#borrower philza

[i-am-beckyu]

Just out of Reach, but Never out of Sight

So..... it's been *looks at last update* SHEESH A YEAR ?!?! Uhhhh I'm so sorry this took so long to update, but I am far from done with this au so let's go for getting another upload! I've shared my views on the whole William Gold thing so further explanation is here. But without further a do, enjoy!

Chapter 4

chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3 cw: panic, anxiety, fear of abandonment, mentions of child abuse/neglect and a whole lot of fluff :3 wc: 3938

Disclaimer! This story is based on the characters of the Dream SMP and not the real life content creators. Anything that occurs in this story is purely fiction and should be treated as such. Thank you.

 ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*  ･ ｡ﾟ☆ : ☽ .* ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .* 

Wilbur sat at the dining room table, his plate of syrup-drowned waffles staring back at him.

He wanted to know what Phil and Tommy were talking about and why the boy had hid under the bed.

He thought they’d calmed him down last night? 

The second he’d given Tommy the little cow plushie, Wilbur noticed how the boy’s eyes had widened with wonder. It was the sweetest thing the blonde had done since he met him, and he’d had to hold himself back from cooing and wrapping the boy into a hug.

But doing that would definitely be overstepping some kind of boundary judging by Tommy’s reactions and that was the last thing the brunette wanted to do. All the evidence was right there when he’d thought about it as he drifted off to sleep the night before. The flinching, the withdrawnness and the fear of saying the wrong thing; it all just began to add up. 

Tommy had been abused.

No child would be dressed in poorly put together rags and react the way they had if they hadn’t thought they were going to be hurt. Hiding under the bed was the confirmation he needed that his assumptions were true and all he could think about was how he didn’t want anyone else hurting that sweet little boy ever again.

Not if he had anything to say about it.

“What’s got you in a tizzy?” 

Wilbur lifted his head to see his twin, Technoblade, leaned up against the kitchen counter with a freshly poured steaming cup of coffee.

“Morning Techno. Sorry, didn’t hear you enter.”

“It’s not like you to be up so early Wil.”  The pink-haired teen commented curiously. 

He couldn’t help but observe the way his brother kept their gaze trained towards the hallway as he joined them at the dining table. He could make out the muffled voice of Phil talking from the other room but not what was being said.

“Is it that kid Dad brought home?” Technoblade asked. “I heard you both calling for them this morning which woke me up.” 

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Wilbur smiled apologetically as he faced his brother across the table. “We were, but Dad’s with him now under the bed.”

“He’s what?” Techno arched his brow perplexed. “Under the bed?”

“Yeah.” Wilbur sighed heavily. “I think I spooked him when I was going to come in about breakfast, and he panicked.” 

He couldn’t help but think about how closed off Tommy had been the night before. The way he seemed to carefully choose his movements and would shrink back if he felt like he overdid it. He wanted to see the Tommy with the spitfire attitude. Not the child that felt the need to tread carefully through every interaction.

“I think- I think wherever he came from he was abused, Tech.” 

“Well from how you and Dad described him in the messages, it certainly wouldn’t be too far-fetched to assume it.” Techno sipped his coffee as Wilbur grabbed his knife to cut into his waffles and sighed.

“Well whatever happened to Tommy, I’m hoping we can get him to open up and talk to us.” 

For his sake.

 ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*  ･ ｡ﾟ☆ : ☽ .* ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .* 

Leaving the guest bedroom had been far harder than what it should have been.

While he knew Phil was only concerned for his well being, Tommy wasn’t quite sure he was ready to be in the presence of all 3 Beans at once. 

He knew Phil had mentioned the night before about Techno coming home late which undoubtedly meant the teen was up by now having his morning coffee and Tommy knew how Techno tended to act around ‘new visitors.’ 

One good perk of living in the walls was you learned how every person of the household acted around each other, and new people. Phil and Wilbur were always fairly welcoming, but Techno wasn’t the easiest to talk to. If you didn’t know him, he may come across as cold and calculating. Not the easiest person to approach without shaking in your boots that’s for sure.

But as Tommy would tell you, he knew that after the guests had all left, the sheer amount of relief the pinkette would feel, further revealing how awkward they had been about being around these ‘strangers’ was hilarious. It wasn’t a villain behind glasses moment, just an awkward teen with limited social skills. 

Tommy couldn’t help but giggle to himself as he’d watched the teen collapse in his bed after a certain interaction with a salesman as if it had drained all the life out of him. People just weren’t Techno’s strong suit.

But even knowing this didn’t ease the boy's nerves. It didn’t change the fact that even if Technoblade was socially awkward that he wasn’t capable of harm. The fencing trophies in his room a testament to that feat of strength.

His nervousness about having breakfast with the 3 must have been obvious, because Phil had gently placed his hand on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze before leading them both out of the guest room and to the dining room.

Just breathe Tommy. They don't know what you are yet. 

You’re okay for now.

“Morning Tech, good to see you up and about.” Phil greeted chipperly as he manoeuvred himself into the kitchen leaving Tommy to observe by the hallway. “I’d like you to meet Tommy.”

Tommy briefly met Techno’s gaze and was met with a solemn stare as they sipped on their coffee. He’d be joking if he said he knew what was going on in the teens head. 

The blonde forced himself to give one short acknowledging nod at the pinkette, not trusting his voice to form any coherent words as he shifted uncomfortably from where he stood. He deliberately kept his eyes averted from the twins at the table, fully well knowing Techno was most definitely staring at him, if the hot feeling of holes being burnt through his chest wasn’t already obvious enough. 

It took everything in him to not run right there and then.

“Tommy, why don’t you take a seat next to Techno and I’ll fix you up something to eat.”

Okay now would be a good time for his voice box to work because there was no way he wanted to sit next to Technoblade. 

That was NOT his ideal way of getting caught. 

It didn’t matter if humans couldn’t read minds, if anyone could catch on to something being off, it would be Technoblade. It was like the teen had a sixth sense and somehow just always knew when something wasn’t quite right. Just like the moving of the craft knife, he was sure if he slipped up in front of Techno, they’d know and it would be game over and onto the torture in a heartbeat.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem like it would come to that, as Techno was quick to stand and tuck in his chair as he excused himself to finish some upcoming school work.

“All good Dad, I’ve got homework to finish before school on Monday. I’ll just excuse myself.”

Tommy felt himself relax. Oh, thank Prime for humans and their absurd amounts of homework! Even if he didn’t really understand why they got it.

“Alright Techno, just make sure to have something more than coffee this morning alright? And don’t let me catch you having something potato-based before lunch, got it?”

“No promises.” The pinkette replied, before grabbing an apple from the refrigerator and began walking towards his room.

Tommy however was still glued to the hallway. 

The hallway that led to said Bean's bedroom.

Even though he was Bean sized right now, Technoblade still towered over the young boy. So much so that the light overhead was slightly obscured, casting an eerie shadow over the teens face making his deep brown eyes appear to glow a dark red. Tommy felt the way his heart spiked, his instincts screaming at him to run as his eyes darted around looking for potential tunnels and crevices to escape to. Anything to get away from this predator of man as they came to a steady stop before him.

“Ahem.” The teen cleared his throat along with a flick of his head.

What did he want? He hadn’t even done anything and was already in trouble? Should he have moved to the table quicker? Or had he stared too long?

A second cough with another jerk of the teen's head as Tommy’s anxiety began to grow finally keyed what Techno wanted from him.

Oh . 

He wanted him to move.

“Tech, quit scaring the poor kid and go around them.” Phil teasingly scolded. “You’re gonna give Tommy a heart attack.”

Techno huffed in minor annoyance before shuffling past, minorly brushing against Tommy’s arm as he did. It wasn’t hard or anything, but Tommy couldn’t suppress the flinch it caused from his prior panic. He missed the way Techno’s eyes furrowed in concern as he hurried to move before he caused any more problems.

“Don’t mind him Tommy,” Wilbur piped up, drawing the younger's attention back to the table. “He’s not much of a people person.”

The blonde finally let himself breathe as he brought his attention back to the brunette as they continued. “Come take a seat and have some breakfast, yeah?”

Tommy nodded, gingerly making his way over to the table plopping down opposite Wilbur as instructed before. As he sat, Phil picked up a plate and served a freshly cooked waffle onto it, before drizzling it in thick golden syrup and strawberries.

“Here you are, mate.” The man said placing the decorative dessert in front of him with a knife and fork.

He whispered his thanks as he picked up the utensils, but the Borrower couldn’t help but be on edge. Even if Phil and Wilbur had been nice to him his whole stay, Techno clearly didn’t want him here. He was sure that after breakfast, Phil was going to take him back to the park like he’d said, but then what? He couldn’t tell them that his real home was actually here, but also couldn’t risk being taken to the park and never finding his way back.

There had to be a way to figure out this whole mess before they brought up leaving. At most he just had to figure out a way to get back from the park after they left him there because it’s not like the walls were an option until he had a grasp on how he kept growing and shrinking.

Tommy cut a bit of the waffle off before stabbing it and a strawberry onto his fork, the maple syrup having sunken into the fluffy dessert. At least he’d get to enjoy one more good meal before he gets temporarily kicked out. 

‘Hopefully not forever’ the Borrower thought bitterly at the idea of abandoning yet another home.

“So, Tommy,” Phil began as he set a plate of his own waffles down to join the pair at the table. “Feeling a bit better?”

“Yeah, a bit.” He answered as he took another mouthful of waffle. “The waffles are really good.” The boy said, muffled between chews.

“Ew, finish your mouthful before you speak.” Wilbur grimaced as Tommy shovelled another forkful of waffle in. “I don’t want to see your mushed-up breakfast, thanks.”

Tommy slowed his chewing and allowed himself to swallow. Shoot, he hadn’t meant to upset him with how he ate again. Did he now have to be conscious about how he ate too? He thought humans ate like this all the time though?

“Wilbur.” Phil scolded as he elbowed his son in the arm. “You’re almost as bad as Techno.” 

The man sighed before turning his attention back to the tense blonde with a sympathetic smile. “It’s alright Tommy that’s not what Wilbur meant. It’s just you need to finish your mouthful before speaking. You could choke if you’re not careful.”

The boy nodded hesitantly before taking another mouthful and chewing it fully before swallowing. Why did humans have to have so many rules? In the colony, no one would have bat an eye if you spoke with your mouth full. You’d get your share and move on. How you ate was no one’s business and certainly no one cared about how Tommy ate. Then again, he’d never really had enough food to stuff his face when he was at the colony for it to be an issue. 

Perhaps he was being sloppy…

“Sorry.” He whispered before taking another bite. 

Phil sighed, setting down his knife with a soft clink. How was he going to get this kid to see that he was safe here? He hadn’t meant to make them feel more uncomfortable but it seemed the stress of it all was starting to get to the kid.

The man stared at the plate in front of him, his waffles half-eaten and starting to get cold. Each step of progress to make Tommy feel comfortable felt like it took 2 steps back. The kid was probably itching to get to the park and get back home too, but the thought of leaving Tommy like this just didn’t sit well with him. He glanced at the young blonde as he took his time with each bite, noticing how his gaze flicked from Wilbur to him and back to the plate worried as they ate in silence.

So tense, like walking on thin ice…

After finishing pacing himself on breakfast, Tommy had been intercepted by Wilbur. 

The brunette had taken one look at him and insisted he have a shower, shoving some clean clothes into him and ushered him into the bathroom. It’s a good thing he knew how taps worked, because understanding how to change water temperature would have been an awful experience had he not. 

Despite feeling bad about using the Crafts water, Tommy had to admit being able to wash up properly after so long felt wonderfully refreshing. Even seeing his own reflection in the mirror; clean and well-groomed for the first time in years, had him taken aback at how nice his hair and skin looked after a good wash.

The clothes Wilbur had given him had been some old clothes he didn’t fit into anymore and had had lying around. A pair of jeans, a basic t-shirt with some humans on it that Tommy didn’t recognise and an old blue sweater that was slightly too big on him. It felt odd to wear clothes made with fabrics of such high quality, but he instantly fell in love with the sweater. 

Now yes, he was aware of how bad his clothes had been. They were basically falling to bits on him, but it’s not like he didn’t know that. The Great Tommyinnit knows how to make nice clothes thank you very much.

If anything he was a pro tailor back in the colony, but considering he’d been roaming for weeks at a time carrying only the bare necessities before finally settling in at the crafts; new clothes hadn’t been much of a priority. He’d only really just managed to get his new home to his liking and with all the necessities he would need. New clothing had been next on his to-do list, if the mud-stained and holey garments he wore daily had made any indications of needing them.

He just needed a few days to gather the fabric and thread and he’d have a new wardrobe within the week. But the clothes he made vs the clothes Wilbur had lent him were nothing in comparison to quality! It was all just so soft and silky feeling and Tommy almost never wanted to take any of it off even if it was slightly too big. It wouldn’t be hard to adjust the seams on the jeans to make them fit better and the same with the shirt. His trusty handmade needle could make quick work of that. 

Maybe Wilbur wouldn’t mind if he took them home with him? 

That was, if he’d ever be able to go home.

Tommy still didn’t understand how any of this worked and trying to make himself leave the bathroom to ‘take him home’ was not helping.

The curling feeling in his gut telling him to just stay put and hide kept him mulling over the options in his head. But how could he do that after he told Phil he lived near the park? They would expect him to be fine once he left and go back home just like he supposedly wanted.

He turned to face himself in the mirror, stray water droplets dripped down the side of his face from his still-damp hair. The clean, presentable Tommy he saw now, no longer the same dirty, orphan he knew he was. Perhaps if he’d always been like this, he’d never have been kicked out of the colony. He never would have been alienated by those meant to care, never felt so small when it was normal. But now he was big, clean and everything someone might love as a Human Bean and yet he felt so fake hiding behind a false facade.

After all, he was only a Borrower.

The dreaded small feeling came creeping back in and all it took was one glance at the mirror for Tommy to wish he was back to his old self. He shouldn’t have put the thought of being loved in his head again. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t bear the thought of the Crafts turning on him should this disguise fall. Tommy squeezed his eyes shut tightly as he clutched the edge of the sink counter.

He wanted to go home and be small again. Hide away where it was safe from all that was out to get him. Away from this reflection of a boy he didn’t recognise. A tingly sensation pricked at his skin as tears began to drip steadily down his cheeks. He was being childish; he knew that, but he didn’t care. Why couldn’t he just be loved as he was?

Upon opening his eyes to look at the disgrace that was him in the mirror, Tommy found he was no longer staring at himself, but rather at the side of the wooden cabinet- three times smaller than he’d been almost seconds before. 

He’d shrunk. Again?

Confusion swept over his mind as he scrubbed at his face. How did this keep happening? One second he’s big and hating his Bean size counterpart, the next he’s smaller and wishing….

To be smaller…

It suddenly all began to make sense as the puzzle pieces began to slot into place. Every time he’d grown or shrunk, he’d been wishing to change. To be bigger to catch up or smaller to go home. He willed it, and it happened. 

Did his desire to change trigger the shift of his size?

Tentatively, Tommy stood back from the counter and focused hard. He wanted to be smaller, like his old self. Small enough to fit through the cracks, small enough to hide out of sight, be 3 inches tall again, the only right size. The Tommy size.

The tingling returned, this time all over his body as the blonde focused on changing his shape to be what he envisioned. It was a warm sensation and Tommy thought it was strange how he’d never felt it until now. When the tingling dissipated, Tommy slowly opened his eyes as a small gasp escaped him.

“I shrunk.” He whispered in awe as he took in the now enlarged bathroom. He grabbed at his hands and arms, patting himself down to prove that he indeed had changed with a disbelieving laugh. “I’m me again.” 

“Ha, I’m actually me! Oh, thank prime.” Tommy cheered as he hugged himself tight. “I thought I’d never work this out.”

The familiarity of large objects and tall ceilings finally returned the Borrower's sense of normalcy. How he missed this. He could finally go home, size not restricting him at all and return back to the safety of the walls. Just the walls, his tiny shoebox home and-

Me.

Tommy glanced around the little bathroom. The light green tiles were clearly a design choice by Phil but the fluffy light blue towels were definitely a conscious decision by Wilbur, and you’d never guess the yellow daffodils were put together by Technoblade. Each had their own little way of expressing themselves.

Tommy sighed as he stared at his hands, inspecting them front and back.

So a simple thought was all it took to change size right? 

Just think big- be big. Simple. 

Right?

Only a bit of tingling later and Tommy was back to his Bean height. It truly took no effort at all, as if it was second nature to him. Not Borrower nature, but certainly something. Maybe the other Borrowers had always been able to sense that in him. This thing that wasn’t quite right was this incredible size-shifting ability that probably no one had ever heard of and he had it. He certainly was no Borrowerer and definitely not a Bean. 

But no one else knew that.

Tentatively, Tommy reached out and picked up a single Daffodil and twirled it in his hand. He’d heard Technoblade talking about how there was a whole language of flowers and that each one meant something different when presented to another person. He couldn’t remember what a Daffodil meant but, the flower itself brought the happy memories of Crafts to the forefront of his mind.

They didn’t know what he was and with this shifting ability sort of figured out, what could stop him from staying? Or at least from getting to know the Crafts better. With something to leave behind, all it would take is to leave a trail back to the Crafts house from the park and he could go and come when he pleased. He’d be able to walk distances that used to take him days in a matter of minutes with ease and the Crafts would never have to know about where his true place of residence was.

It was a second chance at having a real family, or at least a relationship with someone that didn’t immediately hate him. He wouldn’t have to leave forever and could come back and actually talk to someone! It may be risky without knowing the full extent of the shifts, but it was a chance and a chance he was willing to take. 

A knock at the door caused the boy to jump, but thankfully he remained silent this time. 

“Tommy you alright in there?” It was Phil. Bless the old man's heart for his concern. “You’ve been in there awhile and just wanted to check if you were okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m alright,” Tommy called back through the door looking around the bathroom for something to enact his hastily thrown together plan. “Just about done. I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Okay, we’ll get ready to leave shortly to take you back to the park then, if you’re happy to.” 

The blonde finally spotted something suitable for his trail and quickly grabbed a handful of decorative little blue pebbles from the bottom of a vase filled with fake pink camellia flowers and shoved them into his pocket before grabbing his dirty clothes.

“Sounds good, big man,” Tommy said as he opened the door to where the taller blonde was standing a little bit away looking minorly concerned.

“Let’s get going.” the boy said with a smile.

This was going to work. 

He knew it.

 ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*  ･ ｡ﾟ☆ : ☽ .* ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. .*

__________________________

YAY! WE FINISHED CHAPTER 4!!! WOOOOO Again I am so sorry this took so long to do. I've been working on it on and off for awhile with little progress and life has just been kicking my butt lately that finishing stuff up sucks. I have made a start on chapter 5 and I do plan to finish this fic, it just may take awhile with current circumstances.

HUGE thank you to @a-xyz-s and @munchkin1156 for beta reading this chapter and grammar issues! You are my heroes TwT.

TAG LIST: @local-squishmallow @brick-a-doodle-do @justarandomsloth @veryfunkycheesecake @munchkin1156 @kayla-crazy-stuffs @da3dm @eiscreme135 @orchid-harmony @the-tiny-lurker @colossal-red @nobodywritingao3 @nata2343 @bad-author777 @crazyfoxgirl10 @guppybubbles @box-beanz

Link to tag list for future tags :3

✨Thanks for reading! <3✨

[zombiifyd]

thinking abt qphil giving emeralds to his friends/children and how they would use them.

for chayanne and tallulah they have matching earrings to match phil's. tallulah's one is on her left side and chayanne's is on his right. a matching pair (alluding to their twin-like bond)

fit doesnt wear the emerald, but he keeps it on him. maybe he uses it as like a keychain on his backpack. or he just keeps it in his backpack for safe keeping.

missa has a necklace of it, because phil couldnt reach him in the early stages, he gave it after missa came back from his travels. (and now missa never takes the thing off. he clutches it when he finds himself missing his family)

forever has one and its a hair charm(s). like those hair charms that can twirl around a strand of hair. or kind of like how you can just put charms in your hair to style them??? he decorates his hair with that/those charms but only for important occasions. he doesnt use it often because phil described them as a "friendship emerald" and forever cherishes phil's friendship with all that he has. so he usually keeps them in a safe place.

and etc etc....

[astraymetronome]

the idea of raccoon!Tommy taking a tiny and dunking the in water to wash them before nomming them is SO cute <33 I love it

Yeah! I love laundry bears! They're adorable and honestly shouldn't be seen as gross, at least in my opinion. I think it would be cute if a pred had a tell before they plan to nom someone. Even if it's just subconscious or something!

Tommy would probably do it all the time and, in my example I'ma use Tubbo, the tiny would be able to calm themselves or be like 'oh, okay-' basically it's a way to communicate without actual words- But I'm not gonna do that.

This is the fic I teased in the other ask-

ANGST FOR EVERYONE!

Anyhoo- here's this tiny treat of The Prime Duo ^^

It used to be a tiny treat. Instead it's a full course meal-

TW: Vore, Thoughts of Fatal Vore, Speciesism, instincts, and angst.

Tommy was quietly humming to himself as he went about working on an assignment for school. The 15 year old was frustrating himself over the fact this stupid essay was over something so simple and logical. The teen had chosen to take an agriculture class to learn more about farming so that he could understand Techno's love for it a little more.

The smell of dirt and grime had always been an immediate no for him but the fact he was being told to write an essay on the importance of washing fuckin' vegetables was getting on his nerves. Of course, you wash your veggies! You should wash everything you eat regardless of the type!

He didn't do it because of what people assumed, his classmates would tease him over dipping fuckin' chicken nuggets in water. Yeah, it made it soggy but he learned a lot about it when he did that. If it absorbs a lot and becomes super mushy, then it probably has been sitting out for at least two hours. If it doesn't absorb much then that tells him it's a perfect thing to eat! Plus it won't feel weird on his tongue or anything.

He had a secret feeling this essay was his teacher's way to show their distant for raccoons considering they'd done a lesson on farm pests and chose to focus on his kind. Yeah, raccoons do tend to go after sweet corn and cherries, both of which aren't viable in their area!

He found himself chitting to himself, flexing his hands in anger. Phil always doted over his little hand movements, calling them his grabby hands of anger, but all it was was his instincts wanting him to find something to burrow with and hide until he calmed down.

Tommy closed his laptop, cursing quietly before he proceeded to step out of his room and start heading downstairs. His tail swished in annoyance before a small sound reached his ears. They perked up as he turned to face it, seeing a familiar face sitting on the kitchen counter. He smiled at the sight of the borrower, happy to see someone he liked right now. He hid his hands, knowing he'd not be able to keep from picking them up if he tired.

"Dream, did dad leave out some Cheerios again?" He questioned, smiling as green eyes darted up to him. Dream was a borrower that had been living with them since Tommy was a little kid. The two of them knew each other well and often got into plenty of antics. Though, Tommy hasn't had a lot of time for him as of late.

"Yea- 'he o'd ma' did," The small man said, his mouth full of the sweet cereal. The teen rolled his eyes, knowing for a fact Dream had probably requested to have some set out considering the borrower's sweet tooth. He swallowed before continuing. "Said he has to work the closing shift." Tommy nodded as he listened. He held back a whine, having wanted his dad to curl up with him in the man's nest. It wasn't as good as his burrow but Tommy knew his dad couldn't fit inside it due to his wings so Phil's nest was the next best thing.

"That makes sense, the hospital tends to be busier in the winter."

"That's very true, can't let everyone die." Dream said earnestly. It was enough to confuse Tommy out of his bit of frustration, the teen's laugh filling the room as he giggled.

"I'm sure Momma won't be too mad about the few he takes back." He said with a gentle sigh. Tommy's tail swishing behind him as he happily let a chitter build in his throat.

He was smiling as he proceeded to place his head on the counter, ignoring how the cold marble felt against his chin. He was near Dream, watching as the borrower munched on the cereal. It took a moment before Dream pushed three of the wheat based rings towards him. Tommy let his nose twitch, sniffing them before he proceeded to quietly stick his tongue out.

He let them stick to his tongue before pulling it back into his mouth, quietly chewing them before he gave an eye roll. "You don't need to share it with me." He said fondly, not noticing the slight discomfort on Dream's face at his action.

"You're clearly in a bad mood Toms." The borrower said, the man's mouse-like tail swishing and wrapping around Tommy's finger on top of the slight discomfort in his voice. "Come on kid, you can talk to me. If we need to curl up in your burrow we can." Dream said calmly, quickly hiding the sound of his nerves. The teen found himself scooping him up in a second. He made sure to hold the man carefully, a purr leaving his throat as he walked towards the stairs and back up to his room.

"Someone's an eager beaver." Dream said with a chuckle, laying against Tommy's thumb as he was carefully brought upstairs. He took a few moments to get up to Tommy's room before they both were sitting in front of his borrow. Tommy's bed was around 2 and a half feet above the ground, the space under it being packed full of blankets and pillows.

He held the borrower by his shirt, using his teeth, as he carefully crawled his way into the plush space. His tail wished as he gave a purr and quietly curled into the space. The moment Tommy was on his back he let go of Dream and gently held the blonde borrower to his chest.

Tommy nuzzled at the man with a soft purr, immediately relaxing a little bit as he held his friend before he moved to just let him lay on his neck. Tommy would probably be more controlling over where he lets Dream lay if he was deeper into his instincts but it was mostly surface level. He felt the borrower move, resting just under his Adams apple as the small man spoke.

"So what's got your fur ruffled?" He asked calmly, no blame or accusing in his tone. Tommy liked being around Dream, the borrower never treated him like an animal or like a baby. His tail swished as they sat in the warmth of his burrow.

"It's my stupid teacher, I'm pretty sure he's being a dick about the fact I'm a raccoon hybrid." Tommy mumbled as he proceeded to quietly lay on his back. He had one hand on his collar bone, feeling Dream's tail wrap around his pinkie finger before he continued. "He keeps making these sly comments about vermin. I understand that, because it's an agriculture class, but it's directed at me. Even Purpled feels like it's insinuating he doesn't like me."

Tommy was a little angry but the tapping on his chin was enough to get him out of it. He leaned his head to the side, letting Dream crawl up his jaw and onto his cheek. The borrower sat before speaking. "Tommy, if it's something you're genuinely getting upset about you should tell your dad or Techno."

Tommy held back the urge to shake his head, instead just humming as he spoke up. "I can't. It's childish to get my dad involved, and if I tell Techno it'll cause some unnecessary drama since Mr. Squid and him are friends." He mumbled a bit before bringing a hand up to hold Dream against his face, nuzzling him for a moment before his nose was tapped.

Tommy pulled away as the little voice spoke. "Well, how about I go with you tomorrow? I'll be able to tell you if it's actually targeting comments or not." He let his blue eyes drift over to the small form in his hands, looking unsure before Dream continued. "If not it's fine, but if you don't choose who to tell I'll tell Techno myself."

Tommy gave a loud groan at the comment, immediately tucking the borrower against his chest, feeling the small thing laugh, able to hear the quiet chuckle that escaped him.

"Fine, you can come with me tomorrow, but you're staying hidden in my hoodie all day." He said quickly. Tommy was well aware his family was considered oddballs. It wasn't like anyone knew they had a friendly relationship with borrowers but most of his peers thought his family was strange due to the immense amount of hybrids types.

Dream had curled back under his Adam's apple, the flicking of his tail almost ticking the giant teen as the small man spoke. "Deal. Now get a bit of a nap. I'm sure Techno will know where to find you for dinner." The blonde borrower said calmly, gently tapping Tommy's chin before they both settled down for a bit.

Tomorrow will be fine, right?..

☆~°.•🦝🌱💿//+🪐

Tommy could feel himself sweating and he had the insight to know Dream was in the same boat of panic. He had the borrower hidden in his hoodie pocket with his phone and the raccoon couldn't help but be nervous that Phil would notice something was wrong. They'd never let him take a borrower to school if they knew about this and he'd probably get in trouble when he got home if they found out about the fact he brought Dream with him.

The teen grabbed a slice of toast from the table, taking a bite to show he planned to eat it before he slipped his school bag back over his shoulders. He plans to let Dream have as much of it as he wants after they were at least a block or so from the house. He called out a goodbye to Phil, knowing Techno was already on campus.

Tommy relaxed as they got far enough away before he took another bite of the buttered toast and then sat down in the little backway he took to get to school. He placed his hand in his pocket, carefully letting his palm lay flat until he felt small hands grab his fingers and a weight settle on his palm.

"Finally! I forgot how stuffy and loud pockets could be!" The blonde said quickly. It broke a laugh for the teenager, smiling at the release of tension Dream brought with the little comment. He settled the borrower onto his thigh before holding out a bit of the slice of toast. The tiny man eagerly snatched a piece of it, eating at it like a starving animal. Tommy found himself rolling his eyes as he spoke.

"You're not that desperate for food."

"So what! You guys haven't had toast in a while and I love it!"

Tommy groaned before he leaned back, still watching the borrower as he spoke. "Today is gonna take forever-"

☆~°.•🦝🌱💿//+🪐

The day had been going well so far, at least as far as Dream could tell. Tommy had been talking with all his friends and they didn't get caught in Techno's class either! It was a great day! The borrower had to admit he snuck a few peaks from he sides of his hiding place, knowing full well that he risked being seen or worse, grabbed. Regardless, he wanted to help Tommy in any way he could considering he's watched the kid grow up.

He could sense the kid's nerves as the last class of his day began to grow closer. He recognized that Tommy was very uncomfortable, the teen fidgeting on top of everything he could hear. The borrower was used to picking up noises humans couldn't considering he was so much smaller which meant quiet noises often seemed a lot bigger and more imposing for him. He could hear the raccoon's heartbeat, able to recognize the distant and uncomfortable sound. He could also make out Tommy's stomach, he was very used to the sounds but he could tell the difference between hunger and discomfort.

Being this close to a human, let alone a hybrid human, would make a normal borrower scream and panic even being caught inside something a human was holding, let alone in one's hand. He was used to being near them at this point, Tommy loved to carry him around all the time when he was a tot and Dream was only 8. Now the two of them were 15 and 20 years old, and the bond of being pseudo-brothers had turned real after a while.

He was used to human touch and it wasn't something he wanted to give up, the Crafts were his family and he had no reason to think of them otherwise. None of them saw him as a meal or some toy to throw away. He offered to help Tommy figure out what his teacher was doing because, despite the assumptions, Dream was actually very good at understanding emotions and words but, right now, he couldn't understand anything.

The entire classroom was full of sounds, speaking, squeaking, and thudding. Tommy had his hand around him, thumb rubbing his back as the teen seemed to be laying his head down on his desk, using his free arm to cradle his head. Dream was happy with having a comfortable touch with how loud everything was, he burrowed his head into the teen's palm, carefully trying to hide before everything went quiet.

Tommy removed his hand from his pocket and he listened to the kid's panicked heartbeat pick up before he went ahead and tapped the boy's abdomen through the fabrics to try to remind him he wasn't alone. He listened as the boy sighed and the class started up.

☆~°.•🦝🌱💿//+🪐

"Alright, class! Don't forget that your essays are due tomorrow. Don't forget that if you add things from this lecture to it, I will give out extra points." Mr. Squid said simply before he went ahead and began a lecture on pesticides. It was pretty boring if Tommy was honest, unable to focus on anything considering that he'd learned about this from late-night lessons with Techno. When he couldn't sleep, he'd find himself in his big brother's room, listening to him plan lessons or ramble on about something he was currently hyperfictioning on.

Tommy has listened to his brother talk about natural and chemical-based pesticides for hours and never once did the man make him feel as though he deserved to be on the other side of these kinds of things. He knew full well his brother never used chemical pesticides unless absolutely necessary and, when he did, he would always inform those in the house. He knows the reason Techno talks about it is because Tommy had a bad habit of snagging plants from the vegetable garden before they were finished growing when he was in middle school.

The teen had noticed a small section added the next year that his big brother took care of but always made sure he never used things on it without informing Tommy first, he'd 99% sure it was added just for him but... He hasn't really messed with it as of late.

Well... not since this school year started.

Tommy used to giggle like a menace when he was caught pulling a carrot from the garden, and Techno would call him a little vermin! It hadn't ever been in a way that made him feel bad, but after he started classes with Mr. Squid, he hadn't been able to handle being called anything similar to a pest. His eyes drifted from his paper, and he saw that his teacher was scribbling down key points for the lesson.

The teen turned his attention to the small weight in his hoodie pocket, carefully placing his non-dominate hand into the fabric tube before he rubbed at Dream's back, able to feel as the tiny purred and nuzzled closer to his touch. He let his free hand start to take his notes, enveloping himself in the pattern of glancing up and down, up and down, until a hand on his shoulder grabbed him out of it.

"Mr. Innit-Craft, I've called your name 5 times now. You need to pay more attention." Mr. Squid said sternly. His touch wasn't hurting or anything but Tommy really didn't like being touched by people, it was a part of his raccoon instincts, not enjoying contact with people outside his nursery. His blue eyes drifted towards the man's face, swallowing nervously before his teacher continued. "Regardless, can you tell me what pesticides do when consumed since you seem more interested in your drawings than my lesson?"

Tommy lifted his gaze, back to the board seeing a collection of questions that hadn't been there just five minutes ago. He gave a nod before speaking up.

"Well, if people were to eat too much of it, it will-"

"No, Mr. Innit-Craft, what happens to a critter that eats it."

Tommy felt his heart sink for a moment, taking note of how Dream had gone still in his pocket before he opened his mouth. The teen was at a lost for words before he gave a small smile. "Well..." He started, his words lowering to a whisper as his tail curled into his lap, hiding the pocket of his hoodie and, in turn, the borrower inside.

"I'm not running a seminar, Thomas. Speak up for the class to hear." The man said as he stood up straight and began to walk to the front of the room. "I better be able to hear you this time."

Tommy could feel his heart pounding in his ears as he got to his feet. His eyes drifted over his peers, taking in the sight of normal humans and a wide range of animal hybrids. Not a single other 'scavenger' type animal among the groups in the room. The raccoon hybrid took a deep breath, his ears flicking to each little sound in the room.

"Like with people, if an animal were to eat too much of the contaminated crops they'd probably-"

"Give us an example."

"W-what?.." Tommy found himself saying.

"An example. Like rats, possums, or even... raccoons." Mr. Squid said causing Tommy to freeze up. He looked down at his feet before he spoke up again, able to feel the concerned taps against his fingers by the borrower still tucked away in his pocket. His heartbeat was filling his ears and he couldn't help the shaking of his voice as he spoke, not really paying attention to his words as he droned them out.

"If a raccoon were to eat contaminated crops... depending on how much they've eaten they'd suffer from mild sickness, chronic poisoning, nervous system collapse, liver and kidney failure, or even death." The teen said simply before he looked up and made eye contact with his teacher. There was this sick sense of joy in the man's eyes, enough that Tommy knew he really was trying to make Tommy feel bad. His ears began to flatten back at the soft snickers of his classmates before he began to shove things into his bag.

Tommy couldn't stomach another second in the classroom...

☆~°.•🦝🌱💿//+🪐

Dream felt his stomach sink when Tommy rushed from the classroom. He could hear the teen's erratic heart rate and his panicked breathing, knowing all Tommy would want to do right now would be shifting his body into the shape of a raccoon and hiding in the closest thing to a burrow. He didn't expect Tommy to duck into a side room. Tommy was quiet other than the panicking breaths and the soft hiccups he could pick up,

The borrower took this as a sign they were alone as he peered his head out of the hoodie pocket, looking up to see Tommy's face. The boy's face was red, a mix of anger, sadness, and fear dressing his expression. He blinked a little as a tear fell on the top of his head, causing Dream to take his eyes off the sheen appearance of his little brother's face. He shook his head, trying to ignore the feeling of liquid dripping down the back of his neck.

"Tommy?... Maybe we should go to Techno's classroom." He said calmly, glancing around to see that they were tucked into a corner in a bathroom. He yelped as a hand scooped him up by the front, laying on his belly as he was draped over the interdigital part of Tommy's palm. He didn't expect to be held like this since, normally, the teen was very careful with how he handled him.

The boy's hold was firm but still soft enough to not cause him any pain as he glanced up, squirming to get a better look at the raccoon teenager. He pushed his hands against the pads on his hands, able to feel the soft yet textured sensation of Tommy's paw pads as he was quickly lifted. His eyes drifted from the boy's face, now watching the mirror they were standing in front of. The sound of rushing water grabbed his attention as he looked down.

"Tommy? What's going on, talk to me, kid!" He said quickly, not understanding why his little brother wasn't saying anything or doing much of anything he could think about. He looked up, taking in the glazed-over look in the raccoon's eyes on top of how narrow his pupils seemed to be.

He'd seen this before, most of the time whenever Tommy was curled up in his burrow or Phil's nest after a really bad day. 'Okay, Tommy's just really freaked out. Everything will be fine, I just need to get him to Techno or find a way to convince him to call-' Dream's thought process was quickly interrupted by the fact his head was drenched in water. He went to take a breath in his panic, only to suddenly take liquid into his lungs instead of water. Panic flooded him just as much as the cold fluid drenched his clothes. It felt like an hour of being submerged before the hissing of the faucet stopped and he coughed harshly, forcing water up and out of his lungs as his chest burned.

Dream greedily gulped air down, panicking now that he looked like a soaked rat, and looked toward his little brother before he froze. Tommy's gaze was still glazed over but it had a hint of valuation behind it. He didn't understand the way he was being looked at, but his instincts were screaming that something was really, really wrong. He needed to get Tommy to put him down, or he needed a way to get into contact with Technoblade.

"Tommy!" He called out before shaking as he shivered, of course, the cold was already getting to him. "Tommy?" He continued as he was lifted upwards, faster than he'd like to experience at his small size. His eyes widened as he took in the look on the teen's face. It was closer than he had been of his own fruition. His instincts screamed in fear as he squirmed and tried to dig his fingernails into the teen's palms, not managing to do much of anything as his lips parted in front of him.

Dream's heart fell into his stomach as he watched the boy's mouth open, seeing deep reds and pinks that decorated each muscle inside. He couldn't do anything, being forced to stare into the chasm as warm breath washed over his face. The moisture he could feel inside each exhale didn't need explaining since the sheen that covered everything made it rather clear why. He could see the light scaring in the very back, able to recognize where his tonsils used to be. "Tommy!" He yelled, unable to use his hands to brace himself due to the fact his hands were pinned.

He was shaking as his body was forced closer and began to enter the kid's mouth, he couldn't believe Tommy would do something like this! He's always been such a sweet kid who didn't mind the fears borrowers held, he understood that they had natural fears and never even considered pushing those boundaries, and yet here he was, his upper body sprawled across the teen's tongue as his legs kicked in fear. He could hear his heart in his ears and his breathing seemed to echo across the space as he squirmed before his hand slipped across one of Tommy's teeth. He didn't hesitate to yelp as pain shot through his palm, his hand suddenly feeling more wet despite the saliva and water that was soaking him.

The hum that sounded out around him as the nosy muscle pressed into his wound, now frightened him more than anything else was at the moment. He looked over his shoulder, taking a shuttering breath as he took in the sight of white, clean teeth, strong enough to break him in two if Tommy so desired. He felt dread, anger, and sadness all at the same time as he was pushed and prodded.

"Tommy! Let me out! Please, Toms, stop this!" He yelled out as the tongue pressed him up and against the roof, a loud gulp sounding out as saliva was pulled down the throat. The sight caused him to freeze, watching the liquid go down told him he wouldn't be getting out of this. He yelled, trying to push the roof of his mouth to have an attempt at keeping himself from being swallowed, but it didn't work. An eager push made him lose his hold before an ill-timed movement caused his head to dangle over the end of his tongue. Dream was no longer on his stomach, the borrower had managed to get to his back as he took in shuttering frightened breaths that turned into screams as the throat pulled him inside. The gulp brought him into a slick space, no longer able to get any form of grip before a second one pushed him down further, the movement not stopping as he slipped away.

His eyes were tightly closed as the sound of a heartbeat began to fill his ears, getting louder and louder as he sobbed out of fear and anguish. He never imagined he'd be dying inside his little brother's stomach. The soft wooshing of lungs had joined the fray but the heart had died down, softer than before but still present as his hand touched something thicker and seemed to block him off, only to have it yawn open, depositing him into a resting chamber.

The walls around him were uncomfortable, shifting curiously to try and feel him. Dream was quick to try and get to his feet, his head hitting the top of the stomach and causing him to slip back onto his back. He was scared to he in here, glancing around with hesitancy before he ended up noticing that he was sitting in a pool of liquid. The sensation on his skin wasn't one of burning, but he swore that it was! There was no other option other than that he was sitting in a pool of stomach acids.

The borrower found himself curled up against the wall that gave him the most amount of leniency. He covered his ears, not wanting to listen to the sounds around him. The thudding of a heart, the wooshing of lungs, but... most currently, the sound of gurgles and groaning that seemed to surround him but it was mostly coming from his right. He didn't want to die... let alone in the stomach of someone he saw as a brother.

He wasn't even thinking about the fact Tommy had eaten only an hour or two ago, yet nothing else was in here.

☆~°.•🦝🌱💿//+🪐

Techno was pretty used to his own silence. He enjoyed it when his students were in the classroom and learning but his free period was the best. He could read through the mix of essays and assignments without disruption or anything similar and focus on his own priorities without students bothering him every 5 minutes. He was in the middle of reading through a pretty good essay on, The God of That Summer when his eyes noticed a person standing in his doorway.

The man sighed as he pulled his glasses off and placed them down on his desk, finally turning to face the person as he spoke. "Can I help-" He started before pausing as he took in the sight of his little brother. Tommy's eyes were red and swollen, tear tracks still gracing his face as the teen made his way towards him. Techno got to his feet as Tommy approached before the man met him halfway. He could barely see the blue of the raccoon's eyes, telling him enough he understood what he needed to do. The piglin scooped his runt up, gently holding Tommy close as he closed the door to his classroom with his foot and quietly made his way back to his desk.

The piglin didn't take his hand off Tommy's back, gently rubbing between his shoulders as he carefully held him. "Hey Toms... You're pretty out of it kiddo." He found himself whispering. He would have assumed this was just an instinct rush if Tommy was purring, but the kit was doing none of the sort. The teen was trembling, his tail wrapped around his abdomen and his hands tight enveloping his shirt. His eyes drifted to the backpack by the door to his room, and he leaned back at his desk as he let his mind wonder to where his little brother was supposed to be.

He sighed as he pushed it aside, for now, he'll talk to Simmon later, Tommy was his priority.

☆~°.•🦝🌱💿//+🪐

Tommy blinked his eyes open and found himself curled up in the living room. His head was against something warm, and he heard the beating of a heart and soft, gruff purring that he recognized as belonging to his older brother. The teen felt his face flush red as he quickly moved to sit up, swinging his head up before a faint squeal left the person he was sitting on as his head hit something.

The teen looked forward, blinking as he took in the sight of Techno's head leaning back, the man's chin already turning a shade of red from where he'd head-butted him. "Shit- Sorry!" Tommy said quickly as he reached up to feel his brother's face, carefully nuzzling the piglin's chin to try and negate the hit despite knowing there was no real point in doing that.

Techno quickly pushed him away, "Stop it, I do not need your little kisses, Tommy." The man said simply, a fond laugh dancing on his voice.

"THEY-" Tommy started to raise his voice before he shoved it back down and cleared his throat, embarrassment spreading across his face. "They're not little kisses..." He grumbled. He didn't like it when they called his instincts cute little names like that but the stupid thing had stuck since he was a toddler.

The pink-haired man simply laughed for a moment before he calmed himself, cleared his throat, and spoke up: his face and voice seeming more serious.

"Tommy... Why did you run out of Squids' class?" The man asked simply.

The raccoon hybrid felt his ears lay back, looking up at him hesitantly before he fidgeted and gently picked at his hands. "Oh... um..." Tommy whispered, looking unsure as he glanced over his shoulder and placed his hands in his hoodie pocket.

The lack of a small form in the fabric sleeve made panic swell in his chest. Dream should still be in his pocket unless the blonde snuck out after they got home and that made no sense. The borrower would have immediately told Techno what happened and stayed to make sure everything was fine before he'd even consider running off to hide in the safety of the walls.

Tommy gave a nervous swallow before he glanced up and opened his mouth, "Mr. Squid... I don't think he likes me very much." He said calmly. There was no way he was going to get around this.

"Simmons not liking you is not gonna cause you to come to my classroom in the middle of a Panic-induced instinct attack, Tommy. What really happened?" The man said plainly, without any judgment or anger in his voice. Techno wasn't blaming Tommy despite how it sounded, he was just trying to make sure Tommy was honest and told him what he needed to know.

A whine left the raccoon-hybrid before he glanced over his shoulder and spoke up, not wanting to look his big brother in the eyes as he spoke. "He keeps singling me out... He makes me answer all the questions on pests and vermin..." Tommy mumbled as he let his gaze drift down to his lap, his hands having began to fidget at the ends of Techno's braid. "He made me tell the class about the side effects pesticides and poisons have on animals, specifically... raccoons."

Tommy kept quiet after he finished his sentence, his eyes not leaving his hands as he carefully messed with the end of the piglin's braid, he'd redo it if he had any gold beads or clamps to add to the intertwined hair but he didn't so there wasn't much of a point. It took a moment before his brother's big and callused hands gently cupped around his little ones, rubbing the back of the dorsal side of his hands.

"Shit, Toms... Why didn't you say something sooner?" The history teacher questioned as he leaned forward, placing their foreheads together as he gave a soft chuff. Tommy relaxed at the familiar position and sound, his mind able to relax at the piglin's sign of affection and care.

"I thought I was overreacting."

Technoblade sighed in response to that. "Either way, I could have talked to him and helped clear up the misunderstanding."

"I know..." He said softly before a soft movement in his abdomen caught him off guard. Tommy managed to not make a noise at the sensation, able to recognize the familiar weight of something sitting in his storage. He didn't fully understand it, he didn't remember eating anything, especially an asshole borrower or some kind of mouse, but he could worry about that later.

"Now," Shit... he missed everything Techno was saying. "You head upstairs and curl in your burrow till Dad gets home. I know for a fact he's gonna want you in the nest tonight." The piglin said simply as he picked the raccoon up and carefully placed the teen onto the floor. Tommy glared, trying to play off his lack of listening as his big brother began to head down the hallway, no doubt heading to the backyard to call someone, Tommy had a feeling he could guess who...

The teen groaned as he flopped onto his bed, toeing his shoes off as he hid his face in his pillow. The hybrid was annoyed that this day had gone so horribly. He could feel the soft weight shifting in his abdomen, quiet growls leaving his actual stomach as clawed hands dug into the walls of his storage. He needed to move whatever it was to his actual stomach before he had to deal with a sore organ for a few day.

The teen wasn't super used to this, pulling the squirming form up and out of his storage. He didn't like having to take them back up into his mouth, but it was something every human could do so it wasn't weird, before swiftly swallowing the form's body. Having half of a borrower in your throat and the other half in your mouth wasn't the best experience considering they're decently long, but this one was bigger than he was used to.

Tommy coughed a little as the form disappeared into his chest for a second time, no doubt less happy this time compared to the first. He didn't seem to mind at least, pulling himself out of bed to change into something more comfortable as his stomach gurgled, filling the tiny space with a squirming meal. He couldn't help the chittering purr that built in his throat, the more animalistic side of his brain enjoying the stimulation and sensation of something in his belly.

Either way, he didn't want to be himself right now. Letting his instincts take the reigns sounds nice as he crawls into his nest...

☆~°.•🦝🌱💿//+🪐

Dream had come to the idea that he was safe where he was. He'd been in here for a solid hour or so now and the saliva at the bottom had disappeared at this point. The walls were plush and slick but they didn't really move around him all that much, just reacting to his own touch from the looks of it and the sounds had died down a bit, mostly just being a gentle bubbling that had gotten quieter and seemed to grow further away.

He felt uncomfortable still, not entirely sure what was going on, whatever rush had caused Tommy to do this was still active so it wasn't like the two of them could have a proper conversation. The borrower had almost managed to doze off at the sound of Tommy's and, he's assuming Techno's, purring. He wouldn't normally like to get himself into their more sensitive moments since he wasn't an actual member of their family but it felt nice to be included for once even if neither of them was, at least not fully, aware of him at the moment.

He'd listened quietly as the two of them began to talk, pride swelling in his chest as Tommy told someone about the bad attitude that Mr. Squid had been showing. He shifted his weight, leaning forward to rub the wall he leaned against only to be squeezed. He released a soft yelp, not expecting it as his tail flicked around in annoyance.

He'd have to scold Tommy later, this may be a good place to hide him but that didn't mean he enjoyed being eaten and kept in a flesh sack. He felt as the teen moved around, smiling that his little brother was heading to his room. The soft sway of his movements was actually more than gentle. It made him sleepy but the borrower assumed it was his own instincts trying to trick him into feeling like it was a nest. It wasn't so he didn't want to stay in here much longer.

His peace was quickly interrupted by a growl, feeling the muscles against his back twitch as the rumbling sensation went down his spine. Dream physically cringed away from it, slipping to the other side of the stomach- He couldn't forget that he was laying in someone's stomach. The space wasn't fun, his movements were rather restricted and limited to the soft space.

The grow was followed by a rumble before a louder groan escaped the area as he pinned himself against the furthest wall he could, shaking a bit. This was fine... He wasn't in Tommy's real stomach, that much was clear to him, but it wasn't nice to hear the actual sounds of hunger just next to him.

"Tommy-"

Dream's words were interrupted as he was thrown into the wall to his right, the one of his left pushing him against it before the area squeezed. He clamped his eyes closed as his body was forced back into the esophagus, squirming due to the constricting space. His upper body was pushed back onto the teen's tongue, a shutter of relief leaving him as he reached forward to try and grab onto a fang, something for a safe hold to keep himself secure. He barely moved his hand before the tongue pushed into it.

The pause he felt, confusion etching his face, quickly turned into panic as the muscle rose higher, the grip on his waist loosening for a moment before a loud gulp sounded out. He was forced back down, a panicked yelp leaving him as he was tugged deeper once more. He clamped his eyes closed, trying to ignore the sensation as tears dripped down his face. He'd been safe, so close to being secure. Why was Tommy swallowing him again?! He didn't understand why this was happening.

He'd felt his legs being tugged into an open space again, his entire body following in moments. For a second he thought it was just the other stomach again before the acidic scent hit his nose. Within seconds he was on his knees, pressing his hands against the roof of the stomach as he glanced down. There was a very shallow puddle of murky water in the bottom. It carried the biting smell but it wasn't all that strong. He felt nervous as the organ gurgled, sounding pleased as it shifted around him.

Tommy was moving around him on top of the stomach, the purring he could hear was frightening, knowing his little brother was pleased to have him inside of his stomach. He was nervous as he pushed before he felt the teen crawl. He was assuming they were in the burrow now, a soft tingling forming on his foot as he shoved again, opening his mouth to yell.

"Tommy! Let me out of here!" He called out, feeling a weight settle over him. The purring was still going, having not faltered at his works. Dream growled before he looked over his shoulder. This wasn't a fun idea, but it seemed like his best bet as he shifted to look at the exit and then turned his eyes back to where he'd come in through.

"Fuck it..." He groaned before he crawled over, sitting in front of the sphincter hesitantly before he reached forward and shoved his hands into the area. It wasn't fun, feeling the strong muscles trying to contradict his choices, but Dream needed to make sure Tommy got him out. He refused to sit here and take it when he, a part of him, had a feeling that this wasn't intended. He'd seen the boy in instinct waves, Phil always said he needed to avoid him during these moments and now he understood why.

His legs were already burning. It wasn't a horrid sensation, but it felt like his legs were numb with the carbonated tingling that he often felt when he accidentally rested on his limbs wrong.

He shoved his way forward, his hands almost slipping on the slick flesh of the throat as he squeezed his head through the sphincter. Within seconds an unhappy gurgle sounded out before he was squeezed back down into the stomach, gasping for a moment before the plush walls closed in on him once more. A frightened yelp had been his sound of opposement, before he was quickly shoved up and out of the organ.

Dream loudly coughed as he was forced into a hand, shaking a bit as he lay on his stomach. He needed to relax and take a few moments to adjust to the light and no longer haveing soft flesh all around him. His tail wrapped around his leg as he glanced over at his little brother, an uncomfortable laugh leaving him at the unhappy look on the teen's face that swiftly turned to horror.

Tommy then spent the next 3 days basically constantly making sure Dream felt safe around him. He even would give the borrower little treats and help him do anything he asked. If Dream would occasionally ask to sleep on Tommy's abdomen, no one knows.

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊

Thank you for reading! Sorry this ask took so long but any of the ones I haven't answered yet, I see you Bkdk person, and the two Tommy ideas, I promise I will get to those!

This was supposed to be a short story, maybe 1,000 words but instead it turned into this-

I don't regret writing this, but it took literally months. I've been working on this on and off for weeks now.

I hope you all enjoy it!

[potatonugget7]

You Are My Sunshine

Chapter 1 of my new QSMP borrower AU. Also posted on AO3. Next Part.

TWs: Fear of death, blood and injuries, a scary owl. 3.6k words.

Tubbo never seemed to learn his lesson when it came to trusting humans. Yet there he was, fleeing yet another home. This time though, he had a child with him. Yeah, he adopted a child. Considering he was still *kind of* a kid himself, maybe it wasn't the greatest idea, but it was too late for that now, they were inseparable like glue. Now it was Tubbo and Sunny against the world! Plus she shared his love for coffee! When he was her age, he wasn't allowed coffee, so Tubbo was *pretty sure* he was doing a fine job.

Hopefully this new house wouldn't have such weird and nosy humans.

Thunder rumbled in the dusk coloured sky overhead, followed by smaller cracks and flashes of bright light as it stormed. It was spring, the season of heavy rain and occasionally snow; also known as the perfect formula for hypo-fucking-thermia. Tubbo grimaced as the rain continued to beat down on them mercilessly, another heavy drop of freezing cold water crashing down on his head as he and Sunny trudged through a muddy forest of unkempt grass blades. It would be night soon. The sun was setting already, which meant the temperature would be dropping further and dangerous predators would be out hunting.

“Sunny, remember what I said? Stick close to me so we can share the umbrella,” he chattered out and Sunny nodded, squeezing his hand tighter.

All things considered, the leaf they were using as an umbrella wasn’t very effective. They were both drenched, covered in mud and dirt. Tubbo had tried to keep her out of the mud when it first started raining, but he couldn’t carry her and the bags. He cursed under his breath, squinting up at the darkening sky. It was just not their lucky day. Correction; not their lucky week.

They had to move on short notice; in the middle of the night, which then led to walking all day. Humans travelled much faster than borrowers could and Tubbo wanted to put as much distance between them and their previous ‘house mate’. For hours they trekked through forests of overgrown grass, across plateaus of dirt and brick. Along shores of large ponds and watering holes. He was certain that by now, they must’ve travelled at least a ‘city block’ as the humans called them. 

It should be far enough. He hoped it was far enough. His legs ached and his feet were numb with cold. Tubbo wasn’t sure if it was his own exhaustion, or the rain weighing them down, but the bags felt so much heavier.

He paused as he felt a tug on his hand. Sunny had stopped and dropped the leaf-umbrella, a strained wheeze escaping her as she clutched her chest. 

“Sunny?” Tubbo dropped the bags and crouched down in front of her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “Are you okay?”

Sunny tried to nod as she coughed dryly, a pained look on her face. The poor girl had lung problems. Tubbo was pretty sure it was called asthma. It couldn’t be cured as far as he knew. He did everything he could; taught her calming breathing exercises and upon hearing that coffee supposedly could help, he started making it more often. However he wasn’t exactly sure how accurate that information was, considering its source was Pierre. Though he did quickly learn that Sunny shouldn’t have more than one cup a day or else she would be bouncing off the walls for hours. Sometimes it got really bad though, especially in the spring and all he could really do was hold her hand.

“Just stay calm princess, you’ve got this. If it hurts you can squeeze my hand, okay?” he whispered calmly, taking her hand gently.

Sunny nodded again and squeezed his hand tight. She had described the feeling to him before. 

‘I feel all tight and like the air is being squeezed out of me.’ she had explained.

“Try and pretend you’re smelling some tulips, or maybe some coffee? Take a nice deep breath,” Tubbo said quietly, giving her the most reassuring smile he could muster.

A few minutes later, Sunny was able to reign it in again, but it felt like hours. Sitting there in the chilly air, getting battered by raindrops as he held his daughter’s hands. Unfortunately the rain didn’t set with the sun and as a bolt of lightning shattered the velvety sky, both borrowers jumped in fright.

“Pa…” Sunny tugged on his hand, frowning up at the sky as thunder rumbled loudly overhead. “Can we please stop here? I’m tired… and it’s really muddy and dirty.” 

The smaller borrower kicked at the dirt with her muddy boots, a foul look on her face. Sunny wasn’t a typical child. While most borrowers her age would love to be playing in the dirt and enjoying the outdoors, Sunny would rather stay inside and count her collection of bits and bobs. Tubbo didn’t mind though. It brought him peace of mind to know Sunny was safe at home, waiting for him to bring her back whatever shiny new trinket he’d come across on his latest borrowing trip.

“I know Suns, I know,” he looked around, squinting past the tall grass blades around them.

They were about halfway across a particularly overgrown backyard. The house it belonged to stood tall in the distance. From what Tubbo could see it did have a back porch, standing on sleek, dark wooden beams, with a grate of sorts that wrapped all the way around. It would be the perfect place to make camp for the night.

“This umbrella sucks,” the small girl huffed, motioning to the leaf they were using. “I miss my parasol.” 

Tubbo sighed. Regrettably, they had left it behind and he didn’t have the heart to tell her that it would’ve been useless anyway. Being made of paper, it would’ve been ruined in a few minutes of being out in the rain.

“Well maybe I can find you another one once it’s warmer out. I think the humans like to put them in their fancy… erm, barbeque drinks,” he gave her the most cheerful smile he could muster in the moment.

“Can you make it shiny pa?” Sunny asked with a hopeful smile.

Clearly she was in a much better mood already when it came to being promised new things. Tubbo felt a small weight lift off his shoulders at the sight of Sunny's smile. The weather was gloomy enough as it was, they didn't need either of them bringing the mood down any further.

“I guess I could reinforce it with some aluminium?” Tubbo smiled back at her, but it was a mask to hide his own gloom.

He had left behind… well, just about everything. His workshop, his machines and inventions, his materials. It would take years to rebuild both the workshop and his collection, assuming their new home would even have what he needed. Tubbo didn’t think human engineers were very common, and certainly not living on the same street. Disclaimer; he had no evidence to back that up, it was just a hunch . Honestly they'd be lucky to even find an abandoned borrowers’ hovel, let alone an available home with a proper forge setup.

“Oh…” Sunny visibly deflated, pouting at the ground as they trudged through the squelchy mud.

It felt like a punch to the gut.

“Poppetttttttttttttt… please don't make that face. It can't be helped for now, I'm sorry,’” Tubbo drawled out.

Squinting through the downpour, Tubbo could see they were almost to the human house which this yard belonged to. The structure was impossibly large, its rooftop easily grazing the skies as it towered over the small borrowers. The grass was getting thinner as they got closer to the building. Instead, large, flat stones were embedded into the dirt. Weeds were fighting to break through the cracks, between the tiles and several puddles of water turned the path into some kind of stoney bog.

They were so close to the porch now; all they had to do was cross the stone terrace. The whole thing made Tubbo nervous. Something in the back of his mind told him that if something bad was going to happen on this trip, it should happen sometime around now. There was almost no cover on the stone plateau, save for a few overgrown dandelions and upturned stone bricks, but he would hardly call that cover. If any birds spotted them, it would be so joever. 

“Welp, up we go Suns,” Tubbo hauled himself up onto the stone, his muscles aching and sore from exhaustion.

 “Pa, can we have avocado soup for dinner?” she asked as Tubbo reached down and pulled her up too.

“Sure…” he replied quietly, taking her hand as they began crossing the stone terrace.

In all honesty, he really just wanted to get to sleep. Unfortunately that's just what parenting was, it seemed. Tubbo was a little worried about a fire. Even a small one could draw unwanted attention. The brunet glanced up at the house ahead of them.

He didn’t see any lights on, but what if they somehow smelled the smoke and woke up? He couldn’t just feed Sunny cold soup though. For one, she wouldn’t eat it cold to begin with. Two, she needed to warm up or she might catch a cold! A sick child was the last thing he needed right now. Tubbo really hoped these humans ate avocados at least.

“Hey Princess… um, I just want to warn you. I might not be able to get you avocados anymore…” he said slowly, trying his damndest to avoid eye contact.

Sunny paused midstep, letting go of his hand. She looked up at him with a blank face, but Tubbo could see fire in her eyes.

“Huh.”

“Well it’s just…” Tubbo crouched down in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Avocados aren’t super common I don’t think. When I was your age I’d never even heard of them before.”

“Really..?” Sunny asked with a look of awe and horror on her face, like she couldn’t begin to comprehend life without avocados.

“Yeah,” he stood back up, a sorrowful expression on his face.

“Well- what about- what about coffee?” the younger borrower asked in a desperate voice.

“No, I think coffee is universal–” Tubbo paused, feeling goosebumps prickling down his spine.

Lightning cracked through the air and the flash of light revealed a shadow on the ground. His eyes widened in panic and he let out a gasp. Quickly, he grabbed Sunny and threw himself to the side, hugging her tight. 

A pair of talons crashed down where they had been just seconds ago. A piercing ache jolted down his arm as his shoulder slammed into the stone, taking the brunt of the fall. Tubbo bit his tongue, swallowing back a pained cry. Now that the adrenaline was pumping, he barely noticed the dull throbbing in his shoulder.

“Pa?!” Sunny cried, her eyes wide with terror. 

An owl towered over them, its grey and brown serrated feathers having made it virtually silent. It looked like a demon, with its massive glowing yellow orbs and feathery horns. Tubbo had seen one in action once. It swooped down on a field mouse with terrifying accuracy and snatched it up into the air. The poor mouse never had a chance.

He didn’t answer her as he scrambled to his feet. The owl recovered quickly too, flapping its wings wildly as it swiped at them with its talons again. Tubbo darted to the side, dragging Sunny with him, dropping some of the bags.

“What is that?!” the younger brunette practically squeaked.

“An owl–” Tubbo breathed out, shuddering as the owl's head turned a hundred and thirty degrees, staring directly at them.

Terrifyingly silent, the owl sprung at them again and Tubbo scooped Sunny up with his good arm, the adrenaline pumping through his veins giving him abnormal strength. The brunet vaulted over a slanted stone tile, feeling the wind rush passed them as the owl jabbed its beak into the stone. He ignored both the pain in his injured arm, and Sunny’s snot soaking into his shirt. The poor girl had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she shook, her face buried in his shirt.

He sprinted as fast as his legs would carry him, jolts of pain travelling up his ankles every time his shoes slammed into the hard stone. They were almost there. Tubbo wouldn’t let either of them get eaten by an overgrown finch right before reaching their new camp.

“Suns we have to be- very quiet,” he heaved out, the cold air making his lungs ache. “O-okay?”

“Mhm,” Sunny whimpered.

Daring a glance over his shoulder, Tubbo realised he didn’t see the owl anymore. A wave of anxiety washed over him and a pit formed in his stomach. It must’ve flown back to wherever it had been perching before it jumped them. They were lucky the first time when the lightning struck and Tubbo managed to catch a glimpse of the shadow. He didn’t think it would happen twice.

He stopped to catch his breath, and squinted up at the dark sky; it wasn’t circling above them. Tubbo turned his gaze to the shrubs and trees around the backyard, scanning the tall towering fences and the nearby houses. He didn’t see the owl anywhere though. 

“Okay Sunny… I- I don’t want to scare you–” he started, setting the younger borrower back down on the stone. 

“Pa… that was already really scary,” Sunny interrupted.

Tubbo took a deep breath, his legs shaking from the adrenaline. The pain was starting to really set in, and the cold and the damp really didn’t help either. Looking over at the porch, he could see how the skirt was made of wooden plants. The planks created a criss-cross pattern, with holes too small for any creature bigger than a small rabbit. The owl wouldn’t be able to get them there. 

He gently took her hand again and began walking across the stone plateau once more.

‘At least the rain had stopped…’

“I know, but that owl might still come back. So we need to get under the porch, quickly and quietly. We’re gonna set up camp there,” he explained, helping her jump over a crack where a dandelion had challenged the tiles and won.

“Finally…” Sunny yawned.

“Sunny. Kid. You are way too nonchalant for someone who just nearly got snatched by an owl,” Tubbo deadpanned.

“I thought you didn't want to scare me,” she stated, a blank expression on her face.

“...” they stared at each other in silence for a moment. 

“Look– you know how fragile my ego is.” deep down though, Tubbo was happy she was so quick to recover.

Sunny rolled her eyes, letting out a scoff. Tubbo went to clutch his chest dramatically in betrayal– but let out a pained yelp, quickly remembering that he had an injured shoulder. The cheeky look on the younger borrower’s face turned to sympathy when she noticed.

“Does your arm hurt Pa?” she asked, gently tugging on it.

“Uh, yeah. So please don’t pull on it,” Tubbo grimaced.

“Sorry,” Sunny mumbled.

Relief washed over him as they finally crossed over to the last stone tile. Tubbo breathed a sigh of reprieve as he shoved aside an overgrown dandelion stem. He didn’t notice the owl was back until he was slammed into the stone. 

His brain buffered, taking a second to catch up before he realised what had happened. Sharp talons pinned him to the ground, digging into his arms and Tubbo let out an agonizing wail. He squirmed, pushing up against the owl’s superior strength. However even with the adrenaline pumping through his veins he was no match for a massive, hungry bird of prey.

“Go! Sunny hide- under the porch–!” he yelled, his voice cracking.

“But–”

“Go!” he struggled, reaching for his sword.

The smaller borrower nodded, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. Tubbo managed to unsheathe his sword, using it to block the owl's beak as it tried to chomp his head off . At the same time, Sunny climbed up and between one of the criss-crosses in the porch skirt. 

Tubbo pointed the tip of the sword at its face the second time the owl lunged for his head. The pin was embedded in the feathery bastard's eye. The owl let out a deafening shriek and started flapping its wings frantically, scratching at Tubbo as it shrieked. The borrower let out yelp and curled up in a ball, covering his head with his hands.

‘Maybe that wasn't a great idea–’

Tubbo froze as he heard a click. Suddenly squares of light flooded the yard. Next, a loud shuttering noise, which was then followed by a resounding slam rang through the air.

“Yeah hang on Phil, it's that stupid owl again,” a deep voice groaned.

Thunk, thunk, thunk, clack, clack, clack–

His eyes widened in horror as he listened to the footsteps of the much scarier predator that was fast approaching. The owl noticed too, turning its stupid creepy head to the giant that now towered over the both of them.

“How many times have I told you to stay out of this yard?! Fucking bird,” the bald human yelled, stomping it's feet so loudly that it shook the ground.

The owl let out a shrill shriek, squawking angrily at the human before it took off again.

Tubbo slowly picked himself up, biting his tongue to quiet his own pained whimpers. His body felt like it was on fire. His shirt was ripped, and the sleeves were covered in messy, dark red stripes; gifts left behind by the owl's talons. 

“Jeez…” the human pulled a light box (Pierre said they were called phones) out of its pocket and held it up to its ear. 

“Sorry I'm back. Yeah the little one that won't leave the crows alone.”

The human didn't see him yet, and Tubbo didn't want to change that. Quietly, slowly, he pulled himself up onto the trim of the porch and crawled through one of the many gaps in the wood. He managed to drag himself behind one of the wooden posts that framed the porch before he collapsed in the dirt, panting.

“I mean, maybe? I didn't see one. It might've just been a rat.”

Tubbo heard some shuffling behind him and awkwardly sat up, leaning against the post for support. He pulled his heavy bag and laid it down in the dirt, still working on catching his breath. He just needed a minute to recover.

“Hello?” 

The brunet slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle the startled noise that tried to claw its way up his throat. 

“Is anyone or anything down here?”

Tubbo knew there was absolutely no way the bald human could see him. Even laying down, it couldn’t see him from that angle, in the dark no less. Well- unless it could see through walls, which he severely doubted. However, the urge to get up and take off running again was strong. 

“Yeah, I think it was just a squirrel or something,” the human got back up, dusted itself off and went back inside.

“K, I have to put the kids back to bed now. I think the owl woke them up again”

Tubbo still felt his heart hammering against his chest. The ridiculous amount of close encounters he and Sunny had experienced today gave him enough heart attacks to last a month thank you very much. He waited until it stopped raining sawdust and the footsteps above him faded away to move again. 

Once he was absolutely sure the human wasn’t listening, Tubbo grabbed his hiker’s bag and got back up again, (much to his body’s dismay).

“Sunny?” he called out, stumbling over the uneven terrain. “Poultry Princess? Where are you?” 

“Pa?!” his eyes darted to the source of the sound.

Relief washed over him like a tidal wave. Sunny was fine, she was alive in one piece. The little borrower had peeked her head out of her hiding spot; behind another wooden support. Tubbo rushed over to her, nearly tripping in the process, and lifted her up into a tight hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay…” he whispered, setting Sunny back down on the ground when she started squirming.

The younger borrower grumbled, crossing her arms. She was giving him the look.

“...What?” he asked, dumbfounded. “Am I not allowed to hug you or–?”

“Don’t do that again Pa!” she cried, pounding her little fists on his chest lightly. “I thought- I thought you were gonna–...” her exclamations died down into sobs.

一

Once Sunny had calmed down, Tubbo had gotten a small fire set up. Though their clothes hadn’t dried yet, the warmth from the fire was welcome, and leftover avocado soup had never tasted so good. Luckily, the most essential items had been packed in their backpacks, and not in the bags they’d left behind while fleeing the owl attack. Tubbo didn’t think going back out there to rescue them was in his best interest at the moment. He’d just finished bandaging his new wounds after all, he wasn’t exactly keen on opening them back up already.

“Pa, can you sing me a lullaby?” Sunny asked as she helped her dad unravel their sleeping mat.

“I- well, I can try. Are you ready for bed then?” he pulled a blanket out of his bag and laid it down on the sleeping mats.

“I was ready for bed hours ago,” the younger borrower sassed as she flopped down on the mat.

“Fair enough,” Tubbo put the fire out before laying down next to her, pulling the other end of the blanket over them, like a blanket taco.

“Argh,” he cleared his throat. “My voice is a bit scratchy right now, so bear with me.”

“That's okay.”

“Ahem. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey… You’ll never know dear… how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

“Pa…”

“Yeah?”

Sunny turned to face him.

“Is that about me?” 

“Um, I guess you could interpret it that way, yeah,” he gave her an awkward smile.

“Okay…” she turned her back to him. “I’m glad the owl didn’t eat you.”

“Yeah, I am too, no more talking though. Sleep time,” he yawned out, pulling her into a warm hug.

“Night Pa.”

“Night Suns…”

[artlesscomedic]

Y’all remember borrowers, right? Okay yeah that

[munchkin1156]

I have fallen (but have faith, for I shall rise once more)

. . .

Borrower Techno with rest of sbi as god's? More likely than you think :D

2.2k words for part one, definitely going to make a part two because I'm not about to LEAVE y'all on a cliffhanger like that.

(Cw: Blood, injuries, mention of death (non happens) swearing, angst, accidental fearplay and Techno passes out due to blood loss.)

Hope you enjoy my (technically) first addition to the mcyt g/t community from my user!

. . .

Technoblade wasn’t like other borrowers.

Other borrowers didn’t have voices in their heads, who screamed at him for blood, grew emotionally attached to the most random things, or know things that helped him evade capture multiple times.

Other borrowers didn’t have memories that never existed, searing into his brain at moments when he loses themselves, of friendships with beings of power, of him being a being of power, of falling from the clouds for a crime he did not do.

When his sword is stained red from those who wronged him, then in his head it rings. When the voices, or as he called them, Chat, started chanting. It never made sense, what they chanted.

Blood for the blood god

And it scared him, not knowing what it meant. But he couldn’t dwell on it now, just like he couldn’t dwell on it yesterday. He was a borrower, and that meant he needed to borrow.

Techno stepped outside of the comfort that was the shelter that he had been using for the past week. Being a wandering borrower, he didn’t have a home, exactly. He wandered from place to place, travelling lightly and swiftly, being able to escape at a moment's notice.

He had bases in some places, so he could restock and rest for a bit, but he was exploring a new area and that came with the consequence of not knowing where safety lay, so if a bean were to see him, he might not be able to get out of there fast enough.

But it wouldn’t come to that. Techno was an amazing borrower, and his motto was literally ‘Technoblade never dies’. He started walking through the long grass, humming to himself. He wouldn’t get caught, he was certain of it.

So why did he feel so uneasy?

. . .

“Hey- Hey! Stop it!” He whispered, whipping his sword out as an act of defence. The crow squawked defiantly but didn’t stop trying to pick him up with its beak.

Techno groaned. Crows were always nice to him, and they were one of the few things that gave him those memories other than blood. 

Memories of black wings surrounding him, feeling safety and warmth, and when he looked into those eyes-

Other things that did this were music, especially guitars or discs, the colour red, and that one statue. It had been in some rich fucker’s garden, and from what he had overheard the people in it were gods, whatever that was.

Their names, according to the beans he had been eavesdropping on, were Philza, Angel of Death, a golden blonde man with large black crow wings, a fatherly expression on his face as he stared at Soot, the god of music and chaos, a brunette who was laughing and ruffling the hair of Innit, god of discs and the wilderness.

And, standing a little bit away from the others, was a statue with its head gone. According to one of the beans, it was because they had been banished from the kingdom above, for a crime so terrible, and therefore been erased from history.

He also heard them say that it turned out to be an accident, that DreamXD, had framed him. But by that time it was discovered, it was too late, and he had been cast down, though it is said those three gods still search for him, in the hopes that they could bring him back.

They said his name was Blade, the god of war and blood. And that’s how he got his name. 

Technoblade.

And, another funny thing is, no matter how hard he sees those gods as Philza, Soot, and Innit, like the man described, some hidden part of his mind changes that to Phil, Wilbur, and Tommy. But that was beside the point.

The point was, that no matter how nice the crows were to him, they kept trying to take him somewhere.

Usually, they’d stop if he complained or shouted, or drew his sword (never intending to kill, just to scare them off) and they’d stop. But this one was even more persistent, and Techno realised now that he’d either have to fight it (something he would like to avoid if possible, he liked crows and they sometimes brought him gifts) or run.

He chose the latter, dashing to the side the moment the crow grabbed him. It squawked in outrage and Techno realised that it couldn’t chase after him on foot, with its legs like sticks. Birds were meant to fly, not walk.

‘Looks like I win this time, eh?’

He thinks, grinning to himself. The crow that he escaped from cawed loudly, and he only had a split second to wonder what that could mean before another crow SWOOPS down out of nowhere and yoinks (he’s not even sure what that word means but it seems about right for this situation) him up in its claws.

He had jinxed it. Techno didn’t believe in superstition, but he was certain that was what had happened.

The pinkette struggled in the crow's grasp, desperate to get free before it took him to… Well, wherever it was taking him. But it was no use. He wondered why it was so determined to bring him wherever it was going. Techno supposed he’d find out, soon enough.

Eventually, after a few minutes of flying, the borrower noticed something very, very strange. The crow was taking him up. And by that, he meant really, really high up. The world below was barely visible, as they went higher and higher, through the clouds.

And once they came out of the clouds, Techno couldn’t believe his eyes.

“The kingdom above… Fucking hell it’s real…”

He muttered to himself in awe. It was made out of pristine white shining material that might’ve been made out of the clouds themselves, with magical glowing lanterns floating in the air.

Techno’s first thought was that it belonged to the ruler of this kingdom, or at least some kind of person in power, I mean it was so fine and well-kept that it had to be, right? Wrong.

On closer inspection, he realised that the people walking down below were… Normal. This was a normal town here, and these were normal civilians.

The crow flew past it though, taking Techno with it. Its wingbeats never slowed, and it showed no sign of tiredness. This was no ordinary crow, he was sure of it.

And this was no ordinary place. Chat had stopped talking altogether, and his mind felt as if it was his own, at last. It was as if someone wanted him to be peaceful, but that was silly since he was literally getting kidnapped by a bird.

What a great day Techno was having, right?

Aaaaand now the crow was flying down, towards three people that looked awfully familiar, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it and then-

Oh fuck that’s Philza, Soot and Innit. He’d recognize them anywhere, after the incident with the statue. Oh, he’s fucked. He’s going to die, oh stars he needs to get out of this mess-

‘But aren’t the gods his family?’

He brushed that thought off with a shudder. Why on earth did he keep thinking stuff like that!? It didn’t make any sense, and you better believe that he was gonna get to the bottom of this.

Not today though. He was about to get caught by some of the most powerful beings in the entire universe, and he’d actually rather not. He valued his life, after all. So he did what any self-respecting borrower would do and fucking stab the bird.

Techno hadn’t particularly wanted to stab the crow. As he might’ve mentioned before, he liked crows. There just hadn’t been another choice. 

And it had worked.

The crow dropped him with a screech, alerting the three gods immediately. Their gazes fell on the bleeding crow who flew over to them with a lot of effort and landed on Philza’s outstretched arm. It healed almost instantly.

But the pinkette didn’t know any of this, because he happened to be falling when that situation had played out. And when Techno hit the ground, he felt his body scream out in pain and his head ring in agony.

The world around him felt loud and blurry. His head seemed to be sticky with what he could only assume was blood. He forced himself to stand, he needed to get out of here, needed to be safe-

Chat was back now,  just as incoherent and jumbled as his thoughts, and from what he managed to make out, delusional. They kept saying something about… Dadza? Who the hell was- Oh. Wait what!?

So Chat was no help. 

Techno winced. He couldn’t think, everything was just so loud and it hurt so damn much and he couldn’t understand and oh fuck did one of the Gods? beans just spot him and oh no they’re all walking towards him now.

The borrower’s eyes widen, and he couldn’t help but shrink back as the three gods towered over him, eyeing him over with such a strange expression of hope and longing that made Techno wonder if he actually was delusional.

The silence was broken when one of the gods, Innit, spoke up, voice breaking slightly and eyes glazed, as if holding back tears.

“Holy shit… Is it him? Like, really him?”

Philza responded, managing to sound calm and yet so desperate that it made Techno’s cold heart shatter, though he was not sure why.

“I don’t know Tommy (wait WHAT-), why don’t we ask him instead of talking over his head?” The angel of death suggested, and now they were all staring at him again, possibly even more intensely than before.

“So,” Philza said curiously. “Who are you, why did you stab my crow and why did it try to bring you here?”

There was no malice in his voice, it was just confusion and subtle amusement, but that just made Techno’s nerves worse. The only reason he could think of that would involve the god being amused about his half-dead state was-

Oh fuck, were they going to torture him?

“I’m Technoblade,” He said, after a few moments of hesitation. The pinkette ignored the sharp gasp of air from above, acting like he didn’t hear it, because he did not want to think of why the god might be shocked, and instead continued.

“I stabbed your crow because I was about to get seen (and look how that ended up) and I have no clue why it brought me here.” Techno knew it was not a smart idea to lie to a god, and he was anything but stupid. His injuries throbbed painfully, but the gods either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

Techno wasn’t about to guess which one…

After a very long while (in which Techno was trying his absolute hardest not to die on the spot) Soot spoke up. “So that’s a- a yes, then? It’s him?” He asked, voice cracking slightly. “Yes, Wilbur, (WHAT THE FUCK) It’s really him.”

The borrower didn’t have time to question what in the world he meant by that, because at that moment  Philza reached down, and Techno realised what was about to happen a second too late.

He scrambled backwards as the hand came towards him, absolutely terrified out of his wits, but the god paid no mind to that, plucking him off the ground by his waist easily. 

Techno struggled in his grasp but fell limp almost immediately. There was no way he was escaping from Philza, even though he wanted to, and besides, it just made his injuries worse. The tight grip the god had him in didn’t help either.

“What do you want from me!?”

He shouted, glaring at the gods, though it quickly fell as he remembered how easily they could crush him. Soot made a small noise (pity?) but he ignored it. “You- you really don’t remember us?” Asked Innit, with a look of despair on his face.

‘Remember you? I’ve never seen you before in my life!’ 

Not in this one you haven’t.

 Responded one of the voices, before it faded back into the clutter of noise. “Chat?” Philza asked, and Techno almost responded with ‘Yeah, it’s making no sense…’ when he remembered that he never told them about Chat.

Something clicked behind Soot’s eyes, and he spoke up. “So you really don’t know who we are… Right?” Techno nodded. Where exactly was (Wilbur) Soot going with this? “So that means…” “Means what? I’m not about to sit around all day waiting while you give me half-formed answers,” the borrower responded, with more challenge in his tone than was wise.

It’s not like you could stop them from doing that…

Said another one of those loud voices unhelpfully. ‘Thanks a lot…’ He thought to himself irritatedly and stared at Soot expectantly, which was harder than it seemed because his eyes kept unfocusing, and the corners of his vision were blurry and stained red. ‘Blood?’

“Listen, Technoblade, I don’t know what species you think you are, but…” He hesitated again, before continuing.

“You're a god, and our brother, at that.” Soot paused, and then started saying something more. “I’m so glad we finally found you, we’ve-”

But Techno didn’t get to hear what they’d done, the blood loss had finally caught up to him, and he passed out, darkness now surrounding him as he finally drifted into a dreamless sleep.

. . .

Aaaaaand that's it, folks! Great ending we got there, right? Hope you liked it :] Big thanks to Beckyu for helping me choose how to end it, and start next chapter.

That reminds me...

@i-am-beckyu and @brick-a-doodle-do, thank you for wanting to be tagged! If you want to be tagged, comment, ask or dm me and I'll add you! :D

Bye for now!!!

[mysterious-gizem]

𝚄𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝙴𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛

Warning/s: (???)

Prompt given by: @da3dm

Taglist: @gt-mcyt, @coolest-moon.

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

Tommy proudly came home from his little haul, he placed his findings on the ground and inspected every item—A decent amount of clean fabric, and even a few fruits—He thanked the gods he lived on the outer part of the city, so he could forage for food on the plants.

(He misses the food humans made though-)

He sat down in content, having already eaten on his outing. He quickly fixed up his area and snuggled underneath his covers for warmth, the night was spent with eerie silence, yet nonetheless, the borrower slept comfortably that night.

As the sun rose, rays of light beamed down onto the rundown streets of the once-populated city—it was still fairly populated, just not with the living—The borrower still slept soundly in the walls of one of the apartment buildings, Tommy was not a light sleeper in any way; that's when his instincts kick in and warn him if anything happens while he's sleeping.

His eyes blinked open, as he let out a groan while rolling out of bed. The blond grabbed his satchel and his items; he was planning to go to the inner city, risky yet necessary.

The young blond began to head out of his little cavern, he peeked out of the semi-opened window, and saw vast empty streets; he hurriedly started to run across the empty streets, still hiding under objects in case of any unexpected interactions, he knew better than to expect the streets were going to be this empty along the way.

He passed by a few of those mindless creatures, luckily none seemed to pick up on his scent; which was their most highly sensitive sense. As he neared the core of the city, groans became more apparent to his ears.

Tommy could do this! He was a big man, never mind that he was trembling.

Tommy dashed across the streets, nearly getting stepped on in the process; the blond yelped as he almost tripped over a tiny pebble. As he quickly regained his stature he spotted a store not too far away, the blond grinned widely as he began to sprint towards the store. The door was slightly ajar which worked in the blond's favor.

He rushed inside and he was instantly met with rows and rows of looming shelves, albeit it was a bit messy; it seemed that there was still edible food on the shelves. He immediately started to search for crisps; one of the few human foods he had the luxury of tasting, he eventually found the aisle that kept the junk foods.

The teen was practically drooling at the sight as he spotted one of the few crisps he tasted before. The borrower; despite his small stature, was strong enough to carry the lightweight bag back to his home, he however chose to open one of them to munch on.

His taste buds practically melted as the taste brought him nostalgia, he cherished the moment as he got lost in the taste. The blond kept scarfing down the food, as the teen continued with his actions; he was completely oblivious to the door creaking open.

He was snapped out of his trance as he heard a loud grumbling groan looming over him, he was met with the grueling face of the creature; the borrower screamed in terror as he tried scrambling away falling off the shelf in the process. The creature stumbled about, chasing the borrower knocking over the shelves, chaos brewed as the blond dodged objects.

His heart pounded in his chest, the rush of adrenaline pushing him to run faster and faster. He barely grasped the fact he ran face-first at a wall, he scrambled to the sides; not realizing he backed himself into a corner.

He turned around, registering that a shelf had fallen atop the mindless creature, it hissed and growled as it slowly broke itself free. Other shelves and various items blocked his way, he wasn't in great shape to climb any of them as well, that's when it dawned on him.

Shit...

He's done for.

His eyes watched intently as it wiggled itself out of its awkward position, the blond took a shaky breath; the entity roared as it reached out an arm, the sudden act forced him to instinctively shut his eyes and prepare for the worst. His ears felt like it was about to burst; all he could hear was loud ringing.

And then nothing.

He tried grasping onto the wall behind him, but his hold faltered as he dropped to his knees. The borrower trembled as he sensed a shadow loom over his wobbly frame. Incoherent words made their way to his ears, words that boomed, so much so that it sounded cold and terrifying.

Their words blurred together until he was met with a huge hulk of a man with a terrifying boar mask. His voice returned to him as he started spewing out curses or sentences like 'get the hell away from me!' The teen was nothing short of frantic as suddenly another figure came into vision, the new person was shorter than the man with a boar mask but was still significantly taller than him.

That didn't stop him from swatting and cursing at them until the man with golden locks like him spoke in a deep yet loving tone.

"Hey mate, we're not gonna do anything, but you look pretty shaken up-" The taller was cut off by the borrower's bold mouth. "Oi just back off man, I can take care of myself!" He retorted and stubbornly flipped him off.

"We still have to take these supplies back to our base, how about you think about it?" As the teen turned back around the two men already sheathed their weapons and began grabbing items, he wanted to protest as he watched them take away mostly all the food, yet his mouth snapped shut.

Was it that bad if he decided to go with them?

He was lost in thought until the familiar voice asked again, "Hey kid we're leaving, you sure you don't wanna come with us?" He was met with silence as Tommy blankly stared up at him. The man sighed as he turned to walk away.

He came to an abrupt stop as he heard the borrower's voice, now sounding smaller and rather...weak.

"Wait..."

"I'll come with you."

[ana-lmao]

The Borrower In My Walls (Chapter I)

Hehehe, Sneeg fic!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sneeg was a borrower that lived in many peoples walls, He was caught often or left himself because of the lack of food. However, this house was almost perfect! True there was a big family living there with a lot of guests but they left often and left out a lot of food!

There was a blonde haired tall man with 3 kids, Oh god they were chaotic, really loud as well... there was one with matching blonde hair that was the loudest and probably the youngest, there was a pink-haired one which was calmer and liked to read books and then there was a brown-haired kid who was in the middle. The blonde haired kid always had a mess in his room so it was the easiest to "Borrow" from, anything missing would be blamed on the messes he made. Sneeg does not know much about the guests that visit, he often hears the name ran-ranbo, ranboo or something and tub-o, He can't memorize them.

Phil once came home from the park and it was really late, Sneeg did not expect him to be outside, he thought he was sleeping! Faster then light Sneeg bolted into his tunnels, leaving a mess of things he was getting for the night. Phil noticed this and thought that one of the kids made a mess...again. He cleaned up and went to sleep.

Sneeg was having a mini panic attack realizing he had almost been caught, that could have been really REALLY bad, when he was sure the human went to bed he continued his heist, he saw random bags on the table and peeked inside, there was A LOT of food, Sneeg thought the bags meant it was going to be thrown out so he took out as much food as he could and went back inside his tunnels, getting ready to sleep on his hand-made bed made from wool and matches.

Next morning:

-ALRIGHT! WHO THE FUCK TOOK ALMOST ALL OF THE GROCERIES I LEFT!- Sneeg heard the adult human yell, he realized what he had done and his antennas flew upwards and his eyes widened in fear.

-Not me! -The blonde one said

-Me neither -That was the brown haired one

-I didn't-The pink-haired said in confusion

-Well somebody took the food in here and if nobody confesses I will check the camera footage!-The adult human states.

Sneeg felt his heart stop. They had cameras. They were going to see him. They were going to KILL HIM, torture him! Maybe even put him in a jar and keep him as a pet! They were going to do experiments on him! Sell him! something awful was going to happen...But...If he left...He would not have to deal with this...He packed everything he could and when the adult went up into the attic to check the cameras he started to get out, it was going to be hard considering all 3 kids were in front of the door.

Meanwhile Phil:

-Okay now to check which one of these little shits stole all the food.-Phil pulls up the camera footage and watched closely, nobody was coming down, except for a small blur on the screen that went on the table and grabbed stuff, he thought it was a mouse but after zooming in he saw a small...Creature? it was wearing blue clothing, which looked like he just stitched random blue pieces of fabric and had antennas. He also reverted the camera footage to see the same thing peeking out of a mouse hole and getting ready to escape.

Phil bolts out of the room goes downstairs to see his sons in confusion on why he was so quickly running down the stairs, were they in that much trouble? Phil quickly notices the blue Creature near a window and grabs it on instinct.

Sneeg's heart was racing and he was squirming in the adults hand, trying to bite him but failing, he was screaming- or to say screeching and could barely see through his tears but all of them were staring at him.

-LET ME GO! LET ME GO! PLEASE! I'M SORRY! I WILL LEAVE! LET ME GO! DON'T HURT ME! -Sneeg was blurting out each word.

-D-dad what the fuck is that?!-The brown haired person shouts in confusion

-I-I don't know!-The adult says while tightening his grip, which makes the creature screech more.

Phil notices an empty jar on the table and puts the thing in there, which calms him down enough to stop screaming but still makes him even more panicked.

-L-LET ME OUT! I DON'T WANT TO BE A PET! I DON'T WANT TO BE ENSLAVED! I WANNA LEAVE! PLEASE!-Sneeg kept crying out.

-Uhm...What do we do with it?-The blonde kid tunes in.

-Well, we are not keeping him, he is clearly terrified but he has certain injuries that caught my attention...Also yes he was the one stealing the food.

-Eh whatever, I'm going back to my room to read-The pink haired one spoke up and went to his room.

Sneeg rolled up in a ball and was crying, for a long time until the lid of the jar opened up and the adult dropped some food in it, he was right, he was going to be a pet.

After eating the blonde kid picks up the jar and heads to his room, Sneeg is panicking being picked up but gets used to it quickly.

-Soo, how long have you been here?-He asks, Sneeg does not answer, still scared.

The kid taps the glass on the jar to have him speak up.

-A-A few months! d-don't do that again please...-Sneeg speaks up.

-Well, I'm Tommy! What's your name little one?-Tommy introduces himself, but Sneeg stays quiet for a few minutes before quietly saying:

-Sneeg.

-Nice to meet you.

-P-Please let me out, I don't want to be a pet...Please...

-Pet? You are not a pet?- Phil said you had some injuries he wants to help out with.

-O-oh...Can you still let me out?..

-Nuh uh, you will run away!

-I won't! please! I don't wanna be in here anymore!

-Ugh fine! but if you run away You and I are going to be in so much trouble.- Tommy opens the lid and pulls Sneeg out with his hand.

-No. Running. Away-He says while placing Sneeg on his bed, he does not run, even if he really wants to, Tommy will outrun him.

[guppybubbles]

You wanted prompts so let me hit you with some fake fic titles! No pressure to do them all and you can take as long as you like🥰 will send em separately too!

A Glass half Full

A GLASS HALF FULL

Borrower Wilbur and Borrower Techno are realists. When reality gets too negative, Techno is always there to be Wilbur's optimist.

Word Count: 1,714 words

CONTENT WARNING!!! : mentions of blood, decapitation, and a rat. these are only mentioned once, but a warning is good.

( A/N: i wrote these in between my study sessions for the exams,,,,,,,,, also yayy my first fic in like.. seven years i think? have mercy on me idk what i'm doing. ALSO THIS IS MOSTLY JUST TECHNO AND WILBUR BONDING I JUST LOVE THEM OKAY. also also ty for the fic title beckyu!! )

Wilbur paced back and forth, arms crossed and in deep thought. "How many days do you think our food can last?" 

"About two days— three, if we can portion it out correctly." Techno replied, sitting on their makeshift couch as he opened their very own medical kit, filled with cut up bandages, drops of alcohol, a little roll of tape and other things they've borrowed over the years. 

"And… your arm?" 

Techno unwrapped the bandages and winced at the horrible sight, dried blood and bite marks after they encountered an abnormally big rat yesterday. He handled it better than he expected, but before the injured rat scurried away, it attempted to bite his head head off, which resulted with him blocking with his arm. “S’fine. Nothing too bad.”

Wilbur sighed, and Techno could imagine the exasperated eye-roll behind him. “It really isn’t that bad.”

“Yeah. Nothing too bad my arse.” His twin circled around the couch and took a cotton ball, pouring alcohol and taking hold of his arm. His eyebrows furrowed in a way that meant he was thinking of so many things, his eyes were on Techno’s arm but his mind was elsewhere. Despite being distracted, he was careful. Of course, the alcohol gently cleaning his fresh wounds still hurt and he would wince every time it stung a little too much, but Wilbur knew when to pause and give him a break before continuing. 

Wilbur took a new bandage roll and wrapped it around Techno’s arm. “What’s wrong?”

“What?” Wilbur looked at him, a confused look on his face.

“You’re thinking about something. What are you thinking about?” 

“Oh.” Wilbur avoided his gaze again, biting off the tape and securing his wounds in his newly bandaged arm. “It’s— We just need more food. I’ll go borrow some right now, and don’t come with me, I swear to Prime, you’re injured.”

──────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹──────

Techno still ended up following him.

Wilbur had thought he convinced him to stay behind and rest, he even stayed for TWENTY more minutes trying to get Techno to lay down and not get up. He listed potential things he could do while waiting for him to get back, it wasn’t a very long list, and it only lessened because Techno was injured and what they mostly did was build new furniture or upgrade their equipment. For extra measure, Wilbur took Techno’s borrowing equipment to make sure he doesn’t have anything to use to venture out, forcing his twin into house arrest. It was with good intentions, Wilbur thought, He was literally injured.

“You think I could just let you leave to go borrow so early in the morning?” Techno argued, holding Wilbur’s borrowing equipment. After that, there was nothing else Wilbur could do to convince Techno to go back, because Techno was stupidly stubborn, and held his hand to drag him to the pantry.

His stubbornness irritated Wilbur so much, because it was exactly like him. While having incredibly different interests, they still acted the same, that’s what made them get along after spending their entire life in tandem. Together, they were raised for different jobs in their old colony. Together, they’d switch their looks just so they could avoid the chore they hate. Together, they grew up and left the colony. Everything they did, they did it together. Wilbur guessed simply getting food from the pantry wouldn’t be an exception from that.

They moved in silence, but not one of them needed instructions from the other for the reason that they were also moving in sync. As they gathered food, not a single sound was made, not even when they ruffled through plastic material did it make a noise. “There’s something still bothering you.” Techno noted, almost finished with packing his own bag of food. Not including the stash they had at home, the food bags they were holding could last them for a week or so. Wilbur stayed silent, tying up his pack and slinging it over his shoulder. “I think we got enou—” “Wil.”

Techno cut him off, already knowing his evasion tactics. Wilbur found their surroundings much more interesting than his twin. “If you wanna say something, we got to talk it out. Were you so distracted with your thoughts that you didn’t notice the pantry door isn’t locked? You didn’t even tell me to hide from the doors opening view or anything.” 

“What’s wrong?” Techno asked again. There was a slight shift in his tone, unnoticeable to anyone that wasn’t his twin. He was worried, and Wilbur felt bad that he was hiding his thoughts to his only companion for years. He still wanted to think about it some more, it’s the reason why he made the excuse of leaving so he could have just a little time for himself before speaking with Techno about it.

“I think it’s time we move out.” Wilbur finally looked at the pink-haired borrower for his reaction, only for Techno to make a gesture that told him to go on and elaborate. He took a seat on the floor before he spoke again.

“... The humans are in here too much. The kid’s got this.. Summer break so I don’t think he leaves for school until.. I don’t know how long! You know this, we can’t even go out at night most of the time because his schedule is unpredictable. I mean, one moment, he’s awake the whole day and night and the other he’s just sleeping for how long. Then the dad, his shifts are different too. He goes out early and we don’t know how long we have until he gets back, and even when he leaves, the kid’s still here too! We stay inside most of the time and we barely even have a chance to go and refill when our supply runs out. Not to mention, that fucking rat! Have you seen how huge that thing was?!”

He continued, “No matter how long we wait, one of them will always be wandering around. It’s not safe.”

They stood in silence for Prime knows how long. “But… Why now? You said you loved it here.” Techno asked, leaning against a box of cereals. “Even when they had Christmas break and stayed here almost every day for those long weeks, you never even thought about leaving.”

When Wilbur stayed silent, having that same expression of deep thought, it was Techno’s turn to continue talking. “I think this house is pretty great. Many hiding spots, escape routes, and they always buy a lot of stuff so they never notice when anything goes missing. Even though they stay up late, they’re always too focused on their work so we have enough time to do what we need to before they notice. It’s way better than going to a new home and having to relearn this all over again, right?”

“No. Maybe— I thought maybe I liked it here, but it’s just not safe.”

“It’s safer here than it is out there.” Techno sat next to Wilbur, awkwardly patting his shoulder in a way to show his affection. Wilbur would’ve laughed at his awkwardness, but only shrugged his hand away. “We’re borrowers, Tech. No where is safe for us.”

There was silence again. 

…

“Okay.”

“Hm?” Wilbur hummed, looking at his twin.

“If you think it’s best if we leave. Then, I trust you. We’ll leave.” Techno stood up from where he sat, and hung the bag of food on his shoulder once more. “Besides, I’m 100% sure that there are better houses than this. Maybe we could even land on a cool big house, a mansion.”

“I doubt that we can find a mansion here, but you know what, we never know.” Wilbur shrugs, following after Techno.

“I got to say though, I’ll miss this place. We were the first ones here before they moved in and they have the audacity to kick us out? Granted, we never did pay rent but first come, first serve.” Wilbur laughed at Techno, covering his mouth to muffle his laugh. His giggles were silent and quiet. Together, they began walking to their passageway back home.

“I’ll probably miss the humans too. They are kind of funny sometimes.” Wilbur only hummed. He’ll miss them too. But, they were the reason he thought of leaving in the first place. 

It was just one night. The kid was half-asleep, and Wilbur was in a tipsy state. He accidentally replied to the kid when they were just talking to themself, then it devolved into an hours long conversation until they both drifted asleep. With him hidden safely in the walls, and the kid sleeping on his bed— seemingly just speaking to his wall for an insane amount of time. Wilbur hated it.

He hated that he genuinely enjoyed his time speaking with him. He hated it that he was the one who broke the basic rules of borrowing. He hated being curious about that one drink the dad prevented the younger blond from drinking.

After that incident, Wilbur noticed the kid would occasionally look at the walls longer than normal and his heart would spike whenever he would be close to seeing him. Guilt only ate at him as the habit remained, sending shivers of anxiety through him whenever they would go borrow— he would turn around and expect to find those same blue eyes looking straight at him. Looking straight at Techno.

He can’t afford his own twin flame pay for the mistakes that he made. It’s why they have to leave.

“Let’s go. My arm is starting to ache again.”

“Yeah. That’s what you get for not listening to me.”

Behind him, Techno choked and coughed.

“Tech? What’s wrong, are you si—” Wilbur was interrupted when Techno stood in front of him, dropping his bag of food and instead holding a pin with his good arm. He stared at the pink-haired borrower, noticing the coughing continued, but not from him.

His gaze travelled to the entrance of the pantry. Coughing up a storm, the blond pounded on his chest, attempting to calm himself down. Wilbur noticed the glass of water that he was presumably drinking out of. A human caught them, not just a human, it was the kid.

… Fucking hell. 

[kisuminight]

There are so many things that are just hanging around and percolating in my head about this one AU and I'm just going crazy about it? Also it's making me wish that I could draw, but alas.

So, DSMP Blade System AU, what do the Blades look like?

Well, for one, Blades are basically computer processors that are running an aether-based hardlight hologram for their body and they don't have a biological reproduction. So physically apparent sexual dimorphism is something that they can look like having, but they don't really have biologically sexual traits (not that this would stop a Blade from having fun if they want to). Also, a Blade's gender and pronouns are whatever they want them to be. Anyone's gender and pronouns should be whatever they want them to be, even in real life, but it's very unwise to try and mis-gender someone who can pull a weapon out of thin air if you piss them off.

This is a very long way of saying that I am trying to keep everyone's pronouns as they were in canon, no matter the choices I am making on their "default" appearance.

A Blade tends to have a "default" appearance that they take whenever they are first Awakened. This includes things like clothes, hair styles, and even hybrid traits. Some things, such as accessories that they gained in life, will drop like an item when a Blade reverts to core crystal. Regular clothes usually de-materialize with the Blade.

A list of Blades and their default appearances under the cut.

~

I have mentioned that c!Dream's default outfit in this is probably something like Yulia Jue's concept art from Tales of the Abyss. Dream tends to dislike the outfit and change out of it as soon as he can after experiments with c!Punz. His main issue with it is that it shows off his shoulders (aether lines visible) and has a window in the front that shows his core crystal (when shattering it is the one thing every Blade fears), and Dream has spent a while in this AU trying to hide that he is a Blade. He really would prefer if his default outfit was a hoodie, but Aegis Blades are always Peak Dramatic with their looks and this was one of the few things he retained.

Dream is discomforted by it, but not dysphoric? Like his main irritation is that sometimes he forgets to take off his hoodie before he and c!Punz run their experiments post-Staged Finale and then his hoodie gets...eaten, for lack of a better word. And it's just like ffs, not again. And then he steals Punz's hoodie until they can get him a new one.

The rest of his appearance includes slightly tapered ear points--not largely pointed, but just a bit of a tip, and long-ish hair (about the length in the concept art I included, but curly). Since his core crystal is green, it gives him a very woodland/forest elf-healer vibe if you manage to spot him in one of the few times he is relaxed and not hiding behind his mask. Post Staged Finale, post-Red Banquet when ew!Ranboo drops Dream off with the Syndicate, he uses this first impression as a way to throw off any of the members of the Syndicate who seem like they might figure out that he has a technique to keep his memories (and still remembers pre-Staged Finale stuff).

I'd say that his core crystal is closer to a bluer green than the yellow-toned lime-green that he favors for his hoodie, but the saturation of the aether makes his aether lines that lime color, except brighter and a bit more diffuse? I'm not really sure how to describe it. I've mentioned before, but it is a diamond/rhombus shape and located at the base of Dream's throat.

~

c!Techno does not get his anime pretty-boy look. Nope, this Techno is closer to a big bipedal pig. Obviously not completely--he does have hands. But his feet end in hooves, and he has a tail! He also has a long mane that he likes to braid. Since c!Techno is a Heartstealer, he cannot return to his core crystal. It's been so long that he doesn't really remember his default outfit, only that it had a lot of straps and buckles. The fabric is long since gone, but most of the straps were durable enough that they survived and were re-purposed for other things, such as billets for his horse saddles.

Techno's core crystal was originally a dove gray/silver, and his aether lines shone brightly against his pink fur. Becoming a Heartstealer tinged the aether with blood, so now his core crystal and aether lines are a dusty pink, like rose quartz. They can be hard to see against his fur. His core crystal is actually located on his back, between his shoulder blades. It has a diamond/rhombus shape.

Techno has lots of gold jewelry. He has his emerald earring (for emerald duo) and his crown, but he also has some tusk rings, a golden cuff that goes on his tail, and plenty of other things. While he has hands instead of hooves, he does have a black claws made out of the same material. The keratin extends back all the way along the finger, and it is jointed. The underside of his fingers are normal (finger pads are important for gripping things!).

~

c!Philza is an Aegis. Techno has only seen his default outfit once, when things got really bad. In the aftermath, the Goddess of Death showed up to reAwaken her Aegis Blade (Phil only requested to have his memories stopped the one time, now he is back to remembering after every death). Phil actually usually wears (most of) his default outfit. He is specifically wearing the bottom most and top most layers of it. Newly Awakened, he has about an extra 3 layers between them, and they're all flow-y and flutter-y with the sleeves artfully tied up so they won't get in the way of his bow skills.

The hat is the exception to this. Phil received his hat from Techno shortly after they became friends. Techno picked it up off the killing fields alongside Phil's core crystal, and gave it back after he was Awakened.

Phil's wings healed very quickly, the same way any other Blade's wounds would heal. He just can't use them at the moment because DreamXD's lockdown of the End and other things includes the ability to fly. As an Aegis Blade, Phil could get around this if he really wanted to, but he doesn't flaunt his powers much.

His core crystal is his crimson hardcore heart. It is located at the base of his throat.

~

c!Punz is also mostly using his default outfit. He basically just put their white hoodie on over it. I picture it as something like the outfit Canaan wears in the Canaan anime, except the top is black instead of red, and he has a grey scarf. Punz's medallion is also part of their default appearance.

He doesn't have any outstanding hybrid characteristics. Punz looks like a regular human Player, all the better to blend into the background.

His core crystal is indigo, and his aether lines are slightly lighter in color. Punz is almost constantly using their passive ability to disguise/make people Not Notice their aether lines, but he keeps their hoodie on anyway. Their core crystal is triangle-shaped, and located at the base of his throat.

~

c!Callahan has a default appearance that includes his antlers and deer-like ears. His original default outfit was a simple tunic and pants, that he changed for the Captain America outfit and the onesie.

His core crystal is a golden color. It is rounds and located over his heart, on the front of his chest.

~

c!Skeppy's default appearance is to look like a diamond statue. He is functionally indistinguishable from carved diamond until he starts moving. The way seeming-diamond moves like skin and muscle even if it looks and feels like sold rock can be a bit disturbing to those who are unused to golems. His eyes look like polished deepslate, and so does the inside of his mouth. His tongue is a ruby.

Skeppy's core crystal was originally round and colored pale blue like a diamond. It was located at the base of his throat. When he and Bad preformed their ritual, he took Bad's heart and Bad received a chunk of his core crystal. Now, his core crystal looks like a deep teal crescent. The aether lines are even darker, colored with a tinge of the blackness that comes from having Bad's heart.

~

c!Slimesicle - I'll be honest, I don't know that much about him or his content creator. I'd probably say that he is currently using his default appearance, which does include the shirt with the three heart markings on it.

He has the physical appearance of a slime hybrid, but he isn't actually slimy or generate any type of slime/mucus (because Blades are mimicking appearances, and do not carry over innate traits).

His core crystal is hunter green. It is a square shape and located on the side of his head. Because the core crystal is in an unusual place, Slime is one of the few Blades that has aether lines on his face as well.

~

Here is the concept art of Yulia Jue I was mentioning:

[x-i-l-verify]

「 Dream SMP Daemon AU 」

    ༄ PHILZA + AELLAI (WANDERING ALBATROSS) ༄

Wandering albatrosses are a patient, confident, cooperative species of seabird found primarily in the southern hemisphere. Their wingspans are the largest of any bird, and the design of their wings, use of weather patterns, and style of flying means they can travel 1,000 km/d (620 mi/d) without flapping their wings once. This efficient long-distance traveling underlies the albatross's success as a long-distance, nomadic forager, covering great distances and expending little energy looking for patchily distributed food sources. 

They are opportunistic and adaptable feeders, consuming primarily fish, but they are willing to scavenge on carcasses and feed on the scraps from commercial fishing operations and other predators. Like other seabirds, albatrosses drink seawater, harmlessly filtering out the saline that would otherwise kill them. The only time they ever return to land is during the breeding season; the rest of the time is usually spent alone out on the open sea, though they are capable of coexisting peacefully with small groups of other albatrosses when foraging and feeding. As the breeding season arrives, huge colonies of birds flock to their breeding grounds together, even though pairs are quite protective of their own nests and space. 

Wandering albatrosses are dutiful and loyal birds, in it for the long haul once they have made a commitment, as once a wandering albatross has found a suitable mate, it continues to breed with that one bird for the rest of its life. They are expressive and open creatures, undertaking elaborate and painstaking mating displays to ensure that the appropriate partner has been chosen and to perfect partner recognition, as egg laying and chick rearing is a huge time and resource investment. 

Once their chicks are born, they prove to be doting parents, with both adults equally taking great care in rearing their offspring. It sometimes takes up to a year for the chick to learn how to fly and become independent of its parents. However, because Albatrosses live much longer than other birds, they delay breeding for longer and invest more effort into fewer young. 

Philza is efficient, laidback, and indulgent. Lai is tenacious, focused, and decisive.

~

NAME MEANING Aellai is a variant form of Greek Aellô, meaning "whirlwinds."

~

SOURCES https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=25946

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wandering_albatross

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatross

https://www.britannica.com/animal/albatross

https://animals.net/wandering-albatross/

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Diomedea_exulans/

[i-am-beckyu]

One Small Gift

HELLO! I TOLD YOU I'D POST ONE MORE FIC THIS YEAR! And I am very proud of myself for making it a Christmas centered fic! I can't believe it's actually been a year since I last posted a Christmas fic. Like where did the time go and how did this thing spawn?

I'm gonna ramble a bit more at the bottom of this fic about me and the community but lets not hold you up any longer so I give you: The Christmas Fic- One Small Gift :3 (This fic now has a Part 2!!! Link Here )

cw: fear, death mention (but no actual death), lying, panic and anxiety, fluff- Like, ALOT of Fluff, hidden identity and of course happy endings. You know, the usual angst/fluffy Beckyu fic :3 word count: 8351

Disclaimer! This story is based on the characters of the Dream SMP and not the real life content creators. Anything that occurs in this story is purely fiction and should be treated as such. Thank you.

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Cold

Why did the walls always have to be so damn cold? 

Tommy’s mind couldn’t help but linger on the thought, as the Borrower shivered making his way through the maze that was the inside the house walls.

Human Beans invented heaters AGES ago for the insides of their houses to keep warm, so how was it that the inside of the walls were still always so flippen freezing? 

Would it kill them to think of the little guy freezing their butt off just once?

Well no, maybe not. But it certainly would Tommy. 

As much as the young blonde would love to cuss at the home owner for not giving him a proper source of heat, the Borrowers code quite literally FORBID them from ever telling a Human of their existence. Not to forget the fact that it would mean doom for a borrower if they ever did. All the horror stories of Borrowers being squished or experimented on from the elders to go off being proof enough.

Death by Human Beans?

HA! Absolutely NOT!

That’s exactly the reason why he is trying to get supplies for the Winter to warm himself up, before it gets even colder! 

Tommy grumbled to himself as he ducked and weaved past forgotten cobwebs about how it was such a pain to be in this position in the first place. He’d had a perfectly fine home in a tree nook in the forest that had always remained nice and cosy warm during the colder months. 

Even if that meant he’d been living on his own, Tommy had been happy living as an Outie borrower for as long as he could remember. Well at least he had, before some tall, pretentious brunette freak decided his home would be the perfect tree to cut down and drag all the way back to his stupid freezing cold house. 

But it gets better, because even though the main part of his home was actually still intact under the now stump, the Bean still took the top half of the tree- 

With Tommy still inside it! 

They flippen took HIS house and wrapped it in a net; effectively trapping the poor borrower and then strapped it to the top of their car and drove hours and hours to a Human Town with him hanging on for dear life.

And that’s not even the worst part because not only did the flippen Bean steal part of his house, but then they had the audacity to cover the tree's dying corpse in fancy decorations and shining lights. 

Like seriously WTF?!

A Bean kidnaps him from the only place he’s ever really known and covers his once thriving residence all merrily in ornaments, while he’s forced to flee his only real known place of safety with nothing but the clothes on his back, and the few supplies he did have stored in the upper levels of his now dying home. He hadn’t wanted to leave, but it was the only choice he really had. 

Stay in the tree and get caught, or try and survive in the Beans' walls until Winter passes.

He chose the latter of course- (It’s not like staying would have helped him anyways) 

Getting down from the top of the tree had been, well- less than a fun time for the Borrower. The big purple bruises across his back were a throbbing reminder from his impact on the floor at times, but he managed. 

Instead, Tommy had started to navigate his temporary ‘soon to be home’ in the walls getting an idea of the layout and where the best places were to borrow from. He just had to make it through the Winter and then he could go home. Trying to get back to his nook now would be impossible with all the snow cover on the ground, but he’d get back to the forest even if it killed him.

Which might be the case soon if he doesn’t get some new clothes and heat source quick.

That was the main issue with being kidnapped after all. You only have what’s on your back and well, Tommy hadn’t exactly been expecting to get yoinked away in his scrappy T-Shirt and shorts. He had proudly made them himself with the few scraps of fabric he’d managed to find from some Beans that had been passing through years ago on a camping trip, but the fabric was light, and not made to be worn in such cold conditions. 

He’d only meant to go up and check what the heck the loud thumping outside his tree was like any normal person. He was expecting a deer or maybe a bear using it as a scratching post, not a Bean cutting their house down and taking him along with it. You don’t exactly have time to think about putting on proper clothing when your everything is at stake.

So that was step one: Find some material and make some clothes- a jacket the top priority.

Tommy is very thankful that he had his borrowing bag on him, that he still has his self made needle and some old thread so he at least didn’t have to start from nothing. Finding the material hadn’t been too difficult to locate either. When he first scouted the place, he discovered pretty quickly that the Bean had a habit of leaving stuff all over the place, so borrowing supplies hadn’t been difficult to do without being noticed. It’s how he found the most perfect fluffy woollen red sock to make a coat and blanket from. He would already have it now though if the Bean hadn’t come back before he could swipe it.

The Borrower had tried to come back for it later, but the Bean had decided it was time to clean their room up because he had some guests coming for this thing called ‘Chris-mass’- whatever that was- and the sock was gone.

So instead he grabbed what he could and made his way back to the walls with just enough fabric to make a new pair of pants and some crackers for dinner.

But it still didn’t fix the whole freezing situation.

What Tommy really needed was a candle. 

To a Human Bean it may seem to be an insignificant source of light, but to a Borrower it could literally be the difference between a warm nights sleep and becoming a Borrower popsicle! But that was easier said then done because all the usual spots Beans would normally keep candles, were replaced with flippen electric ones!!!! 

What’s wrong with fire on candles!? Why would you want a fake candle that just flickers and produces less light than a real one?

That or something for a bed. At least that way he’d have a comfortable place to sleep and trap his own body heat.

He really wishes he could have taken those socks…

As if this Bean wasn’t bad enough, not only did they lack the materials Tommy so desperately needed, but they wouldn’t shut up talking into the black box (a fone he thinks it’s called from memory) to other Beans with how excited they were about them coming to stay for the Hole-lid-days and spend time huddled together by the fire or something dumb. 

“Come on Dad! Let me host. If you let me host, I’ve got the coolest surprise planned for you and Techno I swear!! Plus don’t you want to come and see me?” 

Lucky prick. Got a Dad and a brother…

Now don’t get him wrong, Tommy is a big man, if not the biggest man to ever exist and he doesn’t need anyone. But he also couldn’t help but long for someone to share the cold season with like the Beans did. It had been so long since he’d seen another Borrower like himself and though he’d never admit it, living alone did get a little bit lonely sometimes. It would be nice if just once he could share a night cuddled up close to a loved one, and just bask in each other’s company. 

But Tommy didn’t have time to be sentimental about things he’d likely never have.

He needed to find a way to stay warm and get warm now.

But the universe decidedly hated Tommy because, tonight was apparently December 24th-

Chrisymiss Eve.

Tommy had been here about a week or so and in his short stay still wasn’t 100% sure what this whole Khrislermas was, but it appeared to be a BIG deal to the Beans. 

Apparently, all the Beans get together whether it’s family or friends to spend time together and exchange gifts. It’s about being thankful for what you have or whatever and something about showing how much you love someone by giving and receiving presents. 

Tommy thought it was actually quite a nice thing the Beans did and wished that Borrowers had something similar themselves in their culture. However, there was one thing he still didn’t quite understand about this whole holiday thing.

Who the heck is Santa Claus?

He’d been taking some more crackers the Bean had left out from the kitchen while this ‘tv show’ played on the Bean's big Black box that was talking about this Santa guy. Apparently, he was some elusive, big fat man, dressed all in red with a big white bushy beard, who climbed down the Beans chimneys, and left gifts for all the little boys and girls of the world. He had this list too that knew if you’d been naughty or nice and would leave the good children gifts and the bad children coal in their stockings. 

Children could write letters to Santa or he’d visit and children could sit on his knee and ask him for a gift they would like and he would deliver the toys to children all over the world on Christmas eve when everyone was sleeping, only to have disappeared by daybreak.

Tommy hadn’t thought much of this Santa at first- not when it was just another Bean to avoid. That was until he learned two very important details.

1- Santa delivered presents to ALL children of the world. 

And 2- Santa wasn’t meant to be seen by Humans either.

So not only did this Santa guy literally just give out free gifts, but Tommy literally had a way to get exactly what he needed for the winter!

All he needed to do was talk to Santa and he’d be saved! 

Now you might be thinking: But Tommy, you said it yourself. Santa isn’t meant to be seen by anyone so what makes you the exception? 

Simple.

Borrowers aren’t meant to be seen by Beans and neither is Santa.

Which means just like Borrowers, Santa must not want to be caught (which if he thinks too hard about it makes sense since he literally breaks into houses but anyways) and unlike with Beans, there is no rule that says Borrowers can’t see Santa!

All he has to do is wait for Santa to visit Crystamas eve, and then he can ask for his gift! Santa probably even knows what he wants, being made of magic and all! He just never knew Santa existed so he’s never asked for his gift before! 

If he were a more greedy Borrower, he could ask for so much more to make up for all the years he never got a gift, but that would probably put him on Santa’s naughty list. And while coal would be good, Tommy doesn’t exactly want to burn the house down with him inside it. So this was his best shot to get exactly what he needed. 

The hard bit though, was waiting for Santa to arrive. That meant not only having to be out in the living room where the fireplace was, but also meant he had to wait for the Bean to fall asleep. Which really meant that it would be AGES before Santa would come because the Bean of the house was terrible at sleeping at night. 

The man literally had no sleep schedule and would stay up till terrible times in the morning before drifting off. Normally that wasn’t much of an issue for the Borrower having observed this early on, but right now it was very much a hindrance because it could be hours before they went to bed. 

It also seemed that they wouldn’t be sleeping anytime soon, because the amount of energy and excitement the Bean had displayed the whole day about his family coming home was overwhelming. He’d come home at one stage with this big bag of stuff talking on the black box about how his super cool surprise was coming along and how it would be awesome since they let him host Chrimpmas- whatever that meant. 

Tommy had hoped with the excitement of the holiday they’d have been ready to pass out by now, but he couldn’t be more wrong with the amount of commotion he could hear from down the hall- and that’s through the walls. 

At least he could observe everything going on from his place on the bookshelf. It was right next to a small crack in the wall he could just squeeze through, but it gave him a good view of the living room but also enough cover from prying eyes unless he made his presence known. However, being out of the walls had one difference the blonde hadn’t accounted for.

Heat.

The fire had been lit and was keeping the whole room nice and toasty warm compared to the harsh bite the walls somehow managed to keep. The whole atmosphere made him almost want to curl up and fall asleep. It had been so long since he’d been able to just enjoy the warmth in the air and not be shivering to keep alive.

Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt if he had a nap before Santa arrived.

Just a quick one….

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Tommy was awoken to a rather loud THUNK as the Borrower shot up from where he had fallen asleep atop the shelf. 

It took the blonde a moment to realise where he was and not panic about being out in the open before his eyes settled upon a figure. 

Sprawled out across the floor in a heap of red and white was the jolly big man himself.

Santa Claus.

The one and only.

“Santa!” Tommy yelled excitedly as he hurriedly manoeuvred to stand. “Santa you came!”

Santa’s head snapped up from the floor alarmed, as they pushed themselves to stand and take a defensive stance.

“Who said that?!” they shouted, looking around wildly panicked. “Show yourself!”

Tommy giggled to himself. Santa was so silly. 

“Up here Santa! I’ve been waiting for you.” The blonde waved as the man's head turned and their eyes fell onto his small form. 

Tommy grinned at the magical man taking him all in. 

Just like the figure on the big black box, Santa wore a big red coat with white fluff lining the ends of his sleeves. A big black belt was strapped around their waist, fastened with a fancy golden buckle and sturdy black boots on their feet to keep out the snow. Their head was adorned with an oversized big red hat, with a giant white fluffy pom pom on the end, and they had a long white beard that travelled down their chest. And last but not least was a pair of gold rimmed glasses perched on the tip of their rosy red nose which accentuated their big brown eyes that were staring at him in wonder. 

Huh. 

He could have sworn that Santa's eyes were blue.

“I can’t believe you came! I wasn’t sure if you would since I never sent a letter but you must have known anyway cause here you are!” The little borrower stated excitedly as Santa removed his glasses, and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. 

“I’m so glad you’re here! I really need my Crimpmess present.” 

“I’m sorry you’re what?” the man’s eyes furrowed in confusion as they processed what the younger had said.

“My present!.” Tommy rolled his eyes. “You know, the whole reason why you’re here.”

Santa didn’t exactly seem like he knew what was going on. Right now all he was doing was staring and Tommy was getting a bit annoyed. 

Was that not why Santa was here? To deliver his present like the show had said?

Tommy huffed annoyed he had to explain all this. Wasn’t this like his job? He should know!

“I’m sorry,” Santa began slowly as if trying to process. “I didn’t actually know you were here.”

“Why else would you have come then?” Tommy crossed his arms unimpressed. “I’m the only kid here, but don’t tell anyone else I said that. I’m a big man! The biggest ever!”

This finally seemed to warrant a different reaction from the older, as they looked the boy up and down unimpressed by this so-called ‘fact’.

“A big man huh? You look more like a child. What are you- 12?”

Tommy feigned a gasp, grasping his chest offendedly. “I’ll have you know I’m 14 and the biggest man alive! I’m only a child for the purpose of getting my gift tonight and tonight only!”

Santa couldn’t stifle a laugh as he watched as the small child stomped his foot in a mini tantrum at being called 12. It was endearing in a way but he still wasn’t sure how to proceed with a tiny child standing on their bookshelf.

“Well whatever you say I guess, but I still I didn’t know you were here.”

The blonde shrugged before moving closer to the shelfs edge. “Ah well it doesn’t matter. You’re here now so I’d like my gift please! You have it right?” 

“If I didn’t know you were here, then how would I have your present with me?” Santa asked.

Well he did make a good point. It’s not like he sent Santa a letter and he hadn't met him to tell him like other human bean children had until now. 

“Oh right. Guess I better come sit on your knee and tell you what I’d like than.” Tommy stated matter of factly, as the small Borrower moved to the edge of the shelf and stabbed his hook into the wood, quickly jumping off to descend on his rope to the ground.

“Wait, DON’T DO THAT!” 

The blonde yelped in surprise, moving instinctually to protect his ears at the sheer volume the man shouted, in turn losing his grip on his rope, quickly plummeting down to the ground below. Santa lunged forward with an outstretched hand as the boy slipped down the rope at a rapid speed, catching him before any real harm could be done. He semi slammed into the wall, clutching his hand to his chest as they did so before quickly unfurling their hand.

“Oh my prime! Kid- kid are you alright?” Santa said frantically checking over the boy he now held in his palm. 

Tommy shook his head, dizzy from the sudden force that had rammed into him only moments ago. He tried to steady himself grabbing, onto the nearest thing his hand could find as he begun to regain his bearings.

Oh he was going to ache tomorrow…

“As soon as the world stops spinning, yeah.”

Santa sighed in relief as Tommy allowed himself to regain focus. It was then that he really took note of where he was. 

Normally, if a Borrower was sitting in the hand of someone almost 100x his size, he would be kicking and screeching to get away. But this was Santa Claus’s hand and Tommy felt only wonder. 

It was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. The thing he had grabbed onto was apparently Santa’s thumb and it was almost as big as his head! Even if it was a bit weird sitting on the leathery texture of their skin, the warmth radiating beneath him was heavenly, and the way the man’s fingers curled slightly over him protectively felt nothing but comforting. 

Santa hadn’t moved since he caught Tommy mid air, and was staring at Tommy as if they would disappear. They seemed stuck on what to do next, but also amazed he was sitting there at all.

“You alright there big man?” Tommy raised a brow confused at why the man would act this way. Santa was literally made of magic and had flying reindeer for goodness sake! A borrower existing surely was no cause for such amazement? There were surely way more interesting magical things to see than a lowly Borrower like him. 

(But then again, he was a pretty poggers Borrower if he did so say that himself, so staring could be justified for that reason)

This finally snapped the old man out of their wondrous stupor, as they squinted their eyes open and shut with a quick shake of their head. 

“Uh yep. All good um. Let's- go sit down. Yeah- yeah, let's do that.” Santa said, confirming more to themself than Tommy.

Santa brought the boy protectively to their chest to brace them before they moved away from the book shelf, smoothly walking over to the couch where the old man sat down ever so slowly to not jostle their small passenger. The second they were bending down to sit though, Tommy was launching himself off Santa’s palm for his knee as the bearded man frantically tried to stop them in their escapade.

“Kid, would you stop doing that? You’re going to hurt yourself!”

“Pfft please. This is nothing compared to how I got down from that tree over there.” The boy grinned as they pointed to the far corner of the living room.

The man's head followed to where the boy was pointing, the Christmas tree displayed proudly in a large pot tied with a red bow, small lights flickering on and off in changing patterns.

“Tree? You mean the Christmas tree?”

“Yep!” Tommy stood proudly popping the p. “I had to get down somehow and my hook would have gotten stuck in amongst the branches if I had tried to abseil down. So I did what any logical Borrower would do and jumped.”

“You jumped?!” Santa’s eyes widened, as he looked back and forth between the boy and the top of the brightly decorated tree. He grimaced, imagining the boy throwing themselves from the upper branches like they had done only moments before onto his knee. 

What was with this kid and being so reckless?!

“You jumped from the top of the Christmas tree!? Why were you even there in the first place?”

Tommy rolled his eyes, crossing their arms in front of their chest. 

“It’s all that stupid Beans fault.”He huffed annoyed. “He just came waltzing into MY forest, decided to be very rude and put their grubby hands all over MY house wrapping it up in some ugly net, only to cut it down with me still in it!”

Tommy didn’t notice the way Santa’s brows furrowed and their expression changed to one of horror as he continued to ramble on.

“They literally kidnapped me, Santa! They’re so lucky that the main part of my house is under the tree’s trunk and not the higher branches because I swear I would have murdered that Bean in their sleep by now if they had!”

Tommy was very pleased to have finally gotten to vent some of his frustrations to someone other than his internal self, but now he was finished he had a good chance to register the other’s reaction.

Santa looked horrified.

His eyes seemed glossed over as if he was holding back tears, and one hand slapped over their mouth, the other gripping their wrist tightly in an attempt to ground themselves. 

Uh shit. He hadn’t meant for that to happen…

“Uh but don’t worry Santa!” Tommy was quick to add. “ I wouldn’t actually do that. That would be a bad thing to do and put me on the Naughty list! I promise I won’t actually murder anyone!” 

Phew, that was a close one. He couldn’t jeopardise his only hope with a silly joke!

Santas’ face had yet to change and Tommy subconsciously started to fidget feeling nervous to how the older was reacting. Maybe he had blown it and now he was on the naughty list. Another glance at the old man's face seemed to confirm those fears.

He’d blown it.

His one shot at survival and he practically threw it all away with a vent. No wonder he ended up all alone.

“Please don’t put me on the Naughty list Santa. I need my gift.” Tommy spoke timidly. “I didn’t mean it.”

“I- no. No you’re not on the Naughty list.” Santa dragged his hands over his eyes a few times strained. “I'm just trying to process. It’s more of the whole kidnapping thing. ” 

If Tommy had been paying better attention, he may have noticed the few stray brown curls poking out from under the man's hat, but he was more thrown by their following question as the magical man continued on.

“If you were in the tree, why didn’t you say anything?”

Tommy drew a deep breath, before sighing as the boy shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Because Santa, Beans aren’t supposed to know that Borrowers like me even exist.”

“Beans?”

“Human Beans Santa. You know, big people like you, but not magical and stuff.” The Borrower explained. “There’s no way I could tell the dumb Bean he was cutting my house down! Do you know what Beans do to Borrowers like me?” 

“Um no?” Santa fiddled with his hands as he looked away, eyes downcast to avoid the youngers gaze as they continued.

“They get rid of us. To them we’re just pests or things to be used.”

Tommy hugged himself tightly, anxiety pooling in his chest for the first time that night. He wished it wasn’t true, but Beans just held far too much power for their own good. Their greed often outweighing their need to do good without reward. 

“I’d rather risk jumping out of a tree than ever fall into the clutches of a Bean.” 

“But how do you know that?” Santa suddenly said, muscles tensing as they clenched their hand into fists. 

Tommy flinched at the sight of hands so close. Closed so tightly that he couldn’t help let slip the thought of himself in the mercy of their grasp, begging to be freed like all the stories had said of the Borrowers trapped in agonising pain. The man noticed his discomfort, and immediately loosened their fists, moving their hands away and under their thighs so as to not startle the boy any further than they already had.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Santa said with a sense of guilt.  “But I just- How do you know that though? Who says that they would have hurt you if you had just made your presence known? You wouldn’t have had to jump or gotten hurt.”

Santa turned away sheepishly, whispering sadly. “They could have helped you.” 

Tommy swallowed hard, his shoulders sagging as he observed the sad look Santa had as they stared at the Christmas tree. It was obvious they were blaming themself for what had happened. He was far too kind for that.

“Santa, it’s not your fault.” the boy sighed, “Every borrower is taught this from birth. It’s a known fact that Beans are all cruel, power hungry beings. They always want more and just take, take, take.”  

“But what if this ‘Bean’ didn’t know.” Santa shot back, causing the Borrower to falter. “What if you had said something? They would have stopped and left you and your house alone? How do you know they wouldn’t have helped you?”

“Because Santa,” Tommy turned and faced the man head on. “That’s just how Beans are. To them, we're just another thing to take and control.” 

Tommy wanted to believe Santa, he really did, but it was hard to just ignore years of being brought up to beware Human Beans and their cruelty. He’d seen it even from when Beans had once come into the forest with their fire sticks, and took down a friendly deer. It was unnecessarily cruel and was all the convincing Tommy needed to deem all Humans bad.

Santa nodded sadly in some kind of understanding, but Tommy couldn’t understand why Santa looked so hurt. It wasn’t his fault the Bean took him and his home, but he seemed so convinced that hiding and not asking for help had been the wrong thing to do. 

He thought they were the same, that if Beans caught him on Christmas Eve, then something bad would happen to him like it would for Borrowers. That’s why they had to stay a secret. Why no one could know they were here. 

But Santa wasn’t a Borrower who lived in hiding unknown. The Beans knew about the jolly, present giving man that only appeared in December. 

He could live among the Beans and it would be fine if he asked for help. Everyone liked Santa. He didn’t take things just to survive. He gave toys and gifts so he would have no worries about the repercussions of taking a paperclip just to get around. He wouldn’t have to worry about Beans hurting him if something went wrong. He would just use his magic and be fine.

It was Santa’s choice to stay hidden as an extra precaution to protect that same magic. 

“But you’re different from the Beans Santa.” The boy perked up instantly remembering why he was doing this in the first place. “You only come out of hiding at Christmas and everyone knows who you are! You only hide to keep your magic safe from Beans so they can’t have that too!” 

The man gave a small smile as the boy continued to ramble, pacing back and forth on his thigh as he did so.

“But I don’t understand why you give children presents when they already have so much!” Tommy stopped, his lips pursed together as his voice dropped to a whisper.

“Unlike me.” He confessed quietly, lifting his head to meet Santa’s sympathetic gaze. 

Santa was staring at the young boy again, leaned forward in concern listening as the blonde  continued to share his story.

“It's why I need my gift Santa.” Tommy wringed his hands together with a nervous glance to see Santa’s reaction who nodded in approval, gesturing for him to continue. 

Tommy steadied himself.

Now or never.

“I was brought here with basically nothing. Forced to move into the Beans walls or risk being seen. I’ve barely been able to get anything for basic survival and the walls are freezing!” 

Tommy shivered remembering the way the air had nipped at his nose as he struggled to keep warm. Clutching himself tightly in a poor attempt to retain any kind of body heat. The one time he went up stairs without his coat and of course he gets kidnapped.

He needed this. 

More than anything.

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Wilbur had just wanted to have the perfect Christmas.

It was his first time hosting and had decided he HAD to go all out.

More decorations than his little house needed both inside and out, homemade hot chocolate from scratch and had promised his Father and brother a very special Christmas surprise if they let him host.

Their first ever living Christmas tree and a surprise visit from the Big man himself- Santa Claus.

He’d done a bunch or research into the best spots to go where he could get a tree and quickly had been recommended from several sites about the fir trees in Logstedshire, and quickly made the trip out to find a tree.

What the websites failed to mention, was that said fir trees might be inhabited and the home of tiny people that are terrified of Human Beings. 

So if you asked: No, Wilbur was not having a good night realising he had kidnapped a child that was deathly afraid of him and only okay right now because he thought he was the real Santa Claus. 

In a way, it was a good thing the kid hadn’t realised yet, because if Wilbur had never dressed up in this silly costume, he probably would have never known about the child freezing to death in his walls.

The child was so cold despite their lively spirit when he’d caught them after they launched themself off the top of the shelf. The fact it wasn’t the first time they’d thrown themself from such a height made Wilbur sick knowing had they not been lucky, could very well not have made the long fall. But the fact the kid had been struggling, terrified and afraid in his walls when he could have helped had the guilt eating him away as the boy rambled on.

They were so sure of themselves with the cruelty of humanity too that they had him so on edge. If the blonde knew he was really the guy that had cut his tree down, he very much doubted they would be this enthusiastic. He was talking about how much he needed his gift- the gift he still had no clue what it was, but just hearing the little blondes tale, and seeing how thin his clothes were had Wilbur making a very long list of things he needed to get to help the kid out. 

A kid which he still doesn’t know the name of.

The boy's eyes had brightened, as he bounded up and down on the balls of his feet eagerly, talking about what this gift would mean for him. He was actually quite endearing despite their seemingly dire situation.

“If I tell you my gift, then you can give it to me now and I’ll actually have a chance to survive the Winter!” He explained excitedly, grining.

Wilbur pushed down his anxiousness for the boys well-being. They had already suffered enough from his mistakes. He didn’t want them to suffer any longer than they had by them accidentally discovering the truth.

“What’s your name kid?” Wilbur mentally slapped himself  that he hadn’t asked sooner.

The tiny boy chuckled to himself as they crossed their arms. “Oh come on Santa, you know my name don’t you? You have a list with every child's name on it.”

Ah- right. Santa did have that Naughty and Nice list didn’t he? Curse Santa for having to live up to magical standards.

“Uh- I came here in such a rush, I um- ah must have left my list back at the North Pole.”

“So?” The boy argued, raising a brow. “You’re magic. Don’t you just know?”

Did he say endearing earlier? How about difficult for making him use his brain at 9pm at night. (Shut up. Don’t judge him for it)

“Well you know there’s like 2 Billion kids in this world and I see them all in one night. You don’t expect me to remember every name without my list do you?”

The kid hadn’t seemed to account for this, and thought it over before shrugging in agreement. 

Oh thank goodness for kids being young and naive. 

“I guess that’s fair. But you’ve got a s*** memory in that case Big Man. Getting old.” 

Actually, make that an annoying gremlin.

“I think if someone wants their present, they should be more careful about insulting their elders.” Wilbur teased with a chuckle. The boy rolled his eyes with a groan. 

Okay, an endearing gremlin then.

“Fiiiiiiiiine.” they drawled letting their arms drop to their sides before extending their hand up in greeting. “The name’s Tommy.”

Wilbur carefully lifted his arm up and slowly extended his pinky finger out for the boy to take in an oversized handshake. 

“Nice to meet you Tommy.” His finger dwarfed the boy entirely, his pinky finger only slightly shorter than the boy's total height, but nevertheless, Tommy took the tip and shook it lightly.

“Now, why don’t you sit down and tell me what it is you’d like for Christmas?”

Wilbur couldn’t help but smile at the little boy excitedly sharing in exact detail what he wanted. What the Borrower wanted wasn’t even that difficult to get, and he knew exactly where to find it. Tommy continued to ramble on for a bit longer about what he had been doing since coming here and Wilbur made mental notes of the few places where Tommy talked about entrances in out of the walls for future reference.

He was going to have to look out for Tommy from now on and if he wanted a shred of hope in getting him to trust him as Wilbur, he was going to need a plan.

“So could I have my gift now? I would really love it now and you still have a lot of other houses to visit tonight right?” Tommy asked innocently.

Wilbur really didn’t want to stop talking to Tommy. Tommy trusted the magical Santa Claus; not regular Human Being Wilbur Soot. He knew that if he let Tommy go now, it was unlikely he would see the kid again, but if he didn’t leave as Santa now, they would most likely get suspicious, realising he was a fake and panic. 

Wilbur sighed as he brushed a stray hair of fake beard from under his cheek.

“I- yeah I guess so. Best get you to bed then too.” 

“Awwww but I’m not sleepy yet!” The blonde pouted. “This is normally when I’m awake so it would be a crime to make me sleep now.”

“Well good little girls and boys go to bed when they’re told if they want to stay on the nice list.”

“You’re not the boss of me!” Tommy stuck his tongue out in defiance and Wilbur had to bite his to stop himself from bursting out loud laughing. 

This kid was going to be the death of him he swears.

Wilbur extended his hand to the Borrower, keeping it steady as he waited for Tommy to climb on. He’s still a little huffy at first realising there was no room for argument, but climbs on anyway, sitting down in the middle of Wilbur’s palm bracing themself before he moves.

The brunette curls his fingers over the boy slightly, bringing his hand to his chest protectively. He tries not to linger too long at how it felt to hold an entire person in one hand for the second time tonight before moving to stand. 

Steadily, Wilbur makes his way over to the book shelf and cautiously raises his hand up for Tommy to climb off of. He sets his hand down on the wooden surface and Tommy takes no time in hoping off to stand, waiting expectantly for his promised present.  

“Okay I need you to close your eyes just for a second.” Wilbur asks the boy who quickly covers his eyes with his hands, only to peak out from behind his fingers seconds later.

“I mean it Tommy. Keep them closed.”

“Ugggghhhhh Fineee!” the boy said huffing, but relented nevertheless. 

Wilbur quickly whirled around and crouched down beneath the Christmas tree, snagging a gift from the floor and hastily tearing the gift tag labelled- Technoblade; from the gift before setting it next to the small borrower child. 

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.” 

Tommy removed his hands and squealed in delight, quickly reaching down to hug the gift. 

“Oh thank you Santa! You really are the most poggers man ever!!!” Tommy spoke rapidly, smiling so much his cheeks hurt. “Well after me of course, but only by a little bit!” 

Wilbur chuckled as he gazed affectionately at the blonde hunched over the brightly wrapped gift. “You’re welcome Tommy. I’m glad you like it.”

The boy quickly stood, and started hauling the gift to the crack in the wall, as they tried to shove the gift through. Unfortunately while the crack had been enough for Tommy to squeeze through, it wasn’t quite wide enough to let the present go in without getting a tad scrunched up and paper torn. 

“Um, Tommy? Is there perhaps a bigger entrance I could take this too?” Wilbur suggested, cringing slightly as the boy gave another hard shove on the gift, intent on getting it through no matter what.

“It’ll fit. Just gotta keep pushing it in.” 

After a few more attempts, the boy did in fact give up and relented their efforts allowing Wilbur to pull the now crumpled present back out from the crack, instructing him to take it to the kitchen and place it behind the toaster, assuring him he would get it before the Bean woke up explaining how the electrical socket actually came off as a secret entrance.

He offered to take Tommy over to it too, but the stubborn boy refused, insisting that he had done enough and needed to hurry up and deliver presents to the other children before the night was over.

Taking one more long look at the boy, Wilbur watched as Tommy disappeared through the crack into the walls, the sound of tiny footsteps pitter pattering away before Wilbur himself quietly crept back to his room before he removed the Santa costume and flopped down onto his bed. 

He’d just met a tiny child.

A tiny child trying to survive in his walls.

That was deathly afraid of him.

Quickly Wilbur shot up from his bed snatching his phone from the night stand; a plan forming in his mind. The screen read 9:31 pm before he hastily unlocked it and dove into his contacts, quickly stopping on a profile of a girl with light pink hair, dialling their number shortly after.

The phone rang twice before a woman answered on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Niki? Hey! How’s the holidays going?” Wilbur asked as he grabbed his coat and gloves from the wardrobe.

“So I need a favour…”

.｡❅*⋆⍋*∞*｡*∞*⍋⋆*❅｡.

Tommy awoke warm for the first time that week.

He opened his eyes blearily, almost willing himself to fall back into dream land before his eyes snapped fully open. Tommy rubbed his eyes a few times, eyes going wide trying to comprehend that this was real and not just a dream as the thoughts of the previous night played through his head.

He was in his Christmas present: A brand new pair of bright red, fluffy woollen socks- the most perfect bed ever and exactly what Tommy had asked for. He had basically run to get his gift as fast as possible, before hauling it back through the walls to a space close by the bookshelf; the space seemingly much more homely after last night's introductions. 

He hugged the woollen fabric tightly, smiling as he remembered the soft smile Santa had as he watched him go and how kind and gentle he had been with him the entire time.

The Borrower was so pleased and grateful that he had been able to meet the Santa Claus, and would cherish the magical night forever.

He stayed snuggled in his new bed for a little while longer before his stomach grumbled in protest that he should go and have something to eat. Albeit a little grumbly, his hunger eventually won out and Tommy made his way through the walls back to the kitchen so he could gather some food before the Bean woke up.

Stealthily, he removed the electrical socket, expecting to make it a quick supply run; stepping out into the open before freezing in surprise.

Laid out in a neat pile behind the toaster was a small stack of brightly wrapped gifts all wrapped in different coloured and patterned paper, and right in the middle, an envelope with his name written in gold cursive. Tommy smiled brightly, as he eagerly ran forward to the awaiting stack of gifts, quickly grabbing a gift reading the label. 

To: Tommy From: Santa

Tommy denies that he cried that day. 

That he took each gift home and opened each one oh so delicately, afraid if he didn’t they might just disappear, happy tears trailing down his cheek as he opened a gift revealing a beautiful, blue knitted sweater- and in just his size. 

His tears didn’t cease as he opened the other gifts revealing several new pairs of warm winter clothes, new rope and hooks for climbing, some tea candles with a tiny piece of flint and steel to light them, and the tiniest iced cookies he had ever seen. He could actually hold this in one hand like humans did and he had a whole bag of them!!! His prayers had been answered and he couldn’t be more thankful.

Soon, the only thing that remained was the envelope.

He dried his face as best he could, doing his best to not smear any tears or snot onto the pristine surface as he opened the envelope, revealing a card with a picture of glitter candy canes decorating the front. 

Settled back into his new bed, Tommy opened the card and read the message inside.

Dear Tommy, It was lovely meeting you and getting to know your story. I figured you might  like some extra gifts as well to help you be more comfortable in Wilbur’s walls. I think you should try talking to him.  You might be surprised. Sincerely, Santa Claus

P.S- He’s not as scary as you think.

Tommy’s smile became puzzled as he reread the last few lines.

Who the heck was Wilbur?

Was that the name of the Bean that lived here?

Oh come on, that's not fair! How come Santa knew Wilbur’s name but not his!

He grumbled a little bit at the thought, but his mind kept drawing back to the last line of the card.

‘He’s not as scary as you think.’

“Hmpf, you keep saying that.” Tommy grumbled. 

What was with Santa’s insistence on this?

As much as he wanted to be annoyed at Santa for putting forward such a ridiculous idea, Tommy decided to drag himself out of bed and to the book shelf crack. The Bean had gotten up not long after Tommy had made it back to his new home, but he’d been a tad too distracted to really care about how slow and heavy they had been trudging about this morning unlike their usually poised self.

Currently, said Bean was sitting on the couch, the exact same spot he and Santa had been last night, absentmindedly staring at his hand.

How could Santa think this guy was any good? They had kidnapped him unknowingly, almost let him die from hypothermia unknowingly, destroyed the top of his home unknowingly and Santa still thinks they won’t hurt him?

Okay so maybe it wasn’t their fault all those things happened just because they didn’t know he was there, but that doesn’t mean they’re not still very capable of hurting him for having to do all those things. But then again, Santa knew who was naughty or nice. And he wouldn’t ask him to do something that would endanger his safety if this ‘Wilbur’ guy wasn’t a good person right?

Tommy observed the Bean a little longer, as they ran their thumb over their palm. Their normally neat curly hair was all over the place and he could have sworn there were black bags under their eyes from lack of sleep. They suddenly turned their head and were staring straight at his crack by the book shelf. The Borrower was certain they couldn’t see him from the couch, but ducked back just slightly in case.

The Bean simply sighed as a small smile graced their features. Tommy was right about the black bags. Bean did not look like they had slept at all. 

He thought back to what Santa had said. 

I think you should try talking to him.

They certainly didn’t seem dangerous. Maybe they really weren’t bad like the Jolly man said?

But was it really worth taking the risk and talking to this guy?

Before he could dwell on it for much longer, the door bell sounded and Wilbur snapped his head to the sound before standing and stretching; their limbs popping and cracking slightly from their limited use. Before he left the living room, the man stopped and stared at his crack once more. Tommy didn’t dare breathe as they simply smiled and shook their head, before exiting and headed towards the front door.

Tommy allowed himself to exhale as the sound of footsteps got further away.

“Weirdo.” Tommy muttered to himself as he pushed himself back from the crack and began to head back to his bed for a well deserved rest.

He’d think about what Santa said, and just maybe he’d talk to this- Wilbur. If not, he hoped he'd meet Santa again so he could thank them in person.

Once he was back in his bed, Tommy quickly slipped in snuggling down, allowing himself to drift off to the chatter of beings much larger than himself from beyond the walls.

“Wil! So good to see you! It’s been ages!”

“Hi Dad, thanks for letting me host. I’m so glad you and Techno could make it!

“So are we, but you look like shit mate. Up late again? Wouldn't be related to that surprise you were telling us about?”

“You could say that…” 

.｡❅*⋆⍋*∞*｡*∞*⍋⋆*❅｡.

Tommy never did meet Santa Claus again.

The card proudly on display in his new home, a secret hope he would one day and a constant reminder of what Santa had asked him to try.

And maybe one day, Tommy would finally take up the old man's advice and go and speak to Wilbur, and discover perhaps they may have been right.

Maybe then he’d finally have a friend to keep him warm during the holiday seasons and to rely on like he had wished. 

One that seemed to always know just what he needed despite never telling them, and was very insistent about never wearing Santa costumes.

No matter how many times a little boy begged….

 ˗ ˏ ˋ ★ˎˊ ˗   ༺𝓜𝓮𝓻𝓻𝔂༻༺𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓶𝓪𝓼༻  ˗ ˏ ˋ ★ˎˊ ˗  

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

That was a lot of words....

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING TO THE END! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it and it means a lot you read all the way through <3

Tag List: @local-squishmallow @brick-a-doodle-do @justarandomsloth @veryfunkycheesecake @munchkin1156 @kayla-crazy-stuffs @da3dm @eiscreme135 @orchid-harmony @the-tiny-lurker @colossal-red @nobodywritingao3 @nata2343 @bad-author777 @crazyfoxgirl10

And cue rant: Honestly you guys have no idea just how much you all mean to me an in this community and the impact you've had on me in the last year alone. I could not be more thankful for being apart of this and getting to know you guys. Getting so back into writing has been really good for me and rekindled something I love so I can't thank you enough.

And even though I know I've been a little quieter online, I'm still here lurking about and working on projects. A lot has happened in the last few months alone and I'm quite happy that I'm limiting myself to be a bit more healthier with my online habits.

Anyways thanks so much if you read this far!

Thanks to my Beta readers @a-xyz-s squishy and munchkin for reading this for me, and I wish you all a very safe and wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

-Beckyu ❤️

[sootsz]

terrific how cellbit and philza’s relationship is the kind where cellbit casually mentions killing people and-eating-them-cough, goes “um anyway…” and then they both brush right past the cannibalism to finish the conversation with neighborly promises to let each other borrow sugar

[jaimeski]

here’s qsmp character names in thai script the pronunciation is the same as english i use their native language pronunciation as a reference also so for funsie i’ll write them in both the proper way of english to thai lexical borrowing and in the way that teenagers/internet would write (long story for next time on why) AND if i’d see some thai person with that name

tldr: the template would be “lexical borrowing” - “internet lingo” - “y/n that i would see this name irl”

English Speakers

BadBoyHalo: แบดบอยเฮโล or แบดบอยฮาโล depends on how you pronounce halo - แบ้ด (just the word bad) - the “boy/บอย” part is actually a common name in thailand

DanTDM: แดนทีดีเอ็ม or just แดน - แดน or แดนทดอ (dan + how you’d pronounce the abbr “TDM” in thai) - dan is a common name

FitMC: ฟิตเอ็มซี or just ฟิต - ฟิต - i’ve never seen anyone with this name but i could see this name popping off in the next generation

Foolish: ฟูลิช - ฟูช like foosh - nope not happening

IronMouse: ไอรอนเมาส์ - ไอรอนเม้าส์ or หนูเหล็ก (literal translation of ironmouse in thai) - NO

Jaiden: เจเดน - เจเดน - i could see some interacial/gen z parents naming their child this

Lenay: เลเนย์ - เลเน่ - i could see it i have a friend named เนเน่ (nené) that’s close i think

Nihachu: นิฮาชู (this is weird asf to write in thai) or นิกิ (niki) - นิกกี้ (pronounced nikki) - yesssssssssss นิกกี้ is somewhat common and it’s cute af

Philza: ฟิลซา or ฟิล - ฟิว - yes? but it wouldn’t be “phil” but something like “fill” or “field” don’t ask why (side note: the za part is a super famous part of thai gamer nametag in late 90s so me and my friend like to joke about phil being secretly thai)

Quackity: แควกคิตี - แคว้กคิตี้ - do i really have to answer this

Slimecicle: สไลม์ซิเคิล - สไลม์สิเคิ้ล or just สไลม์ - naur

Tina: ทีนา - ทีน่า - definitely yes

Tubbo: ทับโบ - ทับโบ้ - definitely not

Wilbur Soot: วิลเบอร์ ซูต - วิลเบ้อ - yeah but the parents have to be so snobby

Spanish Speakers

Carre: คาร์เร - คาเร่ - no

ElMariana: เอลมาริอานา - มาริอาน่า - yes without the el

ElQuackity: เอลแควกคิตี - เอลแคว้กกี้ (elquacky) - ……….

Germán: แฮร์มาน - they will just wrote เจอร์มาน/เยอรมัน like that language german - i could see เยอรมัน “german” being the name

Luzu: ลูธู - they will say ลูซู (lu-zoo) - maybe in twenty years

Maximus: แมกซิมุส - แมกซิมัส (the english pronunciation of maximus) or แม๊กโซ่ (maxo) - แม็ก (max) is a common name

Missa: มิสซา - มิสซ่า - no

Pol: ปอล or พอล idk which is closer - พอล - this is actually hilarious bc in thai/khmer we have the name that spells “pol” too but it’s pronounced more like พล “pohn” as in pol pot

Rivers: ริเวอร์ส - ริเว้อ - yes definitely it’s a beautiful name

Roier: รอแยร์ or รอเยอร์ - รอเย้อ - nope

Rubius: รูบิอุส - รูเบี้ยส - not a chance

Spreen: เอสปรีน - สปรีน (they will pronounce it sa-preen) - don’t think so

Vegetta: เวเกตตา - เวจีต้า or เวจีตา (like how foosh pronounced)- if you want your kid to be bully so yeah (db is also huge here but in like late gen x - early gen y)

Willyrex: วิลลีเรกซ์ - วิลลี่ (just willy) - วิลลี่ yes if you’re wasian

Portuguese Speakers

Bagi: บาจิ - บาจี้ - nope

Cellbit: เซลล์บิต - เซลบิต - no.

Felps: เฟลปส์ - เฟล้ป - i think you could pass it as that swimmer’s last name some people are crazy

Mike: ไมค์ - ไม้ค - is a common name and my cousin’s name is also mike

Pac: แพ็ก - แพ้ค - is a legit name but uncommon

French Speakers

Antoine Daniel: อองตวน แดเนียล - อองตวน แดเนียล - อองตวน (antoine) became somewhat popular in the past year bc there’s a boxer with the same name

Baghera Jones: บาเกรา โจนส์ - บาเกร่า - nope

Etoiles: เอตัวล์ - เอตัว - no but there’s a bakery shop called saint etoile and every time i pass it i always have a picture of cubito etoiles in little twin star costume flashes in my head

Kameto: คาเมโต - คาเมโตะ - naur

Pierre: ปีแยร์ - ปิแอร์ - yes but you need to be wasian or it will not suit your face

Korean Speaker

악어: อากอ - อากอ - i could see it since most people love south korea

[apollos-boyfriend]

duo name meanings: QSMP

TNT duo: quackity + wilbur

based on their dream smp characters.

in the dream smp, wilbur's character was heavily associated with TNT, having blown up his own nation. while not as heavily associated with the block, quackity used TNT a handful of times himself, attempting to destroy the egg with it and later going on to blow up purpled's UFO.

BBQ: quackity + badboyhalo

based on a combination of their names.

a semi-common thing for quackity's fanbase is to combine a name/theme of another streamer as opposed to an actual "duo" name. for example, quackity and karl are called honQ. the "BB" comes from the first two letters of "bbh" and the q from the first of "quackity".

loan shark duo: quackity + foolish

based on their dream smp characters.

a "loan shark" is someone who lends out money with extremely high interest rates, often to people they know will be unable to pay up. on the dream smp, quackity's last arc was partially based on him recruiting others to join his city, although his measures of recruitment tended to be extreme, such as blowing up someone's house, or in foolish's case, letting him die just to prove a point. additionally, the name borrows from foolish's skin having shark accessories/accentuation.

dap duo: quackity + slimecicle

based on their dream smp characters.

in the dream smp, charlie's character had a tendency of asking others to "dap him up!" quackity was the first person he'd interacted with, and therefore, the first person he asked that to, connecting the two despite slime going on to ask that of multiple other characters as well.

chaos duo: quackity + cellbit

based on their penchant for chaos.

quackity and cellbit tend to both have overdramatic moments that quickly spiral into chaos. quackity in particular can be unpredictable, both as a chracter and streamer.

crazy duo: quackity + forever

N/A

speculation: a parallel to quackity + cellbit's name of "insane duo".

duck duo: quackity + baghera

based on both of them being associated with ducks.

on top of quackity's name, his old avatar used to be the toontown duck. baghera's skin is a duck.

hammer duo: quackity + etoiles

based on an interaction between the two.

etoiles once hit quackity with a hammer. the name stuck.

quachu: quackity + nihachu

based on a combination of their names.

a semi-common thing for quackity's fanbase is to combine a name/theme of another streamer as opposed to an actual "duo" name. for example, quackity and karl are called honQ. quachu borrows the "qua" from quackity and "chu" from nihachu.

cabinet duo: quackity + tubbo

based on their dream smp characters.

on the dream smp, both quackity and tubbo were a part of jschlatt's presidential cabinet, trapped under a government that continuously abused them and their people. the two bonded over their unfortunate situations, and stuck up for each other when things got rough (which was often).

sand duo: wilbur + philza

based on wilbur's bit of eating sand.

during a hardcore stream, wilbur appeared in phil’s TTS, starting the conversation by going, "phil, have you ever eaten sand?", as phil was clearing draining a lava lake with sand and wilbur suggested eating it in order to get it to go faster. this bit would continue on for at least 14 minutes, with wilbur switching from TTS to vc to give phil (and chat) further insight about his sand-eating agenda.

cat duo: wilbur + jaiden

based on their interactions.

when the two met, cats were one of the first things they discussed and bonded over.

oxeye duo: wilbur + slimecicle

based on tommyinnit's lava ravine mod video.

during tommy's video, wilbur and charlie played a nonsensical game of placing items in the same chest and acting as if each had a specific attack, defense, layout, etc. one of the items they played was an oxeye daisy, which was also the last item wilbur gave to charlie before "going submersible."

honey duo: wilbur + roier

based on their flirting.

early on in the qsmp, wilbur referred to roier as "mi amor". in return, roier responded with, "i love you honey", or something to that effect.

streak/tetris duo: wilbur + cellbit

based on both of their characters having (had) white streamers in their hair / based on the streamers being known to play (and rage at) tetris.

when wilbur’s character was revived on the dream smp, he came back with a white streak. when cellbit was kidnapped by the federation, he woke up with a white streak.

despite both of them enjoying tetris, they've been known to be driven slightly insane when losing.

square duo: wilbur + felps

based on someone's dream.

the person who coined the duo name had a dream that felps was the first person wilbur ran into when he returned to the server, and the two got to know each other while breaking down felps' square.

father duo: wilbur + forever

based on their love for their kids.

despite being unable to be there, wilbur cares a lot for tallulah. if he could be present in her life, he would, as that little girl means the world to him. forever is largely regarded as one of the most protective parents, constantly fretting over richarlyson and telling him to put on his armor. he has a strong sense of protection over all the eggs, as well, as seen with the ninho project.

joy duo: wilbur + pac

based on the “lovejoy” name.

despite never meeting him, pac has been very eager for wilbur's return, and was one of the people most looking forward to his arrival when the "surprise party" billboards went up. this led to fans joking about how much he was acting like a fangirl, spiraling into the coining of joyduo.

rain duo: wilbur + nihachu

based on their origins smp characters.

on origins, wilbur was a phantom, and niki a merling. due to phantoms burning in the daytime and merlings being unable to exit the water, the only time the two were able to truly talk and bond with each other during the day was when it was raining.

quirky duo: wilbur + tubbo

based on their personalities.

both wilbur and tubbo are known to be quite eccentric. yeah that's all i got for this one.

hide duo: fit + pac

based on the hide and seek arena.

during a game of hide and seek, pac said goodbye to fit by calling him "big daddy", causing fit to panic and fumble so hard it took him multiple tries to find his warp point back home.

dad duo: philza + luzu

based on their paternal roles/influence.

luzu, of course, is a father in real life. while phil doesn't have any biological kids of his own, wilbur and tommy have essentially adopted themselves as his kids. wilbur has canonized this dynamic in at least three different smps, dubbing himself as phil's son in the dream smp, origins smp, and the qsmp.

death duo: philza + missa

based on their associations with death.

phil is commonly associated with death, or lack thereof, with his irl wife (kristin) canonically having been the goddess of death on the dream smp, as well as his reputation of being an unkillable hardcore player. he's been dubbed "the angel of death" on multiple servers; for being a killing machine on smpearth, and for his wife being the goddess of death on the dream smp. missa's connection comes from his skeletor skin and the different fandom interpretations of his character's appearance.

sugar duo: philza + forever

based on forever being phil's "sugar baby"

during the brazilians' first day on the server, phil took forever under his wing, giving him a bunch of items and supplies to help forever get started. forever was quick to dub phil his sugar daddy, and the name was shortened to just sugar for simplicity's sake.

codebreakers: philza + etoiles

based on their duel against the codes during the elections dinner.

when the codes attacked during the dinner, phil and etoiles were the two main fighters, and the only ones not to get teleported back by admins. additionally, the two of them have been the ones to most express their bloodthrist towards the codes, consistently challenging them to battles and calling them out for cowardly behavior.

goldfinch duo: foolish + jaiden

based on yellow birds.

in the words of its creator (@/inzerogravityy on twitter), "goldfinch is a yellow bird, and yknow jaiden is a bird person, and foolish is a totem that's made of gold which is yellow."

parrot duo: roier + jaiden

based on their habit of mimicking (ie “parroting”) each other.

contrary to popular belief, this has nothing to do with parrots, the bird. it’s because jaiden and roier have a tendency to mimic each other’s mannerisms/phrases! for example, roier’s insistence of hatsune miku being real comes from him hearing jaiden say so, and jaiden’s constant repetition of spanish phrases is because of spending so much time with roier.

rose/flower duo: cellbit + jaiden

based on cellbit’s visit to bobby fields.

when cellbit first visited jaiden's new house, he was very impressed and in awe of her build, to the point where he later admitted it nearly made him cry. jaiden's house, and bobby fields itself, is covered in roses, and recently, cellbit has also decorated his own home with them.

bird duo: baghera + jaiden

based on both of them being associated with birds.

baghera’s skin is a duck, and jaiden is well-known for being a bird lover, having two birds of her own irl. additionally, q!jaiden has been assigned as an avian by the larger fandom.

land duo: foolish + badboyhalo

based on their dream smp characters.

during the l’sandberg arc, bad had created a nation within foolish’s summer home and claimed its independence, despite foolish’s constant protests. multiple land disputes broke out between the two over toll gates, cacti, supreme fridges, and more, culminating in foolish blowing up l’sandberg. this rivalry between them has extended to the qsmp, as well, with bad consistently monitoring foolish’s builds and whether he has “permission” to build on those lands or not. 

theory duo/bros: maximus + badboyhalo

based on them being the original theorists.

before cellbit founded the order, maximus and bad were the first to start theorizing that something was wrong with the island, and the first to truly start digging deeper into what the federation was hiding.

gossip duo: cellbit + badboyhalo

based on their penchant for gossiping.

bad is not only a known gossiper, but known to start trouble just so he has more gossip to spread around. cellbit, while not as extreme, also enjoys his fair share of gossip, and the two have shared multiple gossip sessions over their fellow server members.

lamp duo: badboyhalo + baghera

based on bad gifting baghera a lamp.

during an investigation, bad gifted baghera a blue lamp. not only was this a pretty big thing considering q!bad's penchant for stealing and hoarding furniture, but also because the lamp was blue, ie skeppy-colored. bad tends to be especially protective and territorial over blue furniture, so gifting it to baghera was truly a testament of their friendship and how much he trusted her.

sweet duo: badboyhalo + etoiles

based on their interactions.

despite being some of the server's strongest and most decked-out warriors, etoiles and bad are total sweethearts to each other, as well as most of the other server members.

build duo: foolish + vegetta

based on their building prowess.

vegetta and foolish were some of the first on the qsmp to take up the idea of a large, intricate base, both taking it upon themselves to build massive towers. both players are known for their building outside of the qsmp itself.

castle/simp duo: cellbit + vegetta

based on their builds / based on their love for their partners.

both vegetta and cellbit have quite impressive bases, with vegetta's tower having since expanded outwards and cellbit's own castle.

people know not to mess with foolish because that would incite vegetta's wrath, and no one wants to ever be on his bad side. he's provided foolish with multiple illegal items because he loves him so much. alternatively, cellbit is absolutely whipped for roier. he absolutely short-circuits whenever his husband is around, and would do anything to ensure his safety/happiness.

misclick duo: mariana + slimecicle

based upon unfortunate canon events.

both mariana and charlie have ended up accidentally killing eggs by misclicking, whether it be by destroying their bed or by sweeping edge damage.

glass duo: roier + slimecicle

based on an ongoing bit of charlie breaking roier’s windows. 

charlie has a habit of entering buildings by breaking the nearest window instead of walking all the way to the front door, a habit that was especially noticeable in roier’s house. not only did charlie visit a lot, often breaking multiple windows during one visit as he came in and out of the house, but roier would have a notable reaction, likely due to the different norms between american and hispanic servers. 

backfly duo: vegetta + slimecicle

based on the combining of "backflip" and "fly".

charlie and vegetta once jumped down from the top of vegetta's tower with their gliders, attempting to see how many backflips charlie (el backflippo) could do before hitting the ground. the answer was 6.

green duo: mike + slimecicle

based on the green of their skins.

both charlie and mike have green as the most prominent color of their skin, with mike's eyes, shirt, boxers, and shoes, and charlie's eyes, shirt, br'aad's sash, and slime.

fonduo: slimecicle + baghera

based on their conversation on debate day.

baghera and charlie spent a good while talking about fondue together. more specifically, gruyere, as charlie couldn't manage to say it properly and kept asking baghera for assistance.

guapo duo: roier + cellbit

based on their communities' initial reactions to the other.

when cellbit was first added to the qsmp and outside communities got acquainted with him, roier's community (+ roier himself) were quick to talk about how handsome he is. in return, cellbit's community was also quick to highlight how handsome roier is, and the two grew a fast but unbreakable bond.

(la) realidad duo: roier + forever

based on the two discussing “the reality” of latin america. 

when forever was building the multiple bus stops + roads to the favela, he encountered roier in front of the oxxo. him and roier got to talking about “la realidad” (the reality) of living in latin america, destroying the road to be pull of pot holes and uneven terrain, as that is “la realidad” for most areas. they have since continued this bit, still keeping it to centering around the reality of latin american life.

ohnana duo: maximus + forever

based on the ongoing "oh nana" bit.

while the entire server has gotten into the "oh nana" bit at one point or another, maximus and forever are by far the most involved. everyone else has mostly dropped the bit and will only do it when a large group is involved, but forever and maximus have essentially turned it into a greeting between the two of them.

insane duo: cellbit + forever

based on their behavior.

cellbit is known to drive himself insane and go to extreme lengths to solve whatever puzzle has been put in front of him. forever is known to drive himself insane with projects that anyone else would balk at, such as copacabana and ninho. on top of that, they just drive each other insane and to the extreme.

smart/genius duo: baghera + cellbit

based on their penchant for enigmas.

baghera and cellbit have gotten very involved in the server's mysteries and uncovering the truth. they're both very smart and have keen eyes, especially when paired together.

smooth duo: pac + felps

based on their flirting and demeanor.

in comparison to the other brazilians, pac and felps are by far the calmest of the group. additionally, they're "smooth" flirters, having even kissed during festa junina.

piranha duo: pac + forever

based on both of their characters being flirts.

in portuguese, “piranha” is slang for a woman that sleeps around. both forever and pac have become semi-infamous for flirting with the other server members. 

mean girls duo: baghera + forever

based on mean girls, the movie.

baghera and forever are known to provoke and poke fun at each other constantly. they also have a penchant for gossiping and talking shit, although largely as a light-hearted joke and nothing actually serious. additionally, baghera and forever's characters are both blond, fitting the usual "mean girl" stereotype.

pacman duo: pac + etoiles

based on both of them having pac-man associations.

both etoiles and pac have a pac-man symbol on the front of their shirt/hoodie.

baguette duo: nihachu + tubbo

N/A

green box duo: tubbo + philza

based on their dream smp characters.

the backstory for c!tubbo was that he was found on a box on the side of the road by philza. the "green" was added due to both of their skins having green as a major color.

beets duo: tubbo + foolish

based on their dream smp characters.

to "fix" his consistent issue of starvation, tubbo decided to build a beet farm to have a consistent source of food. foolish ended up jumping in on the bit, and soon enough, a fairly notable area of the greater dream smp had been turned into a glorified beet farm.

[artlesscomedic]

false alarm! he's okay!! and was doomed to stay in the nest for another week because phil had a panics attacks about this aahaha