He was just a normal guy, obsessed with the character Duke Etho Slab from his favorite gameāThat's what he was!āspending his days attending fan events and buying up Etho merch. He was a side character and one of the implied love interests of the main character Cleo Mortis.
Until everything changed, he reawakens as the villain from the game, Bdubs. What's worse? He's always fated to die in every route he plays! Treason, execution, murder, you name it! There never seems to be a happy ending for this poor guy. To make his life even harder, he's destined to die, with no escape whatsoever, through a curse or by his own doing. What in the trashy Isekai was this?!
But this universe, it was strange. Nothing like the game. Why was Etho so nice to him? So out of character?
Oh well. if he was destined to die anyways... He might as well spend all his days with his Oshi... Maybe pair him up with Cleo in this game? He'll live his life to the fullest! Enjoy his days enjoying Etho's presence and the noble luxury he was born into!
(Isekai! Bdubs, who's unaware that Etho is totally in love with him while trying to matchmake him and just wishes to enjoy his time with his Oshi)
Oneshot rated G - ethubs - Etho explains his reasoning behind Bdubs' pet name.
--
"Why do you call him that, anyway?"
Etho had endured years of Scar's non-sequiturs, so he barely even sighed as the man interrupted his focus with a nonsensical question. "Why do I call who, what, Scar?"
Scar's wry chuckle suggested the vaguery had been on purpose. "Why, our dear BDoubleO, of course. You called him 'bunny' again, when he dropped off lunch."
They were helping with terraforming for Survival of the Fittest. Bdubs had delegated them to knocking blocks out from clearly marked plots of land, apparently not trusting them with anything more interesting than that.
He was feeding them, though. That was a plus.
"Speaking of lunch -- let's take a break and eat, the ice in the lemonade is melting," Etho offered, beginning to climb out of the stone pit they'd been chipping away at for hours.
He should have known Scar wouldn't let it go that easily. For all he acted like an airhead, his focus was unrelenting when he sensed he could make someone squirm.
Etho had barely swallowed a bite of his sandwich before Scar started in again.
"So! What's the origin of bunny, huh? Can Bdubs wiggle his nose? I wanna see that. Oh, oh!" Scar almost choked on a sip of lemonade. "I know. I got it. You couldn't pick between 'baby' and 'honey', so you combined the two."
He nodded sagely at his own conclusion, picking the tomato slice out of his sandwich and flicking it into a pile of grass blocks. "Makes sense. Bunny is a lot better than Haby. That sounds like a disease."
Etho had leaned his head back in exasperation, but his shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.
"What's the real reason? C'mon, I won't tell. Is it secret?" Scar had picked up a cheeto and was wielding it like a baton. "Oh, unless it's like a-- a private thing. Bunnies are known for being, uh, being-- procre -- they procratiate--"
Okay. Years of Scar's antics had not, in fact, left Etho totally desensitized to his absurdity. He rubbed at his temples with a pained groan, giving Scar an unimpressed look. "No, Scar. It's not that kind of thing."
"Oh, good. You can tell me then!"
Etho sighed again, purposefully slowing down as he chewed his next bite. He swallowed, letting the tension build, looking into Scar's expectant eyes.
Then he shrugged.
"Just suits him. That's all."
Scar sputtered his way into a giggle. "Does it? He can be so...loud, though. I think he's more like a noisy cat."
"I think you're just cat-brained, Scar," Etho replied, peering inside the basket Bdubs had dropped off and pulling out a cookie. "See, what I think is -- you've raised rabbits, haven't ya? You know what they're like."
"Allergy-inducing and hard to keep alive."
Etho had to smack his chest as he inhaled a bit of cookie with his answering laugh. "Y-yes. One of those is true of Bdubs already."
He chased away the urge to cough with more lemonade. "They are hard to keep alive, but they can be really resilient, too. And people see them as just... scared prey animals. But they're tougher than they look."
"Uh huh," Scar said, unconvinced. "That's a low bar, though. Bdubs looks as tough as a marshmallow."
"Hey, his Rambo look is pretty tough. It's not just that, though," Etho argued, foot tapping the ground as he spoke. "They're like, the perfect mix of cozy and energetic. And they're demanding, but in a cute way. They know what they want and they're not afraid to demand it."
Scar smiled knowingly. "Alright, I can see it. Spoiled bunny Bdubs. That's cute. Gross, but cute."
The conversation tapered off as they focused on finishing their food. Etho balled up his trash and tossed it in the basket.
"Back to it?"
"You know," Scar murmured, eyes thoughtful. "Rabbits are good luck."
Etho pulled his mask up before Scar could see his telling smile. "That's true. They are."
For @oracleofthelatte ās idol!Bdubs au. I love this so much.
I will clean up and possibly add colour as soon as my photocopier is working. It broke. Again.
Etho slab cannot be normal about Bdubsā He is the biggest Bdubs otaku to ever otaku. So, his students slowly learn, and they eventually find out why ššš
Alien Stage AU! Etho, the reigning champion of Alien Stage, faces off against the talented newcomer, the Songbird, Grian. He's done this countless times before, trampling on all these lives to survive. So why does regret hold him back? Why does he still yearn for the touch of a dead man?
(ETHUBS ANGSTING TIME!)
Words: 1,339
Idol festival? Thatās what it was called. Itās a silly name but he digresses.
With a small flower bouquet and the ticket Bdubs had given him in hand, he stares at the programme for the event. Clockers, was it? Performing at nine at the main stage?
He checks the old watch he had gotten at a thrift store. Eight-fourty five. Heās got fifteen minutes to settle down, find a place to see Bdubs clearly. Not badā
If there weren't so many damned people around!
Snappersā they packed this place like a tin of sardines! The sheer body heat of the attendees made him sweat way too much under his mask and his green bomber jacket. He awkwardly shuffles and pushes his way to the front of the crowd, hoping to catch the clearest view of the stage.
And the lights are blinding in multicolor. As glowsticks next to him illuminate the crowd like an ocean. Green, blue, redā Itās beautiful.
āNOW PRESENTING, LIFE ENTERTAINMENTāS NEWEST IDOL UNIT, CLOCKERS!ā
And in an instant, the lights dim, before three figures spring out from the stage. A red head with long locks, a boy with pretty scars across his face andā¦
Bdubs.
Heās dressed in a frilly green jacket, his signature red bandana still on his head. Makeup all done, perfectly glossy lips and pretty blush on his tan skin. At some point, they start singing. At some point, they start dancing.
But all Etho sees is how Bdubs sings, how his lips move like a spell. He doesnāt hear the rhythm, or melodyā itās just his steps and moves, twirling and transitioning with his unitmates, pulling Etho into a trance.
And those large starry eyes, they catch him just at the right moment. Bdubs break out the large charming smile everyone has always adored. And the crowd is chanting and screaming his name.
Bdubs, Bdubs, Bdubs.
Like a hymn, a prayer. Reverend
And Etho only watches, hypnotized.
Bdubs winks, as if he was brushing off stardust from his lashes.
Maybe the pounding in his chest grows louder than the adoring crowd. Maybe his lungs have stopped working. Etho doesnāt know.
BOOM! š thank you so much for your support I hope you like this!
Synopsis:
Mr. Dubs, everyoneās favourite art teacher. The school fair, itās revealed that THE legendary veteran actor Etho Slab was his husband. So naturally, his year thirteen class is curious aboutā¦ well, EVERYTHING! So they ask him, how did they get engaged then married in the first place?
Well, long long agoā¦ everything started with Etho and his sneakily bought mossy agate ringā¦.
(Aka. Bdubs recounts the story of how he was proposed to ā¤ļø)
