|/ Processing? /| @elemain - Tumblr Blog

Apr 20

anybody home? (tsb fanfic)

#9k words ; tsb fanfic THIS IS LONG AF PLEASE PREPARE YOURSELF AND TAKE BREAKS - - -

“tsb are you in there?” three loud knocks pounding on the cold wooden door, “t-t-tsb!” meggy called once more with an accompanying stutter, a strong cold breeze swept past. snowflakes falling from the sky landing on top of her face, hugging her parka and breathing into her mittens for urgent warmth.

it had been over two weeks since tsb had isolated into his treehouse, refusing to leave and allowing his status to be unknown. meggy assumed he was hiding away, afraid from the unfamiliar snowy, winter season, or working on christmas presents in secret. yet, triggered by a previous experience with smg4 being so engrossed into his youtube channel, afraid of a repeated perfect, meggy decided to visit and check to reassure her worries. didn’t help that there were no windows to tsb’s treehouse, at least on the lower level for her to take a peek inside.

meggy gave another hard bang on the door, “i know you’re in there dude! please, can we at least talk? everyone’s worried about you!” staring at the door with hope in her eyes, wishing, longing for it to just magically open with the propeller wearing man to greet her with an open smile, only to then sigh and lightly banging her head onto the door in frustration.

day after day, meggy had been doing this repeated manner of knocking and pleading. tari and smg4 possibly being the culprits of this mysterious issue, being the last to visit the rubber man as far as she could recall. observing how tari has been unusually distant and depressed, whereas smg4 putting up a more up-beat energetic personality than normal it felt like an act. it didn’t make sense. however, meggy knew in her head it was smg4. it had to. every lead of evidence following smg4’s mysterious, grudge, and negative intentions he had against the shades wearing cartoon was splattered everywhere on a canvas. months of unforgivable worry hiding away behind bushes spying on him every other day and night ever since june over a fight with the mysterious golden egg.

generating countless thoughts, meggy only really wanted to ask, why? why did smg4 act so mean, so distant, or catch him in a horrendous crime? out of jealousy or maybe fear? what was so important that he wanted tsb to be busted for? few of these questions were answered due boopkin’s failed fantastical musical performance back in september. she admitted tsb went a bit far, humiliating smg4 to where it felt… strange, unpredictable, even dangerous. though it was just a one-time incident, tsb hadn’t been acting off or shady before that, right? it was just two months ago, what was the deal of keeping such a grudge? tsb hadn't hurt anyone ever before. at least… on purpose she’d hoped.

meggy shook her head in an instant, no! tsb’s a good man at heart! i know it! just cause he’s a little different doesn't make him any less human or a person. remembering the moments of her personal physical transformation from an inkling to a human, being shut out from her own parents and other peer inklings from splatfest. she out of everyone knew what it was like to be treated differently for just being different, but that part wasn't really relevant- at least the physical part of course. tsb’s always been a human looney cartoon, moved to a town inhabited with memes running around and even cartoon-like shenanigans were normalized? in meggy’s own eyes, tsb fitted right in.

“ugh!” the orange haired ex inkling groaned. dicing into a descent of madness, pacing around back and forth on the cold wooden floor. coming to a halt stomping her foot onto the ground. she had enough of this longing, the wait, this cold of winter wind breathing in her face, stood still on this doorstep not being able to do anything but knock and wait for hours. she was tired, hungry, scared, cold, worried- was he okay? was he even still here? why wouldn't anyone check other than her? she had to do something. meggy has sworn her heart into righteousness to helping others, in law or not, taking measures to fulfill that obligation. especially for a friend.

yet, another important question truly lingered in the orange-haired’s mind: what did tsb do? an action that badly shook the shy blue-haired gamer she refused to acknowledge or speak considerably to anyone. even her own best friend, meggy. what did she not know that smg4 and tari did? no better way to find out than by figuring it out yourself, no more idling and waiting, it was overdue for action. “tsb!” meggy announced, “if you can hear me, i’m coming in! i don't care if you won't come to welcome me, to even talk to me, or bother telling me to even go, i’m coming inside whether you like it or not this time! i’m here to help you, and i won't leave without doing so!” meggy exclaimed with as much power as her lungs could bear as the wind grew stronger and colder by the second, the feel of her face going numb.

with a huff and a puff, meggy physically prepared to open the door by straight up: breaking in. slamming into the side with her body, and throwing kicks, surprised to find the door to be strongly built despite being made out of wood. suddenly, catching a glimpse of a cracked dent at the bottom of the door, meggy aimed her kicks more intentionally now, managing to successfully crack open a small hole. cheering, meggy immediately crouched down to further spread the opening using a final strong kick, and attempted to crawl underneath. realizing her winter parka was too thick to allow entry, she swiftly took it off briefly, retrieving it back from behind as the cold air tried to latch onto her bare skin.

“aah-choo!” meggy sneezed, a small echo welcomed itself as she entered the treehouse. it was dull and cold. the painted walls had scratches as if some animal barged in and went rampant. the entrance room was cluttered and covered with open paint buckets dripping around and canvases broken into chunks. beanbags were damped and destroyed, crayons and plushies destroyed and ripped apart all over, leftover plush filling all scattered. meggy looked up to the ceiling to find the ever beloved glowing happy sun in the middle didn't smile and shine back as it always would. the colorful paper stars that previously hung from it were ripped and torn onto the ground with only a few barely hanging on. “what… happened here…?” meggy inquired to herself, shocked and even horrified that the lively rainbow room had turned to a depressing mess with signs of potential physical attack. meggy began to collectively reason why her calls and knocks may have not been heard or answered, it was completely empty and without a sign of life. however, she wouldn't let that bump her from venturing forward to search for the missing burger man.

meggy carried her way deeper into the home avoiding any mess from the floor to the living space. did tsb really do this? examining and investigating more and more of the first floor, everything was damaged and in ruin.

“tsb?” she called out.

…

silence.

meggy felt a chill down her spine as her anxiety began to form. he’s okay, i’m sure of it, he just needs a friend to talk to, that's all! searching the premise; the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, the front entrance once more, again and again searching for any small clues or a story meggy could conclude. pleased her lawyer degree came in handy with having experience with detective work, yet theorizing only went so far with just a few speculations of either a wild animal was to blame for the mess and scratched… or a mentally wild man. scratch marks present further into the place, furniture destroyed and broken, mirrors shattered or covered, food ransacked welcoming insects to feast or rot.

after a finalized search of the main common areas, meggy began to prepare to take it further and explore the upper level. contemplating on the action staring the entrance way up, she would be lying to herself if she wasn’t nervous to go up. it’ld be her first time going upstairs with no clue what to expect, let alone a space tsb wasn’t comfortable with anyone going but himself. to be fair, everyone has their own right of boundaries in their house that guests weren't allowed to visit, it was natural and expected. especially for the safety of their own bedroom. maybe he's hiding in his room, i have to check! she took off her large parka and mittens, and laid them onto the couch of the living room, right near the stairs to the upper level. warmed up from the cold, meggy took a deep breath and began her way up.

the stairs were narrowed, hugged by walls on both sides, designed to be a swirl type aiming to the side and further up, the cramped space being hardly lit at all. meggy squinted her eyes and brushed her fingers onto the walls for some grasp of space and assistance. taking it slow to not trip.

at the end, meggy stopped and paused in awe. “woah” amazed by the foreign space. a wide white, cloudy-like space accompanied with a large four colored rainbow walkway. leading to what seemed to be a blue wooden tree right across the room. the leaves- or ceiling, were replaced with clouds, walls were painted with the iconic rainbow patterns onto them, small benches attached to the tree and giant storage size shelves for paintings on both sides of the room. it appeared to have a mimic of events with painting splatches on the floor, and crayons placed randomly as the floor below, yet it still felt oddly… clean. untouched even, at least recently. meggy glanced at the canvases to her left, she was captivated by how beautiful they were illustrated. is this where he did most of his paintings? curious, meggy walked and decided to take a quick peek at the few paintings that displayed on the shelf.

the first one was adorably a small illustrative piece of ducks on a pod. taking a swim on a sunny-like afternoon.

definitely expected as they’re his favorite… orrrr something for tari. meggy giggled.

next one was a painting of a mcdonalds in an outside parking lot. cars parked and random pedestrians walking around the building or in, a random racoon and hobo, a drive thru can be barely seen, with a clear blue sky, all a lively space.

he sure loves that fast-food restaurant, always chugging on multiple rounds of dr pepper! meggy rolled her eyes playfully, remembering over the memories of hanging out and grabbing a burger to eat. he just adored the atmosphere, despite its poorly known reputation, tsb didn't cared.

following after the next piece, a night sky accompanied with stars of blues and pink lighting surrounding all around. the stars were of different colors and shades of the rainbow.

how pretty! maybe he saw this in the sky one night and added an artistic visual? very lovely, had almost forgotten he loved star gazing. what’s next? meggy anticipated excitedly, like a little kid opening up birthday presents becoming more and more eager to see what’s next.

a complementary piece of a bold yellow tree, surrounded only with a strong blue depiction for the sky and ground with a yellow border line across. small pink particles under the leaves as if it was dropping some sort of dust or sand.

meggy wasn’t sure how to process this painting, it felt… strange. abstract or a mental symbolism perhaps?

a distant ringing rang in meggy’s ears. whispers seemingly attempting to communicate to her, yet, it wasn’t audible as if it felt too far away and hard to decipher. giving off an energy like it was watching. out of fright, she spoke aloud, “jeez, that boy sure has one beautiful imagination!” the ringing disappearing. meggy led out a sigh, and turned to the last canvas painting shelved by itself. it was flopped down, so she carefully by the back pulled it up to view it.

her heart skipped.

it wasn’t any picture of a bird, a cool replica of a fast food diner, some sky piece or tree. it was of a person.

“smg4?” meggy spoke out loud once more, immediately racing her eyes in every corner and stroke of the painting. it was a clear headshot portrait of smg4, just… smiling. laughing.

she’s seen and watched tsb draw his friends, even herself, but this painting carried a foreign aura like the previous one, but more of an alarming energy and feeling. the painting looked rushed and messy, more expressive than tsb’s usual style, placements of colors and strokes being bold but almost abstract-y and scratchy. shapes identifying smg4 most definitely, accompanied with pink dots and smears all around with a black background.

most oddly enough, meggy felt as if she’s seen smg4 do this exact expression just a few days prior confronting once more about tsb’s sudden absence. sure smg4 laughs, practically all the time by how silly and child-like his personality is, but this piece felt specific. eventful almost. carefully pulling the painting back down to check the back for a potential date written. meggy had instructed tsb to always add a date when she first introduced him to try painting, alongside mario for additional support. an easy written form of not forgetting when it was made. to her luck, there was one.

august 25th.

it struck her in an instant.

tari’s birthday.

before she could theorize the possible time implications, meggy noticed a pink paint messily tainted on the bottom back part of the painting, leaving a small trail to the floor as if the paint itself was trying to run away. she then strapped back her focus and swiftly explored the opposite side of the room, unintentionally following the paint trail. finding crayon drawings scattered on the ground. bending down and picking one of smg4 on a black space accompanied with the pink paint once more. however, unlike the smg4 painting, this one was of smg4 crying, reaching out for something even.

what the hell do these mean? why would tsb randomly draw these? there must be a reason.

tsb was suspiciously good at predicting events and accidents, perhaps they’re related and tsb had a gift? an absurd jump but she knew practically anything was possible with tsb.

meggy tilted her sight to the staircase pathway of inside the large blue tree. inside was painted a bright saturated yellow. it would ache your eyes if the space weren’t fortunately dimmed. as she left the drawing and walked up the steps, meggy was introduced to a door with a sun shaped knob.

meggy inhaled, and raised her hand.

knock. knock. knock.

a small pause of silence, “tsb? It’s me, your friend, meggy! are you in there? would you please be willing to open and chat with me?” there was no response, but meggy wasn’t going to risk it. he had to be in there, “you’ve been gone for nearly most of this christmas month and me and all your friends are worried sick about you! today is christmas eve… the day before christmas. you remember what tari and i told you what christmas was, right? it’s a day of gifting, but also a day to share and embrace with the people you love. l-like thanksgiving! last month remember we celebrated that inside smg4’s castle with eating turkey? except- its a combination of birthdays because you get presents from friends and family! n-n-not to mention the nice snow outside and activities and games you can do.” meggy stuttered, despite this time being far away from the cold. “like the snow sleigh you and boopkins raced… or the snow fights we had with chris and swagger… or the hot chocolate we had in smg3’s cafe…” meggy could feel a tear form in her eye, reminiscing the joyous memories that happened just weeks prior. puzzled why she felt so emotional from this short departure, as if an unexpected energy of emotion was overtaking her. “so why are you hiding away? did something happen between you and tari? or… was it smg4? did he do something?... did you do something?”

meggy stared at the white pattern door in front of her with a desperate expression just like before in front of the treehouse door, a hope for a noise or a response of any kind.

…

silence.

“i promise i won't judge you for whatever the reason may be. we’re all human in the end of the day that make mistakes, i promise to hear you out all the way and even help you. just please…”

without another second, meggy slowly opened the door, only for her to pause once more in distraught. falling to her knees in defeat. allowing the overflow of emotions to win over her. “you’re…” meggy struggled between her sobs, “where are you?”

in the reveal, there was no other person in the room but the ex inkling herself. alone on the floor.

the bedroom, just like the previous room, had clouds on the ceiling, and even a border of it surrounding the bed to the front right of meggy. a yellow blanket cover, with curtains covering a window right next to the bed. it had a colorful bed frame, crayon drawings on top of it, along to the left a bright blue couch and numerous paintings of trees and-

“squirrels?”

meggy paused her sobs as she glanced at the left wall intrigued. she stood and walked closer to examine every drawing. there were trees, squirrels, eggs, other small critters, a red stage, and what seemed to be an unidentified character with a brown square with a light blue center. though it was hard to decipher from the red chicken scratches over them. some were even wrinkled as if they had the intention of being destroyed by being curled up, but was changed last minute to be saved. “i didn’t know tsb liked… squirrels?” she said between her sniffing her nose from snot. he always said his favorites were birds- ducks specifically! meggy paused again and began to ponder on the cluttered elements on the wall. each piece contained a flooded color of greens and browns with minor reds and blues. she had an unusual feeling staring at them. as if they didn’t belong here or fit with the aesthetic of the room. “now that i really think about it… this is the most green and brown i’ve ever seen in tsb’s entire treehouse other than the exterior.” sure tsb had used those colors before in any of his paintings and sketches, but it was odd to see it mostly in one place. normally it consists of reds, yellows, blues, and even purples at times but green was like a rare occurrence, let alone brown or the simple animal inclusion of a squirrel.

“if tsb’s not here? then… where is he?” meggy quizzed herself.

this was the last room of the house. she was sure of it. no possible chance tsb had some, lets say, a secret room of some kind. why would he need one anyways? a duck shrine? a place to store more paintings? actually… that idea seemed far off.

meggy stepped out of the bedroom and walk back down the steps she came from, listing locations tsb may be residing if not here. hiding away in someone else's house? possibly but from who’s house? a walmart parking lot? the homeless toads? meggy just slouched in defeat not at all satisfied feeling worse about herself.

doubting herself and now wishing she had come to aid much sooner. “i guess there’s no point in staying around. maybe i’ll try again after christmas…” defeat in her tone, meggy was so sure she would see tsb today. in time for the biggest celebrated holiday event, at least.

she decided to look around once more on the second floor, being sure she saw everything as it was filled with fewer items and furniture than the first floor. suddenly, she noticed a door blending perfectly right behind the tree. barely missing it. maybe another way to go downstairs? meggy guessed. curious, she pushed the door all the way, opening it to reveal a small set of stairs going downwards.

walking down, the room had a dome-ish type style. it had yellow paper-shaped stars hanging on the ceiling similar to the front entrance, however the room was smaller with barely anything filling it than a few beanbags and a large rainbow colored carpet in the center. the walls visibly shared the same blue like sky color, with large rainbows and white spaces representing clouds. however, the room had one extra door right in front center across where meggy stood.

maybe he’s inside there! meggy boosted forward in anticipation, excited that her search was not yet over, that this was finally the room to find the shades wearing man, to finally receive all her answers, to finally help a friend, to finally prove that she can-

meggy yelped in surprise as the large rainbow colored carpet dipped her down, falling and rolling backwards from loss of balance. the carpet towered over her head, hiding away her vision. she eagerly attempted to remove it from her face to regain her vision, going deeper and deeper into the tunnel.

thump. thud. bump. crack. ouch!

finally after a few moments, the fall had come to a pause meggy was able to recollect herself from the collision. immediately putting into action of removing the carpet suffocating her face. “where the hell-?!” she whispered loudly to herself in confusion, lasting briefly as she stared at the brown carved hole in front of her in shock. the tunnel taking visual shape of a dirt, but of course was just wood-

meggy gasped as she palmed her hands on the walls eagerly digging her fingers into it. real soil. she was underground. never once expected tsb to ever use a secret entrance space below the showgrounds. considering the possibility or time effort for it to come together, accompanied with tiny roots poking about and small bugs crawling.

before meggy could analyze even further, she heard a sound.

a slight humming from behind. meggy realized her back was facing the entrance to an open exit not too far away, quickly placing the rug that brought her down to the side, as she spun around to crawl out.

the undiscovered space was huge. meggy couldn’t even identify the ceiling just being complete darkness. how far down am i? in front of her was a wall covered in small paper drawings that seemed to go up as far as it could. meggy walked forward more closely, her eyes widened. all the drawings were of the same one thing, a tv identified person with a suit and tie. hearts and crosses over the unknown character, with few ripped into pieces laid on the floor by her boots.

immediately, meggy froze from fright as she was reminded of mr. puzzles. it hadn’t been long since the fight against him with the whole circus fiasco of wotfi, defeating and imprisoning him. transformed as leggy and abiding to puzzle’s order, trapping her friends under his control... it angered her but she couldn’t ever rid the feeling of still pitying the inspiring filmmaker.

meggy’s focus returned as she not only heard the continued humming, but now singing.

“i’m dreaming… of a white christmas,” it sung quietly, yet audiably.

despite the drawings likely have no correlation to mr. puzzles. meggy couldn’t shake the fact there could be a slight connection due to it being an anthropomorphic television head, or perhaps tsb is struggling with a tv-like villain in his life, similar as to her.

“just like the ones i used to know… ooh,”

meggy turned to her right, taking note of the large canvases on display as if they magically appeared, some covered in large cloaks to prevent anyone from viewing it. she walked through a narrow path the canvases forged, as both her sides were filled with canvas after canvas, all used and illustrated with all types of places, things, and people. some broken and destroyed, tall as a house or small as her hand.

“where the treetops glisten and children listen,”

paintings of the showgrounds, the castle, random floral scenery, and even of her and her friends. illustrations depicting previous events happening. like she was walking down memory lane or a history museum.

“to hear…”

she could see right up head a figure. wearing his iconic distinguished yellow and white striped shirt, his fluffy brown hair exposed in the air, engrossed in his singing as the back of his head faced the ex inkling approaching.

“the sleigh bells in the snow,”

he sat criss-cross on the floor, on a large blanket cover that was surrounded in splatches of all kinds of colored paints. his clothes having paint smears to them. busy finger-painting something she couldn't see.

“i’m dreaming of a white christmas,”

by this point, meggy is familiar with the song the man sings, surprised but overwhelmed in glee she couldn’t help but join in.

“with every christmas card i write, mmm,”

meggy could feel hope and joy filling her heart as she watched the man in front of her paused his finger painting. taken notice he heard a voice but his own, but he hadn’t paused his singing.

“may your days be merry and bright,”

more loudly, meggy sang, making her presence much more apparent. with the cartoon man in front slowly turning around fully to meet meggy’s gaze, eye to eye. fully acknowledging her.

“and may all your christmases be white.”

as they finished the song, all meggy could do was stare into the uncovered eyes of a man sitting beneath her. not fully acknowledging this being her first time seeing his eyes ‘naked’. all she could do was drop to her knees, and give the painter a hug.

“m-meggy-?!”

“i’m so glad you’re still here!” meggy cheered, “i’m so glad you’re okay.” she emphasized more as she strengthened her hug, “i’m so glad you’re…” her sobs hiccuping her speech as she allowed herself to quietly weep onto tsb’s back. fully engulfed into the embrace.

tsb just stood frozen in shock, surprised by the sudden embrace.

“you never opened the door whenever i came to visit the past several days, weeks, everyone’s so worried and confused why you’ve suddenly disappeared, let alone why tari and smg4 are acting so different.” from the mere mention of the two blue identified individuals, tsb’s body shiver.

“i’m… sorry eggy.” tsb apologized, twisting his rubber body to reciprocate meggy’s embrace, carefully trying not to put paint onto her shirt. “i didn’t mean to ignore you or upset you… i’ve just been-” tsb paused as he heard a giggle.

“you called me eggy.” her smile stretched across her face, “i didn’t think i would be happy to hear that teasing name coming from you!” a mocking nickname tsb gave during the beginning of their first ever adventure together trying to find the owner of the mysterious golden egg. tsb felt guilty knowing full well he purposely started a fight against her friends, pointing blame and who’s really at fault for losing the egg. though not much he could do about it now but make sure to prevent it ever happening again. referring meggy as that nickname to never forget his actions.

“i haven’t been away for that long, have i?” tsb quizzed, raising a playful eyebrow at meggy in an attempt to lighten the mood more. receiving another giggle from his awarding charm. “besides… um…” tsb paused, searching for words. “why are you here?” tsb queried almost quietly, slightly pushing meggy away to see her face and additionally raising his guard up checking his surroundings anxiously.

meggy wiped her small tears away from her face, “to check if you were okay! I know something must have happened between you and tar-” as meggy began to say the bluejay’s name, tsb’s head jocked into position staring directly at meggy, his cartoon pie eyes swiftly narrowing. triggered to the blue jay’s name being verbally spoken, meggy gently skipped it, “...and so, i wanted to visit and offer a helping hand! a talk, an ear, a shoulder- anything that i can to help.”

tsb stared at meggy debating on her offer as he gazed from before soften. however, he swiftly turned his face away, his back facing towards her resuming to his finger paining from moments before, “if you want to help then you should leave. there’s nothing you can do.”

“leave?” meggy mimicked, “surely we can talk and-”

“there isn’t a way.” tsb harshly interjected.

meggy was taken aback, shocked by the sudden harsh tone, but didn’t want to ruin this long desired reunion, “well then… i also came to tell you that tomorrow's christmas day. today is christmas eve.”

“christmas!” tsb eyes starred in interest, gazing back at meggy and an exciting smile. he had nearly forgotten the humans' winter celebration holiday. sure he was just singing a tune from it, but it didn’t really click until now that it was sooner than he imagined. realizing he’s been out of touch on keeping up with the days.

“it’s like a combination of thanksgiving and a birthday party, it's a holiday where everyone comes together and hangout. we eat, open presents, and play games!” meggy elaborated gleefully.

tsb nodded, “thats awesome!” imagining a nice hangout with everyone after isolating himself the past few weeks. goodness just thinking about it, he really missed his friends.

“you’re more than welcome to join! everyone and myself included. smg4 is-”

“not interested.” tsb sharply interjected.

“why?” meggy worried, “it’s a big holiday event! don’t you want to see your friends? I understand someone blue or two may have an unresolved problem with you at the moment, but that shouldn’t stop you from attending!”

“those- friends,” tsb hissed distastefully, “stepped into my home and left with nothing but broken, ripped art pieces, and hate.” traumatized and panic sheltered inside him. in this very room. tsb’s pie eyes bubbled widely, teary as he fought back attempting to express any emotion, hiding his face from his orange haired friend.

“i’m sure there must be a reason for them to have done that. they’re still your friends!” meggy claimed.

tsb perked up his stance, “they once were until they ruined that, my friendship. abused my trust, using me to get inside my home, peek into my secrets, and being upset at what they’ve found… who they really met…” the cartoon quietly added in the end, lounging over depressed.

good excuse there rat. mention about the pipedream drawings!

in meggy’s perspective, tsb took a pause into contemplating what to say next. however his posture said something else… as if he was listening to someone as he tilted his head and attention to the empty air.

“t-they came and destroyed my personal drawings!”

be more specific. say his name.

meggy could hear it.

“s-smg4 destroyed t-them. he got angry at me, sprouting nonsense of- strange random assumptions!” tsb flinged his arms in the air in a circled motion like wiping a glass window, “predictions or what not. he was acting crazy! i punched his face later in self defense i-”

keep going… the whispers from before… meggy held her breath.

“i-i-...” tsb’s mind clouded in horror as all he vision was the scarred fear in his bluejay’s eyes. her purple eyes shrinked and body shaking. that moment being a passenger from his own body… that entire experience... his loss of being in control.

say it.

tsb didn’t mean any of it. he didn’t expect any physical violence to actually happen. he told them not to hurt her but never once expected smg4 to be involved.

OUT WITH IT.

the rubber man couldn’t bring himself to continue to recollect the memory of the events out of fear, “i-i dont-” tsb hiccuped within sudden shortness of breaths, fighting now to not allow his fear to takeover, especially with meggy around. he didn’t want to lose his chance of control again for her to get hurt, but he can’t lie to himself that he genuinely- desperately needed help. from someone. anyone.

“leave him alone!” meggy shouted.

the anxious cartoon turned to face the ex inkling, puzzled. till he noticed her gaze wasn’t focused on him, but above him.

“you don’t get to tell him what to do! who do you think you are, huh? where are you- show yourself!”

“eggy.”

“pipedream…” meggy said allowed, allowing the word to process in her head, ”are your drawings an unreachable hope you have? you refer to them as your pipedream drawings is that it?”

“eggy-” tsb repeated.

“t-they don’t have to be pipedreams!” meggy began standing on her foot, “you can put your mind on anything! you just need to believe.” sounding motivational and inspiring as she instinctively would. thinking to herself this must be the issue she’s seeking to help her looney friend.

“eggy you don't understand. that's not what pipedream-” anxiety rushes through tsb as if a train going at maximum speed. heart pounding loudly in his ears as his head feels lighter and lighter, losing grip of his surroundings. numbness slowly taking over his stretchy limbs struggling to rise to his feet.

obsessed with telling everyone the truth now, hmm? you were doing so well being so hush hush about everything.

“the truth?” meggy repeated, staring in the air above, suddenly a visible slight pink particle spawned and floated above them, the voice accompanied by a deranged echo.

“don't listen to him!” tsb snapped, swiftly standing to his feet and raising a hand on meggy’s shoulder, gently but desperately gripping onto it. tainting it with his painted fingers.

the ex-inkling had prioritized her focus on the mysterious floating pink dust above, she accidentally dismissed the burger man’s pale state. eyes so narrowed with a wary expression. “you need to leave.” he emphasized.

meggy stared at his hands gripping onto her shoulders, then gazing behind, catching a small glimpse of the painting he was working on when she arrived. it was a nearly finished piece that illustrated what seemed to be of smg4 in a twilight forest, accompanied by a twisted aura as if trying to hide away from something… or someone.

“what is going on, tsb?” meggy asked worryingly.

yes…! that is a good question. what IS going on “tsb”?

the voice chuckled, its size expanding.

“eggy,” tsb began in a desperate tone, “please you need to do exactly as i say and leave-”

“no!” meggy debated, “i came here to help you!” she affirmed.

annoyed by the response, the cartoon man knew there was nothing that’ll possibly convince her to leave. tsb gulped and mentally prepared himself for what he is going to say. “truth… the truth is…” he hesitated more, stumbling and stuttering his words until he bursted, “oh egg splat!” tsb cursed in his tongue, “how can i tell you? how can i know that you’ll believe anything i say?”

“i’m sure i will.” meggy quickly, but gently assured.

“no you egging won’t!” tsb exclaimed, ”it’s far beyond what you can ever imagine. outside from this… world! i’m just going to sound like an egg-o-maniac to you no matter what.”

“i’m sure you won’t, tsb! i’ll stay, and listen, and-”

“and what if you don’t? huh? what if… you leave? you get upset by the outrageous truth just like that blue meme guardian and bluejay!” tsb flinging his arms, releasing his grip from meggy. speeding his speech and motioning his hands in the air in frustration, ”i deserve to be abandoned, left in the egg shell never to crack or be casted away for all i’ve done since i’ve arrived… even when i try to be good and change- oh! it’s all strange and scrambled. i’m just so… tired.” tsb paused to stare directly in meggy’s marigold eyes, “how can i be sure you won’t fry up on me too? why should i even try again?”

digesting the odd egg-y like vocabulary, all meggy could do was smile sweetly. tsb being so distressed felt so out of character from him, but in the end he was like her. a person. “you’re my friend tsb. i may not know where you came from or what you did that led you to be here, but for me… in this ‘chicken coop’,” she attempted, “we treat each other like family. no matter what. not everyone will give you the same expected reaction or tell you what you want to hear even if it's how they feel. in the end, we will always continue to love and care for one another. even if extra time is needed. you’re friends, i can assure, hadn't abandoned you. im sure they’re just scared and shocked and need time to process those things. they care about you deeply that i know they’ll sure to come back to you when they're ready. doesn’t matter how… ‘cracked’ up the problem is bound up to be, i will try and listen with an open mind. you’re already goofier and weird than any of us,” meggy giggled, “how bad can you be?”

tsb gazes at meggy with sparkling eyes of hope. he hadn't really thought of that being a possibility, even if unlikely due to his friend’s reaction. additionally, never experienced change occurring if time was really given to pass from his own universe. yet this place was different. the people are different. more kinder, accepting, with flaws but not dangerous. if meggy believed in him, it made him want to believe in himself that change was possible. not black and white. he will survive though his endless mind torture, he will get his friends forgiveness whenever they’re ready, he will learn to be true for himself. nevertheless, to his dismay the voice above wanted its opinion to be included.

tell her? the truth? have you forgotten what happened before with the blue duos? my GOODNESS, you really are just a naive, pathetic, little RAT. all you’ve ever spoken out of your unapologetic, egotistical mouth to them are nothing but LIES! you are a joke, a performer, directed only to serve for those above you cause that's what you’ll ever be worth. she won’t believe you. she will leave you like the two you oh so deeply cherished in your beloved time here. so, why bother? it won't be long now till you're done with the one thing you came here to do and get back to what you truly desired from the start. Why care what these fools think of you or your actions? why not just get it over with, yeah?

to tsb’s surprise, meggy seemed completely unbothered by the overhead voice. as if she couldn’t hear him anymore. her focus was solely on the toony man. grabbing his hands with hers, holding them gently. insinuating with one final nod she’s ready to listen.

“you came to me because you wanted to know what was going on. right?” tsb cautiously quizzed, meggy nodded, “then here goes.”

taking one last deep breath. his story. for the first time ever he can finally be truthful to someone other than to himself in a mirror, and know with certainty they’ll stay and listen.

"it started with a god. a wish god. the one here and talking with us right now. i made a wish to him many moons ago, an agreement per say, like a both sided beneficial contract of some sort but not exactly anything physical?” he questioned himself, shrugging his shoulders unsure how to elaborate but resumed, “ever since the moment i’ve arrived at the showgrounds, this god has been directing me what to do and say word after word. planning fights, spirals, accidents, anything like a show or drama for his own enjoyment. entertained knowing im capable of acting due to my past occupation being a comedian actor for so, so long back where i came from.”

pleasure over a wretched rodent playing pretend? how insulting, i have FAR better taste of comedy- and romance! than your lousy call of a failed relationship type of ‘show’.

ignoring the voice and keeping the topic of tsb’s problem, “what wish or agreement did you make?” meggy inquired.

“i wished to get someone back. a past lover to be specific to love me again. at the time i thought we were perfect and nothing could change or get in the way of our undying loving relationship... until, we had an argument that led us to separate and my desperate dependency to do anything to get him wanting me back.”

“is that… what your pipedreams are?”

tsb cringed, “you could… say that i guess.” anxious of correcting and spilling too much, “although, within the agreement in order to get what i wished, i first had to help retrieve what the god itself wishes.” meggy eyes twitched, intrigued. hearing a wish god wanting a wish too sounded silly, “my rekindled love returned back as it was… in exchange for giving him smg4.”

the pink presence from above watches, intensively listening as all the work he’s made is being exposed straightforwardly. compared to the incident with tari and smg4, this was going way more smoothly than the god was comfortable with, or expected. absolutely dumbfounded that any present sense of humanity would genuinely take the time to care. until tsb said something that irked the god to its final edge he exploded.

meggy stood frozen, puzzled, “why on earth would he want smg4 for?”

“i’m unsure. genuinely i wished i knew but he’s refused to tell me why. meanwhile, he’s been slowly trying to take control of my body-”

YOUR BODY?!

suddenly, a brush of strong whirlwind power spawned into the room. the pink particles from above expanding into a thunderstorm cloud, shadowing the two individuals below. paint flying above out of their cans, canvases floating and spiraling. yet, that didn’t distract the cartoon from spoiling further.

“he won’t stop! no matter how hard i try!” tsb raised his volume as the clouds rumbled loudly in volume, “making threats, torturing me if i don't follow or do as he says… isolating myself is the only way to make sure all of you stay safe from his wrath. before i find a better way to take control away from his influence… from me hurting my friends. i-i don’t know what to do... meggy…” tsb paused as he eyes clouded tears, attempting to rid of them to no avail as he stared directly with a sorrowful expression, “i need your help.”

meggy cupped her hands onto tsb’s shoulder, rubbing them gently yet trying to not lose balance from the increase of wind attempting to interrupt their conversation. “that’s all i needed to hear.” pulling tsb closer into a warm embrace.

tsb couldn’t help but chuckle and smile as his chest relaxed. for once, feeling a warmth of relief allowed to release what’s been trapped in his chest for months. even if omitting the specifics of his origin, just being able to have something out of his system made the cartoon want to collapse and relax in serenity.

meggy departed the embrace, before she could comfort the cartoon any further, a floating canvas dashed directly at her.

“woAH!” she yelped, dodging just in time without noticing more preparing to attack from behind.

“watch out!” tsb warned, pulling meggy away to dodge the evading canvases. keeping high alert and willing to use his body to shield her from getting hurt by his own paintings.

“what’s happening?!”

“he’s upset. the god.” he specified, “you need to aim for the exit at the tunnel and get out of the treehouse. leave now or-”

aww, don’t leave so soon now my dearest. you and i haven’t even gotten the chance to properly introduce ourselves PERSONALLY!

a burst of loud thunder stormed, visible bolts could be seen by every other second. no. no no not again! panicked, tsb could feel his mind tingled, the stage of being taken over. yet, this felt different from the previous time. this time it hurt. bad. instead of giving the wheel, it was forced out of his hands. tsb screamed in agony, nailing his fingers deep into his head. shaking viciously as he began to lose balance in his legs, dropping onto the floor harshly with his eyes watering and teeth clenching.

“TSB!” meggy screamed in horror. hovering down to the rubber man, “w-whats wrong? what’s happening to you?” fear in her tone.

“he’s trying to get inside my mind! to cONTROL ME!” tsb screeched, slowly losing ability of his lower limbs as his legs begun twitching viciously on their own. “you… you need to leave… NOW!”

“i’m not leaving you! i’ve told you already!… please i-i don't want to leave- we can get out together and-”

“i won’t be able to leave.” tsb interjected sternly, his arms going numb as his head rested on the floor, “he’s attached to me. wherever i go he gOES-” tsb screamed once more in agony, “he WILL hurt you meggy. he doesn’t care. just… promise you’ll keep everyone safe from me until i know how to fix this. keep. smg4. from…”

all of a sudden, tsb goes quiet. his body stops moving. “tsb?” meggy called. the wind disappearing, canvases falling from the sky and paint falling onto the floor. everything was suddenly still.

“tsb?” meggy called again, “tsb!” shaking tsb’s shoulder vigorously. “h-hey wake up man!”

“oh i’m wide awake all right.~”

meggy’s body shivered. the cartoon man’s voice was noticeably altered, a pervy sprinkle with an unpleasant energy alluring. his head jerking upright to stare at meggy’s direction. staring into his face expressing a wide, eerie, uncanny grin. eyes so wide with irises the size of an ant. glaring right back at her as his body begins to twitch and tangle with itself like a ragdoll. rowling a bit before putting pressure on his hands to his upper chest.

meggy jumped right up to her feet from horror. its glance resumes to lock onto meggy’s eyes. “oh now now,” it spoke, “where do you think you’re going? you said you came to help me. or are you a fake friend too?”

she shook her head, sweat pouring on her face, “you aren’t tsb… who… who are you…!”

“i’m your friendly neighborhood comedian! you’re friend! who else?” it giggled childishly. “no you’re not. you’re not my friend.” ‘tsb’ gleeful expression switches to displeased, “what are you?” meggy demanded, “who are you?”

the controlled cartoon man stood up to its feet, giggling as it greatly struggles balancing on its own weight and posture as he bends drastically back and forward. acting almost as if a zombie.

“who am i?” it mimicked, “well… folks call me, the watchman.” “and… what are you? why do any of this?”

“i am… a god. THE wish god controlling wishes from all and any universe!” watchman expressed manically, “a god with a fascination for romance if i may add. oh how sweet, endearing, lusting the journey of romance is! oohoho! although, despite my admiration for it, i couldn't care less for obtaining it myself."

“then…” meggy paused, puzzled, ”what do you want? what motive do you have to mess with my friends for engagement and in the end take one of them for who knows what!” she interrogated anxiously.

“why?” watchman gasped, seemingly offended, “because it’s fun? why else play around other’s love life like dolls if not to see it expanded! i’m the creator obstacle, strengthening thy love in providing the correct path.” he sighs dramatically, “unbelievable, anyone has yet to understand my vision.” meggy resumed expressing confusion, yet doesn't push it further. “now… for what i WANT?” he continued, laughing hysterically as if ready to tell the best joke he’s heard yet. flopping its arms around loosely trying not to lose balance waddling up to its feet. “i… want…” suddenly ticking down his head to the side with every word, “you… to… go… bye bye!” his head springing out forward an inch to meggy’s face, jumpscaring her.

without a second to recover, the creature lunges at meggy. barely escaping his grasp to only dodge swiftly again as it repeatedly aims attacks again, again, and again without giving the orange-haired a break to strategize. finding herself slipping in paint, tripping over illustrated canvases surrounding her as watchman flings his arms at her in an attempt to grab her. throwing and using any of the paint canvas as shields to protect herself. she felt uneasy to examine how uncanny and uncomfortable by how watchman uses tsb’s body to walk and move unnaturally.

meggy knew she can’t keep circling around forever. if tsb’s instructions of escaping are true, she needed to act now. with that plan, she found her opportunity and started running, following the exit aisle of the canvas filled space.

watchman stretches out his rubber arm and grabs ahold of meggy’s snow boot, losing her balance and tripping. the cartoon tightens his grip, using his other arm to reel her back like a rope.

“now, now, my dearest squidy friend. i don’t think we’re quite done with my helping session. i have SO much left unexplored to discuss with you… personally.” meggy attempted to grasp onto the flat, cold floor. to prevent herself from being pulled further, but was futile.

“let me go you manic!” she demanded, twisting her body using her other foot to kick watchman’s hand off with no budge. “w-what the hell? let go!” she harden her kicks only hurting herself in the process.

“oh you poor silly thing, that won’t do no, no. you see, i haven’t have the slightest chance of experiencing pain! try all you may, but nothing will make me let go.” watchman cackled, triumphing.

panicking, meggy was being pulled closer and closer to the monster. searching for anything near her to aid till she came to the idea of pulling her foot out. she wasn’t wearing her normal boots, but instead large thick winter boots. meaning she still had room to stretch and pull out. immediately stretching her foot out her boot.

the controlled cartoon stood stunned. meggy had successfully pulled her foot out, freeing her from his grasp. she smiled in astonishment, surprised that had worked and instantly rised straight up to her feet and began to sprint away.

“HEY!” watchman shouted annoyed. stretching out his other free arm to grab meggy’s leg once more but missed, struggling to retract his limbs as meggy makes her escape.

outside the trial of canvas-filled space, meggy turns to find the crayon drawings on the wall from before, with another head turn showing the tunnel across from it. she ran up to it, finding the large rainbow carpet that led her down still there. meggy began climbing her way up into the dirt tunnel. minimizing any chances of tripping down especially with minus one boot, unleving her balance. by the time she got halfway, watchman had caught up to her by the bottom of the tunnel.

whistling to announce his presence and mocking playfully to her like a dog, “come here little squidy, squid! squids don't belong in tight dirt tunnels,” clicking his tongue,“no, no, no oh how silly you are!” adding a snickered tone. to what meggy wasn’t expecting, was for watchman exceedingly catching up double her speed. digging his nails deep onto the dirted walls and crawling on his hands like a ravaged animal.

adrenaline began rushing in as meggy eagerly sprinted her way out of the entrance as fast as she could of the tunnel. entering into the empty dome room. rushing up the accompanied small steps up to the room with the recognizable large blue tree, and sprinting downstairs onto the main living room.

“WHERE ARE YOU.” watchman’s voice echoed as the floors felt a minor earthquake, audible sounds from behind objects falling and crashing. meggy didn’t dare check or look behind, keeping her gaze forward. escaping was her goal. she had no idea if the god even had legitimate plans to end her life, but she wasn’t willing to risk that chance. not even daring to pick up her winter coat on the couch despite the freezing wonderland waiting outside.

“THERE YOU ARE.”

the cold air brushed against her face.

“DON’T LEAVE. I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU.”

the front door was visible in sight. the broken hole she created uncovered.

“M E G G Y.”

right before watchman could snatch her by a hair length, meggy slid onto the floor. perfectly sliding through the small gap.

she made it out. she was outside.

BANG. a loud thud against the wooden door alarmed her from behind, meggy looked out the balcony. surrounded by snow and freezing air as her body slowly grow numb, she wasn’t free just yet. without thinking, she took a leap. falling into a large puff of hard, yet soft snow to break her fall. she had finally escaped the domain of the treehouse. shivering violently by making contact with the snow, meggy gazed up at the treehouse. just to be sure she wouldn't be followed any more.

it was dark as midnight outside, snowing blurring her vision, but she could see from above a human silhouette hovering. he stood still like a statue for a few seconds, before calmly returning back inside.

meggy took a deep breath, she truly was safe now. away from that monster. that god. by surprise, meggy sneezed, snot coming from her nose.

shit, i need to get inside before i catch a cold. meggy struggled and shifted herself out of the piles of thick snow beneath, shivering with her eyes squinting. making her way towards the decorated, festive castle. this was a bigger issue than she could’ve ever imagined.

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