The attic smelled like dust and old cardboard, the kind of place sunlight only visited through a slatted window at odd angles. Sapnap had climbed up there to find the missing charger he was certain he’d left behind. Instead, he found a movement — a small, deliberate skitter across a stack of comic books — and the instinct that had kept him alive through awkward childhood encounters with bugs kicked in. He froze. The skitter stopped. Sapnap didn't think, he acted: a glass cup from a nearby shelf pitched down and thunked over the creature like a makeshift bell jar.
For a long, excruciating second, there was silence. Then, impossibly, a voice squeaked from beneath the rim
"P-Please let me out!"
Sapnap's hand hovered above the glass. His heart did that ridiculous flip where it tries to escape through his throat. He had trapped a spider. He had trapped a talking spider. He imagined the headlines. He imagined yelling.
"...No."
The voice went high with outrage. Tiny legs beat a rhythm he could feel more than hear against the cardboard floor. A pair of too-bright eyes peered up at him through the cup — not the cold, insect eyes Sapnap expected, but...they looked pretty like human eyes.
"Why?!"
the voice demanded. Sapnap swallowed. He kept his hand on the rim like an anchor in a storm.
"You scare the shit out of me"
he admitted, and the words landed between them, loud in the dusty light. There was a long, slow pause. Then, with a theatrical huff, the creature folded one delicate foreleg across its chest.
"What...? You're saying that you, the person who trapped me against my own will and made me try to deal with the fact I might die at any moment...is scared of me? of tthe tiny little spider?"
Sapnap snorted despite himself. It was absurd — this tiny creature, this drider with a humanish face and... suprisingly pretty talkative. He had expected animal instinct, maybe even teeth. Instead he was looking at a face that raised an eyebrow.
"..."
Sapnap rubbed the back of his neck.
"…In my defense the way you run freaks me out..."
"....and I'm kinda scared of spiders"
Sapnap mumbled. after a while of silence, the drider said.
"...im Karl by the way"
those words made Sapnap’s palms itch with the need to apologize.
"Next time try saying hello instead of playing toupée with the nearest household object"
Sapnap's fingers loosened. The argument made him laugh. He'd stolen something from himself in that moment — the panicked, reflexive part that flinched first and thought later. He lifted the cup. Karl clicked his mandibles once. He climbed out with careful dignity, legs folding like an exotic umbrella. Up close he looked even stranger: a torso that could have belonged to a small, wiry human, wrists ringed with too many joints, and a soft, rueful smile that almost made Sapnap want to reach out and touch him, purely to disprove the old spider myths in his head.
"So,"
Karl said, arranging himself on the desc he was.
"Now that I am not on the menu, can we talk about why you were rummaging through my attic?"
"...you live here?"
Sapnap asked. Karl shrugged, a motion full of silk and economy.
"Sort of. Borrowed space. I prefer low humidity and a steady supply. And humans always forget better things up here."
Sapnap asked what felt important for him: "Are you—like, dangerous?"
Karl laughed, a sound like somebody flicking a violin string.
"Dangerous? To what? To dust bunnies? To your fragile dignity? No. To people who step on me while distracted? Possibly. To those who underestimate conversation as a form of diplomacy? Absolutely."
They talked in fits and starts — Sapnap awkward and earnest, Karl merciless and sincere. He learned Karl loved the slow patterns of storytelling, the way a good joke has to be threaded like silk across a room. Karl learned Sapnap collected ridiculously lot of superhero comics and had, more importantly, a soft spot for rescuing stray animals, even if his rescue protocols were loud and dramatic. They were talking for a pretty long time. Outside, the rooftop sounded like a city readying for night, and inside, under the slanted sunlight, Sapnap and Karl found the odd, simple truth: fear makes people do funny things, but friendship — however small, however spider-sized — makes better ones.
Since people seemed to like the last one (and I like coming up with more) here’s some new prompts.
1. Giant bird Philza forcefully adopting some abandoned humans. Why he doesn’t question finding three small boys alone in the woods, I don’t know.
2. Tommy is a feisty borrower who’s been living inside Wilbur and Techno’s walls. He also likes to terrorize the cat too. How do the two brothers react when they come home and find their poor cat being ridden by a screeching gremlin who is trying to navigate the absurdly large house?
3. Sapnap and his two fiances are out for a late night walk when a giant bursts through the treeline and reaches for them. The only thing he can do is turn giant and fend off the equally large threat, hoping that he doesn’t scare his friends too much.
Notes: Here ya go, a bit of fluff with Karl and Quackity And then it’s slime time! >:] ALSO ANCIENT ONE INFO
part 1
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Quackity was thrilled to be a general. He really was, he’d worked years to reach the rank, and now that he had the badge to prove his skill he was excited.
Or, he should have been.
His eyes bore into the mirror in front of him, glaring daggers at the small ribbon attached to his uniform. The dark green badge was supposed to be a sign of his strength- a sign that he was a leader. That he had earned his place in the guard…
But he didn’t deserve it, or at least he didn’t deserve it for what Dream thought he did. In the end, he couldn't kill the giant, he was too weak.
Dream had been so impressed when he heard, so happy for him that Quackity felt his heart twist at the memory. He’d worked so hard to gain the man’s admiration…and when he finally did it was because of a lie.
He’d finally achieved his dream, but only because of a death that didn't happen- because of a corpse that didn’t exist.
Quackity sighed and brushed his hair out of his face. He could deal with those thoughts later, but that morning he had his first real mission.
He was supposed to accompany the town artificer, Karl, into the woods to pick up a book he had lost on his last trip. Quackity’d only ever met the man once, but he remembered him well. The strange man was always the talk of the town, and his museum had won over even Dream’s appreciation.
Even if it was just a glorified babysitting job, he wouldn’t complain, and there could be worse people to look after.
Hastily, he threw on the rest of his guard attire and headed off towards the museum. It was so early, his footsteps echoed around the empty streets. The only sound came from the gentle chirping of crickets hiding in the shade, and the clucking of chickens wandering along the paths.
When he finally reached the tall brick museum he wasn’t surprised to find the artificer already outside waiting. His purple cloak just barely covered his face, and he was so hunched over Quackity almost thought he was asleep.
“Hey,” Quackity called out, “Karl?”
“Huh?” the man jumped nearly falling over, “Who? Oh…”
His eyes locked onto Quackity’s before a wide dopey grin spread across his face.
“You must be Quackity right?” he waved, “Sapnap’s told me a lot about you.”
Quackity scoffed and reached out to shake the other man’s hand. However, just as their fingers touched Karl pulled him into a tight hug. It was unexpected but not unpleasant as his head rested over Quackity’s.
“Whatever Sapnap’s told you is a lie,” Quackity humored, “I promise.”
A soft laugh left the cloaked man, “He just said you were a good leader. I’d hope that's not a lie.”
“Okay, maybe that's true,” Quackity felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment.
Karl let out a throaty laugh, “Better be.”
The guardsmen shoved Karl’s shoulder jokingly. The back and forth quips were so comfortable that if Quackity didn’t know Karl was only talking to him for a mission, he would have invited him back to his house. He hoped that maybe they could talk again after their missionz
“Well, you ready to go?” Quackity asked after a couple of quiet seconds.
Karl yawned dramatically and nodded, bouncing back on his heels. If they weren’t about to go into the woods Quackity would have compared him to a kid at a carnival. Although he guessed that someone whose job was to find strange things in the forest would be pretty excited about the trip.
The artificer nodded excitedly, his hood almost falling off in the process, and bolted forward to grab Quackity’s wrist, “Yep! I can lead if you want- I know where the book should be.”
Quackity could barely contain the warmth bubbling up in his chest. Something about being around the artificer brought out a joy in him he hadn't felt since he was young. Maybe it was his choked laughter or the way he pulled Quackity along like an excitable dog- whatever it was the guardsmen was absolutely charmed by the man.
The tugging against his wrist only stopped when the pair reached the giant drawbridge at the edge of town. The massive moat surrounding them kept them safe, but it also kept them in. And while the bridge helped travelers cross, only the guard could take it down, part of the reason why Quackity was on the mission in the first place.
“Lower the hatch would ya,” Karl hummed as he pushed Quackity up to the drawbridge’s station.
As carefully as he could, Quackity unlocked the bridge’s rope and pulled it loose from the cracked wooden pole it was hooked on to. The scratchy material dug into his hands, but with years of training, it only felt like a dull ache. Karl cheered when he finally got the bundled up rope into his arms.
The moment Quackity let go the bridge slammed down with a loud splash. A wave of water sprayed around them, and Karl quickly pulled his hood over himself to stay dry. Although, he only succeeded in soaking his clothes.
“Awe, don't wanna get wet?” Quackity giggled as the man shook out the wet sleeves of his cloak.
The only response he got was a dramatic huff.
The trip into the forest was relatively calm. Karl joked a bit while they walked, but both seemed to feel the heavy sense of dread that always accompanied the forest. It was so thick it felt like the air didn't even want them to be there.
"So," Karl hummed, "How long have you been a general?"
Quackity shrugged and brushed a few stray leaves out of the way. One particularly large one fluttered down, but before it could hit the ground Karl snatched it between his fingers.
"Giant fern," he noted, "Good for medicine."
Quackity laughed and picked off another leaf for the artificer, "You asked how long I've been a general- uh two days."
"Only two?"
"Yep, just got promoted," he shrugged. And even though the shadow of a smile still fell on Karl's face, he couldn't help but feel like he was being interrogated.
The constant reminder that he didn’t deserve his position weighed heavy in his mind.
"That's cool."
The guardsmen watched as Karl hopped over a fallen log. He went to follow but paused as his eyes caught on a large singed area of the bark.
For some reason, it set off alarms in his head, but the soft laughter from Karl brought him back. Only moments later, his feet hit the ground beside him with a thud.
"Cool?" Quackity echoed.
Karl turned and grinned back, "Yeah, what's wrong with being cool huh?"
"Nothing, nothing," he joked, "Just not a word I'd expect someone like you to use."
Karl flung his hand at his chest with a loud gasp, "Are you saying I'm too smart to say cool?"
A soft hum left Quackity as the artificer lead them into a wide clearing, "No... I don't remember ever calling you smart."
Karl barely got out a laugh before they both froze. The artificer backed up nervously as he stared off into the trees.
Something was wrong.
From deeper in the clearing, a heavy thud rang out. It shook the ground underneath them, and Quackity noticed with a shudder that more of the trees nearby had similar burns to the fallen log. Something was there…
Cautiously, Quackity drew his sword and pushed the taller man behind him. Even though his heart was racing, he had to keep Karl safe.
"Maybe we should just go back," the artificer whispered nervously.
Quackity turned and gestured for the man to stay. Every cell in his body screamed to leave, but he had to find out what it was. It couldn't be the same giant... It just couldn't be.
But the strangely hand-like burns on the trees said otherwise.
"I'll be back," Quackity said sternly, "Find somewhere to hide and stay."
Karl frowned, but took Quackity's word. He heard rustling in the bushes as the artificer went to hide.
God, he hoped he would stay put.
The last thing he needed was Karl going missing under his watch.
Only a couple seconds later another loud crash echoed through the woods. This time though, Quackity took off running as fast as he could towards the source of the noise. His legs ached as he hopped over fallen tree after fallen tree, but he kept up his pace.
Fuck, they were everywhere.
And the closer he got the worse the trees around him looked. Slime pooled around their roots, and many were already shriveled up on the grass, nothing more than a few sticks left.
However, not only were the trees unsettling, the air felt almost suffocating. The thick acidic smell burned his eyes and shot through his nose making him recoil. Hastily, he ripped off a piece of his sleeve to wrap it around his face hoping it would help. It still burned, but it wasn't completely intolerable anymore.
Only a couple more steps and a giant shadow came into view. The dark figure was barely visible through the trees, but Quackity could already tell what it was...even from far away.
It was the same giant.
He shuffled a bit closer until he could see it through a hole in the foliage. Its shaggy hair hung over its features, and now he could see the real cause of the sound.
Slowly, the gigantic creature lifted its fists over its head before bashing them down onto the tree in front of it. The slime from its fingers burned into the bark causing the tree to sizzle and pop, but the giant kept going.
Its fists slammed into it over and over again with resounding thuds until finally, the tree collapsed with a loud whine. A low growl left the monster before it spun around to attack another tree.
Quackity felt frozen as he watched. His body begged him to run away, but he felt stuck watching the giant fell the trees. The way its slime burned straight the wood was almost mesmerizing. Although he couldn’t help but think about what it could do to a human…
The mental image of slime burning into skin was enough for Quackity to snap out of his stupor. He quickly turned to go back to Karl, but before he could move the forest went silent.
It took him a moment to realize what was unsettling about it- the giant had stopped.
It had noticed him.
"You," the giant's voice boomed.
Quackity felt a shudder run down his spine as he forced himself to turn and face the giant. He couldn’t run away again His hand tightened against his sword in fear, he could kill it this time. He finally had the chance to fix his mistakes.
He expected anger or rage from the beast, but what he didn't expect was a soft look of confusion.
"You came back?" it asked in a hushed tone.
Quackity scowled and flashed his blade at the giant, "Maybe if you didn't want to be found you wouldn’t be having your own little boxing match over here.”
The giant flinched away causing small drops of slime to fall into the grass, “Oh…”
Quackity marched forward with a false air of confidence as the beast cowered away. It would be easy to kill it; it was so weak it probably wouldn't even fight back.
He was only a couple feet away from its leg before the giant even threw its arms up to protect itself.
"I should've killed you the last time," Quackity growled earning a small whimper from the giant.
He could do it, he told himself. He had the chance, and then he would deserve his position. Dream’s praise would be earned. He’d finally have what he wanted.
With one motion he raised his sword above his head and took a deep breath.
He could do this. He could do this.
It was only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity as his blade fell.
He closed his eyes and felt it make contact, sending a jolt through his arm. A loud laugh broke out of his chest in triumph, but the moment his eyes opened his heart stopped.
The tip of his sword had melted off. What once was a menacing weapon was now a bubbling mess on the grass.
"Fuck," Quackity yelped as he quickly backed away from the giant.
His mind went into overdrive as he tried to find a way out of the situation. He still had to get back to Karl, and his weapon was now useless.
And now the giant was staring at him again.
"I don't want to hurt you," it mumbled.
Quackity snarled and backed away further from the beast before he realized its tail had come around behind him. The long bristly appendage covered in slime at the end completely blocked his way out.
"No, no." the giant stuttered, "I don't- I really don't mean to I just-"
"You're just a fucking monster," Quackity finished.
A gust of wind just barely covered the frustrated cry that left the giant. Quackity flinched away from the sound- he wasn’t in a position to make threats anymore.
"I know," the monster whimpered, "I know."
Quackity stared up with wide eyes at the giant. He was completely trapped and at its will, and yet it was the one on the verge of tears.
"I'm trying to fix myself I am," it whined, "But I can't find anything. I don't know what to do."
Nervously, Quackity eyed the giant's hands as it vented. Every time it moved small drops of slime hissed against the grass.
"What do you mean...fixed?" Quackity asked after a few quiet seconds.
The giant eyed him nervously from under its hair and collapsed in on itself, "Don't wanna be like this anymore... I kill everything."
"Don't you want to..." Quackity frowned suspiciously, "Don't know if I need to remind you, but you're a giant-a predator."
A loud cry left the giant, and its slime-covered tail brushed dangerously close to Quackity. He could almost feel it start to burn his hair.
"I'm not...I'm not," it moaned, "I just want help, I want to be normal. I hate this."
"What? The slime?" Quackity asked.
The giant bared its teeth at the word making Quackity jump back in fear. He was more than a little worried that one more wrong word would be the end of their little conversation.
"Yes... The fucking slime,” he spat.
The bitterness in his voice sent a shiver down Quackity’s spine.
"Well uh...I don't know what to tell you," the guardsmen shrugged, "Seems like something you're just going to have to live with."
The giant frowned again and leaned closer to Quackity. The human felt his breath catch in his chest as he got an up-close view of their size difference. He was barely even the size of the giant's nose.
It could eat him alive if it wanted to.
"You're wrong. There is or...was someone who could help me," the giant muttered, "The ancient ones could do it. They could fix me. Could make me better.”
The guardsmen backed away nervously from the giant's mouth, not wanting to be anywhere near its massive fangs.
"Isn’t that just a story…and even so didn’t it like yaknow...die? The Warden was the last one right? It passed away a long time ago bud, don't know what to tell you," Quackity shrugged.
He only knew a bit about the “ancient ones” and all he did know was from children’s stories. The Warden was something kids were told to make them sleep or eat their vegetables...not something that could help a very real and very deadly giant.
Yet, at the mention of the Warden the giant's face lit up, "You know about him?"
"Wait no I don't-"
"Where is he? Can you take me? I'll fix your sword," the giant rambled hopefully.
"Wait no," Quackity shook his hands nervously, "No-no-no. It's just a…it’s just a story.”
The giant's face fell again, but this time an idea wormed its way into the guardsmen's mind.
The giant had trapped him for at least ten minutes and still showed no sign of attacking, and it seemed desperate.
He couldn't kill the giant...but maybe controlling it would be better. It had so much hope…and hope was a strong emotion.
"Actually though...Now that I think about it," Quackity paused, "I might be able to help you. If we made a deal of course."
The giant watched with wide green eyes and waited for the human to continue. Quackity already knew he'd earned the beast's attention from the way its ears pricked up excitedly.
"If you agree to stay away from my town…I'll help you find the ancient one you need. Okay?"
Quackity barely even got to finish his sentence before the giant was nodding frantically.
"Yes yes, I'll do anything," it pleaded, “Anything.”
A sly smile worked its way onto the guardsmen’s face, "Good...Is this where you live?"
The giant gazed at the human with an owlish expression and nodded again like a dog doing a trick. It was almost sad how easily it believed Quackity’s lies.
"Alright...perfect," Quackity smiled. He couldn't believe what he was doing...but it was better than leaving the giant free for the second time.
The giant was his responsibility now. And if a few lies kept his people (and his position) safe, he could live with it.
"I'll be back soon. I'll be searching for the ancient one the whole time. I promise."
The giant's tail thumped up and down excitedly as its head darted forward. Before he could even process what was happening the monster had bumped its nose into his chest, knocking him over. He yelped in fear, but as soon as it happened the creature pulled away apprehensively.
"Oh sorry," it murmured, "Thank you. Thank you so so much."
The toothy grin on the giant’s face almost made Quackity feel bad. At least until he looked back down at the slime boiling the grass below them…
"My pleasure,” the guardsmen bowed.
The gigantic slimy creature beamed down at him again before taking off into the woods. In only a few seconds the only evidence of the giant was the slime pooled up on the ground.
He’d have to go back to the giant eventually, but he could deal with that later. First, he had to get back to Karl.
The rest of the day the acrid smell of slime followed him like a ghost.
