synopsis: you hate when people raise their voice around you. schlatt has made it a very strong point to keep you comfortable, even if it means changing.
note: me when i discover a person/fandom seven years late and its completely dead fic wise. his silly bits and deep asshole voice have enamored me and this is completely self-indulgant and no one will see this. also, is this guy's name jared or jonathan i am getting mixed notes
It wasn't exactly a subtle shift.
One day, out of the blue, Jschlatt no longer yelled profanities and played up his ‘angry guy’ character on stream anymore. During Chuckle Week, the rare occasion he actually attended in person, it was another story; the same old Schlatt that everyone knew to be boisterous and loud and antagonistic was the same as usual, but that just made the change all the more prominent to the viewers.
It was questionable after one month.
Suspicious after three.
And undeniable at six.
Schlatt, one of the loudest twitch streamers the platform had, was now possibly the tamest.
He wasn't drastically different. Still threatening, still mean-spirited in that nonchalant yet unserious way of his. Matching everyone's humor and playing into bits as he always did. Just. . .In a lower tone.
Rather than using his funny mic, or natural booming voice, he leaned into the mic and growled out the words severely.
At first, everyone suspected it was a new bit. A temporary, fun little side quest that he wanted to try out for the new comeback he had after his hiatus.
It soon settled into his norm. And after a while Schlatt was a man reborn. He brushed off all the comments concerning his shift, telling his friends and chat that he was allowed to do as he pleases, end of story, and left it at that with zero further context. He was never the type to let his private life bleed into work.
Speculation flooded Twitter and his chats, filling with theories in no time.
A new neighbor had complained about volume, some said with full confidence.
He got a new pet that happened to be sensitive to noise, others claimed.
He was simply maturing into a new era, most of the sane ones settled on.
None of them were correct, they soon learned.
That was, until one slip up. A tiny, unnoticeable detail left during a chaotic moment in the stream. The average fan wouldn't have seen a thing out of the ordinary, but his fans were no normal group.
“Ah, shit.” He cursed, moving his (proudly expensive) chair out of the way as he stood up to move items off his desk. He spilled his glass of whiskey all over, hopelessly watching the amber liquid spreading across the surface and towards his precious equipment.
But did he move to grab his monitors and keyboard? Not at first, no, like any normal person would go for while their pricey and valuable belongings were undergoing a threat.
The item in his hand was small. Flimsy, by the looks of it and no bigger than his large palm. He grabbed a second item just as fast, clutching it to his chest with a soft ‘fuck’ escaping his mouth. Had it been a mere six months prior, this incident would have him practically crashing out and playing his reaction up to the max. He set the things behind him onto the dry chair, moving to shuffle out of the recording room in search of paper towels.
Soft murmuring was barely audible through the open door.
But the chat barely registered the fact that there were two voices from the hallway. Instead, they locked in on the inconspicuous objects sitting all alone, taunting them. It would only be after, when a few people went over their recordings with a fine-toothed comb that they would even notice such a thing.
“Computer, zoom in on that.” A donation chat's robotic message filled the room, and people already got to work clipping and enhancing the image.
The first thing was exactly what they expected. A bright pink square object with a lens in the middle. A polaroid, plain and simple.
But pink? Schlatt? Since when was he a fan of polaroids and bright colors that completely clashed with his vintage ‘rich man’ house aesthetic? Never, that's when. The more they explored, the more suspicious they grew.
He was taking an awfully long time to return, which was a positive for their investigation but a negative for his own equipment. It was rare for him to be so distracted in his single-resident home, with the rare exception of the cats getting into trouble.
Finally, he returned with a wad of white sheets in hand and a stupid grin on his face.
It was too late by then. A donation was sent through, filling the silence of the room with the message.
“The other one is a picture.”
A pause. Schlatt looked up from his wiping, bemused at the words.
“Of a girl.”
Chat went crazy. No legible word was in sight with how fast it scrolled, large paragraphs explaining their findings and one-worded exclamations of shock passed faster than he could ever attempt to read. Finally, he tossed the soaking wet paper towels in his trash can and sat back down after adjusting his stuff back into place with a careful touch.
“I leave for two minutes, guys.” He gruffs. “What's going on?”
He catches a few words in many chats.
Girlfriend.
Who?
When?
He unconsciously ran his fingers through his hair, landing on his neck and keeping them there as he leaned back.
“Two fucking minutes and the world came to the conclusion that I have a secret girlfriend.” He asked, but it was definitely more of a defeated statement. “Un-be-leavable.” He emphasized, glancing at the small polaroid picture sitting back up on his desk. Something so tiny and discreet got him caught after six months of being incredibly slick.
Or so he believed was six months of discreet, at least.
Now, he had a different dilemma. Allow them to claim victory and admit defeat, announcing her to the world when that's the exact opposite of what he went into this trying to do, or gaslight his entire audience for the rest of his career.
Hard choice, indeed. He mulled over his two options with a narrow squint at the chat and the game that had been idling for almost ten minutes now, definitely forgotten for the rest of the day until this was sorted out.
It didn't slow down as he sat there in silence, lips pressed together in a fine line. There was no going back, now.
Finally, he blew a long and winding breath out between his teeth. “Fine.” He put his hands up. “You guys win this time. Babe?”
He craned his neck towards the door, which had been left open with his return. It took a minute, but a soft voice followed his call eventually and a shadow filled the lit doorway.
“...Yeah?” You asked in a hesitant murmur, wondering if he needed something and couldn't get away from the setup. He'd never summoned you around before in need, except for the uncommon occasion where you sat on his newly introduced loveseat in a hidden corner of the room to hang out with him while he was live or editing.
“I forgot to hand this back to you.” He said, nonplussed at the now revamped energy of the chat that he was currently choosing to ignore.
“Are you—?” You gestured to the screen, seeing his own facecam in the corner of one of the monitors.
“Sure am.” He replied, holding out the polaroid like an olive branch. “They saw your picture. It's about time I stop keeping you all to myself.”
You stepped forward until only your arm was visible in the camera. Not bothering to glance at chat, you locked in on your boyfriend in fear of not liking what they might be saying about you. He'd had long, extensive chats with you about his job and how cruel and parasocial people often were, and how even he struggled sometimes still and the last thing he wanted was either people stalking or bullying you in any capacity. You insisted that if worse came to worse, you'd be able to handle it and all of your social media was kept private anyway, along with your name being anonymous in case anyone ever saw you. Grabbing the camera from his hand, you thanked him before feeling the familiar and needy tug on your wrist.
He raised a brow, an almost pathetic pout on his lips as he looked up at you expectantly. “Not gonna kiss me goodbye?” He teased, though the question left it entirely up to you.
You mulled it over in your mind for a minute, finally deciding to just suck it up and lean into frame, placing a lingering kiss on his lips before dragging yourself up and away, squeezing his hand as you released it with a warm face and buzzing ears. You'd surely find that clip somewhere later, but no one would recognize you so what the hell, let them rave.
“Thanks, Jay.” You winked, leaving the recording room and shutting the door behind you.
The moment your figure left the room, everyone was yelling at him to introduce you fully and let them meet the person who had changed him so much in such a short time period.
“Hell no,” he scoffed. “Once is good enough, I can't have any of you thinkin’ that I'm gonna start sharing anytime soon.”
Once the heat died down, he decided to end the live for the day and return to you, slumping down onto the couch and right on top of you, feeling your arms instinctively wrap around him in turn and turn your head up to allow his face to lay in the crook of your neck.
Your fingers found his hair easily, thoughtlessly. “What brought that up?”
“Hm? Can't show off my pretty, talented, stunning lady to the world?”
You rolled your eyes. “I didn't say that. I thought you were the one against it. You said people were too nosy.”
“Oh, they are.” He scoffed lightly. “But it's worth it.” He continued after a long pause.
“Is that so?” You asked. “I've already seen a few trending tags and clips up in the air.”
He lifted his head, studying your face seriously. “You aren't upset, are you? I didn't mean to pressure you, just figured since they saw that picture of you that it might be time to give up the charade.”
You shrugged. “No big deal, promise. I'm more worried about Ted's reaction. He's gonna flip knowing you told your chat before the rest of your friends.”
Schlatt laughed in mock spite. “He should be happy I told him at all. Now I gotta deal with being pestered about everyone wanting to see you all the time.”
Frowning playfully, you gave him your best pout. “Don't want them seeing me?”
“Fuck no.” He stated finitely, a low rumble vibrating between your chests as he spoke. “Want you all to myself.”
