*Phoenix pokes his head up into the window, his wings flapping to keep him airborne*
Oh hey, this is new! Hi! I'm Phoenix, who're you?
*Boxers looked absolutely amazed as he opened up the window to the treehouse so Phoenix could come in...Ben having went to get some fish from a little pond in the area*
"I'm Boxers! Right now Ben's fishing, but he should be back soon."
Before the cursor arrives, we know that Ben and his father, Nelson, live together in a cabin in the woods. They do have other relatives that we don’t see in game, revealed by a family photo and antique shotgun.
At some point after they move there, they get lost in the woods and Skye/Silvie finds them and brings them back to their house, starting off their friendship. It’s also possible that Skye/Silvie knew about them long before they knew about her, given the ominous bunny ears in the family photo. However, the silhouette could also be Boxers. Probably not though.
Also, fun fact, Nelson actually escapes the fish! He makes it all the way back to the cabin like you do, bandages himself up, and is then killed by a mutated handy pal. I was a little confused here because I thought that the fish had somehow thrown him up, and then the mutated handy pal got him, but no.
Listen, I think I speak for all of us when I say I wish we could tell Ben the truth. That being said (pulls out a mallet-). Anyway enjoy and don't read this if u haven't gotten past the fishing minigame!
Consciousness came to Cursor slowly alongside wave upon wave of pain. They wanted to go back to sleep, ignore it. Stay laying wherever they were despite how rough it was...
Wait... where were they? That felt important, but why-
Oh. Oh... that's right, the lake!
Nelson!!
Cursor jumped up, looking around for their companion. However... he was nowhere to be found. And somehow they were no longer in the depths of the lake: they were back at Nelson's home, on his pier. There wasn't any boats nearby - which meant Skye wasn't here, a small blessing.
...But then, how did they get here? Was he okay? He must be - they couldn't have pulled themselves onto the pier, and those fish were vicious. Maybe he pulled them up and went inside his home to grab something that he could use to defend them?
If he did, then... then Cursor would help him! They could fight too, and he'd rescued them: it was up to them to repay the favor.
Their mind made up, they cautiously crept towards the front door-
Only to immediately feel their heartbeat skyrocket once more.
The house was destroyed, and after checking both the living room and bedroom the only traces of the frog were bloody bandages heading towards the front door. The glass that'd once been centralized to the cabinet was now littering the entire floor... along with something else? Cursor couldn't make it out, so they moved closer and pushed some of the glass off of it.
It was a photo of Ben, Nelson, and... someone else - maybe Skye? Cursor couldn't tell as a part of it was missing. Feeling compelled to pick it up, they hid it by tucking it next to the lining of their thumb.
Nelson probably wouldn't want to return here, especially since Skye knew this place. Cursor would keep this safe until they met up again.
Family was important to him after all.
After exploring the upper room again and grabbing the lantern, they took one last glance around before setting out into the forest. They had to find their friend.
♧--♧
Tears obscured Ben's vision, making the forest blurry as he tried to navigate home. He knew it'd be best to pause and take a breath, let his emotions center themselves so he wouldn't be distracted but - but -
He'd always been terrible at that, it - it was dad who would help him. And! And now he was gone, Ben would never see him again-!!
"Aah!"
A tree root he hadn't seen tripped the young frog.
The foliage didn't stop him as he rolled down, down, down and further into the forest. The branches kept trying to tear at his skin which left burning, itchy lines across his limbs. Leaves found their way into his hair and holes the branches left some even finding their way into the scratches to make them worse. It felt like it'd never end... but eventually he stopped. With a yelp he landed on his face, which wasn't fun. It was better than if he kept rolling though, he guessed-
Krkrtch
Ben tensed, turning towards the tall grass near him. There... was there something there?
Krkrtchkrctk!
There was and - and it was getting closer. Ben stumbled to his feet, attempting to make himself bigger despite how scared he felt and the pain jolting through his body due to the fabric of his clothes rubbing against his scratches. He remembered his dad said some creatures in the forest wouldn't hurt you if they thought you were the scarier predator.
Hopefully this was one of them.
The brush parted...
And the white glove popped out.
Oh, well now he felt so stupid.
Getting all worked up because of a glove. He glared at them though - just because he fell on his head didn't mean he forgot they didn't do anything to help dad. "What do you want?!"
The glove paused, then turned palms up towards him. Their thumb kept what was in their palm trapped, but Ben couldn't tell what it was besides being made out of paper.
He didn't want whatever it was though. He wasn't going to let them manipulate him again. He shoved them away, only for them to push against his arm again. His blood boiled and he growled out, "I don't want-!"
His voice left him as he made out the figures in the photo.
It was... it was the photo Skye took when they first met her. A chunk of it was missing, the remnants stained somewhat red... but it was still that once treasured memory. With shaky hands he took it from the gloves grip. "W-where... where did you get this?"
They started making symbols with their hands... but Ben had never seen them before. He thought he recognized an 'o,' but it could've been an 'a.' He spoke, "I'm... I don't know what you're trying to say."
Grabbing a stick, the glove started pushing it into the ground. The stick got a 'y' down before it broke with a heavy snap!
They weren't disheartened though, instead grabbing a new stick to try again. After a few moments, there were words engraved in the forest floor. Your home. Skye lied to us.
His eyes widened for a second... then Ben scoffed. "So what if she lied to your group of Handy Pals? She killed him and you-!"
They shook themselves rapidly, distracting him from what he was about to say, and continued. Not Handy Pals. Your dad & I. She said she'd let you go if I lived.
She didn't. She hurt us.
O-oh.
The dam was starting to crack. He wouldn't let it though - he couldn't trust them. With a shaking breath Ben heard himself speak, "You... you really tried to help him? How - I don't- how am I supposed to believe you?! What if you're lying just like her?!"
They jumped back with the same force they would've flown if Ben had slapped the glove away. He felt bad for a second, but it faded quickly. He knew better than to trust someone to have his best interests at heart now. Why wouldn't this glove lie if it meant they could use him for something like they did at the house?!
They seemed to think about it at least. Let me prove it then, by helping you.
Ben sniffled... then got up, "Alright then, prove it. Help me get home, glove."
It was more forceful than was allowed in polite conversation, but the glove did as they were told. They led him across the river, zipping in front then returning once the glove had made sure there was nothing hunting on the path. The first time they'd done it he thought they were leaving him. By the 3rd time he'd been painfully reminded of how his dad would sometimes do hunts with Ben, so he shoved it out of his mind and paid the little piece of velvet as little attention as he could. He only started focusing on it again when they were almost to his home since the glove finally did something strange.
It paused before the bend... then motioned for him to cover his eyes.
He wasn't sure why, but he did as they asked and covered his eyes. Maybe he thought they'd finally show their true colors and leave him and he'd resigned himself to that fate. Or they'd give Skye some signal and she'd stab him in the back, ending his pain, as little as that made sense. Maybe.. maybe a part of him did believe they had his best interests at heart, and trusted them that whatever was on the other side of the turn was something he'd regret seeing.
Whatever the reason was subconsciously, he hadn't expected the glove to grab the hand that wasn't covering his eyes. Once it had his hand they started leading him along the last leg of the journey to his home. It.. it felt surprisingly good to trust them like this.
Like they had in Sky- in her music room. The feeling was probably fleeting... but Ben found himself keeping his hand over his eyes longer than he needed to keep the feeling a little bit longer. It was only after he felt the first step against his knee did he finally remove his hand.
Though he knew if the glove hadn't brought him here he would have never trusted them; Ben found himself wishing they didn't come.
The house was a mess.
Bandages with bloodstains and glass shards littered the floor, and the windows had hastily thrown up boards covering them. The once happy home, where he'd learned how to clean a fish and had cooked stew with his dad's watchful eyes over his shoulder... it was gone. The house he entered was lifeless, more like a carcass. He couldn't bring himself to go in, instead standing in the broken doorway and wishing this was all a dream.
...It wasn't of course.
At some point the glove had left. He wasn't sure what they were doing, too distracted by his own anguish, but he heard the sound of metal hitting dirt over and over. Eventually they came back and he let them pull him outside. He wasn't sure where they were going until he noticed the pile of dirt next to where the lake met the edge of the forest clearing their home was built on.
He didn't understand why it was there... until he saw his father's hat and a stone sitting upon the pile.
A grave.
They'd made his father a grave next to the water he loved so dearly.
Like an overwhelmed dam, this little action finally made Ben truly break.
With a wail the boy fell to his knees, grabbing the dirty cap and holding it with the last photo of his shattered family. His cries echoed through the forest, a sorrowful melody whose strength was so great not even the most monstrous creatures within go near. He cried, and everything fell around him - even his companion's attempts to comfort him as he wept.
The moon watched over the two until it couldn't anymore, and with it, his cries slowly petered off. His companion continued to rub his back and remove leaves they found in an attempt to bring him even a single modicum of reassurance.
"...There's nothing for me here, is there?"
They paused their comforting ministrations for a second. They stayed like that for a while, Ben found himself wishing they were as easy to read as-
No.
His grip tightened.
No he wouldn't think about him. His glove friend tapped his shoulder, then pointed down to the ground where something was written. ...He hadn't even seen them write, which was a bit worrying since it was right next to his feet. But he'd deal with that later. One problem at a time: wasn't that what the hunter believed in?
He knelt down to read the message a bit easier in the low moonlight. What about your other family members?
"...I don't know where they are." He had been so little when they'd last met. Hi... his father said he was thinking of bringing Ben to visit in the summer, so he'd know where they were in case something happened.
He wished his father hadn't put off the trip now. The glove (it seemed mean to just call them that, after all they'd done for him, maybe Lil Buddy would work?) seemed to think about this for a moment. They rubbed their thumb against their palm before jumping up and grabbing their stick again. You can join me! : D
"W... would your family really be okay with that?"
Lil Buddy stopped... then wiped across the ground. They slowly wrote out one simple sentence with their stick.
No family.
...Oh.
Now that Ben thought about it, he'd never seen a Handy Pal like this one, had he? All the ones Skye had near her were garden gloves like the pair she wore.
...Did she kill their family like she killed the one with a silver ring? Did she find this one afterwards on it's own, knowing they were the last member of their family, and decide to take it in?
It must've really hurt how she betrayed them then... just as she had with him.
His grip on the photo and the hat tightened, remembering the gentleness of his Lil Buddy. He'd been so mean to them; yet they stayed with him. They brought him this last remnant of his father and made sure he didn't have to see what Skye did to him. They'd made sure his dad had a proper grave. Lil Buddy made sure he was okay no matter how scary things were.
Yet, they had no one to do the same for them. They... they were both alone here. "Then... then let's be our own family!"
He jumped up, and headed towards his room. It probably scared Lil Buddy, but he was too focused on his mission.
There wasn't much left for him here, but there was something he needed to do before they left. And it involved an old gift.
The lens was cracked, but luckily he had a handful of spares his... his father had given him for his birthday a few months ago. With practiced ease he switched them out. Then Ben placed the strap connected to the camera around his neck as the glove entered the room. "Hey, Lil Buddy, can you stand there for a second?"
They jumped up, then settled against the ladder. His hands were shaky, the reminder of her still heavy in the air... but he had to do this.
Click!
The flash was blinding, so bright it even seemed to mess up Lil Buddy despite not having eyes! He almost lost the picture, though luckily they recovered faster than he did and caught it.
"Thanks Lil Buddy." With the final component, Ben got to work. Shaking the film, he grabbed some tape from his bag. The photo was a bit blurry, and the lighting was rough; but it was perfect in his eyes. Now that he had everything else, there was just one more piece he needed. Bringing out the photo Lil Buddy gave him he set it on his dresser.
He moved the other photo until Lil Buddy was where Sk... where she had been originally. Once satisfied, he taped them together and held the finished product between his fingers.
It was messy, and a bit crumpled, but... it was their family now.
After having been spit out from the portal, they jumped through, Boxers and Ben found themselves in the pocket digital world they now call home! After spending some time making themselves a home and getting comfortable with their new surroundings, they decided to make a blog!
You may ask them whatever you like, but be aware that they don't need to answer you if they don't want to.
WARNING
While there will likely be no mentions of drugs or alcohol, and absolutely no sexual topics at all, heavier topics such as mental breakdowns, panic attacks, and ect will likely be touched upon.
Be aware that while the person behind this blog is an adult, both of these characters are minors, so for fucks sake do NOT send them any sexual shit.
Roleplaying!
"This sort of text will appear when either Boxers or Ben are speaking. You will be able to tell who is speaking based off of actions and tone"
*When either character is doing an action, it will appear like this*
(And this is how I, as the mod, will speak with someone. I will appear from time to time, so heya)
Extras!
Please note that I am not the creator of these two characters. They were created by the makers of the game "The Bunny Graveyard" so make sure to go check it out when you have time. Not only that, but this blog is based on the hypothetical scenario of if the two characters found themself in the tadc universe after jumping through the portal.
"So you're the ones causing trouble for my buddies eh..? Cool.. cool.. I just came here to drop off some boba.."
🧋✨️
*Ben stared you down and kept his arm infront of Boxers who's ears were twitching around before the frog spoke up with a wary expression. The rabbits expression was hidden by the box he wore on his head*
I'm sorry, but if neither of you have a legal guardian at this time, you will either be returned to your biological guardian, given to a family member, or put in the system *grabs both kids by the arm*
CPS Anon-
"N-No! Let us go!!!"
*Boxers squirmed at first, with Ben having yelled and putting up quite the fight before the rabbit lunged and bit into your arm...his teeth sharp and digging in deep as he yelled*
