#dream smp soulmate au

[itsfeckinwimdy]

*HONK*

c!Karlnapity x Reader (Romantic) (Soulmate au)

Reader Pronouns: They/Them

Summary: The quartet are soulmates and need help finding their way back to each other. What's better to help them than the Soulmate Goose Of Enforcement?

Warnings: Duck hybrid Quackity, Blaze hybrid (blazeborn) Sapnap, DSMP family canon, Y/n is Phil's kid and Wilbur sibling, angst, mentions of fighting, mention of war, mentions of exile, mention of previous death, ambiguous/open ending, and finally unconscious people who don't want tea.

Word Count: 5.3K (5379 words)

DSMP Masterlist

Published: 22/10/2022

(started writing: 29/05/2021, yes it has taken me over a year to finish this)

Everyone had a soulmate. Sometimes it was easier to find them and be with them. Other times it was more complex and took a bit of time for everything to fall in place.

At least, that's what Karl told himself. But if he was being truthful, it was partly his fault.

The brunette kept hiding secrets from the people he loved. He claimed it was to protect them and that he would tell them if they needed to know, but honestly, he was scared. He was scared his partners, well now ex-partners, would judge him, and that if he told someone about his memory problems it would only worsen. That he would have to face reality, that he would have to stop time travelling, that he would have to stop trying to find a way to fix everything, that he would have to stop before he lost all his memory. Before he lost his partners. His soulmates.

But a part of him knew it was too late.

The night before the Pogtopita-Manberg war, the four had holed themselves up inside George's castle, knowing that two of them would be fighting against the other two in the morning. It was something the four of them were trying not to think about, knowing there was a chance that any of them could be getting injured or losing a canon life.

The entirety of the quartet was tired. Quackity's wings were killing him from being buried under his shirt all day, Sapnap was itching to set something on fire, Karl was fidgety with nerves as he didn't want to fight tomorrow, in fact, none of them really did, and Y/n was cold from their bath they had taken to strip all of the soot and grime from their skin, due to Pogtopia not having the best living conditions.

Y/n's brother, Wilbur, and themself were the cause of all this mess. The two of them teamed up once he arrived on the server to cause chaos but ultimately made a power grab and created L'Manberg from a simple drug van and the shared thoughts and beliefs of others.

But then they lost it.

That caused the new leader to exile Y/n, Wilbur, and the teenager, Tommy, who looked up to Y/n and Wilbur as older sibling figures, knowing the three would fight for their country back, even if they no longer had any jurisdiction over it.

This led to them fleeing, Wilbur losing a canon life along the way as he dived in front of Y/n after Punz attempted to shoot his younger sibling. That night Punz feared for his life after Sapnap threatened to kill him if he ever tried to hurt his partner again.

After setting up base in an abandoned ravine, their dad's old friend Technoblade joined them, promising to help destroy the government.

Whilst planning for this upcoming war and having Tubbo as a spy, for which he, unfortunately, got executed, Y/n would try to spend as much time with their partners, that being difficult to do so as two of them lived in L'Manberg and Quackity was forced to work ridiculous hours for the drunken president.

Therefore, the castle became a safe haven for the four.

This led to Y/n spending most nights closer to the impending day of the war there. They were glad they could sleep in a proper bed with the people they loved, and that they got to have a break from the bickering between Wilbur and Tommy.

Noticing Karl fighting the urge to get up and start pacing again, Y/n shuffled closer to Sapnap, letting the blazeborn's naturally high body temperature warm them up, and they wrapped their arms around Karl's midsection, pulling him into their torso.

Reaching forwards, they managed to get Quackity to join to cuddle pile, Sapnap wrapping his arms around the three of them, or at least trying to.

That night, the four made a promise to always stick by each other's side and to never let each other go. To always talk and resolve problems and that they would be truthful to each other. After all, they were now fiancées.

As they made this promise, the sound of an achievement rang through their communicators.

'The Soulmate Bond' it simply read.

That night they knew it was meant to be.

But then again, that wasn't the right saying on this server. What was it again?

Oh yeah,

It was never meant to be.

Sapnap was worried. And he had every right to be.

First, it was Y/n. After the death of their brother, they had started to pull away from the other three, becoming seemingly distant and only really there at night to sleep, disappearing for hours on end.

Quackity had followed them one day only to find them sitting overlooking a cliff. Apparently, it was where Y/n first took Wilbur on the server, where the two saw their first sunset together. Y/n would sit there as the hours would pass, watching the point on the compass spin, it no longer pointing to their bother. They began to snap back into their old self after Quackity sat with them, becoming who they used to be but more willing to fight.

Then Tommy got exiled. Sapnap and Karl believed they already knew, therefore not bringing it up, and Quackity simply didn't tell them. That sparked one of the biggest arguments they had ever had.

Y/n stayed with Phil that night.

Everything seemed fine for a while, with Y/n coming back home and then the quartet creating Cedar Rapids. And then Ghostbur came back, making it easier for Y/n to move on. Everyone was happy.

But then came the butcher army. Y/n refused to let their dad be pushed around and stepped in, earning themselves house arrest, by orders of Quackity.

That night they left. Sapnap remembers the conversation he had with them before they went. It was seemingly normal, Y/n saying they were staying with Phil for a few days. Except they didn't.

It was two weeks later they returned, hearing that Technoblade had killed Quackity. They helped the stubborn duck with his recovery. The blazeborn remembers the amount of shouting and the arguments that happened that week.

Looking back, he should've stepped in more. But he couldn't have known what was going through Y/n's mind at the time.

See Y/n was planning to blow up L'Manberg again. To finish their brother's job. They had realised how corrupt it had become, now wanting to get rid of the power the people who ran it had.

Sapnap should've seen it coming.

After doomsday, there was the final argument. Tensions were still high, and Quackity still couldn't see why Y/n chose to blow it up. Why Y/n would choose the side of Technoblade. The side of Dream. They explained why though. How L'Manberg was originally a power grab. How it was their idea to blow it up in the first place and that they were just finishing what that had started.

Sapnap should've stopped the fight. He should've stopped it before the words tumbled out of Quackity's mouth, before Y/n and Quackity exploded on each other, before Y/n walked away for what he thought was good.

Everyone's heart broke a bit that night.

Second, it was Karl. He started to disappear for a few days at a time, and when he returned? It was like his brain was scattered, and then he'd started to forget stuff.

At the time Sap had chalked it down to Karl's already bad memory, to his forgetful nature that his fiancée had. It began as small things. Karl forgot what day it was, where he left his book, what time he was meant to be at a certain place, and whether or not he had a meeting with the rest of Manberg's cabinet that day. But then It got worse.

Looking back, Sapnap realised that there were some days when Karl wouldn't say his or their partner's names until someone else said them. He had just thought Karl was messing around at the time, him just being cute and just wanting to call them by pet names but looking back at it, he should've realised sooner.

He should've realised when Karl came up with the idea of creating a new place to live, Kinoko Kingdom, because he said Cedar Rapids held no significate importance to him. Before he said it held no real value and that it was just where he lived because Sapnap lived there. Not because Sapnap, Quackity, and Y/n lived there, but because Sapnap lived there.

He should've realised before Karl completely shut him out. Before Karl would hole himself up in his library which he was forbidden from going in. Before Karl would forget him completely and call him by a stranger's name.

He should've helped Karl sooner. His heart cracked again.

Third, it was Quackity.

See the duck hybrid was stubborn, there was no denying that. Sapnap learnt this early on. If Quackity had his mind set on doing something, then there was a small chance, a very minuscule chance at that, of getting him to change his mind, the chance decreasing if Quackity was the one with the power to do what he wanted to do.

One morning, Sapnap had woken up alone. Karl had gone off again, who knows where, Y/n had just left maybe four days ago, and now Quackity had disappeared.

It stayed like that for a month. Quackity and Y/n were nowhere to be found. Karl occasionally disappeared and returned with his memory shot. Sapnap, probably wouldn't have minded so much if Quackity had told him where he was going, but after another month of no contact?

His heart broke again.

And the worse thing was? Karl had no idea what Quackity or Y/n meant to all of them.

And Finally, it was himself.

He could feel himself slipping away. With Karl coming and going, and no word from either Y/n or Quackity, Sapnap was stuck.

It wasn't like he had anyone to go to. His brother was locked away in a heavily armed prison, rightfully so; his Aunt Puffy was busy trying to deal with the fact one of her sons was locked up and also trying to solve this problem with the egg; his dad had been possessed by said egg, and was currently trying to take over the server; and his best friend was in some sort of deep sleep, only occasionally waking up.

He didn't know how much longer he could be there for Karl. As much as it broke him to ever think about leaving the Jacobs boy, he didn't know if it was worth it anymore, not without his partners. His first love and his third.

He didn't know how he could continue like this.

About a month after the fight, Y/n wanted to go back. Even if everything wouldn't go back to normal, they still wanted to see them, to check that they were doing okay. Because if their partners, well ex-partners were okay, then they'd be okay.

Or at least that's what they kept telling themselves.

The day they went to leave, Y/n climbed down the ladder leading to their room, only to be met with their dad, Philza, in the main room. As they made their way towards the front door and began to pull their cloak on, he stopped them.

"What are you doing?" he asked, nursing the warm mug between his hands.

Y/n sighed, not wanting to have this conversation with their dad but knowing he wouldn't let him go without telling him first, "I'm heading to Cedar Rapids, why? Is something wrong?"

Phil's face fell slightly, "There's a blizzard. You won't be able to make it Y/n."

Y/n's face dropped, and their heart sank in their chest, "How long will it last?"

They hoped it wouldn't be more than a few days at most, however, they were wrong. They ended up spending the next month trapped in the Arctic, unable to get to where they needed to. Unable to apologise for the shit they said.

The day they were finally able to get to Cedar Rapids, it was empty. The land was barren, but the buildings still standing. Their shared house was empty of the majority of everyone's belongings, only a few of theirs and Quackitys left behind.

Where was everyone?

As they stumbled out of the house, tears trying not to fall from their eyes they hit a solid object. Their hands came up to steady themselves, something grabbing onto their biceps. Looking up they saw the face of one of their fiancées.

Pulling back from their grip, Y/n wiped away their tears, wrapping the arms around their torso curling in on themselves. Their fiancée's wings drooped in response and his arms dropped to his sides. The two noticed the obvious distance between them, both physically and emotionally.

Choosing to break the silence between them, Y/n spoke up, "Hey."

Quackity stood still, having an internal malfunction. He was trying not to say anything he didn't want to say, not wanting to screw up again. His wings tightened up behind him, the slits in his shirt allowing his wings to come through, as he stood defensively. His instincts were screaming at him to comfort Y/n.

"Hey."

Looking up at the duck hybrid, Y/n locked eyes with his, and anyone could practically see the awkwardness between the two.

"So, uh," Y/n began, eyes still locked with his, "How are you?"

Quackity's wings fluttered slightly, "I'm alright I guess?"

His response came out as a sort of question, confusing Y/n slightly but they choose not to question it.

"How're the others?"

Quackity paused and Y/n could see them visible tense and him trying to form an answer but not knowing what to say.

"Quackity?" Y/n began, taking a step closer to him, "What happened?"

Hopping through the nether portal, Y/n grabbed a bunch of snow and hurled it at the goose that was following them, it letting out an exasperated honk and flapping its wings in annoyance. They stood up letting out curse words at the animal, beginning their trek back to their shared home. The white feathered animal biting against Y/n’s cloak and pants, attempting to pull the human back towards the nether portal.

The door slammed shut as Y/n walked through it, shrugging off the snow that had landed on their cloak. It felt like their ears were ringing, their mind spinning even though they could see clearly.

"What do you mean you left?"

"I did exactly what they did. What you did-"

Phil looked concerned at them, wondering what had happened, as his kid nonchalantly discarded their cloak and bag.

"What do you mean by that, Q? Where's Sapnap and Karl anyway, shouldn't they be around?"

"Well I wouldn't know, I came back one day to get them only to find they had disappeared along with all their stuff and most of ours."

"What do you mean disappeared?"

Phil's confusion began to grow as he heard the patter of webbed feet on his floor.

"Like gone. I don't even know where they are."

"Y/n," Phil began, walking closer and seeing the white goose standing next to his child, the goose attempting to pull on his kid's pant leg, it hissing at them when they shooed it off, "What's that?"

"This?" Y/n looked down at the goose, letting out a hiss in response to it honking at them, "It's a goose. And it won't leave me alone." They began frustration seeping through their voice, "Apparently it won't die, no matter how many times you push it into lava. So now I'm guessing it's some sort of immortal being that's come to spite me for my wrongdoings."

Y/n turned and climbed the ladder to the upper part of the house, the goose nestling down by the stairs, ruffling its feathers before it seemingly began to settle down.

"It's a soulmate goose."

Philza's head snapped around to face the voice, him calming once he realised that it was only Kristin. She made her way towards him, resting her hand gently on his shoulder, Phil leaning into the touch he could barely feel.

"The soulmate goose of enforcement only appears when there is an obstacle a soulmate pairing needs help to overcome," She continued walking over to pet the goose before it vanished, "It seems as if our little crow needs some help after all."

Upstairs, Y/n stared out of their window, watching the snow gently fall as they played with the three rings that were attached to a necklace around their neck. Each one with an engraving that referred to each counterpart in their past relationship.

"What do we do?" Y/n asked sitting down next to Quackity on the ground. The duck hybrid had finally stopped pacing and was now frustratedly pulling strands of grass from the ground before throwing them down, "How are we meant to find them?"

"I don't know," He began, "I don't know. I just- I keep thinking if we hadn't... You know... Then everything would be okay."

The two looked down at the ground, not noticing the goose begin to materialise in the distance. The silence between them was awkward. Neither of them knew how to continue and say what they wanted to.

"I came to apologise," Y/n spoke up, beginning to rip grass up from the ground. "I tried to come a month ago, but then there was a storm. But-"

"It would've still been too late," Quackity cut them off. Y/n looked up at him only to see him staring at the ground, refusing to look at them. "I left because I thought you weren't coming back, and then I had this idea-"

"What do you mean you thought I wasn't coming back? Quackity, I made a promise and so did you and the others! That we'd never walk away. Ever."

"Well, I'm sorry for thinking that then! It's just after the shit we both said I thought you were leaving this time for good! That you'd finally given up on us!"

"Can we not argue for once?"

"Oh, says you."

He stood up, taking a few steps backwards, before groaning in disdain.

"What now?"

"That fucking Goose is back!" Quackity sighed out, "I swear, it won't leave me alone."

"Okay, and what does that have to do with finding Karl and Sapnap?"

"I don't know okay! It's just this fucking thing won't leave me alone and keeps trying to drag me through nether portals." Quackity sighed, clearly frustrated.

"I'm sorry," he grumbled out, "I'm not good with emotions sometimes."

"I know," Y/n replied before standing up and taking Quackity's hands in theirs, rubbing their thumbs on the back of his palms when he didn't object or try to pull away. "You'd think the blaze hybrid would be the most hot-headed out of the four of us. Turns out, he's the least."

Quackity let out a small smile at their words before enveloping them in his arms, his wings fluttering and encasing the two of them.

“We still need to work stuff out,” Y/n said, voice slightly muffled, from where their head was buried in Quackity’s shirt.

“I know sweetheart, I know.”

Sapnap was outside.

And he was touching grass.

This wasn’t unusual for the blaze hybrid, him liking to sit in the flower fields surrounding his house.

When Karl choose the leave Cedar Rapids, Sapnap couldn't help but follow him, not wanting to lose the last of his partners, even though it felt as if he had already gone. Like Karl had slipped through his fingers and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

He thinks that may be the reason why he subconsciously chose this place to live. The flower fields reminded him of the unproblematic childhood he had and the first home he knew.

The loud honk, which came from his left, startled him enough that he dropped the flower crown he was absentmindedly weaving, fire igniting around his horns. The amber flames swirled before dying down.

The goose waddled over to him, attempting to bite onto his sleeve and drag him. Sapnap attempted to swat him away only for the goose to hiss at him.

After a least a minute of this happening, Sapnap sighed at the animal before grabbing it over its wings and lifting it into his lap, the goose immediately settling down but now gnawing on his hand.

“Why do you have a Soulmate Goose?”

Sapnap didn't tear his eyes away from the creature that was nestled in his lap, it was still keen on trying to bite his fingers off.

“Nice to see you too Drista,” he said back, “What do you want?”

“To know why you have a soulmate goose? Duh?”

Spanap gave her a deadpan look, “Well I don’t know. Shouldn’t you know, aren’t you like a god or something?”

The teenager glared at him from where she was floating in the sky, “Just because you’re best friends with my brother doesn’t mean I like you.”

Sapnap rolled his eyes in response, returning to pet the animal in his lap, the softness of the feathers reminding him of the nights when Quackity would let them help preen his wings. The duck usually ends up curled up on his lap, his head on Sapnap’s chest listening to his heartbeat letting out soft chirps of appreciation. Sapnap's heart clenched at the memory.

The teenager let herself land on the ground, sitting down amongst the flowers as she stared to mess with the grass.

“My brother told me about them.”

“Who, Dream?”

“No, XD,” she glared back at him when he interrupted her, “He used to say that sometimes the humans would need help to be with their soulmate and that he and some of the other gods created this being that would help them, the people giving it its name.”

“The soulmate goose? Really?”

“That’s not its full name, idiot. It’s the Soulmate Goose of Enforcement,” Drista deadpanned. “Anyway, I wouldn’t have thought you would end up meeting it, you know. You get along so well with Karl, Quackity, and Y/n, therefore you wouldn’t- Oh.”

Sap looked down away from the teenager, returning to give the now quiet goose more pets.

“Yeah,” Sapnap whispered in response.

Feeling really awkward about the situation, the teenage god thought it would be best that she left, “I’m going to go and find Tommy, bye Snapchat!”

And with that, she teleported away leaving the blaze hybrid alone in the field.

Sapnap began to think about his choices again. About everything that had happened, about everything he didn’t say, about everything he could’ve, no should’ve done.

He knew he should’ve stepped in and stopped Y/n and Quackity from arguing. He knew he should’ve helped Karl more before he began to forget everything. He knew he should’ve helped himself, to stop himself from walking away from his home.

Yes, Kinoko Kingdom may be where he lived, it may be his, or partly his, but it wasn’t his home. Cedar Rapids was more his home, if anything, the Dream SMP was more of his home than this place.

His fiancées are his home, not here. Not anywhere else.

Not this place he ran to when he was scared. When he was terrified of losing the last person who meant something to him.

A few tears escaped his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away as the Goose in his lap let out another honk.

Unbeknownst to him, a figure started to approach him, coming to a stop a few feet in front of him, gentle cawing being heard a lot more.

“She was right you know,” The woman said, Sap looking up at the person standing in front of him, not recognising the figure. He tensed up, ready to fight the unknown person, but only if it came to it, "I didn't expect you four to have him."

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" he asked only for the woman to gently smile in response.

"I'm Kristin, Goddess of Death-"

"You're Y/n's mom," Sapnap interrupted.

"I am, amongst other things," Kristin sat down in front of the young adult, "It's nice to finally meet you Sapnap. Y/n talks about you quite a bit."

One of the few crows flying around came and hopped down on the ground between the two, dropping Kristin a shiny rock, letting the goddess pet them before flying off and joining the rest of its brethren.

"Sapnap," Kristin began, letting the blaze focus his attention back on her, "The best thing I could do is give you advice. Don't spend time dwelling on what needs to be done. Go, find Y/n and Quackity, and talk. If you keep bottling up your feelings, it's going to get you nowhere, and this guy here is just going to get more mad at the four of you for being idiots."

"They left," Sapnap replied, voice cracking slightly, "They left us-"

He tried to continue talking but sobs left his mouth as tears started to fall. His shoulders shook with each shuddering breath he took, his horns lighting with a dull blue fire once again.

Kristin shuffled forward, wrapping her arms around him, letting his head fall onto her shoulder as she ran a hand through his hair, comforting her almost son-in-law.

And as Sapnap let the tears fall from him and his emotions run, he knew he couldn't continue like this. He knew something had to change.

The rain was bad that night.

It didn't rain much in Las Nevadas, it being in a warmer part of the smp, but when it rained, it poured like hell.

It was mainly when thunderstorms would happen in the main part of the greater smp that the weather would really be affected. It was like a cycle. Heavy rain that would cause the river to rise where L'Manberg once stood meant that light showers would last an hour at most and thunderstorms would cause heavy rainfall that would soak anyone to the bone.

Quackity knew it was a bad storm because even Slime was holed up inside.

He had managed to zone out the sound of rain hitting the window, the continuous drone allowing him to block it out as inherent background noise. The occasional flashes of light caused his wings to twitch in anticipation.

There was something wrong.

Quackity didn't know what exactly. It was more of an inherent feeling creeping up behind him, causing the occasional shiver to run down his spine. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

Slime was sat by the window, looking out across Las Nevadas. He personally likes the rain, just when it gets too heavy it affects his viscosity too much and throws him off. 'There's always the fountain', he thought, his fingers tracing the raindrops across the window.

Slime was following the raindrops as they fell, his finger reaching up to trace them before he remembered what his friend Quackity had told him the last time he did that.

Slime knew that he was a goopy guy but sometimes he would forget. He knew that he was bones or that he had to be but sometimes his brain didn't connect and say that to his goop. It was something he was working on because he had to seem like a human and that he had bones, even when it was a no-bones day.

Anyway, ignoring Slime's partial existential crisis, the goopy guy in a shirt and pants, and basically an identical outfit to his friend Quackity, he continued to stare out of the window before ultimately attempting to return to his previous task.

Quackity was not paying attention. The paperwork in front of him had been read at least twelve times but he still couldn't take the information in. Something was disrupting him and he couldn't work out what. It was an itch in the back of his mind, an annoying one at that.

He let out a sigh as he dropped the pen onto the table, leaning back against his chair and pushing himself away from his desk. He let out a puff of air, blowing the strands of hair out from in front of his eyes. Quackity really needed another haircut.

He stared up at the ceiling, his mind starting to wander.

How long was it going to take purpled to find Karl and Sapnap, surely not another week right? He couldn't keep living like this. In denial and regret, it was drowning him.

Even if the two decided they never wanted him again, then at least he would apologise to them. It was the least they deserved.

The shadowy figure in the distance continued to draw closer, forcing Quackity, who had unfortunately noticed its presence earlier but chose to ignore it, to rise up out of his seat and head towards the window. It was a person he was staring at, carrying a bundle of something in its arms, but for the life of him he couldn't work out who.

The rain was cascading down now, affecting his vision and the lights of his city did little to unmask them. His heart clenched at the sight of it; that same nagging feeling saying something was wrong hit him tenfold.

He turned to face Slime, having made up his mind he would go see if the masked figure was okay only for the doors behind him to be flung open.

It was Y/n soaked to the bone.

"Q," they began, terror etched onto their face. It made Quackity's feathers ruffle and stand on edge, wanting to wrap them in his arms and protect them from whatever they were afraid of.

"Q, it's Karl."

The fire flickered casting light across the room. It was the only source of warmth alongside the abundance of blankets piled across the four of them.

The bundle held in Quackity's arms was no stranger to him, the mop of brown hair that usually covered his forehead pushed to the side allowing the damp cloth to rest there and lower the Jacobs boy's raging fever.

The duck's instincts kicked in and the other two stepped aside to allow him to swaddle and care for Karl. They knew he was in safe hands and that Quackity was better at dealing with sick people.

Y/n had propped themselves against the wall, a blanket thrown over their shoulders and wrapped around them. The cloak they had donned earlier was in a pile alongside some of the other wet clothes of both Sap and Karl.

They looked down at the duo huddled on the floor, Quackity's wings furling around the star-eyed boy in a protective cocoon. Chirps left his mouth as he changed the water on the rag before smoothing it over the brunette's unconscious forehead.

There was no guarantee that he would wake up. Y/n could only pray that the gods of prime would help him. They couldn't lose him.

"What happens now?"

Both their own and Sapnaps heads snapped up to look at Quackity, he having the courage to break the scared silence that had overcome them all.

Y/n looked to Sapnap, the blazeborn looking worse for wear. It looked like he hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep in the past years, like he was soon to be death-walking. Just like Karl.

His shirt was clad against his chest, the white material somewhat see-through but now drying allowing them to see the runes that lined his body. He was hunched forward, his own blanket lying over his shoulders as his hands were clasped together in his lap.

Figuring that he wasn't going to speak up, Y/n pushed themselves off the wall and moved to sit between Sapnap's chair, and where the two were huddled together on the floor. They grabbed the blazeborn's hand in their own and placed their other upon Q's shoulder causing him to sway towards them slightly at the affection.

"We talk." They spoke out, the three awake sharing glances at each other.

A distant honk sounded as the goose settled itself into Slime's lap, the goopy guy petting the animal before it began to fade into dust, blowing away into the sky.

[moonster-energy]

Here’s my entry to a writing contest my local library is doing.

the prompt is: A fan fiction of 100 words or less

i made a Sally x Wilbur soulmate au for it :] (opinions/critique welcomed)

Matching zeros, a dream smp soulmate au.

They say however many steps you are from your soulmate are shown on your wrist. Today, mine reached 0.

"Tommy, your shoelace is untied, you're going to fall!" I called out, watching him as he ran ahead to catch up with Tubbo.

"Your arm." A female voice said from beside me, she was staring at my wrist.

"What? What about my arm?" I asked, looking at it.

"Your number... my number..." she mumbled, lifting up her wrist to show me. Her number was 0. I looked at my own wrist, a matching 0 was shown.

"Oh right... I'm Sally."

"Wilbur."

[moobloom-mention]

Heart-To-Heart (What Heart?)

BINGO Post

It's said you can feel your soulmate's heartbeat. In the quietest of moments, when you're completely alone, during your darkest times.

Char A wants to believe there's someone out there for them. That there is a light at the very end of the tunnel.

If there isn't...then what really is the point?

OR

Tommy's not that butt-hurt he doesn't have a soulmate. After all, who needs the comforting knowledge that there's someone out there meant for him? That someone will always wish that he survives the next encounter with the Syndicate?

Pfft, big men don’t, that's for sure.

Content Warnings: Cursing. Violence. Near-death experiences.

Word Count: 5704

----------

"What does it mean to have a soulmate?"

It was a question that'd always been flung around the city of Manberg, closely followed by entourages of cameras and influencers subjecting the public to their latest attempts at becoming famous.

"Work" - April 14th, 5056

"It's coming home after a long day of work," one person had grinned, a fond expression on their face. "And being able to tell the moment your soulmate knows you're home, their heartbeat getting faster and faster until you open the door to their smiling face."

"Cute Comparisons" - April 9th, 2057 

"To be an animal who's too young to see anything," another confessed, abashed they'd yet to meet their soulmate. "You can't see them, but the drum of their heartbeat is enough to know they're still there, just waiting for the moment you can finally open your eyes."

But to Tommy? To Tommy, it was all bullshit.

Even still he's shocked how much the public swoons over each response, eager to judge whether someone's response was too dull or far too poetic to be original. He'd lost faith in humanity the moment he noticed the uptick in influencers bothering the elderly, hopeful for a story about a soulmate they'd outlived.

Sorrowful speeches paid the bills- the sheer amount of views proved that -even at the expense of morality.

The only interaction that seemed to perform better than tearful grandmas were the "Bitter Ones": people who were heartbroken, pissed, and milked endlessly by the media for clickbait titles.

"Influencer Assaulted by a Bitter One!" - June 17th, 2058

The video opened on a two-minute chase sequence between some prick of an interviewer and a well-dressed man. Even the editor's choice to blur the man's face didn't stop the sheer amount of hatred radiating off the man's expression, waving the young girl off in spite of her never-ending, "Sir! Excuse me, sir!"

It was almost disappointing when the interviewer got what she wanted, the man whipping around to furiously shout at her.

"Could you fucking stop? Some people don't want to talk about how, 'Oh, my soulmate? Mine was a piece of shit that cheated on me with my own best friend-'!"

What wasn't disappointing was the girl being shoved aside as the cameras faded to black.

It'd been a well-deserved response if Tommy had anything to say about it.

Just about anyone would grow pissed over being harassed, let alone being demanded to broadcast their pitiful story to the world. The icing on the cake, however, was the implication that the poor bloke could still hear the heartbeat of his cheating soulmate.

Shit like that was just another reason as to why everyone had grown to favor platonic soulmates in place of romantic ones. It was easier to venture through life's bipolar mess with a best mate versus a partner you felt obligated to marry.

At least, that'd been the opinion of one of Dream's shitty magazines.

"Prime's Attempts at Arranging Marriages is Soooooo Last Decade..."

Tommy had just barely poked his head into his mentor's office when he noticed the headline, eyes wide as he found Dream at his desk and engrossed by an article some poor writer had probably killed to get a spot on the front page.

The scene was more interesting than awkward, especially considering Dream's original hesitance over divulging in anything soulmate-related. Tommy had practically had to strangle the name "George" from Dream's throat when he'd first started his apprenticeship at the Tower.

Shame Dream's attempts at secrecy failed the moment Tommy knew their Number-One-Hero's guilty pleasure was cheesy gossip meant for preteens.

"Trouble in paradise?"

The room had burst into chaos, Dream flinging the magazine into an adjacent wall as mindless paperwork made its home back in the man's hands. If the magazine hadn't practically framed itself on the wall, Tommy would've assumed he imagined the whole ordeal.

"Y'know, usually we get offices only for shit like paperwork."

It'd been hilarious to watch Manberg's Number-One-Hero burrow his face into his desk with a muffled plea of, "Don't tell Schlatt."

It wasn't like Dream would get fired over a little bit of soulmate talk, but the fear was well-deserved considering the Tower's manager would never let Dream live it down.

"I dunno, Big D. He'd give me an office for finding out about this one."

Dream's head lifted, faux hurt in his expression. "Tommy, c'mon-"

"An office, Big-Man."

Dream's eyebrows pinched.

"I can't fucking believe this- done."

Tommy grinned.

"Aaaaand an invite to you and Gogy's wedding?"

"We're not having a- y'know what. Fine. But this-"

The magazine flopped uselessly to the ground.

"-this never happened."

"I don't even know what you're talking about," he agreed with ease.

Life wasn't quite the same following the "Magazine Incident Circa 2060". Yeah, life would never be the same after getting his own office, but something changed in the way Dream progressed their trust in one another, training sessions interrupted by Tommy's curiosity over George and Dream's sudden willingness to let details about his soulmate slip.

Trust had already become mandatory when Tommy first became Dream's apprentice- it demanded they their life in one another's hands amidst combat for fucks sake- but this crawled beneath the surface of contractual agreements.

Dream had once coined it as "friendship", a thought which instantly earned the hero teasing remarks over how George would be jealous.

There'd only been a handful of times Dream had tried to dip into the subject of Tommy's own soulmate, attempts that'd been dismissed with a shrug of "I haven't met 'em yet."

Not everyone was lucky enough to meet their soulmate in second grade, Dream.

It wasn't long before even other heroes amidst the Towers warmed up to the idea of discussing their soulmates. Even in spite of Schlatt's decade-long policy prohibiting it, it seemed the strict dickhead grew to agree that passing comments and stories were more beneficial in trust-building amidst coworkers.

"Long as media shit-heads don't find out, it's fine."

It was an easy catch.

Not so easy for Fundy, apparently.

The hero had barely been around for a couple months before he took his first interview, selecting TMZ of all fucking media outlets. Sure, the network did well to spark publicity for new heroes, but if Tommy noticed anything about the redhead amidst their first battles with one another, it's that the man can't see a trap to save his life.

"Soulmates in the Tower?" - August 8th, 2060

"Well," the interviewer had begun, quick to soothe her previous bout of laughter. "I'm sure you've heard the trends going about in regards to soulmates."

To give credit where it was due, Fundy did hesitate before shaking his head. "Ah, no. Soulmate business has never been a strong suit."

The woman's smile twisted into that of a shark's as she leaned forward. "You must have at least some input when it comes to the big question on the streets. 'What does it mean to have a soulmate'?"

There'd been a beat of silence, one that'd originally elicited hope that Fundy hadn't fucked up and instead cut the interview there and then.

But there's a reason the holler of reporters had changed from, "Hey, Karma! Karma! How'd you manage to evade the Angel of Death?" to irritating parrots of "-soulmate? How do you feel about them? Surely the Big-Man himself wants to speak about his soulmate-"

"To finally feel complete," Fundy replied lamely. "To rush into battle with your heart racing, and feeling the pound of theirs following."

Tommy's phone slipped back into his pocket.

(It didn't matter how much his mind screamed to correct such a careless response. To mutter, you feel cared for, dickhead. You know that every time you put yourself in danger, you know damn-well your soulmate's praying for your safe return.)

Prime knows how the fuck Fundy only received a slap on the wrist for his stunt. Schlatt's screams following the interview still haunt his nightmares, with words over how Fundy barely managed to follow the bare minimum of his contract.

Apparently, the policy was meant to stop identifiable details from coming into light, and considering Fundy's lame-ass response had been, well, lame, the hero kept his job after acknowledging the severity of the situation.

Even the careless mention of blonde hair could've put citizens matching the vague description under the surveillance of villains. Killing a hero's soulmate was a one-way ticket to solving a life-long rivalry, a chance that as Tommy mulled over it, explained Dream's original concern for discussing George.

There isn't room for trusting the wrong person when a single soulmate is all someone gets, especially when said someone has an iconic rivalry with the Blade himself.

He definitely didn't preen after putting together that thought, every mindless reciting of George's antics now found to be another support beam added to their undefeated bridge of trust. The bridge's completion arrived only six months following Fundy's fuck-up, when Dream hesitantly invited Tommy out to dinner with him and George.

"Gogy finally get tired of hearing all about me? Don't worry, king; I'll even get my suit dry-cleaned."

First impressions considered: George was an odd fellow. Short, blunt, and- in spite of the very nice restaurant Dream had selected -dressed in pajamas. Tommy can still recall the moment he noticed Dream's limo pull up, the hero stepping out in a suit and dark green tie whilst George stumbled about in a grey t-shirt and plaid-blue sweatpants.

With the apologetic expression on Dream's face, Tommy could imagine this was less of a prank and more-so a typical outing for the duo.

It'd been admittedly odd to be seated in front of Manberg's Number-One-Hero and his soulmate. He tried not to compare himself to nosy influencers the whole night, even in spite of how the answer to the media's, "What does it mean to have a soulmate?" sat mere feet away, etched into reality.

It was written in the way they offered fleeting glances toward one another amidst conversation. How they sat there, endeared by one another's attire as they dined beneath diamond chandeliers. How they laughed and snorted at jokes undeserving of being found humorous, amused only because the other had uttered it.

When the night eventually came to an end, Tommy found himself trapped with an odd pit in his stomach that definitely wasn't jealousy.

If it was jealousy, then why would Tommy go the lengths to torture himself and ask for more stories about George's antics? Why would Dream then fall into a habit of talking about his soulmate unprompted whenever patrol nights got a touch too quiet.

"It's funny," Dream had commented one night, kind enough not to mention the way Tommy's eyes lit up. "How good his poker-face is. His heartbeat will grow erratic, even though his expression never betrays anything-"

Still, Tommy elbowed the hero aside with a groan. "I don't want to hear about your make-out sessions, prick."

"You know it's not like that," Dream laughed. "Besides, you'll have to put up with it 'til you get the balls to talk about yours."

Damn, a rare L for Big D.

Tommy scrambled to dismiss the sudden tension. It was all in vein, attempts vanishing the moment Dream noticed it.

"You don't have to," he back-peddled, almost frantically. "This was never an info-for-info arrangement, I'm more than happy to just talk about George-"

He'd be lying if he said he hadn't considered the offer.

Dream had opened a door that night, one demanding payment of complete vulnerability should Tommy walk through it. He'd have to share the only thing the blonde could truly claim as his secret to own- something that Dream had been openly sharing for over a year at the time.

It was...enticing.

Tommy's mother tongue might be that of a sailor, but there'd always existed an undesirable itch to spout metaphors like Dream did about George. He is, in spite of Dream's shock, a poet at heart. It was his pride that prohibited the publishing of his thoughts.

Well, his pride and the fact he was nothing if not the spitting image of stubbornness. The moment he'd soul his soul on a lie was the moment he refused to depart from it.

"Fuckin' rude," he huffed. "Maybe Schlatt should hear of that magazine incident-"

The topic was dropped in favor of teasing laughter, and Dream never learned that Tommy had spent the following morning pacing his apartment with a question in mind.

What does it mean to have a soulmate?

To influencers, it was to milk them for all their worth, to regard them as winning lottery tickets and divulge in profit.

To Fundy, it was to matter, to seek comfort and validation in his life meaning something in the eyes of another.

To Dream, it was to hold them in the space between his heart and lungs, to immortalize them in the minds of others through childish stories.

And to Tommy-

To Tommy it wasn't just bullshit.

It was to sit on his shitty excuse for a couch, to strangle a notebook and pencil within his hand.

(To etch amidst blurring blue lines:

It is to ask a mentor about theirs,

And for a moment, pretend you have the same.)

It'd been easy to smother the notebook beneath shopping lists and nervous chants of "Just kidding, just kidding-" as though it were someone else he were attempting to convince instead of the lonesome thud of his own heartbeat.

It never mattered how how many times the mantra filled Tommy's empty apartment. He'd always been destined to retire beneath the covers of his bed, an old pair of white headphones glued to his ears as though they could heal the song of mourning that'd torn his heart to shreds.

And they could, ever-so-eager to echo the soft, rhythmic thump of a looped heartbeat not meant for him to listen to.

A part of him hopes the original owner of the audio has long been put to rest, unable to handle the guilt that he'd intruded on two soulmate's heartbeats for the sake of curing his loneliness.

It's pathetic.

But being pathetic wasn't as lame considering how much easier the routine made going about his day without a second heartbeat to contrast with his own.

It was a tiny secret he'd kept hidden beneath the covers of his bed, harmless and easy enough to contain within the walls of the apartment.

But of course, Prime loved fuck-all if not ruining a good system.

Hero work had always been dangerous- hell, he had his own set of previously broken bones to prove it.

Having a brush with Death was bound to happen sooner or later.

Dream and him had been roaming about when a report came in, spouting of how two members of the Syndicate- Manberg's most effective group of organized villainy -were stalking the streets. It hadn't raised too many red flags; with so many members amidst the Syndicate's ranks, hearing only two of them running errands wasn't unheard of.

Especially when the two were Phantom and Blade, names that'd proven they could defend themselves quite well.

It was dumb-luck alone Tommy eventually managed to successfully pin Phantom in place whilst Dream was distracting Blade, his arm pressed against the villain's throat as he attempted to wrestle Phantom's freezing cold hands into a pair of power dampeners.

He'd nearly jolted over the sudden realization he couldn't feel a pulse against his arm, Phantom still very much alive and struggling in spite of the revelation.

"No heartbeat? That's creepy as fuck," Tommy muttered, as though he wasn't panicking feeling Phantom's hands warm in his grasp. He really didn't need the villain dematerializing right as he was this close to success.

"Don't tell me you heroes hold grudges against dead people," Phantom grinned. As if he wasn't about to be sent to Pandora's vault for a CVS receipt of crimes.

"Prime do I have bad news for you, king-"

There'd been the soft sound of scrapping metal before he found himself stumbling onto concrete, Phantom long forgotten as his fingers instinctively grasped the metal feather that'd embedded itself in his chest.

Somewhere to his left Phantom scrambled upright.

Even nowadays he can't grasp together a cohesive description of the events that followed, only recalling how quiet the atmosphere had grown. Phantom and the Angel of Death had to of been talking, right? Shouting if what little of what Tommy could see explained.

But there'd only been the deafening crash of silence, interrupted only by the head-ache inducing pound of his heart.

Suddenly, Fundy's fondness over the racing of his soulmate's heartbeat made sense. Dying alone was terrifying.

He learned two things that day:

The Angel was not a force to fuck with, and maybe therapy was a good thing to invest in.

Tommy would've been back on the battlefield the moment the hospital discharged him if it wasn't for Dream. The man had been relentless, convincing Schlatt to force Tommy on two weeks of paid leave.

Day 18 of being out of commission and Tommy found himself walking through the Tower's lobby, white headphones secured to his ears.

Only Dream questioned it, convinced it was a joke.

"You're not actually taking them into the field, are you?" the man had asked, frowning over Tommy's shockingly serious expression. "Tommy, you just got back from dying. You seriously expect me to let you go out there with these things?"

"Mhm."

A sigh.

"Can you at least let Sam downsize them-?"

"Nope."

Tommy loved nothing if not giving Dream a heart-attack.

"How the hell are you going to hear our call-outs then?"

He shrugged. "I will."

And Tommy had done well with that promise.

Unlike Dream's suspicion that he was blasting music amidst life-threatening confrontations, the soft echo of a heartbeat never did much to phase out barked commands and shouts for backup.

"Tommy- for fuck's sake!"

Said hero can't help but wince as Dream suddenly flies down the street, the man just barely catching himself before his face can greet pavement.

Tommy jerks back, confusion echoing within his brain when a fist doesn't appear to knock him back a few feet as well. Blade and Dream's rivalry might be iconic, but Tommy would be an idiot if he wasn't at least slightly aware how quickly he could become Blade's newest target.

He's only a little wounded that Blade pays him no mind, the villain following Dream's footsteps to land unwavering blow after blow. Tommy's shoulders sag with relief, a grin on his face even as he watches Dream's desperate attempts to avoid getting knocked out.

There'll be a riot if they're both not awarded raises following this shit-show. He'd like to see Schlatt try and fight the Syndicate himself.

"What was that? Sorry, can't hear you over my headphones!"

Despite his words, Tommy finds himself naturally falling into a defensive stance, a knife primed in his hand as he tracks Blade's movements with caution. It's almost comical how much he feels like a dog, prepared to lung into action the moment Dream deems it necessary.

What's even funnier is the fact that this has to be the eighth time they've doomed 180th Street to Syndicate shenanigans.

"Well, isn't that a pity?"

His knife slices through the air at an instant, eyes searching valiantly for the source of the new voice.

The tone hit all the wrong notes- playful, yet screaming of imminent danger.

He'll die before he lets Phantom of all people get an easy hit.

As much as he wants to call the ghost a massive bitch for hiding in plain sight, his mouth feels like cotton, mind far too focused on the steady rise of his heartbeat.

Thump-thump-thump-thumpthump-

A scoff erupts by his ear once more.

Tommy nearly shouts at the asshole who'd managed to sneak up on him again, forcing down the terror that'd begun to creep into his veins.

Panic was never a good mix when trying to locate an essential ghost.

Fuck Prime for giving a villain such an overpowered ability. "Recall" might not be among the worst powers to have, but even Dream's manipulation over gravity is nothing in comparison to walking through fucking walls.

"I thought you would've loved to hear Dream nearly get a face-full of pavement."

Well now that you mention it-

Tommy's joints lock as the distinct of metal on metal returns, a sound that'd only just begun to disappear from his nightmares.

Phantom's sudden lack of continuous banter only confirms his suspicions that this isn't just a typical Blade and Phantom scenario.

The teenager ducks just in time for a handful of metal feathers to imbed themselves into the alleyway wall instead of his back, breath hitching at the sight of the Angel of Death staring down at him in amusement.

Thumpthumpthumpthumpthump-

"Th-That's hardly fair, you fuckin' prick!"

He feels drunk on the adrenaline rush that flows through him, his knife thrown toward the son of a bitch with practiced ease.

There's disappointment in the way his weapon never finds a home, effortlessly batted away and making a near-perfect arch back into Tommy's hand as his power wills it to return.

It's fantastic that he has his weapon back.

Terrible that it'd came whizzing toward his heart point-first.

Shadows loom as Angel's metal wings extend, creating a barricade between them and Dream's ongoing struggle.

Ha, as if two dangerously sharp wings are going to stop him.

"'Fair' isn't exactly in my vocabulary, mate."

"Almost forgot," Tommy grunts. "Blade's the dictionary fuck."

There's a flash of light before Tommy dives forward, metal clashing as his knife meets Angel's wrist-guard.

Satisfaction bleeds into the villain's cruel smile.

It almost makes him miss Phantom. At least with him Tommy isn't forced to look too hard at the bastard's ugly face.

Tommy wrestles the yelp from his throat as Angel's wings fling forward, boots digging into the ground to counteract the sudden powerful gust of wind.

An uproar of debris greets his attempts to stand firm against the violent force, triumph igniting as Tommy stands his ground.

Apparently, his success is a crime straight out of Phantom's book.

The dust barely settled when the heel of the ghost's boot meets his chest, lungs squeezing as he's sent flying onto the pavement of Ox Avenue.

He's unable to swallow back a totally-manly noise of pain- head pounding as the world roars back to life.

It's far too loud, overwhelming at this point.

Thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump.

He can faintly hear Dream's distinct grunts from the street over.

Fuck, that means-

Tommy's eyes widen as he locks onto his headphones a few feet away, split damn-near perfectly down the middle.

"What a shame, folks," Phantom's voice sings, the villain in all his vintage-glory appearing not far from Tommy.

If he wasn't so pissed, he would've asked whose dead grandpa Phantom stole the trench coat from.

"Looks like Karma's headphones are officially down for the count!"

Live now. Mourn later.

Sweat drips down his forehead as Tommy lurches backward, Phantom's fists connecting with the pavement Tommy had laid upon only a second before.

"Oo, but Karma makes a shocking return!" Phantom cheers. His form flickers once before it returns full-force, much less passive than the ghost's usually fighting stance.

Tommy's teeth grit.

The saying isn't "Karma's a bitch" for nothing.

"You're gonna regret that, fucker."

Phantom flickers back into existence, and Tommy takes kindly to the way their fight falls into hand-to-hand combat.

It's a dance he'd practiced for years, the consistent art of feigning left and dodging right.

The meticulous thoughts firing every time Phantom leans a little too much on his left-side.

Tommy's leg sweeps beneath the villain, fury forever caught in Phantom's eyes as the villain stumbles to the ground.

His power surges as he calls upon his knife, hand reaching out to snag the handle as per usual.

Tommy's grin drops the moment his hands grab something, something that ignites the nerves in his hand aflame.

That...that is not his knife.

He groans as the metal feather rips itself from his grasp, snapping back into position on Angel's wings.

"You mother-"

The world turns.

Tommy flails as his feet leave the ground, eyes widening amidst his attempts to twist mid-air. A quick glance proves that Phantom and Angel have joined his non-consensual ascent to the sky- a very black sky that totally isn't scary as fuck in the middle of the day.

Blinding white strips creep along the avenue's road like veins, the sidewalk now a pale shade of black.

Well, that's never happened before.

Tommy's heart stalls as gravity takes reign once more, the world flashing back to normal in time for the trio to crash onto pavement.

True to his luck, he doesn't land on his feet like Dream always does.

Instead he's left in a tangle of limbs, and silence that definitely should not be there.

"What the fuck-"

Tommy forces himself to his feet as his gaze fires on instinct.

White concrete.

Black roads.

Kicked dust settling.

Still Angel of Death-

Woah, woah, slow that down a bit.

Tommy's brows furrow.

Dust should not be settling whilst two supervillains stand tall.

Oh, and the Angel of Death probably shouldn't be standing in place either.

Tommy almost wilts beneath the odd storm crashing in Angel's eyes as the villain gazes toward 180th Street. If he didn't know any better he would've deemed it an odd mix between panic and possessiveness.

It can't be panic over Dream's abilities, Tommy had spent way too much time combing through his mentor's files to of missed such a crucial detail in the man's powers.

The Angel takes a step back, pupils blown wide.

Oh.

This isn't a Dream problem.

This is a Blade problem.

For once, it seems their Number-One-Hero might just have the upper hand.

How the turn-tables.

Tommy's powers howl as he throws his knife, pride unaffected as the Angel's wings once-more deflect the blade without so much of a glance.

The air freezes as the villain slowly turns his head toward Tommy, leveling the hero with a death-glare.

If this wasn't a such an opportunity, he would've fled the scene in an instant.

But Dream needs time, and Prime will Tommy buy him some.

"Oi, dick'ead! I wasn't finished with you."

Gone are the grins, the playful woes of battle.

This is personal.

"Phantom."

A hand appears to his left and Tommy's lunges.

He barely makes contact with Angel's left wing before Angel staggers back, landing a solid punch against Tommy's cheek in the hopes it'd dismantle him.

Like hell he's giving up this easily.

"Reca-!"

His power dims as a hand clamps around his mouth, the eye-watering scent of gunpowder flooding his senses.

"Oh no you fucking don't gremlin," Phantom grunts, voice heavy with the sheer amount of effort it takes to wrangle Tommy against his chest.

Good, nothing should come easy to that prick.

He definitely doesn't flinch as the wing in his hand dissembles, the feathers following in Angel's hurried footsteps as the villain takes off toward 180th.

Fuck.

Dream better hope Angel and Blade just have an extremely beneficial partnership and aren't two extremely dangerous soulmates.

Tommy's teeth sink into Phantom's hand.

Y'know, for being a classified ghost, Phantom's hand tastes grossly similar to normal flesh.

And like a human, the ghost's hand snaps away at an instant.

Tommy doesn't give Phantom the time to register his fuck-up, the metal feather he'd managed to snag oddly light as he digs it straight into the villain's thigh.

There's a hiss before Phantom disappears, the bloodied feather falling to the ground.

His chest erupts with triumph.

"Haha, bitch! How does it feel to get stabbed-?"

A fist connects with his face.

He's just barely able make out the familiar blur Vintage Road's boutiques as he's sent flying, his hands providing a sufficient block in time for Phantom's next incoming hit.

It's evident that they're moving farther from Dream, Tommy forced backward with every punch Phantom lands.

The ghost really shouldn't be holding this well after being stabbed.

Tommy yanks on his powers, desperation lining his features as he prays for his knife's arrival.

It never comes.

Fuck- this is the last time he tries to recall something on impulse.

He won't even get another chance to recall anything if Phantom's brutality says anything.

A hand grabs his shirt and yanks, pulling the duo onto the unforgiving ground.

Phantom's hands find a home at his neck, squeezing in spite of Tommy's flailing limbs.

"Just stop- struggling!"

You're trying to fucking kill me!

Tommy's breath comes out in wheezes, eyes wide as his mind struggles for some plan.

Phantom isn't supposed to be a lethal threat and the tension lining the ghost's stance proves it. There's an ongoing battle told in the way Phantom's eyebrows furrow with discontent.

His foot kicks out, choking as his feeble attempt only gives Phantom an excuse to add pressure to his throat.

His vision tunnels.

Damn, what a shitty way to go.

"Fuck!"

Instinctively he cringes away from Phantom's hiss, flinching as he expects his small struggle to be reprimanded.

Thumpthumpthumpthumpthump-

The hands on his neck disappear, replaced by the violent mantra of, "Fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck-"

Tommy gasps, rolling onto his side as he forces air into his lungs.

Boots and nervous laughter echo as Phantom circles him. The villain's mouth moves, Tommy straining to comprehend the words.

"Of all people," Phantom was muttering. "Of all people, it's the biggest fucking pain in my ass."

His throat aches at the thought of speaking, and he can't tell if it's from being choked out or being completely helpless should Phantom decide to do something.

Tommy whines as fists tighten at his uniform, briefly registering the fact that they're moving. If the two building rising into his vision say anything, his deathbed is going to be in some dingy-ass alleyway.

It'll be poetic, if he thinks hard about it. Phantom finishing what the Angel of Death couldn't.

Dream isn't around to save him, nor is there a secondary heartbeat to care.

A hand knocks at his skull.

"-hello? Anyone home?"

Tommy forces himself back into reality, petrified as he meets Phantom's irritated expression and neon green eyes so inhuman that his mind prays they're only contacts.

"Welcome back to the land of the living."

Ironic coming from a ghost.

Damn, what a shame he can't deliver that zinger.

"Stop zoning out," Phantom huffs, kneeling at Tommy's side.

Thumpthumpthumpthumpthump-

Tommy isn't sure how long they stand there for, his heart slowly beginning to calm in spit of the clear danger still in front of him.

Phantom's mouth is still moving- the villain ever liked shutting up anyway.

"Thump-thump-thump...thump-thump...thump- there you go...just calm down."

Tommy bolts upright, eyes wide as his hand rubs at his throat. Phantom's hand isn't there to stop him.

"Thump-thump-thump-thump."

Phantom's hand isn't there.

"Oh fuck," he grunts, eyes wide as he scrambles away from the villain. "You're my-"

"Took you long enough. Thanks for stabbing me, by the way."

Tommy's jaw twists open to retort, the soft crinkling of paper interrupting him as cold hands land in Tommy's own. A quick glance finds a poorly written note in his grasp.

"Niki's Bakery, 120th King's Rd. 5:55PM, don't be late."

His expression morphs into that of confusion.

Kinda odd to have that on hand.

"I- uh, had a suspicion after y'know..."

I almost died?

At least his soulmate has comprehension skills.

"Karma!"

Both of them flinch at Dream's voice, eyes wide as they scramble away from one another.

This- this would look extremely bad.

There's a soft crackle of static from Phantom's trench coat.

"Phantom?"

"All good on my end," the villain mutters into the speaker. "We may have a Code Blue on our hands, though."

"What?"

Blade.

"Mate, you better have an explanation."

Angel.

"Yeah, yeah," Phantom huffs.

Tommy winces as the villain rises, an odd grin on the ghost's face.

"Guess I'll be seeing you soon, hm Karma?"

"Fuck yeah."

"Karma!"

With a salute, Phantom's figure fades just in time for Dream to come skittering around the corner.

Tommy finds his fingers shoving the note into his pocket.

This was...big.

An opportunity to report Phantom's civilian identity. To finally land the villain a ticket to Pandora's vault.

But this meant Tommy wasn't alone anymore, that he did have a soulmate, even if he couldn't feel the secondary drum of another.

He can be selfish just this once, can't he?

"I'm fine," Tommy grunts before Dream can say anything.

"You look like you just got hit by a bus."

The teenager grins, "What if I did?"

Dreams eyebrows pinch. "Don't make me think about that- lets just...lets get you patched up and home."

"You read my mind, king."

---

Out of all the ways he'd unwilling dreamed of meeting his soulmate, standing idly in front of a café was not one of them.

It felt like the beginning of some cheesy rom-com, especially with the giant ass scarf he'd forced on himself to cover Phantom's handprints. The last thing he needed was his soulmate feeling guilty over it.

Actually, maybe that would be some decent blackmail.

Tommy forces himself to breathe as he pushes the cafe's doors open, dismissive of the anxiety stirring within his chest.

The cafe's tall-ass cashier instantly turns to the door, dark brown eyes following Tommy's approach to the counter.

It's unmistakably Phantom, with dark eyebags and a stylish mess of brown hair. A part of him sighs in relief that the ghost's green eyes had just been contacts.

Oh Prime, unless these were the contacts-

"Hey."

Not the best start to formally meeting his soulmate.

"Hey."

It's awkward, half because the cafe's dead quiet, and half because it's weird as fuck to stand in front of one of Manberg's most-wanted criminals, unmasked.

Gone is Phantom's famous black eye-mask and trench coat, exchanged for a cozy brown sweater and green apron with a weird ass nametag.

This isn't Phantom. This is-

"Wilbur, huh? You don't suppose there's still time to change that-"

"Don't push it, gremlin."

[2am-cursed-fanfic]

Quack, Quack, Can Break Your Back

A TNT duo fanfic, a goose soulmate au, mafia au, everyone is dead except them au, SMUT. For basille: Happy Late Birthday 

Being paranoid was always his strong suit, maybe that’s why he survived so long in the mafia.

He loved his friends there, more like brothers at this point, the PG2020 was a good place to be when you had family with you.

Not that any of that mattered now,

The violence they rage at the SW2020 mafia, it started with a little misunderstanding. Just some land blocks 5 and 6 on seventh Street. Maybe there could’ve been a better way, a peaceful way, but when you are raised with guns and blood you believe them to be your friends.

No, Wilbur sees they truly were his only enemy.

He stood knowing that his family in the mafia was dead, it’s been two weeks, the cops look for anyone who is involved, but hiding in the shadows saved his very skin.

The funny part about it was, the place that was saving him was the abandoned building on the sixth block of seventh Street.

The sky is gray, it was all the Wilbur could think of all the other darkness that swirled in his mind for a moment felt calm. He didn’t want them to die in vain, but revenge was for someone who felt like going on for years.

A year was the longest time he could think of living before he lost himself to his own madness.

Then he heard it tapping at the window,

He looked out and saw no one, perhaps his paranoid mind had already lost.

But then again, it tapped once more.

He still saw nothing.

But every time he looked away the tapping began all over again, and again, and again, until finally-

He swung open the window

“OKAY WHO IS EVER OUT THERE THIS BETTER BE A THREAT BECAUSE I WILL COME TO CUT OUT YOUR TONGUE WHEN I FIND YOU”

Than

“Quack”

The fuck was that- Wilbur thought, but before he could finish his thought, IT flew in.

“Quack, Quack”

It was a fucking hell-

“You're just a goose, and I threaten that I would- I would-“ and for the first time in two weeks he was laughing.

He laughed and giggled. He must of sounded like a madman to the streets below but he didn’t care because something he couldn’t really explain was happening.

“I can’t- even-“ he laughed more,

The goose stood still understand his roars of laughter were over.

“We’ll I guess I have a pet goose now,”

He watched the goose ruffle it’s feathers,

“Now what should I call you-“ he said reaching for its head, but than

“OW BLOODY HELL!!”

It bite him,

“OUCH, OW, THE FUCK,”

At this point the goose looked downright furious, and to be completely honest Wilbur was downright terrified.

He started sprinting for the door, unlocking all 3 of his protective locks and an angry goose chased after him.

But the goose didn’t stop it’s hunt,

It chased him out the door, to the stairs, than down to the 3rd floor, and the 2nd, and also the 1st, all the way until he was out of the building entirely, running out of breath to the alley between the buildings.

And for the unluck of god, Wilbur found himself cornered,

By a goose,

In a alleyway,

Fearing for his life,

His family was laughing from beyond the grave and he could hear them.

And than,

“OW, THE FUCK DO YOU WANT FROM ME YOU DAMN BIRD-“

Another man with black hair, red glasses, and a cigarette burning at his lips, and in Wilbur’s opinion with pretty brown eyes at a glance, was also getting chased by another goose, to the same alley way, what are the chances.

“I SWEAR TO GOD I AM NOT ABOVE SHOOTING A BIRD, YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I HAVE KILLED YOU LITTLE BI-“ And this other goose bite him, right on the nose.

The man stumbled back, not seeing Wilbur behind him also in the alleyway.

Wilbur, wanting to help a stranger in similar conditions, reached out to catch him.

And that was it, it felt like a sparkler was lit on the bottom of his tail bone straight to the top of his spine, like the world had freezed and heated both at the same time, he felt…hopeful for the first time in years.

Oh,

He knew what this meant, and judging by the way the stranger stiffed the same way he did, he was guessing he knew too.

They were soulmates.

Destined to love each other no matter what, to hold each other in the other’s arms sweeter than any embrace, to never let go like the fated Romeo and Juliet.

… and perhaps something that Wilbur needed the most at that moment, a companion.

Someone to keep his mind away from nightmares and kept his bed warm lying next to him, someone to love him through his worries and keep him safe, and Wilbur would return the favor he knew, ten times if they needed.

He loved them.

Who ever he was holding in his arms,

He knew that as simply as the sky is opposite of the earth.

He was going to love them until the day he died.

“Um..” the man in his arms mumbled,

“Oh, uh, sorry,” he tumbled, letting go of the man-his soulmate, and letting go of that contact felt like a torturous thing to do.

The other man straighten himself, and turned around without warning, with still a bleeding nose.

And brown eyes meant brown eyes,

And they realized the horror that they’ve seen each other before.

He was Quackity, part of his family’s warring mafia of SW2020.

A month ago they could have murdered each other.

A heat of anger rushed over him, the universe put him with his sworn enemy that helped kill his family…

But at the same time he had probably helped kill his…

The anger rushed away as quickly as it arrived, but the heat of the anger stayed, morphing into something else.

Quackity was part of the SW2020 mafia.

Wilbur was part of the PG2020 mafia.

But that didn’t matter now, because they were soulmates, destined to choose each other despite all obstacles, and because there was no one else left that they loved.

The war of the mafias is over, they both decided in that second.

“I’m sorry, I wanted to give you the world well I had it, my soulmate” Quackity says dropping to his knees,

There was a Silence,

“I’m afraid a I’m a simple man,” Wilbur says dropping to his soulmates level

“I don’t need the world,” he touches Quackity’s face gently like it was the most precious thing in the world,

“Maybe I just want someone to love me, is that too much to ask,” he says with a daring look the other in the eyes.

And all hell breaks looses, the moment they look into each other’s eyes, they can’t stop themselves if they tried.

Their lips meet, heated, they waste no time letting the other explore their mouths, getting tangled and untangled so quickly it could feed the fire raging in their souls.

And yet it wasn’t enough, nowhere near enough.

Quackity wasted no time after realizing this he pushed his soulmate to his building door, not stopping the kissing, as if he would ever want the other to stop anyways.

In the building his room was close but they both had been trying to combine so tightly waving fingers in hair and pulling the other towards them like they needed them to breathe.

Quackity’s broken nose was starting to turn their kiss metallic, but Wilbur couldn’t care for the life of him, all he knew was he didn’t want it to stop.

In Quackity’s humble room, a mattress and a lamp, they fall onto the bed naturally, Wilbur hitting his back against the mattress was a moment he would never forget.

Before he knew it he had his shirt off, so did Quackity, it was just too goddamn hot to have it on. Then the kisses stopped, Wilbur almost whined at the sudden lack of contact.

“Do you want more, my lovely?”

Quackity asked as he played with the button of Wilbur’s pants, smiling at the rise in the fabric that was holding up.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Wilbur begged, too desperately for Quackity’s contact to be proud.

“Okay than let’s make this the best thing you have ever felt,”

And with that Quackity tore off his pants, and then his underwear.

Leaving him bare to his soulmate, and damn, he didn’t want to be anywhere else in the world at that moment.

“Now turn over,” Quackity asked and Wilbur did graciously panting.

Then Quackity let his dick go inside Wilbur and Wilbur screamed, but it wasn’t near the end, Quackity started moving, and Wilbur couldn’t stop himself; he moaned so loud he didn’t care if the cops found them right now.

The best part was the more he moaned the more his soulmate was trying to pleasure him more, and more, and more, until

“AAAohah!”

The climax one they could both get off to for years.

They fell side by side, still tangled together.

They breathed, they breathed the same breath, and let the other’s warm feed their hunger.

That was the moment everything ended and everything started.

The war was over.

The SW2020 and PG2020 mafias were over and overtaken by a beautiful inseparable pairing.

They would take the world by storm, they wouldn’t be able to leave their mafia lives behind, but they couldn’t go back to being enemies, no, now they became something stronger together.

And they would be known as the TNT Mafia.

[winterzsurprise]

Man In The Mirror || SBI

Characters: Wilbur Soot, Tommyinnit, Technoblade (Allusions), Philza (Allusions).

Tags: Soulmate AU, Orphaned Tommy, Hurt/Comfort (?), Mentions of Death, Famous Musician Wilbur, Not Beta Read, Swearing, Crime Boys Centric.

Words: 3.7k

I haven't written in so long hence, no updates. But I'll post the other parts of Thorned Exhales later on in life, have this SBI short fic that I tried writing before shit went down.

This is inspired by that one tumblr post where in a Soulmate AU, you other half dies and shows up at your mirror, I forgot their blog name so if you know them, let me know :DD.

As usual, I accept criticism and welcome them as I want to do better with my writing :D, enjoy!

_____________

There’s a man in the mirror, Tommy observed.

He rubbed his eyes hard enough that they might fall from its sockets but there's actually a man in exchange for his reflection.

He already had a shit day after the clinic's nurse scolded him for dislocating a kid's jaw --- he still thinks the fucker deserved it --- to have his insanity proven by the hallucination in front of him was the icing on today's cake.

No matter how much he blinked, rubbed his eyes and pinch his arms.

There’s a man in the mirror, staring back at him and there's no denying that he's actually there.

The man was tall, gangly limbs hanging off to his sides almost longer than his torso if you count his hands, chestnut brown hair curling to themselves to form a puffy mess at his crown, the side of his head trimmed short enough for the eyes to focus on the mop of a hair he has. 

There were a couple of strands on his cloud fringe dyed in dark grey, like the old man he appears to be. Tommy thinks it's cool but he wouldn’t say it out loud.

He was dressed nicely, a thick and surely expensive trench coat with the hem stretching down to his knees, his yellow turtleneck, however was stained blue in shapes of fingerprints all around the fabric. The man looked well off and wasn’t that an irritating sight to see.

But what takes the crown was the bored look his eyes carried when Tommy met him first through his round glasses. 

Dark brown eyes overflowing with nonchalance and apathy, the dark bags under his eyes only solidifying Tommy’s impression of him.

A dickbag who dares to look more tired of the world than Tommy is. How dare this bastard hold those emotions in his gaze when he hasn’t tasted extreme poverty or live everyday with your life on the line?

“Hey, get that stupid look out of your face, bitch.”

People normally get scared of the supernatural but not Tommy Innett no, the world would have to follow his whims and bow before he’d think of ever following their rhythm.

Hell, his full name is Tommy Danger Strong Smart Innett for fucks sake, how could he pussy out with such a name?!

“Who are you to order me around, stupid child?”

Tommy was floored, recoiling from the raw annoyance in the guy’s voice.

He dares to have that tone when he’s trespassing his property?! Tommy decided there on there that this man is the most annoying prick he has ever encountered, real or not.

“Tommy fucking Danger Strong Smart Innett, don’t you dare call me stupid when you look like a Jared named bastard!”

The man scowled before sighing, pinching the bridge of his nose to mutter something unintelligible before looking up again with an exasperated gaze at Tommy before shaking his head and tilting his head back to stare at the sky.

“God, why are you so cruel to me?”

“Because you’re a bitch!”

“Why do I even bother…” He looked away from Tommy to stare at the space beside him, looking at his shabby mattress. "Say kid, where are we? Rather, where are you?"

Tommy stared at the man, squinting with suspicion. The man whose eyes showed nothing but apathy and boredom intimidates him, Tommy admits to himself. He has seen many movies where killers held the same dullness in their irises for him to entrust the man with his address.

Seeing the distrust in his eyes, the man sighed in defeat. "I'm not gonna kill you man, I'm stuck in the reflection dimension or whatever this shit is."

"No, you're a figment of my imagination bitch, the other kids have them!" Tommy paused, remembering something. “But they’re walking around unlike you.”

At that, as if he realised something, the dullness in the man's eyes softened a little as he stared back at the child in front of him. There was a sad cloud of conflict that grew in his irises, as if he’s withholding a truth he couldn’t say, forbidden even.

Tommy doesn’t like how this man stared at him like that, stupid adults and their hero complex, always thinking their actions are for the best of the other party.

"Ok, I won't ask about your location but what about your name? Tommy was it?"

"Tommy Innett, the biggest and bravest man there is." He said with chest puffed out.

This got the man to chuckle lightly, pocketing his hands in his coat as he stepped forward and to the stray light escaping the closed blinds. 

"How about you boss man? Are you a ‘Jared’ like I thought you are?"

The man's face scrunched.

"Fuck no, kill me if I were to be named so poorly like Jared. I'm a Wilbur type of guy."

“Wilbur.” Tommy repeats, the name rolling of his tongue smoothly, as if it was meant to be spoken by it. “That’s such a shit name.”

“You are so fucking rude, why didn’t your mother swallow instead?”

“You–”

Wilbur looked around closely, eyes darting from one place to another. Unwilling to be subject to Tommy’s word explosion, he spoke once more.

"So are you alone in this room?"

Tommy scoffed, crossing his arms. "And why would I tell you that?"

First he comes to his room — or rather his mirror — unannounced and uninvited and now he’s prodding into his lifestyle in the orphanage, didn't his unwelcomed ass already done enough?

Seeing the scowl displayed clearly on Tommy’s face, Wilbur continued.

“Said this once and I’ll say it again, I’m not gonna kidnap you or some shit. The fuck am I even gonna need you for?”

Tommy shrugged. “I don’t know! Maybe you’ll sell me off or gut me and sell them to the black market!”

“I’m stuck in this stupid mirror, what even made you think I’d ever want to stay here with you?!”

That hurted him, was he so annoying that someone wanted to leave him the first time they met? It reminded him of the parents that returned him to the orphanage, every one of them annoyed by his antics. Wilbur’s words hammered itself deep into the creases of his brain, a constant reminder of the parent’s distaste for him.

A reminder of his failure to reach their standards.

“Shut the fuck up, you fucking bastard, you don’t know anything.” he spat out through gritted teeth, feet dragging himself out of the room and away from Wilbur.

___________

When Tommy came back, exhausted from the overlapping noises outside and from the chores the caretakers gave him, Wilbur was still in his mirror, sitting crossed legged and his head supported by the arm he propped on his thigh. He was dozing off, he looked peaceful when he’s not being an insensitive prick, Tommy thought as he gently closed the door behind him.

He doesn’t want to wake him up, already sensing the awkward air build up if the man ever roused from sleep.

On his tiptoes, he trudged to his bed as stealthily as he could, his senses tenfold sensitive as he crossed the room.

“I’m sorry Toms.”

Tommy’s soul jumped out of his skin Wilbur’s raspy voice sliced through the silence, his heart rapping against his ribcage as he snapped his head towards the adult fixing his sitting position, eyes opening as he stretched his arms above his head.

He doesn’t know what to respond, honestly, he didn’t expect him to even apologise like any other adults in the area. Wilbur continues to ruin the expectations he had for people once more, maybe he’s from a fantasy world where ‘sorry’s aren’t a luxury.

"Do you really mean that Wilbur?" He asked, turning to him.

The man seemed taken aback by his reaction, furrowing his eyebrows before answering.

"Of course Tommy, I was such an insensitive dick to you earlier. I-I didn't figure out that you're in an orphanage until one of the caretakers went in to change the sheets."

At that, he turned to his bed to see his sheets were indeed switched with a cleaner one. Pristine white and a little ragged but it works just fine, providing him enough heat at night.

It must be pathetic to Wilbur, who seemed to be a silver spooned bastard, if not fed with a golden one instead. With such a fancy get up and expensive watch and rings, Tommy's living condition must be pitiful.

Of all the imaginary friends he could have, it has to be a rich guy.

"I shouldn't have said what I said. So I'm sorry Toms." Wilbur continued, hanging his head low as he picked on the laces of his boots.

Tommy felt uncomfortable by the man’s genuine apology. This is a first, he thinks as he stares at him.

He could monetize this shit, act upset and maybe he could earn a useful favor in the future from the ghost, scare off some kids or steal something for him, the possibilities are endless!

"You hurt me, Wilbur."

"I know, I'll make it up to you at some point."

A smile grew on Tommy's face. "Really?"

"Of course, is there anything you want to know about me or the world?"

Forgiveness in exchange for information? Tommy couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it but then again, what can Wilbur offer him when he's trapped in a mirror with no way out like he said he is? 

Staring at his expensive and thick silver watch, Tommy wondered if the man ever travelled around the world? He must've been a guy fed with a silver spoon, he must've seen the stunning sights of Switzerland or maybe even Italy.

"Have you ever travelled abroad before?"

"Of course, I was a part of a band once."

Tommy's eyes widened. Wilbur is a musician? A popular one it seems, considering how he had international concerts, that's what big names do right? He's a huge music enthusiast, it was one of the things in life that motivates him. For a musician to stumble upon his door...

Tommy is curious about all things music. Maybe Wilbur can teach him a few tricks or so.

"What band were you in?"

There was a quick shift inside Wilbur's chestnut eyes before he spoke, hesitation and conflict, Tommy identified.

But why?

"That's the thing… I-I can't recall everything just yet." He motioned to his head. "I ca-can remember the basics but there's... empty spots in my memory."

"Oh." 

It was all Tommy could say, disheartened.

All of his hopes of learning thrown out of the window, he wanted to hide how upset he is but he couldn't stop it from seeping out from the walls he established around him.

Seeing this, Wilbur's heart clenched in its cage, the disappointment in the kid's eyes leaving a bitter taste on his tongue but it was better that Tommy stays in the bliss of ignorance, at least until he hits the proper age.

With a sigh, he opened his mouth once more.

"Well, I can still remember a few areas we visited during our tour. Wanna hear about them?"

___________

Birthdays are overrated, Tommy tells himself.

Birthdays are boring, he said as he stared at the parties hosted on the 2nd floor of the fast food restaurant downtown when he passed by. Birthdays are boring, he muttered as he silently wished a celebration for his once in this lifetime.

Orphans don't get the luxury of celebrating their birthdays, Tommy knew that himself but he couldn't help but wish there was someone who'd valued them as much as he does.

Everyday he wakes up, he tells himself I'm going to be adopted today. But they never do, the adults don't want someone who's brash and loud, what they all wanted was someone soft, someone they can easily order around. 

He could act docile and kind like they all want but Tommy doesn't like that.

He wants to be accepted for who he is, Tommy Danger Strong Smart Innett.

All of the adults ignored such a festivity except the man in the mirror.

It's been a few months since he appeared and Tommy doesn't know if he calls Wilbur a blessing or a curse.

The man was an enigmatic fella. One moment he's a menace, teasing and laughing with Tommy till his jaw aches then Wilbur's mood will abruptly drop into his misery and never-ending sadness even Tommy couldn't remedy with his usual antics.

Even then, he never forgets to worry about Tommy. His voice is soft, albeit rough from lack of use that day, as he reminds him about dinner, noticing him skip his meals throughout the weeks they've been together.

So when Tommy's smiles didn't reach his eyes, Wilbur knew something was up.

"Why do you look stupider today?"

Tommy scoffed. "Do you mean amazing? I think I look more handsome today."

"Your smile isn't reaching your eyes, what's happening?"

Tommy could lie and say it's just a bad day but he could never escape Wilbur's inquisitive eyes, it was almost annoying if it wasn't secretly endearing for him.

"Nothing much, big man just got bigger by a year."

Wilbur's eyes widened as he muttered unintelligible words under his breath before his voice grew. "Oh god, I'm sorry Toms."

"No worries, I'm used to it. Besides, you didn't know so it's understandable."

"Still, happy birthday man. How old are you now?"

"10 and yet I'm the biggest, strongest man in this building." Tommy puffed his chest as he stared up at Wilbur who's eyes crinkled with joy.

Then came a pause as Wilbur's eyes seemed to hold the same conflict of last time, swirling deep in his dark brown eyes as he pondered over something. Curiosity rose in Tommy at the shift in the man's mood.

But after a few ticks of silence, the man spoke once more.

"Is there anything you want, kid?"

Tommy laughed at that. There's no way someone trapped in the mirror just asked him what he wants for his birthday. It was more comical to him that Wilbur looked determined and dead-set on it.

How can he even leave the mirror and buy him a gift when he couldn't leave the place through all of those months spent together?

"How can you even buy for me man? Aren't you stuck in the mirror dimension or some shit?"

Wilbur scowled. "Just spit it out child, I have my ways."

Tommy knew he shouldn't let the tiny hope in his heart fester, it was impossible that he'd ever get what he wanted anyways.

Yet a tiny voice at the back of his head urged him to obey him, tell him what he wanted to taste or hold for so long.

It was Wilbur after all, what can that man do to ever harm him? He knew his address and name and nothing bad has ever happened to him the whole time they've been together.

If anything, Wilbur helped him in many things.

"I think I'd like a superhero comic book, I don't care what it's about and also McDonald's."

Wilbur nods, crossing his arms. "And what do you want from McDonald's?"

"A shit ton of fries, chicken sandwich and maybe a mcflurry?"

"Gotcha, go do your homework in the meantime." Wilbur said as he walked away from his sight, blending into the reflection of Tommy's bedroom.

He couldn't help but be curious why Wilbur held such a grim expression the moment he turned away. The man thinks he's quick and sly but Tommy saw how fast his smile dropped when he thinks his face is hidden from him.

He wondered how the man trapped in the mirror dimension could even fulfil his birthday wish, his questions leading him astray from his current tasks at hand.

He knows not to hope but he couldn't help the budding light from swelling in his heart. 

So he followed Wilbur's order to finish his homework and wait.

Soon enough, the sun has set and the moon took reigns over the sky along with its dark background. Every tick of the clock after it went over 5 pm sent pricks into his heart as his already small hope trickled away.

Tommy knew he shouldn't have hoped for anything. He must've looked ridiculous sitting cross legged in front of the mirror, waiting for the man to reappear as if he held the cure to every illness and he's about to die.

But before Tommy could even stand up from the mirror to resign to his bed for the night, Wilbur returns with a triumphant smile, hands in his coat pockets as he strode into the view like a man who won the lottery. 

There wasn't anything new about him other than his changed expression, Tommy wonders what happened.

"Where did you go, boss man?"

"That's a secret, but we gotta go somewhere quick alright? Bring your spoon with you."

Tommy followed, taking the spoon from his bedside table and waited for Wilbur to jump into the utensil's reflection before taking the blue coat at the end of his bed and leaving his room.

With not a single cent to his name, Tommy stole a spoon from the cafeteria months ago to take Wilbur to his maths lessons for help in understanding the lesson better.

He's still smart, sometimes geniuses need someone to explain lowly things to them taught through complicated methods and Wilbur was the only volunteer to do such a work.

"This is stupid Wilbur, where are we even going?"

"Let's go to the park, I told them to go there."

Them? Who are they?

The mystery of it all makes Tommy anxious. 

What is Wilbur planning? Is he finally going to kidnap him after barely escaping this horrible place?

"If you think I'm abducting you, fuck off. I'm not that evil man, I don't even have the face for it!" Wilbur exclaimed as if he heard his thoughts loudly.

"You wanted me to go to the park at night, it's sketchy as shit man!"

"Whatever, you'll get it once we arrive."

Even the suspicion planted in his heart wasn't enough to trample the excitement that thrummed in his veins. He doesn't know what he was getting enthusiastic for when Wilbur might, for all we know, be out for his head after that time Tommy teased him out of the mirror.

The park was silent save for the rustles of leaves, the trees and shrubberies glistened lightly under the moonlight from the small downpour earlier. It was mildly made obvious by the street lights on the shining cobble pathways. 

But what caught his attention is the man with his helmet standing under a lamp next to his parked bicycle, a paper bag in one hand as he typed into his phone with the other.

Tommy wouldn’t have found the situation more suspicious if the man didn’t have a familiar logo of a delivery company on the side of his helmet.

"Go Toms, that's yours."

He couldn't say anything. 

For once in his life Tommy couldn't utter a word out of his mouth, not even a random stream of bullshit left him like it usually does. He was stunned, shocked and thankful all at the same time.

He pinched himself but he isn't waking up from his dream.

Wilbur really did give him a birthday gift. The first ever.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Wilbur?"

"No, get it."

The man turned to him once Tommy was close enough, handing the bag to him.

It shocks him that the man didn't even hesitate in doing so.

Is he not worried that the parcel might fall into the wrong hand?

Tommy looked around, he remembers those laughs for gag shorts on the television. Surely, this must be a sick joke where a camera is hiding behind the tree or something, waiting for him to be thankful before they jump out to ridicule him.

Turning to Wilbur again, Tommy's vision blurred, his heart clenching painfully in his chest as he registered the man's soft gaze and genuine smile.

Maybe not all adults are foul and annoying. Maybe some people do adore him. Wilbur really does love him, care deeply for him, so much that it pains Tommy to think of.

Is it alright for him to have such a luxury?

"Delivery from anonymous, there's two spider-man comics there." Tommy still couldn't believe his ears. Did he really get a gift on his birthday? "Happy birthday mate, he said."

Even when the man was long gone into the night, Tommy stood there astounded, the weight of the bag more apparent than it should be. His chest hurts and his heart swells from the thought, a smile broke from his lips as tears trickled out of his eyes.

Was he dreaming? If he is, Tommy wished he'd never wake up.

Seeing tears stream from his face, Wilbur's heart ached in its cage, his arms aching at his sides, he wanted to hug Tommy. Comb his hair back as he whispered reassurance into his head. Never has he felt so helpless as he does now, he wants so much but can't have any.

It was maddening but he shouldn't put a damper on their mood, it's a good day.

So Wilbur smiled and said. "Happy birthday Toms, I'm glad I met you."

___________

Even after his birthday surprise, Tommy’s opinion of Wilbur never changed

The man in the mirror is as annoying and weird as he is helpful.

Wilbur is smart, being an adult with more experience than him, and taught him how to count and do his basic maths assignments. When there’s problems that arose from the shelter, Wilbur would tell him his own solution, explaining the hard words with care and playful teasing.

Surprisingly, Tommy understands it better even if the man fucked around than a teacher who ironed a stoic expression and wielded a book.

He was brotherly in his own way, never fleeing from the reflections around the center to watch Tommy go around his daily chores and warn him if the head cook is about to enter the cafeteria when he goes to sneak a cookie out of the jar.

Wilbur is his buddy, his shadow.

They were attached to the point of Tommy sneaking out a spoon just so he could have Wilbur hiding in his pockets. The adults will scold him later on but he could care less. He wants the man in the mirror to see the world with him. 

During the whole year with Wilbur in his pockets, Tommy has entered as many foster homes and left as much. It was embarrassing every time he was sent back to the orphanage, a reminder of his failure to reach a family’s vision of a perfect child.

Whenever the night is cold and dark with little sobs wrecking his small body, Wilbur would urge him to bring a spoon beside him, his eyes darkened with defeat and sadness as he whispered into his ears, offering warmth with his words till Tommy falls soundly asleep, a silent wish of feeling a phantom touch caressing his cheeks supporting the man’s comforting voice.

The whole year with Wilbur felt like magic, a stream of light after years of darkness and it couldn’t have been more perfect. Tommy wanted nothing more but to stay with his brother figure, although he wouldn’t say it out loud.

But today seems like a different kind of day.

On the morning before his 11th birthday, Tommy found himself staring at a new reflection on the mirror.

But unlike the gloomy cloud on top of Wilbur, this man had an aura of danger oozing off of his mildly muscular body, wide shoulders draped in white silk long sleeves and a beige pair of trousers hiding his well-toned thighs with a long, horizontal scar crossing his nose bridge and ending under his nonchalant eyes to boot.

He oozes nothing but pure masculinity.

Only if he didn’t wear those stupid rectangular glasses and had long bubblegum pink hair then he would’ve been truly intimidating.

The epitome of scary.

“Who the fuck are you supposed to be?!” 

[sing-me-under]

The only thing I really regret in this fandom is not writing more primeboys/positive disc duo, but that’s okay because I hope we’ll be fed in season 2.

[im-notbean]

PunzWasTaken Soulmate AU

How it Works;

You feel all pain your soulmate does

You get a mark located on your collar bone when your 18, which represents your soulmates personally

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

DREAM never even though he would get his soulmate or that they were very careful. The most pain he got was from blood draws in his right elbow and shots which had stopped by now.

Sapnap and George had gotten their soulmates already. Sapnap had Karl and George had Fundy and Dream, had no one as far as he knew. His mark was a necklace more specifically a chain of some sorts. Somehow Quackity and Wilbur got soulmates and had convinced him to join his Jackbox stream.

The stream went well and off camra the topic of soulmates came up. Thankfully he wasn't the only one who didn't have their soulmate yet, Punz also didn't have his soulmate.

"So...Punz and Dream don't have their soulmates?" "Yep, gotta problem Quackity?" "No-" "Is that a threat Punz?" "Wilbur shut up. You can't be talking here." "He has a point Will, unless you come and vist me then." "Get a room!" "My poor ears, my poor ears."

Punz fake cries as everyone else just laughs, Punz saying that it's not fair he doesn't have his soulmate yet. Dream joining in with the fake crying also complains about his soulmate. They end being the last people in the so naturally Punz goes to play valo and Dream just makes him share his screen on Discord to watch.

~Time skip~

"Should I turn my facecam on?"

The question, unanswered, was ment for Dream. He had began to zone out and bounce his leg simultaneously, Punz would wait, Punz had always been patient with Dream.

"Huh?" "You heard me pretty boy, should I turn my camera on?" "Uh- Sure- If you want to..."

Dream didn't get flustered often, big surprise to some. It took a lot for his to get flustered, but when he was back in his body after zoning out it didn't take that much and believe me. It's confusing me here to hun.

"It's on now Clay." "Oh wow..."

Dream was shocked, Punz had dirty blonde, almost brown hair, green eyes, and was wearing a hoodie, one of his merch hoodies more specifically. Dream noticed the gold chain he was wearing, it was quite similar to the one on his collar bone.

"You know it's just us, you should turn your camera on Clay." "Why?" "Because why not?" "Fine I'll do it Luke."

Dream turned his camera on, his white tee-shirt showing some of his collar with his soulmate mark. Punz's eyes widened with shock as he saw the mark. It was almost an exact replica of his chain. Dream moved his camera a bit before leaning back in his chair, slumping down a bit. Punz had exited out of valorant after he lost his last game. He stared into Dream's discord camrea.

"Your soulmate mark, look's a ton like my chain. Hm." "It does...well...what's you soulmate mark?" "Eh nothing special, a smiley face." "Ah, lots of people could have that." "Well, we could test this out. One of us pinches ourselves, if the other feels it, were soulmates." "Why would we do that?" "Dunno why not?" "Fair enough, What happens if...we end up being soulmates?" "That's for another time kay." "Fine by me."

Punz pinched himself and Dream moved his arm in pain. He shook it briefly before his eyes widened in shock to meet Punz's eye who had the same exact expression. They blinked a couple of times before Punz laughed awkwardly.

"So~ Clay....this is another time?"

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

[theminecraftbee]

fic masterpost

last updated: august 2024

note that this masterpost does not include tumblr-exclusive fics, because i write those as effectively "sketches"; they're practice and meant to be easy for me, so i deliberately don't 'take them seriously' enough to list them here. (also, there are probably over a hundred at this point.) you can find the tumblr exclusive fics in the tag 'a bee fic' if you're looking for them.

additionally: for ANY of my fics, you can always DM me to ask me to give you spoilers if the tags and summary do not give you enough information to decide if you want to read the fic or if the fic might contain one of your triggers. just let me know in a way i can respond privately, and i will give you that information!

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multichapter fics

this is about a stuffed bird, hermitcraft, T (warning: a bordeline M), 78k. in which an apocalypse happens that turns much of humanity into horrible monsters, mumbo gets a distressing call from grian and decides to travel across the country to meet him. still my most popular hermitcraft fic and my second-most popular fic overall. heavy on body horror, themes of what makes someone a person, and also evil x is here. i still love the mumbo voice in this, and it even has a complete podfic by quackingfish if you prefer audiobooks.

the continued adventures of the boatem road trip, hermitcraft, T, 28k. a series of events that take place as boatem is trapped in the void together for three months after big moon. originally written as a series of vaguely-connected oneshots on tumblr, gathered here into one place. the ending is a little abrupt, but if you're looking for something with the highest concentration of some of my favorite jokes i've made sitting right next to some good old cosmic horror, this is the fic for you.

the last days of the free angel of carrows, hermitcraft, T, 79k. the angel joe hills and the zombie cleo, owners of the atsign agency, investigate a strange mystery brought to them by pearl, and must save their city as they go. a noir-inspired urban fantasy i originally wrote for a big bang, and still my longest fic! it's got some of my favorite worldbuilding i've done, a great joe-and-cleo plot, a pearl i'm still obsessed with, and so much angel symbolism. if you like aus or urban fantasies, this is the one of my fics you should read.

solving counting sheep, evo, T, 78k. blade-three, living weapon of the watchers, is stolen by martyn after martyn finds its command words and taken home to jimmy to try to rehabilitate. what neither the property police or three itself know is that three is the ultimate fate of grian, their friend who they presumed dead. a fic that is very VERY much about identity and learning who you are, and also plays into many of my favorite living weapon and watcher!grian tropes--as well as subverts them in some heavy ways. probably one of the most personal fics i've ever written, as well. my understanding is that both people who like watcher!grian and people who hate it like this fic, which i take as praise.

the carriers, life series, M, 40k. PET mail (the group made up of Pearl, Etho, and Tango) are mail carriers after the zombie apocalypse, as well as asymptomatic carriers of the zombie virus. when cleo, a person from pearl's past, asks them to bring her a package, they go on a journey that barrels through all three of their pasts. this one is rated M for two specific reasons (both violence) but if you're chill with violence this one turned out pretty well! it is a very me take on a zombie apocalypse, what with the fact that the remnants of heavy industry are almost as much of a threat as the zombies, and a fic that leans pretty heavily on the double life soulmate pairs.

san luis, dream smp, T, 23k, perpetually unfinished. after the other three members of sbi die, philza tries to put back together the pieces. it would be easier if he wasn't hearing their ghosts. this is a fic i'm unfortunately unlikely to finish because it just makes me too sad to write after irl events, but it has some of my best handling of grief, and i know it brings some people comfort. if you don't mind me at my most unrelentingly sad, or are looking for that, i might still recommend it.

in deference to saint george, original superhero work, T, 42k. superhero superball, aka jack harlan, starts dating a customer he meets at the coffee shop he works at, while at the same time dealing with the attacks of the villain dragon and natural disasters. a hero/villain fic with a very ME kind of ending, i am still SUPER PROUD of this. i think the worldbuilding and characters work and it's my proof to myself i can write ow! also, if you've always wanted to read a superhero au from me, good news: this may not be an au, but it's very much exactly that.

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long oneshots

consequentialism, hermitcraft, M, 5k. as the members of boatem start falling in the boatem hole, their own dead bodies start showing up. peak "WOULD THAT BE FUCKED UP OR WHAT" horror from me, and also the first hermitcraft fic i ever wrote! if you like my horror writing and aren't too squeamish, good news: this exists.

to convey a certain brilliance, hermitcraft, T, 21k. joe hills and zombiecleo slowly, and through many death loops, drag their way out of their collapsed base to try to survive after a lunar apocalypse. this is the second hermitcraft fic i ever wrote and i wrote it before we knew how moon's big would end, inspired by super hostile; people still tell me it has some of their favorite joe characterization.

cura te ipsum, hermitcraft, T, 15k. tango, in a world where the hermatrix is canon, wakes up on-board the hermethius after dying to the moon and has to try to figure out how to cope. still one of my favorite oneshots i've written, full-stop, and the culmination of all my big moon emotions. it can be considered fully canon-compliant, and it's mostly about all the big emotions something like big moon would cause.

jevin's egg disaster, hermitcraft, G, 7k. the eggs from the season nine egg hunt turn into real children. chaos ensues. this is technically sorted into chapters, and written as a series of very short ficlets on tumblr originally. it doesn't really "conclude" as a result. however this is me on pure crackfic and contains my favorite joke i've ever made (it's in chapter 7 if you're wondering) so PLEASE read it if all the rest of my 'everyone talks about their big feelings' is causing you to need a laugh because it WILL make you laugh.

attempt thirty-three, hermitcraft, T, 14k. joe hills experiences the thirty-third loop of the time loop he's been stuck in, trying to save the world from the rift. a fic exploring the idea of "what happens in that middle part of the time loop when you've been there a while, but don't have things solved yet?" if you like joe hills and you also like hurt/comfort, this is very much a fic with both of those things, and some of my best with both of those things.

a thing that is thicker than starlight, hermitcraft, T, 13k. after reuniting on an adventure through space, long-lost siblings cleo and gem return home and try to figure out where they're supposed to fit into each other's lives. written for recursive exchange and based on "out to the galaxy steady she goes" by thedepressedcanary, although this fic stands on its own. it's a vaguely treasure planet-like au, but it's also MOSTLY about the trauma your parents leave you and the feeling of knowing you're supposed to care about someone (but don't know how to yet). this is my sibling feelings fic, read it for sibling feelings.

the inner mechanism of a black box, dream smp, T, 14k. techno is trapped, isolated, in a horrible version of the prison with only his voices for company. still my most popular fic, and also the fic of mine that is most describable as 'whump'. i still really love the techno writing in this one; it may be the first complete thing i posted to the account but it's still good. written before we knew anything about the prison, and so the situation is entirely speculative; also written before 'techno in prison' really became a genre. you can tell both of these things, for both good and ill.

revenant, dream smp, M, 11k. jack manifold descends back into hell in order to drag tommy back up and out with him. written in a fugue state during the like, three days tommy was still dead. jack manifold is way cooler than he deserves in this fic (he is also EXACTLY as cool as he deserves). to be honest i don't remember why i rated this one M, but not stuffed bird? if you can read stuffed bird you can almost certainly read this. has some of my cooler weird formatting decisions in it and a WAY COOLER VERSION OF HELL THAN THE DSMP GAVE US I'LL STAND BY THAT.

bad beat, dream smp, T, 10k. techno goes to play a high-stakes game of poker against quackity, hoping to win insurance for his friends' lives. do you like card games? i like card games. most of this fic is a thriller in which they are playing poker. both people who like and dislike poker like this fic, though, because the thriller elements still work. also, my one take on casino quackity, so if you like quackity, give it a shot.

a kind of playing heartstrings, empires smp, G, 6k. jimmy invites scott to a cod empire gathering. an older fic of mine that's a cute take on empires flower husbands with a LOT of music culture worldbuilding for the codlands! this is just a fic that makes me feel cozy and happy. it is uncomplicated fluff.

survivorship bias, empires smp, G, 9k. an amnesiac jimmy is fished out of the water and into a surviving village that exists a few decades after the rapture, but still a great deal of time before empires season two will happen. a combination of worldbuilding of that transition period and emotions about jimmy, who doesn't remember why he's sad but certainly feels it. i enjoyed meshing different empires cultures together for this a lot!

the perils of updating your vault hunters server before even the public release (seriously who qa checks this), vault hunters smp, G, 9k. in which a bug on the vault hunters server turns all of iskall's friends into cute small children and he has to get them out of a vault again. this one is just an excuse for me to write endless Cute Baby Shenanigans, and if Cute Baby Shenanigans sound like they're your kind of thing, give it a read!

it's a long way down if you want to get up again, yugioh dm, T, 12k. mokuba tries to puzzle out why his brother is acting so strangely; as it turns out, this is because kaiba has recently time traveled. a fic shoving DSoD kaiba into the earliest parts of yugioh. he is very bad as a time traveler, and he's not necessarily making things better, but they aren't necessarily worse. also, a fic with a lot of my feelings about mokuba and seto's relationship, as well as their relationship with gozaburo. the kaibas will always make me feel things.

on burdens, yugioh dm, T, 11k. kaiba realizes that jounouchi is both more complicated than he gave him credit for and probably being abused, which changes his perspective on him. violetshipping, but mostly pre-violetshipping. another fic where i write people playing a card game! it is also as much about kaiba having the world's worst emotional intelligence as it is about kaiba and jounouchi both having shitty dads.

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selected short oneshots

a question for the dead, life series, G, 1.2k. a script-format fic interviewing the dead players of last life. one of my favorite experiments with formatting of all time, line after line of character study with no wasted words. read it.

different sort of soulmates, life series, G, 926. an aromantic mumbo jumbo hears about double life after the fact, and talks through with grian his fears that he wouldn't have been capable of having a soulmate. cute grumbo friendship and also some feelings about feeling disconnected from the people around you. a personal favorite ficlet of mine.

the long odds, life series, G, 1.8k. martyn is invited to the table with the other writers to play a game. a very meta fic in which martyn plays blackjack with watchers and listeners. this fic is like 80% metafiction and allegory by weight, and i like it very much.

a murder, life series, G, 483. before limited life, jimmy and joel realize it's coming via a flock of birds on empires. a fic both with jimmy and joel's unique friendship and a meta twist on the whole canary thing.

task: answer the following question: do you believe in curses?, life series, G, 1.2k. the surviving members of secret life explain their thoughts on curses. a spiritual successor to 'a question for the dead' and another one of my absolute favorite experiments with formatting. another one with no wasted words that hinges on the character voice of it all.

home, life series, G, 887. cleo and etho have a conversation about their new relationship after secret life, given that cleo's aromantic. man, i love cletho so much, and i also really like the idea of aromantic cleo, so this is my ficlet with both of those things.

do you even lift, bro?, hermitcraft, G, 2.4k. boatem fluff about who can bench press the most members of boatem. this fic is still really cute tbh, not much else to say.

like father, hermitcraft, T, 2k. grumbot prime decides he has to protect grian the same way grian protected grumbot in another world. the horror of being trapped by something you can't escape in a box designed to stop you from hurting yourself; also, the horror of your mistakes coming to haunt you.

forgetful, hermitcraft, T, 977. an interaction between evil x and xisuma near the end of season eight. a ficlet exploring some of my feelings about how season eight evil x can very easily be read as abusive and not even xisuma ever seems to acknowledge that. also, the horror of admin powers in minecraft.

to spite your face, hermitcraft, T, 980. a ficlet where joe gets to be mad about how he was treated by hermitopia during the crossover. i just think i still have so many crossover feelings about joe hills on empires, that's all.

as what you make becomes you, hermitcraft, T, 3.2k. decked out consumes tango, as seen from three perspectives. technically three separate oneshots collected into one fic as one story, the idea of decked out 2 'eating' tango is one of my favorite horror concepts from season 9. this is my execution of it.

missed the shovel talk so this is the next best thing, hermitcraft, T, 941. the rest of the NHO throws a party for doc and then interrogates him about when he even got married to ren in the first place. a goofy, funny fic about the hermits hanging out and being friends. this one is mostly jokes, but i think they're very funny jokes.

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i also have a number of other 'shorter' oneshots that aren't included here for the sake of the length of the post. to find all of my fics, including those left out of this masterpost, check my ao3! and, as suggested above, browse the 'a bee fic' tag on tumblr to find a collection of everything i've written, including things i either haven't yet transferred to ao3 or will not transfer there.

i hope you enjoy my writing!

[nine-of-diamonds]

Hi hi this is my @mcyt-valentines gift for @queenarsinoethepoisoner!!

They requested a desert duo vigilante au so I did that and then also mashed in a soulmate au with a college setting bc uhhh I'm me?

Anyway, I had a blast writing this so I hope you enjoy :)

(lil preview of the fic under the cut btw)

Scar isn’t hero material.  

It’s not for a lack of trying. Scar does try, over and over again—but each school year, every mandatory power screening session ends with the Hero Commission recruiter giving him the same response:

“Go home and practice your magic. Magic always remembers; it becomes more malleable to your will the more you use it.”

The first time he’d been told this, he’d been ten, and he’d taken it with an optimistic spark in his heart. “And then I can be a hero?” he’d asked. 

Maybe he should’ve seen it coming when the recruiter simply said, “We’ll see.”

In another world, Scar would have been rewarded for practicing endlessly, learning to channel the power contained in the vex blood he had to phase through walls and even suspend himself in mid-air for a few precious moments. He would’ve been an indomitable hero, one who no Rift monster could land a hit on, and his soulmate would never feel a speck of pain from his end. 

But that isn’t this world.

In this world, Scar practices and practices, hours upon hours spent reaching for a wellspring of magic that he can never quite sink his fingers into. 

With time, the realization would sink in: the magic might remember how to twist itself into his vex-given active power, but that didn’t matter if Scar can’t reliably access it. 

But Scar—Scar’s not the type to give up so easily. Call him determined or stubborn—either way, he doesn’t really ever let that dream die, even as he grows out of the age group from which the Hero Commission picks its recruits. Over the years, he collects a long list of heroes he keeps tabs on and learns from, ranging from up and coming heroes to more established ones like the Goatfather. He dabbles in archery and strength training, keeps up with news of the growing incidence of Rifts around the world, and learns how to sew his own costumes. 

And one day, when he’s already in university, as he watches a hole in time and space tear open in front of the campus library, he’ll understand that there are other ways to fulfill his younger self’s desire to help his town; they just might not be as legal.

Scar’s fine with that. He’s never been a rules guy, anyway. 

---

Boatem does not have a local branch of the Hero Commission. This is partly because the town is fairly small and remote, and partly because up until recently, they rarely suffered from Rifts. 

As a child, this fact devastated him; after all, not having a local heroics branch meant not having any local heroes to observe. 

As the fledgling vigilante, Hotguy, he’s conflicted—on one hand, no heroes means no one really tries to hunt him down. After all, why would any Boatem resident want to arrest their only line of defense against the Rifts?

On the other hand, it means the fate of his town rests squarely on his inexperienced shoulders. 

He knows the risks when he takes on the role. In fact, he receives his first brutal reminder of the stakes within the first week of him being Hotguy, when news breaks of the devastating death of the up and coming hero, Xelqua, who is said to have died in a fight against Rift monsters. 

…Pressure makes diamonds, he supposes. 

[ice-cap-k]

Whumptober 2023 Master List

Mostly for my own sake, I put together a list of all the fics I did for Whumptober this year. It's a varied list of MCYT stories (and one random OC one). Links and little summery blurbs are below if you're interested in checking any of them out.

My AO3 Profile can be found HERE.

And if you've already seen them and reacted to them, know I appreciate you!

Heads Will Roll: (Multi-chapter Third Life SMP Fae & Monsters AU) There are rumors of fae and monsters wreaking havoc on Dogwarts. King Ren sends his most trusted friends to get to the bottom of it.

Empty Sensations: (Hermitcraft) Doc gives False a surprise upgrade.

Just Gold: (Double Life SMP Dragon AU) Tango is a Dragon. Jimmy is a bird.

Star Fall: (Double Life SMP Retelling) Star Scott and moon Pearl were never compatible soulmates anyway.

The Engineer that Couldn't: (Hermitcraft Circus AU) The hermits are in a circus and Impulse forgets that sometimes it's okay to say 'no.'

Surviving Dead: (Hermitcraft) Cleo muses about how she became a zombie.

Gift Basket: (Dream SMP Fae AU) Schlatt needs to make a delivery.

Prison of Decay: (Hermitcraft Retelling) Zedaph's first trial run of Decked Out 2

Crash Course in Hero Work: (Hermitcraft Superhero AU) Stressmonster's friends are usually busy being heroes. She just wants to hang out with them.

In Their Structure: (Third Life Chrisrin's GemCYT AU) The Battle between Dogwarts and the deserters is over. Now what?

Ever Green: (Hermitcraft Supernatural Nature AU) Etho finds himself lost in Bdub's swamp.

xB Noir in Hybrid Theory: (Hermitcraft Noir AU) Local hybrids are going missing and xB is on the case.

Tough Love, or Love's Tough?: (Hermitcraft Slice of Life) Docm77 and Rendog are best friends. There's just one difference between the two of them that's hard to get past.

Monster Charm: (Hermitcraft Magic/Monsters AU) Mumbo runs into some trouble on the road to the next town.

Silent Squeak: (Rats SMP retelling) Scott's been acting odd since the janitor caught him. Owen's worried.

Into the Pirate-verse: (Pirates SMP retelling) Martyn starts his first day on the Pirates SMP with a splash.

Computer Virus: (Hermitcraft SMP) The server is glitching out, and it's starting to bother Cubfan and the other hermits.

Get Some Rest: (Phasmophobia/Hermitcraft) Skizz just wants to get some sleep, but Grian and Scar are having none of that.

Not So Empty Space: (Hermitcraft Season 8 fallout) Tango's on his own. In space.

The Girl Who Talked to Ghosts: (OC story) Unnamed OC #1 has lost a loved one and is mourning their loss, but Unnamed OC #2 keeps distracting them.

Hollowed Duty: (Dream SMP Fae AU) Puffy is the captain of the King's Guard. It's been tough getting to this point. Some new recruit reminds her just how far she's come.

Pan-Pan: (Hermitcraft Nuclear Fallout AU) Tango's trapped alone under a nuclear reactor.

Glassy Eyes: (Hermitcraft/Double Life SMP Magnus Archives AU) Ren and BigB tackle an escape room.

Assassin Games: (Hermitcraft Hitmen AU) Iskall and Etho are trained killers. Fight fight fight.

Distant Visions: (Hermitcraft Powers AU) Joe can see the future sometimes, and it comes in handy.

Kyanite: (Empires SMP Canon Divergence) What if Xornoth knew they were going to trap him in a crystal?

By the Light of Santa Perla: (Afterlife SMP Canon Divergence) What if Sausage didn't make it to the pearly gates? What if I put him in a box for a long time and see what happens?

Wings: (Origins SMP/Phil's Hardcore World Canon Divergence) Philza muses about wings, and past choices related to them.

[mcytrecursive]

Nomination Overview - Crack Fic

Oh boy do we have some bangers in this category. Not as many fics here, but every one a gem. I'll give you a hint: we've got mangoball.

Title: And why are you British now?  Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48950557/chapters/123691441#workskin Fandom: Hermitcraft SMP Author: ace_of_arthropods Relationships: Grian & goodtimeswithscar, Jimmy solidarity & zedaph, rendog & bigb, Joehills & Martyn  Characters: Jimmy solidarity, Joe hills, grian, goodtimeswithscar, zedaph, Martyn inthelittlewood Length of the work: 11,506 words (incomplete fic) Genre: Crack Fic, Fluff Type: Fic Summary: “Wait a second...” Grian suddenly had an idea of what might have happened. He hastily dug through his horribly unorganized inventory for something with a mirrored surface. He eventually found a hand mirror with golden decorations, which he'd never seen before, and looked into it. A scarred face with dark green eyes looked back at him. “Oh no,” Grian said, in Scar's voice. (After double life, everyone returns to their home servers... or rather, their soulmate's home server, in their soulmate's body. Shenanigans ensue.)

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Title: Sapnap's Naga Harem Rating: E-rated Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49846090 Fandom: Dream SMP Author: ollie_oxen_free Relationships: Sapnap/Philza, Sapnap/Technoblade, Punz/Sapnap, Quackity/Sapnap, Dream/Sapnap, Karl Jacobs/Sapnap, Awesamdude/Sapnap, Sapnap/Foolish, Sapnap/Schlatt, Sapnap/Wilbur Soot Characters: Sapnap, Dream XD, Dream, Philza, Technoblade, Quackity, Punz Length of the work: 27,870 words (incomplete fic) Genre: AU, Crack Fic, Fluff, Fantasy AU, Humour, Romance, Smut Type: Fic Summary: Fresh out of school with a Masters in Magical Zoology, Sapnap is hired by a mysterious billionaire he knows only as XD to become one of the main caretakers of a new section of his magical menagerie. He's not sure what he's expecting, but ten fucking naga— rare, dangerous, mysterious— were not on the fucking list.

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Title: A Jackerella Story Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38446057/chapters/96084898 Fandom: Dream SMP Author: wetchickenbreast Relationships: Georgenotfound/Jack Manifold Characters: Jack Manifold, GeorgeNotFound, TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot, BadBoyHalo, Tubbo, Ranboo Length of the work: 6,328 words (incomplete fic) Genre: AU, Crack Fic, Drama, Fantasy AU, Humour Type: Fic Summary: Jackerella's life fucking sucks. Her goddamn parents died (how inconsiderate) and now she is stuck living as an indentured servant for her evil stepfamily. Her younger stepsister bites people (he won't stop no matter how many doctors they bring him to) and his older stepsister is a megabitch (also a homewrecker). His only friends are talking rats, so Jack is pretty much waiting on a miracle to get out of this mess... and that miracle comes in the form of a charming prince, some glass shoes, and a demon from hell (and the demon has MASSIVE tits).

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Title: pov: me when i fucking Get You Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45823945 Fandom: Dream SMP Author: doingthewritethings Relationships: Quackity/Wilbur Soot, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade, Quackity & Slimecicle Characters: Quackity, Wilbur Soot, Technoblade, Slimecicle, Eret Length of the work: 3,450 words Genre: AU, Crack Fic, Family, Friendship, High School AU, Humour, Modern AU, Chatfic Type: Fic Summary: From: qln@dsmp.org To: csc@dsmp.org what would you do if hypothetically speaking. there was this guy. and he was horrible and awful and his hair was so fluffy like sooo fluffy like imagine putting a mop on his head. like a big old mop. or a dog. but instead of being a wet dog he smelled like cinnamon and was probably really good to pet. ohhhh my god. or, the one where Wilbur thinks they're dating, Quackity thinks they're enemies, and Eret thinks she would really, really, really like to get things done in her student council meetings.

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Title: Cheater, Cheater (Mangoball) Link: https://glittering.world/mangoball/classic Fandom: Video Blogging RPF Author: mangobaii Relationships: Dream/George, Corpse Husband/Wilbur Characters: Dream, George, Corpse Husband, Sapnap, Quackity, Karl, Wilbur, BadBoyHalo Length of the work: 20k-ish? Depends on how you count usernames and such Genre: Crack Fic, Humour, Epistolary, Mangoball Type: Fic Summary: DNF social media epistolary fiction. George gets cheated on by Sapnap with Dream; love blooms, among other things.

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[the-lesbian-orpheus]

(kinda sorta)

Life SMP Hadestown AU

//Life SMP Hadestown AU//

Master post for something no one may see.

Idk if this is anything but enjoy

I dunno- this and into the woods is my favorite musicals and I’ve had traffic brain rot for AGESSS and I was finally re-listening to Hadestown and this absolute fever dream of an idea dawned on me during hey little song bird

So yeah. Enjoy?

Here’s the original post when I got this idea

And obvious disclaimer this are all the character versions of these people not the actual people thank you very much for you patience.

ANYWAY

//Life series Hadestown AU//

Eurydice- Jimmy Solidarity ✨the canary✨ you see the vision. This (joke?) is what started this whole thing so.

Orpheus- Still deciding between Scott and Tango

Tango pros:

- They are soulmates

- the goat horns are kinda vaguely like music/an instrument 👀

- ranchers duo is SO SWEET always

- their lives are tethered which in a way fits the story of the show and the myth.

- idk i just like this idea

- why are you still here? It’s over. Go home.

- c!jimmy seems to be on better terms with c!tango than c!scott soooo

Scott pros:

- they were husbands, Jimmy died first tragically (very accurate to original myth)

- THE FLOWER MOTIF- specifically a red flower. It’s just so perfect

- they saw each other in the afterlife

- Scott is always attached to flower husbands which seems fitting

- he likes to sing? Empires musical? I don’t know but it seems like it works

-flower husbands and desert duo have connections (you will see why this is important)

So yeah leaning towards tango for the vibes but leaning towards Scott for actual similarities in plot and such.

(If someone wants to say Joel or someone I will happily hear you out lol)

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

Hades and Persephone- c!Grian and c!Scar/desert duo. The characters were once in love and then it grew into a a more bitter relationship. There are lots of potential parallels with Hadestown older lovers and desert duo. Grian and scar also have flower/plant motifs.

Grian as hades- He is a watcher, which seems fitting. Creator of the games seems fitting for god of death and also the industrial foreman Hadestown has. Original winner.

Scar as Persephone- Now that he is a winner, I personally love the idea of him being the earth, which is perfect for the god(dess) of spring. I also think his secret life skins going from green to black is an accidental parallel.

The only real issue with this is I want to incorporate Grian being the sun but that’s contradictory;-;

Hermes- My main idea atm is Martyn. This is mostly because storytelling and lore is very connected to him and his character. Who doesn’t love some eyes and ears AU/lore

I am also considering pearl just because I like that idea, her being the moon and being connected to g and s, etc

And Ren because he is such a storyteller/theater kid

The Fates- I have several ideas for this

-the watchers(and secret keeper.) Obvious reasons

- the other winners

-clethubs because they are a fun/good trio lol

- ren, pearl, Scott (in case I don’t have them as Hermes/orpheus)

- the remaining Evo members: bigb (also he was so creechur in third life ), pearl, and if he’s not Hermes, Martyn (also good since pearl and martyn have won)

__________________________________________

Based on a lot of the plant motifs imagine if instead of a carnation it was a poppy.

I’m very slow with drawing and have never written any kind of fic before but if people like this idea I’d love suggestions for the AU and I’ll definitely make some character designs :)

Character designs/descriptions:

Jimmy coming soon to a theater near you

Other posts for the AU:

Full circle lol

Potential name

How to include both Scott and Tango

[qsmpficsarchive]

Redamancy by elliebeloved

Completed | M | 51,533

Soulmates | Hurt/Comfort | Modern Setting | Referenced Self-Harm

Charlie has no idea when the dreams have started, when the pure darkness changed into the colorful lines hanging before his very vision. At first, one would say Charlie made a story in his head, a story so similar to his it would be believable his head came up with it.

But that feels entirely different, as if he’s changed body overnight with someone and still wakes up in his dim, locked room he left in ruins the night before.

A memory triggered by the inconveniences. Charlie is pretty sure.

or a soulmate au, where your dreams are a mixture of past and present memories of your soulmate. the only way you can find out who’s your destinated lover is when you notice yourself in one of the dreams.

[snalz-artt]

forgot to post this doodle SAY HELLO to the shittiest bbc ghosts/mcyt au ever conceived, thankyou @/luigra for helping hehe

i have A LOT to say so its going under the cut this is soso silly

basic bbc ghosts plot: A young woman inherits a huge mansion estate in england from a dubious familial connection and moves in with her husband. They plan to renovate the manor and guesthouses to make into a hotel/venue, but when she falls out a window and almost dies, she comes back to life with the ability to See Ghosts. With the house being very historic, there are quite a few interesting characters (the falling out the window thing might be their fault, actually). Hijinks ensue.

———

CLEO: Cleo is the Allison of the story, she inherits the house and falls out the window, now.. undead(?) they can see and interact with the cast of Ghosts they’re now stuck with. Making ZombieCleo one of the Alive characters was too funny, sorry.

SCOTT: Scott is Mike!! Cleo’s best friend/partner/chosen soulmate (like in double life), he Cannot see the ghosts but completely trusts they exist.

They get up to various antics as they try to renovate and market the place, usually while being hindered or helped by the ghosts. I haven’t thought of a good pun on the name Button House yet though..

The ghosts are not all from any specific series, but a selection of ghosts/dead characters from multiple mcyt sources ^^

JOE: Joseph Hills takes the role of Thomas Thorne. He is a dramatic regency era poet who mostly follows Cleo around, trying to impress her with his… unique poetry, that was considered before his time. Their ghost theming comes from Beetlejhost of course.

RANBOO: Ronald Booth is Pat, a 1980’s Scout Leader. To be honest, this is just because Ranboo is very associated with the 80’s aesthetic and can fit the silly yes-man subordinate role, and of course was a ghost on the dsmp (Boo).

BDUBS: Bdubs is Robin!! A caveman who lived on the land well before the house was built. He’s seen it all, which fits Bdubs’ storyteller theme!! This is also just a fun visual choice because instead of wearing animal furs he gets to wear a big mossy coat. He also talks in a quite a unique and funny way which could replace how Robin talks like. Yknow, a Caveman. There was also a tiny bit in.. last life? Where bdubs was a ghost? (We were running out of ghosts at this point.)

SLIME: Charles Slime is Humphrey Bone, a headless tudor nobleman!!! Slime has a pretty constant track record of dying dramatically in mcyt (dsmp, epic smp, slimecicle cinematic universe) hence getting to be a ghost here. He has a lot of comedy that i think fits pretty well with being a ghost and with the visual humour of having your body separate to your head <3

FLIPPA: Juanaflippa as Jemima!!! I had to get one of the Eggs in here, even if i dont know much about qsmp at this point its just too perfect for one of them to be Jemima, since we have Charlie why not have Juanaflippa ^^ This can fit the common bbc ghosts fanon of Humphrey being found family for Jemima, with Charlie and Flippa’s father-daughter relationship. Creepy little singing ghost girl!!!

QUACKITY/MEXICAN DREAM: Yeah ok we were really running out of mcyt ghosts at this point, if you dont know anything about the dsmp you would probably think im making this up- uh, quackity plays him, he died and became a very prominent dsmp ghost. He takes the role of Julian as a 90’s politician character (like quackity/md in el rapids etc) here. I GUESS.

GHOSTBUR: Im pretty sure that while alive Kitty didnt blow up a country or whatever but the innocent and kind character of ghostbur fits the role of Kitty pretty well, with both having poor/inaccurate memories of their lives and being very sweet. A georgian noblewoman! Instead of Kitty he’d be called Willy or something. That way one of the ghosts can still have an innuendo name. Thats important.

JIMMY: Jimmy (James) as Mary. A stuart era peasant who got burned in the witch trials. He could still have the power to make people smell smoke, i think it fits the canary thing a bit. AND SPOILERS FOR BBC GHOSTS, Mary being the First Ghost of the main group to get.. sucked away is just too perfect. While never explicitly being a Ghost, Jimmy has such a connection to death that i think im justified.

PIX: Pixie as Fanny!!! He used to own the house many years ago and is now a ghost that really wants it to be perfectly historically preserved. Pix was a ghost in empires s2 and an archeologist who wanted to preserve history of course, so this fits the really proper and old fashioned personality of Fanny pretty well. Also her love of animals fits pix having the ghost cat and the dodos…

SCHLATT: Schlatt as The Captain, a repressed gay ww2 Captain who never actually saw any combat. He can fit the leader role that the Captain does, especially the fact that he just assumes himself the leader, and the others kind of don't take him seriously. Schlatt was a ghost, Glatt, on the dsmp! He will be a bit less.. nice? Than the bbc ghosts captain, but could still have a good bit of development.

bonus convex as the plague ghosts, vex are kind of ghosty, right?

[unhonest-iago]

Dream SMP Fic Masterlist

DSMP as Bohemian Rhapsody

Not in Kansas Anymore; Aimsey gets isekai'd to origins smp

Star's a Witch!; hcs about Aimsey practicing witchcraft

You're My Wonderwall; CG!Awesamdude, Little!Foolish, Little!Reader + beach day [GN]

Dirty Laundry; Puffy finds out Schlatt cheated on her

I’m Just Like You; Michael’s feeling self conscious about his eye socket so Tubbo enlists the help of Captain Puffy to show him he’s not the only one without an eye

Insomniac Vulpe; How I think Fundy would act after the March 30th dream

Zoom Call; Teacher au, students realize Dream & George don't hate each other when teaching goes to online

Wasting My Youth; Dream helps Sapnap sneak back into the house after his date w/ y/n [GN]

You're such a Backstabber; the villain (SBI) shoots the person (Dream) next to the hero (George) instead

Older Brother Vibes; Headcanons about Dream being Reader's older brother [GN]

Steampunk Duo; Tina commissions Foolish to create a pair of wings for Hannah some time after she loses her elytra

Soulmates; Soulmate au + Foolish [GN]

Kids In Love; Foolish takes Tina as his date to a Ball

Windsor’s Knot; Schlatt teaches Fundy how to tie a tie

Kip; 'Don’t call me that, you lost that privilege a long time ago.'

Reckless Nights; Yogurt finds a box of Fundy's old stuff from L'Manberg days

Wanna Know My Name?; Reader reveals their govt. name to Fundy [GN]

Astérix; Fundy visits Mumza’s temple after his stint of astral projecting to Australia

Better Wash my Mouth out with Soap; Reader panics after a bit of miscommunication with some online friends and Fundy comforts them [GN]

Caregiver Fundy Hcs [GN]

You Know Dutch?; Fundy compliments the reader in Dutch not realizing the Reader can understand him

Negative Rizz; Fundy teleports to QSMP and ends up crushing on Cellbit

Monikers; Fundy wants a nickname from Felps that isn't fox boy. Or Felps learns more about Fundy over a night of drinking.

Or my fist will put you out; Fundy not able to lull Yogurt to sleep, goes to his dad (Revivedbur) for help

You’re So Fucking Pretty; Fundy's meets reader at a house party and later is the one that got away [GN]

Meeting Mumza; SBI meets Mumza in her in-between realm

Meeting Mumza Pt. 2; Fundy meets Mumza after a near death experience as a kit

Where the Wild Things are

Only in the Photographs

Yee Yee Kidnaps the Yip Yip; Sapnap kidnaps Fundy for a family reunion

Cathartic; Fundy catches Dream cheating on him w/ George

Foxtrap; Fundy gets caught in reader's hunting trap and eventually decides to let him go [GN]

Shifter; Headcanons/stuff George has in his shifting to Hogwarts script

Go White Boy Go

As Sly as a Fox; Niki but as the female victor from district 5 in The Hunger Games

Carmen; An imagine based around the song Carmen by Lana Del Rey. Starts off w/ Niki being a famous singer and regular at a bar that Minx bartends for

Can I Please Have a Waffle?; Reader take SBI to Waffle House [GN]

Lollipop; Philza stops Reader from eating a lollipop stick [GN]

Play Date with the Babysitter; Phil is asked to babysit Tommy, Techno and Wilbur. Tommy ends up making a microwave cake in a mug, bickering ensues.

Time-Sick; Philza discovers Reader is also immortal after a drunken slip-up during a night of trivia pursuit [GN]

Braids; Philza braids a young Techno’s hair

Birds & the Bees; Reader receives the bird & the bees talk from Philza, Techno, & Schlatt (separately) [GN]

SBI Movie Night

Tiktoker! Punz

Red means I Love You; The bit from Suicide Squad (2021) where Harley spends the day with the president and then ends up killing him due to a red flag [GN]

Bad Hair Day; Sapnap helps trans! y/n detangle his hair after seeing how tangled it's gotten [Male]

Rodeo! Sapnap Headcanons [GN]

Rabbit’s Foot; Origins Tommy dies trying to kill Techno in attempts to claim a rabbit’s foot for an unknown contractor

Interview [GN]

You’re a Mean One Mr. Soot; The song from The Grinch but written as if it were about Wilbur

London Boy; Basically I love London Boy as a Wilbur song so here’s y/n singing it as a little dedication to him during karaoke night w/ friends. [GN]

If I was…; Reader convinces Wilbur to do the one If I was... TikTok trend [GN]

You Promised! [GN]

Oh, the Less I know the Better; Reader has a booth at the Green Festival and gives Vikk a tarot reading as to possibly warn him and Lazar about their upcoming deaths [Fem]

When The Grimm Reaper Knocks; Vikk & Lazar's deaths expanded upon

[ilexdiapason]

"what is the pearl the bard au, ilex?" im SO glad you asked: a primer

first of all, hello jon, apologies for the deception, but i thought it was necessary to get the traffic people in through their scrunkle, so i didn't call the au by its proper name. this is eswap, the empires swap au, featuring pearlthebard. but i'm gonna tell it from her pov so it's all good

the following is a brief summary of what i refer to as "season one" of pearlthebard, and can be read in its entirety by going to @pearlthebard and reading through the linked directory, but if you don't have time for three months of tumblr rp then here's the gist of it!

Once upon a time, cruel gods named Watchers brought in just over a dozen people to play participants in a sick little game of death and betrayal. Pearl was not there. She was there when they did it for a second time, but she didn't win, so she can't remember it. The third time she prefers to forget, for the most part: it's a big awful blur of self harm and mania and dying and killing and losing everything she ever loved without ever really knowing why.

At the end of Double Life, she stands on a hill and watches the man who would not be her soulmate light himself ablaze, and when he blows up it takes her with him.

At this point, we step out of the narrative briefly, because Pearl the Bard doesn't actually begin with Pearl, not really - it begins with my friend Al going "hey i should make an au where the empires smp season 2 characters are role swapped", and hitting number thirteen Oli TheOrionSound, and going "ah shit well i guess i'll swap him with santa perla that works". Thus, Saint Oli, and Pearl the Bard. However, notably, Pearl cannot map neatly on to Oli's backstory of being isekai'd in from the end of Afterlife SMP, because she wasn't there.

At the end of Double Life, Pearl is blown up, but she does win. And a winner, by the usual metrics, earns a prize.

Saint Oli catches her when the blast flings her soul from her lifeless body, looks this incredibly wet cat up and down, and decides to give her a second chance.

She lands in the Empires SMP.

If you've seen Oli's episodes, which you probably should there were only four of them for the entirety of ESMP S2, you'll know roughly how the story goes from here, but the faces are a little different. She steals a goat horn from Princess Katherine of Dawn, she is jailed by Deputy Sausage of the Goblands, and while she awaits her judgement by the Sheriff Smallishbeans, she hears an awfully familiar voice from the floor of the cave asking what she did to get put in there.

Mayor Smajor of Animalia is a normal man. He runs his empire with a fairly loose grip, but he's proactive about developing a safe space for all animal folk to live among the pretty amethysts and not have to conform to the standards of human society. He, though, he's not an animal, no way, behind this dark mask he's completely human and not a cat. He has a life here, has lived in the Empires for years and founded a community with his own paws hands that he's very proud of.

The weird girl in the cage, the woman who brought two HUGE dogs to his lands and then somehow decided it was his fault for hissing at them that they didn't get on, and the new bard his neighbour Sausage has been gossiping to him about all seem to be disconnected, until they very suddenly aren't.

Pearl is a mystery to Scott. Despite him never having seen her before in his life, she seems convinced that he's either a regret or a danger, and she even goes so far as to stab him to death rather than tell him what the hell is her problem with him. He gets a little bit obsessed, if he's honest - finds her house to show up at it, insists that Sausage keep him updated on her, even starts to lose sleep. And when he does sleep he has strange dreams, dreams of being far taller, being tailless, being ten times better with a weapon than the Mayor of Animalia would ever need to be.

Pearl, steadfast in the conviction that the best thing she can do is get far the hell away from this weird, tiny Not-Smajor and never speak to or of him again if possible, runs to the distant shores of Sanctuary. And then squats in the Eversea. And then borrows Joey's spare room in the Evermoore. And every time, some coincidence sends Scott dangerously close to her escape path, forces them to make small talk, gives them both another nightmare of another time that Scott can't remember and Pearl wishes she could forget.

And then eventually they do catch up with one another in the streets of Chromia, and Scott refuses to back down until Pearl admits to him the truth of whether she really belongs in this world and what her connection is to his dreams and why he feels so weirdly, encompassingly guilty when he looks at her, and... well, i won't spoil that, that was a good one, i liked that one, you should go read it.

But yeah! Pearl the Bard! It's good! Soulmate drama forever :D