#also i hope that i wrote ray correctly HSJKHDKJH

[jvten]

vi and the puppets (part 2: ray)

hey there y'all! been a hot minute since i've posted some writing. here ya go! another MFN (My Friendly Neighborhood) / LDM (Love, Decay and Mayhem) oneshot from my mini-series :D also I'm literally rewatching streams of the game rn haha

warnings: one cuss word (the 'f' one lmao), minor depictions of violence (aka ray hittin richie with an iron lol), a little bit of angst (aka vi crying ;A; i'm sorry my child, but you know i had to do it to you)

characters: vi (5 years old here), ray, gerzwald, renee (gerzwald's wife, they both raised/adopted vi, but technically the puppets helped raise vi too hehe <3) and also richie bromine

read part 1 here!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Nothing could be heard throughout the basement besides the pained cries of five-year-old Vi, diamond tears streaming down her face as she wandered the empty corridors, holding her teddy bear in her arms. The workers and the janitor had already gone home for the night, making the little girl think she was alone and that she would be lost forever in the basement.

However, her cries did not go unheard. One particular puppet from the My Friendly Neighborhood show approached the opening of a pipe from within upon hearing the cries that sounded so hurt they could have been screams. And when Ray saw Vi curled up against the wall, holding her head, crying, by some boxes, he crawled out of the pipe and came closer to her. It broke his patchwork heart seeing the little girl shaking, looking even smaller than usual curled up like that. Gently, he placed a hand atop her head, and she looked up at the contact. Realizing that it was him, she wordlessly reached up for the large puppet. A low growl-hum rumbling through him, he carefully scooped her up into his arms and let her lie against him as he sat against the wall.

The soft fur of his hand allowed the tears on Vi’s face to be dried quicker as he wiped them away as gently as possible. Ray could tell she didn’t know how to get out of the basement, there was a kind of fear he recognised, the fear that she would be lost forever… no, it was… the fear that she would be alone forever. That, he knew all too well.

When it became apparent that no one else would be coming here for a while, and that it would take as such to come down and find Vi down here, Ray decided to bring her to Stage 2, his workshop, turning on the lights above them so that the room wasn’t surrounded in darkness, and so that she would have a decent place to play in for a while. He grabbed some paper and pencils for her to use while they waited for someone to come get her, and at first she drew in silence.

“Ray? I… I know you didn’t mean to hurt Uncle Richie…” she soon said, rubbing her eyes. “I know you’re not bad like what everyone else says. You’re still my friend.”

Ray growled again, more despondently this time. Yes, he didn’t mean to hurt Richie… or maybe he did. How could he not? The human man had been saying horrible things about the show… about the puppets, about Gerzwald. He’d even said something about Vi. Maybe that was what triggered Ray… the fact that Richie Bromine brought shameless insult to a child, an innocent child that did nothing wrong, a child that Ray cared for so much.

It had happened two weeks prior, and it had been their half-time break on one seemingly ordinary day. They were in Stage 4, the Neighborhood set. Ray had gotten bored of going over lines — of which he had very few — and had decided to go and find Vi so he could at least have some enjoyable company during the thirty-minute break. But a pair of voices drew his attention. Richie and a crew member were standing by the building with the red doors, talking amongst themselves. Ray knew that he shouldn’t have listened in or eavesdropped, and he was going to walk away, but…

“I swear these episodes are getting more and more boring every day,” Richie had said exhaustedly to the crew member. "The movies aren’t even that good. This whole franchise needs to be more mainstream if people are going to love it. But, no, the only ones who do barely even know how to say “neighborhood”. It’s annoying.”

Ray’s curiosity had been piqued, and he hid in the shadow of the entrance to the alleyway, the dim lighting concealing him well enough.

“I don’t know what Gerzwald is thinking, constantly putting me in with the puppets. Why can’t I star with the other humans, huh? All these puppets… they’re crazy. I can feel it. They’re insane and no one except me knows it. Gerzwald is insane. The fact that he thinks this whole show about stupid muppets teaching people about kindness and friendship is just… it’s mad.”

Ray felt anger beginning to stir. He wanted to show Richie what for. Make him regret saying those things about them. About Gerzwald. Because how dare he call them crazy? However he quickly decided to leave the set for now and perhaps try to communicate to Gerzwald about this.

But he didn’t even get the chance to take more than a few steps out of the shadows...

“Besides, even if I were to star with the other people more frequently, I wouldn’t want to have to put up with Violet," said Richie, the name of the little girl redrawing Ray’s attention. “She’s the youngest on the set, damnit. And yet she’s somehow one of the main stars of the show? I hardly even get any scenes because people love her too much. She’s too hyper. Too giggly. She’s gaining more attention from viewers than me, she doesn’t deserve that attention because she can’t possibly know what it’s like for us adults to go through all this. And she’s far too annoying—”

The anger had begin to boil over so much that the large puppet had unconsciously grabbed the nearest item, a clothes iron, stepped out of the shadow of the alleyway, and… well…

“What the HELL?! You’re crazy! You’re FUCKING INSANE!”

Next thing he knew Richie was on the ground, as hurt and furious as Ray had felt. Ray dropped the iron, the plastic and metal clattering onto the floor. The crew members all fearfully stepped away from him, keeping their gaze on him as if he could attack any one of them at any moment.

And then, a few days later, Ray had been moved to the basement, to reduce any risk of any employees being hurt by him.

But Ray had remembered how much his heart had hurt when they were in the process of moving him to the basement. Not just because he would be separated from the rest of the puppets and crew, meant to be isolated so far underground… but because of the way Vi had cried that day. “Don’t go, Ray! Don’t go!” she’d cried, trying to pull him back from Gerzwald by grabbing his arm.

“Violet, dear, you have to let go—” Gerzwald had said, attempting to coerce her from the puppet, but she had only avoided any more convincing from her father, shaking her head desperately.

“You can’t go, Ray!” she’d exclaimed, tears streaming down her face like diamond waterfalls. “Please! I don’t want you to leave!” He desperately wanted to tell her that she would be okay, that he would try his best to manage down in the basement, but alas, words had never been his strong suit. It was heartbreaking, the way she had thought Ray would be leaving for good, even when Gerzwald tried to help her understand that it was not just for the humans’ safety, but for Ray as well, and that this needed to happen. It was heartbreaking how, despite being told this, she kept clinging onto him like both of their lives depended on it, like he’d disappear or vanish from sight if she ever let go. “No! Stay here! You have to stay! Don’t leave!”

It was only when Renee told Vi that she would still be able to see him that the little girl had slowly managed to calm down. She then crouched down in front of her daughter, making sure Vi would listen. “Vi, honey. I know this is hard for you. It’s hard for all of us. But you’ll still be able to see Ray, okay? Just… not as much. We can try to bring you down there with us to see him when we’re filming for the show. Is that okay with you?” When Vi slowly nodded, Renee sighed. “Change can be tough, baby, but I know you’ll be okay. And Ray will be okay too.”

It had taken a while for Vi to let go of Ray’s arm, but the large nine to ten foot tall puppet had knelt down in front of her, picking up her teddy bear that she had dropped on the floor and giving it to her, giving as much of a comforting smile as he could.

Sure, it was lonely down in the basement, but regardless of whether or not he knew he’d be moved, Ray would have defended Vi from any harmful words any day. He found it unforgivable that Richie had called Vi those things. And he would do anything for the little girl that he and the other puppets cared about so much.

Ever since he was the first one to find her at the entrance to the studio, a small baby wrapped up in blankets in a basket, well, needless to say Ray had seen things differently. With Vi around, in the studio, life was brighter, more fun, with each of the puppets holding her dear to their hearts.

He was brought back out of his memories as Vi now stood in front of him and held her teddy bear up to him, waving its hand. “Don’t be sad, Ray,” she spoke, pretending to sound like her bear, “Mr Snuggles still thinks you’re fun! And Vi wanted me to say that she loves you!”

His heart warmed even more, and he gently shook the teddy bear’s hand before bringing Vi back into another hug, feeling much less lonely now. He loved her too. He just wasn’t able to say it.

Even when Renee had found them a few hours later, looking understandably stressed from searching for Vi but now relieved, Ray knew that he could count on Vi, hoping that she felt that she could count on him too. But what surprised him was that, before they left, Renee looked back at him. “Thank you, Ray… thank you. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

And when they left, with Vi being carried in Renee’s arms and waving to him, Ray figured that if there were still a few people who cared about him, then that was all that mattered.