer and it’s deduced from her pay.” Cybele, Foolish and Quackity sweat a little at that when they saw the depressed look on her face.

“My honey...” she cried, Cybele then looked up in remembrance.

‘So that’s why she asked about my bee farm...’ Cybele thought, she then hummed softly and snapped her fingers and a bee’s knees cocktail appeared in her hands, she then placed the drink on a coaster before sliding over to Honey.

“Since you’re our dealer, especially one from my own realm and one that does me great service whenever I see you, I might as well repay you from something as you serve us tonight.” Honey instantly recognized the drink and smiled brightly, she takes the glass into her hands and then gives Cybele a look.

“Do you think a drink is enough to bribe me?” they stare at each other before Honey raised the glass “Well, it’s working!” she then downs it then slams the drink on the table “Woo! Let’s get this party started!” Cybele giggles before taking a seat, Foolish taking the one beside her, planning on playing the game of poker with her, Zanna then leaned down.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t intoxicate my dealers in order for things to be in your favor.” Cybele scoffs lightly at that, waving her hand.

“Do you really think I’d stoop that low just to win? Oh no, I wipe the floor with those who think they can get the upper hand before yanking the rug from beneath them and come out victorious.” Zanna hummed at that, leaning backwards and crossing her arms.

“Alrighty then.” the first few games it was just some causal playing between the four of them, couple verse couple, in a sense. Cybele had to admit that Quackity was rather good at poker, having to play carefully against the former mortal, well, he wasn’t the God of Riches and Gambling for nothing. She did lose a good few rounds against him, but won the rest, in the end, the two dominated the poker game. Foolish let out a sigh, frowning at his hand before letting out a sigh and throwing it on the table.

“I give.” he then scoffs, watching as both Cybele and Quackity throw down their hands and noticed that they both had four of a kind, both in different ranks, even Zanna scoffed as she threw her hand to reveal she only had a straight “You two are just too good.” Cybele giggled before looking over at Quackity and offering him a hand.

“I must say, playing against someone who knows what they’re doing is rather fun and more intense. Thank you for the fun game, Quackity.” he scoffs but grins nonetheless, reaching forward and shaking her hand.

“The feelings mutual.” they both grin at each other before they all jump at the sound of a hand slamming on the table, glancing over, Zanna lets out a long sigh while Cybele smirks softly at the new face, Foolish noticed her expression and reaches over to caress her arm.

“Don’t.”  

“I haven’t done anything.”

“I know that look.” she chuckles, looking away before glancing back over and giving him a soft smile.

“What a lovely surprise to see you, Zagreus, it’s been a while.” he offers her a smile himself, but they all know that it didn’t mean well “But simply not long enough. What the hell do you want? Can’t you see we’re all having a lovely time playing a game of poker? What reason do you need to come in uninvited?” Zanna pursed her lips when she noticed that Cybele was intentionally pushing his buttons, she reached over and grabbed her elbow.

“What are you doing?” she whispered to her, Cybele just gave her a side eye.

“Don’t worry about it, I know what I’m doing.” Zanna scoffed before leaning back in her chair while crossing her arms, Quackity noticed the tension between Cybele and the newcomer and leaned over to Zanna.

“What’s going on between those two? The only time I see Cy like this is usually with me and people she doesn’t like.” Zanna pursed her lips.

“Well, it’s the latter. Those two have some... history, and someone that she knows really praises him.” he nods his head.

“... I don’t get it.” she slapped her hand onto her forehead, she then looked between the two and noticed that Cybele was now beginning to get annoyed with Zagreus’ presence, I mean, of course she would, she lost quite a lot to this man because of his underhanded plays. But that was back in the days where she herself was just a Lesser God and didn’t have many realms and mortals under her control, now she was one of the biggest Gods that could gamble a lot and still wouldn’t lose a single thing.  

“How about a rematch, Cybele?” she sighs at that, leaning back in her seat.

“And why would I do that? There isn’t a single thing from you that I want, I am completely content with what I have.” though she has bad blood with Quackity, she was quite irritated that he ripped him out of his seat before sitting down in it. Zanna glared at Zagreus and was planning on throwing him out for manhandling one of the owners of the of the casino but was stopped when Honey raised her hand to dismiss the behavior.

“Wha-- why?” Zanna seethed at Honey, she then hums and gestures to Cybele.

“Quackity, despite me always wanting to strangle you whenever I see you, I do not stand for such rude behavior.” she then crosses her legs, resting her elbows on the table before leaning her chin on the tops of her hands “What do you want, Zagreus?” he chuckles, leaning backwards and kicking his feet on the table.

“Simple, I just wanna play a couple games with you, Cybele, that’s all.” she rolls her eyes.

“What’s the catch?” he smirks.

“I’m glad you’re catching on~” he coos, she growls at him.

“What do you have to offer that would even pique my interest in the slightest?” she then noticed him pull out a gold poker chip, this caught her attention, along with Foolish and Zanna’s, Quackity just stared at it confused while Honey was downing another glass of a honey based alcoholic beverage.

“A cursed soul...” Foolish muttered.

“And one I recognize...” Cybele added, slowly closing her hand into a fist “Showing off your trophy you won off from me all those years ago?” he hums at that, rolling the chip over his knuckles.

“You were just foolish enough to fall for such a simple trick and gamble with one of your most valuable mortals.” he then cackles, gesturing to Foolish beside “Is that why you’re his lover? So, you can be foolish together? What a riot!” both she and Foolish slam their hands on the table, strong enough to break the table in half but they both held back their anger. She inhales deeply through her nose to quell her anger before leaning back in her chair and offering him a smile.

“That’s some talk for someone who must cheat in order to win, especially when it was against a Lesser God like myself in the past.” she pressed her fingers against her lips as she gives him a smug expression “That’s quite embarrassing don’t you think?” now this caused the people at the table to snort, having to stifle their laughter, her smirk grows when she noticed that his cocky attitude slowly dropped at what she said “Are you going to cheat again in order to get more things from me? Pathetic, I can still win against you with the game being in my favor, no matter how many underhanded plays you have against me.”

“Then why don’t you put your money where your mouth is?” she chuckles, shrugging her shoulders.

“Well, alright. But don’t start whining when I start winning.” this time he growls.

“You’re on.” Foolish, Quackity and Zanna all stood behind Cybele as Zagreus sat up properly, straightening himself out as few of the lingering Gods and Goddesses circled the table to watch the poker game. Honey looks at Zanna and saw her nod, she lets out a sigh before opening her hands and the guards littering the table returned to her hands and there, she skillfully shuffled the deck, juggling them over her knuckles once more before dealing the right amount to each player. Cybele snapped her fingers and all the chips she won fairly appeared on the table on her side, Zagreus did the same and they could see that she just had bit more in comparison to him. She looked down at her hand before looking at the chips before her and pushing a variety of white chips to green towards the center of the table, Zagreus doing the same.

The value of the chips was like mortal chips, the colors on the chips were a little more vibrant and the value behind them wasn’t in money, but what kind of mortal that was living in the realm.

Black = Vantablack – Apostles Orange = Gold – Cursed Souls Green = Emerald Green – Spirits Grey = Silver – Saints Blue = Lapis Blue – Mobs/Monsters Red = Crimson Red – Sinners White = Snow White – Normal

“Why don’t you go first, Cybele?” she giggles, taking three of her cards out and pushing them towards Honey, who traded three more cards towards her, Zagreus doing the same but with two cards.

“Oh, but ladies first~” she cooed, giggling softly when that got a rise out of him and a few of the spectators to laugh.

“Whatever.” rearranging the cards in his hands, he laid them out and a few of the spectators gasped at the reveal “A full house.” he boasts, his smirking rising but begins to fall when Cybele didn’t look the least bit threatened by the hand, the three standing behind her even looking unimpressed.

“Ooo, that’s too bad.” laying her hand down, his eyes widened slightly at her hand “Four of a kind.” Honey smirked at the win, raising her hand and all the chips on the board moved over to Cybele’s side as the cards returned to her hand once.

“And the win belongs to the Mother of All.” she crosses her legs, winking at Zagreus, who looks irritated, but he composes himself.

“Another.” she shrugs.

“Alright.” Quackity didn’t have the best relationship with Cybele after a certain event and the two absolutely hated each other, but he really couldn’t help but cheer her on and be rather impressed with how good she was playing. The hands she had were insane that he couldn’t help but feel sad for the other guy, but it was funny that every round they played Cybele never dropped her neutral expression while Zagreus was slowly losing his temper and confidence. There were times Cybele would lose but that didn’t matter, she still had the bigger winnings in comparison to Zagreus. By the end of it, Cybele dropped her hand to reveal she had a straight flush, while he only had a flush.

“Holy SHIT, Cy! You’re wiping the floor with him!” Quackity cheered, grabbing her by the shoulder and shaking her back and forward before leaning over and scooping up a great number of the chips she won before letting them drop to the table “For someone as meek as you, you’re pretty good a gambling.” she shrugs her shoulders.

“Just because I’m a pacifist doesn’t mean I don’t know how to gamble.” Foolish rolled his eyes.

“Right, pacifist.” she grins sheepishly, shrugging her shoulders.

“Enough!” Zagreus grits his teeth as he slammed his fist on the table, Cybele simply scoffed.

“What did I say about the whining? I’m pretty sure Persephone raised you better than this.” his face flushed red out of embarrassment before growling at her, she simply waved him off while flexing her hand. She looked down at the remaining chips he had and saw he had a few chips left but she eyed the gold chip he was flexing about before “Well, since I’m feeling a little generous, how about I put something on the line that will certainly pique your interest.”

“And what would that be?” opening her hand, she spread her index and middle finger open and a single vantablack chip formed in the space between her fingers. Vantablack chips were the rarest type of chips that only a good few Gods had in their possession and only they can manifest a vantablack chip, not the casino “An Apostle?” Zagreus questioned.

“Not just any apostle.” she flipped it around and he stood to his feet, his chair being pushed back in the process, as he stared at the chip “I give you Technoblade, the man highly praised by Ares and even you for all the bloodshed he creates while screaming “Blood for the Blood God”! Ah, such a good man.” she looked back over at him and saw he was staring intently at the chip.

“You’ll give his soul to me?” she laughs, throwing her head back.

“Hah! No!” she snorts at the assumption, closing her hand and bringing the chip into the palm of her hand “This is a poker match? Not everything is free, and we both know what I want in return if I put his soul on the table.” he groans at that, he closed his fist and slowly opened it for the gold chip to form in the palm of his hand.

“A cursed soul and an apostle...”

“Two valuable souls in one place.”

“Never thought I’d see a game like this.” the Gods and Goddesses surround the two gushed at the sight of the two rare chips in one place between two Elder Gods, Zanna and Foolish were staring at Cybele with shocked expressions while Quackity was barely catching on.

“Are you nuts, Cybele?!” Foolish whispered to her, grabbing her by her shoulder and pulling her back “What if you lose?!” she looks back at him.

“Do you really think I would gamble with the soul of a lifelong friend’s son if I knew I was going to lose? Unlikely.” she turns back towards Zagreus and puts the chip on the table, pushing it towards the center and grins “So how about it? Feeling lucky?” Honey looked between the two participants, she herself feeling a little excited about the outcome of the game, Zagreus stared at the gold chip in his hand before sighing and placing the chip down and towards the center as well.

“You’re on.” Honey grins, clapping her hands and the cards returning to her once more.

“Let’s have a fair game!” she cheered, downing another cocktail as the cards around her formed into the deck and she shuffled them before dealing them out. In this game, the two chips were the highest valued chips so there wasn’t a need for the two Gods to gamble with anymore chips, but Zagreus was feeling lucky and pushed all the remaining chips he had left onto the table with a big grin. Cybele noticed this as she was removing a few of her cards, she looked up in thought before shrugging her shoulders, why the hell not? With a flick of her wrist, all her winnings were pushed towards the table and placed behind the vantablack chip.

“What are you doing, Cybele?” Zanna asked, flabbergasted that Cybele willingly bet all her winnings onto the table “Did you do that out of spite?!” she shrugged her shoulders.

“Maybe.” Zanna and Foolish facepalm while Quackity laughed, even Honey snorted “What can I say? I’m just feeling rather lucky~” Zagreus narrowed his eyes on the older woman, not a single trace of nervousness on her face. He grits his teeth at her confidence, looking at his hand before swapping out the cards he didn’t want with new ones. A few minutes of silence go by as the two rearrange their hand, Zagreus looked up at Cybele and quirked a brow when he noticed her starting to look nervous as she stared at her hand, even the three behind her looked nervous, this was his chance.

“So, how about you go first?” he offered, this caught her off guard as she looked up at him then back at her hand, she then brought them to her chest as she offered him a hand.

“H-How about you? My hand is... so and so.” he smirks.

“Well alright.” he looks back down at his hand before finally revealing it, the crowd gasped and even Cybele paled at the sight of a straight flush he laid out. Zagreus’ smirk grew as Cybele continued to stare at her hand, her hands trembling before she lowered her head, he then raised his hands “Then I believe this win is mi--” he cut himself off when Cybele snorted, looking back over at her, he flinched when she raised her head, and she was trying her damned hardest not to burst out into laughter.  

“Man, I didn’t believe I was good at acting but I got you good, didn’t I?” she giggled to herself before throwing her head back, she takes a deep breath before laying her hand down and his eyes widened at what she had “A royal flush.” she leans back in her seat, shrugging her shoulders while opening her hands out behind her, to which Zanna, Foolish and Quackity did not hesitate to high five her “Sorry but, you just weren’t lucky enough.” she was the least bit threatened when he slammed his hands on the table, pointing a finger at her while she just leaned back and crossed her arms with an indifferent expression.

“You... you—you cheated! I know you cheated!” he shouts, she purses her lips.

“That’s a load of bullshit coming from the likes of you.” Zanna closed her eyes.

“Ah, here we go.” she muttered, she then turned and waved her hands to get the attention of a couple bouncers before snapping her fingers and a passion fruit martini appeared in her hands “She’s swearing, we’re in for a show tonight.” she muttered as she started to down her drink, Foolish nodded.

“Mm hmm.” even Quackity nodded his head.

“Yeah, the only times she swears is at me.” Honey snorted at that before snapping her fingers and having all the winnings more over to Cybele’s side, the vantablack and gold chips floating up and into her hands, to which she proceeded to roll the gold chip along her knuckles while the other was resting in between her thumb and index finger.

“You really think I didn’t notice you cheating the entire time.” she chuckles when she noticed him flinch and back off slightly, she then gestures to the three behind her and he saw them standing up straight and glaring at him, Honey doing the same as she was shuffling the deck “It just goes to show that I can still win even when odds are against me, and no matter how much you cheat, you still cannot beat me. How pathetic.” he growls.

“I want a rematch!” she rolls her eyes.

“With what? You lost everything; you have nothing to bet with.” she closes her hand with the vantablack chip while flicking the gold chip up then catching it “If you know what’s good for you, run on back home and whine to your mother and father on how you lost to me despite your underhanded plays.” this earned a round of laughter from the surrounding Gods, he claws at the table before grabbing the underside of it and proceeding to throw it across the room.

“I CAN beat you with or without cheating!” he screams as he starts approaching her, his arms reaching forward to grab her, but she didn’t move. The three behind her intended to get in front of her to stop him but they were all surprised when Honey stopped him, grabbing him by his shoulder and giving him a smile “Huh? What do you want?! Fuck off!” he tried to punch her, but she easily ducked, making sure to stand behind him before wrapping her arms around his waist.

“I’m sorry but fighting in the casino is strictly prohibited.” she said with a smile before bending her knees slightly then leaning back, bringing him with her before flipping him upside down and slamming his head into the ground, serving him a german suplex. Cybele, Zanna, Foolish and Quackity stare in astonishment at the sight of Honey suplexing the Elder God with little to no effort before standing to her feet and dusting her hands off before snapping her fingers “Get this idiot out of here!” she hollered, waving the wraiths over, who nodded and proceeded to grab Zagreus and drag him out of the casino. She then pats her pockets before opening her pocket and pulling out an entire poker table and putting it on the ground, replacing the one Zagreus threw away.

“What... did I just witness?” Cybele questioned, even Quackity was bewildered.

“Did I just watch a villager... suplex the fuck out of some rando?” the two look at each other before bursting into laughter, Zanna approaches Honey and places a hand on her shoulder, Honey looks up at her and noticed her give her a thumbs up.

“Instant raise.” she grins.

“Yes!” she cheers, pumping her fists “I should suplex people more often.” Zanna now shakes her head.

“No.” Honey rolls her eyes, Cybele hummed as she crossed her legs once more and rolled the vantablack chip across her knuckles once more before flicking it up and watching it disappear, when Zanna was by her side once more she grabbed both her a Foolish and pulled them close.

“Don’t you dare tell Phil that I gambled with Technoblade’s soul or else he’ll have Kristen come after my ass to claim my own soul.” they both raise their hands.

“You think we have a death wish? Of course, we won’t tell the guy.” she lets out a sigh of relief.

“Good.” she let Zanna and Honey gather up her chips and put them into suitcases while she turned her attention to the gold chip now resting in the palm of her head, Foolish was by her side as they both stare at the poker chip before she flipped it around so they could see just who exactly the soul belonged to.

“Hmm, I remember this girl.” she mused, smirking softly in remembrance “Didn’t her ancestors spite us and the Gods in charge of that era and faction smite them with a curse?” Foolish looked up in thought, squeezing his chin before nodding his head.  

“Yeah, and if I remember the curse correctly, it has something to do with that Japanese folklore called the Hanahaki disease, minus the part where it’s a one-sided love.” Cybele gasped softly, her hand covering her mouth.

“Oh, poor thing.” she mumbled softly “And to think that the curse was still going on after so many years, can’t imagine the pain she’s going through.” Foolish nodded his head.

“But now she’s in good hands once more.”  

“Yup.” she stared at the chip once more before flicking it up and watching it disappear, she then pats her legs before standing to her feet “Well this evening was certainly fun, I thank you for tonight.” Zanna grins, snapping her fingers and the suitcases full of chips were floating by Cybele’s side once more, she then brought her arm to her chest before bowing her head.

“But the pleasure is all mine. You’re the only individual that can make such a mundane night more eventful.” both she and Cybele grin before they grasp each other hands then pulling each other into a hug, patting each other’s back “Come more often, Cybele, I’ll make sure to make the games more difficult for your entertainment.” she smirks.

“You better.” she then turns to Quackity, holding her fist out to him, he stares at it before chuckling and fist bumping her.

“Just because tonight was fun, doesn’t mean we’re friends.” he nods at that before giving her a thumbs up “But tonight certainly is a night to remember.” she grins and nods her head to him.

“As to you, Quackity.” she then links arms with Foolish and waves “See you back at the SMP.”

“Sure.” as she passes Honey, she chuckles softly and pats her head.

“Stay out of trouble, Honey.” she purses her lips, fixing up her hair when Cybele messed with it but laughed nonetheless.

“Whatever.”

Loyalty

word count: 23,866

Fandom: MCYT Pairing: JSchlatt x Male!Wolf!Reader Pronouns: He/Him Relationship: Familial/Platonic Occupation: Bodyguard Ability: Wolf Hybrid 

The character is that of a wolf hybrid, allowing them to have traits of a wolf. They have abnormal strength and speed with keen senses of smell, hearing and sight, making their nose and ears almost sensitive to anything. They are also granted with an abnormal height and the gift to shapeshift from a human/normal form to a more monstrous form.

Keys: [M/N]: Male Name [S/C]: Skin Color [H/C]: Hair Color [E/C]: Eye Color [U/N]: Username

Warnings: character death, vulgar language, alcohol consumption, violence

I don’t know if I’ve seen this anywhere but this is my own headcanon on the three canon lives thing the dsmp have. when their first two lives are taken, their bodies are reduced to dust and they return back to spawn or their bed, but on their last and final canon life, their body doesn’t reduce to dust and they die the regular ol’ way.

that is all.

“Loyalty” pt. 2

“Don’t touch that thing, you might catch something.”

“What a disgusting little thing, can’t it go somewhere else.”

“Ugh, I wish someone would do something about that thing.”

Those were the constant words that made their way into the ears of the young wolf pup hybrid, there was nothing that didn’t go unheard with his enhanced senses. No matter how irritating those words were he couldn’t help but wince when they were all true. His hair was overgrown and any other patches of fur that were visible were matted, he couldn’t even remember the last time he had a bath so there was a foul stench coming from him along with the dirt covering his [S/C] skin. Even his nails were overgrown and cracked with dirt beneath his nails, such an unsightly appearance. A weak growl mixed with a whimper erupted out of his throat as he clawed at the ground beneath his collapsed body, he really was pathetic that he could do nothing to make the situation he was in better. He had nothing but the worn-out clothes on his back to his name— name, huh? It’s been so long since someone has called his name that he can’t even remember the name his own mother gave him.

He was so alone he craved for any sort of attention; any sort of affection just to make him feel better, but what fool would take pity on this waste of life who was nothing but a bag of bones? He let out another whimper as he hung his head low, his hands resting on his head as tears of frustration finally started rolling down his cheeks. The cruel reality was bearing down on him and he just didn’t want to face it, he didn’t want to live in this kind of situation anymore but what can a scrawny little brat like himself do when he was nothing more than an easy target for anyone who preyed upon him? He just wanted a chance to make things right, he just wanted a chance to live a life that wasn’t so pathetic.

“Hey kid.” he let out a gasp at the sound of a voice, he raised his head and started to tremble at the sight of a figure looming over him. He couldn’t see who it was but with their intimidating height and the horns on his head, he couldn’t cease the fear in his heart as he pushed himself against the wall behind him, his ears tucking back to show his fear.

“Are you the devil…?” he croaked out, his voice so dry it made him wince and start coughing, he flinches when he heard the man above him laugh.

“The devil? Now that’s a new one.” he comments, the boy doesn’t hesitate to push himself further into the wall of the alley when the man before him knelt down, there, he was able to get a better view of the man’s face. He looked quite young, he had a scruffy beard and messy brown hair but what stood out were the goat horns and ears, another hybrid. It had been so long since he’d seen another hybrid, though the species was different, he was a hybrid nonetheless “What are you doing out here on your own, kid? Where’re your parents?” at the mention of that he looked down.

“… my mother died, and when my father saw no value in me, he left me to rot.” he answered weakly, the goat hybrid hummed at that, squeezing his chin “If you’re not here to ridicule me or kill me, it’s best if you’d be on your way, wouldn’t want to catch a disease I might be carrying.” the man only hummed again, the boy was confused when he saw the man back away slightly only to offer his hand to him with a generous smile on his face.

“Your father is a fool to see no value in you.”

“Huh?” that generous smile turned into a smirk.

“Come with me, and I promise you, you’ll be of use to me in the future.” his eyes widened slightly at that, how could this stranger know if he could be valuable or not? Such a ridiculous claim that had him sneering slightly, but his ears slowly relaxed as he stared at the hand before him, the offer was tempting but how could he trust this man? “Listen, kid, don’t take this offer as pity. I can and will leave you here to die if you don’t decide quickly, but I know you’ve got the potential to be something bigger. So, what do you say?” he swallowed thickly as he continued to stare at the hand before finally reaching forward and taking it.

“I hope you can show me how I have potential.” he laughs at that.

“It sounded sappy, didn’t it? You can just say I’ve got a good eye for valuable things.” he stands to his feet and the boy let out a yelp when he was yanked up, the man noticed this and put him down “Sorry about that, you’re just a skinny little thing.” the boy let out a sigh.

“Right.” he raised his head when he noticed the man raise his hand and slip off a bland gold ring off his finger, he turns towards him and flicks it towards the boy, he opened his hands and caught the ring before looking down at it in confusion.

“Then name’s JSchlatt , but call me Schlatt. From here on out, I’m your owner. The ring will signify my ownership over you, so don’t go losing it or else I’ll kick you to the curb, got it?” he let out a gasp as he nodded his head, Schlatt merely chuckled with a scoff before walking off, the boy gasped again as he quickly rushed after him “What about you? Do you gotta name, or do I have to name you?” he lowered his head once more, his ears pressing flat against his head.

“I don’t remember my name…” Schlatt pursed his lips at the sound of that, what a hassle.

“Hmm, well… how does [M/N] sound?” the boy's ears perked up at that “Take it or leave it. I’m not particularly good at naming things so it’s either that or you go by boy.” Schlatt paused when he heard him yip, he turned around and his eyes widen softly at the sight of the small amount of joy circling in his eyes, his tail wagging softly.

“No, no! I like it.” he looks down at his feet, holding the golden ring in his hands while his tail wagged happily “I like it a lot.” Schlatt scoffed again before walking again but was grateful that the boy— [M/N] liked the name, and he genuinely did. He didn’t favor the name his father gave him, it was a pretty half-assed name because his father could give a damn about naming a child who had no value to him. He raised his head to stare at the back of his new owner and a newfound loyalty started to swell in his chest, maybe it was the DNA of the wolf hybrid coursing through his veins that was making him behave in such a way, but he didn’t care. This man saw something in him that he couldn’t even see, he’s given him a chance and now he was willing to die for this man to live up to his expectations. 

[present time, years later]

“Hey, [M/N], are you even listening?” said man felt his ears twitch at the sound of his name, he slowly opened his eyes and looked around to see he was standing in the dressing room backstage awaiting their cue, he sniffled before turning his head in the direction of the voice that called his name.

“I apologize, I was simply resting my eyes.” his ears flickered a bit when the man laughed.

“Yeah, that sounds more like you taking a nap.” he hums at that, he then lets out an oh when he offered him a tie “Give me a hand with that, would you? You know how bad I am at putting those things on, but I need to look professional.” he nods his head as he takes the die from his hand, approaching him swiftly.

“Of course, but at least this time you aren’t swearing.” now he couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“True, true.” it takes him no time tying that tie around his neck, he’s probably gone and done it over a hundred times that he could probably do it with his eyes closed. When it was securely tied around his neck, he nodded his head before reaching over and grabbing the blaze to his suit and handing it to him, when he puts it on, he buttons it up for him before standing behind him and the both of them stare at their reflection.

“Don’t you look dapper, JSchlatt? Or should I say, Mister President?” he laughs again as he looks up at the boy standing behind him through the reflection.

“Oh, please. I always look this good.” now he snorts, Schlatt smacks him in the shoulder, only to wince himself when the back of his hand was met with his sturdy body “Damn, it only feels like yesterday when you were nothing but a skinny little brat. Now look at you, you’re even bigger than me now.” it was true, looking down at himself, [M/N] now towered over Schlatt and stood at least 6″10ft tall. His body was broad and stern that it would take another hybrid similar to him to knock him down, if not, there was no way the average person could take him down. 

“Hmm, is that why you appointed me as your bodyguard? Must I address you as sir now?” Schlatt shrugged his shoulders, pulling out a cigar from the pocket in his blazer.

“Nah, call me what you want.” [M/N] nods his head, pulling out a Zippo lighter to light his cigar “Actually, when we’re alone, call me Schlatt. When we’re around others, address me formally.” he nods his head, pocketing the lighter before putting his hands behind his back.

“As you wish, Mister President.” Schlatt smirked at that, taking a puff from the cigar but blew the smoke away from [M/N], knowing how sensitive his nose was when it comes to certain smells.

“You know, that has a nice ring to it.”

“I’ll try not to wear it out, knowing how much it inflates your ego.” his smirk only widens, taking another puff from his cigar.

“Damn straight.” he rolls his eyes, Schlatt raises a brow when he notices [M/N]’s ears stand up as he turns his head towards the door to the dressing room, his tail and other tuffs of fur visible standing on end “What’s the matter, kid?”

“Someone is approaching the room.” they hear a knock at the door and [M/N] was already on the door before the person could knock a second time, he throws the door open, and there stood Quackity, hand raised to knock once more but froze at the sight of the giant wolf hybrid looming over him.

“U-Uh...” before [M/N] could do anything, Schlatt hovered his hand over his chest to stop him.

“Stop, it’s just Quackity. He’s with us, remember?” Quackity gave a nervous smile as he looked up at [M/N], who snarled when he continued to stare, the duck hybrid flinched at it while Schlatt merely laughed “Don’t mind him, he gets like that with people he doesn’t know are around me. An overprotective dog.” [M/N] huffs as he stands up straight behind Schlatt but refused to drop his stance, Quackity just nodded his head and nervously removed his gaze from the taller man to Schlatt.

“Ri-- Right.” he clears his throat then gestures behind him “They’re ready now.” Schlatt hums at that, [M/N] notice him raise his hand so he grabbed an ashtray and let him put out his cigar in it before tossing it away, Schlatt grins as he straightens his blazer.

“Well then, let’s get this show on the road.” he laces his fingers together before cracking his knuckles, Quackity steps to the side to allow Schlatt to walk off. He lets out a short laugh and goes to follow him but looked back to see [M/N] staring at him, he flinched at the intense glare coming from the taller man, he laughed nervously again when he heard a low growl come from him “[M/N], come!” his head perked up at the order, he glares at Quackity one last time before rushing off to where Schlatt was patiently waiting for him.

“J-Jeez...” he shuddered out, placing a hand to his chest and feeling the rapid beating of his heart “I feel like he was going to eat me.” Schlatt looked up at [M/N] when he noticed him unconsciously lick his lips.

“Don’t even think about eating him.” he snorts when he noticed him jolt up.

“I wasn’t thinking that.”

“Uh huh.” he pursed his lips as he looked away, he chuckles at the reaction before pulling at the collar of the blaze, he looks up at [M/N] and spread his arms so the taller man could get a good look at him “So, how do I look?” the wolf hybrid stared at him before chuckling, shaking his head and buttoning his blazer up again and straightening his tie.

“Like you mean business, sir.” Schlatt nods at the answer, raising his arm to tug on the end of the sleeves of his dress shirt then throwing his arms out to loosen the sleeves a bit.

“Good.” they stood by the sides of the stage, still backstage away from the prying eyes of the citizens of L’Manburg, and awaited their cue to go on stage to greet the crowd. [M/N] continued to stand behind Schlatt but was on guard when he sensed two individuals approaching them, he glanced to his side and noticed that it was simply Quackity and that guy with those white frame sunglasses with black tinted lenses, he didn’t even bother to remember his name, maybe he’ll ask Schlatt later. On the other side of the stage stood the representatives for POG2020, that being Wilbur Soot and his little brother TommyInnit, he started growling once more but stopped when Schlatt gently hit him in his chest “Quiet.” he bowed his head.

“Sorry.” he chuckles softly, shaking his head.

“There’s no worry, besides, the win is ours.” [M/N] nods his head at that.

“Right, they don’t even know they’ve been had.” Schlatt smirks, they’re all soon called onto the stage, Wilbur being the one to stand at the podium to read out the votes of the elections while Schlatt’s party stood to Wilbur’s right while Niki’s party and Tommy stood to his left.

“I am now going to read out the number of votes each party has gained.” he clears his throat as he reads through the sheet of paper in his hands “With 9% of the vote, being, 20,000 people or so. In fourth place, is Coconut2020.” there was some applause coming from the crowd as Niki and Fundy cheered.

“20,000 people!”

“Thank you, Eret for your support!” [M/N] just rolled his eyes, they came forth and they lost by a landslide, so why the hell were they celebrating?

“The pity votes.” now he couldn’t help but snort, stifling his laughter at Quackity’s unexpected comment, the duck hybrid grinned when he made the usually neutral wolf hybrid laugh.

“Are you laughing, [M/N]?” Schlatt asked, rather amused that he was, he just pressed the back of his hand to his lips while shaking his head as he tried not to laugh.

“No, I just wasn’t expecting that, sir. I was caught off guard, but it was pretty funny.” the ram hybrid just chuckled at the reaction, shrugging his shoulders before turning his attention back at Wilbur while crossing his arms.

“Now, with 16% of the votes, coming in third place, is Schlatt2020.” they all whispered various comments about Schlatt, but he and his party didn’t react like the people who placed third, they were rather neutral and had an indifferent reaction because they knew the outcome of that election “That means there are two parties left. Big Q, look at me.” Quackity looked out from behind [M/N] and saw Wilbur staring at him, Schlatt gestures with his head towards Wilbur and so Quackity approaches him and now the two stood in front of each other “This leaves the two major front runners as the final option here.”

“Right.” they both nod their heads before Wilbur turns to look at the crowd once more.

“In second place, with 30% of the votes, is... lead by the party leader Quackity.” Tommy and the rest who were supporting him and his brother were quick to celebrate when Wilbur announced that Quackity was second place in favor of POG2020, however, Schlatt and [M/N] smirked when they saw that look of confusion and disbelief on Wilbur’s face when he was having to reread the votes over and over “Wait, Tommy, listen, Tommy!”

“What? We won didn’t we?” Wilbur took a sharp inhale.

“Well, uh... two nights ago, on the night of the election, after the announcement of Schlatt2020 and Coconut2020... Quackity made a deal with the leader of Schlatt2020 and, uh, Mister Jschlatt stood beside me. Quackity said that no matter what happens, Quackity would pool SWAG2020 votes onto Schlatt2020 votes.” the crowd gasped at the announcement as Quackity took his place behind Schlatt once more, the four of them mockingly smirking at the rest of them as Wilbur read out the rest of the votes “POG2020 got 45% of the votes, meaning that the coalition government of Schlatt2020 and SWAG2020 got 46% of the votes. Meaning that tonight, ladies and gentlemen, on Tuesday the 22nd of September 2020, Schlatt2020 has been inaugurated.” everyone gasped in shock at the way things had turned out while Schlatt and Quackity were laughing at the results, [M/N] was smiling softly and clapping his hands, as for George, he was doing the same thing but rather tiredly.

“See, the win was ours from the beginning.” [M/N] nodded his head.

“Mm hmm, had no doubts sir, that’s why I was calling you Mister President even before the results were announced.” Schlatt grinned when he saw Wilbur swallow thickly, practically nervous under the eyes of the ram hybrid but gave him a forced smile.

“Well, u-uh, Mister JSchlatt, it was a real honor competing against you. But I-- uh, please step up to the podium and deliver your inauguration speech.” they were all promptly kicked off the stage as Schlatt took his place in front of the podium, [M/N] was behind him and glaring down at the crowd below him while Quackity stood to his right and George to his left.

“Well,” Schlatt started, tapping at the mic before leaning against the podium with a giant smirk on his face "that was pretty easy. And you know what I said the day that I got unbanned from the Dream SMP and the day I said I was running? An election that I won, by the way. I said, "Things are going to change." I looked every citizen of L'Manberg in the eyes and I said, "You listen to me: This place will be a lot different tomorrow." Let's start making it happen.” Schlatt chuckled at the looks he was getting from the crowd, he turned back to [M/N] for a brief second to nod at him before finishing off the rest of his speech, the taller man understood and got himself ready “My first decree as the president of L'Manberg - the EMPEROR of this great country - is to REVOKE the citizenship of Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit!” the crowd immediately went into hysterics at the announcement.

“What?!”

“NO!!”

“No way!”

“Is he serious?!” Schlatt looks back at [M/N] and saw he pulled at his Firework Launcher, George and Quackity notice this and pull out their bows, Schlatt just laughs maniacally before throwing his arm out.

“Get them out of here! Get them out of here! You're no longer welcome!” [M/N], who’s face was indifferent, pushed Schlatt behind him and knelt down while he aimed the rocket in the direction of where Wilbur and Tommy were standing, finger on the trigger and eyes locked on.

“Yes, sir.” pulling the trigger, the crowd immediately dispersed to avoid the rocket while Wilbur and Tommy turned tails and ran, however, [M/N] didn’t stop and continued to fire rockets at them while George and Quackity shot arrows at them, one actually managing to hit the two and lodge into the back of Wilbur’s shoulder as they fled. George and Quackity lowered their bows while [M/N] raised his crossbow, his keen eyes continuing to scan the area until a hand was gently placed on his shoulder.

“That’s enough, you did your job splendidly, [M/N].” his ears went flat against his head at the praise before standing to his feet, returning to his place behind Schlatt “Oh, that was so easy! Until further notice, Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are merely a memory of L'Manberg. A relic of the past. A reminder of the darkest era this country has ever seen. And I guarantee you all, dear citizens... Tonight, that changes. We are entering into a new period of L'Manberg, a period of prosperity! Of strength! Of unity!” [M/N] smiled and clapped his hands gently once more, he then went on a rant and saw that he was going to lower the taxes and even fill the fountains up with Hawaiian Punch.

“Seriously?” he whispered to the ram, he just shrugged.

“Meh, it was in the spur of the moment, but I’m gonna do it anyway.” the wolf shrugged his shoulders and leaned back “Anyways, Tubbo? Where’s Tubbo?” the boy raised his hand from within the crowd.

“I’m right here.”

“Tubbo, get up here! Get up here on my podium.” now [M/N] was confused, why on earth was Schlatt calling up Tommy’s friend? “Don’t you want the job?” Quackity snickers as he leaned towards Schlatt.

“I don’t think he wants the job.” Tubbo’s eyes widened as he stood up from where he was sitting with a panicked expression.

“N-No, no! I’m on my way.” he sputtered out repeatedly while trying to find a way up to where they were standing, when he managed to climb up to the stage, after repeatedly dying to fall damage, he stood nervously beside Schlatt while trying to avoid looking at [M/N], who was snarling while glaring at him.

“Stop it.” he scolded, the man huffed as he looked away “Tubbo, you, as my secretary of state, as my right hand man of L’Manburg!” Schlatt ignored the whine coming from [M/N] when he said that, he sighed and gave the man a look before smiling down at the younger boy “I need you to do something for me, Tubbo.”

“What Mister President?”

“I need you, to find Tommy and I need you, to show him the door. Rumor has it, he’s somewhere around. Perhaps, uh, perhaps on top of a building.” at the mention of that, [M/N] turned his head to the right and saw on top of the tower was a frightened Wilbur and standing beside, though he couldn’t see because of the potion, was undoubtedly Tommy, probably with an expression just as frightened as his “Tubbo, bring them here at once.” [M/N] looked away from the tower as he looked down at Tubbo, he looked hesitant to do Schlatt’s bidding, I mean, of course, he would, he was going against his best friend and the man he previously fought a war with.

“I-I...” Tubbo looked up and paled when [M/N] glared at him, he swallowed thickly before nodding his head “I’ll do my best, Mister President.” [M/N] relaxed at that and turned away, Schlatt smiled as he pats Tubbo on the shoulder.

“Good, now, you best be on your way. Go get 'em.” he nodded his trembling head before rushing off, Schlatt grinned as he straightened his tie and waved at the people, [M/N] pursed his lips as he leaned down to whisper in his ear.

“Why didn’t you send me, sir? You know I’m better at tracking than anyone else, it was illogical to send him.” Schlatt only chuckled, turning around and gently patting [M/N] on the cheek.

“Yeah, I know that, but you’re my bodyguard. Your job is to stay by my side and protect me from potential dangers, and I can’t exactly have my bodyguard leave my side just to gather a bunch of rats.” he gave him a smile “I’m counting on you to protect me from here on out, that’s your first order from me as the President. Don’t disappoint me.” at that, [M/N] had stopped listening to Schlatt ramble on about other things he had planned for L’Manburg as his heart thumped in his chest once more. He hadn’t felt like this ever since Schlatt had first picked him up when he was just a little cub, this feeling of loyalty swelling in his chest for this man, he smile with a newfound resolve as he stood behind Schlatt with a prideful gaze.

He was going to carry out that order until his last breath.

[a few days later]

“Ma-- Manberg, sir? You’re going to change L’Manberg to Manberg?” [M/N] asked, reading through the papers Schlatt had handed to him in confusion, he lowered the papers as he stared at the man “Why? L’Manberg sounds fine as is.” Schlatt merely laughs, leaning back in his seat as he holds a glass of whiskey, spinning the glass around with his wrist and watching the liquid sway before looking at his bodyguard.

“Well, this country no longer takes any L’s.” Schlatt grinned when he got the man to snicker at that, he downs the whiskey as he lets [M/N] read through the other decrees he thought of. The first one was obvious, it was revoking Wilbur and Tommy’s citizenship to L’Man-- oh, no, Manberg. The second was to remove the walls surrounding the country that were built since the beginning, the third was renaming L’Manberg to Manberg because he claimed the country isn’t taking L’s anymore. [M/N] scoffed with a laugh, shaking his head when he saw that Schlatt wanted to replace many of the longstanding structures of the city with tall apartment buildings and a monument of himself.

“Really? A monument of yourself? Quite egotistical, don’t you think?” Schlatt laughed at that, throwing his head back as he placed his empty glass on his desk.

“What? Don’t you think it’ll give this country a nice touch to it?”

“Whatever makes you happy, sir.” he shuffles through the rest of the papers but he stopped when his eyes landed on the last one, Schlatt watched as he furrowed his brows as he read through it “You want to raise the taxes, but only for the female residents of Manberg? Sir, you do realize that Niki Nihachu is the only woman residing in Manberg, right?” he chuckles.

“Of course I know. Because I kicked her friends out, she’s been acting out and even stood up to me at one point.” he slams his hand on his desk and glared at [M/N], though the latter was not affected by the gaze because he knew that it wasn’t directed at him “I’m just putting her in her place so she learns not to go against my authority.” he hums, eyeing the page carefully before looking at Schlatt once more.

“Are you sure? This isn’t going to look good for you, makes you seem prejudice against women.” Schlatt waves his hand to dismiss the thought.

“You’re overthinking it, kid. You’re simply not looking at the bigger picture!” [M/N] raised a brow.

“And that would be?” Schlatt looked at him before looking away.

“I’m still imagining the picture kid, don’t put me on the spot like that.” he snorted at the response he got, he lets out a breath as he rearranged the papers once more before bowing his head.

“Well, I’ll leave you to your duties and hand these to Vice President Quackity.” the older man nods his head, swiveling in his chair before raising his hand and motioning for [M/N] to come. The man looked at him in confusion before approaching him from behind his desk, he leaned forward before jolting up, his ears and tail shooting upwards when Schlatt placed his hand on top of his head and gently pat his head.

“I really do appreciate you sticking by my side throughout the years, kid, never forget that.” [M/N] raised his head, Schlatt laughed when he noticed that his pupils had blown out as his tail was wagging behind him. He remembered he would always do that to him when he was a kid and it really pleased the kid, [M/N] stood up straight with a flushed face as he pressed his hand to where Schlatt’s hand previously was.

“I-I...” he couldn’t even say anything, he was just too flustered, Schlatt had to hold back his laughter when [M/N] turned tail and ran, nearly tripping over but instead slammed into the door before throwing it up and slamming it shut behind him. [M/N] had his back pressed to the door as he tried to calm himself down, he just couldn’t stop smiling, he always did enjoy getting praised by Schlatt, maybe that was the wolf side of him that made him react like this. He took a deep breath, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair to straighten it out, when he composed himself, he slapped on his straight face before walking down the hall to where Quackity’s office was.

“Hey, [M/N]!” his ears perked up at the call and he looked over to see Fundy waving his hand, he narrowed his eyes on him to remember what his place was in the White House. Um, if he remembered hard enough, Schlatt said that he was the...  Archbishop/Right hand man? He really couldn’t be bothered remembering all these names that meant nothing to him, though, he did stop so Fundy could approach him, with caution, of course. Fundy knew how vicious [M/N] was with people who weren’t Schlatt, he really was just Schlatt’s hound dog that wouldn’t hesitate to carry out any of his orders, no matter how malicious they were.

“What do you need, sir?” he answered, Fundy laughed as he shook his head and pat him on the arm.

“Come on now, since we’re working together, don’t you think you should drop the formalities? We’re friends, aren’t we?” Fundy flinched when he noticed [M/N] was glaring at the hand that was touching him, he laughed nervously as he removed his hand.

“Friends?” he questioned, holding the papers in one hand, he raised the other to wipe his arm where Fundy had touched him “I don’t remember us becoming such a feat. We’re nothing more than associates, nothing more, nothing less.” he awkwardly laughed at that when the taller man kept a stern look on his face as he stared him down.

“Ah haha, r-right.” [M/N] sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Anyways, do you know where the Vice President is? Mister JSchlatt asked me to deliver these papers to him so he could take a look at them.” Fundy’s ears perked up at that.

“Quackity?” he then pointed off in a direction “He’s currently in his office with George.” he nods his head at the information.

“Thank you, and with that, I’ll be on my way.” he was polite enough to bid the fox hybrid goodbye before leaving him, it didn’t take long for the man to reach Quackity’s door and so he politely knocked on the door and waited to be let in.

“Oh, come in!” he heard the voice from within the office, he pushed open the door and there he saw Quackity sitting on his desk while talking to George “Oh, it’s you, [M/N]. What brings you here?” he raises the papers in his hand as he approaches the two.

“The President asked me to hand these to you. He wants you to read through them before handing them back to him, saying that he also wants your opinion on what he wants to do to this country.” Quackity nods as he takes the papers from [M/N]’s hands, giving them a brief skim through before setting them down on the desk beside him.

“Alright.”

“He would appreciate an immediate response because he would like those decrees to happen immediately. I don’t wish to rush you, but the President gets quite fussy when people make him wait.” Quackity nods his head once more at that.

“Got it, I’ll try and have it done before later tonight.” [M/N] bows his head at that.

“Much appreciated, Mister Vice President.” he then bows his head to George “Ambassador. Have a good day gentlemen.” with that he took his leave and returned to his post in front of Schlatt’s office door, no one was to come in without him mentally noting down who it was that entered and who left. Anyone that passed by was impressed that he never moved from his spot, didn’t fidget or twitch, he only made a reaction when someone was approaching before turning them away when Schlatt didn’t want to see them.

“U-Um, excuse me?” he raised his brow as he looked down, there, he saw a nervous looking Tubbo waving his hand to try and get his attention “Schlatt told me to meet him in his office, telling me he had a job for me.” [M/N] furrowed his brows before looking up in thought, he did remember him mentioning that Tubbo was going to meet him later in the day, so he nodded his head.

“Right.” he opened to door and looked over at where Schlatt was “Sir, Tubbo is here as you wished.” Schlatt raised his head at the announcement, a grin on his face as he stood up from his desk.

“Wonderful, wonderful! Let him in, why don’t you?” [M/N] nodded his head before stepping to the side and gesturing with his arms for Tubbo to enter the room, when he walked in he was planning on closing the door behind and wait outside the room but stopped when he noticed Schlatt give him a look that told him to stay. He glanced back at Tubbo before nodding his head and stepping into the room, closing the door behind him and standing in front of the door, and let the two talk. He didn’t bother listening to the conversation, it really wasn’t anything that concerned him, it was the usual political bullshit that Schlatt pulled out of his ass while using different tactics to intimidate and frighten the child into submission, to which it worked because Tubbo could barely look him in the eye. Only when he heard Schlatt mention Tubbo’s first job did he ask him to do, was when [M/N] started to listen “I thought I told you to find Tommy and bring him here, Tubbo.” the boy swallowed thickly.

“I-I’m trying, really, Schlatt.” he licks his lips “They’re not here in L’Manberg--”

“It’s Manberg, Tubbo.” he raised his head in shock at what Schlatt had said “Because you didn’t know that I was changing it, I’ll let it slide just this one time. I hope there won’t be any more slip-ups.” he nods his head.

“R-Right.” he takes a breath to calm himself “Anyways, they’re not here in Manberg, sir. I don’t know where else they could have gone.” Schlatt hummed at that, circling him while clicking his tongue.

“That is not the answer I wanted, Tubbo. You know him better than anyone, so I expected you to find them first.” he then gestures to [M/N], Tubbo looked over at the wolf hybrid and saw he had his neutral expression on his face “[M/N] is my most trusted companion, he’s been with me for a long time so I know him like the back of my hand, as he is with me.” Tubbo nods his head.

“Yeah...?” Tubbo stands in his spot as he watched Schlatt approach the man, dragging his hand across his shoulders before wrapping an arm around his torso and leaning his weight into his body.

“So I know how great of a tracker he is, as well as a hunter.” Tubbo flinched, know understanding where he was going “He is a wolf hybrid, a grey wolf at that, making him an apex predator, meaning that he is at the very top of the food chain. When he’s got a whiff of your scent, it’s all over, there isn’t a place on this earth that you can hide and he won’t be able to find you.” he nods slowly.

“T-That sounds like a really good assist, sir.” he nods.

“It is.” he then leaves [M/N]’s side as twirls around the room, throwing his arms open before pointing at Tubbo “Now you must be thinking, why I didn’t send [M/N] off to find your pesky little friend and that former President? Well, it’s simple. I don’t want him to leave my side, he’s the one person I trust with my life and I don’t want him to go off just to do a trivial job. That’s why I left it to you, because you know your friend Tommy better than anyone else, so you must know what he’s planning.”

“I... I--”

“Tubbo, listen.” Schlatt was by Tubbo’s side, wrapping an arm around him and leaning down close to his face “I’m going to tell you this one last time so you can get the job done right, okay? Go and find Tommy and kill him, or else I’ll send [M/N] to get the job done right, and I know neither of us wants that. He can be quite merciless when it comes down to doing hunting jobs to the point that even I can’t tell him to stop. He does a messy job, but at least he can get it done.” Tubbo was really being put on the spot at that point, he hasn’t seen what [M/N] is capable of, and he really doesn’t want to find out either.

“I...” he lowers his head “I understand, Mister President.” Schlatt smiled at the response, raising his hands to let him go.

“Wonderful! I’m so glad to hear that.” he pats Tubbo’s back and raises his arm to direct him to the door “Now that you understand what happens if you don’t do your job properly, off you go. Report anything you find to [M/N], okay?” he nods.

“Got it.” with that he leaves the room, [M/N] goes to follow him out but was stopped when Schlatt grabbed his arm.

“Before you go,” he raised a brow when he noticed his expression darkened “keep an eye on him, won’t you?” [M/N] only smirked, showing off his canines.

“I was going to do that whether you ordered me or not.” he cracked his knuckles as the other man laughed.

“Right, that is so you.” he takes a breath as he leans against his desk “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, eh?” [M/N] salutes him.

“Yes sir.”

[weeks later]

“You’re... married?” [M/N] questioned as he looked at Schlatt and Quackity in confusion, the latter looked proud of the accomplishment while the former looked just as confused as he did “We-- Well... congrats?” he lets out a confused whine as he tilted his head to the side, he scratches the back of his neck as he tried to continue his work but the fact that Schlatt got married to this... guy, really rattled him.

“Don’t think about it, even I don’t understand why he wanted to marry me.” Schlatt said as he waved Quackity goodbye, to which the duck hybrid waved his hand enthusiastically before running down the hallway, [M/N] pursed his lips as he looked down at the golden ring on his finger before glancing away “Anyways, how’s keeping an eye on Tubbo been lately?” he asked, the both of them entering his office to speak about the matter privately.

“As you’ve instructed, I continue to make quick observations on him whenever he comes and goes. When he’s around others he’s calm and relaxed, but that persona immediately drops when he’s around me, sir.”

“Maybe that’s because you scare the kid, pup.” he laughs when [M/N] flushes at the pet name, it had been a long time since he called him that, he cleared his throat “Sorry, continue, please.” 

“Thank you, anyways, as I was saying, he’s always on edge whenever he’s around you or me.” he raises a hand as he taps his cheek “He’s gone frequently during the day as well, sometimes I ask Fundy where Tubbo goes and he doesn’t know, not even Quackity. George is no help, he’s never around or he’s always asleep, so he’s completely in the dark. But the times he passes by me, I take a whiff of his scent and I smell rubble, gun powder, oddly potatoes, and something else that I just can’t place.”

“Do you think he’s purposely covering his scent to throw you off?” he purses his lips.

“Perhaps, but I’m close, I can feel it.” Schlatt nods his head.

“Alright, when you manage to find something, I give you permission to leave my side and follow after him.” [M/N]’s eyes opened at what he said.

“P-Pardon? You want me to... leave your side?” Schlatt rolled his eyes at the reaction he gave him, he knew he was going to react like this, knowing how protective this damned mutt can get when he isn’t by his side.

“You’re the only one I trust to accomplish this job, [M/N]. You’re efficient at what you do, so be quick. Get in, and get out before they notice and return to me with the results I want, okay? You’re the only one that won’t be able to mess this up, yeah?” [M/N] was hesitant, of course, he was, he fiddled with the hem of his dress shirt as he kept his head low. Schlatt let out a sigh as he stared at the man before him, he would always do that whenever he was nervous, he still hasn’t changed from when he was just a kid “Come on now, stop being so worried, I’ll be fine.”

“... really?” he nods his head.

“Of course, I’ll be waiting for you here, mmkay?” he takes his hands and gently pats his head, laughing when he saw his tail wagging behind him.

“O... Okay.” he soon pats his arm.

“That’s the spirit! Oh, would you look at that, I have a meeting to get to with someone important.” he rolls his neck as his hands slip away from [M/N], to which the man quickly straightened himself out before following Schlatt out. Many things had occurred since the day he had become President, he ordered Fundy to burn down the L’Manberg flag and to create a new Manberg flag made of obsidian and crying obsidian to make it harder to control, he banished Niki from Manberg after refusing to pay her taxes and had every other resident of Manberg to raid her bakery and steal everything she owned, so now she owned nothing. [M/N] felt a bead of sweat form on his cheek as he listed every bad/horrible deed Schlatt had done to the country, making him look even worse than he did in the beginning. He wasn’t going to admit it, though he totally would, he knew if Schlatt continued with the path he was going down... he wasn’t going to die an easy death “Ah, we’re here. They’re already inside, so I want you to stay out here and keep anyone looking for me out, okay?” [M/N] nodded his head.

“As you wish, sir.” he winks before throwing the doors open then letting them close behind him, with that, [M/N] turned around and kept his back to the door. With his hands behind his back, he kept his posture and expressionless face on as he watched people walk by, some greeted him and he greeted them back briefly. He wasn’t really paying attention to how much time had gone by but his ears did go up when he saw Tubbo approach him.

“Hey, [M/N], is Schlatt in there?” he nods his head.

“Yeah, he’s having a meeting with someone and told me to keep anyone looking for him out. Must be really important.” Tubbo nods his head.

“Oh, okay. Then I guess I’ll wait out here with you if that’s alright.” he shrugged his shoulder.

“Do what you want.” Tubbo nods again before proceeding to stand beside the taller man, he rolled his neck as he fixed his stance until his nose twitched. An unknown scent caught his attention and so he sniffed the air to catch a whiff of the scent once more before it disappeared, soon his head moved down to where Tubbo was standing and the younger boy was looking up at him in confusion.

“U-Um, [M/N], what are you--” 

*SNEEZE*

Tubbo was taken aback at the loud sneeze coming from the man, it was completely unexpected that he jumped in surprise before he approached [M/N], backing away when he sneezed again.

“No, go away!” he shouts “Why do you smell like pollen?! Why the hell are you even covered in that shit from head to toe?!” he shouts, sneezing again and covering his nose so he wouldn’t pick up the smell of pollen.

“You can smell the pollen off of me?” he questioned.

“Of course I can, I have a sensitive nose and I can pick up on various smells, dammit!” he shouts, sniffling and rubbing his nose when his nose started getting runny. Though that part was true, he caught wind of Tommy’s scent as well, though his meeting with the small child was brief, he has a memory bank of all the different types of smells he had smelt in the past. He just had to find a reason to cover up the fact that he was blatantly smelling Tubbo, thank god for his hay fever. Tubbo was still quite taken aback by [M/N]’s reaction but he was in a state of panic that he forgot how good his sense of smell was, how on earth could he forget, he just felt fortunate enough that he was playing in a field of flowers with bees that he was covered in pollen to fool him.

“O-Oh, um, sorry?” he apologized questionably, handing him a handkerchief to blow his nose.

“Just-- please go away, I beg.” 

“Ye-- right! I can just show this to Schlatt later!” he exclaims before running away, he blew his nose in the handkerchief, grimacing at the amount of snot on it before folding it up and pocketing it then running his finger under his nose to control him.

“Hey,” he shrieked at the voice from behind him, turning around, he saw Schlatt cracking open the doors by a bit to peek his head through “what was all that noise about?” he sniffed.

“Tubbo was here waiting for you, but he was covered in pollen when I tried sniffing him and I started sneezing.” Schlatt nodded his head.

“Ah, your hay fever.” he nods, he goes to enter the office once more but couldn’t when [M/N] places his foot in between the doors to stop him, he then leans down to whisper in his ear.

“But I did manage to smell Tommy off of him.” now this caused Schlatt’s blood to run cold for a bit before it started to boil, though, he managed to keep his composure as he smiled up at [M/N].

“You know what to do.” he bows his head.

“Of course.” he waited until his meeting was over to take Schlatt back to his office, he looked into the room Schlatt was in and briefly saw the color green but ignored it to take Schlatt back. When he safely returned to his office, he nodded his head to him before closing the door behind the man then turning on his heel to find where that little bastard had slipped off to his. His gaze caught the sight of Quackity, who was flaunting his wedding wing to Fundy, who just looked downright confused “Excuse me, Quackity, Fundy!” he called out, the two raised their heads and Quackity greeted him enthusiastically while Fundy was still nervous under his eyes.

“Hey, [M/N]!” he cheered.

“Y-Yeah, hey.” Fundy added, [M/N] only sighed.

“Yes, hello. I was just wondering if you two knew where Tubbo was, he was waiting for the President beside me when he was having a meeting with someone else before he ran off when he realized he was the cause of my little... accident.” he sniffled once more “Anyways, the President has returned to his office and I was wondering if you knew where he was so I can tell him that he’s free now.” Fundy let out a hum as he looked up in thought.

“Well, I haven’t seen him in the past hour, he said that he was going out on a stroll.” Quackity nodded.

“I saw him go east from where the White House is, saying he wanted to collect some bees before talking to Schlatt. If you hurry, you’ll probably catch up to him.” he notes, [M/N] nodded his head to what they said.

“Thanks.” they bid him adieu as he walked off, when he was outside the White House, he stretched his arms and legs, crouching down a couple times before turning his body east from where the White House was before kneeling down and pressing the tips of his fingers onto the ground. He bends his knees as the soles of his feet dig into the ground, with that, he shot forward and sprinted off to find Tubbo. It was a little difficult because he could smell the pollen mixed in with his scent but as Schlatt had said, once he’s got a whiff of your scent, there’s nowhere you could hide on this earth that he wouldn’t be able to find you. He launched himself into the air before catching himself in the trees of a forest somewhere outside of the borders of the Dream SMP, he landed on the ground before sprinting forward, however, he didn’t know how long he was going to have to search to find anything suspicious but then he came to the opening by a hill.

He raised a brow at the sight of a small dirt shack embedded within a hill, he tilts his head to the side before approaching it. He opens the door and looks around in confusion before inhaling the lingering scents within the shack, now he smelt an assortment of different scents. He was onto them, the shack had a bed, a couple chests with furnaces, and other things but what he saw that really mattered was an opening that was leading underground. He rolled his neck, planning to go down it but stopped when he saw a dog.

“...”

“...”

“Hey.” he greeted, raising a hand, he smiled when it gave him a cheerful yip in return, he ruffled its head before heading down. He soon found himself in a ravine, looking around, it was mostly a system of caves, made of stone and wooden stairways with torches along the walls. He pursed his lips when he saw a huge potato field... now that explained the smell of potatoes, he scoffed, such a downgrade, he thought to himself before crouching down when he heard voices. He drank an Invisibility Potion before peeking his head down and there he saw Tubbo talking to Wilbur, Tommy, and some piglin hy-- oh, shit. He recognized that piglin hybrid, the Blood God Technoblade, an anarchistic pig, now he was going to be a problem.

“I’m sorry Wilbur, I panicked and came here as fast as I could.” Wilbur shook his head as he held Tubbo’s shoulders.

“That doesn’t matter, just tell us what happened.” he let out a sigh.

“I think I nearly got caught.” Tommy was up on his feet immediately, he shoved Wilbur away as he checked Tubbo all over.

“What? Did they hurt you? Are you okay?” he shook his head to wave Tommy off.

“I’m fine, it’s just that Schlatt’s bodyguard.” now this caught their attention, Tubbo told them how troublesome his bodyguard is, Tubbo could never get close to Schlatt without [M/N] being in the same room sneering down at anyone that thought they could touch him. Not only that but because he was a wolf and that if he even caught a whiff of their scent he would be on them immediately and Tubbo’s job as a spy for Pogtopia would be exposed.

“What did he do?” 

“I had work to show to Schlatt but couldn’t because he was in a meeting, course [M/N] was also waiting outside the door as he usually did and this time I decided to wait beside him. But he suddenly started sniffing me, I panicked there and then but before I could do anything he started sneezing.” Tommy snickered at that.

“Sneezing? Why?” Technoblade questioned.

“I was covered in pollen and he said he had hay fever.” Tommy was laughing now, this caused [M/N] to purse his lips at that the boy who was laughing at him “I think the fact that he has hay fever saved my butt, who knows what would’ve happened if I didn’t play with the bees.” Technoblade now rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, sure. I thought we warned you to roll in the dirt or have a shower after you visit us, that guy is our problem. The moment you get caught, we’re all in trouble.” he scolds before freezing, pulling out an axe from his inventory and throwing it over his shoulder.

“What? What’s the matter, Techno?” Wilbur asked, watching the anarchist on alert as he looked around.

“I smell a dog.” [M/N] huffs while the others freeze.

‘Dog? Now that’s rude.’ he shakes his head, he got what he needed so he no longer needed to stay, he goes to stand to his feet but winced when he noticed that when he shuffled his feet a couple rocks fell, he then fell to the ground to avoid the axe that was thrown at him ‘Jesus!’

"You led him to us!” he shouts, he goes to pull out another weapon but paused when he heard a bark, they all look up and see that it was simply the same dog that [M/N] passed on his way into Pogtopia.

“Heh, you’re overreacting, it’s just L’Mandog.” [M/N] was silently crying when this damned dog came out of nowhere and saved his skin, [M/N] knew he was strong, strong enough to handle the three and Technoblade if he was alone, but there was no way he could take on those three and Technoblade at the same time, that was too much. He silently thanked the dog before rolling away and rushing out of that ravine, Technoblade looked back over at the spot he threw his axe before looking at Tubbo.

“You should stay away from Pogtopia for a couple days, Tubbo. We’ll wait till this all blows over and if he acts out of place, then we’ll know.” Tubbo slowly nodded his head.

“Yeah... yeah, okay. I don’t want you guys getting hurt just because of my slip up.” Tommy grinned, giving his friend and thumbs up.

“Don’t worry, Tubbo, everything will be fine.”

[the next day]

“A festival?” Quackity questioned, putting down the sheet of paper Schlatt had handed to him and the other members of his cabinet. They were all in the meeting discussing Schlatt’s upcoming event for Manberg which was going to be a festival, but they were all confused as to why he was pulling such a stunt, they couldn’t find a reason as to why he was throwing a festival. [M/N] was also in the room so they look over at him to see his reaction, Schlatt tells the man everything, so he must know what’s going on... instead, they saw him scrunch his face up in confusion as he continued to stand behind him, whispering festival under his breath “W-Wha... what for, sir?” he laughed, throwing his arms back.

“Can’t we throw a festival to celebrate? It’ll be in the name of democracy.” [M/N] pulled a face as he leaned down to whisper in his ear.

“But you are against democracy, sir.” he shrugged his shoulders, smacking the back of his hand against his chest.

“Oh, lighten up, will you?” [M/N] sighed before standing up straight, wiping his chest where Schlatt had smacked him before rolling his shoulders and looking at the other three who were attending the meeting, maybe he should kick George just to make him come to at least one meeting “Anyways, I am placing Tubbo in charge of the planning.” said boy jolted in his seat before looking over at Schlatt in shock.

“M-Me?! Why?” he grinned at the young boy.

“Other than Fundy and Quackity, you’re the person I trust the most with such an important event, plus I believe you’ll be pretty decent in coming up with plans for the festival.” they hear a whine and look over at [M/N], jumping in surprise when they saw his ears dropping down, his bottom lip trembling. He then leans down once more, grabbing Schlatt by the shoulder while pointing at himself.

“W-What about me? Don’t you trust me enough, sir?” he rolls his eyes, smacking [M/N]’s hand off his shoulder as he pulled a cigar out of his pocket and puts it to his lips, letting Quackity light it.

“You can’t plan for shit, I know that from experience.” they sweat drop when they saw him turn around and start sulking, Schlatt took a puff from his cigar before waving his hand “I’m trusting you, Tubbo, to set the whole event up and I am also giving you the role as a key speaker.” Tubbo swallowed thickly at that before nodding his head.

“Okay, I won’t let you down, Mister President!” he felt nervous when Schlatt smiled at him.

“I know you won’t.” Tubbo shuddered, not really knowing how to take that last comment, soon, Schlatt stood to his feet as he straightened his blazer before snapping his fingers, causing [M/N] to snap out of his sulking and have him straighten his posture “That’s all we have to discuss, [M/N], come.”

“Coming.” with that the two of them left, and when they were alone, [M/N] immediately dropped the confused face “Do you think they fell for it?” he questioned, Schlatt laughed as he took another puff his from cigar before letting it hang from his lips so he could look up at [M/N].

“Without a doubt, pup.” he throws his arms up and lets them rest behind his head, lacing his fingers together as he walked down the hallways of the White House “I never knew you had a thing for acting, fooled them pretty good.” Schlatt laughed when he saw [MN] raise his head, his nose comically becoming pointed and longer.

“Perks of knowing how to lie on the spot, sir.” he rolls his shoulders “All I really need is to not act up in front of Tubbo, once he notices something wrong with me, he’ll tell Wilbur and his lot that we’re on to them.” Schlatt nods his head and gently knocks on his chest.

“Then act like you usually do, a lost puppy following his owner.” [M/N] briefly stopped in his tracks at what Schlatt called him, practically calling him out, his tail gets tucked between his legs before he chased after him when he noticed the distance growing between the two when Schlatt continued to walk.

“H-Hey! I’m not lost.” 

“So you admit you’re a puppy?” his cheeks flush pink from embarrassment.

“Please stop teasing me, sir.” Schlatt only chuckles.

Surprisingly, the preparations for the festival went rather smoothly. Tubbo kept a watchful eye on [M/N] just in case there really was something underhanded going on with the festival but the latter made no moves that were deemed suspicious. The only times the wolf interfered with the planning was when Schlatt ordered him to help with heavy lifting or to input his own opinions and thoughts to the plan, to which he was more than reluctant to do such a thing. Sometimes [M/N] would make sure there was some decent distance between the two of them in case Tubbo was playing in a field of flowers or with bees again just so his hay fever doesn’t act up while he’s working, it would be such a hassle.

“Um, what do you think of this, [M/N]?” Tubbo asked, showing the man a design for one of the decorations. He stood nervously in front of the taller man, trembling slightly when he stared intensely at the design for what seemed like a hot minute before leaning away and giving him a thumbs up.

“It’s not bad, but remember to keep the flow consistent throughout the entire design, okay? You’re going with a simplistic theme, right? There’s no need to overdo the decorations, it looks fine as is. You’re doing a good job.” Tubbo was taken aback at the feedback he got from him, he wasn’t really expecting it but he did appreciate it.

“T-Thank you for the input, [M/N]! I’ll take that into consideration.” [M/N] merely nods his head, giving him another thumbs up before watching the younger boy rush off to get the things he had in mind ordered. He glanced down at his hand and watched it relax before it slowly closed into a tight fist, poor kid, he was a pretty decent kid and it almost made him feel bad when he knew about what was going to happen to him during the festival.

Almost.

[day of the manberg festival]

“Got to hand it to him, he did a wonderful job.” [M/N] murmured under his lips, clapping his hands as he saw the festival come to life. Many people had come to attend such a wonderful day, even the few who were previously banished from Manberg. [M/N] stood to the side as he scanned the area where the festival was taking place for anything suspicious but he also where he still had a clear view of where Schlatt was, he sniffed the air for the lingering scents of Wilbur and Tommy, scrunching his face up when he could just faintly sniff them out but he couldn’t spot them “They’re somewhere... I can feel it.”

“Who’s here?” he looked down to see that it was Quackity that asked him, [M/N] merely scoffed as he straightened his posture, crossing his arms as he continued to scan the crowd of happy people.

“Rats.” Quackity rolled his eyes as he elbowed [M/N]’s arm, which promptly earned him a snarl from the taller man, only for him to ignore it as he laughed and ate some of the food that was provided for the festival. Quackity had long gotten over his slight fear of [M/N], growing used to the glares, snarls, sneers, growls, and scowls that he could touch him and get away with it. Maybe it was the fact that he was married to Schlatt that [M/N] eased up on him... maybe-- hopefully “Anyways, how long till the President gives his speech? He told me he had it planned to start a few hours after the festival began.” he waved his hand nonchalantly.

“Hmm, maybe in half an hour.” he offered some of his food to [M/N], to which he raised his hand to block it from getting anywhere close to his face as he shook his head to deny he wanted any, Quackity shrugged as he nibbled on his food “Schlatt also told me to tell you that he wants you to enjoy the festival too.” [M/N]’s ears perked up at that as he looked down at Quackity.

“What?” he nods his head.

“Uh huh. He told me to tell you, saying that even though you know what’s going to happen today, he still wants you to enjoy the evening. Whatever that means.” he explained with another shrug of the shoulders, he purses his lips as he glanced over at Schlatt, it took a bit of time for the older man to notice his glancing but when he did, he smiled softly and gave him a thumbs up along with a nod.

“Really?” Quackity looked up at him and raised a brow when he saw a soft blush flush across his face “He remembered...” he whispered softly.

“He remembered what?” he glared down at the latter.

“You’re really nosey, you know that?” he laughs.

“It just shows that I care.” he rolled his eyes as he began to walk away.

“Yet I do not care for you.” with that he left Quackity alone to sulk at the harsh statement, he wandered around the festival trying to find something that would preoccupy himself before the main event started. He didn’t really participate in any of the attractions that the festival offered nor eat any of the food... well, maybe he did swipe a couple candy apples that were selling. A soft smile spread across his lips as he munched on the treats before looking up at the sky, he liked festivals because he remembered when Schlatt took him to one when he was just a kid.

‘I wonder if we weren’t trying to execute that kid, maybe he’d enjoy the festival with me like he did when I was a child. My fondest memory with him.’ he thought, hearing the sound of his laughter ringing in the back of his head as the memory played out in his head... oh, he could only wish to go back to the good old days where he hadn’t had to worry about getting stabbed in the back.

<JSchlatt> whispers to you: hey, kid, where are you?

He let out an oh when he saw the message pop up in the lower left side of his vision, he let out a hum as he expanded the message board and read through the message Schlatt had sent him.

You whisper to <JSchlatt>: just enjoying the festival like you told quackity to tell me, sir.

<JSchlatt> whispers to you: you having fun?

You whisper to <JSchlatt>: quite frankly, I am.

<JSchaltt> whispers to you: good, but right now, I need you to come back to my side. I’m about to start.

You whisper to <JSchlatt>: I’m on my way.

“Hmm.” [M/N] stood to his feet immediately, though he did look down at his candy apple before opening his mouth wide enough and chomping down on it, eating it completely before taking the stick out of his mouth and jogging away, throwing the stick behind him and it actually landing in a trash bin. He was in the middle of making his way back to the stage where it was going to happen when he accidentally walked into someone, he caught them by their arm before the both of them could stumble to the ground and helped straighten them up “Oh, I apologize for walking into you.” he says, when the person looks at him, his eyes widened briefly, but not enough for them to notice his shock.

‘Oh, fuck.’ in front of him was none other than the Blood God himself, Technoblade ‘The hell is this guy doing here? So does that mean Wilbur and Tommy are here after all?’ he brings his arm to his chest and bows his head.

“I apologize once more for bumping into you, but if you’ll excuse me, I must go.” and with that, he rushes off, Technoblade dusts the arm [M/N] had touched off as he watched the taller man flee, he raises a brow.

“That was not what I was expecting.” he muttered, he imagined [M/N] to be more intimidating from how Tubbo described him, but after seeing him up close, he looked a bit like a pushover “Hmph, for a guy that Tubbo warned me about, he’s quite polite.” [M/N] now stood beside Schlatt as Quackity started off his own speech, gathering the crowd so he could start things off, the man leaned down so that he was hovering by his ear so their conversation would be hushed.

“Technoblade is here.” this set off alarms in Schlatt’s head but he didn’t let it show, he just continued to smile at the crowd “So that can only mean that the other two are here as well to see what the hell is going on.” Schlatt briefly tore his eyes away from the crowd to look up at [M/N].

“Think you can find them?” he stands up straight as his eyes wandered the crowd.

“It’ll be a little harder because there’s so many people, food, and other stuff that’s messing with my nose, but I know they’re here...” he muttered quietly, Schlatt nods his head and pats him on the back.

“Just make sure they don’t get close, okay? Especially that Technoblade, I know that you’re strong, but I don’t want to take any chances of you getting hurt.” Schlatt furrowed his brows when he could feel [M/N]’s puppy dog eyes staring at him, so he smacked his arm “Drop the gaze, you’re supposed to be a wolf, not a puppy.” he smiles softly.

“You’re the one that calls me pup, sir.” he rolls his eyes.

“I’m gonna call you mutt if you don’t shut your mouth.” he lets out a whine before eventually falling silent, [M/N] stood silently beside Schlatt as he sat down in his chair and the both of them silently watched Tubbo give his own speech to the people (I was gonna write his part of the speech but I couldn’t be fucked and I didn’t have the patience to watch the video/stream just to find exactly what he said), however, [M/N] let his eyes wander a little bit during the speech and his ears perked up at the sight he was looking for.

‘There you are.’ he thought to himself, dropping his gaze just in case Wilbur and Tommy stopped looking at Tubbo just to keep an eye on him ‘I’ve got them now.’ he discretely tapped the side of Schlatt’s seat to gain his attention and when he moved his eyes to look he nodded his head, he could almost read Schlatt’s thoughts when he saw that dark smirk spread across his face before he soon started to chuckle.

“W-Wha... what’s wrong, Schlatt?” Tubbo asked as he looked back at the man, to which he shook his head.

“No, I was just thinking about it, Tubbo.” he then stands to his feet as he slowly approached him “Tubbo, would you like to have fun?” Tubbo glanced back at [M/N] and saw that the dark aura that usually surrounds him came back as he glared at him, he shrunk back as he looked back up at Schlatt.

“Y-Yeah, we like-- what’s up, Schlatt?” he shook his head.

“Nothing, nothing. But, is that it? Is that the end of your speech?” he slowly nods his head, Schlatt hums before he goes over to Quackity and hands him yellow sand and so the two of them make a box surrounding Tubbo, they then turn the sand into concrete so Tubbo had no way of getting out. The crowd grew anxious and confused as to what Schlatt and Quackity, to which he was also was confused, were doing “Okay, Tubbo, I’ll cut to the fucking chase.”

“S-Schlatt...?”

"Tubbo, Tubbo... I know what you've been up to.”

“What have I been up to?” 

“What have I been up to' he says! What have I been up to? You've been CONSPIRING! With the IDIOTS, with the-- with the TYRANTS! That we kicked out of this server, that we kicked out of this great country!" [M/N] didn’t need to peek into the box to know that the color drained out of his skin as a panicked expression grew on his face as Schlatt raised his voice “Tubbo, I don't know if you know this, but treason isn't exactly, uh... isn't exactly a respectable thing around here. I know what you've been doing, IT ALL ADDS UP, BUDDY! The fucking TUNNELS, your ABSENCE from GREAT events, I mean, you walked off in the middle of THIS one! You walked off in the middle of this one, Tubbo! Don't try and tell me you've done nothing wrong! Because everybody knows it! I see it with my own two fucking eyes, what you've been doing!" Schlatt takes a breath as he stops in front of the only opening to the box and he glared down at Tubbo “Do you know what happens to traitors, Tubbo...?” he swallowed thickly.

“N-No...” Schlatt chuckles darkly.

“Nothing good." he takes a step back and raises his hand “[M/N], you know what to do.” Tubbo pressed himself into the wall behind him, fear circulating in his eyes when [M/N] came into view with his Firework Launcher in hand.

“[M-M/N]...?” he couldn’t stop his body from trembling, he was just so goddamn terrified as the wolfman stared down at him with such a cold gaze “W-Why are you-- what’s going on?” tears started swelling in his eyes when he saw a malicious smirk spread across his face.

“Don’t you know?” he said, loading the crossbow with a firework and raising his arm to aim it at Tubbo, ignoring all the cries behind him, begging and pleading for him to stop “This whole festival was for you, Tubbo. Schlatt thought it would be funny to see you plan for your own execution.”

“Execution...?!” [M/N] winked.

“Mm hmm.” he steadies his arm, finger on the trigger “Now, you’re relived of your duty, sir.” he chuckles before pulling the trigger and letting the firework fly, colors flying everything as it exploded onto Tubbo. 

[Tubbo went off with a bang due to a firework shot by [U/N]]

Sure, it was a little messed up that the smell of burning flesh met his nostrils along with the sight of his skin burning to the fireworks, but it really meant nothing to him. He slowly lowered his arm as Schlatt placed his hand on [M/N]’s shoulder, patting it softly with a dark grin on his face, Quackity looked at the two in slight fear at what he just witnessed. He couldn’t believe that not too long ago, he remembered seeing [M/N] with such a puppy dog look on his face and even Schlatt looked happy and calm, to think that the true meaning of the festival was to actually kill Tubbo because he was a traitor and these two knew all along.

“You two are sick.” Schlatt dusted his shoulder off when a few sparks got on him while the smirk never left his face.

“Well, you’re married to me, so you better get used to it.” Quackity swallowed thickly before fleeing the stage, Schlatt merely shrugged his shoulders and goes to leave as well but was stopped when he heard a shout.

“You bastard!” before he could react, [M/N] pushed him behind him just as the former turned around and grabbed Tommy by the neck then slammed him into the ground. The boy threw an Ender Pearl towards them and tried to strike [M/N] down, only for him to sense him way before he could even deal any damage, he thrashed and kicked at the taller man to get him to let go but only let out a grunt when he felt [M/N] tighten his grip on his throat.

“There you are, you little rat.” he sneered, leaning forward and hovering away from his face “I knew you would appear, it was only a matter of time.” Tommy sneered at him.

“Oh, fuck off you twat! I’ll kill you for what you did to Tubbo!” [M/N] merely scoffed, leaning back but keeping his grip on Tommy.

“Oh, please. You can’t do shit. If you really cared about him, you would’ve been there to stop me, but you can only do something when the deed has been done. Both you and Wilbur are just pathetic, you two just can’t seem to do anything.” mocking him only added fuel to the flames, [M/N] put his Firework Launcher into his inventory then pulled out a sword “I’m not really a fan of using weapons, my expertise rely more on my fists, but I’ll make this a quick death.” Tommy felt a bead of sweat form on his cheek, nails digging into [M/N]’s wrist as he saw the blade of the sword glisten in the light.

“W-Wait...!” Schlatt chuckled, patting [M/N]’s shoulder.

“Proceed.” he nods.

“Yes sir.” there wasn’t even a hint of hesitation in his eyes as he raised his sword “Your third life is mine.” he swings it down and before it could even land on Tommy, an Enchanted Axe blocked the attack.

“Hmm, to think I mistaken you for a pup.” looking up, he was met with the condescending gaze of Technoblade using his axe to block [M/N]’s blade from meeting Tommy’s face “I think I have to stop you right there, mutt.” [M/N] bares his teeth as he tries putting more pressure into his sword, Tommy noticed both weapons were trembling by the amount of pressure the two hybrid men were putting into it.

“And the pig finally decides to step in, huh?” he lets out a grunt when Technoblade had enough and kicked [M/N] in the chest, kicking him off of Tommy and giving him enough time to pull the younger boy up onto his feet “That was quite rude, I was busy with that boy and I would have appreciated it if you didn’t interfere.” Technoblade chuckles, pushing Tommy behind him while also watching [M/N] stand to his feet, he threw his axe over his shoulder while [M/N] rolled his neck and shoulders.

“Well sorry to break it to you, but this guy is with me.” Tommy smiled up at Technoblade while [M/N] merely scoffed, cracking his knuckles as he got in front of Schlatt.

“Right, to overthrow the government, right?” Technoblade laughs, bouncing his axe on his shoulder.

“Yeah, are you going to stop me from completing such a feat?” 

“Honestly, I could care less about the government, I am only here because I am following the man who is the President. All I care about is staying by Schlatt’s side, and if you are here to threaten his life, I can’t help but see you as an enemy.” Technoblade lets out a breath, lowering his axe and holding it in both of his hands.

“With the way you think, I feel like the both of us could have been friends.” [M/N] rolled his eyes, lowering his body and letting his arms hang in front of him, eyes never leaving Technoblade.

“Who needs friends when you have that one person that makes you happy?” now this made Technoblade think of that one person that made him happy, he shook his head.

“Yeah, we really would have gotten along.” [M/N] flexes his fingers as neither side took their eyes off each other, it was a long stare off but as soon as Technoblade saw [M/N] presses his hands into the ground, the soles of his feet digging into the ground, he readied himself. He was startled at the speed [M/N] went when he shot towards him, he lets out a grunt as he swung his axe but [M/N] easily slid under the heavy swing and was now behind him. Tommy let out a cry when he was kicked off the stage though he was luckily caught by the audience below before he could die to fall damage, Technoblade immediately turned around and swung at him again but [M/N] tackled him off the stage and the both of them fell to the ground but he was lucky because he landed on top of Technoblade so he barely lost any hearts.

“Now that hurt...” he let out a grunt when Technoblade kicked him off but he managed to stick the landing, his claws digging into the ground beneath him to bring himself to a stop “Need a second to catch your breath, Blood God?” Technoblade licked his lips as he stood to his feet, wiping away some of the blood that ran down his lips from out of his snout.

“Please, I can do this all day.” a growl emitted out of [M/N]’s throat as his animalistic traits started to take form, from his forearms to his hand's fur overlapped his skin as his hands turned into razor-sharp claws while from his legs changed into hind legs “Now that’s not fair.”

“Please, I haven’t even shown you my true form yet.” 

“Psh, that sounds cringey.”

“You just made it cringey.” [M/N] closes his hand into a tight fist, his knuckles cracking under the pressure he closed them, before flexing his fingers “Are you ready to rumble?” Technoblade wipes his nose of any more blood, swiftly drinking a regen potion and pulling out his sword this time, getting ready to strike [M/N] down.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” [M/N] lets out a howl before charging forward, yet before he could even land a scratch on Technoblade, a message appeared in the bottom left corner of his vision that made him freeze up.

[JSchlatt was shot by WilburSoot]

Technoblade was also taken aback by the message but he didn’t freeze like the man in front of him, he took his distraction as an opportunity to hit him with the pommel end of the sword. [M/N] went down, his hands planting on the ground to catch himself, before raising his head to where he left Schlatt, and his heart shattered at the sight of an arrow piercing through his chest. Despair surrounded his heart as he watched him collapse to the ground before his body evidently turned to dust, a new body ready for him at his spawn point where he know only had two lives left.

“I didn’t take you as the type to get distracted by trivial things.” Technoblade said as he approached his shaking body, he raised his sword and goes to strike him down but fell back when [M/N] ran away. Technoblade was going to chase after him but stopped when Tommy and Wilbur got in front of him, the both of them having a smirk on their faces at the sight of the biggest troublemaker fleeing.

“Talk about running away with his tail between his legs, huh?” Tommy mocked, laughing at the sight of the big bad wolf running away “Nice shot, by the way, Wilbur. That really did it.” Wilbur nods his head as he pats Technoblade on the shoulder.

“It’s thanks to Techno distracting [M/N] that I had a clear shot on Schlatt, the man wasn’t even paying attention to his surroundings.” Technoblade let them blabber about what was happening as he continued to look where [M/N] ran, his eyes widening softly when he realized which direction he went in.

[with the reader]

There was only a single thought that was running through [M/N]’s head as he ran on all fours towards the White House, tears in his eyes as he ignored the aching pain in the side of his face.

‘I fucked up! I fucked up! I fucked up!’ he didn’t bother wiping the tears from his face as the White House slowly came into view ’I had one job and I fucked it up!’ he skid to a stop as he stood on his hind legs, he actually kicked the door down before rushing down the hallways to find Schlatt’s room that was located somewhere in this build. He had one job, he had ONE job and that was to protect Schlatt, and he fucked that up by getting too caught up in his fight with Technoblade that Schlatt lost one of his lives and he watched the man he grew up with turn to dust. When he was finally at his room, he threw the door open and there he saw Schlatt sitting in his bed with a confused look on his face, his lip trembled as the older man raised his head to get a look at the person who entered his room.

“[M/N--” he couldn’t even finish when the younger one let out a sob, rushing over to his side and grabbing a hold of his hand, tears running down his face.

“I’m so sorry, Schlatt! It’s all my fault that Wilbur killed you!” he cried out, his form trembling as he pressed his forehead into his hands “If only I didn’t focus on Technoblade then none of this would have happened! I failed you!” [M/N] couldn’t stop himself from crying no matter how hard he tried, the tears he wiped away were only replaced with more tears. This scene reminded him of the time [M/N] accidentally shoved him off a cliff and he narrowly avoided death by landing on a hay bale, and though it did save him from losing a life for a pathetic reason, it still did some heavy damage. [M/N] wouldn’t stop crying no matter how hard Schlatt reassured him that he was fine, it just showed how much this kid really worried for him.

“I’m fine, puppy, really.” he let out a whine as he shook his head.

“B-But... you only have two lives left because I got reckless.” Schlatt hummed, slipping a hand out of [M/N] grip to press against his head, ruffling it softly.

“We only live once, kid, I just have to make my next two worth it.” his hands slip down to cup his cheek, a soft smile graced his lips when the wolfman leaned into his touch “I don’t blame you for what happened, I would never.”

“You should.” he chuckles as he shakes his head.

“I should be worried about you too, puppy. That was an insane fall you dropped from, you even took a hit from Technoblade. I’m proud that you stood your ground against him.” he sniffles, sitting up straight and wiping away some of his tears with the back of his hand.

“He’s not all that tough, I can take him.”

“Yeah you can, you’re not even in your true form while he’s in his.” now that was enough to get [M/N] to snicker weakly, [M/N] really chose to be in his human form because he got fewer stares and he looked intimidating enough as a human, plus he could do more. [M/N] stood to his feet, backing away when he noticed Schlatt wanted to get out of bed. The man threw the covers off his body and stood to his feet, [M/N] keeping close in case the man collapsed, respawning into another body really did take a lot out of you.

“What are going to do now, Schlatt?” he clicked his tongue.

“What do you mean what do we do?” he said with a scoff “We make sure we bite them back.”

[a few weeks later]

[M/N] let out a deep sigh when he heard shouting coming from within Sclatt’s office followed by loud thuds and glass shattering, the older man has been going through a lot to the point that he was drinking more and sleeping less to cope with the fact that he was slowly losing it all. The people he thought he could trust were abandoning him to join the rebellion that Wilbur and Tommy had formed to overthrow Schlatt’s rule, and it wasn’t helping the fact that the more that he drank the more he let his anger overwhelm him. [M/N] would no doubt stay with him till the very end, but he was quite surprised that Quackity was still sticking around despite everything he’s done, but he was pretty sure that was going to change very soon with how Schlatt has been treating him lately.

“Is this all you can do, you fucking worthless waste of space?! I ask you to do one simple thing, and you can’t even do that right?! Why do I still keep you around if you can’t do anything?!” Schlatt shouts, slamming his fist onto the desk, causing Quackity to flinch at how loud he was shouting.

“I-I’m sorry...”

“You think a sorry is going to cut it?! What I want from you is to get it right! We’re in a time where I want results, not mistakes!” he lets out a sigh, running his fingers through his hair before collapsing into his chair “Whatever, just get out of my face. I’ll deal with you later, so just leave me alone.” Quackity didn’t hesitate to rush out of the office, clutching the side of his face that was brutally slapped across by the man, it was still aching and he could feel some blood pooling up in his mouth.

“Marrying him was a mistake...” he whimpered out, sniffling and wiping away the tears that threatened to fall, when he opened his eyes he let out a startled yelp when a bottle was in front of him. Looking up, he was surprised to see that it was [M/N] offering him a regen potion to help heal the bruise that was beginning to form on the cheek that was slapped “U-Uh... thank you.” he hesitantly whispered as he took the potion into his hands.

“Don’t mention it.” Quackity awkwardly stood there, contemplating what to say next, he opened his mouth to speak but was stopped when [M/N] raised his hand “Don’t say anything. I didn’t give that to you because I cared, because I don’t care about you. You could just say that I’ve been where you’ve stood.” Quackity’s eyes widened at that.

“R-Really...?” he nods.

“I’ve done some really dumb shit to get him angry, and I rarely got him angry because I was obedient to the very end.” he closes his eyes as he thought back to the past “To be honest, I deserved it, so I took the punishment. The difference between you and me when it comes to him, though, is that he actually cares about me.” the duck man flinched at that, his wings flaring up, and though he really wants to retaliate, he knew what [M/N] was saying was the truth.

“You’re right.” [M/N] scoffed.

“I know I’m right.” he soon lets out a sigh, he pats Quackity on his back and gives him a light shove to get him moving “I’m really the only person that can get him to calm down from his temper tantrum, so get going and don’t visit him for the next couple of days or else he might use you as his punching bag.” [M/N] turns towards the door, hands on each handle to pull them open but he paused, he turned his head to where Quackity was walking away and spoke up “And if you really know what’s good for you... you’ll divorce him.” this caused Quackity to stop in his tracks.

“What?! Are you insane? He’ll kill me if I--” he shakes his head.

“I’m telling you this for your own safety. You’ve already seen what Schlatt can do, imagine what he will do within arms reach.” Quackity started to tremble at the thought, he looked down at the golden ring on his finger then back up at [MN] who took a deep breath “I can handle him because I’ve been with him for such a long time to the point he’s the only person I need, but you still have a variety of different people to help you. Don’t waste your time on someone who isn’t going to treat you the way you want to be treated.” he couldn’t help but feel touched by the way [M/N] spoke to him, he never really speak to him in such a way to comfort him, and it felt nice. He wanted to say something but couldn’t when [M/N] opened the doors and entered Schlatt’s office, he felt the confidence in his chest deflate and he could only pray that he’ll be okay.

[M/N] took a breath as he stepped into Schlatt’s office, closing the doors behind him as he looked around. He saw the shattered glass by the door where he could only assume Schlatt had thrown his glass cup at Quackity out of a fit of rage, chairs were thrown, books were scattered and he could only describe the state of the room as if a tornado had blown through it. He glanced over to where Schlatt was and grimaced when he saw that he was chugging down a bottle of whiskey as if it was water, he felt nauseous because of the strong smell of alcohol coming off of that man. It pained him seeing Schlatt doing this to himself, he understood what all of this was doing to him, it was overwhelming him to the point he had to use alcohol to numb the pain.

“Schla--”

“Didn’t I tell you to fuck off?!” he didn’t flinch when Schlatt turned around and threw the bottle at him, the glass shattering upon impact on his head. Despite the intoxication messing with his head, he slowly began to register that the man in front of him wasn’t his poor excuse of a husband, but instead, he was met with-- “[M/N]...?” he slowly slurred out, he let out a gasp when he saw him raise his hand when not only liquor ran down his face, but also blood “O-Oh, god, I’m so sorry, I--” he raised his hand to stop him from talking, shaking his head.

“No, it’s fine, Schlatt, you know this barely hurts...” he says that, and yet his body sways a bit, Schlatt immediately sobered up enough to get out from behind his desk to approach the man, reaching up and cupping his cheeks.

“No, you dumb dog, it’s not fine!” he shouts, he quickly pulls him by his hands and sits him down in his chair. [M/N] could have easily dodged that bottle, but it’s at times like these where he lets it happen just to see how Schlatt would react to him accidentally hurting him. He sat in silence as Schlatt quickly grabbed anything that could help bandage the wound, he first fed him a regen potion before cleaning up the wound and bandaging it up. [M/N] would always get himself hurt in the past to protect Schlatt so the older man knew exactly what to do to help the younger man, [M/N] noticed his hands were shaking so he slowly raised his own hands and grabbed them “I-It was an accident...! I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it was you...”

“It’s fine, Schlatt, it’s better me than Quackity. You probably would’ve done more damage to him in comparison to me.”

“It would’ve been better if it were him than you.” sure it was harsh, but [M/N] couldn’t help but feel flattered that he cared for him that much. He placed his hand on the bandages around his head, a soft blush tinting his cheeks, he raises his eyes but his head shot up when he noticed that Schlatt pulled out another bottle of liquor, this time it was a bottle of vodka. He popped the bottle cap and poured some in the glass, he was going to down it in one go but couldn’t when [M/N] stood to his feet and grabbed the glass, pushing it down so that it was on the table.

“Schlatt, no.” he scoffed and tried lifting the glass once more but [M/N] pushed it down once more “You know exactly why I am not letting you drink.” he let out a sigh and let the glass go, this time he tried to down the bottle but [M/N] was quicker and took the bottle from him.

“Hey, what gives?!” he ignored his whining and complaining, putting the cap onto the bottle once more and putting it away so the man wouldn’t try anything again. He opened a chest and pulled out some wonder, emptying the glass of vodka and instead replacing that with water.

“Drink that along with some painkillers, it’ll help ease your hangover that is surely going to come from the amount you’ve been drinking as of lately.” he huffs and snatches the water, opening his drawer to pull out the painkillers and plopping them in his mouth then downing the water. Schlatt collapsed into his chair and soon the two fell into silence was once, [M/N]’s ears twitching every so often to hear the way Schlatt was breathing to the beat of his rushing heart slowly coming to a soft beat.

“Sometimes it feels like I’ve become the one that needs to be looked after, I remember it used to be you all the time.” [M/N] frowned.

“That is because you NEED to be looked after, Schlatt. If I’m not around then who will take care of you in my stead?” he lets out a sigh, running a hand through his hair “I’m going to tell you this again, but you know exactly why I don’t want you drinking as excessively as you did before. Your heart can not take it anymore.” he says in a stern tone, the other merely rolled his eyes as he leaned his weight into his chair.

“You say that as if you know my body.” his ear twitched.

“I do know your body, almost better than you.” a shallow growl comes from his throat before he kneels down, taking his hands and rubbing his thumbs over his knuckles “I can’t help but worry for you, Schlatt. You’re not as youthful as you used to be when you drank, it’s going to come to bite you in the ass and I won’t be able to help you.” he grits his teeth, his grip on his hands tightening a little as his head hung “I NEVER should have let you do this stupid job, we NEVER should have gotten ourselves involved in the first place. None of this would have happened if we just kept to ourselves.”

“... but, it was fun, wasn’t it?” [M/N] paused at that, raising his head and looking up at him to see that he was giving him one of those genuine smiles “You and I against the world?” he could tell that Schlatt was trying to make light of the situation, he laughed sadly while cracking a small smile.

“Yeah, it was fun...” Schlatt lowered his head as the alcohol that was still left in his system started to overtake his emotions and mind, [M/N] heard a sniffle so he turned his head to get a better look at the man above him, only to be taken aback at the tears that were beginning to run down his face. 

“[M/N], I-I... I don’t like anything about me.”

“What?” Schlatt took his hands away from [M/N] and looked down at them and they slowly started to tremble as his emotions started running wild.

“I don’t like who I’ve become. Everyone around me is slowly disappearing, they all hate me, and who knows how long until you leave me.” he immediately stood to his feet, this causes Schlatt to panic as he rises to his feet, his hands grabbing onto [M/N]’s jacket in a desperate attempt to get him from what he thought was leaving “No, you’re going to leave me too, aren’t you?! I won’t let you leave! I can’t handle the thought of you leaving me! That thought is too painful!” [M/N] started to cry at the same thought.

“No! There was never a time in my life when I was with you that I would leave your side!” he shouts, grabbing his wrists and making him look up at him “I would never leave you, I will stay by your side until the end of the world. I’ve told you this time and time again, but what I am saying is the truth, I would NEVER live without you.” now that was enough to break down Schlatt’s walls, tears slowly started running down his face as he sobbed into [M/N]’s chest, his body trembling as his grip on his shirt tightened. [M/N] sniffled before wrapping his arms around him, burying his face into his hair while trying to be mindful of the horns protruding out of his head. He hadn’t paid attention to how long the two of them just simply cried in each other’s arms but it was long enough to the point that Schlatt had actually fallen asleep, [M/N] looked him over before letting out a sigh and picking the man up bridal style. Carrying him to his bedroom was an effortless task, what startles him was the fact that Schlatt was getting lighter and lighter each time he’s had to carry him, it scared him. He tucks him in bed after removing his jacket and shoes and decides to stay by his side, he let out a frustrated groan as he ran his hands through his hair and messed with it.

’Everything is just in shambles. The stress is soon going to overwhelm Schlatt to the point his heart won’t be able to handle it, and he keeps turning to alcohol as a solution to dull the pain.’ his hands slowly drag down his face until he brings a fist to his mouth and bit down on one of his knuckles ’I don’t know what to do to help him, and before I know it I’ll lose him. I just want to help him... but I don’t know how.’

”Oh, what a sight.” [M/N] stood to his feet at the unsuspecting voice, hand out and hovering over Schlatt in case the intruder dared try to bring him to him, his eyes scanned the room as a threatening growl comes out of him “Hey, hey now. There’s no need to show aggression, I’m only here to visit.” [M/N]’s gifted eyes could easily see through the darkness that covered the man’s body, he didn’t ease up, even when he knew who it was.

“What the hell do you want, Dream?” said man just gave a chuckle, knowing that nothing could get past [M/N] and his keen senses.

“I’m here on business, and the man I want to do business is currently sleeping.” he took a step forward but came to a halt when [M/N] continued to growl at him, his eyes glaring at him through the darkness, Dream raised his hands “Come on now, you of all people should know I wouldn’t dare to hu--” [M/N] snarled this time.

“Just cut to the chase, smiley man. I don’t give two shits about your false words of sincerity, all I know is that you’re in an alliance with Pogtopia.” Dream couldn’t help but flinch when he bared his fangs at him “All I know is that you could be here to threaten Schlatt’s life, and if I even think for a split second that you are deemed as a threat, I will not hesitate to smash your skull in.” Dream lets out a nervous laugh at that, knowing full well that [M/N] was capable of such a feat

“W-Well, no, actually-- whatever, the alliance between me and Pogtopia is nothing but a farce.” [M/N]’s raised a brow at what he said, not believing him 100%, he let out another nervous chuckle “Well, it’s not too far off, actually, because--” [M/N] let out a sigh as he slowly relaxed, crossing his arms and keeping a close eye on him to make sure he keeps his distance.

“Get to the point already, I’m losing my patience here.” Dream sighs, relaxing when he saw him ease up and wasn’t able to eat his head.

“I promised to help Schlatt, in return, he would give me something important.” Dream noticed a change in [M/N] facial expression, his ears perked up in alert before he glanced down at Schlatt “I can only assume you know about our deal.” he licked his lips out of nervousness.

“I could...” he taps his fingers on his arms “He did mention to me that you might show up unannounced, and if he weren’t available, that I could take his place to negotiate.” beneath his mask, his eyes slowly lit up when he saw [M/N] slowly think it over before rolling his eyes, throwing his head back while letting out a groan “Ugh, fine. Give me a minute.”

“No, no, take your time.” he flinched when [M/N] side-eyed him before rolling his eyes, he reluctantly left Schlatt’s side in search of what Dream was looking for. Said man watched as [M/N] approached a bookcase, pushing a few books to the side to get to the button that was hidden and pressing on it. The bookcase soon revealed an Ender Chest that was hiding and [M/N] opened it up, he sorted through it before finding exactly what he wanted and pulled it out, turning away and allowing the bookcase to return how it was before.

“I’m the only other person to know about what the contents of this book contains, he only ever trusted me. Sure, he kept secrets from me, but he never lied to me. He was always straight with me, so don’t even try with me when it comes to this book.” Dream nods his head as he reaches forward to grab it, however, [M/N] grabbed a tight hold on his hand and yanked him forward, leaning down so he was hovering over his ear “I also want to inform you, though, the moment you take this book from me seals your fate with me. If you even have a thought of betraying Schlatt, there won’t be a single place on this server that will keep you safe. I will find you, no matter where you are, and fucking kill you. Do you understand me?” Dream gulped, seeing the look in his eyes that told him that he was not joking around, he took a breath and nodded his head.

“I understand...” [M/N] stared at him before leaning back and offering him the book, he didn’t miss the look of hesitance Dream had before taking the book from his hands.

“Now that you got what you wanted, fuck off. I’ll report to Schlatt that you swung by and I took care of it.” Dream could only nod his head before leaving through the window he entered in, it really frustrated him how Schlatt had such an obedient dog that followed his every command no matter how violent or extreme, he did it with not an ounce of hesitation. Dream was also frightened by the man, there was no way he could take him on when it came down to PVP, sure he was a legend himself alongside Technoblade, but the latter was much easier to handle because at least he was a little predictable. [M/N] was the literal definition of a wild beast, a feral wolf that would and most definitely could snap his neck the moment he deemed them a threat.

“Fuck.”

[manberg vs pogtopia]

“We’re fucked.” was all [M/N] said as he looked at the people who were going to fight for Pogtopia “Sir, we might as well throw in the towel, we are going to lose without a doubt.” Schlatt only laughed, punching his chest and gesturing to the people who were allied with them.

“Oh, come on, there could be a chance.” he inhaled deeply, squeezing the bridge of his nose.

“What chance? There is literally you and I, plus those four fuckwits, verses Pogtopia, the Badlands, the Slums, and Purpled’s Cabin! How on earth are we going to win against those odds?! We’re fucked, I tell you! Fucked!” seeing [M/N] panic, who was mostly known for being composed, really set them off and they couldn’t help but get nervous themselves.

“Stop panicking pup, you’re ruining the atmosphere.” he let out a groan, dragging his hands along his face as he looked down at Schlatt.

“I am being logical, Schlatt. There’s no way we’re going to win.” he takes Schlatt’s hands and gives him a desperate look “Let’s just give Manberg to Wilbur, there’s nothing left here for us. Everyone left and this country has no significant meaning to us, just-- please, just give it to him. We are going to die in vain for a country that means nothing to us.” he winced back when Schlatt ripped his hands out of his own and gave him a stern glare.

“And give him the satisfaction of besting me? I’d rather die.” that response caused [M/N]’s ears to press against his head, his tail falling limp behind him “Since you’re quiet, I can only guess that you’ve finished spitting out nonsense?” a whine came out of him as he slowly nodded his head.

“Yes, sir.” the four who were in an alliance with Manberg watched as [M/N] followed behind Schlatt, but they couldn’t help but agree with the man, Schlatt was just too goddamn stubborn to admit that he was at the fault at that very moment and that Manberg was going to fall in the very end. They were practically just wasting their time with an idiot.

“Hey! I see them marching up!” Sapnap called, they all rush outside and looked down where they saw the number of people on the side of Pogtopia, [M/N] pursed his lips as he looked down at Schlatt with a knowing look, to which the older man pressed his hand to his cheek and turned his face away.

“Those are... those are a lot of people.” he rolls his eyes, leaning down on the stone brick as he watched the people of Pogtopia and their allies rock up.

“You think?” he was smacked across the head, he lets out a huff as his eyes locked onto three people. Wilbur was the first, growling at him as he remembered he was the one that took Schlatt’s first life; Quackity was second for taking Schlatt’s second; Technoblade... because he had an annoying face and knew he was going to be the one to give him trouble.

“[M/N], think you can handle them?” he pulls a face at the request, the four that were foolish enough to form an alliance with Manberg look at the duo in confusion.

“I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to keep them all back, maybe a handful, but I am pretty sure a few will slip by me.”

“That is more than enough.” [M/N] cracks his knuckles as he rolls his neck and shoulders, Punz leans into Dream’s ear as they watch him stretch.

“What is he going to do?” he shrugs his shoulders.

“Beats me, he’s Schlatt’s dog, not mine.” they both flinch when he whipped his head around and glared at them, he huffed as he stared down at Pogtopia that was slowly but surely getting closer. He stands on top of the stone blocks that made a makeshift railing to prevent people from falling off before jumping off himself, immediately, the allies of Manberg rushed over to the edge and watched as [M/N] descended down the large stone tower, Schlatt slowly approached the edge without a care in the world.

“Go get 'em pup, don’t hold back.” [M/N] landed on the ground with a loud thud, the ground itself cracks upon impact, he stood up straight and slowly started walking forward as the people of Pogtopia came to a halt.

“Look who it is, it’s Schlatt’s lapdog.” Fundy mocked, [M/N] rolled his eyes at the lame insult.

“Oh, look who it is, the guy who got abandoned by his own father, how sad.” Wilbur pulled a face while Fundy turned red “Shut your damn mouth if you aren’t ready to shoot your shots, mmkay? Mmkay.” Tommy then steps forward, pointing a sword in his direction.

“Why are you here alone, [M/N]? Here to wave the white flag?” he raises his hands while shrugging his shoulders.

“Personally, yeah. I know a battle I can’t win when I see one, but it’s rather unfortunate that I’m following the orders of a stubborn man.” he laces his fingers together and cracks them above his head “I’m not afraid to admit when I’ve been beat, but I also don’t go down without a fight.” Tubbo now steps forward, fear still lingering in his body at the sight of [M/N], he swallowed it down as he readies his Firework Launcher.

“Then why don’t you join us, [M/N]. You clearly see that following him is pointless.” he was really hoping [M/N] would refuse the offer, then it would give him an excuse to blow his head off the same way he did to him. [M/N] glared down at Tubbo, beginning to strip out of his Netherite Armor as he started approaching them.

“Well, unlike you, I don’t betray those I’ve already sworn my loyalty to.” after removing the vambrace from off his forearm and dropping it to the ground, he rolls his neck once more before taking a deep breath and relaxing his body. He felt his breathing pick up along with the beats of his heart increasing at a rapid pace, he lets out a grunt as his body started to change shape. He plants his hands on the ground when collapsed to the ground, slowly but surely, his body was beginning to change into the shape of his true form as a grey wolf. He tore off his jacket and shirt when his torso was too big for it, he was lucky enough that the pants he was wearing only ripped and tore but not completely off, so he’ll be okay if he wants to return to his human form. He now stood at 8″2ft tall, no traces of human features in sight as he stood tall on his hind legs, he was growling down at them, flexing his claws as he growled at them before taking a deep breath and letting out a loud howl that made their ears ring.

“What the fuck?! That’s what he actually looks like?!”

“What the fuck is this?!” a deep chuckle startled them, he looked down at them, his [E/C] eyes glaring down at them as he lowered his body.

”Really, I have nothing against most of you people that are here.” he speaks, the depth of his voice sending shivers down their spines ”I’m only out for Wilbur and Quackity, and maybe Technoblade because you’re the one I deem as the biggest threat.” Quackity took a step back at how his main targets were ”I’d let the rest of you go, but I have a job to do, and that is to be a literal feral menace.” Wilbur clicks his tongue as he throws his arm out.

“Attack!” [M/N] let out a loud roar as they charged forward, he presses his hands into the ground, digging his claws and the soles of his feet into the stone path before launching forward. He easily pounced over the vanguard and aimed towards Technoblade, who was surprised and took a step back but couldn’t dodge the claw that brutally landed on his chest and shoved him back. Schlatt had a smirk on his face as he watched a group of them try and take [M/N] down, but he knew they weren’t going to accomplish it, [M/N]’s true form was his trump guard because the man was rarely in that form. He said that it was too intimidating and he takes up too much space being in that form, says he’s more comfortable being a miniature-sized human.

“He should look like that more often, would keep people off our dicks.” Dream looks at Schlatt.

“So that’s what he really looks like?” he nods.

“Mm hmm. Sometimes I’m surprised with how long he can keep up his human form, it takes a lot out of him and it’s usually at night where he takes the appearance of his true self.” they hear another roar so they look down and see that he grabbed Jack Manifold and was swinging him around, using him to hit the others that got too close before throwing him full force into Niki.

“Quite the upper hand.” Sapnap laughs as he leans over to see that he was actually handling himself pretty well.

“I’d hate to be at the other end of those fists.” he says, watching as [M/N] grabbed a hold of Awesamdude’s head, his grip so tight that he lifted up him and slammed it into the ground before beginning to ruthlessly plow blow after blow under he didn’t move “So glad we’re on his side.”

“Mm hmm.” [M/N] was currently having a standoff with BadBoyHalo, their hands were locked together and both sides were trying to push the other back. [M/N] was being pushed back because Bad had more height in comparison to him, but that meant nothing because he managed to stop Bad from pushing him back. He growls as he takes a couple steps forward before tightening his grip on his hands then throwing his arms back, causing the other to stumble back a bit, leaving him wide up. [M/N] didn’t take any chances before proceeding to wrap his arms around his torso then lean back, performing a german suplex on him and slamming his head into the ground.

“He’s fucking insane!” Skeppy shouts, watching as [M/N] stood to his feet and let out another roar, causing a few of them to step back “I didn’t sign up for this!” Technoblade let out a chuckle as he dusts his shoulder off, walking past the frozen few to approach the feral dog.

“You say that, but haven’t you noticed? He’s starting to get tired.” he grimaced when Technoblade was telling the truth, [M/N] was beginning to pant as he tried to calm his breathing by taking deep breaths “Need to take a breath, Devil’s Hound?” said man couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking his head as the words he said during the festival came out of Technoblade’s mouth.

“That’s surely a new one, but I can’t help but agree. Schlatt tends to be a devil when he gets too rowdy.” he lets out a groan as he cracked his knuckles, stretching his back before letting his arms hang in front of him as he lowered his body. Technoblade got himself ready when [M/N] charged towards him again, he swings his axe when he got close but was taken aback when he bit the head of the axe right off its shoulder before spitting it out and punching Technoblade across the face. The piglin hybrid staggered backward but didn’t stop and instead threw what was left of his axe to the ground and pulled out a sword, the two disputed in their own battle, and [M/N] cursed to himself when he noticed that many of the people he didn’t incapacitate were slipping past him and making their way up the tower.

“You aren’t going to stop them?” Technoblade asked, grip on his sword tight while his other hand was pressing against the flat side of his blade to not get pushed back when he blocked one of [M/N]’s clawed attacks.

“I’m more focused on you, Technoblade. I already took care of the most troublesome ones, and when I take care of you, I’ll go deal with them next.” he laughs and manages to throw [M/N] back, Technoblade rolls his shoulders before holding his sword in front of him with both his hands gripping the hilt.

“Then I guess I’ll have to keep you here as long as I can.”

“Heh, we’ll see.”

[insert fight scene, I was going to write the fight scene between techno and the reader but I just wanted to get to the main part where schlatt was getting drunk in the drug van]

“Schlatt? Schlatt!” [M/N] called out, looking around in distress for the man. His fight with Technoblade wasn’t fair from the beginning, both he and the piglin man were so absorbed into the fight neither side noticed Tubbo taking aim at [M/N], firing a Firework at him and he hadn’t noticed until it was too late. Technoblade backed away just as it hit [M/N] and it exploded on impact, it didn’t kill him, but it did some serious damage. It managed to burn through his fur to his skin before he could put it out, he was sure it would leave a scar from the left side of his arm, a bit of his torso and face. He would’ve continued fighting if it weren’t for the message he got from Schlatt.

<JSchlatt> whispers to you: hey, kid, I need you.

You whisper to <JSchlatt>: need me? what do you mean? I’m kind of in the middle of something, so I hope you can wait.

<JSchlatt> whispers to you: I don’t think you understand, I NEED you right now.

”Hey, don’t tell me you’re getting distracted again.” Technoblade taunts as he saw [M/N] not paying attention, he raised his head as he clutched his left shoulder before turning around and running off “Wait, what?! Why are you running again?!” he spits out the blood in his mouth as he turned his head to look at Technoblade.

“Wouldn’t you do the same thing to protect the person you care about?!” he shouts before launching himself into the air, Technoblade was once again frozen in place at his choice of words. He couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly, shaking his head at the thought of that one person he would give his life for, so he understood where [M/N] was coming from. Back to the man in question, [M/N] was looking around frantically for Schlatt, he wasn’t in the last place he left him so where could he be now? He managed to catch a whiff of his scent and ran off in the direction it was coming from, he raised a brow in concern at the sight of the Camarvan before shaking his head and kicking the door open, there he saw Schlatt wallowing away while drinking alcohol “Schlatt?! You can’t be serious!” he exclaims as he approaches the man, collapsing to his knees as he inspected his body.

“Ah, there you are, [M/N]~ I was wondering when you’d show up.” he slurred out, [M/N] grimaced as he shook his head, knowing that the man was already drunk out of his mind and all rationality was out the door.

“Why on earth are you drinking while in the middle of a war, Schlatt? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Schlatt ignored all his words, he raised his eyes and they slowly widened at the sight before him. The left side of his body was burnt horribly and was continuing to bleed, but he pushed through that pain as he looked Schlatt up and down, god, sometimes he wished this damned kid would hate him just as much as everyone else did.

“What... what happened to you?” he whispered, [M/N] looked down at himself and just laughed bitterly.

“Call it karma, I guess. Tubbo got his revenge on me while I was focused on Technoblade, but enough about that, stop drinking that!” he shouts, smacking the bottle out of his hands then standing to his feet “We’re obviously losing this war, sir, so let’s just get outta here!” he exclaims, Schlatt just laughed as he let his head rest on the thing that he was leaning against.

“And go where? We’ll be living the rest of our lives as the cowards who fled during a war.” [M/N] grits his teeth.

“So you would rather die in vain for a country that meant nothing to you?!” he shouts, he runs his hands through his fur and growls “There is nothing left here for us, let’s just leave this all behind and restart our lives! We’ve done that before, so why can’t we do that again? What’s stopping you from continuing your journey?” he closes his eyes before turning his head to look up at him.

“I’m dying, [M/N].” he noticed [M/N]’s shoulders slump at what he said “You and I both know that I am, so what’s the point in living when my time is almost up?” [M/N] felt his body tremble as the news hit him, of course, he knew that Schlatt was dying, but he just didn’t want to accept it.

“Why not live the rest of what is left of your life doing what you love?” Schlatt chuckled weakly, shaking his head once more.

“I’ve done all I’ve ever wanted with my life.” [M/N] noticed Schlatt was reading for him so he knelt down and leaned forward, he flinched when Schlatt cupped his noninjured cheek and gave him a weak smile “It’s your turn to live your life, [M/N]. Get out of here and leave me behind.” he knew that [M/N] would never do such a thing, he knew that he meant everything to him, but he just had to tell him. 

“No... no! I can’t just leave you behind!” he shouts, tears beginning to swell up in his eyes “I won’t leave you behind! I told you I would stay by your side until the end of the world!”

“Then is me dying considered the end of the world?” he fell silent at that, he let his head hang low as the tears slowly ran down his face, he let out a huff as he looked up at the big wolfman “As my last order to you, I want you to forget about me and leave this place behind to live your own life.” he sniffled, collapsing to his knees again, burying his face in his hands.

“But what is my life without you?”

“Your own.” his vision on Schlatt got blurry because of the tears, he could never picture a time in his life when he wasn’t by Schlatt’s side, the only time that ever occurred was when he was nothing but a lowly beggar in an alleyway. He wouldn’t have had a life to live if it weren’t for Schlatt.

“See? They’re right here.” Schlatt looked behind [M/N] and they both saw both forces storm the room they were in, [M/N] immediately stood to his feet and stood protectively in front of Schlatt, baring his teeth and growling at them to not take a step forward. It didn’t take long for the two of them to be surrounded, however, he didn’t quite care at the fact, his eyes zoned in on the masked fucker that had double crossed him.

’Now you’ve signed your death waiver, you son of a bitch.’ his attention soon changed over to where Wilbur was, said man looked the wolf hybrid up and down before raising his hands. 

“Easy now, [M/N], I just wanna talk.” he let out a tired scoff.

“Talk about what? How you want to kill Schlatt and I? Is that it? You know how stubborn this bastard is.” Schlatt looked up at him.

“Did you just call me a--”

“You are one, just admit it.” this silenced him, [M/N] sighed deeply when he saw ram hybrid reach into the chest he was leaning against to pull out another bottle of alcohol, Tommy couldn’t help but snicker at the sight.

“So, that’s your leader, [M/N]? That’s who you’re bowing down to?” he snarled at the boy.

“Shut your damn mouth. If it weren’t for the fact that you’re not at arms length, I would no hesitate to punt you, child.” 

“You wouldn’t.” he raised his brows as he stared at Tommy.

“Don’t make me.” Wilbur sighed as he got in front of [M/N] once more, shutting Tommy up from making anymore unnecessary comments, [M/N] let out a grunt when Schlatt grabbed his arm and pulled it down as he looked out from behind him.

“Fundy! Wha... what are you doing here?” Fundy only gave him a confused look as he let out a sigh.

“Schlatt... are you fucking serious?”

“Fundy are you--” Schlatt pushed [M/N] back with all the strength he had and smashed the bottle of alcohol on Fundy, who managed to react fast enough and block the blow with his arm. The others reacted immediately so [M/N] took a step forward, wrapped his arm around his shoulders and pulling him into his chest, he wrapped his other arm around his body when he felt him slowly slip into a drunken rage but calmed down within the arms of the wolfman.

“Listen! Schlatt, you’ve fucked up the country! You fucked up everything! You had a dream and I followed it, but you brought it downhill. Everything-- you’ve ruined it. You ruined everything we had!” he then looks up at [M/N] “And if he wasn’t so goddamn loyal to you, he probably would have left you just like everybody else!” Fundy took a step back, his ears pressing against his head when [M/N] glared at him.

“Don’t spout out nonsense that will never happen.” Fundy took a breath, swallowing the amount of fear lingering in his heart as he took a step forward and glared up at [M/N], who didn’t waver at his poor attempt to intimidate him.

“I thought you were something! The both of you!” [M/N] only rolled his eyes while Schlatt laughed, the wolfman looked down at the man within his arms and saw him gripping the arm around his shoulder.

“Yeah... yeah I am something! I-I’m what you’re not, Fundy!” he took a step back so he could look at Schlatt.

“What am I not?” he chuckles.

“I am a man!” now it was Wilbur’s turn to step in front of his son before anything else could escalate, chaos began to erupt as they were all now planning to kill the both of them together, [M/N] took a breath to calm himself but the hand around Schlatt’s body pressed against his chest and there he could feel the increasing speed of his heart thumping against his chest. 

“Schlatt, that’s it! Are you ready to die?” [M/N] immediately pushed Schlatt behind him in order to shield him “Are you ready to fucking die?!”

“Fuck you!” he slurred out, Wilbur only rolled his eyes.

“Tommy. Tommy, look at me.” the young boy looked at the former President “Do you still have Dream’s bow?” he scanned through his inventory before pulling out said boy, pulling the wire back and clipping it into place.

“Yes.”

“Tommy... I want you to put it between his eyes.” Schlatt laughed at that, [M/N] glowered and didn’t hesitate to get in his line of shot but was shocked when Schlatt pushed past him and got in front of Tommy, not a shred of fear in his eyes as the crossbow was pointed directly between his eyes.

“Are you guys really going to kill him?!” Karl shouted.

“Well, there’s no other way.” he starts “Victory, or death!” Schlatt only laughs.

“You know... if I die, this country goes down with me.” the room erupted into chaos once more, it didn’t help when Technoblade was chanting “kill” repeatedly, it probably would have annoyed him if not for the fact that the ongoing nonsense was taking its toll on Schlatt. His ears shot up in alert when he noticed him beginning to sway as beads of sweat began started forming on his head, he takes a step forward before letting out a shout when he noticed him stagger forward, using the chest to his side to stabilize himself before collapsing.

“Schlatt!” he shouts, rushing forward to catch him before he completely collapsed to the floor. Everything was fading from black into white from Schlatt’s point of view, he was violently gripping his chest to the point his knuckles turned white and he was surprised that he hadn’t torn his shirt. He was out of breath and he was trying his damned hardest to swallow some oxygen into his lungs but it was really difficult, his vision was blurry but he could just make out to image of [M/N] looming above him. The boy had turned himself into his half human/half wolf form and there he saw the tears threatening to fall down his cheeks but also the injured side of his body from taking the full blast of the firework, but what caught his attention was something glistening in his eyes, he looked down and there he saw the golden ring he gave [M/N] all those years ago hanging from his neck.

’Heh... after all these years, he still kept it.’ he wheezed, he was shouting something but he couldn’t make out anything he was saying ’Damn, now I feel bad for leaving him behind.’ he managed to give [M/N] a weak smile as he gently tapped his arm despite the amount of pain he was going through.

“I’m sorry for being a disappointment, my son...” [M/N] let out a shallow gasp as the tears finally started rolling down his cheeks.

“Y-You’re so cruel...” he raised his hand to grip onto the ring while his other held his hand “Calling me that after you stopped all those years ago... dad.” Schlatt gave him gave him a regretful, tear filled smile before his heart attack finally got the best of him and claimed his final canon life.

“Did... did he just have a heart attack?!” Tubbo shouts before the room erupted into laughter at the anti-climatic turn of events, but the only one who wasn’t laughing was Technoblade. His eyes never left [M/N] as the hybrid wept in silence, cradling the deceased body of his father figure in his arms, but he couldn’t really tell if his body was trembling out of anguish... or anger. He was astonished to see that he hadn’t lashed out yet, if he were ever to be in that kind of situation with-- he closed his eyes, shaking his head to rid the thoughts plaguing his mind before looking back over to where [M/N] still had yet to move.

SCARY

POOR PUPPY

WE SHOULD KILL HIM

PUT HIM OUT OF HIS MISERY

HOW SAD

WHAT A SHAME

The hundreds of voices ringing in his head agreed that it would be better to put the man down, just the few brief encounters with him and how he would drop everything just to see if Schlatt was alright was enough to know that this wolfman would not be able to live with himself over the fact that he could not protect his owner. His hand was on the hilt of his blade as he took a step forward but paused when he noticed that Quackity was the first to approach [M/N], he remembered that the duck hybrid was the closest when it came to Schlatt and even [M/N] to the point that he kept his hands and fingers whenever he got close to either one of them, so perhaps Quackity thought he could be the one to talk some sense into [M/N].

“Hey, [M/N], I know just how much Schlatt meant to you.” he starts, reaching down and placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a light squeeze “But you have to know that the guy that you were following around was a terrible person and that he wasn’t going to change, this was for the better.”

“...” Quackity’s ears perked up at the sound of [M/N] mumbling under his breath.

“What?” he stumbled back when [M/N] suddenly stood up, this caught the attention of everyone and they all turned to face the duo but were shocked to see [M/N] reach forward and grab a fistful of Quackity’s hair through his beanie and hold it in a tight grip as he pulled his other fist back.

“Grit your teeth.” before he could react, [M/N]’s fist repeatedly slammed into his face with little to no hesitation, each punch being harder than the last that they were all surprised that Quackity was still conscious. Sam and Bad rush forward to grab a hold of [M/N] while Fundy grabbed the arm that was holding Quackity so Wilbur could pull him back “You fucking piece of shit! Don’t go saying that when you don’t know anything me; when you don’t know anything about him!” he turns to look at Bad so he punches him in the face, causing him to stagger backwards before reaching back and grabbing Sam by his head then throwing him over his shoulder.

“Dammit! Take aim!” Wilbur pushed Quackity behind him and watched the others load their crossbows and aim them towards [M/N] who still didn’t back down, tears ran down his face as he glared at the lot of them but his eyes zoned in specifically on Quackity.

’[M/N] is really valuable, he’s strong enough to go on par with Technoblade in a battle to the point he might be even stronger. I would have thought that once Schlatt died, it would’ve been easier to get him to follow the orders of someone else, maybe even Dream.’ he clicks his tongue ‘To think that their relationship ran that deep. Shit.’

“What the fuck do you know about the both of us that allows you to run your mouth like that, huh?! You don’t know anything!” he shouts, he grits his teeth as he slams a hand to his chest “You may have been able to marry Schlatt, but he didn’t love you the way he loved me! You may have been able to get close to us both, but there wasn’t a time that when you were with us that I didn’t hate you! I fucking HATE you! I hate you all!"

“You’re overreacting, [M/N]!” Fundy shouts, [M/N] didn’t hesitate to snarl at him and growl when a few people started getting closer to him.

“Shut the fuck up! You don’t get to talk when you can’t even decide which side you want to be on.” his head lowers a little as he threads his fingers through his hair and fur, pulling at them as his pupils shrunk and started to shake, eyes bloodshot as the tears refused to stop falling “You have no idea what I’m going through, so don’t even try to sympathize with me. You don’t know what it was like watching the person who raised you slowly descend down into madness as the world was against him; you couldn’t even fathom what it was like being at his side and not being able to do anything to help him. You have no idea what it feels to be so powerless despite being within arms length!”

“[M/N]...” Niki muttered softly, she flinched when he turned to glare at her.

“I don’t want your pity... I have nothing now. You took the last thing that was worth living for from me, so I have nothing to live for.” their fingers were now on the trigger when he raised his head to look at them all and they all saw that broken smile on his face, eyes hazy as the tears continued to fall, his arms were slightly raised to show off his claws “There’s nothing stopping me from taking at least one of you down with me.”

’There’s nothing holding me back. There’s nothing stopping me from killing at least a few of them before dying myself. I have nothing to live for, so why good would it do if I just continued to live on?’ he takes a step forward but his eye twitched when the golden ring reflected the sun’s rays into his eyes, this caused him to look down at it and his eyes briefly caught the sight of Schlatt’s deceased body.

“It’s your turn to live your life, [M/N]. Get out of here and leave me behind.”

..

...

“As my last order to you, I want you to forget about me and leave this place behind to live your own life.”

...

...

‘I can’t die yet.' the last bit of rationality, or rather sanity, returned and the haze in his eyes disappeared, he glanced down at Schlatt one more time before closing his eyes ’The least I can do is respect his last request.’

”Fire!” he raised his at the order and countless arrows were fired at him, he managed to dodge most of them while using his arm to block them from hitting anything vital, not even wincing when they pierced through arm. He ignored them all as he turned his back to them, kneeling down and softly picking Schlatt up and cradling him close to his chest.

“Wait.. no! Stop him!” they all couldn’t react fast enough when [M/N] knelt down before leaping forward and using his shoulder to bust down the wall, he fell to his knees when he was outside of the Camarvan as the adrenaline was slowly beginning to fade away as his fatigue and exhaustion caught up with him, but he shook his head as he fought it down and fled the battlefield. By the time he was far away, he collapsed to his knees and was panting rather heavily, he looked down at Schlatt’s motionless body and cried softly as he buried his face into his shoulder.

“I’m not ready yet, dad... don’t leave me behind.” he sobbed to himself before laying Schlatt’s body down, he then took a deep breath as he looked up at the sky, leaning against the tree before removing the arrows still in his arm. His arm throbbed in pain but it eased away when he pulled out a few regen potions and some golden apples, the wounds healed up instantly, he stared down at the arrow before crushing it, snapping it in two.

’What am I to do with my life now? There was never a time where I did something on my own accord without taking orders, that’s just how I lived my life up to the age I am now.’ he exhales deeply.

“Now what?”

Tyrant

word count: 11,246

Fandom: Stranger Things Pairing: Eddie Munson x Male!Reader Pronouns: He/Him Relationship: Romantic Occupation: Student Ability: N/A

Keys:

[M/N]: Male Name  [L/N]: Last Name  [N/N]: Nickname  [H/C]: Hair Color  [E/C]: Eye Color

Warnings: vulgar language, violence, alcohol consumption

might make a part two, you never know, you never know.

that is all.

“Look, there he goes again.”

“You’d think the teachers would expel him by now.”

“Did you hear? Apparently he jumped Thompson on his way to school and robbed him of all his shit.”

“What an asshole.”

“Oh shit, here he comes.”

The once bustling cafeteria came to silence when Hawkins Highschool delinquent stepped foot inside, those intimidating [E/C] eyes glared at anyone within a five foot radius. Grabbing his own tray of food, he sat down at a random table that was still full of people, but the moment he looked at them they quickly departed from the table in hopes of not being his new punching bag. There wasn’t a single redeeming quality about [M/N] the people of Hawkins could think of, he was rude, dangerous and ruthless, regardless of gender. People remembered a time when some prissy girl tried getting in his business, the type of girl that had a the mindset of “I can change him” or what not, she ended up missing several weeks of school because he beat her black and blue, tearing out some of her hair and knocking some of her teeth out.

Unlike Steve Harrington and Billy Hargrove, both being dubbed as the King of Hawkins, he was called the Tyrant of Hawkins. Billy was scary and intimidating in his own way but he had charisma and a charm to him that made people like him. Steve was just a pretty face with just the charm and no intimidation, all [M/N] had was the intimidation and demanding aura around him that people couldn’t help but obey his every word in hopes on not getting on his bad side. Whether they were the losers, the jocks or the popular people, there wasn’t anyone within Hawkins High that didn’t know the full extend [M/N] will go to keep what he calls peace.

And then there’s Eddie Munson, the freak of Hawkins. Lover of metal and D&D, a man who failed his last year of high school and was repeating the year in hopes of graduating that year. Eddie Munson, the man who wasn’t afraid to express who he was, regardless of who was in attendance. Most people find him downright annoying, some find him surprisingly endearing, but most people just think he’s a lost cause. People just thought he was bound for failure, there was nothing good about interacting with Eddie. Dustin, who was busy eating his food, glanced up from his meal to spare Eddie a look and soon noticed he was staring across the cafeteria.

“Eddie?” at the call of his name, the others sitting at the table, stop what they were doing and look at Eddie “What are you looking at?” he asks and soon they’re all following his gaze, a few of them turning pale when they saw that he was staring at the back of [M/N]’s head.

“Dude, why are you staring at [L/N] for? If he catches you staring, you’re dead meat.” Gareth whispered to him “And I am not up to watching you get beaten to a bloody pulp.” Eddie just lets out a laugh, brushing some of his hair back while waving them off.

“You guys worry too much, I’m not gonna do anything.” they all sweat a little, it totally looked like he was gonna do something, but despite knowing how reckless he was, he wasn’t someone who would poke a sleeping lion. Eddie would describe [M/N] as a person with a button you shouldn’t push instead of having a short fuse, he had a short temper as is and chose to speak with his fists instead of his words, they seem to get the point across better than an explanation “… do you think he listens to Iron Maiden?” Jeff gave him a look.

“Eddie, don’t even think about it. You’ll be met with a fist before he even agrees that he likes listening to them.”

“So you’re saying there’s a possibility.” they all let out a groan, a few of them slapping a hand to their foreheads or squeezing the bridge of their nose. The sound of shouting and gasps caught their attention so they all look over and in horror saw one of the jocks from the basketball team dump their food on top of [M/N]’s head, he looked like a freshmen because he was laughing aloud while the rest of the basketball team watch in disbelief at what the new guy just did.

“AH HAHAHA!! Come on guys, that was funny!” he continued to laugh, missing the way everyone backed away as [M/N] slowly stood to his feet “I don’t see why you guys are so scared of just one gu—” he couldn’t finish his sentence when a fist connected with his jaw, causing him to tumble to the floor as blood sprayed out of his mouth. Each time the punk tried getting up his face was met with [M/N]’s fist, he laid no waste to him as he continued punching his face until he collapsed onto his back by Eddie’s table. The brunette watched as the [H/C] male grabbed him by the collar to lift him up and continue beating his face in with no remorse, by the time he was satisfied, he let out an exhausted sigh, sweat and chunks of food bleeding down his face as his fist was drenched in blood, regardless if it was his or not.

“Carver.” Jason flinched at the call of his name, [M/N] didn’t raise his voice to call him, his voice was scary enough that he could bend anyone to his will “What have I told you about controlling your dogs?” he swallowed thickly from where he stood, shrinking down when [M/N] stood up.

“T-That if they get out of line… you’ll put them down.”

“That’s right.” he starts, looking at the table beside him and grabbing Mike’s tray of food then proceeded to dump all its contents on top of the unconscious jock “I hope you remember this the next time you decide to act like a bitch.” He growled as he threw the tray down, his eyes then wandered over to Eddie, who was staring at him with wide eyes and jaw dropped “The fuck you looking at, freak?” he snarled at the brunette, who in turn swallowed thickly, raising his hands up defensively.

“N-Nothing! Nothing, I swear.” he got a scoff in response as [M/N] turned away, kicking the jock one last time then stormed out of the cafeteria, kicking the doors open and disappeared to probably clean the food off of him. The cafeteria sat in silence and watched as the basketball team hurriedly dragged the unconscious player to the sickbay, when they were out of sight, the students all bustled into chatter at the turn of events that just occurred.

“God, that no good [L/N] is so terrifying.”

“He’s even got the jocks listening to him.”

“I can’t believe that dumbass did that.”

“Nobody warned him?” Dustin and Lucas pat Mike on his shoulder, watching as he took deep breaths to calm his beating heart. He wasn’t going to lie, watching him beat his ass was so satisfying but once he turned those anger filled eyes in his direction, he couldn’t help but pray that he wasn’t next, that didn’t mean he wasn’t sad that his food was now on the floor.

“You good Mike? You look like you’re at the verge of fainting,” he raised a thumb whilst trembling slightly.

“And there he goes.” Dustin says, watching as he revved his engine and drove out of the schools parking lot “You’d think the teachers would have dealt with him at this point, but to think he’s even got them to listen to him.” Lucas lets out a sigh, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“I-I’m good.” now with Eddie, his heart was beating just as fast as Mike’s, but for a different reason. The way he watched [M/N]’s face scrunch up in rage, the way he watched his bicep bulge with each swing, the way he watched the sweat run down his neck as he beat his face in. He couldn’t deny the fact that he felt something when those [E/C] eyes glared in his direction as he sneered at him, called him a freak. It was just that tone in his voice and the way he presented himself that made his heart race. 

“That was so hot…” he whispered under his breath. At the end of the day, all Eddie could think of was [M/N] and no matter how hard he tried to think of anything else, his thoughts of the tyrant would just come rushing back. The moment he and his friends stepped out of school they heard the roar of an engine, and there was the man in all his glory starting up his motorcycle, a Kawasaki Vulcan 750. He treated that thing as if it were his child, people said that his bike was the only thing that ever made him smile, and the one time someone made the foolish mistake to mess with his baby, he paid them back by totally their car to the point of recognition.

“Yeah, unfortunately, he does not discriminate.” they each shake their head.

[family’s video store]

“Yes sir, yes I understand… have you ever tried checking to see if the VHS player is plugged in?” Robin Buckley, who was currently on the phone with a customer that recently purchased a movie from the store, had called up complaining that it wouldn’t play “So it wasn’t plugged in? Then that’s probably the reason why it wasn’t working, sir.” Steve walked behind the counter after putting the returned movies back on shelf and saw the look of mild frustration on her face.

“Old man again?” he mouthed to her, to which she nodded while making the finger gun gesture and pressing it against her temple, he snickers softly when she pulled the trigger but continued to speak in way that she’s sympathising with said man. Steve’s head perked up at the sound of a motorbike, leaning back on the counter to take a peak outside and there he saw the infamous [M/N] [L/N], the Tyrant of Hawkins, pulling up into their parking lot. He couldn’t help the bead of sweat that rolled down the side of his cheek as he reminisced the past when they attended high school together, he was the one person Steve knew not to mess with or look at the wrong way. He had a reputation that preceded him, they both did, so they had a neutral relationship between each other. He takes a deep breath when he saw [M/N] get off his bike and start approaching the store, jumping slightly when the doors opened and he came right up to the counter.

“Harrington.” he says, voice uncaring for the man in front of him as he stared at him with that same neutral and unbothered expression he always wore when he wasn’t angry.

“[L-L/N].” he cursed under his breath for stuttering, embarrassed that he was still afraid of the man in front of him “What brings you here? I don’t suppose you’re here to rent a movie?” he swallows his saliva when [M/N]’s gaze hardened on him before ignoring him and looking at Robin.

“Buckley, I need to talk to you.” finally looking at them, she acknowledge [M/N]’s presence but held up her finger, telling him to give her a second.

“I’m in the middle of something.”

“Can’t it wait?” she gives him a look then goes right back into what she was doing before she was interrupted, Steve took a glance at [M/N]’s face and saw he was slowly but surely losing his patience, the way his eyebrows scrunched up as he hand formed into a tight fist. Steve all but recognised this was what [M/N] would do before he completely lost all rationality and started throwing hands, he took a step forward when he saw [M/N] raised his hand but was surprised to see he only pressed the hook set to hang up the phone.

“Wha— hey! You can’t just hang up the phone when I’m talking to customers, [M/N]!” she shouts at him, he just shrugs.

“Yeah, well, that’s not as important as to what I have to tell you.” she raised a brow, they stare at each other in silence until she let out a groan, his face lighting up slightly when she caved.

“Alright, fine,” she gestured for him to follow her into the back room and he nods, jumping over the counter and going in before her “Steve, you can handle things alone up front, right?”

“Y-Yeah, but—” he was ignored, he lets out a sigh as his hands slapped against his hips when he dropped them “Alright, I’ll be here.” Robin Buckley, lover of women, would never call herself anything special. Still in high school, she was just like every other average joe that walked those halls, though she was in band, that was probably the only thing cool she’d say about herself. So, never in a millions years would she have found herself in a sort of friendship with the cold and ruthless [M/N], however, right now he was anything but what his reputation says about him.

“I actually managed to talk to him this time!” he squealed out, hands cupping his cheeks as a bright red blush flushed across his cheeks. There was no trace of the Tyrant of Hawkins, all she could find was your typical high school teenage boy thinking about the love of his life, and his so happened to be Eddie Munson, the freak of Hawkins. Ah, now she can remember why the two of them got along, they both had that sense that neither liked the opposite gender and they became friends from then on. Most of the time it was Robin ranting on and on about a girl that’s caught her eye, but never actually having the courage to speak about her feelings, all [M/N] ever had to talk about how his feelings for Eddie continued to grow since he first saw Eddie.

“Oh yeah, and what did you say to him?” he then slumps forward, a dejected look on his face.

“I asked what the fuck he was staring at, then called him a freak.” she let out a defeated sigh, slapping a hand onto her forehead “I couldn’t help it, I was still angry that that fucking prick dumped his food on me.” his face turned sour at the memory, hand clenching into a fist but softened when she placed her hand on top of his.

“You really need to work on your anger management issues, dude.”

“I’m trying, I swear I am.” he lets his head hang a little, hand clenching and unclenching, showing that he was trying to calm himself “But my therapist is a pain in my ass, telling me shit that I already know is the problem and ain’t really helping me. I’m ready to throw hands!” he shouts as he stands to his feet, to which she quickly grabbed him by his shoulders and pushed him back down.

“You can’t hit your therapist, you could get into serious trouble for something like that.” he grumbles at that, soon that lovesick expression found its way onto his face again, he was probably thinking about Eddie again.

“I really want to be about to talk to him, Buckley, but I’m scared that if I approach him, he’ll take it the wrong way. He might think that I’m trying to beat him up, but I don’t want him to be scared.” she rolled her eyes, planting her hand on her hip.

“Well then, I don’t know, give him love letters.” he looked up at her.

“Love letters?” she nods.

“Yeah, if you can’t find the right words to talk to him to his face, write that shit down and put it in his locker.” she then smacks his arm with the back of her hand “Isn’t English your best trait? I’ve read some of the stuff you’ve written, and let me tell you, that shit hits harder than you think.” he looks a little flustered at that, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You’re just saying that because you’re my friend.” she shrugs.

“Whatever floats your boat.” he seats there for a couple minutes before nodding his head.

“Okay, I’ll give your idea a try.” she nods when he stood up “I'll tell you how it goes.” she grins and gives him a thumbs up.

“Go get ‘em tiger.” they then fist bump and he walks out of the room, he glanced at Steve and mentally rolled his eyes when he saw him almost fall over. He was totally eavesdropping on their conversation, but he could give less of a shit, he was busy thinking of what to write down to give to Eddie. Robin walks in after he drives off on his motorbike, leaning down to rest on the counter as Steve gives her a look of disbelief.

“Since when were you friends with [L/N], Robin?” she shrugs.

“Since high school man, learn to keep up.”

“Wha— but he had no friends!”

[next day: hawkins high school]

In the early morning, [M/N] was at school with a letter in his hand. Taking Robin’s advice, he poured his heart and soul into what he wrote down that he wished he could say to Eddie. He had a faint blush on his face as he pressed the letter to his chest before finding Eddie’s locker and slipping it in, not before checking that there was no one there to catch him in the act. With his mission accomplished, he laid in waiting for Eddie to arrive, just to catch his reaction. He really hoped that he didn’t take it the wrong way, he didn’t think the letter was a joke and that someone was playing with his feelings.

“Hey, Eddie!” [M/N] quickly fell back behind the wall he was leaning on to hide, peeking out ever so slightly to see that it was Dustin calling Eddie’s name, who had just arrived with that cute little smile spread across his face.

“Hey Henderson! You ready for tonight’s campaign? It’s gonna be a real spectacle!” he cheered, to which Dustin’s face lit up immensely and nodded his head.

“Totally! Mike, Lucas and I can’t wait!” he chuckles softly.

“Well, it’ll be worth the wait, I promise.” Eddie soon opens his locker to get a few things but blinked when something fell and landed on his feet, kneeling down, he raised a brow in confusion to see a letter “Hmm? What’s this?” Dustin peeks over his shoulder then backs away as Eddie stands up straight, flipping the letter to get a look at the front and back.

“There’s no name.” [M/N] scoffed at that, of course he wasn’t going to write his name on it, it’d be even more unbelievable and he’d probably take it as a threat and not read the letter at all “Think it’s a love letter?” both himself and Dustin laugh at the possibility.

“Yeah, I highly doubt it. Don’t get my hopes high like that.” he jokes, he then tears the envelope open and pulls out the letter. Dustin tried to read it as well but couldn’t when Eddie would pull it closer to his face, [M/N] wished to see his face just to see if what he wrote was good or not. His wish was answered when Eddie lowered the letter and there he saw Eddie’s face turn bright red, all the way to the tips of his ears.

“Eddie…?” Dustin softly called out, reaching forward to grab his bicep and shake him “You good?” he stuttered out words, raising his hand to cover his mouth.

“I-It was a love letter…” 

“What?! Let me see.” he exclaimed and snatched the letter from his hands to read it himself, [M/N] wanted to punch the shit out of that little bastard for taking the letter that was meant for Eddie alone, but couldn’t help but feel a little grateful, because there he got to see his flustered and bashful reaction to reading the contents of his letter “Whoa! Whoever wrote this, they’re batshit in love with you.” Eddie bites his bottom lip, shaking his head in denial.

“No, whoever wrote it is probably fucking with me.” he replied, this answer was exactly what [M/N] feared.

“No, no Eddie, I don’t think so.” he then waves it around a bit and hands it back to him “If this was really a joke, I highly doubt it would be written with this much care. Whoever wrote it, they definitely had something they’ve been wanting to say to you for a long time. If this was a joke, I believe it wouldn’t have been written like it was a goddamn novel.” Eddie takes a breath, lifting the letter to read through it once more before pressing it against his lips.

“A-Alright.” he pulls it away and smiles softly at it, making sure to fold it up then tuck it nicely in his front pocket. [M/N] turned so his back was pressed against the wall and the look of joy quickly spread across his face. He internally squealed to himself, hands pressed into his face to hide the huge grin on his face that he couldn’t suppress. Robin’s advice worked and it wouldn’t have worked as greatly as it did if it weren’t for Dustin, he must thank him in some way for clearing up the misunderstanding. He nods to himself, taking one last glance at Eddie before leaving for his first class of the day.

“A mixtape?” he slowed his pace.

From that day on, [M/N] would continue to write letters and leave them in his locker, finding new things about Eddie that had him falling in love with him, it was his favourite thing to do, especially when he got to see the little reactions Eddie would have upon reading the letters. He would always turn a shade of read, sometimes he would twirl a few strands of his hair around his finger as he read through the letters, maybe fidget with a few of his rings, but just seeing him smile was all that made his day. At the end of his day he would always rush to Robin to tell her that it was working, telling her that her advice worked wonderfully and that it was slowly building his confidence to talk to Eddie face to face. Yeah, about that. There were a few times [M/N] managed to build up some of that confidence and was planning on talking to Eddie a few times but at the last minute chicken out a end of sulking about his failures. 

[M/N] was sitting in the cafeteria now, some bit of food hanging loosely on his lips as he stared at his notebook. He twirled his pencil around his fingers then tapped it against his forehead, rubbing the end of it into his temple as he tried to think of other things to put into his next love letter but his mind went blank. He groaned and fell forward with his head hitting the cafeteria table, he was running out of things to say, he needed to think of something quick. He sighs to himself and lifts himself up, closing the notebook and tucking it away then decided he was done in the cafeteria. He swings his legs out and starts walking out that he just so happens to overhear something from Eddie’s table.

“Yeah! I’d appreciate something like that, means they actually took the time of day to make something sentimental, you know?” Gareth scoffed.

“Just as long as they put in songs that actually mean something, if it’s just random songs, it won’t really matter.” Mike raises his hand.

“I second that.” Eddie rolled his eyes.

“Whatever. I’ll remember what you guys said when I get a mixtape.” [M/N]’s face lit up, now that’s something he could do. With a new goal set in mind, he was going to ditch his last class in favor of making this mixtape when somebody slammed into his chest.

“What the?!” he exclaims, growling when whoever bumped into him spilt their food onto him “Fucking— again?! Watch it punk!” he shouts, grabbing the next victim by the collar of their shirt and pulling them forward, raising his fist to punch them across the face but stopped when he saw that it was Dustin.

“W-Wait, man…! I’m sorry, I d-didn— didn’t see you.” his friend group immediately stood to their feet to defend him, but what could they do against the tyrant, he could easily beat them all after tearing Dustin a new one. [M/N] took a glance towards Eddie, something Dustin didn’t miss, and saw the way he glared at him if he were to even leave a mark on him “I’m sorry, I-I’m sorry…!” he apologises once more, [M/N] looks back at him then closed his eyes, letting out a sigh as he let Dustin go.

“Accidents happen.” he says, grimacing when he looked down at the spilt milk all over his jacket “Just watch where you’re going next time, Henderson.” the cafeteria was brought to silence, absolute silence when [M/N] walked out. Did the tyrant just spare someone? Everyone was sent into an uproar just as Dustin collapsed, Lucas and Mike were immediately by his side.

“Dustin!”

“Dustin! Are you alright?” he was shaking, trying to calm his breathing but he nodded nonetheless.

“Y-Yeah… god! I thought I saw my life flash before more eyes just now.” he runs a hand through his hair as his friends helped him to his feet, what he couldn’t get out of his mind was the way [M/N]’s face showed annoyance but the moment he took one glance over at Eddie his face softened. He seemed to have been the only one to notice because they were all asking if he was alright and how lucky he was to have survived against [M/N], his eyes narrowed at the possibility.

‘He couldn’t possibly be…’

[with [m/n]]

“Mum! Where’s the cassette recorder?!”

“In the garage!”

“Thank you!” he dumps an array of different cassettes onto his desk, sorting them out by genre and splitting them up then grabbed the cassette recorder and player, plugging them with headphones so the residents of the [L/N] household didn’t have to suffer through the array of different songs throughout the night. A cigarette hung loosely in between his fingers, flicking the ashes into an ashtray as he listened to each song, bobbing his head while swaying softly “I hope he likes these.” he muttered softly, by the time he was finished it was two in the morning, but it was totally worth it. He laid on his bed, headphones in and listened to his final product, smiling ever so lightly. The next day felt like any other day, arrive to school early with barely anyone around and slip in a letter for Eddie but this time a mixtape, everything was fi—

“So it is you!” he let out a gasp, throwing himself against the lockers at the unexpected voice. Looking behind him, his face paled when he saw that it was Dustin “I can’t believe you’re the secret admirer!” he quickly slapped his hand over Dustin’s mouth, bringing his other hand up to press a finger to his lips.

“Would you keep your voice down?!” he snarled at him, he takes a quick look around to see if anybody heard, when he saw nobody he dragged Dustin into a supply closet and slammed him against the wall “Henderson! Don’t you know when to mind your own business? I thought you’d think twice about bothering me after yesterday, but I see you’re just as stupid as the rest of this fucking scho—”

“You’re in love with Eddie, aren’t you?” [M/N] sputters over his words, his tough guy façade slowly beginning to crumble when his previous threats went to deaf ears as Dustin smirked up at him “I saw the way you looked at Eddie yesterday, and after all those love letters I thought of the possibility that it could be you. I was really taking a huge gamble on that small little detail, but I guess I was right. You, [M/N] “the Tyrant” [L/N], is in love with Eddie “the Freak” Munson. Just admit it, it’s written all over your face.” [M/N]’s face was twitching as he fought to keep that glare on his face, but in the end let out a defeated sigh as he crumbled to his knees, hands holding a fistful of Dustin’s vest.

“I-Is it that obvious…?” Dustin’s jaw dropped immediately as soon as [M/N]’s true feelings revealed itself, he pushed himself back and saw his bright red face as he pressed his hands to his face “Yeah, I’m really in love with him it’s crazy.” even his voice sounded soft and meek, not a trace of that psycho from the day prior.

“Since when?” he was taken aback when a lovesick grin spread across his face, a look of complete adoration in his eyes as he tried to recounter the first time he saw Eddie Munson.

“Where do I even begin? It was probably during my freshmen year! He’s a year older than me but the moment I set my eyes on him, watching him be himself… ah, I was over the moon.” he then cups his cheeks, leaning into the palm of his hand “I fell in love when I saw him performing one night at a shitty gig that were  willing to let him and his band, Corroded Coffins, play. It was so mesmerising watching him play, I loved every second of it.” Dustin pursed his lips, raising a brow when he heard [M/N] let out a sigh as he leaned his back against the wall.

“Well, if you like him so much, why don’t you just tell him? You’ve shown him just how much you like him, so I don’t see the harm in just saying it to his face,” this caused the older one to let out a groan, throwing his head back then hiding his face in his knees.

“That’s the thing. I’m afraid I might say the wrong thing, I’m scared that I might scare him off. Don’t you remember who I am, Henderson? I’m the tyrant, the school delinquent that isn’t afraid to throw hands with a fucking teacher.” he runs his hands through his hair “I’m afraid when he finds out that I’m his secret admirer… he’ll think I was playing with his feelings as a new way to torture people.” Dustin placed his hands on his hips.

“Eddie always looks forward to seeing those letters.” this caused [M/N]’s head to perk up and look up at him “It’s his favourite part of the day, seeing what new things you love about him.” this caused him to grin sheepishly, closing his hands together and kicking his legs a little.

“Really?” he giggles softly. If Dustin where to mention [M/N]’s true personality to his friends, they would probably laugh in his face and tell him he’s ridiculous. That there wasn’t a single person in this world that the tyrant had a soft spot for, but that was where they were wrong. He’s seen the way Eddie’s face lights up upon reading the letters and now that he knows that they are really truthful— he lets out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’d like to consider myself a good friend of Eddie’s, like, really close.” [M/N] lets out a hum at that, acknowledging that fact by the fact he’s always seeing the two of them together acting like idiots “So… how’s about I give you a hand?” he gave him a wary expression.

“… what do you mean by that?”

“I think Eddie’s starting to like you, erm, the secret admirer.” [M/N]’s face lit up immensely at that “Eddie also has an interest in you, the tyrant, but it slowly turned sour after yesterday. He probably would have hated your guts if you actually hit me.” he groans.

“I know, that’s why I didn’t.”

“And I still thank you for that, [L/N].” this earned him an eye roll “If I were to have Eddie see you in a better light, and potentially boost up your confidence in talking to him, maybe I can help you two hook up.”

“Really? You’d do that?” he stands up but then stops, looking down at Dustin cautiously “What’s the catch?” Dustin smirks a little.

“Just your protection.” this caused [M/N] to quirk a brow “My friends and I are still losers, meaning we’re still targets in the jocks eyes. We by no means can protect ourselves from those assholes, so, I was hoping you’d keep an eye out for us in return for my services.” he let out a groan at that, why did he have to play babysitter. He genuinely wanted to refuse, but having Dustin as his inside man to help him get with Eddie… dammit, it was an offer he just couldn’t refuse.

“Alright, Henderson, you’ve got yourself a deal.” this caused him to grin, reaching forward to grab [M/N]’s hand and shake it enthusiastically.

“Pleasure doing business with you.” he rolled his eyes. Now, outside the supply closet was Eddie. He arrived a little early to school in hopes that he could potentially catch his secret admirer but upon opening his locker and finding the letter and a mixtape, all was for naught and he woke up early for no— wait, a mixtape? He felt giddy, taking the tape into his hands and opening the case and there he saw a little note written in it.

’I happened to overhear that you’d love to receive a mixtape. Thought I’d give you one as a gift. I hope you enjoy it, Eddie.’

~ secret admirer.

“Oh, what a sap.” the sound of a door opening caught his attention, he leaned back from out of his locker and narrowed his eyes when he saw [M/N] and Dustin walk out of the supply closet. He thought maybe [M/N] was threatening the younger one but was surprised to see Dustin laughing when the other grabbed the end of his cap and shook it a bit before pushing his head back and walking away “What was all that about...?” Dustin raised his head upon feeling he was being stared at, he jumped upon seeing that it was Eddie.

“Hey, Eddie! W-When did you get here?” he asked while approaching him.

“A couple minutes ago.” he then eyed the back of [M/N]’s back before he disappeared “Why were you in the supply closet with [L/N]? Was he threatening you again?” Dustin’s eyes widened before he raised his hands while shaking his head.

“Oh, no, no, no! I just needed advice for... intimidation?” he mentally slapped his forehead, even Eddie looked at him as if he were an idiot.

“Seriously? I’m surprised he didn’t give you a black eye.” Dustin waved his hand to dismiss him.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. We just let bygones be bygones, alright? He’s actually a pretty chill dude.” Eddie rolled his eyes, tucking the mixtape and letter into his front pocket, intending to listen and read through them later.

“Sure, I’ll believe it when I see it.”

And see Dustin kept his end of the deal, Eddie would ramble about anything that came into mind and he would later report it to [M/N], because of this, it gave him more material for his letters. Sometimes he would think of new gifts to give to Eddie, a few times they got a little too big so [M/N] had to break into his locker just to get it in there. But also keeping his end of the deal, whenever [M/N] would catch Dustin and his group of losers getting ganged by anyone with ill intentions, he just stands behind them and give them that infamous death glare. Mike and Lucas have been starting to notice the lack of black eyes they’ve been receiving, and Dustin has been weirdly confident for some reason.

“Dustin, what did you do?” Lucas asked, eyeing him weirdly as he walked beside him.

“Lucas is right, you did something.” Mike agreed, Dustin just gave them a cheeky grin. 

“I’ve gained us, boys, immunity.” they both stare at him weirdly “At first I thought he wasn’t doing his job right, but in the end, it worked out just fine.” Mike and Lucas share a look with each other.

“Oh yeah, how?” they enter the cafeteria, Mike and Lucas intending to sit down with Eddie and the rest, but were confused when they saw that he was walking somewhere else “Dustin? Dustin! Where are you going?” their jaws literally dropped when he confidently walked over to where [M/N] was sitting, dropping his tray of food in front of him then taking a seat across from him, practically startling the poor soul who was reading.

“What the-- Henderson?” [M/N] questioned, looking over at him in confusion, he rolled his eyes when the brunette grinned at him “What the fuck are you doing over here?” he merely shrugged his shoulders, taking his bag off his shoulders and putting it under the table.

“Eating lunch with you.” he scoffed, making sure to bookmark his page before closing his book.

“Shouldn’t you be eating with your friends?” he asked while gesturing with his heads over to them, to which Dustin shrugged “I still have a reputation to up hold here, Henderson. I can’t just let these dorks see me going soft, all because of you--” he stuttered back his words when Dustin raised his finger, he was greatly offended that he was shushed.

“And they won’t, but I think it’ll help Eddie see that you’re not such a bad guy.” this caused him to calm slightly “Like I said before, Eddie was interested in you before and I think you’ll gain his interest again if he see’s you’re not that hard to talk to. And by doing that, you have me.” [M/N] rolled his fingers along the table as he eyed Dustin before letting out a sigh.

“Fucking, fine.” with that Dustin happily ate his food, [M/N] picked at his food “... does he like the mixtape?” the younger one let out a hum at that, he quickly swallows his food and nods.

“Mm hmm, he listens to it all the time.” this caused a rare smile to raise to his cheeks,

“I’m glad.” those who were staring that managed to see that smile were in complete shock, the only face he ever wore was a scowl or sneer, but this was the first time anyone has ever seen him smile like that at something that wasn’t his bike. Eddie, who was watching the entire interaction, felt his eyes widen at how charming that smile was. He couldn’t help but snort softly when he saw Dustin say something and in return [M/N] threw some of his food at him, but there was a smile nonetheless.

“Since when was Henderson friends with [L/N]?!” Gareth exclaimed, Eddie chuckled softly.

“Actually... I remember seeing the two of them together one morning, I thought it was nothing, but I guess not.” at the end of lunch he was hounded for answers by his friends, though they backed off a little when [M/N] walked by them but not without ruffling Dustin’s head.

“Later Henderson.” he happily waved his hand.

“Bye, [L/N]!” he then smirks at Lucas’ and Mike’s dumbfounded face.

“Since when did you gain [M/N]’s favor? I thought that was impossible to do!” Mike exclaimed, hands in his hair and ready to be torn off “Was this during the time you bumped into him?” Dustin just grinned cheekily at them, shrugging his shoulders.

“Maybe, maybe not. Hey, Eddie!” said man looked at him “He does like Iron Maiden.” Eddie’s face lit up.

“Well, if he likes Iron Maiden, then he can’t be all that bad.”

“No, Eddie, just no.”

[time skip: a few weeks later]

Dustin continued to sit at [M/N]’s table, must to the other’s displeasure, and just straight up harassed him because he had the power to do so. Dustin’s time with him actually got him a few ups rather than downs, mostly because he started to learn more and more about him. He learnt that [M/N] was actually really smart and the reason he never put in any of the effort to the schoolwork was because the teacher’s thought he’d end up as a lost cause, so he just gave up trying so hard. But the one thing he did put a lot of effort into was English, Dustin would often ask for his help for his English work and though he thought it was a hassle, the younger of the two could tell that [M/N] was having some fun with it. 

Sure Dustin promised [M/N] he would help him with telling him everything about Eddie, but Eddie wanted to know more about [M/N] as well. Eddie learnt that though the delinquent enjoyed listening to a variety of different heavy metal songs, he quite enjoyed listening to classical music as well via vinyl's. It was a shocker, but it did help calm him down when he was having trouble with his anger issues. The school also noticed the way [M/N] was starting to soften up and act less impulsive, they all had Dustin to thank for that, making the tyrant less tyrannical.

“Whatever you’re doing, Henderson, keep at it.” Eddie said, patting his shoulder and looking up in thought “You think he knows how to play D&D? I’d love to ask him to join Hellfire personally, but I’m afraid he’ll think it’s boring.” Dustin rolled his eyes, recalling the time [M/N] told him that he self taught himself how to play D&D so he could play alongside Eddie one day during one of his campaigns.

“I’ll ask him.” Eddie grinned.

“You’re the best.” he shrugs.

“So I’ve been told.” with [M/N], he was sitting just outside the parking lot reading the Lord of the Rings Book: The Return of the King. He was always a fan of J. R. R. Tolkien’s works, it was one of the many reasons he ended up loving English a lot, but he took up reading the books again when Dustin told him Eddie tended to make references from the books a lot. He closed the book and chuckled to himself at the amount of page tabs he had on them from the time he marked down the best parts of the book, he believed he believed he read enough and was planning on going home but stopped when he heard shouting.

“Hmm?” he glanced over and saw what he believed was Eddie’s Hellfire Club huddled around, he thought it was nothing until he saw a couple of jocks “Well shit, and here I thought I was going to have a quiet Friday evening.” he puts his book in his bag and leaves it by his bike before marching over to see what ruckus was all about, the students immediately parted upon seeing him and when he saw what was going on his blood ran cold. 

[a few minutes before [m/n] arrived]

“You think you and your lot of freaks are untouchable, huh, Munson?” Eddie laid on the ground, blood running down nose and black eye slowly forming on his left eye as he stared up at the bastard who punched him “You think just because Henderson is in good graces with the tyrant we can’t hurt you? Well guess again, bitch, there’s nothing he will do.” Dustin glared at them from where he stood.

“You’re wrong, you asshole!” he flinched back when another jock took a step forward.

“Oh, yeah? That asshole doesn’t care about anyone but himself! You’ve gotten arrogant because of the fact that you can talk to him, Henderson. But remember this, the moment he sees no more use in you, you’ll be the next punching bag on his list.” Eddie spits out the blood in his mouth and stands to his feet.

“What makes you think we need [L/N]’s protection, huh? I can handle myself pretty well!” he lets out a laugh when he was grabbed by his vest, yanked forward and standing eye to eye with the jock “You guys are just as scared of him as we are, you just hate that he’s close to him.” he winces when the jock reeled his arm back but paused when it didn’t come, he opened his eyes and noticed that the jock was looking down so he followed his gaze and his eyes widened when one of the newest love letters fell out of his pocket.

“What’s this?” Eddie sputtered out his words but let out a gasp when he was thrown back, Gareth and Jeff caught him before he could fall just as the jock bent down to pick up the letter.

“H-Hey man, give that back!” he shouts out desperately, heart dropping when the letter opened and the jock looked at the writing inside it, he soon laughed at what it said.

“Well would you look at that? The freak seems to have an admirer!” he shouts, reading through more of it then looked at Eddie with an amused expression “Do you really think anyone has any feelings for you, Munson? It’s probably nothing more than a joke. Nobody loves you, there’s nothing to love.” Eddie’s hands closed into a tight fist, those words really damaging his heart.

“Y-You’re wrong!” this response made him laugh.

“Wow! You really believe these feelings this person wrote for you are actually true!” he then drops the letter, raised his foot and stomped on it, making sure to twist his foot on top of it “You don’t deserve to be loved.” those tears that were threatening to fall finally fell, though Dustin couldn’t help but feel fear run through his veins. [M/N] always treated those letters with care, and seeing someone stomp on them means that they have a death wish. 

“You’re dead...” he whispered to himself, though the jocks seemed to have picked up on what he said and turned their attention on him.

“The fuck did you say, nerd...” they trailed off when someone stepped out from behind Dustin, he glanced up and there he saw that enraged look in [M/N]’s face that he hasn’t seen in a long time. Eddie also looked up when someone pushed passed him and saw that same expression that charmed him, [M/N] couldn’t see anything but red. He grabbed the piece of shit that had the balls to insult him; to insult his Eddie and stomp on his letter, and pulled them forward “H-Hey, now wait a minu-- minute!” [M/N] pulls his arm back, glaring at the poor unfortunate soul.

“Clench your teeth.” was all the the warning he got that was laced with venom, and for the next couple of minutes, [M/N] was laying waste into him. There was nothing that could stop him now, not the countless of students that were yelling at him to stop, not the people who were trying to pull him off as he beat his voice to the point he laid there unconscious and unable to defend himself. He ignored the way the jock clawed at his face and arms for him to stop but couldn’t, he made his Eddie cry... and he was going to make him pay with his blood.

“[M/N], stop!” Dustin shouted, grabbing at the arm that he was swinging with all he could and pulled it back “You’ve done enough... please, you’ve done enough.” [M/N] glanced back at Dustin and saw the sheer fear in his eyes, he then looked down at the poor unconscious sap and the blooded mess he was in. When Dustin saw his fist loosen up he finally let go of his arm, [M/N] took a deep breath then stood to his feet and looked over at Eddie. The two of them just stared at each other until [M/N] looked down at the dirty and crinkled letter, bending down to pick it up.

“H-Hey, wait--” Eddie was cut off when [M/N] slapped it against his chest as he walked past him.

“Next time, take good care of your valuables, Eddie.” nobody said a word as [M/N] walked away, hopped onto his bike and drove away. Eddie’s hands held onto that note like it was his lifeline as his friends surrounded him, asking him if he was okay, but he couldn’t help but shiver at the way his name rolled off of [M/N]’s tongue. 

’He said my name...’

[time skip: a few days later]

“... wanna talk about it?”

“Shut up, Buckley.” Robin snickered from beside [M/N], the two of them laying outside on the grass at school, though [M/N]  was drinking alcohol out of a flask. [M/N] told Dustin to stay away from him for a couple days because he was afraid he was going to have another outburst and take it out on him if he couldn’t control himself. He really went too far this time, that was on him, but he just couldn’t control himself when he saw Eddie crying; when he saw that motherfucker step on his fucking lett--

“You’re balling your fists again, [M/N].” he lets out a defeated sigh, hands relaxing.

“I think I’ve gone and done it this time, Robin. I think I officially scared him off.” Robin watched him sit up, face in his hands as he shook his head “I just couldn’t stop myself, Buckley. Just-- jesus, I lost all rationality and let out the anger I hadn’t realized I was bottling up all out on him.” Robin rolled her eyes and sat up.

“You’re overreacting, dude.”

“I don’t think I am.” he whispered to himself, she shakes her head and places a hand on his shoulder.

“If you’re so worried, just go talk to Dustin. He’s your inside man, remember?” he spares her a glance and saw she was giving him a look of reassurance “I can even talk to Dustin, that little twerp and I became friends sometime last year.” he makes a face.

“... nah, I think it’d be better if I talked to him.” she grins, punching his arm.

“There you go.” he scoffed with a laugh “Now hurry up, and sick and tired hearing that kid miss talking to you.” he scowls at her.

“Right, I was quite enjoying my peace and quiet.”

“No you weren’t.” he pouts. He was now at his locker, getting a few things out of it, ignoring the people moving around him and whispering bullshit about him again. He stopped caring about what others said about him, some rumors were true while others weren’t, they just put the blame on him because it was easier that wa--

“Hey.” he slammed his locker shut at the sudden voice, turning his head, he started screaming internally at who it was “You think we could talk for a bit?”

’Oh my god, Eddie! You’re talking to me! I can’t believe you’re talking to me! Is this a dream? If this is a dream, I hope I never wake up! What a dream come true! Eddie, the love of my life!’ he had a straight and neutral expression but his thoughts said otherwise.

“Sure.” he cried on the inside at his short answer, fuck sake.

“W-Well, um-- I’ve been meaning to say thank you.” this caused [M/N] to raise a brow.

“Huh, for what? I don’t remember doing anything for you.” this is where Eddie nervously twirled a strand of his hair then moving it so that it was hiding the lower half of his face, something that [M/N] found adorable whenever Eddie felt nervous.

“No. When those assholes took that letter from me...” he trailed off, a pained look on his face “I couldn’t do anything, and their words really stuck with me. But you, you stood up to them. You could have just looked the other way, but you didn’t, and for that I’m really grateful.” [M/N] swallowed thickly.

“Yeah, well-- don’t expect me...” [M/N] stopped himself before he could finish his sentence, shaking his head when he realized he was going to come off as an asshole “No, I-- fuck! I mean, it’s no big deal, Munson. You’re Dustin’s friend, so I couldn’t just turn a blind eye.” he internally fist bumped, nailed it.

“Well, thanks, tyrant.” [M/N] chuckled.

“No problem, freak.” they both laugh. Robin had confronted Dustin and told the young boy to talk to [M/N], he was already way ahead of her and was making his way to his locker but stopped in the middle of his tracks when he saw him talking to Eddie. Wow, what a turn of events. He froze up when [M/N] saw him and before he could say anything, Dustin backed away but gestured for him to keep talking.

“So, [L/N],” Eddie cleared his throat, his little DM persona surfacing up as he gave the taller male a confident grin “you know the Hellfire Club, right?” he nods his head.

“Yes?” Eddie then tugs on his battle vest, a smirk raising to his face.

“So then you know how we play D&D, right?” he was given another nod in response to that “Cool! I-I mean-- ahem. As the Dungeon Master, as a thank you for your services for protecting my friends and I, I would like to formally invite you to Hellfire. Now I hope you understand how valuable this invitation is, [L/N], because not just anyone can be invited into Hellfire. You should feel really grateful.” looking up at him, he was expecting to see an unimpressed expression and was going to be brushed off, but what he got was a look of excitement as [M/N]’s cold eyes sparkled while a red hue flushed to his cheeks.

“Really?” his voice reminded him of that of a child, he wished he could stare at that face a little longer but it quickly disappeared as it came when [M/N] shook his head to knock some sense into himself “I-I mean, uh, sure. I’ll take up your invitation, Munson. No take backs.” Eddie couldn’t help but laugh at that childish sentence.

“Haha, alright.” he then takes a step back, waving his hand goodbye “Tomorrow, at Hellfire after school. Be there early, okay? I need to show the ropes and recap on our last campaign.” [M/N] nods his head, giving Eddie a thumbs up as the metal head walked away.

“R-Right, totally!” Eddie flashes him a bright smile before finally disappearing, [M/N] stood in the hallway for what felt like hours at what just happened. Eddie came up to him. Eddie was the one that talked to him. Eddie thanked him. Eddie smiled at him. Eddie invited him to Hellfire. He couldn’t fight back that huge smile and when he saw there was no one around, he let out a biggest squeal, jumping in the air while pumping his fists then punching his locker “Fuck yeah! I did it! I did it!” he then crouches down, pressing his hands together as he continued to smile.

I did it.

[time skip: the next day]

Eddie wasn’t in the greatest of moods that day. Sure, he was happy when he woke up that morning. Why? Maybe it was because he was finally going to be able to interact with [M/N] [L/N] for the very first time instead of watching him from afar and hearing new things about him from Dustin, he could finally talk to him and look at him from up close. Maybe he was also excited to get a new letter from his secret admirer, things were looking great for his end of the week. He arrived at school with a big smile on his face, he approached his locker and opened it but... there was no letter. He looked through every nook and cranny for it but there was nothing, his heart dropped and he couldn’t help but feel heart broken. The words of those bullies coming back to haunt him. 

“Nobody loves you.”

“There’s nothing to love.” 

“You don’t deserve to be loved.” 

What made things worse was that he didn’t see [M/N] throughout that entire day, he tried asking Dustin but the kid didn’t give him any concrete answers to go off of. When everything was finally looking good for him, it all just went away as fast as it came. Was [M/N] even going to come to Hellfire? God, what was he even thinking? Of course he wasn’t. That guy probably has better things to do than come to some stupid roleplaying game with Eddie “the Freak” fucking Munson! He collapsed onto his chair within Hellfire, the end of the day came faster than he would he have wanted and now he was going to have to do this campaign in a shitty mood.

“Eddie?” a soft voice called out, his head shot up and there he saw the man he hadn’t realized he was aching to see. [M/N] looked nervous where he was standing, he stepped into the room and rubbed the back of his neck, there Eddie noticed [M/N] was holding something behind his back but didn’t question it and stood up in a slightly better mood.

“You actually came, [L/N]! I kind of thought you were going to pull a no show.” [M/N]’s eyes immediately widened, a look of shock evident.

“W-What? Why would I do that?” he then winced when he remember that he hadn’t shown his face to Eddie that entire day, going so far as to not tell Dustin what he was doing, what he was doing had to do with what he had behind his back “I-I was busy this entire day, there’s something I need to tell you.” Eddie fixed his posture at that.

“Yeah?” [M/N] could feel how fast his heart was beating, an eruption of butterflies bursting in his stomach as he thought of countless scenarios in his head. Eddie continued to look up at [M/N], seeing a new expression on his face, one of anxiousness. Before Eddie could say anything [M/N] finally pulled his arm out from behind his back and handed Eddie an envelope, an envelope with his name written on the front of it with a very familiar penmanship “W-Why do you... why do you have that?” he questioned as he snatched the letter out of his hand, did [M/N] steal this out from his locker? Was that the reason why this fucker didn’t show his face the entire da--

“I thought it would be better to give it to you now.” this caused Eddie to pause, what? “I know you might have been confused as to why you didn’t get one this morning, but I've been needing to tell you something face to face. I've always been better at writing down my feelings rather than verbally saying it, so...” he then gestured for him to read it, so Eddie did just that, tearing the envelope open and pulling the letter out.

‘to eddie,

this will probably be my last letter to you. I’ve constantly told you how much I’ve adored you, from the way your eyes sparkle whenever you’re happy, to the way you always have this passion in your voice every time you speak. there isn’t a thing about you that I don’t love. 

the moment you spoke to me, it felt like I was on cloud fucking nine. I nearly blew it and told you to fuck off, but I’m glad I was able to pull my head out of my ass. you have no idea what you do to me, you have no idea what I would do for you.

I love you, eddie munson, and there’s nothing in this god forsaken world that could ever change my mind about that. I just hope that you can feel the same about me now that you know who your secret admirer is. I was always so scared that you wouldn’t like me.

I promise you, I will give you all the love that you want and need. I will give you everything so long as I live, and I promise you that I will always be by your side loving you.

~ [m/n] [l/n].

Eddie looked up from the letter and there he saw [M/N] looking so small, averting his eyes from Eddie’s as he laced his fingers together, twiddling his thumbs while trembling. [M/N] thought Eddie wasn’t going to buy it, he thought Eddie was going to accuse him of stealing that letter from out of his locker and saying that it was from him. He was expecting Eddie to reject him, there wasn’t a single positive outcome to come out of this situation, and when he was going to accept that reality he suddenly felt a pair of arms around his shoulders and pulling him into a hug.

“Thank god it was you, [M/N].” his eyes widened slightly, taking in a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding in “I’m so glad that it’s you, [M/N].” he whispered, the latter swallowed thickly at that as he looked down at Eddie.

“W-What?” Eddie pulled away and [M/N] saw he had an expression that mirrored his “D-Do you mean you— you feel the same way?!” he exclaimed, Eddie laughed and nodded his head.

“I always felt a slight attraction towards you, [M/N], and I was quite torn whether or not I should fall in love with my secret admirer or the hot tyrant. I’m so glad you two are one in the same.” he then gently jabbed [M/N]’s side with his elbow “But who’d a thought you’re nothing more than a giant teddy bear. I’ve seen the way you act with Dustin when you think no one’s looking, you’re not very discrete.” this caused the taller of the two to let out a whine of sort, an embarrassed blush rising to his cheeks as he hid his face behind his hands.

“Stop it…” he mumbled.

“You’re really adorable.” Eddie sets the letter down on the table then reaches forward and grabs both of [M/N]’s hands, he rubs his thumbs along his knuckles. [M/N]’s was beating abnormally fast to the point he was surprised he hadn’t fainted from how happy he was, still not believing that Eddie felt the same way about him.

“C-Can I…” Eddie lets out a hum, smirking softly at the flustered man in front of him “… can I kiss you?”

“Hmm, can you, big boy?” he laughed when [M/N] pouted, wearing a face that resembled that of a kicked puppy “Alright, okay! I was kidding, you big dope.” Eddie watched [M/N] slip his hands free from his grip and raise his hands to his face, they gently cupped his cheeks and his thumbs caressed them. He probably would have purred at the affection but instead let out a hum when [M/N] finally pressed his lips against his own, it was a short and sweet kiss but it had Eddie craving for me. So when [M/N] was pulling away he let out a muffled gasp when Eddie wrapped his arms around his neck to pull him back into another kiss, next thing they knew [M/N] was laying on his back with Eddie on top of him pulling him into deeper kisses.

“Eddie… Eddie, please…!” each time [M/N] got a word out he would be silenced by another kiss, he later gave up and just pulled Eddie into a kiss that he poured his heart and soul into “I love you, Eddie…!” he smiled at that, briefly pulling away to rest his forehead on his.

“And I love you just as much.”

Headcanons:

the other members of hellfire came in to find [m/n] and eddie making out on the floor.

eddie sat on [m/n]’s lap with a triumphant smirk on his face while the other continued to lay on the ground, hands covering his face as he wallowed up in embarrassment.

dustin came up to them and held out his hand, [m/n] side eyed him but gave him a high five.

mission accomplished.

[m/n] immensely softened up after finally getting together with eddie, he didn’t mindlessly get into fights with people anymore and just eddie or even dustin’s mere presence is enough to get him to calm down.

robin was happy for [m/n], he literally came running up to her with the biggest smile on his face and hugged her; twirling her around and everything.

this scared the ever living shit out of steve.

[m/n] started sitting with eddie and his lot during lunch, this was enough to get the bullies to back off.

sometimes [m/n] would help eddie with any of his homework, that being eddie openly complaining how hard it was and that he needed help from his hunky and gorgeous boyfriend to assist him.

whenever eddie got an answer right he would be rewarded with a kiss.

most of the time they would get distracted and not even be able to finish the homework.

bike rides are a must.

eddie loved the feeling of the wind breezing through his curly brown locks, often cheering as [m/n] drove down the streets of hawkins.

the first time eddie tried getting on his bike without a helmet [m/n] would just give him a blank expression with his arms crossed and just gave him the most disapproving glare he could muster.

safety first.

when playing d&d, eddie would incorporate [m/n]’s tyrant persona into the campaign.

the others loved it. [m/n] was a barbarian goliah who was a tyrannical king in their latest campaign and they had to strategise how to overthrow him.

they lost epically before he swooned the dungeon master.

they called him a cheater.

he called them sore losers.

dustin believes he’s the greatest wingman because of the fact that eddie and [m/n] are together, the two of them definitely favor him a lot. this sometimes causes the others to get jealous, but all he does in return for their retaliation is hide behind [m/n].

they all though have access to [m/n]’s scary dog privilege.

however, they all know that [m/n] would absolutely do anything for his eddie.

they remember a time they absentmindedly told [m/n] when eddie was being harassed by a few of the jocks in the past. they didn’t see him for the rest of the day until they saw the same guy that harassed eddie run away blooded and crying.

[m/n] turned the corner with blood on his knuckles.

he didn’t see anything wrong with it.

eddie is always flattered, but his heart is always over the moon because [m/n] continued to write him love letters and make him more mixtapes.

they would end up in eddie’s van laying together, listening to the music through his stereo as [m/n] read a loud all the new things he loved about eddie.

he loved eddie.

eddie loved him.

the tyrant and the freak.

Savory

word count: 7225

Fandom: IRL!MCYT Pairing: Quackity x Male!Reader Pronouns: He/Him Relationship: Romantic Occupation: Baker Ability: N/A

Keys:

[M/N]: Male Name [H/C]: Hair Color [E/C]: Eye Color [D/N]: Dog Name

Warnings: cringey

I like making my oc’s and even readers really tall, fight me.

this is hella gay and it hurts my brain because I rushed it.

that is all.

Dammit.

That was the only thought going throughout Quackity’s mind as he ran along the streets, why you may ask. Simple really, it’s because he lost his gorgeous pet cat, Tiger. Sure, he knew that Tiger was quite adventurous and most certainly feisty, but never would have thought that Tiger would run off so suddenly as he did, he immediately sprung into action and fled his house in search of his dear sweet pet cat.

“Tiger! Oh please, where did you go? Tiger!” he called out rather frantically, soon enough, worry started to arise when countless scenarios started playing throughout his head. What if Tiger got hit by a car? What if Tiger got mauled by another animal? What if someone took his cat?! Now the panic was starting to kick in and he was searching in a more frantic manner, running up and down the footpath while continuously calling out his cat’s name. When everything seemed dire, he heard the sound of soft laughter, he turned his head and he couldn’t help but freeze up at the sight before.

He wasn’t really one to act as flustered as he did at the very moment with his outgoing and flamboyant personality, but he really couldn’t help it at what was before him. He also had to agree that George had the pretty privilege and was most certainly gorgeous, but this guy took the cake. Short/Long [H/C] hair with strikingly bold [E/C] eyes, even from a fair he could tell that this rather attractive male had quite a broad and muscular body and that smile that graced his face that caused a slight tint of red to dust his cheeks as he played with a cat. Wait-- cat? He took a closer look and his eyes widened in a mixture of relief and shock at the sight of Tiger curled up beneath this man, showing his underside so he could scratch his belly.

“Hey! That’s my cat!” he shouts as he rushes over, this sudden commotion caused the man to stop petting Tiger and raise his head to turn over to where Quackity was currently rushing over, he nearly stumbled over his own footing when his [E/C]’s landed on him.

“Oh? I’m sorry.” he apologized, he tried standing to his feet but laughed when Tiger launched himself forward and clung onto the shirt of the stranger, who laugh as he held Tiger close so he couldn’t fall, laughing even more when the cat curled up in his arms and started purring when he started scratching under his chin “I didn’t know he was yours, kind of distracted me when he was sprawled all over the footpath.” Quackity returned the kind smile with a rather nervous one, rubbing the back of his neck when he realized just how tall the man in front of him was, probably about 6″3-4ft tall.

“It’s no problem. Thought I lost him, I’m just glad he’s alright.” the stranger nods his head and watched as the shorter one of the two reached forward to take his cat back, now it was Quackity’s turn to laugh when he saw how much trouble the stranger was having giving his cat back. When Tiger felt the man was no longer going to hold him, he started letting out meows while clinging onto his shirt, crying out louder when Quackity tried taking him back “I am so sorry.” the stranger just shakes his head.

“Oh, not at all. For some reason, animals tend to love me. I grew up with a lot of pets and my folks call me the animal whisperer with how much our pets loved me.” a couple minutes went by and Quackity wasn’t able to get Tiger to let go of the attractive stranger so he let out a sigh, hands pressing against the lower side of his back as he stared at his cat that soon climbed out of his arms and was now resting on his shoulders.

“I really am sorry about him, he’s not usually like this.” he only hummed, reaching up and scratching under his chin once more.

“He’s a real cutie he is.” he then offers his hand to the shorter man, polite smile on his face “I’m [M/N] by the way, thought you’d want to know.” Quackity’s eyes perked up at that and took his hand.

“Um, my name is Alexis! But people call me Alex.” he nods his head before pointing at the cat “Oh, his name is Tiger.” [M/N]’s eyes lit up at what he said.

“Tiger? Aw, such a cute name.” he cooed.

“Do you have any pets?” his eyes lit up once more.

“Of course.” he then turned his head, raising his hand and bringing his fingers to his lips before letting out a sharp whistle “[D/N], come!” he shouts, Quackity turned his head to where [M/N] was looking at was startled at the sight of a merle great dane barreling over to where they were standing. [M/N] laughs as he grabs Tiger and raises him above his head when his dog tackled him to the ground, he let out an oof as his body landed on the ground with a thud but he still continued to hold Tiger above him so he wouldn’t get trampled by his dog 

“This is my great dane [D/N]!”

“He’s quite big.” [M/N] rolls his eyes as Quackity took his chance to finally take Tiger out of [M/N]’s hands without him fighting back.

“Of course he’s big, he’s a great dane my guy!” he exclaimed, Quackity knelt down and set Tiger down and he was rather thankful that his little furry companion decided to loiter around him, he laughed when [M/N]’s dog started licking his face but he managed to push his face away to get a breather “See? Animals love me.” he nods.

“Sure, I’ll believe that when I see you start talking to birds.” he pursed his lips at the thought.

“Don’t tempt me.” when his great dane managed to settle down, he rolled his neck and rubbed his back after taking the full impact of his weight and his dog’s, he then noticed [D/N] nuzzling his snout into Quackity’s thigh and he hummed softly “He likes you.”

“Eh? Really?” Quackity’s face flushes once more when [M/N] gave him a gentle smile as he nodded his head, scratching his dog behind the ears. 

“What’s unique is that [D/N] is usually so defensive around strangers, but he’s taken a liking to you.”

“R-Right.” the two of them continued to chatter, though they moved locations to a nearby bench so that they weren’t sitting in the middle of the footpath and out of the way of walking pedestrians, and they were overall enjoying each other’s company. [D/N]’s head was resting on [M/N]’s thigh as he nuzzled close into his owner’s side while Tiger nestled silently in Quackity’s lap, the latter calmly patting his cat as it slept. The two of them hadn’t even realized how long they were talking for until they saw the street lights beginning to turn on as the day turned into night, [M/N] gave Quackity an apologetic look as he stood to his feet, gently patting his dog’s head after the abrupt action.

“Oh! I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time.” now it was Quackity’s turn to stand up, being more careful as he held Tiger in his arms.

“No, no! Not at all, I actually enjoyed this afternoon.” he then looks to the side, his nervousness beginning to crawl up the back of his neck “I was also kind of hoping we could talk again.” [M/N] blinked at the request before smiling softly, he pulled out a pen from his wallet to pull out an old receipt and scribbled something down on the back of it, he tore off the needed part before scrunching up the waste and handing the other part to him.

“Call me when you’re free, yeah? Then I’ll know when I’m not taking up your time when you’re busy.” he then waves his hand to bid the other goodbye before walking off with [D/N] by his side, yipping and barking while jumping side to side then following his owner home. Quackity continued to stand there like a fool before letting out a long groan, the soft blush on his cheeks continuing to grow as his hand tightened into a fist, accidentally crumbling [M/N]’s phone number.

“Dammit.”

Quackity was soon looking forward to having conversations with [M/N], he most certainly had the best humor when it came to the entire Dream SMP, but [M/N] was just so goddamn comedic there would be hours where the two of them are just talking while making jokes. It soon became a competition between the two of them to see who could make the other laugh first or the most, so far Quackity was the reigning champion between them but [M/N] wasn’t too far behind. Currently, Quackity was laying in his bed with his phone beside his head and there he was chuckling softly at the sound of [M/N]’s boisterous laughter sounding from his phone’s speaker.

”Come on, that joke was funny!” [M/N] cried out, he snorted to himself when he could tell that [M/N] was clutching his stomach as he continued to laugh, to which he only shook his head.

“I see that I am the ultimate victor when it comes to comedy since now you’ve resorted to dad jokes and puns in order to get me to laugh.” the latter snorts, wiping away a tear that shed.

”Dad jokes and puns are funny.” Quackity rolls his eyes, rolling onto his side so that he was facing his phone, smiling softly as [M/N]’s icon shun whenever he spoke, the light illuminating his darkroom.

“It depends on what joke.”

”Alright, I have another one for you!” Quackity shook his head once more, resting his cheek onto his closed fist as he closed his eyes, waiting for [M/N] to tell his terrible joke ”Why couldn’t the pirate finish the alphabet?” he hummed, genuinely trying to answer the joke but his mind came to a blank, maybe because it was the sound of [M/N] trying to stifle his laughter at the terrible joke.

“I don’t know, why?”

”Be... because he got lost at C!” it wasn’t the fact that it was the joke that made him laugh, it was the sound of [M/N]’s laughter that made him smile, maybe also the sound of a thud coming from his side of the line, he probably fell off wherever he was sitting because of how hard he was laughing “It’s such a terrible joke but it’s just so funny!” he exclaims, sniffling a little before taking deep breaths to calm himself.

“You have such terrible humor.”

”I do not!” they then both started laughing, soon the laughter died down and the two of them sat in their respective rooms in silence. It wasn’t an awkward silence, it was rather comfortable and the two of them basked in the silence as they listened to the sound of each other breathing softly. [M/N] closed his eyes as he leaned back in the chair he was resting on, he glanced at the time and noticed that it was already past midnight, he grimaced to himself and leans forward to apologize to Quackity but paused when he heard the soft sound of his snoring. His gaze softened a little as he stared down at his phone, he then chuckled softly as he picked up his phone and raised it to his lips “Sweet dreams, Alexis.”

[time skip: a few days later]

Quackity had gotten rather busy lately, with all his assignments from school and late-night streaming, he hadn’t really been able to converse with [M/N] overcall but rather having a few short conversations through text, but that was that. [M/N] also had his own things he had to take care of so he wasn’t necessarily that distraught when he would politely decline hanging out, a man’s gotta do to live, you know? He was now walking down the busy streets of California with no clear destination in mind, just a simple stroll and stopping here and there while casually listening to music blaring through his earphones.

’Hmm, I could really go for something sweet right now.’ he thought to himself, pursing his lips before taking a seat on a nearby bench, pulling his phone out, and thinking about [M/N] ’He did mention that he was in the food industry, maybe he might know a place or two.’ he shrugs his shoulders before scrolling through his contacts, pressing on [M/N]’s icon before letting it ring.

...

...

“Hello? [M/N] speaking, to whom am I speaking with?” he chuckled softly at the sing-song voice [M/N] used as he answered the phone, already knowing that the man on the other side of the phone knew exactly who it was.

“It’s the one and only.” the man on the other line perked up immediately at the sound of his voice.

”Alexis! Haha, what can I do for you? And not to be rude, I hope you can be a little quick, I’m kind of in the middle of work.” Quackity immediately felt bad for calling now knowing that his friend was in the middle of something.

“Oh, I am so sorry! I can call ba--”

”No, it’s fine, really!” [M/N]’s voice was sincere as he spoke, he couldn’t help but be a little flustered that he would take up his time just to talk to him over something so small, god, he felt embarrassed right now ”Now why did you call me? Is something the matter?” yeah, he was feeling really embarrassed now, he pressed a hand onto his face before looking to the side.

“No, it’s nothing major.” he groans to himself, throwing his head back “I was just feeling like eating something sweet right now and thought you could recommend someplace to eat.” his face flushed a shade of red when all he earned from the other male was silence.

”... hmm, where are you right now? Are you at home?” he shakes his head, before he could answer he heard [M/N] let out an oh ”Hold that thought.” he furrows his brows when he hung up, he let out a huff.

“Wow, rude much.” he sat there for a minute or two then perked up when he heard his phone ping, pulling it out, he saw that it was from him.

From: [M/N]  To: Alexis

look up.

“Look up?” he then heard tapping so he raised his head before jumping on the spot at the sight of [M/N], when he finally spotted him, he smiled softly and waved his hand to greet him. Before [M/N] ended the call, he looked at the window of the building he was in, and to his surprise, he saw Quackity sitting on the bench outside, quite the coincidence. He soon waved his hand to gesture for him to enter, and how could he refuse the opportunity to see his friend. He soon realized that the building he entered was a bakery of sorts that also served as a café, it felt very homey and it put his mind to ease, he then looked over the counter and saw his friend waving at him with a bright smile.

“Hello, I humbly welcome you to my café that produces baked goods of all kinds. Whether they’re the generic cupcake or brownies, or French pastries like Canelé or Crème Brûlée. You’ll find what you want here.”

“Wow, really? You own this place?” [M/N] huffs.

“Did you really just ignore everything I just said?” Quackity raises his hand, snorting a little at the offended look [M/N] was giving him.

“Well, what kind of reaction do you want me to give you? Do you want me to say “oh my god! You see all sorts of desserts for my fatass to eat? Wow, you’re a life savior!” no, but it is pretty cool.” he starts to laugh when [M/N] has him an unamused.

“Damn, alright.” he waves at his employees to take care of the other customers while he personally dealt with Quackity, he leaned against the glass case and smiled softly at him “Well, what can I get you sir? Is there anything appealing that you want?” he looks at the assortment of desserts before raising his head to look at [M/N], he thought for a minute before a devious smirk worked its way to his face.

“These all look certainly appealing, but,” [M/N] raised a brow in question when Quackity snapped his fingers then winked at him “the most delectable one I see is you.” [M/N]’s eyes widened slightly at the poor pick-up line, but that didn’t stop the slight pink flushing to the tips of his ears, Quackity thought he got him until he gave an answer.

“Unfortunately for you sir, I am not on the menu.” he gives a smirk of his own, leaning forward so that he was a few inches away from his face “I am a delicacy few can afford, so it’d be smart of you to choose wisely sir.” he giggles to himself when it was Quackity’s turn to be flustered, pursing his lips and turning his head away to hide the blush spreading across his cheeks.

“Okay... that was smooth.” he grins.

“Thank you. Now seriously, what do you want?” he went for the safe route and went for a Mexican Pan Dulce, one that would hit home, he had been missing Mexican cuisine so eating it again would definitely be nice. [M/N] shows him to a seat then sits with him, he stated he was on break so it should be fine to catch up a little “So how have you been? We haven’t been able to talk as of lately because we’ve both been busy, how’s your streaming been?” Quackity told him about his Twitch and YouTube channel a few weeks into their friendship and told him he could call him by his channel name but the latter was quite insistent on just calling him Alexis, saying that if he didn’t have a cool name to go by, they’ll both be addressed by their boring names.

“Well, walking into your café just reminded me what I wanted to do for a new video.” he quirked a brow, raising his cup of coffee to his lips, waiting for him to lay his new content idea on him “I wanted to do a cooking stream.” [M/N] claps his hands.

“How delightful, I’ll make sure to watch and make small comments on what you’re doing.” Quackity pursed his lips at the way he said it, he didn’t know if he was saying that to be nice or to poke fun at him.

“Well, since I now know your knowledge of cooking is quite out there, I was wondering if you would like to be a special guest on my cooking stream?” his eyes widened slightly once more at the suggestion, he then furrows his brows slightly.

“Alexis, cooking, and baking are two completely different things. To simplify, cooking is the broader category of food preparation methods, while baking is one of those methods. Cooking can be done a number of ways, while baking requires the use of indirect, dry heat from an oven to prepare food for eating.“ he pulled a face when he knew Quackity wasn’t listening to his explanation.

“... then it’ll be a baking stream!” [M/N] only shook his head with a sigh, but he laughed nonetheless “You don’t have to agree if you don’t want to, but we both know that I’ll fuck up everything without the proper supervision.” he watched as the [H/C] male lean back in his seat, rolling his fingers against the tabletop before shrugging his shoulders.

“Meh, sure, why not?” Quackity cheers “But it’ll cost yah.” he deflates.

“What?!” he then snorts.

“I’m pulling your leg.” they both hear a whistle so [M/N] glances over and saw one of his employees, they gesture to the clock so he glances down at his watch and pouts “Pity, it seems my break is already over. I was hoping to talk a bit more with you, but alas.”

“I’ll tell you when I’m planning on having my stream.” he nods.

“I’ll see you then, Alexis.” he winks before leaving to get back to work, he hums to himself, leaning back in his seat before munching on the pan dulce, now beginning to look forward to his next stream.”

[day of the stream]

“Pizza? I thought we were baking.” [M/N] said softly, putting down his bag and gently greeting Tiger as he entered Quackity’s humble abode, he also brought [D/N] and promised that his dog wouldn’t be too much trouble. He pursed his lips as he watched Quackity sit up in his kitchen before turning around to face him, tutting his finger.

“Pizza is a type of bread so bake is the correct term, however, you look at it.” he laughs when he saw the other roll his eyes, continuing to pet Tiger.

“Well, I’m sorry. I’m just used to baking sweet things, not savory, but I do know how to make a pizza.” he hums to himself when Quackity clapped his hands, a bright smile on his face. [M/N] watched silently as Quackity set up his PC and the camera, directing it to where they would be baking the pizza, he brought an extra pair of clothes just in case things got messy, he had watched a couple of Quackity’s videos and saw just how chaotic he was, but he was hilarious nonetheless.

“I’m almost ready setting up, oh! Here’s an apron.” [M/N] let out a laugh when he chucked it at him, he pulled it off his face before standing up and putting it on, tying the laces around his waist before pulling his hair back, making sure that flour wouldn’t be able to get in his hair.

“Is there anything you want me to do specifically, or no?” he hums at the question before shaking his head, giving him a smile and a thumbs up.

“Just be yourself.” he hummed at that, Quackity did tell him to wait, he was going to start his stream and greet his chat first before introducing them to his guest. Watching him was quite entertaining, seeing how he was able to hype his chat up to what he had in store for them, snorting to himself when he heard him claim how he was a “professional chef”, he shook his head at that. Quackity noticed this and spared him a knowing glance before looking back towards the camera, he rambled for a couple more minutes before clapping his hands “As you’ve already read in the title of the stream, we have a special guest that will be joining us today and helping us! Isn’t that exciting?” he glances at his PC to see the chat going crazy.

”Who is it?”

“Did you meet up with someone?”

“Karl?”

“A guest!”

“Alright, alright, calm down. He’s a friend of mine and he isn’t really a streamer or content creator, just your average joe.” [M/N] looked at him.

“Hey!” he shouts, this caused Quackity to throw his head back while laughing, he pats his chest to calm himself before throwing his arm out in the direction where [M/N] was sitting.

“Come on in, my friend! Come and introduce yourself to the chat.” he shook his head before getting up from where he saw sitting and walking into the camera shot, having to bend down slightly because the camera was pointing down at an angle that could fit Quackity and not himself.

“Hello~ I am the guest, my name is [M/N]. Nice to meet you all.” both himself and Quackity were blown away at how fast the chat was spamming messages and even donations, [M/N]’s eyes scanning them as fast as he could to read what they were saying.

“Awooga!”

“Sexy voice!”

“Gorgeous!”

“Tall hunk!”

”Wow, I believe your chat likes me.” he mumbles to himself, a soft blush rising to his cheeks as he continued to read the continuous compliments coming from the dozens of viewers, he then perked up when someone sent a donation.

ur_mom donated $5

Damn quackity, your friend lookin hella fine, if you know what I mean? he single? 

“Um, yes? I am single, but I’m not exactly looking for a relationship with a minor, please and thank you.” now the chat was roasting the hell out of the person who sent the dono, he laughs once more before glancing down at Quackity who had an offended look “Oh, come on now, don’t tell me you’re jealous that your viewers find me more attractive than you?” he scoffs, pushing him back with a laugh.

“Hell no! Looks isn’t everything, skill is key and I’ll demonstrate that through our cooking stream!” [M/N] pulls a face, placing a hand on his hip and leaning on his side.

“I literally own a bakery, I bake for a living. That’s the whole reason you invited me, remember?” they stood in silence for a couple seconds before Quackity pushes [M/N] away by his face and faces the camera once more.

“Today we will be making a pizza!” the chat begin to laugh when [M/N] swatted his hand away and gave him an offended look.

“Oi!” for the first half of the stream, [M/N] was practically stopping Quackity from harming himself, being floored when the man literally put his finger into boiling water to check if it was warm enough, he was surprised he hadn’t burned down his kitchen for how reckless he was.

“Alexis, I’m literally getting a headache with what you’re doing.” he says as he watched him mix the two cups of water and the yeast with a spatula all because he didn’t have a mixer, he slaps a hand onto his forehead when he then saw him pick it up and sniff the mix before coughing and gagging at the smell “I’m going to smack the shit outta you if you don’t stop that nonsense, boy.” Quackity laughs as he looks up at him.

“I know what you’re doing!”

“Mm hmm.” he then taps his shoulder.

“Then, I’ll leave this to you while I go prepare the flour.” he only sighs in response to that, taking the measuring cup of water and yeast and stirring it with a whisk instead, gagging himself at that smell that was coming from it “Where’s the bowl? Who the fuck stole my bowl?!” [M/N] only sighed as he shook his head, glancing over his shoulder.

“Look in your cupboards, Alexis, you didn’t pull any other bowls out.” he lets out an ah at that before crouching down and rummaging through his cupboards to look for a bowl, [M/N] squints at the abomination he was mixing, adding some more yeast in it just as Quackity returned with a bowl.

“Alright, we got the bow here.” he glances down at it and sighs, he changes his gaze to Quackity.

“That’s a strainer, not a bowl, keep looking.” he looks down at it before laughing, throwing it away and searching for a bowl once more, when he couldn’t find one he left the room calling for his mother and asking her where a bowl was, only later to return with one in hand.

“Ah! It was right in front of me.” he cheered, he then leaves once more to grab flour, showing it to the camera “Gluten free flour!”

“Gluten free? Damn.” Quackity smacks him in the arm before proceeding to look into the packet, opening it up and attempting to pour it into the bowl, [M/N] then looks up in thought before putting the measuring bowl to the side.

“What kind of yeast did you use again?” he asked, taking the box of yeast and reading through it.

“Vegan yeast.” he grimaces once more as he reads through it, he then glanced back at him.

“You do know that nutritional yeast is deactivated and will not rise, right?” just as he said that, a dono saying what he saw popped up.

...

...

“Anyways-” [M/N] closed his eyes, Quackity only laughed at his response before resuming the stream. Most of the time it’d be [M/N] pointing things out and giving detailed instructions on how to properly make the pizza, he had to admit, he knew he was nitpicking everything Quackity was doing, but he genuinely couldn’t help it when his main profession involved baking, but the latter didn’t mind whatsoever.

kazterboro cheered! x500

Can we get one flour handprint on that crisp black shirt?

“Goodness gracious.” [M/N] murmured softly, he eyed Quackity and grimaced slightly when he noticed that he was genuinely considering it.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Don’t think about it, flour is a hassle to get out of clothes until they are washed, I would know from experience, Alexis.” this only earned him a roll of the eyes as he mixed the flour with salt and yeast as he removed any cooking equipment from the counter that they won’t be needing anymore into the sink when the mixture turned into a dough and they were in the process of kneading it into its shape. [M/N] didn’t think much time went by when he turned away but by the time he returned, he saw Quackity had two flour handprints on his chest and they weren’t going away “... you better wash your hands with soap before you touch that dough.” he sulks but nods his head.

“Right.” he sighs with a laugh before rolling his sleeves up.

“I’ll knead the dough until you’ve finished, yeah? Shouldn’t take me too long.”

“Right, but I want to knead it too.” he nods before getting to work, Quackity was surprised because by the time he turned back around he saw that [M/N] had already kneaded the dough enough to the point he was able to spin it around on one hand while tossing it into the air before catching it spinning it around in one hand once more “What the hell? Barely a minute has passed and you’re already doing that?” [M/N] grins.

“My skill never fails to bring out the best in what I make.” Quackity continued to stare at him before reaching forward.

“Gimme a try.” he raised a brow.

“Sure you’re up for the task?” he waves his hand.

“Psh, how hard can it be?” this only earned him a quirked brow before [M/N] handed him the dough, five seconds later the dough he threw up and landed on his head. The two of them stood in silence before [M/N] burst out into laughter at how funny that was, he wiped away a tear before reaching forward and grabbing the edges of the dough, and lifting it up to take a peek at Quackity. There, he saw his face was a slight shade of red due to the fact that he made himself look even more foolish and he was avoiding his gaze.

“Now that was funny.” he says, he removes the dough from off of his head and chuckled when he noticed that his face was covered in flour “Perhaps you should leave this to me, huh?” Quackity did not like the mocking tone [M/N] was giving him so he removed his headphones off his head and let them hang on the microphone, he then took the dough from him and placed it down before grabbing a fistful of flour. He let out a gasp when Quackity threw the flour at his face, [M/N] coughed when he inhaled it before sneezing and waving his hand in the air to clear his vision.

“Not so funny now, is it.” [M/N] raised his head and stared down at him.

“Oh, it’s on.” the chat went wild as they watch the two grown men start throwing flour at each other and making a whole mess in the kitchen, laughing as they did and not even caring that they were going to have to clean it up in the end. They hadn’t known how much time and gone but [M/N] stopped to catch his breath, maybe it was the amount of flour in the air that caused him to start coughing or how much he was laughing, he stopped paying attention really. He took a step forward but paused when his foot slipped on the pile of flour beneath his foot, he panicked and reached forward, grabbing hold of Quackity but ultimately, they both collapsed to the ground “Ah... sorry.”

“No, no. We both should have seen this coming.” look down, Quackity froze up when he realized just how close he was to [M/N]. Pushing himself up, he realized that his hands were on either side of [M/N]’s head and his chest was pressed against his chest and his face was ridiculously close to his, he shuddered a little when he felt [M/N]’s hands gripping his thighs a little.

“Alexis?” when he opened his eyes, they both started to blush at the awkward position they were in, even more so when [M/N] tried to lift his head but that would result in them touching noses “Uh...” they laid there for a good couple seconds, wordlessly staring into each other’s eyes but they finally moved when [D/N] trotted over to them and licked Quackity’s face.

’Thank you [D/N] for breaking that awkward moment!’ Quackity screamed in his head before pushing himself completely off of [M/N] and waving his hand towards the camera, the chat spamming him about what happened.

“Sorry about that! Just a little mishap, that’s all!” [D/N] even graced the audience with his presence by jumping up and his front paws were on the counter, Quackity continued the next part of the stream while [M/N] continued to lay on the floor, face bright red but hidden as he covered his face with his hands.

’He was too close.’

[time skip: a few hours later]

[M/N] was currently in Quackity’s shower and he was having one of those deep shower thoughts running through his mind as he washed his body and hair of the flour that got on him when they had that little flour fight and when he collapsed to the grou-- he let out a silent shriek as he slapped his hands onto his face, face turning red once more as he remembered the feeling of Quackity on top of him as his hands tightly gripped his thighs... damn, his thighs were pretty thi--

“Stop!” he shouts as he slaps himself across the face, letting out a groan as he let his hands drag his face down. Quackity sat in his living room feeling refreshed by flustered himself, Tiger resting along his shoulders while [D/N] was resting his head on his lap. They finished the stream rather smoothly despite the little bit of tension in the air, but they didn’t let that get in their way from creating the abomination they called a pizza, [M/N] refusing to eat it in fear of getting food poisoning from their creation. He offered to clean the kitchen while Quackity had a shower first, insisting that it would be alright for him to do so, he let his head lean back but was mindful of Tiger.

“Dammit, stupid feelings. Why the hell do I feel like a school girl in those TV shows?” he muttered to himself before throwing his head forward, inwardly apologizing when both pets pulled away at the abrupt movement. His hands were pressed against his cheeks as he remembered the feeling of his thighs in [M/N]’s hands, the feeling of his breath fanning against his face along with the way his eyes didn’t seem to waver as they stared at each other “God am I gay...”

“You’re what?” he shot up and whipped his head to the point he was surprised he didn’t neck himself with how fast he moved, there he saw [M/N] in different clothes, towel hanging from his shoulders as his body steamed a little from the long hot shower “I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing, good for you.” Quackity stood to his feet, face red once again as he shook his hands and head.

“No, no, no! No, I-I’m not-- no, I don’t-- dammit!” he shouts, slapping a hand to his forehead “You know how I am with the jokes, I’m was kidding... I’m no--.” he lets out a groan as he sits back down, head in his hands as he tried to calm himself, god he was having such a gay panic that he wanted to die. [M/N] took a seat beside him, keeping a distance to ensure that the other was comfortable and whether or not he should touch him or not comfort him.

“I understand, I guess I just misunderstood what you were saying, there’s no need to panic.” they sat in a comfortable silence until Quackity raised his head, eyes hesitating to meet his.

“... are we gonna talk about what happened?” a soft blush flushed onto his cheeks.

“What do you want to talk about? Did I make you feel uncomfortable?” he shook his head.

“No! Not at all, honestly, I just wasn’t expecting it.” he raised his hands and pulled his beanie off his head, running a hand through his hair before messing with it “If I’m being honest, it was pretty gay.” [M/N] stared at him, he snorts before bursting into laughter.

“Yeah, I guess it was pretty gay.” they both share a laugh before staring at each other, Quackity gasped softly when he noticed [M/N]’s hand was slowly inching towards his, stopping just a couple inches away as he raised his gaze to look at him. He was silently asking him if it was alright, he didn’t need a verbal response when he laced their fingers together before bringing their hands up so they could both see how Quackity held his much larger hand in his own. He caressed the male’s hand with his thumb, reveling in the feeling of his soft/rough palm against his own.

“This is very gay.” he nods.

“It is.” [M/N] pulls him slightly until they were close again, not attempting to hide how flustered he was getting, he gave Quackity’s hand a light squeeze as he stared at him with a soft and gentle gaze “Do you mind if I...?”

“Make it even gayer?” the latter rolled his eyes but nodded his head, Quackity didn’t have the voice to answer him so he meekly nodded his head. Now that he had the go-to, [M/N] raised his other hand to gently cup his cheek, reassuringly caressing his thumb into his cheek before leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. When he pulled away, he saw Quackity was shaking softly, eyes screwed shut as his face now resembled that of a tomato... hell, maybe even brighter. 

“I hope this shows you how much I like you, Alexis.” he said softly, to which the other hesitantly opened his eyes and saw the look of pure love swirling in his eyes, he let out a soft groan as he covered his face with his forearm and turned away.

“Dammit... stop messing with my feelings like that.” [M/N] only let out a chuckle, tightening his hold on his hand when he felt him try and take it back.

“So, do you accept my feelings?” he let his eyes peek from over his forearm and saw how he was waiting for an answer like a puppy, he tried to be stern with his answer but his voice betrayed him with how nervous he was.

“Y-Yes, I do.” he cursed himself that he stuttered, but the other found it quite cute as a wide smile spread across his face as he let out a cheer, throwing his arms up then wrapping them around his smaller frame and pulling him into a hug.

“You really have no idea what this means for me...!” he whispers softly, face buried deep in his shoulder. Quackity glanced up at him before slowly wrapping his arms around him to return the gesture, the heat never disappearing as the beating of his heart continued thumping aggressively against his chest. [M/N] pulled away and gave him an eager look before pulling him into a much deeper kiss this time, pouring all his heart and soul into it so Quackity can feel just how in love he was with him, he was gasping for air by the time he pulled him away as a string of saliva was what was connecting them together.

“Now that was gay...” he said softly, out of breath, [M/N] snorted at that before resting his forehead against his head.

“Yeah, but you’re gay for me.”

Headcanon:

when they start dating, [m/n] is fine that quackity doesn’t want to reveal his relationship to his viewers or friends just yet, it was quite understandable and waited patiently until he was more comfortable.

quackity usually doesn’t hesitate to express how he’s feeling, but he just feels so much more flustered when he’s around [m/n] and he’s usually the one that gets embarrassed when [m/n] showers him in love.

[m/n] definitely bakes food and has quackity taste test them to see if they’re alright or not.

bake nights. they have bake nights sometime during the week and it usually ends with them being covered in flour or some sort of batter.

this usually ends with them showering together.

quackity is the little spoon, without a doubt.

he enjoys feeling [m/n]’s arms wrapped around him and keeping him close, he’s actually quite warm and he enjoys the warmth coming from him to the point that he clings to him like a koala.

[m/n] makes little appearances here and there during quackity’s streams, his viewers have come to enjoy seeing him show up randomly during his streams.

[m/n] also checks up on him, handing him food and water and makes sure he’s alright and looking after himself. making him tea or something else warm to drink from all the screaming he’s doing.

the other twitch streamers also like [m/n] a lot, not only was his funny that he was a perfect match for quackity’s comedy, he was just so goddamn gorgeous that they were jealous that quackity had a front row seat to see him.

sometimes quackity gets jealous with how the chat keep flirting with his lover, the same going for [m/n] when they say something quite provocative.

but nonetheless, they both know that comments like those mean nothing to them.

their relationship was their little secret until quackity decides that this fine hunk of meat was all his, and his alone. 

he was yours, and you were his.

Lullaby

word count: 9428

Fandom: Poppy Playtime Pairing: N/A Pronouns: She/Her Relationship: Familial Occupation: Caretaker Ability: Ballerina Music Box

The character takes the appearance of a beautifully crafted music box ballerina figurine made of the toughest porcelain and glass, their clothes made from real fabric that is soft to touch and hair so smooth and silky you'd mistake it for real hair. Attached to their back is a wind up key that continuously spins when they're active and stops when they switch off. If the key is removed they cease to operate until key is returned and they are wound up again. Before CatNap, the character was the one to put the children to sleep with their built-in music box that would constantly be updated with new songs to play to help ease the children to sleep.

Keys:

[F/N]: Female Name

Warnings: spoilers for chapter 4 and those who haven't played the game, blood, death and all that shit.

"Lullaby" pt. 2, pt.3

bound to be mistakes that I was too lazy to find or fix.

that is all.

This beautiful ballerina is what every little girl dreams to be! Each doll sold plays a different song when you wind her key and her articulated, posable body in shimmery outfits add to storytelling. This doll is ready and waiting to be taken home to sing and dance for your little girl, all day, every day, forever and ever!

She is your best friend, Ballade Ballerina!

-

Subject: 1179

Original Procedure Date: 11/90

Behavior:

Assigned to Home Sweet Home within the Playcare, it acts as a motherly figure towards the children with a "warm" and "caring" attitude. That attitude switches off around the staff and it acts "cold" and "unresponsive" but will do as it's told when given orders. This was one of the few experiments that had their cognitive thinking intact instead becoming one of those mindless individuals.

Much like it's predecessors, while also maintaining the ability to think and respond, it acts as a bodyguard and or security that monitors the children when it's lights out. Nothing seems to get past its watchful eyes while also documenting who comes and goes both Home Sweet Home and the Playcare.

A stage was built into Home Sweet Home where it resides while its built-in music box would play lullabies to help put the children to sleep or when they're stressed it would help calm them down, however, it roams around during the "day" and interacts with the children.

While their temperament becomes apathetic around the regular employees, it becomes more nervous and prone to aggression around the scientists but what intrigues me the most is how it acts around me. Sometimes it would shut down completely when in my presence but is obedient to any order I give it, going so far as to drop any other previous order to complete a task I give it.

Conclusion:

Have it remain within Home Sweet Home for further monitoring.

Subject 1179 is one of the more successful Bigger Bodies that thinks, acts and listens while it can go unmonitored and it won't act out or misbehave.

Signature: Dr. Harley Swayer

-

"Hey, wind up the key already."

"Just... give me a sec, alright. This thing is so hard to turn!" two human employees struggled to turn the wind up key attached to the back of a giant four meter tall ballerina figurine doll, the coiled spring within its body needing to be tightened enough to function throughout the day. The two let out a breath of relief when it finally clicked into place and the third took a step back just as the figurine sparked to life, she sat on her knees with her head in a bowed position but when she turned on she slowly sat up with her eyes blinking to life.

"Good, you're awake." a yawn escaped her lips as she stretched her arms above her head, she looked down at the human in front of her when they snapped their fingers in front of her "Ballade, state your tasks for today." her face, made of the finest but toughest porcelain, held little to no emotion as she continued to stare the human down.

"Wait for the children to wake. Help the children get ready for the day. Entertain the children as the day progresses. Assist the Smiling Critters if needed. Abide by the orders the employees give. When the children--" she stops when they held a hand up to her, their other hand pinching the bridge of their nose in mild irritation.

"Okay, okay, that's enough. I hate doing this." one of the other employees places a hand on their shoulder.

"It's standard procedure, pal. We've got to ask so we know that she knows her daily duties and tasks. If anything is amiss we've got to report to Dr. Sawyer." the three of them shudder, missing how Ballade twitched at the mention of the doctor "You know how he is, that freak."

"Yeah, and besides, we're lucky that we're around one of the few toys whose first thought isn't to bite our heads off." at that comment, they peak up at Ballade and saw how she just continued to stare at them, eyes unnervingly not breaking contact with the three of them as they spoke "Let's not take our chances though." they step off her stage and draw the curtains.

"You know what you're supposed to do." she nods and they leave, she lets out another yawn before finally standing to her feet and waiting for her cue. She laced her fingers together as she stretched her arms and legs, not that she needed to, and got into position at the sound of the soft pitter patter that was the children's footsteps along with more heavier footsteps of the Smiling Critters.

"Haha, alright children. Now that you're all awake, let's help wake up our last friend! You all remember what to do, right?" the voice chuckles softly when the children nod their heads enthusiastically "Alright. One, two, three... oh, Miss Ballade~ rise and shine!"

"Rise and shine, Miss Ballade!" a silence washes over them when nothing happened.

"I think we need to be a little louder, one more time children. Oh, Miss Ballade~"

"Rise and shine!" they hear the sound of soft laughter as a melody starts to play from behind the curtain, they all cheer when the curtain is thrown open and Ballade steps out with a bright smile on her face.

"Good morning children! Thank you for waking me, I really needed that. So, kids, are you all ready for breakfast? Let's find Picky Piggy, I'm sure she's fixed you all something to eat!" at the mention of food a few children scatter to the dining hall, and a few other children lingered around and waited for Ballade "Remember kids, with a healthy diet and enough practice, you just might be able to be like me one day." she says as she takes a step off her stage while reaching for one of the children.

"Really? Can I become a ballerina like you when I grow up?" a genuine smile spreads across her porcelain face as she picks the little girl up and holds her up, the girl starts to laugh when Ballade nuzzles her nose against hers.

"Of course, when you believe in yourself, anything is possible." a laugh escapes her lips when the little girl wraps her arms around her neck and hugs her, she grunts when another pair of arms wraps around her and pulls her into a hug. She pursed her lips and looked down at DogDay, whose already permanent smile stretched wider while his tail wagged when she managed to free her hand to gently caress the back of his head "Good morning to you too, DogDay." he giggled softly.

"Good morning, Miss Ballade." she happily greets the other Smiling Critters, who were rounding up the leftover children, and form a line so no child is left out during breakfast. DogDay was leading them with Ballade, who was ultimately the tallest toy within the Playcare, was the last in line while Hoppy, Kickin and Bubba were mixed in with the children. As they made their way to the dining hall, Ballade was singing different nursery rhymes with the children and Smiling Critters joining in happily to keep them entertained "Who's hungry?"

"We are!" DogDay smiles as he steps to the side and gestures for the children to take a seat in the dining hall, where Picky was setting up the food.

"Well, go take a seat and Picky will serve you right up!" Ballade takes a step back and watches as the children take their seats, whether it be with their friends or by themselves, even the Smiling Critters take their designated seats "Miss Ballade, join us." DogDay says, Bobby smiles warmly as she gestures for Ballade to sit with them.

"Yes, join us!" she gently shakes her head.

"Perhaps later, we are still missing a face." this caused DogDay to look around and notice who exactly was missing.

"Drats, he must have gone back to sleep. Allow me to--" she raises her hand.

"I shall retrieve him, it will be no hassle. Besides, he listens to me." DogDay's ears lowered as a soft whine escaped him, she gave him a comforting smile as she gently patted his head "Do not worry, friend. I will make sure he comes down to join us for breakfast." he nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"Alright." another whine leaves him when both her hands pinch at his cheeks and start stretching them, this caused the children to laugh when DogDay grabbed her by her wrists to stop her "Okay, okay!" she lets go and chuckles when he was rubbing his cheeks, Crafty and Bubba comforting him when he cried softly.

"Good, I'll be back with him in toe." she pats his head before turning on her heel and leaving.

The Smiling Critters consists of eight members, that being DogDay, Bubba Bubbaphant, Bobby BearHug, CraftyCorn, Hoppy Hopscotch, KickinChicken, Picky Piggy and last by certainly not least CatNap. Ballade was created before the Smiling Critters and is the one in charge of them all, keeping them in line and checking on them as ordered by the Doctor himself. She, of course, knows about the experiments and knows who the children were before they were placed into their Bigger Bodies. They, too, recognized Ballade as the nice caretaker who looked after them when they were still human and trusted her with all their heart. Ballade's stage resided within the main foyer in the center of the room where she would usually sing and dance for the children, as for the Smiling Critters, they generally resided in cells beneath the Playhouse but Miss Stella Greyber thought it would make the children happier if they stayed in Home Sweet Home so Ballade wouldn't have to go far from the children just to check on the Smiling Critters.

That being said...

"CatNap~ I know you're in there." she gently knocks on the door before opening it to find the colossal cat sleeping soundly on his cat bed, she enters the room and closes the door behind her then approaches him. Her hand reached to press gently against his head, she smiled fondly when a purr rumbled out of his throat and she continued to stroke his head as she knelt down on her knees "It's time to eat, Theo." she spoke softly, she tilts her head to the side and saw that his eyes opened.

"I'm not hungry..." she frowned.

"I see they still haven't fixed your voice box yet." he grunts at her words.

"They don't care about me." he looked up at her when she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on top of his, her cheek rubbing into the top of his head.

"But I do, and I wish I could help you." her eyes trailed down his body and winced when she saw his skeletal figure "And I wish for you to join us for breakfast, my boy. The others are waiting for us to join them, so we mustn't keep them waiting." he huffed and turned away from her, his tail flicking around in disinterest.

"They're not waiting. They don't care about me either." she pouts but doesn't stop petting him.

"That's not true, they care in their own way. Won't you do this for me, my sweet boy?" it still wasn't enough to convince him, haa, when he gets like this she only has one last thing to resort to "I see, I guess I'll leave you to sleep. But DogDay will be very upset." a subtle smirk stretched across her lips when his ear perked up.

"DogDay...?" she shrugged her shoulders as she removed herself, dusting the skirt of her dress.

"Mm hmm, he was upset that you weren't there to join us for breakfast. I won't pressure you to join us, but I guess Crafty will be the one to keep him company." playing with his feelings like this was cruel but DogDay was CatNap's closest friend where he got pretty jealous when the others got too close to him "I'll tell him you're still sleeping, so sweet dreams my baby~" she's waving him goodbye as she takes her leave and closing the door behind her, she's walking away and quietly counting down from five and the moment she gets to one his door was kicked open. She snickers to herself and stops to wait for him, as she's turning around she notices that he isn't slowing down and before she can do anything to avoid him he crashes into her.

*SLAM*

*THUD*

*CRASH*

"What was that?" DogDay was quick to his feet at the sound of a loud crash, the others quickly settled the children as he and Kickin rushed out to see what it was, only for them to hold back their laughter at the sight. The cause of the sound was CatNap charging into Ballade and the two of them tumbling down the stairs when they reached the bottom Ballade fell face first into the floor with CatNap on top of her, DogDay continued to laugh quietly as he approached them "Are you... alright, Miss Ballade?" he and Kickin burst out into laughter when she answers them with a thumbs up, face still in the floor.

"Sorry, Miss Ballade..." CatNap apologies as he lifts his hand upon realizing his paw was pressed into the back of her head.

"It's alright, my dear boy. You were just excited to eat with your friends." she reassures them that she's alright as they help her to her feet and they return to the dining hall, Ballade had a bright smile on her face at the sight of all her children eating together. Despite the horrors that lie beneath their feet, she could never ask for a better job than thi--

"Ballade." her eyes snap away from the children and see that it was Stella Greyber calling her name, she gestures with her finger for her to come so with one final look at the children she slinks away to see what the Head of Playcare could possibly need from her.

"Miss Greyber, how may I be of assistance today?" a bead of sweat formed on Stella's cheek as she stared up at the figurine, despite the friendly smile on her face, her eyes were void of any emotion as her voice was monotone.

"I need you to accompany me and the other Head Executives for a meeting, we have some guests that I'm worried will act out." she raised a brow.

"Act... out?" her mind thinks back to the other times Stella or the other Head Executives called her out when they were having meetings with especially unruly guests, she slowly nods her head "I understand, Miss Greyber." Stella smiles and claps her hands.

"Splendid, just follow me out." she nods her head but stops and looks to where the Smiling Critters are.

"Oh, CatNap!" she calls out, his head snaps up and looks to where she is, he scowls when he sees Stella but his gaze softens when Ballade smiles "Look after the children for me while I'm gone, hmm? I trust you'll keep them safe." her smile brightened when he nodded, slowly, but he nodded.

"Okay..." she laughs softly and waves the children goodbye when the children bid her goodbye, Kickin and Hoppy pout as they watch Ballade follow Stella out before they all look up at CatNap, who went back to eating his food "... what?"

"How come you're in charge? I thought she'd at least choose DogDay."

"I'm not in charge. She only told me to look after the children..." DogDay nods.

"Yeah. Besides, he needs more time to hang around the children! Since he visits the doctor more often than us, the children have been missing him and want to spend more time with him! She must have thought of that as to why she chose CatNap to look after the children." Bubba nods.

"I agree, CatNap is becoming quite popular with the children." Bobby giggles softly.

"Sounds to me you're just jealous she chose him and not you two."

"We're not jealous!" Crafty places her hands on their backs to calm them.

"Now, now, no fighting. Miss Ballade wouldn't want us to." CatNap watched as his friends bicker amongst each other as he thought of the real reason Ballade asked him of all the Smiling Critters to look after the children, or rather, watch. The reason she asked him was because he was more capable of guarding them while she was away, she didn't act as just a caretaker to the children, she was also their bodyguard in case guests that were welcomed into the Playcare acted aggressively around the children or staff. She waves at the few children outside Home Sweet Home as well as the Miss Delight teachers as she continues to follow Stella to the Gas Production Zone, and it was the moment she was out of sight that she dropped her friendly demeanor.

The human employees were quick to shuffle away when Stella entered with Ballade trailing close behind, her heavy footsteps echoing throughout the production zone as they stepped onto the lift and had them lowered towards the prison. Stella looked back at Ballade and noticed how she grew nervous as they traversed through the toy graveyard, she was nervous herself but she noticed how the figurine was clasping her hands together as she kept her glass eyes down to avoid looking at the toys. To the people who are unaware, they would think that it was just rejected or ruined toys they were walking by, but to the people who knew the truth... it was better not to think about it for their own sanity.

"You're here, finally!" Leith Pierre, Head of Innovations and owner of Playtime Co., announced when Stella entered the room with Ballade in toe. He was speaking with Stella as Ballade looked around the room and spotted the familiar looking box in the corner of the room, she sighs, so she was on cleanup duty huh? She blinked when Leith was in front of her and snapping his fingers to get her attention, she slowly turned her head to look down at him and saw the irritated expression on his face "Alright, you know what you're to do, hmm? I've got six guests coming down to discuss a couple things when in reality, I'm just going to have you two get rid of them. It's the media that's gotten a little too nosey and I need you to silence them for, well, ever. Got it?" she stared blankly at him then nodded.

"Understood." he gives her that all too familiar smile; fake.

"Terrific! Get into place." she nods once more and takes her place beside the door. Despite being in the lower area of Playtime Co. where a prison was built, the room was nicely decorated with all sorts of toys littered around so it wouldn't be odd to see the popular, life-sized doll of Ballade Ballerina in the room. She takes a breath before holding the first position (a basic ballet position) with a kid-friendly smile on her face, she also temporarily slowed her wind up key so you wouldn't hear it tick as it moved "Okay, bring 'em in."

...

...

'So boring...' she could feel the yawn building up in her throat but had to fight it down as to not alarm the unsuspecting guests that she was alive and watching their every movement, she had been watching them closely since they stepped foot into the room and would look away when they would glance up at her. The three Head Executives were answering questions their guests were asking and it started off with the usual, she was watching them again but stopped when they gestured to her.

"My little girl has a Ballade doll, I never would have thought you would have made a life size version of her. I've seen the Huggy Wuggy and Kissy Missy ones, but I still can't get over the sheer size of them." Leith laughs at the comment.

"Of course, of course! The children love them, or rather, they love to climb all over them. Our Ballade here is our most delicate one. Unlike Huggy, who's made of fur and fluff, or Mommy, who's made of plastic, she's made of porcelain. She's one of our finest toys and mascots, the children just love her."

"Does she sing too?" Stella nods.

"She does indeed, she has the wind up key and everything but it's a hassle to wind it up because of the technical stuff inside her." the lady deflated a little.

"A pity. Well, anyway, back to the interview." she picks up a stack of papers and then spreads them across the table to reveal a couple photos of the factory, it was a wonder how they managed to capture them when it was against the rules to film or document anything when within the factory, they must have a really good photographer "I am very curious about the many locations within Playtime Co., especially the building we're in now."

"Yes, and by the looks of it, it kind of looks like a... prison?" Eddie M. N. Ritterman, the Head of Research, just let out a laugh.

"A prison? Don't be ridiculous! Why would we, a company known for making toys, build a prison? This place is merely a warehouse for toys that just didn't appeal to the children." that answer didn't really convince the interviewers, not that it mattered, they weren't leaving this room, let alone the building itself "We bring toys that don't make the cut down here so we can brainstorm and see how we can make them better! Down here is where all the "science" happens, you know?" they raise a brow.

"Science?"

"Well, our leading scientist isn't here to give all the boring details about how we run things, but he's what makes the toys come to life! He's the reason why our Ballade here is so lifelike, you see." at this comment one of the interviewers stood up and looked at Ballade closely.

"Now that you mention it, it's almost as if her eyes are following me..." he murmured to himself and started moving side to side to see if she was really watching them, the three Executives watch Ballade's eyes closely and saw that she managed to not look at him and when the others saw this as well he was quickly yanked back into his seat.

"Stop that, you're making yourself look like a fool." they whisper sharply.

"But I swear we're being watched." Leith chuckles at that.

"You can thank our security for that! We pride ourselves in our security to make any intruders as uncomfortable as possible." that comment caused them to grow a little nervous, Eddie laughed when he could feel the rise of tension because of Leith's words.

"What Leith is trying to say is that with our security, anyone that trespasses onto Playtime Co. property without proper invitation, well, they better hope that the silent alarm that goes off is the only thing they should be worrying about." this caused the lot of them to shrink a little, the staff hadn't realized that this man came onto the property multiple times disguised as a guest to take photos but he didn't go unrecognized by Huggy and Mommy, the mascots who were the security for the main entrance and Game Stop of Playtime Co.

"Mister Pierre, sir, we didn't mean--" Stella winced and looked away when Eddie raised his hand to stop them. Eddie's eyes narrowed as they all looked at how their guests shrank under his gaze.

"Now, there's no need to apologize. I must say, you got some really good shots of our factory. I should thank you, clearly we need to update our human security since they failed to check if anyone was carrying a camera when it is prohibited to bring such things into the factory. A hazard, you know? I should get to that right away!" he stands to his feet and readjusts his blazer "I'll be sure to have our security take care of things." Stella and Eddie follow close behind as they leave the room, closing the door behind them and leaving the six people in there.

"Great! They're probably going to call the police."

"They're going to have us barred from entering the property."

"I'm more surprised they didn't confiscate the photos."

"He said that security was going to "take care of things", or whatever that means."

"Think we can just leave?"

"Yeah, and find the exit through this maze? I think it'd be better to wait for security." they start discussing what they should do when they hear a subtle ticking sound, they look over and see that it was coming from the Ballade Ballerina figurine "Is it... ticking?" one of them asked as they approached her, looking her up and down and noticing how her wind up key was turning.

"Is she on or something?" they jumped when the box in the corner of the room started making a noise, the crank on the jack-in-the-box turning on its own and playing its familiar tune, creeping them out even further "Is it automatic or something."

"Shut it off if it freaks you out so much." a few of them approach the box while the others paced the room.

"All around the cobbler's bench..." the man in front of Ballade whipped his head up at her when she started singing, the room fell into silence when both she and the box started playing "Pop goes the Weasel", Ballade sang it slowly with an eerie and dull expression on her face "The monkey chased the weasel..." the woman pacing the room shook her head.

"Why is she singing?"

"Is she supposed to sing that slow?"

"The monkey thought 'twas all in fun..." the man in front of her shook his head as he approached the door.

"Fuck this." he rushes for the door and grabs the doorknob, he's in the process of yanking it open when a large hand slams it shut. He stares at the hand that is bigger than his head before slowly looking up to see Ballade staring down at him, his breath hitches when she stares him straight in the eyes.

"Pop goes the weasel." the room is filled with screams when her hand grabs him by the neck and closes around it, promptly snapping his neck and killing him on the spot. What followed next was the sound of blood-curdling screams and cries for help, yet their pleas fell to deaf ears as they were killed like cattle in a slaughterhouse. When the room fell quiet, Leith peeked inside and smirked softly at the sight of Ballade feeding Boxy Boo the dead interviewers one by one, well, the interviewers who weren't already half-eaten by the gluttonous toy. He whistled softly when he saw a few holes in the concrete walls, she was quite the masterpiece, he had to admit. Despite being a porcelain doll that is normally very fragile, the doctor had constructed her body with the finest but toughest porcelain he could find. She acted as not only the security for Playcare, she was essentially a bodyguard for the three Head Executives as well as extra muscle for cleaning up dead bodies "Open wide, Boxy." she cooed as she held a dismembered torso in her hands and dangled it above him, a faint smile graced her lips when he obliged and opened as wide as he could and she dropped it into his mouth.

"Haha, well done!" she didn't pay Leith any mind as she continued to feed Boxy "We'll have the Specialist mop up all the blood, and Ballade? Don't forget to clean yourself up." at the mention of that, she looked down at herself and saw the blood dripping down her fine china.

"We're lucky porcelain doesn't stain easily, or else it'd be a pain to explain why she's been dyed red." Eddie comments, Stella sighs softly.

"Well, she does get the most maintenance out of all the toys. She requires a lot of cleaning or else she'll fall apart." Ballade let out an oh when she felt Boxy nudge her side, she looked down at him and saw that he was licking the blood off her fingertips. Experiment 1160, better known as Boxy Boo, was the first experiment from the Bigger Bodies Initiative that was a success but unlike her, he was violent and gluttonous with his purpose being the disposing of lower-ended employees aware of the Initiative. While her main purpose was to look after the children within Playcare, she also helped Boxy Boo and the Specialist deal with "clean-up duty" and because of that, she was constantly around him since she was the only one who could control him. Due to that, Boxy Boo was more like a dog around her since she treated him nicely.

"Clean up the rest of the bodies then you can go back to Playcare after returning Boxy Boo to his cell." she nods her head.

"Yes, sir." she has to hold Boxy Boo's head down to stop him from lunging towards Leith, who approached her knowing that she would keep him safe from the ravenous toy, just to pat her on the arm.

"Good girl." she just huffed softly. It only takes a couple minutes for Ballade to feed the last of the bodies to Boxy before he's tuckered out and slinking back into his box, she's caressing the top of it and cooing sweet nothings to him until he falls asleep. He too was once a child, she wasn't going to treat him like a savage just because he'd lost himself to this experiment, she had a role as a caretaker and she was going to fulfill it no matter what.

"Goodbye, Boxy Boo. I'm sure I'll see you soon." she says as she pats his head, he whines softly but lets her go nonetheless. She exits the room and is escorted back to the Playcare by a few prison guards, she smacks their hands off her when they grab her and practically growls at them not to do it again. She doesn't really get in trouble for killing any of the employees, Leith prefers it because it's fewer people to pay wages to, he practically encourages it and the humans all know it. Ballade double checks she'd gotten all the blood off of her before finally stepping back into Playcare, it was easy for her to lie to the children about her whereabouts and why she was gone as it was the breathe. Sometimes she felt guilty for lying to their faces but it was better for them not to know; it was better for them to remain unaware that she was a stone-cold killer who was more than capable of killing them.

"Come on, Miss Ballade! We made something for you." she gasped softly, placing a hand on her chest.

"For me? You shouldn't have." she'd been led by the hand of a few children towards the playground close to the schoolhouse where they showed her small drawings they made "What's this?" they laughed softly.

"Miss Delight told us to draw something that makes us happy, so I drew you!"

"Me too!"

"I did too!"

"Miss CraftyCorn helped me with mine." Ballade took each of their drawings and looked at them closely, making sure to look at each detail "Do you like them, Miss Ballade?" she smiled fondly at the drawings before placing her hands on their heads one by one, snickering softly when she messed with their hair.

"I love them. It warms my heart to know that I make you happy." she pats their backs when they hug her legs "Now come, let's go join the others. I hear you guys are playing hide and go seek." they gasp in anticipation, hide and seek was always fun with the Smiling Critters. Ballade sat with CatNap under a tree by Home Sweet Home as they watched the children run around looking for spots to hide, they were too big to participate in hiding and though the other Smiling Critters were just as big, they were more capable of hiding than them. CatNap is curled up behind her as she lets her body rest against his, her hand gently stroking his head while his tail thumped gently on the ground.

"Thank you for looking after the children, CatNap. Did anything happen while I was away?" he lets out a soft grunt.

"No. The children were well-behaved." she smiles.

"That's good. Did they give you any trouble?"

"Not really, they mostly bothered DogDay." this caused her to laugh softly and she looked over to where DogDay was and saw him chasing around one of the children he managed to find that was hiding in a bush "He is the favorite one amongst us all."

"With his friendly personality, I wouldn't see why anyone wouldn't like him." CatNap huffed at that "But you're still my favorite, I always did love the smell of lavender compared to vanilla." she chuckled when he started purring as he nudged his against her side, she rewarded him by scratching under his chin while pressing a kiss atop of his head, this only intensified the purring. About an hour or so goes by before the game ends and they come to collect the two, only to find them both sleeping soundly in each other's company. Ballade didn't mean to fall asleep, she could technically go days without "sleep" so long as her key kept turning, however, her key had stopped since she was leaning against CatNap and she evidently fell asleep on him. It took Bubba to wind up her key to get her to wake up, and when she did, she apologized for doing so since she promised she'd watch them play.

"CatNap can put just about anybody to sleep!"

"But I didn't expect to see Miss Ballade to fall asleep. She's never one to fall asleep while on duty."

"Perhaps whatever she had to do tuckered her out." no, my key just stopped and I inadvertently fell asleep... but CatNap is very nice to nap around, hence his name. To make up for it, Ballade spends the rest of the day with the girls, and the boys who want to participate, practicing ballet moves. Of course, she only shows them how to do basic moves but shows off her body's flexibility, since her body didn't have bones she could bend and twist her body however she liked. She was by no means like Mommy Longlegs, who could manipulate her body however she liked, but she could easily fold her body in half with little to no strain.

"Am I doing it right, Miss Ballade?" she looked over and saw a little girl trying to perform the pirouette but couldn't quite keep her leg up as she spun nor keep herself from tumbling a little.

"You're quite close, little one, you just need to work on your balance." she kicks at the ground.

"You make it look easy." she chuckled softly.

"I struggled a lot too, it takes years and years of practice. As they say, practice makes perfect. Just don't give up and your efforts will be rewarded." she takes a step back and performs the pirouette once more and does a little bow at the end, she takes a knee and gestures for her to try again "Nobody is going to make fun of you for not getting it on the first go." Ballade, no, [F/N] watched with a fond look as the little girl tried and tried again to stick the landing and was getting there with each attempt she made.

[F/N], that was her name before she became Ballade Ballerina; before she got stuck in a body that she couldn't recognize. She couldn't remember much before her time at Playcare but she did remember that she was older than most of the kids at the orphanage, perhaps that's where she could her motherly tendencies from and why she loved to care for the children, because she knew better than the adults who lied to their faces like they were stupid, but she wasn't stupid. What she could remember was the day when she was chosen, out of all the children who were more eager to be selected, she was the one that was picked and she didn't know how to feel. At the time she was anxious, both at the thought of being with a new family but also leaving the kids she had grown to love, but what choice did she have? Maybe she was happy that she was leaving that underground orphanage to see the sun again, she was excited to feel the wind blow through her hair and to be normal again.

All that happiness was short-lived when she was taken deeper into Playtime Co. to be experimented on by the infamous Doctor Harley Sawyer, that cruel and ruthless man who cared not for her wellbeing but the advancement of science and what he could do. She could almost remember the day she woke up and felt trapped in a body that she just knew wasn't hers, she just felt wrong. Her body no longer felt dense but rather hollow, if she tapped her finger against herself she could hear the way it would make a clinking sound as if two cups came together. Her face felt like it was stuck in place and she couldn't properly express the way she felt, even if she felt herself cry she couldn't even feel the tears that would fall down her cheeks. She felt it was impossible to move, that if she did she would come apart, even still, she could barely bend her knees and elbows and they were stuck in place.

Doctor Harley Sawyer called her his masterpiece, how her body was made from delicate porcelain that he reinforced to make her durable enough to not break easily if she were to suffer enough force or heavy weight to her person. Her body had articulated joints so she could fold and bend her body like a normal person but didn't suffer the strain or pain a human would, she was capable of twisting her limbs in all directions and not feeling a thing. She was practically a machine, she felt like a machine because she had practically lost most of her senses. She couldn't feel anything upon her glass-like skin, taste anything on her artificial tongue, or smell anything through her nose that felt more like decoration on her face. She couldn't eat, she couldn't sleep and if they didn't want to deal with her they could just turn her off by the wind up key on her back that was practically her lifeline. Without it, they could practically turn her off forever and forget about her.

They threatened her with that possibility each time she wouldn't give them the results that they wanted, that if she continued to act up or be difficult they'd throw her away to rot in the prison. That terrified her, she didn't want to be trapped in a cell in a body that felt more like a cage, so she complied and listened. Listening is what granted her freedom, or rather, to leave the lower levels and return to Playcare as Ballade Ballerina, the life-sized music box figurine, to care for and protect the children like she did when she was still human. [F/N] felt herself die each time she would smile at these children, knowing that what she was doing was only going to get them killed and she could do nothing but smile and laugh as they'd be taken, happy that they were chosen like she was... only for their lives to be cut short before it even began.

She was just like those damn adults.

"Miss Ballade?" she blinked when the little girl called her name.

"Oh, y-yes? I'm sorry, I was distracted. Show me again, why don't you?" the girl frowned softly then approached Ballade, taking her hand and squeezing it.

"You don't have to lie, Miss Ballade. I know I'll never be as good as you, so it's fine to tell the truth." her heart ached at her words, and she quickly shook her head and held the little girl's hand within her bigger ones. The few memories she managed to cling to before she became what she is today was that when she was growing up, when she still had a family that loved and cared for her, she wanted to be a ballerina. How ironic, but she remembered when she was young and had that same devastated look on her face when she just couldn't get the basic moves right and was ready to give up.

"No, no. Being as good as me shouldn't be what's on your mind, you've got to be as good as you can be. You won't be as good as me, and that's fine, because you can just be better than me."

"Can I really?" she nods.

"Of course! Because you can continue to grow, while I'll forever be the boring doll who is only good at ballet." she let out an oh when the girl started rocking back and forward.

"I think you're pretty cool for just a boring doll." if she could cry she'd feel her eyes glisten with tears.

"... I really appreciate that. Now come on, show me again. I'll be watching, I promise." she's clapping her hands in encouragement when the girl tries again and again until he finally sticks the landing, she's rewarded with Ballade picking her up and twirling her around with a proud look on her face "See? You did it! Just like I said you would, I am so proud." she caresses her cheek against hers then booped her nose.

"Thank you, Miss Ballade." she says as she wraps her arms around her neck.

"Anything for you." she spends the next half hour performing a couple more moves before the adults tell them that it was time to head back to Home Sweet Home. She allows DogDay and Hoppy to lead the children back into Home Sweet Home where they are separated by gender and brought to separate bathrooms to clean up, she ends up in the kitchen to help Picky sort out dinner while the rest of the Smiling Critters are left to set up the dining hall. She's standing in her usual corner when the children finally arrive with Bobby and Crafty pleading for her to join them at their table, she planned to decline their invitation but was brought over by CatNap nudging her over to them. It felt quite nice to just sit with the Smiling Critters and since she didn't need to eat to sustain herself, she sat quietly with them and would speak every now and then when they spoke to her.

"My favorite part of the day..." CatNap said after dinner was finished and they were all leaving the dining hall.

"Because you get to go back to sleep?" he nods and turns towards the staircase to return to his room, only to be stopped when he is grabbed by a few of the kids and tugged towards Ballade's stage.

"You can't go to sleep yet, CatNap!"

"Miss Ballade's gonna read to us." this caught his attention and he looked to where she was stepping onto her stage after taking a book from one of the kids "You're gonna join us, right? Miss Ballade always makes storytime fun!"

"Come on CatNap, join us."

"It just wouldn't be the same without you." he grumbles softly.

"... alright." they cheer and practically climb all over him when he takes a seat in front of her stage, she smiles when CatNap joins the crowd of children but knows that he is going to sleep through most of the story, not that she minded.

"Okay, kids. Despite having read this story over a thousand times, I'm sure you wouldn't mind hearing it again." she clears her throat then throws her arm out for dramatic flare "The Adventures of the Word Wizard!" they all laugh when she puts on a theatrical performance as she read the book, using different voices for characters and playing her music box for some background noise. She always was good at storytime, able to draw the children in with ease and entertain them, it warmed her heart to see them so invested in a story they had heard time and time again but not get tired of it.

It was one good thing this stupid place had to give her.

"And with his final word, this story has come to an end." the children, including the Smiling Critters, all let out a round of awes that it was over "And now it's time for bed." she laughs when they made more sounds of disappointment, besides Catnap, who stood up and started carrying that were laying on him off to bed.

"Can't we have one more story?"

"Yeah, just one more?" she shakes her head.

"I'm afraid not. Besides, you're all yawning." she closed the book and placed it down as she stepped off her stage and to where the few tired children were sitting, the Smiling Critters gathered the other children and either started carrying them or leading them back to their beds "Sleep is just as important, one should not neglect the need to rest just to continue having fun. I mean, look at CatNap! All he does is sleep and he has fun."

"Then he must be having a lot of fun since he's always sleeping."

"Uh huh, and he must be having the most wonderful dreams because of that. So, why don't we all go to bed so we can dream and have fun while we're asleep? We can always continue the fun tomorrow, it's not like it's going anywhere." that was a lie, she nor the children had no clue whether that would be their last night alive and that thought scared her "Now come, CatNap is ready to help you children to sleep."

"Oh, alright." she scoops them up while grabbing another by the hand to lead them back to their rooms, she's tucking them into bed and pressing kisses onto each of their heads as she passes them. She's mentally counting each child to make sure that all have been returned to bed and that none were missing, the last time she failed a headcount she, well... let's just say she never misses up the headcount anymore.

"Are they all here?" she nods "Whenever you're ready..." she goes through the assortment of songs she had before finally choosing one, the moment CatNap heard her music box start to play he exhaled enough of the red smoke from his mouth to help them doze off but stay awake long enough to hear her sing.

"Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly, lavender's green~" this was CatNap's favorite part of the day, not only did he get to sleep, but he got to help Ballade put all the rowdy children to sleep as he listened to her sing. Before he got put into this body, when he was Theodore Grambell, Ballade was the only one who understood him. He had few friends and preferred keeping it that way because the other children annoyed him, but Ballade was different. Instead of pestering him like the adults would, trying and failing to get him to open up, she would merely sit with him in silence and wait patiently for him. She had a boisterous but calming personality that she could easily switch between depending on who she was interacting with, it was why the children loved her so much; it was why he loved her "Because you love me, dilly, dilly. I will love you~" she looks at CatNap and smiled at him, despite the permanent smile on his face, she could see a crease in his lips that let her know that he was giving her a genuine smile

When her music box struck its final cord and all the children had fallen asleep, she brushed the hair out of one of their eyes as they slept soundly before standing to her feet and going over to CatNap. The back of her hand brushed against his cheek and scratched under his chin as she walked him back to his room, she stayed with him until he fell into a deep slumber and wouldn't notice when she slipped out of his room to check on the other Smiling Critters. She found them all sleeping in their designated rooms and made sure to give them goodnight kisses as well, she had a feeling they would know if she didn't give them one, then went back to roaming the quiet and empty halls of Home Sweet Home.

Since she did not need to sleep, she aimlessly roamed around Playcare for nothing in particular, or that's what it seemed if people weren't aware of why she was stationed in Playcare. Huggy Wuggy was the security for the main lobby, Mommy Longlegs was the security for the Game Station, and Ballade was the security for Playcare. It was rare, very, very rare for someone to trespass onto Playtime Co. property after hours, and nearly impossible to make it past Huggy and Mommy alike to get into Playcare. The only likely situation you could get past those mascots was if you were an employee who knew their way around, but one thing was for sure, you would never make it past Ballade. She knew the entire layout of Playcare as well as the prison below, Leith and the Doctor made sure of that, so no matter where you go, she would always find you. Despite her large stature, she was very nimble on her feet. She was so good at sneaking around that you wouldn't even know she was behind you until she spoke up. The Doctor, Stella and Eddie would constantly make her sneak up on Leith to scare the living daylights out of him, she had to hide behind them when he threatened her with solitary confinement if she kept it up.

Anyways-

"It was almost too easy..." a voice whispered as they explored the Playcare, completely unaware that they were being watched. Ballade didn't bring it up with the three Executives when she noticed after the carnage that there were only five bodies instead of six, how the sixth one got away undetected, she'll never know, but he won't make it far. People were already aware that there was an onsite orphanage within Playtime Co. but as stated before, cameras were not allowed onto the property in case they caught something that would get them into a whole heap of trouble "If I can make it out of this maze, I'll make a fortune out of these photos." he spoke as he entered the Playhouse where he couldn't help but marvel at the sight of the playground with maze-like elements decorated with colorful brick walls and tunnels but it was pretty creepy exploring when there were no lights to illuminate the building, he makes sure to put the flash on before taking photos on his camera.

He takes a couple photos of the dark just to see where he is going, but when he sees the developed photo he is a little startled to see a pair of glowing eyes through the darkness that is staring right at him, he looks back in the direction he took it and takes another photo. He freaks out when the eyes are closer, so he starts walking backward while taking another with each step, he tries to listen for footsteps but can only hear his own as well as his panicked breathing. Whatever he was seeing drew closer and closer, but no matter how hard he tried to catch a glimpse of what was chasing him, he couldn't see past the flash, and through his terror, he accidentally dropped his camera. He's quick to drop to his knees and blindly search for it only to freeze when he feels a soft breeze on his face. With trembling hands, he finds his camera and takes a photo just to set the flash off and sees staring at him through the darkness was Ballade.

"How naughty~ Playtime Co. doesn't take lightly to trespassers." her hand was quick to close around his mouth before he could let out a scream and sound off the alarms, her fingers are digging into his skin as she planned to snap his neck but thinks for a bit "... hmm, the Doctor has stated that he's been wanting a live test subject. Guess you're the lucky one, congratulations." she picks up the camera and drags the poor man down to where Doctor Harley Swayer was, ignoring the confused stares from the prison guards and employees alike as she made her way to his lab while the photographer struggled against her iron-clad grip.

*KNOCK*

"What is it?" Sawyer cocked a brow when he didn't get an answer and the door was opened, usually, he'd yell at anyone who'd interrupt him but was surprised to see Ballade enter the room "My, what brings you here little dancer?" he smirks when he saw the way her body started to tremble, well, that was until he saw her drag in an unknown man.

"I caught an intruder, sir."

"And you're telling me this why?" she bounces on her feet nervously.

"You said you wanted a live test subject, so I brought him thinking you'd want to use him for your research." the man looks up at Sawyer for any sort of help only to be ignored when he lets out a sigh.

"I don't need him for anything, so you can just feed him to Yarnaby." she nods her head.

"Is Yarnaby in his cell?"

"Yes, he is. Close the door on your way out." she nods once more.

"Yes, sir." she let out a breath as she closed the door then looked back down at the man "You have no idea how lucky you are, Mister Intruder. You won't have to suffer at the hands of the Doctor and will get to die a quick death... well, that all depends if Yarnaby has been fed or not." she chuckled softly when she saw the panic flash on his face, poor man should have left when he had the chance. She's back in the prison and tells the guards to open Yarnaby's cell door and when they do she tosses the photographer inside and closes the door so he can't leave.

"Wait, no! Please, let me go! I-I swear I won't publish those photos!" she's in the observation room as she tosses the camera up and down "I don't want to die...!"

"You should have thought of that before you decided that taking pictures was worth more than your life." his body slumped when she shrugged her shoulders "Oh, Yarnaby~" she called out just as the door that kept Yarnaby contained opened up, her expression is indifferent when Yarnaby stepped out and looked up at the man curiously. This lion-like toy is rather adorable with its derpy expression and one would think he was going to play by the way he was tilting his head, that was until his face opened up to reveal his large open mouth hollowed out inside his head with rows of sharp jagged teeth along the outer rim of his mouth. The man couldn't even get a scream out when Yarnaby's mouth closed around his head, spilling his blood all over the window and killing him instantly.

Such a shame, she thought. He had quite a promising future if he had just left Playtime Co. instead of taking a few more pictures, maybe she should have let him go so he could expose the dark secrets this toy factory had but if she didn't kill him, the others surely would have.

"What a shame." she murmured before crushing the camera in her hand and looking back into the cell to see Yarnaby now aimlessly chewing on his torso, she always did find him adorable.

Helper

word count: 2147

Fandom: FNAF Security Breach Pairing: Sundrop/Moondrop x Female!Reader Pronouns: She/Her Relationship: Romantic Occupation: Daycare Helper Ability: Animatronic Moon Jellyfish

The character was modeled after a moon jellyfish, so they are an oceanic type animatronic that mostly resided in the daycare to provide assistance when needed within the pizza plex. The appearance they adorn is that of a tall woman and the animalistic part of her design would be, other than a human like face, they would have a large bell (the blob of a jellyfish is called a bell or hood) on top of their head that would act as a large hat, and attached to the underside of the bell are the tentacles and stingers. They are not actually stingers, they help the character locate children and feel for their surroundings. The bell on top of their head also glow in the dark.

Keys:

[F/N]: Female Name [B/C]: Base Color [S/C]: Secondary Color [F/C]: Favorite Color [E/C]: Eye Color

Warnings: spoilers to those who haven’t seen fnaf sb

I have absolutely no clue how tall the animatronics are, so bear with me.

that is all.

“Helper” pt. 2, pt. 3

“Sundrop, allow me to introduce you to the new helper to the daycare.” Sundrop, the Daycare Attendant, stops in his movements and his beaming face turns to look over at where Officer Vanessa was when she entered the daycare. He happily skips over to her at the entrance and there he finally noticed the tall animatronic woman standing behind her, this woman loomed over Vanessa and had a soft smile present on her face “If you haven’t already noticed, this is [F/N] the Jellyfish. She’s going to be your aid here in the daycare, mostly because we’ve been getting complaints from the parents. Introduce yourself.” Vanessa said, stepping to the side to allow [F/N] to step forward, the animatronic woman does so and she directed her soft and kind smile towards Sundrop.

“Hello there, I am the animatronic [F/N] the Jellyfish. I hope I can be of some help for you, Daycare Attendant.” he had to raise his head because whoever built her made her quite tall, Freddy and Monty were taller than her since they stood at nine feet tall, but she was at least 8″3ft tall and much taller than he was. She wore a gorgeous [F/C] pencil skirt that was decorated with stars of all sizes that ended at her ankles with ruffles at the end and around her waist, a simple [S/C] blouse that had ruffles at the collar and wrists. She had a cravat around their neck with a [F/C] ringed speaker in the middle of it and simple white gloves, their skin was [B/C] and he couldn’t see her eyes since they were closed. What stood out about her appearance was the transparent bell that was a lighter shade of [B/C] that sat atop her head with the stingers and tentacles that hung by her side from the underside of the bell and a lighter shade of [S/C] hair that dropped down to below her waist “I wish for us to get along, Sundrop.” 

“...” she raised a brow when she didn’t get an immediate answer, that was because Sundrop could not stop staring at [F/N] for the life of him, he was able to snap out of his day dreaming when Vanessa cleared her throat and gave him a warning glare “O-Oh, jeepers! My name is Sundrop, and I wish for us to get along too!” [F/N]’s smile widened and she lowered her head into a bow.

“Oh, how wonderful.” she lets out a whoa when he grabbed her hand and started shaking it up and down, she giggled softly at the gesture while Vanessa rolled her eyes.

“Good, now that you’ve introduce yourselves, get ready because the pizza plex opens in less than an hour.” [F/N] stood behind Sundrop, who gave Vanessa a droopy grin as he saluted.

“Yes, ma’am! Right away, ma’am!” she rolled her eyes once more before looking up at [F/N] this time.

“You know what you were programmed to do.” she nods her head.

“Of course.” Vanessa nods her head to her before walking out of the daycare, when they could no longer hear her footsteps, the two animatronics look at each other, each with their own smile on their face, one softer while the other was more energetic.

“Oh, we’re going to have so much fun together, new friend!” Sundrop cheers happily, grabbing her hand and bouncing on his feet “We can finger paint! Tell stories! Do macaroni art! Make balloon animals! This is going to be a blast! But, I do have one rule: keep the lights on.” she hums at the way his tone progressively grew darker as he finished his sentence, though she already knew the reason.

“But of course, Sundrop. Rules are simply put out to keep others safe, no?” he beams up at her, now holding her hands with both of his, vigorously nodding his head.

“Yes, yes! I am so glad you agree with me.” introducing her to the children and parents wasn’t so hard either, the parents seemed to like her because she was more level headed and calm in comparison to Sundrop’s upbeat and cheerful personality, and she was quite adored by the children. Sundrop took care of the more boisterous children while [F/N] was left to handle the children who leaned over to the shyer and introverted side and children that overall needed to rest more than to play around. 

“We cannot thank you enough, [F/N]. Our child has been a little overexerted after the performance that Glamgang put on and all the junk food they splurged on.” [F/N] offered the mother of the child she was currently caring for her kind smile.

“Of course, but I do advise that you monitor what your child consumes next time. Overeating food provided by Freddy Fazebear’s Mega Pizza Plex is not healthy for a young child.” the mother nodded her head.

“I’ll take your advice.” [F/N] bids the young child and her parents goodbye with a simple wave before she turns on her heels and makes her way over to the Security Desk, though she was not a security bot nor a security officer like the few human employees, she was programmed to keep on eye on the schedule and the few cameras within the daycare when needed. She picks up the clipboard and her eyes, that were closed, briefly open to see what was next “Naptime, hmm? Then I guess it’s time to meet Moondrop.” she places the clipboard down and proceeds to turn around but was stopped when a young boy grabbed her hand.

“Miss [F/N], Sundrop’s reading us a story and we all want you to participate!” he cheered, she nods softly and lets the young child lead her. 

“How wonderful.” she sat amongst the few children attending the story telling, sitting in a side sit position with a few children laying against her. Sundrop returned after grabbing a book when he saw [F/N] waiting with the children, he was now even more excited to tell the story with [F/N] in attendance. Most of the children and the new animatronic would laugh at the silly voices Sundrop would use for the characters in the story, [F/N] would sometimes joy in by words of encouragement from the children when a female character was introduced. By the time the story had come to the end, the timer for the lights to turn off came and it was now naptime, and evidently, the time for Moondrop to make his appearance. 

Sundrop’s AI shut down and Moondrop’s powered on, he blinked his eyes continuously until his vision came to him. He glanced around and noticed that the majority of the children were already dozing off, he tilted his head to the side in confusion because it usually took some time for the energetic children to fall asleep, and yet here he is and seeing that most of them were already asleep. The sound of humming soon came to his ears and he turned to see the newest animatronic, a child laying peacefully in her lap as a tune played out from the speaker in her cravat while she hummed along to the song, helping the children around her sleep.

“Naughty, naughty~” Moondrop mused, hoping from side to side as he approached the woman, who raised her head slightly at the sound of the voice “It is my job to care for the sleeping children. Who are you to replace me?” he reaches towards her, intent to harm this individual, but let out a choked noise when one of the hands that rest on her lap beside the child’s head shot over and grabbed him by the neck.

“Oh, and here I thought we could get along.” he let out a grunt when the bell on top of her head started to glow, she turned to look at him and her eyes that were closed opened and he got to see her beautiful eyes. Her scelra was like the galaxy while her iris’ were shaped like a diamond star that shun a bright shade of white, she then offers him her smile but hidden behind it was a smirk “I am [F/N] the Moon Jellyfish, let us hope we can work together.”

“You little--” she brought her free hand to her lips and shushed him softly, she points to the child sleeping on her lap as she tightened her grip on his neck.

“Shush now, we wouldn’t want to wake the children, now would we?” her eyes narrowed softly “Now, let us do our job together, why don’t we?” her grip tightened once more and he was forced to agree with her.

“... alright.” her kind smile returned to her lips as she gently put Moondrop down, who immediately raised his hands to his neck and caressed it, frowning slightly when he felt slight dents in the metal “You’re lucky Sun likes you.” she giggles softly.

“The feelings are mutual.” he huffs and turns around on his heel and starts caring for the other children that weren’t around [F/N], she merely shook her head and continued to play with the hair of the child sleeping in her lap, missing the way Moondrop started growing red in the face.

Headcanons:

[f/n] was essentially programmed to babysit sundrop lights on and manage moondrop lights off. 

meaning; her model was designed to be strong enough to take care of moondrop if he ever got a little too aggressive, so when it came down to strength, she would be the third strongest out of all the animatronics.

first being monty, second being freddy, and third being herself. 

vanessa would sometimes come to her whenever monty would get out of hand and have her calm the alligator down when he would have on of his temper tantrums and they got out of hand.

sometimes he would like to have arms wrestles with her.

he would never admit the fact that he struggles pushing her arm down. 

anyways-

sundrop absolutely adores being by her side whenever they have to look after children together, whenever he has the chance to be around her, he does not hesitate to cling to her back and she would let him hang there as she monitors other children.

moondrop doesn’t like to admit that seeing her more snarky side is hot, cool. it’s a complete personality flip.

the first few lights out together was rocky. sometimes he would want to fight her to prove who was better, she’d have him in a lock under her arm in under a couple seconds.

he gave up pretty quickly. 

she acts as a nightlight for the children that sings.

so he joins her when it’s naptime and leans against her big body and falls asleep to her songs, she didn’t let him live it down the first time he did it and would follow him around just to ask how it felt. 

she gets along with glamrock freddy the best out of the glamrock gang, mostly because they both embody that parental figure. him being fatherly and her being motherly, they both enjoy each other’s company a lot and speak whenever she’s free from the daycare.

her and chica get along because [f/n] was also programmed to know how to cook, so she likes making certain dishes and have chica try them out. when she see’s chica eating garbage she scolds her.

her and roxy are a little complicated. more like neutral. roxy sometimes tries to one up [f/n] on multiple occasions, but most of the time [f/n] lets her wins during these competitions. though when [f/n] knows when roxy is having a tough time with her self esteem she helps the poor girl and together they style each other’s hair.

her and monty is funny. she acts quite motherly to him and often takes him to parts and services when he has one of his days just to check if he damaged himself in any way. monty doesn’t want to admit that he likes the doting attention he gets form her.

now for the game plot, when the lights turn off when gregory was in the daycare, [f/n] would awaken from where she was and protect gregory from moondrop.

she would act as a distraction to turn moondrop’s attention towards her while gregory turned on the generators, her eyes also allow her to see in the dark so she directs him to where some of the generators are.

and when sundrop bans gregory from the daycare she would bid the boy goodbye from behind sundrop.

and when the lights turn off at each hour mark, she would leave the daycare in order to protect gregory from moondrop and the occasional other animatronics.

other than that, she is the kind moon jellyfish animatronic that teaches children how to be humble and polite within the daycare.

basically, she’s a nanny for children and sundrop.

Contract pt. 3

word count: 23,441

Fandom: Gravity Falls Pairing: Stanley Pines x Alvah (OC) Pronouns: He/She/They (usually goes be she/her) Relationship: Romantic Occupation: Guardian Ability: Demonic Powers

Since the individual is a resident of the Nightmare Realm, while also being the embodiment of evil from across multiple dimensions, the power they have is almost unlimited. They are capable of traveling to different dimensions throughout the multiverse but when they do step foot in such dimensions their powers become limited unless they are able to form a contract, similar to Bill through his deals, that allows them to have full access to their powers. They are capable of shapeshifting their appearance to blend in with the locals or at least influence the minds of those who set their eyes on them, but if there were anyone to bear witness to their true form, their own minds would destroy itself and drive them into madness.

Keys:

n/a

Warnings:

blood, violence, and spoilers for those who haven't read the book of bill.

"Contract" pt. 1, pt. 2

I believe you can pinpoint where exactly I stopped giving a shit about what the hell I was writing. I just wanted/needed to finish this part.

I now had to make this three parts because I met the word limit again.

season 2, episode 17. dipper and mabel vs. the future 

alvah doesn’t really appear much in this episode, only to decline dipper’s offer to join him and ford’s adventure to look for an adhesive to seal the crack on the rift. 

she does warn ford that this was a situation that she really couldn’t interfere in and that if they were in trouble she wouldn’t be there. 

he took her warning to heart and was extra cautious with his and dipper’s safety. 

they don’t let that show and she bids dipper goodbye and to have fun, despite knowing the day’s outcome. 

soos was out with mabel in search for a location for the twin’s birthday party since stan rejected the idea of it being held at the mystery shack, no thanks to the undead crashing the last party. 

stan was ecstatic to know that it was just going to be just him and alvah alone in the mystery shack now that everyone was gone to do their own thing. 

he searched for her but was stumped when he found no trace of her. 

not in the mystery shack. 

not outside on the sofa. 

nor downstairs in the lab. 

he couldn’t find her anywhere.  

he had yet to search the rooftop when he came across mabel sulking in their shared bedroom. 

“Hey, everything alright, pumpkin?” he asks as he enters the room, she let out a sigh as she pushed herself up onto her knees but continued to look through her scrap book of every moment she managed to capture during their stay at Gravity Falls. 

“I just can’t believe the summer’s almost over.” as she spoke Stan entered the room and took a seat beside her “And now that I know how awful high school is going to be, I’m in no hurry to start that train wreck.” he gives her a sympathetic look as he wraps a comforting arm around her shoulder. 

“Ah, nobody likes getting older. But just because you’re growing up doesn’t mean you have to grow up, you know? I mean, look at me. I’m pushing seventy, and I still eat ice cream for dinner. 

“But I don’t want to say goodbye to Gravity Falls.” she says as she leans against Stan. 

“Hey, at least whatever happens after this summer, you’ll still have your brother along with you through thick and thin. Not everyone can say that, you know.” he ruffles her head as his eyes look towards her scrap book, he flips through a couple pages but his face scrunches up in confusion when he noticed something “How come there are no photos of Alvah in here? I thought you would be loaded with pictures with her.” Mabel let out a nervous laugh. 

“Well, about that. Before we knew that Alvah was actually an interdimensional being, Dipper noticed that whenever I tried taking photos of her or he tried recording her, she would decline. I thought she was just camera shy and tried taking photos of her whenever she wasn’t looking, but...” she trailed off and pulled out a small box from under her bed, it revealed to be polaroid photos of Alvah, or rather, attempted photos of her “Whenever Dipper or I tried to take a photo of her, something would either fly into the frame or the camera would freak out. We did manage to get one, but it’s kind of scary looking.” she rifles through the box before pulling out the picture and showing him, and boy did it not disappoint. It was taken in the gift shop where Alvah was talking to him, though her figure was distorted and mangled that he would never have guessed that it was her in the photo if Mabel hadn’t told him. 

“I see what you mean.” he looks through a couple more and some either capture her back or the side of her body but her face was just never in the frame, it was always covered. 

“Alvah told us that since her body wasn’t entirely real, the lenses of a camera would be one of the few things that would be able to capture her real body. I asked how we were able to see her on the T.V before but she explained that since it was through a memory we were seeing the perceived image of what that person saw.” 

“That sounds... very complicated.” Mabel nods. 

“Very.” he looks through a couple more until he managed to find one where you could just briefly see her face, or rather, just the crease of her lips pulling up into a smile so when Mabel wasn’t looking, he pocketed the photo. 

“While we’re on the topic, have you seen Alvah?” she caressed her chin. 

“Hmm, if I remember correctly, the last time I saw her, she was heading towards the roof.” 

“Thanks sweetheart.” he ruffles her head again before leaving her be, hopefully when Dipper gets back he can lighten her mood. Going to where Mabel tipped him off, he perked up immediately when he had finally found Alvah but stopped when he realized the lost look in her eyes. He tilts his head to the side as he gets a good look at her, she looked distant and uncertain about something as she stared into nothing in particular “You good there, toots?” he raised a brow when she jolted up from where she was sat, well that’s a first, she always seemed to know when he was lingering and had never startled her once, whatever was on her mind must really be preoccupying her head for her to jump. 

“O-Oh, Stanley. I didn’t see you there.” he cleared his throat as he walked over to where she was and took a seat beside her. 

“I noticed. What’s on your mind?” her face was always so calm and collected, composed and put together, but now... he didn’t know how to describe it, but he’d compare it back to the time she was at her most vulnerable moment “Is something wrong?” he asked as his hand reached to touch her face, she watched as his fingers uncurled and gingerly caressed her face before his palm cupped her cheek and let it rest there where she leaned into his rough but careful hand. 

“I’m just... upset, is all.” he thumbs at her cheek bones as she lifted her hand up to place on top of his “Those kids are going home in a matter of weeks and I can’t help but admit that I’m going to miss them.” he smiled softly at her concern. 

“Aw, don’t be like that. Unlike Ford and I, I’m pretty sure you can visit those kids whenever you like. As long as your contract holds, you’ll stay in our dimension for as long as you want.” it was now his turn to look a little lost, his hand dropping down to his lap while averting his eyes from her and down at the ground below them “At least you’ll have a home to stay in, Ford expects me to be gone at the end of the summer.” she frowns at his words, remembering back to their argument about how Ford wanted his house back after the children were gone. She hummed softly and reached for his face, turning it so he could look at her once more. 

“Your brother is as stubborn as an ox, but with my charismatic personality and absolute annoying nature, I am sure I can convince him to keep you around by insisting that I need you.” 

“Pft, what could you need me for?” she hummed softly. 

“Oh, but a lot of things. Other than Ford, you are the most entertaining human man I’ve ever had the blessing to have met.” she lifts her other hand so that she was now holding his face, she leans forward and lets her forehead rest against his “It will be so boring without you and this silly little Mystery Shack, it’s what gives Gravity Falls its charm. It just wouldn’t be the same without you, Mister Mystery.” he giggles to himself when she pulls away. 

“Aw, shucks. You sure know how to make a guy blush.” she rubs her nose against his and chuckled. 

“If I have to brainwash your brother to keep you here, I’ll do it. I won’t let you go so easily, Stan.” 

“Haha, I don’t know if that’s you or the devil you speaking.” she gives a shrug. 

“What strokes your ego more?” 

“I think we both know the answer to that question.” Alvah laughs and graces him with a kiss on the forehead, he giggles once more before standing to his feet and offering a hand to her “You seem to be in a better mood, why don’t you give me a hand by helping me put up some more signs.” she scoffed as she took his hand. 

“That better not be the reason you came looking me. We have a small heart to heart and the next thing you ask for is free labor? Hah, you’re starting to sound like Ford.” he shoves her back with a laugh. 

“Don’t say that, that’s the last thing I want to hear.” he continues to laugh as he starts making his way back inside the shack but fails to see the way her face dropped, the same bitter look washing over as the worst has yet to come and there was nothing she could do to stop it “You coming?” 

“O-Oh, yes. I’m right behind you.” with a sullen look she followed closely behind him, reaching for his hand and holding it rather tightly. She takes one last look at the Mystery Shack before screwing her eyes shut and stepping into the woods where they were going to be far from what was going to happen, and it was when Stan started rambling on about the kid's birthday where that feeling of guilt started overwhelming her “Stan.” she spoke weakly, arms full from holding several handmade signs, as she stood behind Stan while he hammered one to a tree. 

“What’s up, Alvah?” her fingers dig into the wooden signs as she pulled them close to her chest. 

“Will you forgive me for what is to come?” he snorts. 

“What a ridiculous question, there isn’t anything that would warrant me not to forgive you.” 

“... I hope that that is the truth, so know that I am so sorry about this.” he turns around to see what would cause her to apologize but let out a shout when his hat was pulled off his head, looking back he saw that it was that goat eating at the fez of his hat.  

“Okay, that’s it goat! It’s time I threw you off this property for good!” he hears a shuddered breath from behind him followed by a clatter, turning around he was confused when he didn’t see where Alvah was until he looked down and his his eyes widened in shock when he saw she had collapsed to the ground and laid motionless, he shouts her name as he kneels down to look her over until he felt a shadow cast over them. He looks back and his eyes widened in disbelief to see that the goat had grown to a height that shot past the trees, he doesn’t think twice and picks Alvah up and runs back to the Mystery Shack “Please, please Alvah! Don’t let this be what you’re apologizing for, because I don’t know if I can forgive you for this.” 

season 2, episode 18. xpcveaopfoxso 

stan is unable to wake alvah. 

he is also unable to contact her. 

so she isn’t really in this episode. 

season 2, episode 19. escape from reality 

doesn’t appear in this episode. 

season 2, episode 20. take back the falls 

“Yaaaah!!” Dipper, Mabel, Soos and Wendy kick open the door to the Mystery Shack arming themselves with anything they could find after hearing noise come from within while letting out a battle cry to intimidate the intruder, however, they were blissfully surprised to see not an enemy but rather “Wait... Grunkle Stan!” the children cry out in relief as they quickly run up to him, his eyes widened when he realized who it was and threw down his bat and fell to his knees. 

“Kids!” he shouts as he opened his arms, he let out a laugh when they dove into his arms and cried as he held them securely in his arms “I can’t believe it! I thought I lost you two!” he let out a grunt when Soos is at his side and pulling him into a hug. 

“Mister Pines! It’s really you! I’ve been hugging strangers to practice for this moment.” he says, Wendy then throws herself forward and slams into Stan to join their hug. 

“We missed you, you old codger!” he lets out a laugh at them. 

“I’ve missed you knuckleheads, too. It’s good to have you back.” he slowly releases the children and Dipper finally takes in the unusual group that’s huddled inside the Mystery Shack, from normal civilians to the mythical creatures that resided in the woods. 

“So... what’s everyone doing here?” he lets out a soft gasp when some liliputtians run past him, Mabel nods her head. 

“Yeah, there’s like monsters and gnomes... and is Pacifica wearing a potato sack?” she scoffed at Mabel. 

“Hey! Even in a sack I still look better than you!” this earned an eyeroll. 

“It’s... it’s a long story.” the Multi-Bear spoke but then another voice spoke, startled, they see the vents open and the head of wave Larry King spoke up. 

“Hey, is anyone gonna feed me? Larry King’s disembodied wax head wants num-nums.” 

“We’re trying to ration our food, remember?” Grenda spoke then shuddered when he started chewing on her hair “Uhh... it’s happening again.” the Multi-Bear was quick to close the vents to stop him, one of the manitaurs look at through the open window and gasped when he saw an eye-bat in the distance. 

“Hey, everyone! Eye-bat!” everyone gasps. 

“Evasive maneuvers!” Stan is quick to stand to his feet and slam the door shut then turn back to the children and lead them away from the windows. 

“Shhh, keep it down.” with that all the refugees shuffle into positions to keep out of sight. 

“Hit the lights!” outside, they spot an eye-bat turn to a scampering raccoon and turn it into stone before flying off with it back to Bill’s giant pyramid beneath the rift leading to the Nightmare Realm. Stan lights a match within a different room, illuminating the shack and revealing what was left of the towns people sitting around. 

“Welcome to what’s left of normal around here. Home base.” the newcomers look around the shack and spot several beings they’ve encountered throughout their summer at Gravity Falls, from the gnomes to the boy band Sev’ral Timez, Dipper let out a shout when he saw a previous enemy. 

“Ah! Rumble McSkirmish?” 

“Do not be afraid. Weirdmageddon has taught me, there are some battles that I cannot win. I am now Humble McSkirmish.” a digital –50 despair pops up next to Rumble, they ignore that and look to Stan. 

“Grunkle Stan, how’d this all happen?” he let out a sigh as he thinks back to when it all began. 

“So I was hammering signs out back when the sky started vomiting nightmares. I listen to a lot of AM radio so I knew what this meant: the end of the world. What I didn’t expect was what happened next. Turns out whatever you and my brother did to the shack with your unicorn voodoo made the crazy place invincible to the weirdness.” Dipper snaps his fingers. 

“Of course, the unicorn spell. That’s why this is the only place Bill’s magic can’t touch.” Stan nods then gestures to McGucket. 

“That’s when possum breath over here shows up leading a bunch of injured stragglers through the forest. They needed a place to stay and since the mayor got captured, I elected myself de facto chief. The plan’s to stay in here and eat brown meat until we run out, then I vote we eat the gnomes.” the leader of the gnomes glares up at Stan. 

“Hey! I’m short, not deaf!” 

“Shh! Shh! Stress will make you chewy.” 

“Grunkle Stan, we can’t all just hide inside the shack. There’s a town in need of saving. Me and Ford tried to do it, but he got captured by Bill.” Stan scoffed as he grabbed one of the cans of brown meat and popped it open. 

“Serves that jerk right. My brother’s had some stupid plans, but going up against an all-powerful space demon was his worst one yet. Trust me, we have everything we need right here. It’s not the Ritz but at least monsters inside now how to massage. You know shiatsu?” he asked the Multi-Bear. 

“Yes, I’ve taken classes.” Dipper gave him an incredulous look. 

“So you’re really just gonna let Bill win?” 

“Look, kiddo. We got a good deal here. Besides, I’m sure whatever the rest of the townsfolk are, they’re fine.” he slams his hand down and accidentally hit the remote to the TV and it turned on to the news broadcasted by Shandra Jimenez. 

“This is Shandra Jimenez reporting live from the insides of Bill’s castle. Here for the first time are images of what’s happened to the captured townsfolk. Viewers are advised to look away if they don’t want to see their friends turn into a twisted throne of human agony.” many of the residents within the shack gasped when they recognized a few people that were turned to stone and forced to act as a throne for Bill. 

“Mum and dad?” 

“My family!” 

“Deputy Durland!” the camera then turns back to Shandra. 

“Is there no one who will save the people of this town? I’m Shandra Jimenez and I’m being turned into stone by a flying eyeball.” the TV then turns to static, causing everyone to gasp in shock 

“Oh, no. My parents are bad but even they don’t deserve to be turned to stone.” Sheriff Blubs drops down to a knee as he cries out in despair. 

“Curse you, Bill! Why must you take everything we love?” he then rips his shirt open and continues to cry, Mabel huffed and climbs on top of the Multi-Bear. 

“Guys, don’t you see? Our friends need us, but we can only save them if we fight back.” Dipper nods as he takes his place beside her. 

“Mabel is right. Bill wants us to run and hide. He wants us to think he’s invincible. But Ford told me before he was captured that he knows Bill's secret weakness.” the refugees perk up at the mention of a weakness. 

“Weakness?” 

“Now, if we band together, if we combine all our strength, our smarts, and... whatever Toby has...” 

“Various rashes!” he was promptly ignored. 

“... then we just might be able to rescue Ford, learn Bill's weakness, and save Gravity Falls.” a rally of cheers erupts from the crowd which satisfies both Mabel and Dipper, he scans the crowd and frowns when he doesn’t spot the person he was looking for “Hey, where’s Alvah? She would be a great asset in taking down Bill.” they look towards Stan, knowing that he was the last one with her, and they saw the way his demeanor changed just at the mention of her name. 

“Alvah, she...” he raised his arm and gesture a corner of the room, a few refugees move out of the way and there they saw laying on the sofa was Alvah’s body, the children were quick to rush to her side and look her over as Stan approached “She’s been out cold since this all started and no matter what I did I couldn’t wake her up. I’ve tried calling out to her, tapping on mirrors and even the shadows but my voice just doesn’t seem to reach her. It’s like she’s been cut off from our dimension or something.”  

“Bill! He must have done something to severe her contact with us!” 

“Or maybe he’s weakened it! She always answered to you, Dipper. Maybe you can get through to her.” Stan scoffed, crossing his arms at the thought that Alvah would answer to Dipper and not him at such a dire moment. 

“Don’t bother. I’ve tried everything, so it’s no use.” 

“But she’s got a softer spot for the kids, Mister Pines. Let them try.” it would hurt if she answered to Dipper and not him but he wasn’t going to stop them from bringing back one of their biggest trump cards, so he nodded his head “Alright, go ahead Dipper.” 

“Thanks, we’re just gonna need that mirror in your room.” the gnomes rush away and grab the giant full body mirror from out of Stan’s room and place it near Alvah’s body “Great uncle Ford told me that her way of communicating with us, before she got a physical body, was either through mirrors or shadows. But it was also the way she saw and heard everything, it was how she kept an eye on him and even us throughout the summer. Maybe when you tried contacting her, you were doing it where she couldn’t hear or see you, Grunkle Stan. Maybe if we try with a mirror close to her body, we can get through to her.” he looks towards Mabel and saw that she was standing near the mirror, she grinned at her brother and gave him a thumbs up. 

“Ready when you are, bro-bro.” he takes a breath as he lightly taps at her face. 

“Come on, Alvah. Come back to us, we really, really need you this time. I don’t know whether or not this is one of those events you can’t interfere with us, but surely you can give us a little help like you did with that spider lady. There’s just no way you would sit back and watch us struggle against Bill, you care too much about us.” Mabel lets out a laugh as she stared at her reflection, hoping to see Alvah appear beside her. 

“Yeah! You wouldn’t let anything happen to this cute little face, now would you?” they wait breathlessly for anything and frown when there was nothing, Dipper sucked in a breath before wrapping his arms around her as best as he could, laying his head on her shoulder and frowning when he felt just how cold she was. 

“Please, there’s no way we can do this without you. We need your help, or else we’re going to be in so much trouble. Please, please come back and help save Gravity Falls. You said it yourself, you may be the embodiment of evil but even you aren’t that evil to just sit back and watch us die.” his arms tighten around her as he nuzzles his face into her shoulder “Please don’t prove Bill right.” 

... 

... 

“Finally!!” everyone all let out a scream at the sudden shout, looking towards the mirror, Mabel had fell back when Alvah had abruptly appeared, slamming her fists against the glass with an enraged look on her face “That little one eyed, triangular, three-sided, orphaned freak! I swear to Axolotl when I get my slimly little hands on him, I’m gonna rip his out eye!” 

“Alvah!” her face immediately softened when she saw Dipper and Mabel rush towards the mirror, not missing the fact she saw Dipper hugging her empty vessel, she lowers herself down to their level and let out a sigh of relief. 

“You kids are alright. A little worse for wear, but you’re alive. I’ve been so worried, and Mabel...” she presses her hand against the glass, a look of guilt swirling in her eyes as Mabel lifts her own hand to press against hers “Please don’t blame yourself for what happened. You just wanted more time with your brother and you made a desperate but genuinely sincere decision, but you’re only just a child. If anyone else were in your shoes, they would’ve done the same. As for me, I...” Dipper had a knowing look as he watched her avert her gaze from them. 

“You knew. You knew this was going to happen that day, that was why you avoided us. Because you couldn’t watch us do it.” she took a breath as she looked back at him. 

“I couldn’t. I have watched dimensions burn, civilizations collapse, mortal beings die. But I couldn’t... I couldn’t watch this one, because I started to care about a stupid little family that lives in it. As selfish as it was, I turned a blind eye... a look where it got me.” they all flinch when her eyes turned red as she started banging on the glass again “Now that he’s brought the Nightmare Realm into your dimension, he’s kicked me out of my vessel and weakened my connection with it. I’ve been trying for hours to get back to you guys.” this caused them to look at each other in confusion. 

“Hours? Alvah, it’s been a few days since Weirdmageddon has started.” 

“Days? But that’s...” they see the way her eyes dart from side to side as she was trying to understand what they were saying, had it really been that long? Was she that desperate to get back to them she hadn’t realized just how much time had passed? “G-Give me a sec, I’ll be right back.” they watch as she walked out of frame as if she was going to walk out of the side of the mirror, a few refugees looked at each other in concern as they waited anxiously for her to return. 

“What could she mean by hours? Does time work differently or something from where she’s from?” Pacifica asked “More importantly, how was she in the mirror when her body’s right there?” Mabel let out a nervous laugh as she rubbed the back of her neck. 

“Would it freak you out if we tell you that she’s similar to Bill?”  

“What?!” everyone exclaimed, McGucket let out a laugh. 

“I told y’all she ain’t what she seemed! But nobody listened to me!” 

“Okay I’m back!” her abrupt reappearances were going to give someone a hard attack, the look on her face seemed to be one that was a mixture of panic and weak hope “So, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that the Time Baby is dead, and time is now quite literally dead and or under the control of Bill himself. So while you guys were trapped here and experienced a couple days, no time has passed at all within Gravity Falls. As for me, only a couple hours have gone by.” that honestly felt like a slap to the face, while they were suffering under the hand of Bill Cipher, no time had passed at all, as if it were just one sick nightmare. 

“A-And the good news?” 

“The Time Baby is dead! So there’s nobody to stop me from telling you guys from what’s going to happen, if him or the time police were still lingering around, I wouldn’t be telling you guys this but since they were erased off the face of this timeline there’s nobody here to stop me.” she kneels down to Dipper and Mabel’s height with a serious look on her face “I’ve told you this before, you two. I have seen you win, but I have also seen you fail. There are countless alternate timelines where you two don’t even make it to today, and I have seen you die a limitless number of deaths that I... now what I am going to tell you is going to lead to the ending of this event.” they nod their heads. 

“What is it?” she takes a deep breath as she raised one finger. 

“There are two endings to this and I don’t know which one it is. There is one ending where you two get so close, so, so close to defeating Bill but... you get turned to stone and added to Bill’s collection on his throne.” they swallow thickly at that possibility but light up when she raised her other finger “But there is another ending where you two get to see your thirteenth birthday, one where we’re all there to watch you blow out the candles.” Mabel glows at that possibility. 

“How do we get that ending?” this is where they see her give them a conflicted expression. 

“I-I don’t know.” Stan scoffed from behind the children. 

“I thought you said you could tell us.” she shook her head. 

“N-No, I genuinely don’t know how. I see the outcome of the future, not the execution.” she pulls a face when she notices that not everyone understood what exactly she meant, she sighed “I can see what leads up to certain parts of the future, but I can’t exactly pinpoint crucial parts that leads to the wanted ending. Does that sound better?” she let out a defeated breath when a rally of ohs sounded off, if it weren’t for the fact she’s seen the future she would think they were as good as dead. 

“And what about my brother?” she perked up at Stan’s question “How is Ford?” she winces a little. 

“Well... he’s seen better days.” she looked down at Dipper when she noticed the guilty look on his face “He’s alive, but only because Bill needs something from him.” 

“What could he need from brainiac?” she opens the palm of her hand and the mirror creates a perfect replica that was Gravity Falls, but they come to notice a sort of dome that surrounds their little home. 

“There is a natural law of weirdness magnetism of the town that is containing Bill's weirdness, and an equation can disable the barrier, to which Ford and myself know. So even if I hadn’t been trapped here due to my minor mistake in our contract, I wouldn’t have been able to leave thanks to that barrier.” Mabel raised her hand. 

“But you were able to leave that one time to meet Grunkle Stan to give him that postcard!” she avoids eye contact with Stan at the mention of that day. 

“My contracts are powerful enough to bend certain rules, but they can’t break them. I am a primordial being, but even we few have laws we must follow if we don’t want to suffer the consequences from higher beings. That is why I’m a neutral being, but now my morals have tipped a bit.” she shrugs then gives them an apologetic look “I can’t do much while I’m like this, and I apologize for that. But if you can get him underneath that rift, I can handle the rest.” 

“How do you expect us to do that?” she chuckled and gestured to McGucket. 

“Well, you’ve got the greatest inventor here with you.” Alvah and McGucket stare each other down, an unspoken tension between the two of them “Don’t expect to hear another compliment out of me, Fidds.” he huffed at her. 

“I’ll get another one when I see pigs fly.” they ignore the little oink that comes out of Waddles “But she’s right. I think I figured out a way to fight Bill and rescue Ford, but we’re all gonna have to work together.” he snaps his fingers and a gnome puts his glasses on him, everyone huddles around McGucket as he begins to explain his plan to take down Bill but Stan lingered around the mirror. 

“Are you mad at me, Stan?” it was happening all over again, right after Ford came back and it was revealed that Alvah knew everything from the start. It was like their whole relationship went right back down to square one, and Alvah hated that now that she understood where her feelings lie, it hurt her chest seeing Stan so distressed “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you, or warn you, or keep those kids out of danger, but if I did... I would have put them in more danger. There are so many rules that I just can’t risk breaking.” he scowled as he crossed his arms. 

“I thought I could read you well, I thought I could understand you, but you’re still a giant mystery to me. To you, it might have been a couple hours, but these past few days were grueling. I had no clue where those kids were, where my brother was and you weren’t responding no matter how many times I called out for you. And yet, all it took were those kids and you came running back. Maybe I should be relieved that you’ll always look out for Dipper and Mabel, but it still hurts that even with our relationship I’ll just be an afterthought.” she’s shaking her head as she pressed herself against the glass. 

“N-No, no. Stan, that’s not it. I-I—I care for you just as much as those kids, it was just a coincidence that I came back when Dipper was calling for me. You have no idea how distraught I was when I was forcefully ripped out of my vessel.” as she said, only mere hours passed when Weirdmageddon began and she can still remember the feeling of seeing herself be torn right out of her body and sent back to the Nightmare Realm. Unlike Bill and his Henchmaniacs, she was forbidden by the Axolotl from entering dimensions in her true form because the residents of said dimensions would either end up like McGucket or merely die within her presence; her body would be like a nuclear and or atomic bomb went off within the confined town of Gravity Falls. So when she woke up in her real body and saw the rift had opened a gateway between the Nightmare Realm and their dimension, she knew she wouldn’t be able to do a thing to help them or stop Bill. She tried opening up her windows to try and see them but no matter what she was unable to see them, she was unable to hear them, Bill had completely cut her off from them. 

“You say that but you can’t even tell me that you love me.” her eyes widened softly, knowing that all Stan wants is to be loved, whether it be her love or his family “You tell me that you care about me, you’ve told me that you liked me... but I just want to know that after all this, is that if you really love me.” he saw the way her throat bobbled as she swallowed, hesitation swirling in those eyes of hers again. 

“I... I-I--” her face dropped when he let out a sigh and turned away from her. 

“That’s what I thought.” she watched in dismay when he walked away to leave her on her own, knowing that she wouldn’t follow after him. Her hands pressed against the glass, her palms pushing against the one thing that kept her away from him and slumped against it when he disappeared from her view. 

“... Shmebulock.” her face hardened at the unwanted voice, eyes glaring down at the small gnome that was shaking his head disappointedly. Mabel let out a shout of surprise when said gnome flew passed her and into the wall, turning around, she saw Alvah crossing her arms as she wore an irritated look. 

“What would you know?” 

alvah watched them practically tear the mystery shack apart to build mcgucket’s latest project. 

it was a little funny to watch stan try and stop them but he was ignored. 

she gave what little assistance she could by holding things up with her limited power or creating miniature versions of mcgucket’s designs. 

she started laughing when soos made him watch anime and he was seriously taking notes. 

she wasn’t very pleased when mabel instructed the gnomes to guard her body. 

scratch that-- 

they were carrying the sofa she was on and moving it around whenever it was in the way while also guarding the mirror. 

she was never going to live this down. 

“You moping, you big baby?” Stan jumped before relaxing with a huff, looking down to see Alvah’s reflection in a tiny broken shard. Despite the teasing tone he could hear in her voice he saw the look of genuine concern in her eyes, he leaned down and picked up the small shard, and held her in his hand “You upset that nobody is listening to you?” 

“Yeah, because everybody is risking their skin for a guy who doesn’t have an ounce of gratitude. I saved his butt and yet I still didn’t get a thank you out of him. Everyone is treating him like a hero despite him being the reason this even happened in the first place.” she let out a sigh. 

“Unlike Dipper and Mabel, who know that they can always rely on each other even at the worst of times, Ford seems to be unable to recognize that he has someone he can rely on as well.” whether it be him she was referring, he wouldn’t know, but he’ll take what he can get “He fails to see that the “trust no one” stance that he’s believed in for so long is what’s holding him back. Because he doesn’t trust anyone, other than me because he knows that I can’t and will not lie to him, he’s creating an even bigger problem than the one that’s already in his lap.” Stan lets out an exasperated sigh at her words as he throws his head back. 

“See! You get it! Because of his lack in trust, he’s gotten us into this whole mess!” she hummed softly. 

“Sure, but you are the same.” 

“What?” 

“Stanley, your stubbornness has gotten not only you but those kids in a lot of trouble. Your unwillingness to accept their help has done you more harm than good, and even now, your constant rejection will be your undoing.” she rolled her eyes when he glared at her. 

“Oh, yeah? Well, what about you, little Miss Perfect? You’ve got all this power and haven’t done anything to keep us out of danger! Those kids have been in so much danger that could have been prevented if you had done your job and protected them! Even now, you’re doing nothing but watching us all put our lives in danger.” 

“I am an observer, Stanley. It is my job to observe dimensions, not interfere.” he let out a scoff and tossed the shard on the ground and away from him “You may not trust me anymore, but I’ll tell you this. I have been alive for over trillions of years, I have seen countless universes, dimensions, and timelines be destroyed, and not once have I felt the feeling I have now. Now that I have nothing stopping me from interfering directly, I’m going to make sure that one-eyed defect understands why he shouldn’t claim he’s a god.” he couldn’t stop the shiver that ran down his spine at the venom laced in her voice, he always did forget that the person he was conversing with was a demon herself. 

“Grunkle Stan!” he lifted his head up to see Dipper and Mabel coming to check on him, he looks back down at the shard and saw nothing but his reflection. 

‘I’m almost nervous about tomorrow now. I can only imagine what she’s going to do.’ he thought as he looked out towards the rift, what the hell does she mean she’s going to handle the rest? 

... 

... 

“You know, if it weren’t for the fact that I’ve seen the future, I would not be the least bit intimidated by this thing.” she let out an offended gasp when McGucket kicked at her ankle, in retaliation she smacked his hat off his head, they continue to banter until Soos had to carry McGucket away when he was threatening to shoot the mirror, she merely stuck her tongue out at him “I’m being honest, the only thing keeping you lot alive is the unicorn barrier.” she jumped when Mabel slapped a sticker onto the mirror that read "I can and I will" on it. 

"Don't be such a wet blanket, Alvah! We worked really hard on this." she huffed softly. 

"Just saying." she must say, Fiddleford never ceased to impress her. They never would have made it this far if it weren’t for him, maybe if he never took up Ford’s offer on that fateful day, he would have become something so much more than the town’s looney. The Shacktron, dubbed by Soos himself, composed that of the Mystery Shack as the main body with the shack’s totem pole attached, while its waist area houses the remains of the portal. On its back, the head and neck of the Gobblewonker robot rises, acting as its tail. Its left arm contains preserved tyrannosaurus rex with its free head as a hand, and its right arm contains a three fingers clasper with Manly Dan’s logging truck as a forearm. 

“Alvah!” she raised a brow when Dipper called her name “Where is Bill right now?” she looked out through the window and peered through the Fearamid to see Bill torturing Ford, they watch her point at a specific spot on the Fearamid. 

“If you punch through that wall right there, you’ll find him exactly where you want him.” they nod their heads and reel back the left arm of the Shacktron and punch it straight through where she instructed, she snickers before bursting out into a fit of laughter at the sight of Bill’s shocked face. 

“What?! I just fixed that door!” they pull the dinosaur head back and Bill, alongside Ford and his Henchmaniacs, are greeted to the sight that was the Shacktron. 

“It’s the Shacktron, dude!” Soos called out from outside as he held a flag that said “take back the falls” with Larry King’s head on top of it. 

“They made the house into a robot. Fascinating!” she hardened her gaze onto Bill as he sent out his Henchmaniacs, who grew into a size that matched that of the Shacktron. 

“This was a bad idea.” Stan said as he stood in the back. 

“Have some faith, Stanley.” 

“If it weren’t for you knowing the future, I would have abandoned ship a long time ago.” she chuckled softly at him. 

“No you wouldn’t have.” he huffed at her, they all look at to Soos who now held a megaphone. 

“Uh, hey, dudes. Is this thing on? Test?” they all wince when the feedback screeches “Heh, uh, I just wanted you monster dudes to hand over Ford or we’ll have to, like, fight and junk. Heh, hey, you’re a little cutie.” Alvah stifled a laugh at Soos’ comment to Paci-Fire, the fact he even said that was hilarious. 

“I have butchered millions on countless moons.” Soos recoils at the sound of his voice. 

“Whoa. I liked you better before you talked. Real... real bringdown, this guy.” 

“Attack!” Pyronica shouts and the Henchmaniacs start charging towards the Shacktron, Soos panics and is quick to retreat back into the shack. 

“Alright, dudes!” Dipper nods his head. 

“Everyone! Like we planned! Three, two, one. Go!” Candy and Grenda, who were operating the arms, punch Paci-Fire and Kryptos away while Waddles pulls down a lever, which causes the Shacktron to shoot the Henchmaniacs away. 

“Hahaha! Good pig.” Mabel praised, to which he let out a squeal. A flock of eyebats start surrounding the shack and McGucket was quick to react, operating the Gobblewonker head on the top of the Shacktron, grabbing an eyebat in its mouth. 

“Get em, Gobblewonker!” Rumble and Wendy were also out on top of the shack and attacking the bats. 

“Hya! Hya!” Wendy spots an eyebat trying to fly away but she jumped off the roof and caught it in her fall. 

“Oh, no, you don’t!” she pulls at its wings and redirects its eye to shoot at 8 Balls head, evidently turning him to stone, she then quickly jumps back onto the shack before it could fly away. Alvah was at awe at their teamwork, making quick work of the Henchmaniacs despite them being nothing but powerless mortals, perhaps Bill and his lackies could learn from them. She looks through the window again and notices Kanthar charging towards them but before he could ram the shack back she snapped her fingers and the Shacktron disappeared before reappearing behind Kanthar, the others were a little disoriented and looked at her in surprise. 

“I'm not all that powerless while I’m in this state. Now take him down!” 

“Right! Everybody! Maximum power!” Mabel shouts and Sev’ral Times starts running on a treadmill to power up the shack. 

“And... now!" Dipper turns a wheel and the Shacktron grabs at Zanthar and throws him away, Alvah starts laughing again when Teeth ran by screaming as his body was on fire. She gasped softly when Stan fell back into the mirror, she peeked over his shoulder and looked at his face. 

“When are you going to take care of it?!” 

“I told you. I need Bill under the rift for it to work, not his Henchmaniacs. Trust me, I can keep him distracted for as long as you need him if you can get him under it. Taunt him, ridicule him! Just get him out of the Fearamid!” he turns back to shout at her but paused when she disappeared back into the mirror and he was met with his reflection once more, he couldn’t help but grow nervous now with their greatest asset had left. Though Stan seemed to be the only one out of loop, as everyone wasn’t the least bit bothered with her presence disappearing just as Bill floated out of the Fearamid. 

“Let’s get this over with.” as Bill floats towards the Shacktron, he raises his fist as it grows in size and slams it down onto them. However, when he raises his fist up he saw that the shack was perfectly fine “What the? No! No! No! No! No!” he grows multiple arms out of his body and strikes at the shack once more but growls when there was no damage inflicted. 

“Hey, Bill!” he glared at Dipper through the window when he saw that confident look on his face, the boy then points past him and up towards the rift above them “I’d watch my head if I were you!” 

“Watch my head?” he was startled when the Shacktron was pulled back by an invisible force but then he noticed a shadow cast over him, before he could react he was suddenly crushed by a giant fist that continued to rain blows on him that got harder with each strike. The group within the Mystery Shack watched as a giant arm forced its way through the rift in the sky to punch Bill into the ground with incredible vigour. In reality, it was the real body of Alvah that managed to push only her arm through far enough that she could strike him down. The visual is rather hilarious because in the Nightmare Realm it just looked like she was sticking her arm through a hole, she cursed to herself when he slipped out from under her fist and floated a distance away “You have got to be kidding me! I thought I cut off all your access to this dimension!” the children’s eyes were quickly shielded when she showed Bill a not so friendly gesture, hundreds of eyes then opened all over her forearm that darted around in search for them until settling on the Shacktron. If it weren’t for the fact, when Stan was sulking away from the group, that she had told them how exactly she was going to help them they would have panicked at the giant arm that slowly reached out towards them. Soos, who was instructed by Alvah, stood outside the shack with her vessel in his arms as her giant hand hovered a few inches from him. 

“Wow, dude, you’re a very big monster.” her hand extended out to him and her finger gingerly caressed his cheek, he giggled softly at the affection “Hehe, thanks.” he let out an oh when she turned her hand and opened her palm out to him, he understood and placed her vessel within her palm and her hand gently closed around her body before finally pulling back. They all watch as her thumb gently caressed at her vessel’s cheek like she was handling a porcelain doll, what they didn’t expect was for her hand to enclose around her body and crushed it. 

“Wha-- What is she doing?” a few of them questioned then gasped when she opened her hand and let her body drop before retreating back into the rift. 

“That was a cheap move, Harbinger of Chaos!” the humans and even the Henchmaniacs shudder at the sound of deep and ominous chuckle that echoed in their heads, a shadow casted over the Shacktron and they were met with what they believed was the true body of the Harbinger of Chaos. Their body was made of swirling, smoky tendrils, with countless red and white eyes embedded throughout their body, giving it an unsettling and chaotic appearance. The eyes vary in size and are placed randomly across their limbs, creating a sense of horror and unease. 

“Says the guy who had to kick me out of my vessel in order to have more of an advantage on these poor mortal beings, Billy~” he slowly started turning red at the nickname, he grew even more frustrated when they turned their back to him to look back at the Shacktron “Leave him and his lackies to me, I'll make sure they don't get in your way."

...

...

"You Pines brothers are freaks." McGucket spoke through the silence that caught many off guard, those who understood look towards Stan, who was currently gawking at what Alvah truly looked like “That ain't even the full scale of what that monster is, and they’re in a sort of state where they ain’t messing with y’all’s noggins like they did mine.” 

“Indeed. You always were the smart one between you and Ford.” they turn back towards Bill and make sure they stood protectively in front of the Shacktron when the Henchmaniacs formed a line behind Bill “Ah, doesn’t this remind you of something Billy? Where we fought over sweet little Fordsy after your little temper tantrum! Hah, it was so funny seeing you have a meltdown like you did before.” they laugh when he stamps his foot. 

“And you’re doing it again! You’re choosing mortal beings over your duty! You’re stepping in when you aren’t supposed too! You’re interfering with this timeline when you weren’t even supposed to exist! I just don’t understand why you chose to intervene when you’ve watched millions die and cry out for salvation!” his hands ball into fists as he glared at them “I just don’t understand what makes Sixer and these humans so different that it broke you!” they let out a laugh. 

“That answer is quite simple, actually.” each and every one of their eyes stare smugly at him “I just simply don’t like you. Besides, watching you act like this is all the more fun.”  

“Get them!” Bill looked back at his Henchmaniacs and saw the way they hesitated to charge forward “What are you waiting for?! It’s just one being!” 

“You seem to forget, Billy.” they coo softly, he Shacktron took a step back as the humans sweat a little when Alvah spread open their wings and slowly lifted themself off the ground “The Nightmare Realm was mine to watch over before you showed up. And don’t think just because you took over it was because I was intimidated by you, I just didn’t want the responsibility. I am a lazy being, and this is the most work I have ever done since I first opened my eyes.” they laughed at Bill’s frustration. 

“Get them!” swallowing down their initial nervousness, the Henchmaniacs begin to charge forward but a blur that was Alvah flew past them and grabbed Bill, slamming him down and dragging him across the rubble that was once Gravity Falls. The Henchmaniacs deem Alvah more of a threat than the Shacktron so they are quick to abandon them to aid Bill, now that their attention was on Alvah and away from them it was their chance to get into the Fearamid and save Ford. Alvah was currently beating Bill into the ground and evading any attacks by himself and his Henchmaniacs thanks to the millions of eyes that covered their body, taking them on was next to nothing. Compared to Bill, who relied heavily on his magic and mental attacks, and though they were a lazy combatant, they were very much a heavy hitter. Bill manages to blast Alvah off of him but they caught themself in the air and recovered quickly, he was quick to move because they nose dive towards him and leave a crater in his wake “Don’t just stand there and watch, surround them!” 

“But boss, they’re scary!” he was quick to glare at Keyhole for making such a comment. 

“I’ll show you something even scarier if you don’t do anything useful!” Alvah looks back towards the Shacktron and let out a breath of relief when they saw the group responsible for rescuing Ford advance into the Fearamid, now it was their job to keep Bill distracted for as long as they could hold him.  

as promised, alvah held off bill and his henchmaniacs as best as they could. 

sometimes they would leave the henchmaniacs to the shacktron since they proved they were more than capable of standing on their own. 

bill would sometimes get too close to leaving and heading back to the fearamid but they would pull him right back and make sure he never left their sight. 

they went so far as to ripping his eye right out of his socket, knowing that it would take him some time to regenerate it. 

both themself and bill knew that the body they had constructed was on limited time and they didn’t know how long they had before it started falling apart. 

but they were going to do whatever they could to keep bill from winning. 

“The one time you decide to interfere with my business it is to stand against me. You were there alongside Frills when my dimension went up in flames. I saw the way those eyes of yours held nothing but indifference, that you have seen and heard countless others lose their lives like that of a boring soap opera. And I also know that the various versions of you, the alternative realities where the Pines Family lost, and you did as you were told! You sat back and watched, but why in this the reality where you’re deciding to do something different?!” Alvah stared boredly at Bill as he started ranting again “Why couldn’t you have done something on that fateful day?! Why couldn’t you interfere like you’ve done now?!” they simply roll their eyes. 

“You’re still holding onto that grudge, Bill? Sheesh, Time Baby and I told Axolotl that we shouldn’t have kept you around. You may be a being like us now, but you were still just a simple mortal that was fortunate enough to be born with a powerful defect. A freak amongst his peers that saw beyond the second dimension, and due to the fact you wanted to prove that what you were seeing wasn’t your imagination, you took matters into your own pitiful little hands and ended up destroying them in the process. That is not my fault, I may have implanted the idea in that empty head of yours but I didn’t tell you to do it.” they let out a snort “Your unwillingness to take responsibility of your actions is what has led you done this path of destruction. I guess you’re the new big overgrown baby now that the Time Baby is gone. Gonna cry about it?” 

“Alvah!” it was their mistake to take their eyes off of Bill, that millisecond they broke their concentration at the cry for help coming from Candy and Grenda, Mabel’s friends— her children. Bill took it to his advantage and blasted a hole through their chest, knocking them back and giving him the chance to finally return to the Fearamid. They push themself up and stare down at the hole that would have sealed up by now but a look of dread takes over when they noticed that it was regenerating, they’ve already spent too much time and their power was beginning to fade.  

But now they were left with two options. 

The Henchmaniacs have come to realize that only the shack itself is protected by the unicorn spell and not the limbs, so they exploited that weakness and began to tear the Shacktron apart. They were hesitating whether to abandon the Shacktron to stop Bill or to abandon Bill to shake the defenseless humans against the Henchmaniacs, oh for the simpler times where they didn’t care. Why did they have to care?  

“Alvah!” they gasped softly when they heard the tiny voice of Candy again, looking over to the fallen Shacktron, she saw little Candy giving her a thumbs up “We will be a-okay! Go save Mabel and the others!” Grenda grinned, though it was a little weak she could see the determined look in her eyes. 

“We got this handled! Go kick that ugly triangle’s butt!” to think it would be those kids that decided for them, and though they hesitated, they turned their back on them and hurriedly flew up towards the Fearamid. They don’t slow down and fly faster until they shoot through the hole in the Fearamid and crash into Bill, sending them both into the wall opposite to where the humans below were. 

“Whoa!” 

“What was that?!” they all jump when a giant weight dropped onto the ground until a shadow loomed over them, and above them was Alvah holding their arms in front of them to protect them from Bill “Alvah! Are you alright?!” Ford’s eyes widened and he looked up at the being that stood above them. 

“Alvah? Is that you?” a weak chuckle rings through his head. 

“It is. Do I look as cool as I described myself?” he couldn’t answer when Alvah tanks another blast shot their way by Bill. 

“You just don’t know when to quit, do you?!” Alvah holds a hand to their face as they raises their head and they all notice that they’re looking a little worse for wear, their wounds weren't regenerating and pieces of their body are beginning to drip off their body “You’re falling apart and you know it, just get out of my way and maybe I won’t erase you when I’m done with this dimension.” they let out a weak laugh as they looked at Bill like he was the dumbest being in all the worlds that existed, their arm dropping to their side and half of their face slowly melting off. 

“I’d rather go to Theraprism then let you have your way with these mortal beings.” they lowered themself down towards Stanford and let out a tired breath “I apologize for failing you, Stanford. I couldn’t keep your family safe, I couldn’t keep them out of danger.” 

“I-It’s okay, Alvah.” they shook their head. 

“It’s not. If it weren’t for the fact that the Time Baby is dead, I wouldn’t be here right now. Bill did us both a favor by erasing him from existence and allowing me to make this right.” they then reach down to gently caress Ford’s cheek in an effort to apologize “Let me try and make this right, old friend.” he blinked up at them when he heard the sound of genuine remorse through their thoughts, when they pulled their hand back he nodded softly. 

“Alright.” Stan perked up gently when he saw them briefly turn their head in his direction but before they could say anything Bill just clapped his hands. 

“Blah, blah, blah. Enough with the sentimental moments, lets rumble!” the humans beneath them cover their heads when Alvah lunged over them and tackled Bill to the ground, and while the two of them were fighting once more, everyone looked towards Stan who stubbornly refused to take Ford’s hand and step into Bill’s Zodiac. 

“Come on, Stanley! Alvah has Bill distracted and where we need him, you’re the only one left.” Stan scoffed, crossing his arms as he rolled his eyes. 

“You realize this is a bunch of hogwash, right? You really think some caveman graffiti is gonna stop that monster?” a rally of groans come from the others. 

“Dang it, old man! Now’s not the time!” Gideon shouts. 

“Come on!” 

“What are you doing? You’re gonna ruin this!”  

“I’ve never held hands this long and I am very uncomfortable.” he raised his hands to defend himself from the onslaught of shouting coming from them. 

“Whoa. Hey, I’m not the enemy here, people. Don’t forget who literally created the end of the world.” Ford let out a sigh. 

“I’m sorry, Stanley. I know. Just help me fix it, please.” Stan stared at him. 

“Fine. Just do one thing. Say thank you.” Ford was taken aback by the request. 

“What?” 

“I spent thirty years trying to bring you back into this dimension and you still haven’t thanked me! You want me to shake your hand? Say thank you.” Ford, almost as stubborn as Stan, looked like he was going to refuse but a loud thud caught his attention. He looked up and flinched when he saw Bill had Alvah pinned down but their head was turned in their direction and all of their eyes were glaring at him. 

“Just say thank you, Ford! It ain’t that hard!” they kick Bill off of them then punch him back, Bill is shooting energy blasts and them as they crawl along the walls like a spider before jumping forward and kicking Bill in the eye. 

“Fine. Thank you.” Stan let out a huff and finally took his and Soos’ hand, completing the circuit and glowing alongside them. 

“Now, see. Between me and him, I’m not always the bad twin.” 

“Between him and me.” the silence is almost deafening as Dipper and Wendy share a look of shock “Grammar, Stanley.” Stan looks like he was trying to hold it in, trying not to ruin it all because of one stupid little comment, but it just gets to him that he lets go of Soos’ hand and strikes Ford across the face. 

“I’ll grammar Stanley you! You stuck up son of a gun! I mean, come on!” Ford is quick to recover and punch Stan. 

“Don’t jeopardize this, you idiot! Everything’s on the line!” Dipper and Mabel leave their spots to pull Stan and Ford back, pleading with them to stop fighting and to just hold hands. A scream ringing through their heads makes them jump in fight and they look over to see Bill had pinned Alvah to the wall this time after punching a fist through their chest and ripping out their vessel. 

“Let go of me, you geometrical freak!” she shouts as she punches at his fist with what little strength she had left, the body she constructed falling apart into nothing but a puddle of flesh and goo, she’s thrashing in his hold before turning her attention towards Stan and Ford with an angered expression “Are you two serious?! Grammar Stanley. What the hell is wrong with you, Stanford?! You just couldn’t shut your mouth for just one second?! And Stanley! As frustrating as that is why couldn’t you just had held it in long enough to take Bill down?!” she lets out a groan, holding her head in her hands as her body starts to malfunction and struggle to maintain a form. 

“You’ve always acted all high and mighty in that big body of yours, so how does it feel to finally be the small one?” her hand digs into his as she glared up at him. 

“How does it feel that despite how big you are you’ve still got the mentality of a baby?” she stuck her tongue out at him with a hmph only to let out of grunt when he started crushing her within his fist “See? Throwing a temper tantrum. You should be put on time out.” 

“Will you shut up?!” she rolled her eyes, he then finally turns his back down towards the panicking humans “This is just too perfect! Didn’t you brainiacs know the zodiac doesn’t work if you don’t all hold hands? And what’s better, you’ve brought every threat to my power together in one easy to destroy circle!” he snaps his fingers and burns the circle to a crisp. 

“Oh, no!” Pacifica lets out a shriek when her hair was caught on fire. 

“Ah! My hair!” Robbie, too, lets out a shout when his hair was on fire. 

“Ah! My hair also!” Bill snaps his fingers again and restrains both Stan and Ford. 

“You guys wanna see what happens to your friends when you can’t get along?” 

“Hey! You give them back!” McGucket hollers. 

“You’ve gone too far, Cipher!” 

“Yeah! We’re not scared of you!” Wendy shouts as she pulls out her axe, McGucket doing the same with his banjo, though Bill just laughs at their display of confidence. 

“Oh, but you should be.” with a snap of his fingers, everyone except for Dipper, Mabel, Stan and Ford stiffens in unison and make a brief choking noise. Their eyes glow yellow and roll into the back of their and their mouths hang open as they are lifted into the air, Alvah turned her head away at the fate in store for them “You know, this castle could really use some decorations!” he turned them into tapestries with images of them screaming in front of their symbols then hung them up on the walls “Looks like it’s too late for you friends, Stanford.” Dipper and Mabel let out screams when a cage suddenly encases them. 

“Ah! Kids!” both herself and Stan shout, she then let out a soft gasp when Bill pulled her closed to his eye. 

“And you, you’re at your limit now.” they all look up to where he was holding her and saw the way she couldn’t hold up her form perfectly, now she was a fix of both her male and female forms “Do you have any last words, Alvah?” she looks down at the Pines family and saw the distressed looks on their faces as they stared up at her, and despite all that, she gave them a weak yet reassuring smile. 

“I regret nothing.” she spoke, her voice tinged with her masculine one “Thanks to Stanford and that error in our contract I spent thirty years developing something I never knew I would have wanted. From the empty void within me, I have come to love the Pines family to the point I would have destroyed this timeline to keep them safe. Maybe in an alternate reality I did, or perhaps if I came to terms with my feelings much earlier, then I might have done it.” Bill cringed at her words. 

“Ew, feelings.” she let out a laugh. 

“I know, right? But I wouldn’t change the fact that I love those kids and their great uncles for a second.” she then looked back towards the Pines family one last time “Remember what I told you? There are two endings to this story right now! Figure out how to get to the one where you guys win!” she let out a grunt when his grip on her body tightened, her body beginning to crack and shatter under the pressure. 

“And that’s enough out of you.” he raises his hand to throw her to the ground but he saw the way her head perked up as something came to mind that caused her to start laughing, he was taken aback when she looked at him with a smug expression “What’s so funny?” 

“You... will be defeated by the person you least expect.” her face crumbled and a piece of her true face peeked out from within her broken body “You will soon realize you messed with the wrong family, Bill Cipher.” he didn’t like the way she laughed at him so he finally threw her down onto the ground, their eyes widened when Bill lifted his foot up and intended to finish her off by crushing her under the weight of his foot. 

“Stanley.” he flinched at the sound of her voice, he looked at the others and saw that they didn’t react so he turned over to her and saw her looking at him with a weak smile “Knock his lights out for me.” he closed his eyes as he turned away when Bill brought his foot down on her body. 

“Alvah!” they all cried out and watch as Bill raised his foot and saw he had completely shattered her into millions of pieces, but they could only hope that if they won that she’ll be able to find all her pieces to come back to them. 

thanks to alvah, they knew that there was a possibility that they could win against bill. 

but due to the fact that alvah didn’t know how they won, it was up to them to fill in the blanks to get the ending they want. 

dipper and mabel manage to escape the cage bill trapped them in by mabel spraying paint in bill’s eye. 

stan and ford are temporarily freed from their restraints only to be trapped in the same cage as bill chases after dipper and mabel in his nightmare form, leaving the pines brothers some time to reflect and formulate a plan to take down bill. 

it was only when bill returns that they put their plan into action. 

“Alright, Ford. Time’s up. I’ve got the kids. I think I’m gonna kill one of ‘em now just for the heck of it!” as Bill holds the two up to his eye, his pupil change into their symbol each time he spoke “Eenie... meenie... minee... you!!” he holds his hand up and prepares to end Mabel by snapping his fingers, only for Ford to shout to cut him off. 

“Wait! I surrender.” Bill let out a satisfied huff. 

“Good choice.” he drops the twins and slowly approaches Ford. 

“Don’t do it, Ford! It’ll destroy the universe.” 

“It’s the only way.” Bill lets out an evil laugh. 

“Oh, even when you’re about to die, you Pines twins just can’t get along.” he drops the cage and ties Stan up, leaving Ford standing and unrestraint. 

“My only condition is that you let me brother and the kids go!” Bill narrowed his eye on him but complied. 

“Fine.” Dipper shakes his head. 

“No, Grunkle Ford! Don’t trust him!” Bill just lets out another laugh as he ignored the desperate cries from the children. 

“It’s a deal!” Bill takes Ford’s extended hand and enters the mental realm within his mind, petrifying his physical form as he laughs evilly “Oh, I’m here. I’m finally here! Look at this place: a perfect, calm, orderly void. Gotta hand it to ya, Ford. You really know how to clear your mi--” Bill cuts himself off after opening the only door within what he believed was Ford’s mind, only instead to find Stan laying comfortably in his chair in the Mystery Shack’s living room as he played with a paddleball. When Stan saw Bill he winked at the dream demon while pointing a  finger gun at him as he clicked his tongue “WHAT?!” 

“Heh heh! Do a pretty good impression of my brother, don’t I? Switch clothes and no one can tell us apart. Welcome to my mind. Surprised you didn’t recognize it.” 

“WHAT?! The deals off!” the door behind Bill slams shut and starts to burn with a blue flame “What the—no, no, no, no!” 

“Oh, yeah. You’re going down, Bill. You’re getting’ erased.” Stan spoke as he pointed at his head “Memory gun. Pretty clever, huh?” Bill looks up at Stan with a panicked expression. 

“Y-You idiot! Don’t you realize you’re destroying your own mind too?!” he gave a shrug. 

“Eh. It’s not like I was using this space for much anyway.” 

“LET ME OUTTA HERE! LET ME OUT!” Bill attempts to use his powers, only to realize too late that they are now being negated thanks to the memory gun’s influence “Gah! Why isn’t this working?!” Bill’s own mind began to race as he tried desperately to take control of the situation only to remember the words Alvah last spoke to him. 

“You... will be defeated by the person you least expect.” at the time he didn’t want to believe it, he didn’t want to believe that he would be defeated but he never would have thought that he would be defeated by the hands that was Stanley Pines. The lesser twin that was an eyesore, the one that was cast away and forgotten like a toy at the bottom of a toy chest. He didn’t want to admit that because he didn’t heed her warning that he would meet his fate at the hands of the one favored by chaos. 

“Hey, look at me. Turn around and look at me, you one eyed demon!” Bill turns around and shrunk back when he saw the way Stan was glaring down at him “You’re a real wise guy, but you made one fatal mistake—you messed with my family.” Bill shakes his head as he tried everything he could to reason with Stan. 

“You’re making a mistake! I’ll give you anything! Money! Fame! Riches! Infinite power, your own galaxy! PLEASE!” Bill looks down at his hands and similar to Alvah, his body began to lose control of his body and started to succumb to the memory gun’s influence “NO! What’s happening to me?! !Nruter yam I taht rewop tneicna eht ekovni I !nrub ot emoc sah emit ym, L-T-O-L-O-X-A.” his body went through my different forms as he spoke in reverse but when he finally managed to maintain the blackened version of his normal form, he reached a hand out to the human that brought him to his demise “STAAANNLLEEEEY!!” he pulls his fist back and punched Bill in the eye and shattered his body, Stan pants softly as he listened to Bill’s scream fade into the back of what was left of his mind before turning to pick up a picture of him with Dipper, Mabel and Waddles. 

“Heh. Guess I was good for something after all.” before he felt the flames engulf him he felt something in his pocket, he pulls it out and saw that it was the same picture he pocketed off of Mabel but it was different. Before he couldn’t see it but now he had a clear picture of Alvah smiling at him in the photo, and there he almost wished his mind wouldn’t be erased because he was going to miss the feeling that was falling in love with the one person who had loved him for him, even if she never was able to tell him.  

Outside of Stan’s mind, those who were turned into the tapestries were freed and dropped to the floor. Outside the Fearamid, the rift sucks all of the Henchmaniacs and demons released into Gravity Falls, returning them to the Nightmare Realm from whence they came. The Fearamid is deconstructed and pulled into the rift, once gone, a wave washed over the town, resorting it to its pre-weirdmageddon state. Elsewhere, the forest is shown with a bird landing on Bill’s physical form, now permanently petrified and covered in moss and vegetation. Stan is found in a different part of the forest sitting motionless on his knees, it isn’t until Ford, Dipper and Mabel find him that he opens his eyes. 

“Oh, my gosh! Grunkle Stan, you did it!” Mabel cheers as she runs up to him and placed his fez on his head, a little lopsided but on nonetheless. 

“Oh, uh, hey there... kiddo. What’s your name?” he asked rather confused, hands on her shoulders to push her back. 

“Eheh, Grunkle Stan?” he lets out a weak laugh as he looked around. 

“Who are you talkin’ to?” 

“C-Come on. It’s me. It’s me, Grunkle Stan!” Dipper had to pull Mabel back when she started growing desperate due to Stan’s inability to remember who was in front of him “Grunkle Stan, it’s me!” Ford placed a hand on Mabel’s shoulder when Dipper pulled her back to where he stood. 

“We had to erase his mind to defeat Bill. It’s all gone. Stan has no idea, but he did it. He saved the world. He saved me.” when he approached Stan, his brother continued to look around in confusion before looking up at him with a lost look in his eyes “You’re our hero, Stanley.” he spoke as he fell to his knees before throwing his arms around Stan’s shoulders, pulling him into a much needed hug and cried softly in his shoulder. Mabel collapses to her knees and cries into her hands, Dipper puts his hand on her shoulder and cries as well. In an effort to try and restore his memories, Stan is being led by Dipper towards what was left of the Mystery Shack with Mabel, Ford and now Soos following closely behind. They walk up to the door and Dipper attempts to open the door but has to throw himself against the door to break it down, he pulls himself back up and leads Stan into the living room that was as in an even worse state then when they had to fight zombies, but it didn’t seem to bother Stan at all. 

“Hey, this is a real nice place you got here.” 

“It’s your place, Grunkle Stan.” 

“Don’t you remember? Not even a little?” he shakes his head as he takes a seat in the recliner. 

“Nope. But this chair hugs my butt like it remembers. Ah.” he relaxes into the seat then looks back at the others standing before him, who are looking back at him sadly “Hey, why the long faces? You guys look like it’s someone’s funeral. Who’s that big guy crying in the corner?” Soos lets out a sob and turns away. 

“We saved the world, but what’s the point? Grunkle Stan’s not himself anymore.” 

“There’s gotta be something we can do to jog his memory.” Mabel says as she looks around for anything that could help but Ford shakes his head. 

“There isn’t. I’m sorry. Stan’s gone.” 

“I know my Grunkle is in there somewhere. There’s gotta be something around here that can help bring him back.” she then finally notices her scrapbook laying on the ground so she quickly grabs it and rushes over to Stan’s side, throwing the book into his lap and opening it “This’ll work! This has to work! Here’s the first day we came to Gravity Falls, Grunkle Stan. And here’s a macaroni interpretation of my emotions!” she then flips the page and Dipper points at the one where they went fishing. 

“That time we went fishing? That Summerween we spent together? Don’t you remember anything?” Stan gives an apologetic shake of his head. 

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what this is or who you are or--” he let out a startled shout when Waddles jumped into his lap “Gah! Quit it, Waddles! I’m trying to remember my life story!” this comment caused them all to look up at him in surprise. 

“What did you say?” he lets out a grunt and stood to his feet and attempts to get Waddles off of him as the little pig licks at his face. 

“I said get Waddles off of me.” Ford gasps. 

“It’s working! Keep reading.” 

“Skip to my page! He needs to remember our boss-employee relationship.” Stan scoffed as he sat back down in his recliner. 

“Hey, just cause I have amnesia, don’t go tryin’ to give yourself a raise, Soos.” 

“It’s happening! Keep going!” Mabel nods and flips through a few more pages. 

“Okay, okay. Day two. Grunkle Stan smells weird but we’re starting to bond. He told us a lot about being a business man in the ‘80’s and seemed happy when we pretended to listen. He also gave me a grappling hook which everyone is impressed by. And in more important news, I met some neighborhood hotties.” this comment caused them all to laugh as they continued to go through the entire scrapbook, but as they reached the end Dipper slowly came to a realization. 

“But what about Alvah?” this caused them all to stiffen, he and Mabel share a look of concern as Stan looked between them in confusion “We don’t have any photos of her.” 

“And the ones we do have don’t show her face. We can’t jog his memory like this.” she then let out a soft gasp as she looked up at Ford “We can use your thingamajig from before! We saw her memories, so if we strap ourselves to it we might be able to...” Ford gave her a guilty look. 

“Unfortunately, my dear, that device was destroyed after a certain... incident.” Dipper, too, looks guilty. 

“But he can’t forget her! She made him so happy! They fell in love and made each other happy! We barely know anything that’s happened between them from the thirty years they spent together or even throughout the summer. This can’t be the end of their relationship when it had only just begun!” Stan watched them talk as he tried to picture a face to the name Alvah, he tried to think of anything that came to mind when he thought of her. 

“Alvah...” he spoke softly under his breath and tried to remember how he felt about this person that was nothing but a faceless image in his head. 

“I’M HERE!!” they all jump at the loud screaming followed by a crash, looking up in surprise and shock, Alvah came sliding through the front door and crashed into the wall. She pulled herself out and they looked closely at her appearance, since Bill had destroyed her body, it took her so long to piece herself back together and was still missing a couple pieces “I’m here, I’m here! I’m sorry I took so long, but I’m back!” she adds then made a face when her arm fell off, she was quick to reach down and reattach it. 

“Alvah! You’re okay!” Dipper and Mabel exclaim and rush over to her, she opened her arms as she dropped to her knees and let them run into her embrace. She pulls them in close and run her fingers through their hair while nuzzling close to them, her resolve weak for them as they clung to her “We were so worried about you. We were so scared.” 

“But you did it, and I just knew you kids would be able to win in the end. I’m so sorry that you guys had to go through all that, I’m sorry I couldn’t stop it from happening. If only I cared enough to stop it from happening all together.” she said as she pulled back to wipe away their years “How will you ever forgive me?” Mabel sniffled softly. 

“We already forgave you. You stood by us against Bill to the very end.” Dipper nodded his head as he readjusted his hat. 

“You did everything you could just for us, despite so many odds stacked against you. You had so much on the line just by being there, but you did it anyways.” her gaze weakened when they hug her again, squeezing so tight as if she was going to disappear “We couldn’t not forgive you.” she let out a breath of relief as she hugged them back. 

“I’m glad.” they pull away to allow her to stand and so she lifts her gaze to the man who stood to his feet at her arrival, Stan took a step back when this beautiful woman beamed at the sight of him and rushed towards him. He let out a whoa when she threw herself at him, letting out a cheer as she wrapped her arms around his neck and so he caught her by the waist and unintentionally twirled her around as she pulled herself close to him “Oh, you old bastard, you did it! I can’t believe you actually did it, Stanley!” she was squeezing him so tight he was sure she was trying to crack his back, Ford had to gently squeeze her shoulder to get her to loosen her grip and when she did her hands slide onto his face where she cradled his face. He stared into those bright green eyes of hers that shun like that of a freshly cut emerald and a smile that was bright enough to put the stars to shame, however, he grabbed her by her wrists and gently pulled them away from his face and he saw the way the light in her eyes dimmed “S-Stanley?” he let out a nervous chuckle as he took a step back and pulled away. 

“Sorry, even if my memory is slowly coming back to me, I think I’d remember if I knew a gorgeous babe like yourself.” they all saw the way her face twitched as Stan spoke, her smile slowly dropping the longer he spoke “I appreciate the gesture, but take a guy out to dinner before throwing yourself at me.” her arms dropped to her side as she stared at him. 

“W-What? What are you saying, Stan? Don’t you know who I am?” Ford takes a step forward and gently grabs her by her bicep. 

“We had to erase his mind to defeat Bill.” her eyes widened at Ford’s words “Mabel has figured out a way to jog his memory of us, and it’s working slowly but... we don’t know if the same could be said about his memory of you.” Mabel then jumped in and grabbed her hand, tugging on it gently as she spoke. 

“But we will stop at nothing to get him to remember you! The special connection you two had is too good to be erased!” Stan briefly looked away from her when Dipper took his hand and gave it a squeeze. 

“You two never spoke about what kind of relationship you had, but we could all tell that it was something deep and meaningful. We didn’t need to be told to know that you two were in love.” this caused them all to look back at Alvah but were taken aback when they saw that she was crying, she was crying as she stared at Stan with a lost look in her eyes “A-Alvah?” she slowly looked down to see tears dripping down her face, her lips trembling at the realization that she had lost something she never knew she wanted. 

“This... this isn’t fair. You can’t forget about me, Stanley. Y-You can’t possibly forget what we had. I’ve only come to accept these feelings and now you don’t even understand what that means for me!” she spoke weakly as her hands fly to her chest where she’s grasping tightly at her blouse “I can’t even help you remember me! There are no photos of us together, I can’t even force you to remember because it’ll only damage your mind even further! I can’t do anything to salvage what we had!” she couldn’t describe how much it hurt for him to stare at her like she was just some stranger, because to him, she was just a stranger. 

“H-Hey, I’m sorry, I really am... but I’m real flattered that something like you liked a guy like me.” he said softly as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, she whipped her head up and shook it side to side. 

“Liked? That isn’t even the word I’d use to describe what I feel for you. I am a being unable to feel anything! I shouldn’t even feel this aching pain in my chest, the feeling of a broken heart. You made me feel things that had me questioning my entire existence. The way you looked at me had me feeling special, I want to be the reason you smile and the cause for your laughter. I want you to know that I chose you when nobody else did, I want you to know that I want all of your love and nothing else!” she looked down at her hands and felt a wave of anguish take over her, her hands then dig into her scalp “I couldn’t even tell you in the end, I couldn’t even say it to your face when you asked me. I couldn’t even tell you that I loved you.” his eyes widened in disbelief. 

“Y-You what?” her palms dig into her forehead as she shakes her head. 

“I fell in love with you and it took a damn twelve year old girl to get me to realize it! I couldn’t even tell you when you asked and it hurt so much when you looked at me as if I never did! And now it doesn’t matter anymore! I don’t even know why you loved me after everything I did, and I don’t even know if you forgive me for allowing all this to happen! Do you hate me, Stanley? Are you angry with me?” she finally falls to her knees, her hands clutched to her chest as she pressed her head into the floorboards at his feet “I love you my dear, and I loved our time here. I beg you not forget me, as selfish as it sounds, I just want you to love me like you did this summer.” Stan looked down at the woman who was crying at his feet and he didn’t know how to feel, this beautiful woman had just spilt her heart out to him and begged for him to remember her. So he tries, he closes his eyes and thinks about her name and waits to see what his mind would conjure up. His mind seemed to be struggling but thinking about her seemed to make him feel happy, a feeling blossomed in his chest as if his heart seemed to remember her. Slowly, ever so slowly, the figure in his head began to take shape during his happiest moments. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” the woman spoke with a tease in her tone, they seemed to be outside the Mystery Shack with the sun shining down on her perfectly that it seemed to make her glow. 

“Well, how am I looking at you?” she giggled. 

“As if I hung the stars.” he hummed softly as his hand reached for her, she doesn’t move and allows his hand to brush her luscious blonde hair over her shoulder and gently cups her cheek, to which she leans into his touch “You’re a very adorable human, Stan.” he huffed at her words. 

“Adorable? That’s how I’d describe you.” she laughs softly and places her hand on top of his. 

“Well, I can be whatever you want me to be, I am made for you.” his thumb gingerly rubs against her cheek as he thought over her words carefully, he then gave a little shrug as he spoke. 

“I just want you to be mine.” this had stunned her into silence as she stared at him, he burst out into laughter when she covered her face with her hand and pushed him away when she turned bright red at his words. 

“That was real smooth.” he throws his head back with a laugh when he grabbed her other hand and pulled her back, kissing the back of her hand and slowly up her arm where he ended with his lips pressing against her cheek “Stop it, Stanley. You know I’m ticklish.” he’s now nuzzling his cheek against hers, the feeling of love slowly overwhelming his mind as he shared this tender moment with this beautiful woman who had chosen him over the millions of others that existed in this rather small reality. 

“How’d I ever get so lucky?” she smiled softly and turned to look back at him. 

“I could say the same thing.” her hand caresses his cheek before pulling him in the share a kiss “I adore you, Stan.” he smiled. 

“That means a lot to me, Alvah.” 

He blinked softly when the figure in front of him revealed to him was the same woman who brought him endless joy, the same woman who had been with him at the lowest moments on his journey to fix his mistake that took thirty years in the making. The same woman who knew who he was but stayed by his side through thick and thin, who comforted him when everybody else wouldn’t even bat him an eye. A woman who reminded him of the sandy beach of New Jersey when the sun was at its peak and made the sand shine like gold, or like that of a forest when the day was just right. This was a woman that made him feel like he won the lottery and the prize wasn’t even money, but something even more valuable that he wished he had when he was a kid. 

Love and affection. 

Joy and attention.  

Slowly he started to remember the moments they shared together throughout the summer. From their day out on the lake to the laughter they shared at Dipper’s expense, to the time they fought zombies and the moment she sang to him as they danced. They never really labeled what their relationship was, but now he knew that what they had was a genuine connection; that they two were in love with each other and he didn’t want to forget that. She was still crying at his feet when he knelt down in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder while trying to get her to look up at him. She seemed to have lost all her strength because he easily lifted her head up and it laid weakly within his hands, a whimper left her lips when his thumbs started wiping away her tears and continued to do so when more would replace them. 

“Alvah.” he spoke softly, her eyes shimmered with tears and gave them a glossy effect “Come on, toots, there isn’t a need for you to cry for me.” her eyes widened softly after hearing him call her that, a feeling of hope washing away the anguish in her chest. 

“What?” he smirked at her. 

“If all it took was forgetting to get you to profess your love for me, I should have faked dementia a long time ago.” a gasped left her lips when she saw the look of love in his eyes, the same look he would give her when it was just the two of them together “I may not remember everything, but how could I forget that it was you that made me feel like the luckiest guy in the world?” 

“Stan!” she practically tackled him into the ground and clung to him so tight, burying herself into his shoulder and crying softly when this time he wrapped his arms around her and held her close “You didn’t forget me, right? You remember me now, right? Please tell me that you remember me.” he turns his face into her hair as his hands rubs up and down her back to comfort her.  

“It's not all there yet, but yeah, I remember you sweetheart.” she let out a sigh of relief and practically melted in his arms, he let out an oh when she pushed herself up so that she was hovering over him before leaning down to capture his lips. He sighed into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her to pull her close, before anything else could happen they heard a cough, they were still practically kissing when they looked over and saw Ford covering Dipper and Mabel’s eyes while Soos was trying his hardest to fight down a smile.  

“As heartwarming as this is, please remember that there are children present.” she pushed herself back but continued to lay on top of Stan. 

“Sorry.”  

“Not sorry.” she stared at Stan but laughed nonetheless, his chest rumbling as he laughed. Mabel lets out a squeal and quickly rushes over to where the two of them laid and jumped on top of them, soon followed by Dipper and unfortunately Soos, who had practically bellyflopped onto them. Ford chuckled as he stood above them but beamed down at them when, despite the discomfort then added weight gave them, they welcomed the children with laughter and bright faces. 

“Stanley.” he flinched when he heard her voice in his head, he doesn’t look when he felt her hand slide down his arm and intertwine their fingers together “I love you.” he hummed softly and gave her hand a squeeze. 

‘Love you too, doll face.’ she giggles softly and turned her face into his neck.

...

...

“Good morning, Gravity Falls. It’s another beautiful day, but every day is beautiful now that the... unpleasantness is over.” a broadcast goes off all throughout Gravity Falls after the end of Weirdmageddon where the townsfolk are recovering after such a disaster “In other news, the Northwest family has gone broke. After pledging his allegiance to Bill and then placing all his savings in weirdness bonds, Preston Northwest had to sell his mansion to preserve his family fortune.” cut to the Northwest couple crying as some workers hang a “for sale” banner on the gate. 

“You’re only going to have one pony now.” a horrified look washed over Pacifica’s face. 

“But fortunes have also turned for local maniac, Fiddleford McGucket, who, after regaining his sanity, has made millions overnight submitting his patents to the US Government.” to which Fiddleford announces that he’ll buy the Northwest mansion now that it was on sale “In other good news, town hero, Stanley Pines, has fully recovered his memory and will be throwing a party to celebrate his niece and nephew’s thirteen birthday and final day in town. But other than that, I can safely say our beloved Gravity Falls is back to normal. And now, Bodacious T, with the news.” we’re now brought to the Mystery Shack all fixed up decorated with balloons and all sorts to celebrate the twin's birthday with everyone from town, including the few fairy tale creatures, in attendance singing them happy birthday. 

“I can’t believe you all got together just to throw a party for us.” Mabel gushed at the crowd of people as she and Dipper stood in front of a cake, behind them were Stan, Ford and Alvah smiling down at their excitement along with Soos and Wendy. 

“After all the Pines family has done for the town, it’s the least we could do. You’ve helped everyone here.” Tyler spoke, this rallied a few cheers from the townsfolk. 

“Thanks to y’all savin’ us, I learned to open my heart to kindness. No more evil doin’. From now on, I’m gonna try to be Li’l Gideon, regular ol’ kid.” Gideon said, though the lingering presence of his prison inmates said otherwise, Soos then peered over the twin’s shoulders and ushered them towards the cake. 

“Dude! Make a wish, dawg.” 

“You know, on my first day here, if you had asked me what I wanted, I would have said “adventure, mystery, true friends”. But looking here at all of you, I realize that every wish came true.” he chuckles to himself “I have everything I wanted.” he let out a whoa when his hat was shoved down and covered his eyes, looking back, he saw that it was Alvah grinning cheekily at him and he couldn’t help but mirror her expression. 

“If I had only one wish it would be to shrink all of you with a shrink ray and bring you home with us in my pocket. But since that’s impossible... is that impossible?” she asked while leaning back towards Ford, he waves his hand up and down with a shrug, looking up at Alvah, she chuckled and did the same thing “Since that’s probably impossible, my only wish is for everyone to sign my scrapbook. I’ll never forget you guys. Wait.” she pulls out the memory gun and sets it on the floor then smashes it to pieces “Now I’ll never forget you guys.” with that she and Dipper blow out the candles, Wendy then pulls them into a hug. 

“I now officially declare you technically teenagers. Welcome to angst and acne forever.” in the crowd, Tambry, Robbie, Lee, Nate and Thompson start chanting “one of us”, this earned laughter from everyone, Blubs and Durland in turn fire off a cannon. 

“So, how do you feel?” Soos asked. 

“Samey, but differenty.” 

“Hey, you two. When are you going to open your presents already?” Pacifica asked as she raised her hand that was covered in tape “I broke a nail wrapping them.” Dipper and Mabel laugh, Alvah watches as the two grab a gift then looked backwards when she noticed Ford taking a step back. Stan claps his hands and goes to approach them but stopped when Alvah placed a hand on his chest, he smiles at her and goes to question what she was doing but stopped when she pushed him back. 

“I think your brother wants to have a word with you.” he looks at her confused and looks to where Ford was, she and Ford share a look until she winks at him and pushes Stan towards him “I think it’s something you’d like to hear, so don’t keep him waiting. I’ll watch the kids.” before he could say anything he let out a squeak when she gave his behind a little smack then skipped away. 

“Alvah!” she only laughs as she rushed away. The children smiled at the sight of Alvah and excitedly show her the gifts they received, however, she glanced back when she noticed Soos linger over to where the Pines’ brothers were talking and overheard a part that made him gasp. It wasn’t long until they came back and Stan gave her a warning glare for her previous action, she only smirked at him and threatened to do it again but stopped when he raised a glass Pitt cola bottle and tapped against it to get everyone’s attention. 

“Everyone, I have an announcement to make. Me and my, heh, nerdy bro over here have some catchin’ up to do. We’re gonna be away for a while. That’s why I’m shutting down the Mystery Shack for good.” this caused the crowd to gasp and murmur amongst each other, that was until Soos rushed towards Stan. 

“You shut down your mouth for good! I’m sorry Mister Pineses. It’s just that this shack is the most magical place on Earth. Sure, the attractions are all fake, but dreams aren’t fake!” he then holds up the Fiji mermaid taxidermy “Like this mermaid. It’s not just a dead fish butt sewn to a monkey carcass. It’s a marvelous creature that make sus believe that anything is possible. You shut down this shack, and you shut down our dreams!” he then takes off his hat “At least... my dreams.” the crowd aws at Soos’ words, Stan sighs to himself.  

“I’m sorry, Soos. It’s just, there’s no one around to run it. At least, there wouldn’t be if I hadn’t just found the perfect replacement.” he then takes his fez off and placed it on top of Soos’ head “Ladies and gentleman, the Mystery Shack is under new management.” the crowd let out cheers that not only the Mystery Shack gets to remain open, but that it was passed onto someone who rightfully deserved it. 

“You... you mean it, Mr. Mystery?” 

“You’re Mr. Mystery now, Soos. Try not to burn the place down.” Alvah placed her hand on Soos’ arm as she appeared beside him. 

“Who else would be able to take up the mantel if not you, Soos? It was bound to be yours if Stan were to give it to anyone, you deserve it.” Soos’ teared up at their words and doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around them, the two look at each other but smiled and hug him back. Thinking back to the time Soos had first met Stan and Alvah it brought a smile to his face so wide that it almost hurt, with the absence of his father he had been craving that approval of a father figure and it was almost fate that he happened to stumble upon a screwdriver that belonged to the Mystery Shack and where he would meet the two people he would call his parental figures. He wasn’t really looking for a maternal figure since he already had his abuelita but Alvah was always hanging around Stan and she had this charm that had drawn him in, so he had grown to crave her love and affection as well as her validation ever since she first ruffled his head. So as he looked up at the two that he held in his arms who smiled happily down at him, he shed a tear as they lovingly embraced him. The party raged on with laughter and endless chatter filling the air, Alvah is conversing with Ford when Tyler shouts for everyone to get together for a group photo. She, out of instinct, starts backing away when everyone got together in front of the Mystery Shack until Stan called out for her. 

“What are you doing, toots? Get over here!” they all looked at her expectantly but she raised her hands, shaking her head side to side. 

“No, no. You know I can’t take photos, Stan. I don’t want to ruin it, just take the photo without me.” Dipper and Mabel look at each other then rush over to her, Dipper has one of her hands while Mabel grabs at her dress and they start tugging her over “Children, please. I’ll be fine sitting this one out.” they shake their head. 

“We’ve got no pictures of you, Alvah. We want one photo of all the people we love together, even if you’re nothing but static.”  

“You’ll do this for us, right?” everyone waiting saw them look up at her with puppy dog eyes, eyes welling up with tears for effect and eventually she did cave “You’ll never say no to us.” she hangs her head as they pull her back over to where Stan and Ford were. 

“Unfortunately, yes.” Stan peers down at Alvah and saw her nervously tugging at her dress, worried that she was going to ruin the photo, she gasped softly when Stan takes her hands into his while wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his chest “Stan, what are you--” 

“Come on doll, enough with the long face.” the hand holding hers moved to tilt her head up towards him “Chin up, and give us that award winning smile.” she stared at him until a giggle slipped past her lips, Ford then placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. 

“If it makes you feel better, I’m not quite that photogenic myself.” she scoffed softly and joking shoved Ford back. 

“You’re a dork, Ford. You have the most unnecessarily serious photos ever. Don’t think Mabel hasn’t shown me.” he coughs into his hand as he turns away, quickly readjusting his glasses when they slipped down his nose. 

“That is quite irrelevant.” she shakes her head, she herself helps readjust Stan’s tie and glasses while he worked on fixing his fez as Toby sets up the camera. He let out an oh when it was lifted out of his hands and glanced over to see Alvah using her power to hold it up, she rolled her eyes when he smiles gratefully at her and rushed over to stand with the rest of the group. 

“Okay everyone, say Gravity Falls!” Mabel cheers. 

“Gravity Falls!” the snap of her fingers has the camera going off and taking their photo, Mabel is already running over to take a look at the polaroid and hurriedly shakes at it to see the results. Dipper is by her side just as she let out a gasp, her eyes widened in shock as she looked at the developed photo, he opens his mouth to question her but she’s already thrusting the photo in his face “Dipper, Dipper! Look!”  

“What is it?” he pushes her arm back so he could see what has her all frazzled until he saw it. There, as clear as day, was Alvah smiling right back at him instead of a disoriented figure composed of static. She had her arm linked with Stan’s while her hand rested against his bicep, a soft blush hued her cheeks as a bright smiled graced her lips, eyes shining as if it were her birthday “Alvah! Alvah! Come look!” she raised a brow at Dipper’s insistence, taking her hands back from Stan’s as the young twins run up to her. 

“What is it? Don’t tell me I blinked.” this earned a couple chuckles from the others, Dipper turns the photo towards her and her eyes widened when she was met with her smiling face, she gently takes the photo from his hands and tears up a little. It was a sort of curse that anything with a lense were capable of capturing her true form and would corrupt the photo, but there she was, smiling as if she wasn’t some sort of monster underneath it all “I can take a guess who’s responsible for this.” she spoke softly, now internally grateful to the Axolotl for granting her such a gift. 

“Wow, look at you~” Stan cooed as he took the polaroid from her hands “I didn’t think you could smile that wide.” she presses her hands to her cheeks that were creased as she continued to smile. 

“I’m struggling to stop, I’m just so happy right now.” Ford quickly plucks the photo from Stan’s hands when he reached for her waist, pulling her close and pressing soft kisses to her cheek, to which she laughed at the open display of affection but didn’t stop him “Stanley!” 

“Mabel, pumpkin!” she was currently awing at them while Dipper looked away “Think you can take so more photos of us? I’d like to have some of us together, and I think they’ll make a great addition to your scrapbook.” she already has the camera in her hands, a determined look that made everyone laugh. 

“On it.” the rest of the day is spent with everyone taking photos with Alvah now that she was granted with the blessing of her true form not interfering with the camera, Mabel’s favorite was one she took of Stan and her dancing and he had dipped her. She had thrown her head back with her laughter filling the air, eyes closed while Stan held her by the waist and stared at her as if she was his reason to breathe. She had made sure to capture of photo of them all, that being her, Dipper, Stan, Ford, Soos, Wendy and Alvah to finish off her scrapbook and she couldn’t think of a more perfect photo of her family. Later into the afternoon, the children, Stan, Ford, Alvah, Soos, Wendy and Waddles were at the bus stop waiting for their bus to come pick them up. 

“Do you really have to go? There’s still so much we haven’t done together.” Candy said sadly. 

“Summer’s over, Candy. It’s time for us to grow up.” 

“But not too much.” 

“Aaah! I hate my dumb heart for making me feel things!” she then proceeds to punch herself “Cut! It! Out! Heart!”  

“Hey, can you punch my heart, too.” Candy raises her hand. 

“No, mine! Punch my feelings away!” Alvah places a hand on Grenda’s shoulder as she gives the three of them an understanding look. 

“Been there, kiddo. But it gets better.” she pats her head softly then pulls her hand back when Mabel pulls Candy and Grenda into a hug. 

“Candy, Grenda, thank you for being my people. You’ll always be my best friends.” she pulls back and looks up at Stan “Grunkle Stan, thanks for wearing my goodbye sweater.” Stan lets out a cough as he rubs the back of his neck. 

“Ah, it’s cold out. I had to.” 

“What? But it’s like eighty-something degrees out today.” Stan and Ford are quick to glare at Soos.  

“Can it, Soos!” the children laugh, Alvah giggles softly as she leans in close to Stan’s ear. 

“I always knew you were a sweetheart, Stan. And I must say, you look real good in pink.” she snickers softly, she leans in closer when he flushed pink “See? Pink suits you well.” she’s laughing now when Stan pushed her away. 

“Stop, not now.” they look back towards the kids and saw Wendy kneel towards Dipper. 

“Hey, you mean a lot to me, man.” he fist bumps Wendy with a smile. 

“You, too.” she laughs and takes his hat off his hat, before he could do anything she took her own hat off and placed it on top of his head while putting his one on her head. 

“Something to remember me by.” she then hands a letter to Dipper “Oh, and this. Read it the next time you miss Gravity Falls.” he takes the letter just as a bus pulls up behind them. 

“Last bus leaving Gravity Falls. All aboard.” 

“I guess we've said goodbye to everyone except... Waddles.” Mabel sadly looks towards her little companion with a pained expression “I... I don’t know how to explain this but... mum and dad won’t let me bring a pig home to California so, you have to stay here!” she tries to leave but Waddles pulls at her skirt, she lets out a weak cry as she tried pushing him away “Come on. Come on! I have to go. I’m... I’m sorry, Waddles.” Stan, Ford and Alvah share a look until Stan broke. 

“Argh! You know what? Forget it! I lived with this pig all summer, now your parents are gonna have to!” he grabs Waddles and sets him down in front of the door so that driver could see him “Hey, bus guy! This pig is comin’ with the kids!” the driver narrowed his eyes on Stan and points towards a sign. 

“Now, hold on a second. Bringing animals aboard a moving vehicle is strictly prohibited--” he cut himself off when he saw Stan pull out his brass knuckles while Ford moves his coat back to reveal his gun strapped to his hip, but in between them was Alvah smiling sweetly at the driver, only then to reveal her grotesque form underneath her welcoming smile “WAH!! W-Welcome aboard! You can sit in the front row, pig.” the two men put their weapons away while Alvah returns back to her normal form, patting Waddles on the head as the pig hobbles into the bus as Stan kneels down towards the children. 

“Kids, you knuckleheads were nothin’ but a nuisance and I’m glad to be rid of ya.” the twins laugh and quickly hug him. 

“We’ll miss you too, Grunkle Stan.” she peers over his shoulder from when she stood, her face softened when she saw the way his eyes glistened with tears when they pulled away from him. She expects them to head towards the bus but was startled when they rushed towards her, she let out an oof when they wrapped their arms around her waist and hugged her “We’re going to miss you too, Alvah.” her hands trembled softly before finally settling on their backs, she then falls to her knees and pulled them close. 

“I’ll miss you more.” she spoke softly, her hands rubbing up and down their backs while nuzzling her cheek against theirs “I’ll always be watching over you guys, so know that you’ll never be alone.” she lets a couple tears fall when they pull away from her and sniffled softly when they waved their hands goodbye, Ford helps her to her feet and she could help but cry softly when the twins finally enter the bus and take a seat at the very back. They’re all waving the kids goodbye and even chase after the bus when it finally drives off, Stan, Ford and Alvah lag behind when the children continue to wave the bus off as it finally leaves Gravity Falls. 

“So Alvah, what are you planning on doing now?” they look back towards her and saw she had a pained look on her face as she looked down at her hands, Stan reaches for her out of concern “Alvah?” his eyes widened when she threw herself at Ford, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tight, this caused Ford to look down at her in confusion when her fingers dig into his coat. 

“A-Alvah? What’s the matter?” 

“This is the end of the line, old friend.” 

“What?” she pulls herself off of him and snaps her fingers, her hand burst into a black and red flame and a scroll formed in her hands that unraveled and revealed their contract.  

“Now that Bill has been defeated... I have no reason to stick around anymore.” Stan’s eyes widened at her words. 

“W-What does that mean? Are you leaving? Is that it?” she gives Stan an apologetic look as she nodded. 

“I didn’t want to say it in front of the kids. I didn’t want to bring the mood down, but yes. I should have disappeared the moment you defeated Bill, but I’ve been fighting against it until the children had left. It’s only a matter of time until this body disappears.” she then looks back towards Ford “You bastard, I’ve had the most fun in centuries thanks to that mistake in our contract. And though we barely spent any proper quality time together, I have enjoyed your company very much. I’d like to consider you a good friend, Stanford Pines. It has been lovely knowing you.” she then proceeds to hug him again and this time he hugged her back and they shared a genuine tender moment. 

“And it is an honor to be considered your friend.” she hums softly then pulls away, patting his arm gently then turning back towards Stan. 

“A-And what about us? I wanted to know if you’d sail the world with us. I’d get to create new memories with the two most important people of my life! You can’t just leave, Alvah! M-Maybe I can create a contract with you so that you have to stick around!” Ford shakes his head and places a hand on his shoulder. 

“Unfortunately, that’s not how they work. She is not allowed to accept a contract where the conditions are at the bare minimum; she is forbidden from simply existing in a dimension.”  

“So... is that it, then? We’ve barely even started our relationship and you’re already leaving.” she shakes her head and takes his hands into hers, she tilts her head so she could look at his face when he hung his head. 

“I may not be around physically, but like I told those kids, I’ll always be watching. Whether it be in the shadows or your reflection, I will always be there. Nothing is stopping me from visiting when you call my name. Now that Bill and the Time Baby are gone, I have more responsibilities to take care of, but you will be my top priority. I’ll even visit you when you fall asleep.” he frowned and pulled her towards him, resting his forehead against her. 

“But it isn’t the same.”  

“I know, but there is so much I can get away with.” she’s rubbing her forehead against his when she felt him squeeze her hands “I may not be with you but know this, Stanley. You will be the only version I will ever love.” 

“What does that mean?” 

“I have access to many different versions of you, but when you perish, my love will perish with you. I will never choose to love another version of you because I chose you, this you. I will love and only love you.” her eyes glistened with tears at the thought “I wouldn’t be able to love a different version of you because I will know that it just won’t be you.” she shakes her head when a couple tears trickle down her cheek, he lifts his hand up and wipes them away then cups her cheek. 

“I’ve really got you wrapped around my finger, don’t I?” she let out a weak laugh and lets her face rest in his palm, he gently rubs her cheek with his thumb to comfort her “I don’t know how long I’ll be able to handle this long distance relationship, but I’ll find a way to get you a physical body again. I want to be able to hold you, to kiss you, to love you. Not in a dream, but with the real you.” she chuckled softly and turned her head to press her lips against his palm. 

“I don’t think you’d wanna kiss the real me. The taste of rotting flesh isn’t quite nice.” he laughed at that. 

“Sure, but you looked cool beating up Bill in your real form.” they share a kiss and Ford allows them to have their moment when he noticed the flame the contract was engulfed in started reducing it to cinders, because of this her body begins to crumble and she’s unable to maintain her form for much longer. Stan feels this and looks down at her body that’s beginning to fall apart so he wraps his arms around her to trap her in a bear hug, holding onto her for as long as he could before she was gone “I love you, Alvah.” she let out a weak laugh as she gently pats his back. 

“I love you too, Stanley.” she spoke and just as the contract was reduced to ashes her body finally collapsed and shattered at his feet, the arms once holding her like a delicate porcelain doll now wrapped around his body for he had nothing to hold onto anymore. He fell to his knees as tears began rolling down his cheeks at the loss of Alvah, he only just started remembering everything they’ve been through and now that she’s gone, he was afraid he was going to forget her again. He didn’t want to forget her, he didn’t want-- “Stop crying you big dope.” he gasped softly at the voice and looked around to find it only to see nothing. 

“A-Alvah? Where...” 

“Look down.” he looked through his blurry eyes at his shadows, having to readjust his glasses to see that his shadow now consisted of hundreds of red eyes “You’re acting as if I died, Stanley. I just lost my physical body, remember?” he stared down at his shadow for a few seconds before wiping away his tears. 

“I-I knew that!” they chuckled softly and Stan felt, though subtle and weak, their hand gently wipes at his face. 

“You’re such a sweetheart, Stanley. And if that invitation is still on the table, I would love to join you guys on your trip around the world.” Ford chuckles and helps Stan to his feet as they both look down at Alvah, who was now sharing both of their shadows with a cheeky grin spread across their face. 

“Well, the more the merrier.” Stan grins as he wraps his arm around Ford’s shoulder and pulled him close. 

“This is all I could ever ask for. My brother and the love of my life with me as we finally accomplish our childhood dream. It took nearly forty years in the making with so many obstacles in the way, but we’re finally here to do it. I am going to hang onto this win for as long as I have it.” Ford and Alvah smile at him. 

“Stanley, you deserve the world.” 

“I, for one, agree with them. And we are more than willing to give it to you.” 

If you’ve ever taken a road trip through the Pacific Northwest, you’ve probably seen a bumper sticker for a place called Gravity Falls. It’s not on any maps, and most people have never heard of it. Some people think it’s a myth. But if you’re curious, don’t wait. Take a trip. Find it. It’s out there somewhere in the woods.

Waiting. 

season 2, bonus episode. visiting hours

The Axolotl, the great and almighty being who watches over the cosmos, found themself entering the Nightmare Realm in search of the Harbinger of Chaos who now went by Alvah. This equally mighty being was found lying comfortably on their side in a body of cosmic clouds as they watched fondly through a window that revealed the human Stanley Pines who was sleeping soundly, their finger swirling circles around the window as they hummed a song to lull him to sleep. 

“And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like I love you~” their finger tapped softly on the image of Stan, knowing that they are incapable of touching him without a vessel to inhabit “I love yo--” 

“Alvah.” 

“Ah!” the window disappears as Alvah lurches back in shock, startled by the sudden appearance of the Axolotl “Wha-- What are you doing here, Frills? I wasn’t expecting you.” they are quick to relax back into the clouds as Axolotl floats around them in mild amusement . 

“That human really does have you wrapped around their finger.” Alvah let out a huff and their words, raising their hand and see a sort of thread twirled around their finger “I must thank the human, Stanley Pines, for instilling love and humanity into you. It has changed you for the better.” this earned them a chuckle. 

“I suppose, but it hurts that I can only watch from a distance. I wish to care for him, to hold him, to love him. I miss giving him my love.” they sigh fondly at the memories they hold of their time with him, their hands sliding up their arms as they reminiscence about his arms around them as he spoke sweet nothings into their ear, their arms then drop to their side and they looked above them at the Axolotl who continued to eye them curiously “But enough about that, what brings you around these parts? Sure, I’ve been slacking a bit but I haven’t completely neglected my duties. You’ve given me more responsibilities now that Time Baby is out of commission.” Axolotl hummed softly. 

“I wish for you to join me for a bit, my friend.” their millions of eyes look towards them rather intrigued. 

“Join you? For what?” 

“There is somebody I would like for us to visit. It would please me if you were to share a couple words with them, if possible.” Alvah pulls themself up so they aren’t lying down anymore, even more, intrigued as to who the Axolotl would like them to meet "Of course, it is completely up to you whether or not you would like to join me." Alvah just shrugged their shoulders.

"It's not like I was doing anything else. Sure, I'll join you." they pulled themselves up, so now they're floating beside Axolotl, waiting for them to take them to their destination "Is it someone I know?" they hummed softly.

"Mayhaps." they don't question them and follow them blindly until they ended up in a place that had Alvah's metaphorical heart drop into their stomach, within the neutral zone of Dimension #5150 and outside of time, they were now floating in front of the Theraprism.

...

...

"D-Did I do something wrong, Axolotl?" Alvah asks, their eyes filled with panic and a few of them darting around for any sort of exit "I apologize if I have upset you in a-any way." a laugh escaped their cosmic lips at Alvah's worry, shaking their head, they gesture towards the rehabilitation centre.

"Do not fret, friend. I am not having you admitted here." a breath of relief leaves them "I told you, we are merely visiting someone." they said and floated towards the entrance, leaving Alvah to ponder alone in the empty void of space.

"... who the heck do I know is in Theraprism?" they said to no one in particular but followed closely behind, taking the Axolotl by the hand as they led them through the facility. They go through the proper procedures to be allowed into the Theraprism and are seated in the waiting room as they prepare for whoever they were planning on visiting, Alvah did get a couple odd looks from a few other people who were visiting but paid them no mind "Have they been recently admitted in?" Axolotl hummed.

"For you, yes. But since this is a timeless zone, he has been here for quite some time. He is very stubborn." Alvah whistled to themself.

"Poor sucker."

"Poor "sucker" indeed."

"Axolotl and Alvah, he is ready for you now." they let out a grunt at the way the receptionist said their name but ignored it since they were practically in a high-security prison, they didn't want anything pinned to their clean and flawless record. Despite being an entity renowned for influencing others to do evil stuff, Alvah was actually a law-abiding citizen throughout the cosmos and followed the law meticulously. They enter the room of a long corridor lined with a series of identical white visitation booths, each booth is enclosed by white wood and glass, offering a view into a barred cell beyond. They are led by one of the staff to a booth and as they pass each inmate Alvah recognizes a few of them, they do a double take when they see The Beast in one of the booths and when that mangy mutt made eye contact with them they made the "I'm watching you" gesture to it before catching up to Axolotl, they still haven't forgotten nor forgiven what they did to Mabel.

"So, Frills, who have you brought to come bother me-- oh, no." Alvah raises a brow at the familiar voice, not truly believing their ears, so when they peeked over the booth that was blocking their view, their eyes widened in disbelief "You have got to be kidding me." Alvah burst out into hysterical laughter at the sight of Bill Cipher wearing an orange prism uniform and looking absolutely horrible, he had a terrible bag under his bloodshot eye with a static-like crack that stretched across his triangular body. His eye twitched in irritation as they continued to laugh at him, the Axolotl watched them walk up and down the corridor as they filled the room with laughter. Everyone in the room looked at them in confusion but they paid them no mind, they began to calm down but the moment they laid eyes on him again they started laughing again.

"Are you done, Alvah?" they took a breath they try and quell their laughter as they looked up at Axolotl.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm done." they said but when they looked at Bill once again a snort escaped their lips "Nope, no I'm not!" Bill let out an exasperated sigh when they disappeared down the corridor and looked up at Axolotl.

"When you said you were going to bring someone to talk with me, I didn't expect you to bring them! They're the last person I want to talk with!" he intends to stand up but the few prism guards push him back down into his seat, he scoffs and smacks their hands off of him just as Alvah comes back into view.

"Phew! Okay, now I'm calm." Axolotl gestures for them to take the only seat provided and so they do, lounging on it as their millions of eyes stare at him rather mockingly "Well, well, well. Look at how the mighty have fallen, hmm? I never would have thought you would invoke the right of the Axolotl to save your prideful butt. I guess my sweet Stanley being the one to bring you down really poked a hole in your universal-sized ego, didn't it?" they stick out their tongue as they shrug their shoulders when he pointed an accusatory finger at them.

"I don't want to talk to them! They're going to do nothing but make fun of me the entire time! And that might set back my recovery, and I'm sure you don't want that, do you?" this comment made Axolotl give Alvah a knowing look, to which they huffed.

"Alright, I'll hold back on the mockery. Why exactly did you want me of all beings to have a talk with him? You know he doesn't particularly like me after the downfall of Euclydia, he holds a grudge like no other." Axolotl places a hand on their shoulder as they look between them and Bill, who is glaring daggers at the both of them.

"Because while you two were having your squabble during his Weirdmageddon, you managed to point out a few of his flaws a few of the therapists have yet to notice."

"What? Like his unwillingness to accept responsibility? Or the fact that he's so stubborn to change that he's going to continue down this cycle of self-destruction? It's honestly so obvious to everyone but himself. He's got a straight path down to recovery but he's going to take so many turns that he'll eventually wind back up at the beginning." Bill slams his hands against the counter and glares at them with pure hatred.

"I'll have you know, I'm making great progress!" they roll their eyes and lean back against their chair.

"You're probably just telling yourself that so you don't fall into madness with how long you're going to be stuck in here. They're trying to show you what you've lost, Bill." this made him scoff.

"And what exactly did I lose?" this made them smirk.

"Everything I gained." Bill looked at them confused "You had his devotion, his attention, his adoration, his love, and I just know you craved it like no other. All you had to do was change your approach and you wouldn't have scared him away. There have been alternate realities where he joined you, or where you gave up your goal to dominate their dimension in favor of being by his side. But you didn't choose that ending, and look where you are now."

"You... you don't know that." they scoffed.

"Don't I? I know more than you want to believe, Cipher. Now let's go back to what I gained from your downfall. The Nightmare Realm is now back under my control, I have gained more power now that your influence is gone, Stanford and I are now the greatest of friends, Stanley and I are madly in love with each other and I gained something I never would have ever thought I would have wanted." Bill noticed the way something appeared in their hands, their eyes staring fondly at a small polaroid of her vessel smiling happily alongside the Pines family, Soos and Wendy "A family and acceptance. Something you desperately want, but will never have. Since, you know, you're the last of your species and your Henchmaniacs abandoned you." they're laughing again when Bill turned red and punched at the glass that separated the two of them, he was quickly reprimanded again by the guards while Axolotl scolded Alvah.

"I don't need anything like that, Alvah! Love is for the weak! And Sixer? Why would I want all of that? I had that fool dancing in the palm of my hand, it was so easy that I could do it again! I didn't need his attention, his devotion, or his love! All I need is power, and once I get out of this hellhole, you'll be my first target!" they stared at him now with indifference in their eyes.

"I never said that it was Ford." his breath hitched "So, he's still on your mind? I was right though, wasn't I? You needed him more than he ever needed you. It's why you're so obsessed with him! You miss him and all that he was willing to do for you, but he does not miss you. He is happier now that you are out of his life and out of his mind. They are all better off without you. You will be nothing but a nightmare to them; a forgotten memory locked away and buried within the deepest parts of their mind. And I will make sure of that." Bill hated the way they were looking at him, their millions of eyes were staring down at him with destain and pity, he didn't want their pity. It enraged him that they were right; they were right because they gained so much while he lost everything and was locked up in maximum security with idiots who were looking to change. He hated that everything they said was right, but he didn't want to admit it, he didn't want to believe they were right.

"I'll prove you wrong, Alvah. I'll get out of here and prove you and everyone else in this dump wrong! I can change, haha! I can change just like everyone else, you'll see!" their gaze was still scrutinizing, still so condescending, but the eyes on their head closed as they gave an insincere smile.

"Well that's the point, Bill. You're meant to change for your own good, not to spite everyone else. I'm sure you'll be able to conquer this final trial in order to reach redemption, and I'll be sure to be there every step of the way."

"What? What does that--"

"Now that I know that you're here, I can't leave you here alone. I'll be sure to visit you every now and then, and I'm sure you'd love nothing more than updates on the Pines family and various other residents of Gravity Falls." with that they stood to their feet, the back of their legs pushing the chair back and it scraping against the white tiled floor, they don't fail to miss the panicked look on his face as he stood up on his chair.

"Y-You're not leaving yet, are you? We still have so much to talk about, I haven't even told you what I've been doing in Theraprism!" they just shrug their shoulders.

"You can tell me on my next visit." they don't wait for Bill's response as they walk away, his tiny and powerless hands banging against the glass as he calls out for them to come back. Axolotl follows after them as they float out of the prism, eyeing them curiously.

"So, are you going to keep to your word and continue to visit him?" a laugh escapes their lips.

"Of course. I want to see them break him."

"Fix him, my friend." they roll their eyes.

"Sure. But... he won't be able to contact the Pines family, would he? I'm worried he'll manage to reach them somehow, and I don't want their progress going down the drain because he is obsessed with them." Axolotl lets out a soft chuckle.

"They are much stronger than you think, Alvah." they nod.

"I know, I know. I just can't help but worry."

"I am glad you have found something to care for, my friend. It makes me feel overjoyed." they couldn't help but smile at that "Now that you know that Bill is in fact, alive, you must swear that you won't tell the residents of dimension 46'\ until I say that it is okay." they shrugged their shoulders.

"I figured, but I swear I won't. I don't want them freaking out, especially Stan and Ford. They believe they've completely erased Bill from existence, and they've been riding that high for a long time."

"Thank you, Alvah. And do please tell me when you're going to visit Bill, I would like to join you to see his progress."

"Of course, my friend. Until then."

Soulmates

word count: 8339

Fandom: IRL!MCYT Pairing: Dream x Male!Reader              Sapnap x Male!Reader              GeorgeNotFound x Male!Reader Pronouns: He/Him Relationship: Romantic Occupation: College Student                      Professional Skateboarder                      Traveler Ability: N/A

Keys:

[M/N]: Male Name [H/C]: Hair Color [E/C]: Eye Color [S/C]: Skin Color

Warnings: n/a

“Soulmates” pt.2

Soulmate AU: When both soulmates look into a mirror at the same time, they see their soulmate’s reflection.

word count: 2659

DreamWasTaken:

It was one of those rare occasions where Dream was streaming on his twitch account and it wasn’t for MCC, it was just some casual talking with his friends and fellow twitch streamers as they played Minecraft. No lore or challenges, just simply playing around in either survival or creative mode, it was entertaining nonetheless because it was Dream after all. [M/N] was one of those in the audience that was very entertained, watching his stream on one of his monitors while another monitor displayed his work that had to be finished. [M/N]’s attention kept drifting away from what he was supposed to be doing before eventually giving up and putting his full attention on the stream, a smile worked its way to his face at the sound of Dream’s iconic wheeze laughter when Quackity cracked a joke.

“Hey~ while we’re on the topic of Dream’s nonexistent love life,” Quackity started, snickering when he heard Dream let out a shout ”Let’s talk about soulmates!” he cheered, this earned many people in each of their chats to agree, even the others in the Discord call agreed. Soulmate; a person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner. It was quite a common occurrence in this world, each person had a different way to find their ideal partner that was meant to be theirs ever since they were born, but the thing that made each person different was that many people had different ways to find their soulmates. Some had the iconic “Red String of Fate”, some had more complicated ones like “having the first letter of their name” on your wrist, and the lucky few who had “timers” located on their wrist.

[M/N] was one of the unfortunate few who had no clue how he was supposed to find his soulmate, he could see colors perfectly, he had a perfectly normal physical appearance and he couldn’t hear any voices ringing in his head, not even marks. He was often teased by his peers and sometimes his family over the thought of him being alone forever; that he was destined to never find his soulmate or that he never had a soulmate, to begin with. He often detested conversations regarding the subject but spoke to not be rude, when asked how he was supposed to find his soulmate... he’d lie through his teeth. It always did hurt that he didn’t know how or who his possible other half was but as he grew older and older, he slowly began losing hope of ever finding a soulmate.

”Soulmates, huh? Has anyone found their soulmate yet?” George asked halfheartedly, grabbing his water bottle and taking a sip, he lets out a refreshed sigh as he places it down before looking into his camera ”Hey chat, how have you been able to find your soulmates? I wanna hear some stories.” Karl lets out a giggle, nodding his head as he looked over at his own chat.

”Same here! I’ve heard some really cute stories.” [M/N]’s interest immediately deteriorates and for some odd reason he was able to focus on his work once more, he pushed through hearing them read out some people’s experience on finding their soulmates, it irritated him as he typed away at his bored, he could only hope that the conversation would stir away from that topic sooner rather than later.

”Enough of the cliché bullshit! I wanna hear some uncommon ones.” Dream says this caught the attention of many 

”I’ve read that there are some rather unique ways to find your soulmate in comparison to some boring ones like their name is on your wrist. Jesus, I want someones where you have no fucking clue who they are.” the chat for all of them went quiet for a couple minutes, all viewers thinking if they’ve got a unique one or not.

dilfking_ donated $10

i think i have one thats odd. this isn’t mine, but rather my cousin’s. he said that the way he was able to find his now current wife was when he looked in a mirror and there he saw her reflection instead of his own

”Mirror?” Sapnap questioned, leaning forward because he was quite intrigued by the story ”Wow... that really is odd! Yo, dilfking_, jesus, you so far take the cake on this one.” Karl let out an ooo sound, clapping his hands.

”Hey, since it’s so uncommon, why don’t we all pull out some mirrors and look into them, hmm? Including the viewers, maybe they might find their soulmate.” [M/N]’s fingers paused from what they were doing, hovering over his keyboard as he listened to his favorite streamers agree, some getting up so they could pull out a mirror. His gaze dampened a little, he was getting desperate by the second and his mind was debating whether or not he should do it as well... ah, what the hell? He lets out a sigh as he pushed himself back a little and there he saw his full body mirror leaning against his wall, what are the chances he’ll actually find his soulmate? There are two outcomes that could occur.

1. he sees himself and he just wasted his time and got his hopes high for absolutely no reason.

2. he actually sees his soulmate and he freaks the absolute fuck out.

If he gets either he’ll cry.

”Why don’t we all do it at the same time, yeah? I think that would make things even more interesting for us as well.” Dream suggested, Quackity laughs at the idea as he claps his hands.

”Ooo, I like that idea very much! If Dream finds his soulmate, they’ll be the first person to see his face in his entire fanbase and they’ll know just how ugly you really are.” Dream rolls his eyes at that as he laughs.

”Oh, come on now. I assure you, I’m actually quite attractive.” this earned him a huff from Sapnap.

”As much as I want to disagree with you, I can’t help but confirm that he is a very sexy man.” now that got them all to laugh, even [M/N] couldn’t help but snicker at that, but just what are the chances someone would be lucky enough to be paired with him through this way? [M/N] would be lucky to get anyone.

“Way to lighten the mood.” he hummed softly, George pats his desk before waving his hands.

”I hope you all have gotten your mirrors ready because we’re about to see if we can find our other half in three... two... one!” at the final countdown, everyone that was participating looked into their mirrors. [M/N] was still very hesitant before he let out a deep breath and leaned back once more to look at his mirror, however, what he saw was different from the last time he glanced at it. He nearly fell out of his chair when he didn’t see his reflection, instead, he saw the reflection of someone completely different that looked just as equally surprised as he was. Gorgeous dirty blonde hair and a noticeable stubble with a unique shade of green eyes, he wasn’t wearing anything extravagant, only a hoodie and some sweats along with a headset, and yet despite the casual attire, this stranger was quite attractive.

For the person in the mirror, he was just as shocked as [M/N] was. He wasn’t really expecting to see anything other than his own reflection, but imagine his surprise when he saw someone elsewhere his reflection was supposed to be. This attractive man has short/long [H/C] hair with [E/C] eyes that just seemed to suit him quite well, he was wearing casual attire but instead, he wore a shirt and a pair of shorts. The two of them continued to stare at each other, not even realizing that they were even doing that until he noticed that [H/C] male started tearing up before letting his head drop a little but his hand came up to catch his head.

“So you’re real...” [M/N] muttered to himself, hand pressed to his forehead as his tears slowly started falling from his eyes “After all this time, you were actually real.” the stranger on the other side of the mirror couldn’t hear what he was saying, he could only see him, it felt like he was on mute and it irritated him that he wasn’t able to comfort his soulmate.”Hey Dream, why’d you go quiet all of a sudden?” Karl questioned, Quackity lets out a laugh as he leans back in his seat.

”What? Did you find your soulmate or something?” he jokes, he expected Dream to laugh with him but was only given silence as a response. He laid in his chair for a couple seconds before sitting up straight, leaning into his mic as he stared at his camera ”Dream? Why aren’t you answering me, you son of a bitch?” he heard the other stutter out noises before finally giving him a verbal response.

”I actually did...” he murmured softly, [M/N]’s eyes widened when he heard Dream speak, whipping his head around to look at the stream ”Huh? He’s looking at something now.” [M/N] was in utter disbelief as he looked back over at his soulmate, his heart thumping against his chest when he heard Dream through the stream say that his soulmate was looking at him again. [M/N] was having a mental crisis. Not only was he actually able to find his soulmate, but he was that lucky motherfucker that got the Dream, the famous YouTuber and Twitch streamer known for his crazy Minecraft plays, as his soulmate!

“Holy shit.” was all he could say, a soft blush rose to his cheeks when he heard Dream laugh.

”I think they just swore, aw~ do you find me that attractive?” he cooed, not really expecting to get a response, but was thoroughly surprised when he saw [M/N] nod his head ”Wait, can you hear me?” [M/N] nods his head once more, he then perks up as he looks around his desk for something, when he finds it he grabs it before scribbling on it and presenting it to Dream.

‘I’m actually watching your stream right now.’ it read, [M/N] chuckled softly when he noticed Dream squinted his eyes as he read the message, his eyes drifting off for a couple seconds before he jerks back in surprise.

”So wait-- fuck, Sapnap called it.” he hears Sapnap let out a cheer, Dream slaps a hand onto his face before dragging it down his face, even though he couldn’t hear him, he couldn’t help but flush a little at the sight of [M/N] bursting out into laughter “No fair, you can hear me, but I can’t hear you. Plus, you already know my name, can I have yours?” the others in the Discord lean forward, rather interested in the fact that Dream managed to find his soulmate, much to their dismay.

“How cute~” he cooed softly, he tears the page off, crushing it into a ball before throwing it into a bin. With a fresh new page, he thinks for a bit before writing down what he wanted then showing Dream his message. At first, he read the first part then paused a little, he sat there for a couple seconds before muting himself.

”Hey, Dream, where did you go? Dream?” they all let out groans when they realized that Dream wanted to see what it said, muting himself in case he accidentally reads it out loud.

’Hi Dream, I’m a really big fan and I’m quite shocked to know that you’re my soulmate. I always thought that I didn’t have one, but I’m so glad that I do. I was quite lonely because I was never sure if I was ever going to find my soulmate, so thank you for the reassurance. Also, thanks for the sneak peek, by the way, you really are a sexy man. From yours truly, [M/N].’ when he noticed Dream had finished reading it, he lowered it and waited anxiously for his reaction. Now that he couldn’t hear him anymore, he was even more worried, he twiddled with his fingers then perked up when he noticed Dream laugh. Dream rummaged through his own desk before pulling out a notebook, scribbling down his reply then showing it to him.

’Hi [M/N], I’m quite glad that you’re a fan of mine, if not we probably would’ve never been able to see each other, huh? Don’t go blabbering about what you know to others, okay? I’m still planning my big face reveal, so no spoilers. Plus, you’re quite attractive as well. I believe I scored big time.’ Dream smiles when he noticed [M/N] grow flustered, pressing a hand to his temple as he tried to suppress his grin but ultimately failed. Dream noticed [M/N] soon rise to his feet as he approached the mirror, so he did the same thing, there they both noticed small little details they couldn’t see from where they were sitting. The former pouted softly when he noticed that the latter was just a couple inches taller than him and was a bit more muscular while his [S/C] skin was a bit tanner, for [M/N], he noticed that Dream had freckles scattered across his face and though he was wearing a hoodie, he noticed some more dancing along his neck.

The two continued to stare at each other before [M/N] raised his hand and pressed it against the glass, Dream didn’t hesitate to follow suit and pressed his hand where his hand was, the both of them smiling softly when they could just feel a soft warmth beneath the palms of their hands. To them, it was quite comforting that they were finally able to find their other half.

Headcanons:

dream immediately ended the stream and left the discord call. [m/n] felt a tad bit guilty for killing everyone’s joy but he was a little touched that dream dropped everything so he could talk a little to him.

they exchanged numbers and discord usernames so they could privately chat amongst each other, it was genuinely quite fun.

sometimes [m/n] would hear sapnap in the background screaming at him to stop talking to him and hangout, to which he would be ignored in favor of talking to him even more.

dream wanted to visit him or for [m/n] to come visit him, but realized the exact distance between each other.

[m/n] resided in hawaii, explaining why most of the time dream always sounded so tired whenever they chatted (florida is five hours ahead of hawaii)

other than that, dream would mostly flaunt about how he was able to find his soulmate.

cue quackity saying it was his idea to talk about soulmates.

cue george saying it was his idea to ask the chat their stories.

he ignored them.

[m/n] was later invited to their discord, much to his excitement because he was still quite a fan to the dsmp.

[m/n] would often laugh when he would hear sapnap saying how dnf was now dead thanks to the fact that dream was now taken and all his love and attention was now directed a him.

at least dream shut up about george now.

when [m/n] decides to visit dream, he would keep it a secret and would surprise him. though, he would tell sapnap the plan and the guy would hands down drop everything to help him.

sapnap quite liked [m/n].

when [m/n] was in florida, sapnap would smuggle him into dream’s room and when the latter does appear in his room, he would tackle the poor man to the ground and embrace him. 

the both of them would feel a type of warmth swell in their chest and as they laid their on the floor, dream would push himself off the ground so he could finally kiss the lips of the man destined to be his.

Soulmate AU: A tattoo that represents their soulmate is on their body and it blooms/grows when they meet.

word count: 2448

Sapnap:

“Karl, what the fuck man?” [M/N] murmured to himself, glancing at his phone that was pressed to his ear in confusion. His younger cousin, Karl Jacobs, was currently on the phone with him as he sat in the skate park with a couple of his friends, he was currently sitting down with his feet hanging over the edge of the cradle, board beside him as he watched other skaters go by but his attention was fully on his cousin on the other line.

”Oh, come on! I’ve told him about you and he’s been dying to meet you, mostly because he wants to show off how good he is at skating.” [M/N] hummed at that, hmph, sure. [M/N] was a professional skateboarder who’s performed in many skateboarding competitions, winning his fair share and even being lucky enough to be sponsored by MrBeast, courtesy of Karl.

“I thought you two lived in different states?” he said, giving his friend a death glare when tried kicking his board down the cradle, only for him to react quick enough to move it away then flip them off.

”You clearly don’t look at social media, do you?” he only rolled his eyes in response to that ”He came from Florida to meet up with me, we’ve done a couple things and I mentioned visiting the skate park you always go to. He seemed to remember that in a passing conversation and asked if you would be there.”

“My fame is nothing in comparison to yours, Karl. Why does he want to meet me so bad?”

”... he’s a fan?” [M/N] purses his lips, face drawn a blank as he leans back in where he’s sitting, he hums in thought before shrugging his shoulders.

“Well, alright. I don’t understand why he’s a fan of mine, I’m not that popular.” he could tell that Karl waved his hand to dismiss him.

”On the contrary, cous, you are popular. Remember who’s sponsoring you?” he pulls a face at that, right ”Since I’ve been given the go too, I’ll see you in a couple hours, okay? Don’t bail on me now.” [M/N] rolled his eyes at the playful tone in Karl’s voice.

“I won’-- hey! Fucker, give my board back!” Karl winced, pulling the phone away from his ear when he heard [M/N] start cursing from his side of the line. He starts laughing when he could hear his cousin screaming at his friends for stealing his board and skating away from him, he hears [M/N] growl before bringing the phone back up ”I’ll see you when I see you, right now I need to beat some ass.” Karl snorts.

“Alright, don’t commit murder.”

”No promises.” with that he hung up, Karl jokingly rolled his eyes before glancing over at where Sapnap was, to which the latter had an excited grin on his face as he bounced up and down on the couch like a child on christmas day.

“So, what did he say?” he eagerly asked, standing up and approaching his taller friend.

“He agreed, but we might want to be quick because I think he might take a life.” this caused Sapnap to look up at Karl in a confused manner. Sapnap, the mighty Texan man and skater boy, was in disbelief when he learned that Karl Jacobs was related to the renowned skateboarder, his cousin to be exact and that they were really close. He bombarded Karl with questions because he wanted to know so much about him, being one of his biggest fans, he found watching him compete in competitions so thrilling and exciting he feels his heart skip a beat each time he sees him perform tricks for beginners to complex tricks for pros. His mind soon drifted off to a time when [M/N] won a competition and was doing an exclusive interview, the topic? Soulmates.

”Soulmates?” he questioned, everyone, watching whether in person or in the comforts of their homes, couldn’t help but be curious to his answer ”Well, finding my soulmate isn’t particularly my main priority. I think it’ll be great if we meet, but I’m not in any rush to find them.” the interviewer nods their head.

”I see. But, do you know the method to find your soulmate?” [M/N] nods his head, for context, he had stripped his shirt off because the blistering hot sun was shining down on them all but after performing all those tricks under it and the pressure, he took his shirt off to cool himself a little. Back to the topic at hand, there, he pointed at flame tattoos that started at his left shoulder that spread up to the bottom side of his neck, took up the left side of his collar bones, and traveled down his arm a bit but stopped at his bicep ”The moment I meet my soulmate, my tattoo will spread further along my body and my soulmate will have a tattoo similar to my own personality.” people in the crowd clapped their hands.

”Wow, such a unique way to find his soulmate.”

“I’m jealous.”

“The tattoo looks cool on him.”

“His soulmate makes him look even cooler.”

Watching that interview gave Sapnap hope that he was his, mostly because he had the same type of way of finding his soulmate as [M/N], but that could purely be a coincidence... he hoped not. The tattoo he had was on his back, it started from the right side of his back and it seemed to be a flower of sorts that was going to bloom but traveling down his back and nearly covering his entire back was vines coming out of the flower-filled with thorns. By the time Sapnap’s thoughts came back he realized that he was sitting in the passenger seat of Karl’s car as he drove to the skate park where [M/N] currently was committing first-degree murder.

“Should I watch what I say?” Karl rolled his eyes at that.

“No, he’s one of the most vulgar people I’ve ever met, even more, vulgar than Tommy.” that caught Sapnap by surprise “He acts polite when he needs to be, but behind closed doors, he’ll curse like a sailor. Though he’s attentive when the time comes.”

“Attentive?”

“You should see him with my cat, one time he came to my house just to take my cat. I swear.” he nods his head at that.

“Okay.” it didn’t take long for them to arrive at the skate park, Sapnap was a little nervous and it showed by the way he was huddled to himself with his board in his hand as he followed closely behind Karl, who smiled and greeted the local skaters who recognized him as [M/N]’s cousin.

“Yo, Karl’s here!”

“Hey, Karl!”

“Who’s your friend there?” a few people asked, said man grinned as he pats Sapnap’s back and pushes him forward slightly.

“A friend of mine, who’s also a fan of [M/N].” one of them laughed, kicking his board up before pointing behind him.

“If you’re looking for him, he’s back there. We had to stop him from sending the guys to the hospital after they stole his board, you know how he sees that fucking board as a child.” this caused Karl to roll his eyes once more.

“That’s because it was custom made... and was also a gift from me.” he muttered the last part to himself, feeling a little touched that his cousin treasured it, he remembered the first time he saw [M/N] use the board in one of his competitions and he was absolutely over the moon. They all go over to where [M/N] was and there they saw him, Sapnap watched in awe when [M/N] performed a kickflip onto some railings, effortlessly grinding on them before landing on the ground and casually skating around. Karl goes to call him out but they all pause, watching as he skated over to where another railing that kept the skate park gated from the water on the other side, there, when he got closer to the railings he jumped off his board and into the water “Wha the-- what the fuck?!” Sapnap was just as equally shocked but the other skaters merely laughed.

“The fuck did he do that for?” one of them shouts, the ones closest to where [M/N] was were laughing as they recorded what happened.

“We bet [M/N] wouldn’t do that, before saying that he ain’t no pussy and doing it.”

“That sounds like him.”

“Mm hmm.” a couple minutes past and [M/N] finally emerged from wherever he came from, he was laughing wholeheartedly as his friends gave him pats on the back, he then swiped away the money they bet on. They spoke amongst each other until they told him that his cousin and his friend were finally there and so [M/N] looked over at them, he offered them a smile followed by a wave before approaching them.

“Sapnap, calm down. I can feel your nervousness all the way from here.” Karl glanced down, letting out a soft sigh when he noticed that Sapnap was trembling from anxiousness as [M/N] got closer and closer.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t control it.” he had a gay panic when he saw Karl’s cousin reach down to grab the ends of his shirt before pulling it over his head, Karl rolled his eyes at how overdramatic that was while Sapnap was fighting everything just to keep his face from turning completely red. His eyes were looking down at his feet but he couldn’t help but steal glances at him, mostly at his tattoo that nearly covered his entire left side.

“Hey Karly, it’s been a while.” the taller of the two of them greeted, Karl huffed as he poked his chest.

“I thought I told you to stop calling me that.” he snickers.

“It’s cute, and I know you like it.” he smiles when he noticed Karl was trying to fight down the grin that was threatening to spread across his face as small giggles came out of his mouth, he then dropped his shirt to the ground before leaning down slightly to wrap his broad arms around him to pull him into a hug “It’s good to see you, it’s been a while since the last time I got to see your ugly mug.” they both share a laugh as [M/N] put him down, this allowed Karl to smack his arm.

“You are you calling ugly?” he shakes his head before turning then raised his arm to gesture to Sapnap “This is the friend I was telling you about, his name is Nicholas, but he usually goes by Sapnap.” Karl moved so that he was standing beside his taller cousin, [M/N] looked down at him and noticed that the expression he wore was a mixture of excitement and anxiousness “He’s a big fan, by the way.” Karl whispered in his ear, this didn’t go unnoticed as Sapnap glared at him.

“Quit it, Karl!” [M/N] only laughed.

“A fan, huh? Well, I can’t help but be a fan of yours as well, Nicholas. I’ve watched a couple of Karl’s streams and other videos on YouTube and I’ve grown quite fond of your appearances.” he chuckled when he noticed that spurred a bit of a reaction out of him.

“Tha-- Thank you.” this action earned [M/N] another smack to his arm.

“Stop torturing the poor guy.”

“I’m not.”

“Are too.” he shook his head, not even answering him because he knew this was going to be a back and forward argument between the both of them, so he offered his hand towards Sapnap.

“Though you already know, my name is [M/N]. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nicholas, or should I call you Sapnap?” teasing him felt so fun, watching his face flush an even deeper shade of red, he then watched as Sapnap shakily reached for his hand to return the handshake,

“You can call me whatever makes you feel comfortable.”

“Alright, Nicholas.” the moment the two of them grasped each other’s hands, [M/N] felt a burning pain that spread from the left side of his torso and arm and traveled over to his right and now there was a symmetrical flaming pattern on both sides of his body. For Sapnap, he felt the thorns and vines on his back begin to cover his back as the flower bud bloomed into a gorgeous flower and other flower buds on the vines bloomed as well, littering his back with flowers and flower petals. Everyone stood in shock at what had happened, [M/N] glanced down at his chest and saw how the flames on his body spread the moment he shook Sapnap’s hand so he glanced down at the other and saw his face was completely read.

...

...

“What a revelation.” he murmured.

Headcanon:

the moment sapnap saw how it was him that caused his tattoos to grow even more, he quite literally fainted.

by the time he came down to earth, he noticed that he was laying down on a bench with [m/n] sitting by his side, using his hand fan his face to keep it cool.

[m/n] felt him shift so he glanced down and noticed how he was covering his face, he found it absolutely adorable so he didn’t hesitate to lean down and press his lips to the back of his hands.

his friends called him gay.

karl told him to get a room.

the next following days was [m/n] visiting karl’s house unannounced just so he could spend some time with his cute soulmate, to which he would flirt and tease with relentlessly.

karl would sometimes have to throw [m/n] out of the house because he would find it annoying whenever he would find his cousin making out with sapnap on the middle of the couch.

speaking of which, [m/n] would feel absolutely honored to be sapnap’s first kiss, he would make sure that their kiss was filled with some much love that the other would be craving him.

sapnap would try to fluster [m/n] with everything he had, but the other was just a professional and whenever he did attempt to do something, it would just come back and bite him in the ass.

sometimes literally.

other than that, cuddling with this beautiful specimen of a man is absolute paradise.

despite being taller and more muscular, [m/n] can’t help but be the little spoon between the two of them.

sapnap ain’t complaining, he quite enjoys the feeling of his arms wrapped around this much larger man as the other held him close.

these were the small moments these two loved to bask in.

Soulmate AU: The location of where they meet their soulmate appear at a certain time in their life and when they meet their soulmate they appear in the picture.

word count: 3232

GeorgeNotFound:

To George, the way he had to find his soulmate was exactly like GeoGuessr. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he held the polaroid picture within his hands, the picture held the location of where he would meet his soulmate and he could just recognize it as Miami Beach in Florida... he was dreading the thought that he was actually Dream's soulmate. He shook his head as he glanced at the other photos and noticed that they were all popular places within America, from Texas to Washington, even places out of American like France and Italy.

"They sure like to travel a lot." he muttered to himself, placing down another photo when he recognized the famous monument in the background. He groaned to himself when he realized that Dream lived in Orlando, which was a two to three-hour drive from Miami Beach, why did it have to be that far? He lets out a sigh as he tosses the photo down onto the table he was sitting at, leaning his cheek against his closed fist but he couldn't help but stare at the photo. His curiosity would eventually get the best of him once he gets to Florida but until then, he pushed it into the back of his mind as he collected each of the photos and put them away in a box for safekeeping.

Eventually, the thought of his soulmate slowly drifted out of his mind and he focused more on posting videos onto his YouTube and Twitch accounts to satisfy his viewers. However, when the due date for him to travel to America to visit his friends in real life started to preoccupy his thoughts, the thought of coincidentally meeting his soulmate at the same time couldn't help but make his pale skin turn a shade of red. Whenever that kept happening, he would pull out the box of blank photos and stare at them for hours on end, feeling a tug on his heart each time and feelings of excitement taking over his heart. He was getting rather eager to leave for America with each passing day, then soon that day finally came, he packed his things, the box of photos too, and hopped onto the next early flight to Florida.

"George!" he was a little flustered upon meeting Dream, this 6″3ft of a man who opened his arms wide and enveloped him in a long hug, managing to lift him up and swing him side to side. The two of them laughed when Sapnap came from behind them and hugged George from behind him, squeezing them both with the strength he had in his arms "You're finally here, I'm so happy." Dream cheered, Sapnap wore a similar expression as he released them from his side of the hug.

"Yeah, we have the spare room prepared and everything, all you need is to put your stuff in and you're all set." Dream nodded his head as he grabbed a couple of his bags, Sapnap doing the same.

"We'll even give you a hand." George scoffed with a laugh, rolling his eyes as he elbowed Dream in his side.

"Gee, thanks." they all share a laugh, they threw his luggage into the boot of their car before Dream took the wheel, Sapnap fighting George for the passenger seat, before taking off for Dream's house. When arriving, George was greeted with the sight of cute little Patches curled up in a ball on the couch, the younger duo laughed when they saw George shuffle over to where Patches was and so they left him to pet the cat while they brought his stuff to the spare room. Petting Patches felt like paradise, he was quite scared Dream's cat wouldn't like him but seeing her melt within the palm of his hand made him think otherwise.

"Hey, George!" he let out a groan, whining a little when Patches got up and sauntered away at the sound of Sapnap's shouting from upstairs "Give us a hand at unpacking your shit." now this caused him to react.

"Wait, hey! Don't touch my stuff!" he then heard laughter coming from the two before rushing upstairs, throwing the door open, there he saw the two looking through his suitcases "Man! You nosey dicks." he shouts, rushing over and swiping his things from them.

"We're just giving you a hand." he rolled his eyes, he helped them organize his clothes and other belongings he brought the way he wanted, he was in the middle of refolding one of his clothes when he heard Dream let out a hum.

"Hmm? Hey George, what's this?" he glanced over his shoulder and there he saw Dream opening the box full of photos, he sighed, shaking his head as he put the folded pants into the draw as he approached them.

"Jesus, don't you know curiosity killed the cat?" Sapnap scoffed, peeking over Dream's shoulder as he took one of the photos.

"And yet, satisfaction brought it back." Dream raised a brow.

"Wait, isn't this Miami Beach?" he questioned, taking a closer look at it, recognizing the shorelines of the beach "Yeah, it is! How do you have a polaroid photo of Miami Beach? I thought you said you've never been to America." he just waves his hand to dismiss the thought, snatching the photos back from them both and putting it back in the boat.

"That's because I haven't been to America, they're just the location of where I'm going to meet my soulmate." he casually answers, getting ready to put the box away but Dream took it out of his hands once more, taking out the same one he was eyeing and holding it above his head and out of his reach.

"Wait, your soulmate?!" Sapnap snatched it from Dream and eyed it, letting the taller male to sulk, he then laughs.

"Hah! DNF is officially dead." George just rolled his eyes.

"So dramatic." he takes it back once more but this time he eyed it for a good couple of seconds, not noticing the way Dream and Sapnap loomed over his shoulder to look at the photo.

"We can go find them, you know?" this caused George's face to turn red, bringing the photo close to his chest as he shook his head.

"N-No... we don't really need to." they both lean back and eye each other before wrapping an arm around his shoulder, causing him to let out a yelp when he was pulled back, he felt the two press their cheeks onto his as they grin at him.

"Oh, but we really do. We need to see if this chump is worthy of you."

"Mm hmm. Maybe we can invite Karl and Quackity to help." George sighs, but in all honesty, he quite appreciates it.

"Haa, sure." the plan to find his soulmate soon turned into a trip between them and the other two, a little road trip from Orlando to Miami. Sometimes the main objective as to why they were traveling to Miami would be thrown out the window by Sapnap and Dream because it was a road trip between their little group and even if they couldn't find his soulmate, they were going to enjoy themselves and have fun. The day to set out was when Quackity and Karl rocked up to Dream's place, they exchanged their happy greetings before jumping into the car and starting their three-hour trip from Orlando to Miami.

Dream was the first to drive, George in the passenger seat while Sapnap, Quackity, and Karl sat in the back, in that order. Most of the ride was George sitting in silence as he thought of countless scenarios in his head, what is he supposed to say when he meets them? Are they going to like him? How was he supposed to act with a complete stranger? How was he going to explain that he was their soulmate? He groaned as he buried his face into the palms of his hands, he was having a mental breakdown but the sound of his friend's encouragement managed to lift his spirits.

Just a bit.

"Damn, that was a long drive." Sapnap groaned out, placing his hands on the lower side of his back and leaning backward, letting out a sigh when he heard a crack. The others made noises of agreement, stretching their aching bodies as they filed out of the car and looked around. Quackity lit out a cheer, inhaling deeply through his nose to inhale the scent of the salty ocean water, grinning to himself when he felt the blistering sun shining down on him.

"But it's all worth it, don't you think?" Karl giggles to himself while nodding his head.

"Mm hmm, even if we don't manage to find them, we can still enjoy ourselves, right?" they all turn to George and saw he wasn't really listening, his attention back on the photo. Dream was the first to approach him, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a light squeeze, this caused the brit to finally raise his head to look up at his friend.

"We'll do our best to find them, okay? We won't stop until you want to, okay?" he slowly nods his head.

"Okay. Thanks for the help." they each give him a grin.

"Without a doubt, George!" he mirrors the expression they gave him before they left the parking lot, finding the location where the picture was taken was a hassle. They were at Miami Beach, a popular beach and a tourist attraction within Florida and finding that one specific spot from that photo was most likely going to take forever. Though, keeping to their word, half of the time they spent that day looking for his soulmate while the other was spent relaxing under the sun, playing in the water, and greeting a couple fans that recognized them... to which Dream sped off and jumped into a bush to hide since he hadn't really face revealed just yet and only left his house for moral support for George, also to meet the fucker who was his sou--

"This is taker forever." George groaned out, slapping his hands onto his face and dragging them down. He and the other four sat on beach chairs, each with a beverage in their hands while laying down, though George was the only one sitting up straight "What if we don't find him them?" Quackity rolled his eyes, pushing his glasses up.

"You're being dramatic and impatient, Gogy. Plus, meeting your soulmate is all about fate. Finding them is all about luck... and it is a coincidence." with that, he flicked them back down before relaxing into his chair, Karl was the next to comment, raising his head and nonchalantly waving his hand.

"He's right. You can't rush the system." George rolls his eyes.

"You guys are enjoying this too much." he grumbles, he just sighs before standing to his feet and walking off, muttering that he needed some time to be alone. This time, he was walking around with no destination in mind, just simply letting his feet carry him to wherever they needed to go. The thought of never being able to find his soulmate was slowly beginning to plague his mind and negative thoughts were circulating within his thoughts, he pulled out the photo once more, his full attention on it as he continued to walk.

What if I can never find yo--

"Incoming!" he was startled at the shout, he raised his head, only to let out a shout when he was brought to the sandy ground when someone landed on top of him. If his day couldn't get any worse, it just did. His hand closed into a tight fist and so he goes to lash out at the person in front of him but paused when they were already on their feet, a look of guilt on their face as they extended their hand out to him "Ah, shit! I'm so sorry!"

"Nice going, dude!" a voice shouted from behind the stranger, to which an irritated took over his apologetic one as he turned his head around to shout and glare at the individual.

"Shut the fuck up! It's your fault for not being able to receive it properly! You didn't even score us a point!" the group behind him laughed as he just shook his head, he then looked back down at George once more and laughed nervously "I really am sorry about crashing into you, I just get pretty competitive when playing sports." George continued to stare at the hand extended out to him before hesitantly taking it.

"Don't worry about it." George was yanked to his feet, stumbling forward by the amount of force the other put into it, and that landed him in his chest. George grew flustered and pushed himself back, cursing himself with how easily his face flushed a shade of pink.

"Are you alright there?" he reached forward, noticing how his face turned pink that reached to the tips of his ears.

"I-I'm fine, I swear." though the other was still concerned, he nodded his head. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the adrenaline that was bursting throughout his entire body slowly begin to fade away and that awkwardness between strangers start to rise up, he wanted to start a conversation between himself and the rather pretty man before him, but before he could start, a volleyball was spiked into the back of his head that made his head jerk forward, this also caused George to gasp "Holy-- are you okay?" he shouts, reaching forward before flinching backward when the other glared at his snickering friends.

"Oh for the love of-- you're fucking dead meat, you hear me!" he shouts, the blush returned to George's face when he saw the taller man pull his shirt over his head, and there he saw his muscular and toned body that was covered in sweat, sand and seawater "Sorry again." he apologies before rushing off to kick his friend's ass, George meekly waved goodbye before backing away. He slaps his face to regain his composure and let out a sigh, he then pulled out the photo to see if it was damaged during the fall but he froze when he saw that a person finally appeared in the picture.

There, he saw the image of the man who crashed on him, a bright smile on his face as he offered his hand to what he believed was him, and a soft blush tinted his cheeks. George felt his heart start racing, his breathing and the little words falling from his lips stuttering as he raised his head in search of the man that was walking away from him. Before he knew it, his legs were moving on their own once more to chase after the attractive and tall man.

"Wai... wait!" his voice spoke for him as his arm reached towards him, the latter was just about to reach his friends when he felt someone grab his wrist and yank him backward. He had a confused look on his face as he turned around, and there he saw that pale yet gorgeous brunette before him once more.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked, leaning down to gently grab at the arm that was holding his wrist, George was panting slightly as his grip on his wrist tightened.

"I-I'm... you're my-- dammit, I..." he couldn't speak, when he managed to collect himself, he raised the photo with trembling hands, and the male within his hands stared at it closely. There was silence between them once more and George was regretting the fact that he was being so clingy to a stranger, but in all honesty, he was getting restless and just wanted to know if he was the one "I think you're my soulmate."

...

...

"Damn, we knew you were gay." George gasped silently when he heard voices, raising his head, he paused when he saw that the man in front of him had a flustered expression on his face, a blush on his cheeks while his friends stood behind him and stared at the photo "Can't say I'm not jealous though."

"Your soulmate is quite pretty."

"Talk about pretty privileges." he just growled at them, they snicker before running away, but one of them handed his phone to him. The stranger gently slipped his hand out of George's grip so he could remove his phone case, there, he pulled out his own polaroid photo and looked at his closely. He slowly nods his head before showing George, and there he saw that the picture revealed him with a flushed face, a soft and nervous smile on his face as he hands one hand to his chest while the other was slowly reaching forward.

"So you're my soulmate..." he mumbled softly, to which George slowly nodded his head "Um... my name is [M/N], quite an awkward way to meet your soulmate, don't you think?" George giggled softly.

"Yeah, I suppose. I'm George, by the way." [M/N] runs a hand through his [H/C] locks, messing with his hair before extending his hand out to him.

"Would you like to, I don't know, get to know each other?" he offered, George stared at his hand, [M/N] urging him to take it, the former took a breath before giving him a nervous smile and taking his hand.

"I'd like that very much."

Headcanons:

the two of them spent the rest of that day getting to know each other.

george learnt that [m/n] traveled a lot, explaining as to why there were so many photos of random locations.

he also learnt the reason as to why [m/n] was in florida in the first place, it was because that was where he was going to meet george.

wow, what a damn coincidence, it wasn’t just because [m/n] was planning a trip to miami beach but to damn find him.

[m/n] learnt from the other that he was from britian, this caused the bigger one of the two to clap his hands and saying that he’s been planning on visiting britian but now won’t because george was in america.

the two of them hadn’t even realized how long they had been talking for until george’s phone started ringing because his friends were wondering where the hell he was.

cue george bringing [m/n] back to his group of friends.

cue the look of shock on their faces as the 6″5ft shirtless man stood next to george.

quackity wanted to square up with this tall hunk of meat.

dream was totally not jealous that this guy was actually really attractive.

karl was clapping.

sapnap was laughing.

at the end of the day, [m/n] and his group of equally tall friends invited george and his friends back to their hotel room to hang about so that they wouldn’t have to drive elsewhere to find accommodations.

[m/n] and george were quite perfect together. 

they both had their own way with showing affections, and since neither of them were very forward or showy about PDA, holding hands was enough for them that very moment until they were ready. 

but george couldn’t help his heart from fluttering each time he saw [m/n] smile at him and press his lips to the back of his hands and knuckles.

this trip to america was totally worth it all in the end.

Ocean

word count: 4880

Fandom: MCYT Pairing: SBI Family x Brother!Orca!Reader Pronouns: He/Him Relationship: Familial Occupation: Pirate Captain Ability: Orca Hybrid

The character is that of a orca hybrid, allowing them to have traits of a orca. They have abnormal strength and speed with keen senses of hearing and sight, making their eyes and ears almost sensitive to anything. They are also granted with an abnormal height and the gift to shapeshift from a human/normal form to a more monstrous form. Both in and out of their full form, they are granted excellent swimming abilities.

Keys:

[M/N]: Male Name [S/C]: Skin Color [H/C]: Hair Color [E/C]: Eye Color  [U/N]: Username

Warnings: vulgar language, violence.

got this idea after reading this story by @sunflowerdaisybee​ of their SBI x sibling!reader, go check out their story because I liked it very much.

might make a part two, might not.

that is all.

“Full bore into the abyss!”

“Are you mad?!”

The captain of the ship that was sailing through a terrible storm let out a wild laugh as thunder boomed and lightning crashed from behind him, his crewmembers were hurrying themselves across the deck to prevent the ship from possibly capsizing from the terrible weather all because their captain was just too damn stubborn to go around the storm and instead went through it. This group of individuals was not your average group of ruffians, this was a group of pirates that was overrun with ocean type hybrids! Not a single one was a human, and the captain of this pirate crew was an orca.

The Killer Whale: [M/N]! This individual was wanted throughout the entire ocean for his countless crimes against the laws of the sea. Piracy, smuggling, arson, murder, impersonating an officer, sailing under false colors, kidnapping, looting, brigandage, pilfering, depravity, depredation, general lawlessness, and those are the few that he can remember. He was the reckless kind that would not hesitate to take matters into his own hands to get the results that he wants or needed, but he was also smart enough to know not to do anything too foolish. His crew was always his number one priority before anything else, he thought of them as another family; one that he had not left behind to live the life he wanted on the ocean.

This man was crazy and he just loved the ocean, it always made him feel free, he wondered if this is how his father felt whenever he would fly in the sky away from the ground. That’s why he loved the thrill of sailing through storms, that thrill of the waves crashing against his beloved ship, it always got his blood pumping whenever the rain poured down on him and that slightly fear of their ship not making it through made it all the more exciting. This man was an orca hybrid, a more than enough reason as to why people dubbed him the Killer Whale, but that’s beside the point. [M/N] was constantly in his full orca form. In his human form, he is about 7″2ft; his half human/half orca is about 8″0ft; his full form is 8″8ft, so this man is already gigantic from the beginning. 

“Hah!” turning towards the crewmate that shouted at him, he gave them a toothy grin as his hold on the wheel tightened so he wouldn’t lose the ship to the ocean waves “You afraid to get wet?” a few other crewmates groan, when he spoke like that, there was no talking sense into their captain. He laughed once more at the state of his crew as soon as they were out of the storm, they were all exhausted from their battle against mother nature and had practically passed out on the deck as soon as they hit clear waters and skies.

“Captain... can we please rest now?” he huffed, running a hand over the smooth skin of his head and nodded.

“Well, alright. We’ve done enough sailing, why don’t you drop the anchor so we can rest up tonight?” he rolled his eyes at the sound of loud cheering “You bunch of sea guppies, we’re all creatures of the sea! What’s there to be afraid of is we do capsize?”

“We lose all the treasure we accumulated over our countless adventures.” this caused [M/N] to pause, looking up in thought before nodding his head.

“Heh, now that’s a good reason, matey.” he laced his fingers together, cracking them over his head as he turned on his heels and started making his way to his quarters, passing by his vice-captain to give him some orders “You’re in charge while I go rest up myself, call me if anything happens.”

“Yes captain.” he clicked his tongue with winking before finally leaving, he let out a sigh while stretching his arms then collapsed onto his chair in front of his desk. He then kicks his feet onto the said desk while popping the cork of a bottle of wine and taking a couple swigs from the alcoholic beverage, he hums to himself as the liquid ran down his throat while some slipped between his lips and ran down his jaw. Licking his lips, he sniffles to himself as he looked around his personal room and smirked to himself, never in a million years would he have thought he would make a name as infamous as his own. 

“I really should pay the old man a visit.” he leans back once more, an arm hanging back as he takes another swig of the wine before pausing while letting out a hum at the sound of a bird.

*CAW*

*CAW*

“Hmm?” pulling his head up, he raised a brow at the sight of a crow landing on his foot “Now what’s a bird-like yourself doing out in the middle of the ocean with nowhere to land for miles?” he lifts his leg slightly and there he saw a letter of sorts strapped to its leg, his face lit up as he moved his leg so that it was closer to towards him so that the crow could perch itself on his hand. He set the bottle of wine down to caress the side of its head, humming softly when it leaned into the affectionate gesture. He soon removed the letter off of its leg and then proceeded to move it so that it was perched on his shoulder, with that, he opened the letter and read through the contents.

"Dear [M/N],

It’s been a long time, hasn't it? I won't take up too much of your time since you're probably very busy, being the captain of an infamous pirate crew, so I'll make this quick.

You left the house at a rather young age so you probably haven't met your brothers. That's right, you have three younger siblings! Adoptive, I know, though one of them actually is my biological son while the other two I picked up just like you.

I thought that if you're near the SMP, you could swing by and I could introduce you to them. I mentioned that they had an elder brother that was a pirate and they were more than excited to meet you. I hope you could meet them as well, but I won't pressure you to stop your adventures to meet them.

I'll see you when I see you.

Yours truly, Philza."

“Hmph, it’s almost as if he’s reading my mind.” he muttered to himself but ultimately felt excited after reading the letter, brothers? Philza picked up more kids and dubbed them his sons, now that was exciting to hear after a few months of no letters. He opens a drawer and drops the letter into the half-full drawer of letters from his father, he closes it then pulls out a blank paper, a quill and some ink to write his response. He reads it over before nodding his head and closing it, sealing it in an envelope then wax sealing it with a symbol of his pirate crew “Make sure this letter gets back to my dad, I’m counting on you.” he snickers softly when the crow salutes before flying off. 

‘Brothers, huh? I wonder what they’re like.’ he thinks back to his childhood with Philza and laughs to himself, he remembered how much of a handful he was for the already old man. He always loved being near the ocean, whether it be because he’s an oceanic hybrid or not, it was always so refreshing to be in the water than out of it. Philza wasn’t that big of a fan because of his wings so to compromise, he would pick him up and fly to a good enough height then drop him from a said height into the water for a big splash. Thinking back to his childhood brought a smile to his lips, he nods his head and stands to his feet and makes his way to the main deck where his crewmembers were casually talking while doing their assigned chores.

“Hear me, men!” he shouts, this caused them all to look over at him, raising a brow when they saw the bright smile on his face “Tomorrow, we set sail for the SMP! I have a certain someone waiting to see his son.” they all share glances at each other after the short announcement.

“We’re heading to land?”

“Then that means...”

“Party time!” he laughs at the conclusion, that was true. Whenever they did visit any island, that would always mean they head to the closest tavern to party for the rest of their stay there and relax until [M/N] decided they leave. He shook his head when they immediately raised the anchor while their navigator took to the wheel so they could head to the SMP ASAP, well, at least they weren’t wasting any time.

[with the sbi family]

“Dear old man,

It sure has been a long time, so imagine my surprise after you blessed me with the news of me having brothers. I’m very excited to meet the boys you have failed to mention in the previous letters, were you planning on surprising me or did you forget?

You must be getting really old if you did forget, and you wonder why I call you old man, old man. That’s beside the point, I’d be more than happy to drop everything just to see you and my new brothers. Don’t ever think that you’re giving me trouble just for a visit, I’ve been meaning to visit you anyways.

I don’t know exactly when I’ll arrive at the SMP, but knowing my crew, they’ll make it a top priority just to get to an island to relax after weeks of being on the ocean waters. We’ll be docked at the same place we always stay at whenever we come to visit.

See you soon.

Your favorite son, [M/N].”

“Pft, bold of him to assume he’s my favorite.” he muttered under his breath after reading the reply from his eldest son, his crow returned from [M/N] with a satisfied look on its face. Philza was excited to see the response and was thrilled when he read that [M/N] was quite literally dropping everything just to meet the brothers he had mentioned in the letter. Speaking of which, he hadn’t meant to mention [M/N] around his three sons, it was an accidental slip of the tongue and the three boys demanded to meet [M/N].

“Was that from the pirate?” Technoblade, the now second eldest who was a piglin hybrid, asked him as he rested his arms on the armrest while his head laid on top of his arms “Did he say he was coming?” Philza chuckled softly as he nodded his head, raising his hand to rest on top of his head.

“It was, and his name is [M/N].”

[M/N]: his eldest son that he accidentally picked up when he was sailing through a storm because god forbid he fly through it. The young orca was a stowaway in a crate of food that was likely abandoned or lost by his own family, so with nowhere to call home, he took the young calf as his own and raised him to the man he is today.

Wilbur: the second and biological son to Philza, a human child that bared more of a resemblance to his mother, the love of Philza’s life Kristin (Samsung Fridge) who’s love for music and theatre. Though he was quiet on certain occasions, the older man adored his son for bringing back the boisterous atmosphere after his eldest son left the home.

Technoblade: the third son, he found this young piglin hybrid alone in the nether with nothing more than the clothes on his back. He was probably the same age as Wilbur, he also thought Wilbur could use a brother since his eldest was gone and Wilbur looked lonely. Making sure that Technoblade wasn’t missing or anything, he brought the young boy home and raised him alongside his other son.

Tommy: his fourth and youngest son was randomly dropped off in front of his home with no letter or any sign left of the boy’s parents, but it was startling how similar this young child shared an appearance like himself. He probably wouldn’t have brought Tommy if it weren’t for the fact that both Wilbur and Technoblade were excited to get a younger sibling, so he thought, why the hell not and closed the door behind him with Tommy in his arms. 

“When is he going to get here, dad?” Wilbur asked, popping his head beside Technoblade.

“He isn’t coming directly to the house, so we’re going to him at the dock.” he let out an oof when Tommy threw himself onto Philza’s lap, a bright look on his face as he stared up at his father.

“So we’re going to see his ship? A real pirate ship?”

“That’s right, if you’re good enough, he might just let you aboard.” he chuckled when all three of them let out cheers of excitement, but himself was just as excited as his sons to see [M/N] again. How long has it been exactly since he last saw [M/N]? Several years, perhaps? He was seven when he first picked him up and he raised him to about seventeen years old before he left, Wilbur was born three years later and he’s currently eight... eleven years? That sounds about right.

“How old is he now, dad?” Wilbur asked.

“Hmm, if I do the math right, he should be about... twenty-eight?” Tommy makes a face.

“Old.” Technoblade and Wilbur snort, Philza just chuckled with a shake of his head and decided to tell them all the stories of the infamous pirate Killer Whale and all his adventures across the sea. When he finally got the letter that [M/N] arrived at the SMP and decided that he and his crew were staying for a couple days up to a week, he informed his youngest three and watching them scurry around to get ready was one of the funniest things to see. 

“Is he as scary as you made him out to be?” Tommy asked.

“Well, I say it’s like a character he has to play. He’s known as a ruthless killer of the sea, but he’s actually quite a big softy. Hah, he would often play with other sea life whenever we would go out swimming and sometimes he would cry at the sight of turtles being harassed by zombies. He gets very embarrassed whenever I bring it up.”

“Will he like us?” Technoblade asks “He’s twenty years older than us, don’t you think he’ll find it odd to have brothers that’s two decades younger than him?” Philza just shook his head.

“Not really. Family is family in his eyes. He told me that his ragtag crew of pirates are the family he couldn’t bring with him when he started his adventure. They range from a variety of different ages, different species, you name it! Whether you’re children or not, he’ll still consider you his brothers.” he was relieved when that was enough to reassure Technoblade, to which the young boy nodded his head as he reached forward to take Philza’s hand, Wilbur noticed this and took his other hand whilst Tommy sat a top the shoulders of their father. 

“Hurry up dad, I really want to meet him!” Tommy shouted, he laughs to himself when he was then being dragged to the docks by Wilbur and Technoblade, who were just as enthusiastic as their youngest brother. They now stood in front of tavern that was bustling with noises that ranged from shouting, screaming and singing...? Can that noise really be considered singing? Philza takes a deep breath and goes to enter but quickly stepped to the side, pulling his sons with him, when a barrel flew through the doors and crashed into the wall behind them. 

...

...

“I’m having second thoughts.” Technoblade says after hearing loud cheering come from inside the tavern after the barrel came flying through the doors.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I promise, he’ll tone it down when he sees you guys.” he put Tommy down and made sure he was close to his brothers, he takes a deep breath as he approached the doors before finally pushing them open and entering the tavern. Technoblade, Wilbur and Tommy held onto the end of Philza’s haori and they were all blown away that the tavern was filled to the brim of oceanic hybrids that were partying like there was no tomorrow. They paid the family no mind as they continued to sing sea shanties while cheering on the two big hybrids that were drinking ale from barrels.

“Chug, chug, chug, chug!” the crew chanted wildly, one of the two collapsed to the ground, the barrel spilling ale everywhere for they weren’t able to finish it. The latter continued to drink and when he finished he let out a loud breath then slammed the now empty barrel to the ground before letting out a loud cheer, throwing his fist in the air with a wide grin.

“You’re a few years too early to challenge I to a drink off, mate.”

“That’s the captain for you!”

“Him and that bottomless stomach of his!” [M/N] gave a toothy grin, snickering to himself when his vice captain came up to him and wrapped their arm around his shoulder, he goes to continue to drink but was stopped at the call of his name.

“[M/N]!” he turned his head and his eyes widened slightly at the sight of the blonde man, Philza flinched slightly when all eyes were on him and was having second thoughts, he soon let out a grunt when [M/N] came rushing over to him with his arms wide open.

“Dad!” he exclaimed before kneeling down to wrap his arms around Philza and bringing him into a hug, his dorsal fin and fluke wagging as he embraced his father after so long “It’s so nice to finally see you after all these years!” he adds as he pulls away but still had a hold on him, snickering softly when Philza’s feet couldn’t touch the ground.

“It’s good to see you too, [M/N]. I missed you.” [M/N]’s fluke tail continued to wag, a few of [M/N]’s crewmates whistle at the sight.

“Wow, so that’s the man that raised captain [M/N]?”

“He really is a bird hybrid?”

“Is he a crow?”

“I’ve never seen a bird hybrid up close.” the blonde man started patting [M/N] on the shoulder to gain his attention and when he got it, he gave him a nervous smile.

“There’s still a few people I need you to meet.” at that, his face lit up once more and he moved Philza to the side and there he saw the three children that had to be his brothers. The tallest of the three had short pink hair that looked like it was growing with skin that was a lighter shade of pink than his hair, a paper crown sat a top his head as he wore a simple white button up, trousers and boots. The second was a boy with curly brown hair and matching brown eyes, he wore a bright yellow sweater with blue jeans and shoes. The smallest of the three had bright blonde hair that matched his-- their father along with the blue eyes, he wore a simple white shirt with red sleeves, shorts and sho-- wait a damn minute, where are his shoes? “[M/N], these are the brothers I mentioned in the letter. Meet Wilbur, Technoblade and Tommy. Boys, meet [M/N].” said man hurriedly put Philza down and gave the three young children and friendly smile.

“Hello, it’s great to finally meet you three. I hope we can get along.” [M/N] felt a bead of sweat roll down his cheek when the three only stared up at him in silence, then Tommy burst into tears “Wha-- what?” he paled, ignoring the way his crew were laughing as he tried to comfort the crying boy.

“Wow, you made them cry.”

“Some brother you are.”

“So scary.” his crew booked a private room so that Philza can usher the boys in to calm them down, to which the older two stood in the hallway, though, Philza was looking down at [M/N] as he was hunched over in a corner and drawing circles into the ground.

“Am I really that scary?” this question got him a smack across the head.

“You’re literally a killer whale, [M/N]. You’re huge with an intimidating aura surrounding you.” this caused him to continue sulking “If you don’t want to scare them, especially Tommy, why don’t you look like a human?” this caused [M/N] to flinch at the suggestion.

“Human?” he stood up and looked into his reflection through the mirror and pulled a face, placing a hand on his cheek “I don’t remember the last time I adorned the appearance of a human, my whole pirating life revolved around me being an orca.” Philza shrugged as he looked into the mirror with him.

“Well, it’s either that or you live with them fearing you.”

“Now that’s just mean.” he shrugs.

“But you and I both know that it’s true.” [M/N] exhaled through his noses and looked at his reflection once more, dangit. Wilbur and Technoblade were whispering sweet nothings into Tommy’s ear to soothe him, to which he had calmed down from his crying.

“I didn’t expect him to be that big.”

“I didn’t expect Tommy to cry.” Wilbur then looked down at him “Didn’t you say that you were a big man, Tommy?” the five year old only sniffled.

“I am a b-big man!” they all flinch, to which Tommy let out a yelp, when there was a knock at the door. They relaxed when they saw that it was only their father, however, he was briefly talking to someone from behind the door before shuffling inside.

“Come on, don’t be getting shy now.”

“I feel weird.” it was [M/N]’s voice, but it sounded different compared to earlier. Philza waved his hand and so [M/N]’s let out a sigh and finally entered the room, causing the three children to stare in slightly shock at his different appearance. Instead of the body of an orca with legs, [M/N] now looked completely human with pale skin and black markings where an orca’s skin was black. He still had an abnormal height but at least it wasn’t overwhelming like before, he had short messy [H/C] hair with deep [E/C] eyes. The clothes he wore looked a little looser and baggy compared to when he was an orca, I guess that was because his muscles were more apparent when he was an animal. As a human, he also had many tattoos of islands that he must have visited along with a few flowers, feathers and a compass, his ears were pierced as well and he had a black crow feather hanging along the side of his face from his hair “There, you happy?” he said as he looked at his father, placing his hands on his hips while leaning his weight onto his foot.

“Very, you look just as handsome as the day you left.” this comment raise heat to rush to his pale skin, Philza then clapped his hands as he looked at the other three children “Boys, this is [M/N]’s human form, I hope it’s less scary.”

“You’re making me look bad.” [M/N] nervously rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes averted from the three small children, he takes a deep breath before approaching them and kneeling down, making sure he didn’t get too close so they wouldn’t feel uncomfortable “I’m sorry if I’ve made you three nervous, I didn’t mean to. I haven’t exactly interacted with young children in a long time, but I really want to make this work because this is the first time I’ve had brothers this young before. I’ll stay like this to make sure you guys are comfortable around me, how does that sound?” he believed that Wilbur and Technoblade could handle it, but he was more worried about Tommy, the poor boy cried on sight. He waited nervously and eagerly for his response, swallow thickly as the blonde boy peered over the shoulders of his older brothers shielding him from the stranger.

“... did those hurt?” was the first thing Tommy said, [M/N] didn’t understand the question until he noticed where Tommy was looking, he glanced down while raising his hand and saw that he was staring at the few scars along his chest that were peeking from under his shirt.

“Huh? These? Psh, with the adrenaline pumping, it barely hurt. What hurt was getting the damned thing all stitched up.” he then raised his arm “Wanna see the scar I got after getting harpooned?” Philza stood in the background, a happy smile gracing his lips that [M/N] managed to get the boys to settle down and marvel at works of art all over his body along with the scars left behind the countless battles he’s had over the years. It made him happy that, despite the initial introduction, Tommy now sat snug in his lap while Wilbur and Technoblade sat beside him as he pointed at each of his tattoos and the meanings behind them.

‘I’m glad they’re getting along, I guess I was worried for nothing.’ 

Headcanon:

[m/n] spoke with his brother’s for hours, recalling another one of his tales, that he hadn’t realized that the noise from inside the bar had died down whilst his own father was leaning against his back as he fell asleep.

he probably would have moved them to the couch if it weren’t for the fact that even the three young boys had fallen asleep on him.

he was in a predicament.

fuck it-- he might as well just sleep on the floor with them.

the morning was great because he was cuddled up with his brothers along with his father.

it wasn’t so great for his crew because they were all groaning in pain from the hangovers from the excessive drinking.

he threw water of them to wake them up and told them to stop bitching. 

when the three boys were awake, he brought them aboard his ship and showed them around.

them and his crew were more than excited to show the children around, however, they too had to look like humans as to not overwhelm and startle children.

they were rewarded with booze.

when [m/n] had to set sail again, tommy burst into tears once more because he wanted [m/n] to stay.

why couldn’t he stay?

did he not like them?

quite the opposite really.

he was a wanted man, and the longer he stayed in a certain area, the faster the government authorities got to capturing his band of crazies.

wilbur and technoblade were just as upset because they wouldn’t get to see or hear all his epic tales and spend time with his crew.

[m/n], however, promised to visit more often and send letters to hear from them.

he even promised to send or bring them souvenirs from his adventures, giving them something to look forward too.

when asked why he couldn’t just stay longer, his answer was the fact that his story still hadn’t found its ending just yet and was still being told and written. 

the next time he did drop by he had a few new tattoos that signified his brotherhood to them and represented each brother.

a lute for wilbur, a cutlass sword for technoblade, and an infinity sign for tommy.

tommy thought the infinity sign looked dumb.

when told that it was his limitless brotherly love for him, he had second thoughts.

though he tried not to make it blatantly obvious, to which he failed at it, tommy was without a doubt his favorite brother.

he promised the three brothers, that if they were ever to call him in need of his aid, he would not hesitate to drop everything just to come and help them in dire need.

he was their elder brother, and he was going to make up for his absence for not being there for them when they were growing up.

Lullaby pt. 3

word count: 15,031

Fandom: Poppy Playtime Pairing: N/A Pronouns: She/Her Relationship: Familial Occupation: Caretaker Ability: Ballerina Music Box

The character takes the appearance of a beautifully crafted music box ballerina figurine made of the toughest porcelain and glass, their clothes made from real fabric that is soft to touch and hair so smooth and silky you'd mistake it for real hair. Attached to their back is a wind up key that continuously spins when they're active and stops when they switch off. If the key is removed they cease to operate until key is returned and they are wound up again. Before CatNap, the character was the one to put the children to sleep with their built-in music box that would constantly be updated with new songs to play to help ease the children to sleep.

Keys:

[F/N]: Female Name

Warnings: the hour of joy, blood, death, all that shit.

"Lullaby" pt. 1, pt.2

I couldn't figure out how to end this so i'm not really satisfied with it, maybe I'll tweak it later but i'm not fucked right now.

that is all.

“Go! Get out of here! Get back to the Safe Haven!” Ballade’s voice cracked with urgency as she, Hoppy, Kickin, and Doey fled through the prison’s crumbling halls, their arms full of the few toys they had managed to rescue from the ruined ones. The closer they got to the Safe Haven, the more relentless their pursuers became. Ballade’s heart pounded — she couldn’t let them find it. She couldn’t let them get close. Not with CatNap lurking nearby. “I’ll stall them — just go!” she insisted, turning toward the oncoming threat.

“But what about you?!” Kickin’s voice rose in panic, his arms weighed down by the rescued toys.

“Forget about me! I’ll be fine!”

“How can we know that?!”

“Because CatNap won’t kill me — and those ruined critters can’t hurt me. But if any of you get caught, he’ll make sure you don’t walk away from it.” Her face hardened at the mention of him, her voice bitter. She knew his cruelty — but she also knew it would be far worse for the others.

“But if they take your key—”

“We won’t know how to save you!” Hoppy cried.

“Maybe it’s for the best.” Ballade’s voice softened, her guilt seeping through. “After everything I did… this mess is my fault. If I’m the price for your safety, so be it.” She turned to Doey, placing firm hands on his shoulders, her eyes filled with a desperate seriousness. “Take care of them, Doey. You’re the only one I trust to keep them all safe.”

“W-What? Me?!” Doey’s eyes went wide, his voice shaking. Behind them, the twisted laughter of their pursuers echoed closer, growing louder.

“I know it’s a lot, and I hate putting this burden on you, but I don’t have a choice! Please, Doey — if I don’t come back, don’t try to save me. Just… forget about me.” Doey shook his head violently, panic rising in his chest.

“B-But I don’t know the first thing about being a leader! I-I can’t—” A loud crash cut him off. They all spun toward the sound — the ruined critters had finally caught up, their broken forms crawling into view.

“There’s no time!” Ballade shouted. She pushed them back, then struck a support beam with all her strength. The ceiling groaned before collapsing in a cascade of rubble, blocking the path between them and the ruined toys. Dust filled the air, but Ballade didn’t waste a second. She turned back toward the enemy, steeling herself. “Go! I’ll hold them off. And remember what I said — if I don’t come back—”

“Ballade—” Kickin started.

“IF I DON’T COME BACK!” she repeated, her voice fierce. For a moment, no one moved. Then Hoppy sucked in a shaky breath, turning her face away as the sound of sinister laughter grew closer.

“…Don’t try to save you,” she whispered weakly.

And then they ran.

She let out a breath as she heard the sound of their footsteps disappear down the hall until she couldn't hear them anymore, she rolled her neck and turned towards the ruined critters with a fury burning in her eyes.

"Well then? Come on, let's see you get past me."

-

A figure stepped cautiously into a dimly lit hallway, their flashlight beam cutting through the heavy darkness. The walls here were lined with faded murals of smiling toys and children, their once-bright colors dulled with age and grime. The eerie quiet was only broken by the soft hum of flickering lights overhead. As they moved forward, the beam of their flashlight fell on something ahead — a shape standing motionless in the center of the corridor. Instinctively, their heart leapt, but as they got closer, they realized it wasn’t a threat.

It was a cardboard cutout.

The cutout depicted a toy they hadn’t seen before — a delicate, doll-like figure with big, expressive eyes and an elegant dress. Despite the wear and tear, the character’s design had a grace to it: flowing ribbons, musical motifs, and a kind but somewhat melancholy smile. The words “Press Here” was scrawled in ornate letters within a white speech bubble, though parts of it were scratched and peeling. Like the many other cardboard cutouts they came across, the reached forward and pressed the button and the cutout came to life with a burst of static from a hidden speaker.

“Hello there, little one!” The voice was warm and gentle, with a soft musical lilt, though the audio crackled with age. “Welcome to Playcare — the happiest, safest place in all of Playtime Co.! My name’s Ballade Ballerina, and I’ll be your guide while you stay with us!” there was a moment of silence before they press it again. “Here at Playcare, we believe every toy — and every child — deserves love, laughter, and a safe place to call home. You’ll make so many friends here! There’s games, stories, and oh-so-many songs to sing!” The recording glitched, her voice stretching into a distorted warble before cutting back in. “…And remember, if you ever feel scared or lonely, just find me! I’ll always be here to help!”

The cutout’s smile seemed a little too wide now, the dim light casting long shadows across its face.

The speaker clicked off, leaving only the faint buzz of static in its wake.

Ahead, the hallway stretched into darkness, and with a deep inhale they ventured on.

We now welcome our protagonist, the Player, and their journey for answers as they traverse deeper and deeper into Playtime Co. after the horrors they had experienced since stepping for into this facility.

Huggy Wuggy had been the first nightmare — a towering figure of blue fur and wide, unblinking eyes, his silent pursuit relentless. The player could still hear the sound of his massive limbs scraping through vents, the way his sharp teeth snapped just inches from their heels. Only through sheer desperation and quick thinking had they managed to outmaneuver him, dropping a heavy box on him just in time and watching him fall into the depths below.

And then there had been Mommy Longlegs.

Her sing-song voice still echoed in their mind, playful and sadistic. The chase through the twisted factory had been a nightmare of tangled machinery and crushing danger. Her elastic limbs had reached through impossible spaces, her laughter turning shrill when the player narrowly escaped her grasp. The final confrontation left the player scraped, battered, and with a deep sense of unease — as if she wasn’t truly gone.

And now they find themselves in what is left of Playcare.

Broken play structures loomed in the dim light. A carousel, long stilled, sat tilted on its side. Empty cribs and overturned chairs lay scattered across the area, and torn stuffed animals slumped against the walls.

But it hadn’t always been this way.

Once, Playcare had been filled with the sounds of laughter and music — a safe haven for the children of Playtime Co.’s employees. The walls had been vibrant and bright, decorated with colorful murals and happy handprints. The toys here had been companions, carefully crafted to nurture and delight. But something had gone terribly wrong.

The downfall of Playcare had been swift and brutal. Whispers of experiments gone awry crept through the abandoned halls — the blending of innocence and industry turned monstrous. The toys designed to protect became the very thing to fear. Children vanished, their giggles replaced with terrified screams. Staff members who tried to intervene were never seen again. The signs of that ruin were everywhere. Walls scarred with deep gouges, as though something with claws had tried to escape. Dried stains marred the cracked tiles, and the flickering lights cast frantic shadows. The colorful handprints smeared across the doors were not all made in paint.

Given the mission to bring back the power to the Playcare, the Player entered Home Sweet Home first as instructed by the young boy Ollie had instructed.

The red smoke hit them first — thick and choking, its hallucinogenic effects warping the world around them. Walls twisted and pulsed, laughter turned into distorted echoes, and familiar shapes morphed into something sinister. The Player stumbled through the haze, their vision swimming with impossible images — the faces of children flickering into grotesque grins, toys shifting and writhing with unnatural life. It felt endless. But somehow, they pushed through. When the smoke finally thinned, the Player found themselves in the wreckage of what had once been Home Sweet Home — a place once filled with children and laughter, now as broken and abandoned as the rest of Playcare. Cribs lay overturned, toys lay shattered, and the air was thick with an oppressive quiet.

And there in the main lobby of Home Sweet Home, the Player spotted a stage that had seen far better days. Its wooden frame sagged with age, the paint chipped and faded, and the once-vibrant curtain hung in tattered, dust-covered folds. The air was thick and heavy, carrying the faint scent of decay and something sickly sweet — like old candy left to rot. The soft creak of the floor beneath their feet echoed through the hollow stillness as the Player approached cautiously. Their eyes locked onto the curtain, noticing it was open just a crack. Through that narrow gap, a faint green glow pulsed softly.

Curiosity and unease prickled at the Player’s skin as they reached out, their fingers brushing the old fabric aside. The curtain’s texture was rough and brittle, and a cloud of dust rose as they pushed it aside. With a slow, hesitant motion, they opened the curtain wider — and their breath caught in their throat.

There, slumped against a pile of forgotten and broken boxes, sat the remains of Ballade Ballerina. The once-elegant toy had fallen into a state of tragic disrepair. Her porcelain-like face was cracked and smudged, the painted features chipped but still heartbreakingly delicate. Her glassy eyes, half-lidded and lifeless, stared into nothingness. Her dress, which had surely once been a vision of grace, lay in tatters — the flowing fabric torn and stained, the ribbons frayed and hanging limp. Her hair, once meticulously styled in a pristine bun, had fallen loose, draping unkempt and tangled over her face.

Despite her ruined state, there was an eerie beauty to her stillness — a lifelike presence that made the Player’s skin crawl. It was almost as if she could move at any moment. And through the dimness, the source of the green glow became clear: a battery clutched tightly in her unmoving hand.

"Whoa..." The Player’s voice was barely above a whisper, but even that seemed too loud in the oppressive quiet. Despite everything, they couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer realism of Ballade. Other than Poppy, she was the most human-like toy they had encountered — and even in her broken state, there was a strange sense of care in how she had been left here, as if someone had made an effort to preserve her, even as everything else around her crumbled.

Shaking off their unease, the Player activated their GrabPack, aiming for the battery. The metal claw latched onto it with ease, but when they tried to pull it back, Ballade’s arm jerked forward — her fingers remaining locked around the battery in an iron grip. The Player grimaced and tugged harder, but no matter how they pulled, she wouldn’t let go.

"Haaa, of course it wouldn’t be that easy," they murmured, frustration creeping into their voice.

As they stepped closer, their eyes fell on a crumpled, faded drawing lying near Ballade’s feet — clearly the work of a child from long ago. It depicted Ballade in happier days, twirling gracefully with a wind-up key embedded in her back. The detail stood out immediately. The Player’s gaze shifted to Ballade’s back, and sure enough — the slot for a wind-up key sat empty and waiting. Their heart sank. Of course it wouldn’t be as simple as taking the battery — they’d need to find that missing key.

Letting out a tired sigh, the Player stood and surveyed the wreckage around them. The thought of combing through Home Sweet Home for a tiny key felt like an impossible task — a needle in a haystack. But there was no choice.

Leaving the stage and the battery behind for now, they pressed forward, solving the puzzles scattered throughout Home Sweet Home. Room after room yielded new challenges and eerie reminders of the building’s past. Children’s murals, long faded, peeked through layers of grime. Toys lay scattered and broken, their smiles cracked and hollow. Every step forward felt like intruding on something long abandoned — and yet not entirely lifeless.

Eventually, their search led them to the upper levels — and into a room unlike the others.

It was unmistakable. The oversized, plush cat bed and scattered toy remains made it clear.

They had found CatNap’s old room.

Realizing what they had stumbled upon, they turned to leave — until something on the oversized bed caught their eye. Their heart leaped when they spotted it: the unmistakable glint of Ballade’s wind-up key. Without hesitation, they darted forward, snatching up the key and cradling it in their hands like a fragile treasure. Relief flooded them — but it was short-lived. The ever-present sense of being watched prickled at the back of their neck. CatNap was still lurking somewhere nearby. They had to move — and fast.

Keeping their steps light and their movements subtle, the Player hurried back down the stairs, every creak of the old wood sending spikes of fear through their exhausted body. They reached the stage without incident, their chest heaving with the effort to remain quiet. Climbing onto the stage, they knelt beside Ballade’s still form. Gently, they pushed her slumped body forward, revealing the empty key slot on her back. Taking a steadying breath, they slotted the key into place.

Then they began to wind.

The resistance was immediate — the mechanism inside her body was worn and rusted, and every turn of the key felt like a struggle. The Player’s arms burned with the effort, their grunts of exertion breaking the oppressive silence. It was a wonder the key turned at all.

Finally — with one last, straining twist — the key clicked into place. As the key slowly began to turn on its own, Ballade’s hand twitched. Fingers that had been frozen in a death grip began to uncurl. The green battery slipped free, falling to the stage with a quiet thud. The Player exhaled in relief, their muscles trembling with exhaustion, and reached forward to claim their prize.

With the final battery in hand, the player stumbled off the stage, their heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst from their chest. Every muscle in their body ached from the endless chase, the constant fear, the exhausting puzzles — but the urgency to get out of this place kept them moving. They tightened their grip on the battery as though it were their only lifeline.

Behind them, the eerie ticking of Ballade’s wind-up key still echoed softly, rhythmic and deliberate, growing fainter with each step as they hurried toward the battery slot. But even as the sound faded, it felt like it followed them — like something unseen was counting down.

The building around them felt more oppressive than ever — the walls seemed to close in tighter, the air thick and stale. Every shadow stretched a little too far, twisting unnaturally with the dim, flickering lights. Every distant creak and groan made their skin prickle, their breath catching in their throat. The remnants of Home Sweet Home were silent, but never still. And worst of all, they knew they weren’t alone.

CatNap was still out there. The colossal cat had been stalking them ever since they set foot in this cursed building — an ever-present threat lingering just out of sight. Watching. Waiting. The Player’s eyes darted to every darkened corner, every vent, every narrow hallway. The feeling of being hunted had become almost suffocating.

Reaching the battery slot, the Player slid the battery into place with trembling hands, the device clicking into position with a satisfying thud. They exhaled shakily as the system hummed to life, ancient machinery groaning and sputtering like a creature slowly awakening from a long slumber. Lights flickered, casting long, wavering shadows on the walls. The room vibrated with power as circuits sputtered and sparked to life.

But even with the relief of progress, that uneasy feeling didn’t leave them. Instinct tugged at the Player, a cold chill crawling up their spine. Slowly, almost unwillingly, they glanced back toward the stage.

They froze.

The stage was empty.

Ballade was gone.

The curtain still hung open, the boxes she had been slumped against remained — but she was no longer there. Only the faint sound of the ticking key remained, echoing softly from somewhere deeper in the building. The Player’s throat tightened, their pulse quickening as they scanned the darkened room. And then — the ticking stopped.

"W-Where... where did she--" the Player’s voice barely rose above a whisper, their words cut short by the suffocating weight of fear. But there was no time to linger, no time to question. They’d done what they were supposed to do within Home Sweet Home — the last thing they needed was to stick around where that big cat and an even bigger doll could find them.

Screw it.

They turned and ran, feet pounding against the floor as they rushed out of the building, desperate to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the threats lurking inside. But as they vanished into the dim, flickering corridors, they remained unaware of the pair of eyes watching their every move from the shadows.

-

Ballade didn’t know how long she had been turned off for — she never really could tell how much time passed when she was asleep until someone "woke her up." It was almost like being in a coma or perhaps paralyzed; she couldn’t move or see, but she could faintly hear what was happening in her surroundings. Distant voices, the scraping of metal, the slow decay of her world — all filtered through the darkness of her slumber.

She could feel it too — the slow breakdown of her own body. The way her delicate mechanisms grew rigid and rusted over time, the stiffness of her joints settling like an ache she couldn’t relieve. Dust settled thick over her frame, and the once-smooth grace of her design began to fade beneath the weight of neglect. Her porcelain-like face, once pristine and expressive, had cracked, faint fractures spreading like delicate spiderwebs. The once-vibrant paint of her features had faded and chipped, her eyes dull and lifeless. Her limbs, so carefully crafted for fluid movement, had grown stiff and unyielding, the internal gears grinding with each attempt at motion. The soft fabric of her dress had long since frayed, the elegant ribbons trailing in tatters. Her hair, once styled into a graceful bun, had loosened and fallen over her face in knotted, dusty strands. The neglect was total — and yet, she had felt it all.

But then, there was something new.

A click. A winding. The sudden, jarring sensation of gears turning, slow and strained, after so long without movement. She could feel her key twisting into place, the old machinery inside her fighting to respond. It hurt — but it also meant something else.

She was waking up.

*blink*

*blink*

A soft gasp left her lips as her eyes blinked to life, flickering with an eerie glow as they darted around in alarm, desperate to see who — or what — had turned her key. The disorientation was overwhelming. She felt the stiffness in every part of her body, her joints cracking and groaning as she shifted. The effort it took just to lift her head sent sharp pangs through her worn-out frame. She managed to catch a glimpse of a figure slipping out of her tent — too fast to make out any details. But she ignored it for now. There was something more important.

She needed to move.

The struggle was immediate and humiliating. As she tried to push herself upright, her legs buckled beneath her, the rusted mechanisms inside protesting every motion. She fell once, twice — each time catching herself just before hitting the stage floor. The effort left her breathless, but she forced herself onward, finally managing to stand on trembling legs. Peeking through the gap in the curtain, her wide eyes scanned the room — and then stopped, her breath catching.

A human.

Her mind reeled. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. An actual human employee. But… how? Weren’t they all dead? The factory had been silent for so long — abandoned, left to rot just like the toys inside. And yet there they were, very much alive. But why? Why on earth would anyone willingly come here? What could they possibly hope to achieve? More than anything, though — what confused her the most — was the fact that she did not recognize them. They must be a lower level employee, Leith told her she didn't need to put in the effort of remembering employees who were disposable. But still, how the hell did they get so far into the factory on their own?

How did they get past Huggy? And Mommy?

Her eyes narrowed as she watched them place the battery in its slot and restore power to Home Sweet Home. Hmmm... she’d just watch them from afar for now, just to see what they were doing. After stretching her limbs, she hoisted herself up by the rafters above her head, the rusted joints protesting but slowly obeying her commands. With surprising agility for something so long dormant, she leapt up to the upper levels of Home Sweet Home, silent and shadowed. From her vantage point above, she watched with cold amusement as the employee looked around in alarm, their panic clear when they noticed the empty stage. It was almost hilarious to watch them scramble out of the building with their tail between their legs.

Seriously… how had they gotten this far?

Ballade's eyes narrowed as she watched the employee from her spot in the upper levels of the building, their frantic movements betraying the fear she expected. Every little sound they made echoed through the hollow, broken remains of Home Sweet Home. The flickering lights cast long, distorted shadows across the decaying walls, making the space feel even more eerie and oppressive. She shifted quietly, her body still stiff and aching from years of stillness, the rusted joints inside her creaking with every small motion. She winced at the sound—like old gears grinding against each other—but her curiosity kept her silent and patient.

And then she saw it—something that truly caught her attention.

"Is that..." she whispered, her voice barely audible as she peered through a cracked and grime-streaked window, her face twisting in mock disbelief. "Poppy?" It had been so long since she’d last seen that doll—so long since any familiar faces crossed her path. The sight of that small, porcelain-like figure sent a strange jolt through her system. Ballade leaned against the windowsill, her faded ribbons trailing limply from her arms as she watched intently. Through the dim light, she saw Poppy handle Kissy Missy—ever the sweetheart—after she had tackled the employee to the ground in what was clearly an attempt to kill them.

Ballade’s fingers tapped rhythmically against the rotting wood beneath her, the soft sound blending with the distant hum of restored power and the occasional groan of the building settling. Her mind pieced together the situation from the fragmented conversation she managed to overhear. The employee had come to Playtime Co. searching for their missing coworkers—fools, she thought, for stepping into this graveyard of twisted dreams. And yet they had somehow survived encounters with Huggy Wuggy and Mommy Long Legs, defeating both of them despite the odds.

But their victory had been hollow. They’d been meant to leave—finally escape this nightmare by taking the train from the Game Station. And yet... Poppy had intervened. Ballade’s lips curled into a wry, bitter smile. Of course she had. That was so like that manipulative little girl. Trapped in that fragile doll body, Poppy was incapable of doing things on her own—so she pulled the strings of others, making them dance to her tune. It was always the same—always others who did the hard work while Poppy watched from the sidelines, her innocent appearance masking the calculating mind underneath.

And now it seemed she’d found her latest puppet.

The employee. The survivor.

But how long would they last, Ballade wondered, before Poppy’s game broke them too? How long before this poor fool realized they were nothing more than a disposable piece in Poppy’s never-ending quest for freedom? Ballade almost pitied them. Almost.

"Hmm, what to do, what to do." she murmured to herself. She continued to watch them from Home Sweet Home as they restored power to Playcare and a sense of nostalgia hit her like a wave. Memories of when Playcare had been whole—when laughter filled the air and the children’s joy was the only sound that mattered. She could still hear their giggles echoing faintly in her mind, the pitter-patter of tiny feet running through the halls. She remembered the way they’d reach for her hand, their eyes wide with wonder as she twirled and danced for them on the stage. The warmth of their applause, their delighted cheers—those days felt like a distant dream, faded and fra— she nearly threw herself out the window when she saw them approaching the school. "Oh, no. If she's still in there... uh oh."

-

Uh oh, indeed.

The Player moved cautiously through ruined corridors of the school, every step echoing off the cracked and peeling walls. They turned a corner into what looked like an old classroom, the faded remnants of colorful posters and children’s drawings hanging limply from the walls. As they ventured through the school, collecting notes that solved the mystery that happened to this establishment, the PA system crackled to life. A high, lilting voice filled the corridor, sweet yet off-kilter, like a pre-recorded message gone wrong.

"This is Miss Delight speaking, please excuse the interruption! Students, remain in your seats until the bell has rung, and no going in the halls without a hall pass!" The Player’s skin prickled as the message faded out. They pressed on, tension coiling in their gut. Later, as they crawled under a desk in another room, they caught a glimpse of her—a flash of frilly pastel fabric and jerky, uneven movement. Miss Delight walked across the hallway just ahead, her head twitching unnaturally, one glassy eye swiveling in its cracked porcelain face. The Player held their breath until she passed. As they were still reeling from the sight, Miss Delight’s voice boomed again over the PA system. "Wait, I recognize you… Yes! I remember! You used to work here! How are you… alive? Hm? Barb? Oh… Barb says you're looking for your co-workers. CatNap wouldn't like that you're here! You should leave, for your own safety."

Ignoring the warning, the Player pushed forward through the abandoned school. Eventually, they reached a door leading to a dark, forbidding area. The PA crackled again, the sweetness in Miss Delight’s tone giving way to something darker. "Not a good listener, are you? You're a lot like the other humans in that way. I wonder if your screams will sound like theirs too! I look forward to finding out."

Determined, the Player powered on the generator, hoping to illuminate their path. But the light was short-lived. With a loud crash, the door burst open, and Miss Delight strode into the room. In one swift motion, she lashed out with Barb—her twisted, jagged weapon—smashing the generator and sending its battery flying across the room. The lights flickered, then died, plunging the halls into darkness once again.

The Player races through the dim corridors, their breath coming in ragged gasps as Miss Delight’s sinister laughter rings out behind them. Every time they risk a glance back, they see her frozen in place — a weeping angel-like figure locked mid-step, her face twisted into an eerie smile. But each time they look away, even for a second, she draws closer. The sound of her footsteps echoes impossibly loud in the empty space, and the Player can almost feel her breath against their neck. Panic rises with every turn, every flickering shadow playing tricks on their eyes as they search frantically for more batteries to restore power and unlock the closed gates and doors.

At one point, the Player whips their head back, heart slamming in their chest — and Miss Delight is right there. Too close. Her twisted face inches from theirs, her hand outstretched, ready to grab — and then she stops. Dead still. The Player lets out a breath of relief that they managed to catch her before they caught them and slowly backs away, unaware that Miss Delight's gaze wasn't looking at them but instead on what was ahead of them. It was the gaze that was stopping her from getting too close to them, from killing them.

As they near the exit in the maintenance area, the desperation in Miss Delight becomes palpable. Her movements grow more erratic, more forceful, as if the thought of losing her prey is too much to bear. They sprint for the final gate, hands fumbling with the controls as the sound of her approach grows louder and faster. Finally, they spot a lever and yank it down with all their strength. The heavy door begins to close with a grinding screech — but Miss Delight is not done yet. With a burst of speed, she drops her frozen façade and charges forward, her porcelain face contorting with a mix of rage and desperation. The Player watches in slow motion as she reaches out, fingers just inches from their face — and then the door slams shut with a sickening crunch. The laughter stops. The halls fall silent, save for the faint echo of metal settling into place. And when the Player dares to look back, all that remains of Miss Delight is the twisted ruin of her head beneath the heavy door — her wide, delighted grin forever frozen in place.

"Whew..." finally, they can take a breather.

-

Ballade moved with calculated precision, her every step taken in the dark corners of the school, her presence barely more than a whisper in the air. She watched as Miss Delight, once a beacon of warmth, now stood twisted and savage, her eyes burning with hunger, no longer the kind and gentle teacher that had once graced these halls. It was a sickening sight, the aftermath of years of suffering, the price paid for survival. Ballade could feel the weight of regret heavy on her chest. If only she had been able to reach her sooner, perhaps things wouldn't have spiraled so far.

Ballade’s eyes tracked the employee, her focus shifting between them and Miss Delight. She couldn’t let the deranged teacher get too close. With careful timing, Ballade would step out just enough to catch Miss Delight’s attention, drawing her gaze away from the employee. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to stop Miss Delight in her tracks. Ballade would retreat the moment the employee turned their attention back towards the woman, ensuring the cycle continued. She had to make sure Miss Delight didn’t get close enough to the employee. She still wasn't sure what their goal was but Poppy needed them alive to achieve something, and she was very curious as to what it could possibly be.

When they reached the hallway leading to the exit in the maintenance area, the employee suddenly turned and fled, desperate to escape both the school and Miss Delight. Ballade watched helplessly as Miss Delight reached out for them, her fingers stretching toward their target. But as she drew near, the employee slammed the door down, crushing Miss Delight beneath its weight. Ballade approached the lifeless form slowly, a deep sadness in her eyes as she stared down at what had become of her.

"Oh, Miss Delight," she whispered softly, kneeling beside her. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. I wish it didn't have to come to this." Her hand gently caressed what was left of Miss Delight’s face, a tender gesture in the face of such brutality. As much as it pained her, maybe this was for the best. After a few moments of quiet reflection, Ballade rose to her feet. With a grunt of effort, she reached for the underside of the shutter and, using sheer brute force, ripped it open. She stepped out into the cavernous depths, her eyes narrowing as she set her sights on the employee once again. They were heading toward the Playhouse, the den of those ruined creatures. How could she not follow them now? The stakes had never been higher.

-

It was seriously one horror after the other.

After completing some puzzles within the caverns and quietly passing by CatNap worshipping an amalgamation of dead toys, the Player approaches a heavy, rusted door with a faded sign above it, signifying they're next destination was the Playhouse. The air grows colder as they step inside, the dim light flickering ominously. The walls are cracked and stained, and the distant sound of skittering echoes through the darkness.

Continuing into the Playhouse proper, The Player navigates a maze of shadowy rooms and claustrophobic tunnels. They're startled at the sight of the Ruined Critters lurking around, grotesque and twisted versions of their former selves, appearing suddenly from holes in the walls and nipping at their heels. Their chittering grows louder and more frantic as more of them join the pursuit. To keep them away and light their way, the Player uses their newly acquired orange hand — a weapon-like tool gained after surviving the School and defeating Miss Delight — to shoot flares that burst with brief, brilliant light, sending the Critters scurrying back.

Their progress is halted by a massive door requiring two pressure pads with the Playtime Co. logo to be activated. So much work to do, they thought. They enter a network of tunnels, solving the puzzles to locate two heavy boxes and drag them onto the pads, shooting at the ruined critters that came out of their little hidey holes before continuing with the task at hand. They perk up at the sound of shifting mechanisms rumbling through the walls as the door slowly creaks open. Beyond the door lies a vast chamber dominated by a towering central spire. A platform connected to a long beam juts out from the structure, they scurry onto the platform, pressing a button that has the platform moving rather slowly. As it aligns with various doorways, they curiously explores each one, eventually entering a cavernous pool room with stagnant water reflecting the dim light. At the back of the room are two foreboding yellow doors.

They shudder to themself as they enter the room and find a rusting cell block. They could only guess who the residents of the cells belonged to, counting eight altogether as they walked down the dimly lit hall. They're careful to mind their step when they spot a hole in the ground barely covered by the wooden boards that could collapse under their weight, if only they could just find the exi-

"You..." they jump in surprise at the sudden voice, their heart leaping into their throat. They whip their head around and their eyes widen at the sight of DogDay... or rather, what was left of him. A once-joyful toy now reduced to a ragged and broken figure hanging on the wall by his arms, his once-bright colors faded and his blood seeping through gaping tears in his fabric. "...You're Poppy's angel, come to save us."

"S-Save you...?" they whisper, their voice trembling as they take an uneasy step closer. Their eyes rake over his horrific form, a hand flying to their mouth in shock. His bisected torso, blood-stained and grotesque, was only held together by a leather belt cinched tight, barely keeping what little remained of his innards from spilling out. Despite his broken state, DogDay gave a weak, humorless chuckle.

"Nothing left to save... not here..." he rasped, his voice strained and fragile. "You're in CatNap's home, angel. Their home." He lifted a trembling arm, gesturing toward their bleak surroundings. The subtle sound of scampering echoed through the Playhouse—the Ruined Critters, always watching. Always waiting.

"A million pairs of eyes are on you now. Watching, waiting... hungry," he continued, his words a haunting whisper. "That... thing... CatNap. The Prototype is his god, and this..." his voice cracked as he gestured toward his broken body, "this is what he does to heretics." The distant sounds of the critters grew louder, their scratching filling the heavy silence.

"These little toys follow CatNap to avoid that very fate—and in return, they are fed." His breath hitched, his eyes glassy and distant. "We tried to fight it... to fight the Prototype's control." He swallowed hard, his voice barely above a whisper now. "I'm... the last of the Smiling Critters." the state he was left made them think of Ballade, how she was left to collect dust and to be forgotten by those who remembered her. CatNap must have had a deeper connection with these two to have kept them around, even with the conditions he gave them. "Listen to me, you need to get out of this place. You need to live." their eyes widened.

"You want me to... leave you here?" they whispered softly, their eyes darting around when they heard footsteps. "At least let me take you with me." he only shook his head.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I'll... only slow you down." they bit their lip.

"There must be something I can do." they mutter but DogDay shook his head.

"You and Poppy can fix this, end this madness, the torment, the—" The Player let out a startled shout when a hand suddenly appeared against the cell bars. They stumbled back, quickly raising the flare gun, only to freeze in shock at the sight of Ballade. She paid them no mind, her wide eyes fixed on DogDay with an overwhelming sense of sadness and horror.

"Oh, puppy..." she whispered, her voice trembling as her hand reached toward him. "What has he done to you...?" The empty void of DogDay's eyes seemed to spark to life at the sound of her voice—at the sight of her after so many years.

"B-Ballade? Is that really you? I'm not hallucinating, am I?" His voice cracked with disbelief. She shook her head, stepping into the cell and collapsing to her knees. Her hands cupped his ragged cheeks, her thumbs brushing over his battered face with heartbreaking gentleness. He leaned into her touch, starved for comfort after years of isolation and agony.

"This isn't a dream, right?" he whispered, his voice fragile.

"No, puppy," she murmured, her voice thick with emotion. "I'm really here. I'm here, my sweet baby." She pulled him into a tender embrace, cradling him as his broken frame shook with quiet sobs. Her hands rubbed soothing circles over his back, desperate to offer whatever solace she could.

"How long was I gone?" she asked, her voice muffled against his shoulder.

"...Four years," he whispered, his voice breaking. DogDay let out a soft grunt as her arms tightened around him. When he finally pulled back, his gaze locked onto hers—and the pain reflected in her glassy eyes was almost too much to bear.

"When you disappeared," he continued, his voice quivering, "it was the worst time of our lives. We didn’t know what he did to you, where you were... we couldn't even confirm if he’d taken you to the Prototype or not. We were so scared. What happened that day?" Tears welled in his eyes as he searched her face for answers.

"I'll explain later," she said quickly, shaking her head. "Right now, we need to get the hell out of here." Her eyes flicked up to the belts strapping him to the wall. "Hold on, puppy—I’m getting you down." her grief now replaced with anger, she grasped tightly at the belts and tore him free from his confines and when he fell into her arms, his own arms wrapped around her and they shared another tender embrace.

"U-Um, I hate to interrupt..." the Player's voice broke the moment, hesitant and uneasy. Both Ballade and DogDay turned toward them. "But I think we've got company." Ballade's face darkened instantly. She felt DogDay's arms tighten around her, his broken body trembling as the sound of the ruined critters echoed around them—scratching, skittering, getting closer.

"N-No, not again... please, not again," he whimpered, his voice cracking with fear. Ballade's eyes hardened.

"You! Come here!" She moved with sudden urgency, grabbing the Player before they could react. Spinning them around, she carefully pressed DogDay against the back of their GrabPack. With quick, practiced motions, she snatched up several of the discarded belts littering the ground and began strapping DogDay securely to their back.

"Alright, can you move well enough with him on your back?" she asked, tightening the last belt. The Player staggered slightly, adjusting to the unexpected weight.

"I-I think so—"

"No time! Get moving!" Ballade shoved them forward just as the first of the ruined critters began pouring out of the holes in the walls, their twisted forms scrambling toward them. DogDay watched as Ballade backed away, rolling her neck, her whole posture shifting into a predatory readiness. Despite his fear, a weak chuckle escaped him when he saw that familiar, dangerous glint in her eye.

"Is she going to be okay?" the Player asked breathlessly as they ran. DogDay let out a weary, fond laugh.

"Oh, she’ll be fine. Trust me." The Player plunged into the twisting tunnels of the Playhouse, their pulse pounding in their ears. DogDay’s weakened voice guided them through the maze-like corridors while the distant sounds of Ballade’s fight faded behind them. But the ruined critters weren’t far off. Their skittering grew louder, closer, and soon they were spilling from the walls, giving chase.

"Faster! Please—faster!" DogDay pleaded, his panic rising as the swarm closed in. Ahead, the path ended at a steep drop. Without hesitation, the Player launched themselves forward, using their Purple Hand to swing across the gap. The roller door slammed shut behind them with a metallic crash, cutting off the horrid screeches just in time. Shaken but alive, the Player stumbled into an elevator, their breath ragged. As the lift carried them upward to the top of the slide and out of the nightmare of the Playhouse, the reality of their narrow escape began to sink in. But there was no time to rest. Not yet.

"Finally... we're out!" the Player shouts aloud before pressing their hands to their face. "That was literal hell," they murmur against their palms. They feel a pat and see that it was DogDay.

"Are you alright, Angel? I'm sorry you had to lug my dead weight around while you were running." DogDay’s voice is soft, filled with guilt. They give a weak laugh in response.

"Nah, you're probably the nicest face I've seen that hasn't backstabbed me or actively tried to kill me. It's nice to have someone like that around after what's happened in the past few hours." DogDay gives his own weak laugh.

"I'll say. But thank you, Angel. You didn't have to do what you did." They shake their head.

"That toy scares me. I think she would have snapped my neck if I refused to do as she said." DogDay makes a face at their words, though they don’t see it. You're not wrong. "Anyways, are you sure she'll be okay? I feel bad for just leaving her there by herself."

"That's the thing, Angel. She prefers to be alone when dealing with the ruined critters — it allows her to fully let loose."

"Let loose?" they echo, confused.

"Yes. She was a toy designed to handle the bigger toys the human employees couldn’t — like Huggy and Mommy. The little ones? Though they outnumber her, they won’t even be able to leave so much as a scratch on her." As if on cue, the doors to the Playhouse are suddenly kicked off their hinges and a few dead critters fly out. Ballade steps out, crushing the neck of a ruined Crafty in her hands before kicking a ruined Bobby so hard it splatters blood all over the pavement.

"Better think twice before coming at me again, twerps!" she shouts, tossing the dead toy aside without a second thought. Her eyes scan the area, lighting up when she spots DogDay. "Puppy! You're okay!" DogDay cheers as Ballade scoops him up and starts twirling him around. It’s only when she starts planting kisses on his head that she notices the extra weight.

"I don't suppose you could put me down, could you?" the Player grunts from where they dangle off DogDay’s back. She sweatdrops.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that, Angel." Her tone carries a teasing lilt as she uses the nickname. Holding DogDay in her arms, she nuzzles her cheek against his head, cooing sweet nothings to comfort him. "Thank you, Angel. Not only for returning my key to me and turning me back on but for also protecting DogDay from those ruined toys." They rub the back of their head.

"It was nothing — I’m just glad you were there to hold them back." Ballade chuckles softly.

"Well, I've been following you ever since you stepped foot in the school. How else do you think you survived?" They blink in surprise.

"Wait — what?"

"I kept Miss Delight back each time you turned your back on her," she explains with a grin. "She got real close a couple of times, but I stopped her before she could kill you." She tilts her head, eyes gleaming. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Thanks," they mutter, still processing everything.

"Why are you trying to turn on all the backup generators by the way? What has Poppy got you doing?" Ballade asked, following the Player toward the Generator Room. She adjusted her hold on DogDay as she crouched down to squeeze through the tiny door. "I don't suppose you're trying to get the full 'Playcare' experience, are you?" The Player let out a weak, playful laugh.

"No, she wants me to redirect the red smoke — send it in the opposite direction from where it was in the beginning." Both Ballade and DogDay froze at the words, exchanging a look of confusion and concern.

"Why would she want you to do that, Angel?" DogDay asked, his voice uncertain. "Did she tell you why?" The Player shook their head.

"Not really." DogDay watched Ballade closely, noting the way her expression hardened in thought. They must have been in Gas Production Zone, inside were three massive tubes that controlled the red smoke’s direction. Ballade hadn’t seen it in years, not since everything fell apart — but even after all this time, she remembered the right tube was where the red smoke had always been contained. If Poppy wanted to redirect it to the left tube… that meant the smoke was headed toward the prison and the lab.

"Don't tell me..." Ballade murmured to herself, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What is it, Ballade?" DogDay asked, his face filled with concern. She glanced at him but shook her head, brushing it off.

"It's nothing," she said, though the tension in her voice told a different story. "I'm probably overthinking it." The Player kept moving ahead, taking the key from the tube and heading toward the Counselor's Office. Ballade and DogDay trailed close behind, their footsteps soft but ever-present. After a moment, Ballade noticed the Player sweating a little.

"Is something the matter, Angel?" she asked, a hint of teasing in her tone. "Nervous?" The Player hesitated before glancing back.

"Are you... planning on following me?" Ballade blinked at the question.

"It's not like we've got anything better to do. Why? Don’t want the extra muscle? I can keep CatNap back, if he’s got the gall to show his face." DogDay winced slightly when he saw Ballade clench her fist tightly. She probably wouldn’t mind getting a shot at CatNap if the opportunity arose.

"We can help you get the backup generator up and running," DogDay added quickly, trying to ease the tension. "We know this place like the back of our hands. And like Ballade said, she’s your extra muscle. I might not be as strong, but I can be an extra pair of eyes." Both of them looked at the Player with genuine gratitude. "Allow us to pay you back for setting us free," DogDay said softly. The Player hesitated, then nodded.

"Well... having you two around will definitely make this task safer and quicker."

"That’s the spirit!" Ballade grinned, ruffling their hair in a warm, familiar gesture—an old habit from the days when she looked after children and the few employees she liked. "Let’s get a move on. That generator won’t run itself." With a gentle push, she urged the Player forward, following close behind. Since Ballade’s body was larger than the doorframes, she had to crouch to avoid knocking her head, letting DogDay take the lead. The three of them made their way down the corridor until they reached two locked doors. To their left stretched a hallway filled with red smoke, while the path ahead led to the reception area, which required a battery to unlock.

Well, at least they knew where they needed to go.

*THUD*

"Ow." The Player and DogDay turned to see Ballade rubbing her head after hitting a light fixture when she tried to stand up. "I forget these buildings were only meant to accommodate the human employees, not us toys." DogDay laughed softly, patting her head in an attempt to comfort her.

"We never really were allowed in here." Despite the tension, the Player couldn’t help but chuckle. It was nice to have some company around. After a quick search, they found the battery hidden in an air duct and swiftly placed it into its slot. The door swung open with a mechanical hiss, inviting them inside. As they entered, Ballade and DogDay wandered toward an old vending machine, their curiosity piqued.

"You think the drinks in here are still good?" DogDay mused.

"Only one way to find out," Ballade replied, cracking her knuckles as she prepared to strike the machine. But before she could, an all-too-familiar alarm blared through the room, making both toys jump. Their heads whipped toward the TV screen, where the Player had just inserted a VHS tape labeled 8/8/95.

The room fell silent, save for the low hum of the monitor as the tape began to play. The Player didn’t seem to notice how Ballade reached for DogDay and gently covered his ears. He hadn’t been conscious that day, but the ringing had gone off the entire time — a sound that never stopped until everything was over. When the tape finally ended, the Player turned toward the two toys, noticing their unusual quiet. Their suspicion grew when they found the duo locked in a silent embrace, Ballade’s hand softly rubbing DogDay’s head in a soothing, apologetic gesture. The weight of whatever memory the tape had stirred hung heavy in the air, unspoken but undeniable.

"It's over, puppy. I'm sorry that it happened, I'm sorry."

"Are you two... alright?" she looked back at them and gave a weak smile.

"Just... old memories resurfacing, but we'll be alright." The Player was kind enough to wait for them to collect themselves before proceeding. Walking down the halls of debris and dead bodies was a familiar sight, but it still hurt seeing the few bloodied toys that littered the ground. The Player found the room they needed to enter filled with red smoke — not a problem thanks to the gas mask they’d acquired in Home Sweet Home. The real problem was the locked door — their eyes widened when Ballade kicked it off its hinges with a single powerful strike. "Ladies first," she said with a smirk.

"Thank you." It beat having to take the long way around. The Player slipped on their gas mask and stepped into the room, but they quickly noticed the two toys lagging behind.

"Go on ahead," Ballade called. "We’ll wait here. I can follow you, but DogDay can’t. The red smoke doesn’t affect me, but I also don’t want to leave DogDay alone while CatNap is still roaming around." DogDay whined softly.

"Sorry for being a burden." The Player shook their head.

"You guys being here keeps me at ease." They offered a reassuring wave before heading off to restore power and unlock the next door. With that, Ballade found a corner where she could keep an eye on both the room the Player had entered and their only exit. She knelt down and patted her lap, inviting DogDay to lay his head down and rest. As she gently stroked his head, the soft but fragile sound of her music box began to play, filling the tense silence with a bittersweet lullaby. After a few moments, DogDay broke the quiet.

"Can you tell me now?"

"Hmm?" Ballade glanced down at him.

"The day you didn’t come back with the others... Can you tell me what happened?" Ballade’s hand stilled. She took a deep, steadying breath, closing her eyes for a long moment. When she finally exhaled, the weight of old pain settled into her features.

"...To me," she whispered, "it really feels like it was only just yesterday."

-

"Is... is that all you got?" Ballade panted, hunched over her knees as she struggled to catch her breath. If she could sweat, she'd be drenched — the endless waves of ruined critters sent her way had pushed her to the brink. Her chest rose and fell in ragged motions, and though she fought valiantly, the sheer number of enemies was starting to take its toll.

She had cornered herself without realizing it. There was no clear path of escape, no way to break free from the swarm. The little toys couldn’t harm her directly — they had no claws or teeth sharp enough to leave so much as a scratch — but their numbers were proving to be their greatest weapon. Their relentless assault, throwing themselves onto her to weigh her down, was working. The growing piles of broken bodies made movement harder with every second, and the sheer mass of them threatened to bury her alive. Ballade gritted her teeth, shoving one off her shoulder and stomping down on another’s head, but her limbs felt heavier with each passing moment. She was strong — built for battle — but even she had limits. And the enemy knew it.

“You always were a strong fighter, [F/N].” Lifting her head, Ballade let out a weak, bitter laugh. Bloodied, battered, and surrounded by the broken bodies of ruined toys, she still managed to glare defiantly at the figure stepping from the shadows.

“Of course… it just had to be you…” she spat, eyes narrowing as CatNap approached with that same calm, calculated air she remembered all too well. “Was this your idea? Wearing me down? Other than the Doctor, you’re the only one who knows that endless hours of fighting will tire me out.” CatNap shrugged, his eyes watching her closely.

“There was no way I could beat you in a fair fight. Wearing you down was the best and safest option.” She scoffed, her breath ragged. The cynical laughter of a ruined Hoppy rang out from the shadows behind her, and with a violent stomp, she silenced it, grinding its remains into the floor.

“Safe for you?” He tilted his head, his tone almost gentle.

“For you.” Her face twisted in confusion. She took a step toward him—and then the exhaustion crashed over her like a wave. Her limbs felt like lead, and the subtle ticking of her wind-up key behind her back began to slow. Each click echoed louder in her ears.

“You… you planned this,” she rasped, trying to force her legs to move. But the ache in her joints grew unbearable as they started to lock into place. He nodded slowly.

“I knew you wouldn’t let me or the critters get too close to your hideout. And I knew you’d sacrifice yourself to let the others escape. That’s because I know you. You’d rather get hurt yourself than see others suffer—trying to make things right after what you did…” Her vision blurred, the room spinning around her. She stumbled, her knees buckling as she collapsed onto the lifeless bodies scattered beneath her. The coldness of them pressed against her, an eerie reminder of what would soon become of her.

“You’d rather… my body shut down… than fight me…”

“It’s better this way,” he said softly. “Better than the Prototype or the Doctor stepping in.” Her key turned slower. The sound of it was fading. “If you change your mind now… maybe I can convince the Prototype to forgive you.” Her head snapped up, eyes narrowing despite the weakness overtaking her.

“…Huh?”

“The Prototype is merciful to us toys,” CatNap continued, his voice soothing, persuasive. “I’m sure, with time, he’ll forgive you for turning your back on him. He only wants what’s best for us. So please, [F/N]—” He extended a paw toward her, his expression almost pleading “—won’t you join my side again?” For a long moment, she just stared up at him. Her breath came in shallow, uneven gasps. The room around her felt distant and cold. With the last bit of strength she had left, she raised her arm—and smacked his paw away.

“I made a mistake… trusting you years ago…” her voice was weak, but her words were laced with venom. “I’m not gonna… make that mistake… again…”

And her body stilled, locked in place and waiting for her key to be turned again. Ballade lay there amidst the lifeless bodies of the ruined toys, her form slumped and motionless. The soft ticking that had once been the quiet rhythm of her life had finally gone silent. CatNap stood over her, his shadow falling across her still frame. His paw flexed slowly, claws extending and retracting as he stared down at her. This was his moment — the perfect opportunity. One strike, and the most dangerous and capable toy within the factory would be gone. The Prototype’s paranoia would be eased, their fear of Ballade’s rebellion finally put to rest. He raised his paw, ready to deliver the final blow… but he hesitated.

The seconds stretched out, and his arm trembled. His mind replayed flashes of the past — moments of laughter, of camaraderie, of whispered conversations in the dark when they’d both been afraid. He remembered the warmth in her voice when she’d encouraged him, the fierce loyalty she had always shown, even when the world around them turned to madness. But then came the guilt. The lies. He had manipulated her trust, twisted the truth to push her toward the Prototype’s cause. And deep down, he knew — if she had known the reality, the full extent of the Prototype’s plans — she never would have sided with them.

CatNap’s arm fell to his side, his face twisting in frustration and something dangerously close to regret. He couldn’t do it. Whether it was loyalty, guilt, or the echo of their old friendship… he just couldn’t strike her down.Instead, he grabs her wind-up key and yanks it out, the sharp, metallic sound echoing through the hollow chamber. Ballade's body slumped further, completely lifeless now, her glassy eyes staring into nothingness. CatNap stood there for a long moment, his paw still clutching the key as his chest rose and fell with shaky breaths. With a strangled sigh, he let his arm fall to his side. The fight drained out of him as his claws retracted, and without another word, he reached down and grabbed her by the nape of her neck. The weight of her dormant form was nothing as he dragged her through the winding corridors of the factory, up to Playcare, and into Home Sweet Home — the place where she would remain, motionless and silent, for four long years.

And yet, he never left her side. Day after day, he watched over her stage like a silent sentinel, his eyes ever-vigilant for the ruined critters that occasionally dared to draw near. He chased them off with swift brutality, his protectiveness never waning. Sometimes, when the loneliness grew too heavy, he would climb into the stage and curl up beside her lifeless body, just as they used to do when things were… better. Back then, she would talk for hours, filling the silence with stories of her day or soft lullabies that soothed his restless spirit. Now, the only sound was the distant hum of the factory and the occasional soft, ragged breaths he took as he lay beside her, longing for the warmth of her voice once more.

-

"I'm not completely... unconscious when my key stops turning," she began, her hands gently caressing DogDay's head. "I'm somewhat aware of what's going on around me, just not fully. To me, it was like I was trapped in a dream and no time had passed at all inside my head — like I just went to sleep and woke up the next day. The same, however, can't be said for my body." Her voice softened as she lifted her arm, the quiet creak of her joints filling the air. She was one of the toys that had been looked after the most. A rare, one-of-a-kind creation that couldn’t simply be remade. As the Doctor often said, she was a masterpiece — fully conscious, capable of speech, and above all, obedient. That was why she had weekly maintenance to ensure she would malfunction.

DogDay nuzzled closer, his voice quiet. "I... I had no idea."

"No one did," Ballade murmured, a distant look crossing her face. "Not even CatNap. I kept that one to myself."

“It must've been so hard for you." DogDay’s voice was soft, filled with a gentle kind of empathy. Ballade shrugged, her movements stiff.

"Eh, maybe I deserved it. I did side with the Prototype, after all. I had it coming." She tried to sound flippant, but her voice cracked just a little. DogDay pursed his lips before slowly reaching out and taking her hand. His grip was warm, steadying. He squeezed it, and when she looked down at their joined hands, something in her hardened expression softened.

"...You did what you thought was right," he said quietly. Her face twitched. She wanted to pull away, but the warmth of his hand kept her still.

"I locked you and the other critters in your cells," she whispered, her voice heavy with guilt. "I knew the Hour of Joy was coming years before it even happened, but I did nothing to stop it. I—I killed humans and toys alike and thought what I was doing was right… but I was wrong. So wrong." DogDay’s eyes filled with a sadness she hadn’t seen in a long time.

"But you did it out of love," he murmured. "What you did… it may not have been the right choice, but you thought there was no other way to save us. You fought for us in the only way you knew how." He paused, his voice growing softer, more fragile. "You may not be able to forgive yourself… but I forgave you a long time ago." Ballade’s breath hitched, and though she was incapable of crying, the way her lips trembled made it clear how deeply his words cut through her. She shook her head slowly, the weight of her guilt pressing down on her.

"How… how could you forgive me?" she asked, her voice breaking. "I helped ruin everything." He looked down at their hands, his fingers tightening around hers as he searched for the right words.

"...You could have left a long time ago," he began softly, his voice heavy with emotion. "You're capable of doing so—but you didn't. You stayed here to help us. You stayed to make things right… even when you didn’t have to." He paused, his breath catching, then slowly pulled himself up, wrapping his arms around her neck. He nestled into the side of her neck, his voice a warm whisper. "So how could I not forgive you?" She believed she choked out a sob as her hands slowly rose, trembling, to press against his back. She held him close, her grip tightening like she was afraid to let go.

"Y-You always did have a heart of gold, puppy," she whispered softly then they both sat in a comfortable silence, waiting patiently for the Player to return while remaining vigilant- who knows what could be lurking in the shadows. A couple minutes past and Ballade hears the whir of electricity, seems they finally managed to restore power to the back up generator. "I'm going to check on Angel, will you be fine here if I leave you?" he salutes her, she snickered softly when she could see an imaginary tail wagging.

"Affirmative." she pats his head.

"Okay, but I'll be quick." She set him down gently where she had been sitting, giving him a reassuring pat before rushing off to find the Player. She moved through the thick red smoke with ease and entered the maintenance room, her eyes scanned the area, but the Player was nowhere to be seen. She hummed softly then scaled the wall leading to the room with the generator but then she saw the shutter doors closed, her brows furrowed in confusion. Without hesitation, she grabbed the edges and tore them open with a loud screech of metal. But the room was empty. Her eyes swept the space carefully until they caught the glint of an open vent, the cover hastily removed and set aside. They must have trapped themselves in the room and neither she nor DogDay could hear them, if they called out for help, so they took an alternative route. But where did they-

"Ballade!" The desperate cry of DogDay rang out, sharp and panicked. Her head snapped toward the sound, and without a moment’s hesitation, she leapt down from where she stood, landing in a low crouch with a soft thud. She broke into a sprint, her heart pounding against her chest as she raced back to where she’d left him. The Player would have to wait — DogDay's safety came first. She couldn’t let anything happen to him. She wouldn’t. As she neared the end of the corridor, she felt a brief wave of relief when she saw him — still in one piece, still there. But the feeling vanished in an instant when she noticed the wide-eyed panic on his face. He was pointing down the opposite hallway, his whole body trembling.

"CatNap!" he gasped. "I saw CatNap!"

"Where?" DogDay couldn’t help but shudder at the venom laced in her voice.

"Down the hall from where we came from!" he cried. Ballade scooped him up and sprinted down the corridor, specifically to the door they ignored. She barreled toward the door leading to the room filled with red smoke, her hands slamming against the doorframe as she skidded to a stop. Her eyes widened in horror when she spotted CatNap through the glass, his claws raking viciously at the Player.

"Angel!" DogDay’s desperate shout echoed through the hall. The sound made CatNap’s head snap toward them, his eyes locking on the sight of Ballade and DogDay. His expression shifted from menace to fear.

"Get away from them, CatNap!" Ballade’s voice was a furious snarl. She struck the door with enough force to make it shudder in its frame. CatNap didn’t take his chances. He stumbled backward and quickly scrambled into the vent, disappearing from sight. The second he was gone, DogDay leapt from Ballade’s arms just as she kicked the door open, red smoke billowing out into the hallway. Her eyes flicked upward toward the vent, but she forced herself to focus on more immediate concerns. "Oh no," she whispered harshly when her gaze fell on the Player’s still form. They lay unconscious on the ground, their gas mask shredded and useless.

"Are they okay?" she let out a breath as she quickly picked them up.

"Maybe a few scratches, but CatNap broke their mask. They inhaled some of the red smoke." DogDay pressed a hand to his forehead.

"Oh no." she nods as she carried them out of the room.

“My words exactly.” Ballade let out a long sigh, the weight of the situation settling heavily on her shoulders. “Let’s get out of here.”

She knelt down, offering DogDay an easy path onto her back. Once he climbed on, she stood and carried them both out of the building, not venturing far — just enough to escape the oppressive red smoke. Outside, she settled on the worn concrete steps, the cool air a stark contrast to the suffocating heat of the facility. Carefully, she removed the GrabPack from the Player’s back and adjusted their position so their head rested gently in her lap. As their face twisted with the torment of the hallucinations the red smoke induced, Ballade’s fingers instinctively moved to their forehead, brushing soothing circles in an effort to ease their pain.

“Will they be okay?” DogDay’s voice was soft and worried as he slid off her back and settled beside her. He leaned into her side, seeking the comfort she always provided.

“Hopefully,” Ballade murmured, her eyes never leaving the Player’s pale, strained face. “It might be a while before they wake up. I feel like this is the first bit of rest they’ve gotten since getting stuck here… even if they’re suffering through whatever haunts their mind.” She huffed softly, the sound heavy with a mix of frustration and concern, her hand never stilling as it moved in gentle strokes through the Player’s hair.

"Shouldn't we... hurry?" DogDay asked softly, his voice tinged with concern. Ballade shrugged, her eyes still scanning their surroundings.

"What's the rush? CatNap's not gonna do anything rash now that he knows we're out and protecting the employee, and Poppy can eat it. She ain't gonna rush me—I just woke up." DogDay couldn't help but chuckle at her choice of words.

"I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right." Ballade’s tone softened just a bit. "Let's enjoy this last bit of freedom before we have to go back to the prison." He peeked up at her, his brows knitting together.

"How do you know we're going to the prison?"

"Where else is there to go?" she said with a sigh. "I’ve got an idea of what little Miss Poppy is planning, but I highly doubt she's gonna let them go now that she's trapped them this deep. If we don't keep a close eye on them, she's gonna wear them down." Her voice grew quieter, more serious. "And that's the last thing we need." She wrapped an arm around him, her hand rubbing up and down his arm in slow, comforting strokes. DogDay leaned into her warmth, his tension easing little by little. But even as she comforted him, Ballade’s eyes never stopped moving, watching every corner, every fleeting shadow. She was waiting, daring that cat to show his face again. If CatNap came near them—near DogDay, near the employee—she wouldn’t let him get close.

"Nngh..." the two look down and saw the Player stirring softly, their hand weakly lifting from their side to press against their head. Their hand rubbed over their eyes then dragged down their face and when they finally came to they were startled to see Ballade looming over them.

“Well good morning, sleeping beauty~” Ballade teased, laughing when the Player practically launched off her lap. DogDay peeked over her shoulder and couldn’t help but giggle himself when the Player scrambled to their feet, eyes wide in confusion.

“W-What happened?” they asked, brushing themselves off. Ballade pursed her lips, drawing lazy circles in the air with her finger.

“CatNap attacked you, and you inhaled some of that nasty red smoke. We saved you just before he could do any real damage, but… sorry we didn’t get to you sooner.” The Player let out a long breath, rubbing the back of their neck as they settled down next to Ballade again. “Did you enjoy your nap?” she teased.

“Other than the hallucinations? Yeah. Great nap,” they deadpanned, making her snicker. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“We noticed how exhausted you were,” DogDay answered before Ballade could. “She thought you could use the rest… even if you were suffering through a couple of hallucinations.” Ballade sweat-dropped at his bluntness.

“Never know when you’re gonna get to sleep again.”

“Yeah, especially when I’m already stuck in a nightmare,” the Player muttered.

“You could say that again,” Ballade agreed softly. The three of them fell into a comfortable silence until the Player surprised them both by leaning their head against Ballade’s arm. She blinked in surprise but let them stay—what’s a few more minutes of peace? “…I almost miss it,” Ballade murmured so quietly they almost didn’t hear her. The Player and DogDay both glanced up at her.

“What do you miss?” the Player asked. She laughed softly, a little wistful.

“The work. The best thing about being assigned to Playcare was watching the kids… making sure the Smiling Critters didn’t get into too much mischief—which they often did. But still… most of the time, I was just lazing about, listening to their laughter.” She smiled, the memory clearly warm despite the weight of everything that had happened.

“We gave you a lot of trouble back in the day,” DogDay said with a small grin.

“Oh, you did. But you? You were the peacemaker,” she said, giving his head a soft pat. “Kickin and Hoppy were the ones that had me running around like crazy, but they never got far.” Her smile faded as a heavier thought crossed her mind. “I miss it. The good days… I really do.” The Player swallowed thickly when they noticed her hand clenching into a tight fist. The tension only eased when DogDay placed his paw on her other hand, grounding her. She was surprised when the employee gently placed their hand over hers. Looking down, she saw the pained expression on their face.

"I don't understand what you've been through, not one bit," they admitted, their voice soft but steady. "But I do know one thing... you didn’t deserve what happened to you." They turned her hand over, rubbing their thumb over her knuckles in a comforting gesture. "None of you did. You were just… you were just children." Her eyes widened.

"You..."

"After finding those VHS tapes and notes on my way down here, I could put two and two together." They shook their head, a mixture of sorrow and determination in their gaze. "You could have had a life, but you were robbed of your childhood. I can't give that back to you, but the least I can do is help take down the Prototype—the thing that brought all of this crashing down." Ballade and DogDay stared at the Player for a moment before bursting into laughter. Ballade placed a hand on her chest to steady herself, while DogDay pressed a paw to his mouth, trying to stifle his giggles.

"You're funny, Angel," DogDay managed to say between muffled chuckles.

"We appreciate the sentiment," Ballade said, amusement still lacing her tone, "but if you really want to take down the Prototype, you're going to have to do a lot of work. He’s been scheming since the early nineties... I think. I’m close." She inhaled deeply before rising to her feet, easily hoisting DogDay onto her shoulder. She then looked down at the Player, offering her hand. "Well, if you’re serious about this, then let’s get to it." The Player met her gaze before letting out a soft laugh, placing their hand in hers.

"Let’s." She helps them up, and the three of them take the power cord connected to the Counselor's Office and bring it back to the generator room. When connecting it, they realize they're just a tiny bit short due to Poppy restoring power to the skylights. Ballade leaves DogDay with the Player and quickly rushes off to grab the power cord from that terminal. She's back in record time, and with that last power cord, they've produced a giant blue battery. She offers to carry it, but they reassure her that it's no problem, picking it up with the GrabPack and carrying it to the Gas Production Zone.

"Do you think..." DogDay's voice breaks the silence as he shifts slightly on her shoulder, lagging behind a bit as the employee walks ahead. "Do you think we'll actually be able to beat the Prototype? We've been trying to get the upper hand for years, but we haven't even come close." Ballade stares at him for a moment before shrugging.

"Who knows? Maybe we'll all die in the end. Maybe that's better. But they've come so far... maybe they really will kill the Prototype and finally end our suffering." She feels DogDay’s small arms wrap around her.

"I hope they do." She pats his arm gently. "I'm just so tired of needing to survive, I just wanna live again." She nods, her voice soft.

"Me too, puppy. Me too." As they finally approach the Gas Production Zone, the Player has already entered the room, making their way toward the blue battery slot. Just as they reach it, the doors suddenly slam shut. "Wha—what's going on?!" Ballade shouts, rushing forward. She grimaces as she peers through the glass, only to see the shutters closing as well.

"Angel! Angel, are you okay?!" DogDay yells, his voice edged with panic.

"It's CatNap!" Their eyes widen as the Player’s voice crackles through. "He's filled the room with the red smoke! I—I've got to go!" She can hear CatNap's heavy footsteps stomping after the Player before they vanish completely.

"No... no, no, no!" Ballade dropped DogDay to the ground and tore the door open, flinging it aside before forcing her hands beneath the shutter doors and ripping them apart. A thick wave of red smoke billowed out, forcing DogDay to cover his mouth as Ballade rushed inside, searching desperately for both the Player and CatNap. She cursed under her breath. The room was empty. The lift to the escape room had already been activated, the blue battery abandoned on the floor. "They got away, but CatNap went after them...!"

"Then follow after them!" Ballade hesitated, catching the way DogDay’s gaze flickered toward the red smoke, fear flickering in his eyes.

"What about you?" DogDay clenched his fists before looking up at her.

"Take me with you... I'll—I'll be fine." She swallowed thickly.

"Are you sure?" He nodded.

"Yes. I don’t want to wait this time."

Ballade sighed but nodded nonetheless, scooping him up before stepping back into the smoke. She felt him shake his head, trying to fight off the hallucinations as she quickened her pace toward the elevator. As they waited for the lift to descend, she kept a comforting hand on his back. Finally, when it arrived, she jumped in, hitting the next button to take them up. If memory served her right, the room CatNap had taken the Player to was a panic room. She vaguely remembered Stella mentioning it in passing—back when things were normal. It was never meant to be used, but when everything went to hell, that’s where most of the human employees fled. And she had personally dealt with them.

-

Fending off CatNap in the Safe Room was a waking nightmare.

The moment they entered, Poppy’s voice crackled through unseen speakers, her instructions flashing on the terminal. Defend yourself. Activate the traps. Survive. The Player wasted no time. They grabbed a battery and slammed it into one of the defense stations, watching as a steam wall roared to life, sealing off one corridor. They activated a green hand port, but the moment it triggered another steam wall, the first one flickered off. A mistake. They cursed under their breath and tore the battery out, resetting it before CatNap could take advantage of the gap.

With the final battery in hand, they sprinted to the top-left receiver, locking it in place. A timer appeared on the terminal. The countdown had begun. Then came the footsteps.

They paced between the two open corridors, Flare Hand at the ready, breath hitching as shadows loomed at the ends of the hall. CatNap. Or was it? The red smoke thickened around them, warping their vision, making the walls feel closer, suffocating. Illusions. They raised their arm and fired a flare down the corridor—the ember burst, cutting through the haze. Nothing. A hallucination. The terminal alarm blared—new battery required. The Player bolted to the next receiver, shoving in another battery just as the trapdoor above them creaked open. Their stomach dropped. A low, guttural growl rumbled from above. He was using the ceiling now. They barely had time to react before the hatch shifted, a clawed hand reaching down. Their heartbeat pounded in their ears as they lunged, slamming the trapdoor shut just before CatNap could drop in.

His claws scraped against the metal, the sound making their skin crawl. Every second, his footsteps echoed from all directions. The illusions flickered in and out of existence, growing closer, the glowing white eyes multiplying in the shadows. They couldn’t tell what was real anymore. Somewhere beyond the suffocating red haze, Ballade and DogDay’s voices rang out. Their stomach twisted—was it really them? Or just the smoke playing tricks on them? There was no time to figure it out. CatNap was relentless, his attacks coming faster. The Player barely managed to stop him, blasting steam at him, whipping around to fire off flares, and slamming the trapdoor shut again and again. Their lungs burned, their arms ached, but they couldn’t afford to slow down. Every time they turned, those soulless white eyes were closer.

The terminal outlet flashed brighter than before. The Player’s eyes snapped to it. This was it. Without thinking, they shot out their Green Hand, feeling the electricity surge through their arm as the circuit overloaded. CatNap crashed through the trapdoor just as they turned. With gritted teeth, they raised their hand, aimed at the monstrous cat, and fired. A surge of pure electricity shot forward, slamming into CatNap’s chest. His body convulsed, a twisted, piercing screech ripping from his throat. Smoke poured from his body, his glowing eyes wide in shock as the energy coursed through him, crackling through fur and metal alike. The stench of burnt flesh filled the air as he collapsed.

CatNap, against all odds, was still alive. His body trembled as he struggled to push himself up, smoke curling from his scorched fur. His ragged breaths filled the tense silence, his limbs barely able to support him. Then, the trapdoor above groaned open. The Player flinched as a long, mechanical claw descended from the darkness—a skeletal hand of slender silver pins, its joints clicking unnervingly as it extended downward. The Prototype.

The metallic fingers twisted with eerie precision before stopping, hovering inches from CatNap’s face, waiting. His breath hitched as his pupils shrank to pinpricks. Then, with a slow, reverent movement, he pushed himself onto his knees, head tilting slightly as if gazing upon something holy. He remembered the first time that hand had reached for him—the day it saved him, the day he learned what true power was. His lips curled into something between a grimace and a grin as he presented himself openly to the Prototype. He was here to save him. Just like before. Just like always. What more could he ask for—

"No!" A voice cut through the tension a second before Ballade slammed into CatNap, knocking him away. They hit the floor hard, but she didn’t hesitate, scrambling over him as she fixed her wild eyes on the Prototype. She and DogDay had finally reached the panic room, just in time to see CatNap kneeling before the monster that had destroyed them all. The Prototype’s fingers had been poised like a spear, seconds away from driving straight through his skull.

Ballade didn’t know why she had moved. She was still so angry. Angry at him for lying to her, for manipulating her into following the Prototype, for trapping her inside her own body for four long years. But as she gripped his tattered fur, her breath shaking, something inside her twisted painfully. No matter how much she hated him, there was still a part of her that remembered the boy he used to be. The one she had cared for. The one she had lost. Ballade grappled with CatNap, the two rolling across the ground in a violent struggle. She managed to slip behind him, locking her arms around his neck in a tight chokehold. He clawed desperately at her arms, but after enduring a surge of electricity and severe burns, his strength was fading fast. He was no match for her.

"You are not going to die!" she shouted, tightening her grip as he thrashed. "I won't let him take you, Theo!" CatNap's breath came in ragged gasps.

"No! My god... he wouldn't abandon me! After everything I did for him, he wouldn't just..." His voice faltered, and his wide, panicked eyes darted upward. DogDay appeared beside them, his arms wrapping around both Ballade and CatNap, reinforcing the hold. His voice was soft, yet firm.

"He abandoned us a long time ago, old friend." CatNap's gaze snapped back to the trapdoor above. The Prototype, his supposed savior, was already withdrawing, disappearing back into the darkness. There was no hesitation, no second thought—just cold indifference. The realization struck like a blade to the gut. The god he had worshipped, the entity he had given everything for, had never truly cared for him. A furious growl rumbled from his throat, and he twisted violently, trying to break free.

"Let go! Let me go!"

"No, not this time!" Ballade barked, her grip unwavering. "I ran from you once, blaming you for what I had done. But it was my fault for abandoning you with that thing when you were just as manipulated as the rest of us. And I am so sorry, Theo!" His struggles weakened, his body trembling. His voice came out in a whisper, fragile and broken.

"N-No... he- he didn't..." But the truth was right in front of him. The Prototype was gone, and all that remained were the people who still cared for him, even after everything.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry for blaming you. You only did what you thought was right, and I believed in you. We both did. We put our faith in something we thought would save us, something that promised us salvation—but all it did was take everything away. And I let it happen. I turned my back on you when you needed me the most." Her voice trembled, thick with regret. "I can't take back the things I said. I can't undo the pain I've caused, the choices I made, the years we lost... but I swear, Theo—I swear—I want to make it right." even after everything that happened, even after they put each other through, she just couldn't bring herself to hate the young boy whom she loved with all her heart.

"I-I'm..." she peeked her head over his shoulder and let out a breath when she saw tears streak down his burnt face, she loosened her grip when she felt the fight drain out of him and he instead hunched forward and start crying. "I'm sorry for what I've done...!" she hummed softly as she moved her arms to wrap around his body and embrace him, her head leaning against his cheek and nuzzling it softly to comfort him.

"I know, I know..." Ballade left CatNap to DogDay, who was clinging to the toy and repeatedly apologizing for the state he had reduced him to. She turned toward the Player, who had been watching. "Are you alright?" she asked, kneeling down to avoid overwhelming them.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm good." They let out a sigh of relief and reached forward to gently pat her head.

"I'm sorry we weren't there to stop him in time. I feel awful for leaving you alone." Ballade shook her head, waving her hand to dismiss the concern.

"It's fine, really. I'm just glad you were here in the end." They smiled softly and withdrew their hand. Ballade helped them to their feet and then glanced back at CatNap and DogDay.

"I think this is where we leave you," she said, causing the Player to look up at her in shock.

"What?" She chuckled at their reaction.

"Don't worry. You're just going to have to go on without us for now, but we'll catch up. I’m going to have CatNap find DogDay's legs—he definitely left them somewhere. I also need to grab a couple of things. If you're going deeper into the factory, there are some things I need before we can follow." Ballade patted their shoulder. "But I must warn you... what you went through up here is nothing compared to what's below. If you're not careful... you might not make it out." The Player swallowed thickly.

"Right... I’ll take that warning to heart."