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darkgodcomplex · 3 days

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Home Sweet Home

Wally Darling X Reader

CW: Manipulation, Obsession, Horror, Psychological Horror, Violence

Word Count: 11,754

AO3 Link

Wattpad Link

Here's the story:

You stand with hands on your hips, the sleeves of your baggy old college sweatshirt rolled up as you admire your new house. This is it... a new start.

Tying your hair back into a ponytail, you get to work. This might be your dream, but it doesn't come easy. The house you've chosen was cheap and definitely a fixer-upper. You leave the U-Haul with all your boxes parked in the driveway while you head up to the door.

You step inside, which immediately brings you to a dimly lit mudroom. The wood paneling is rotting. It's going to have to be replaced. You kick off your shoes onto the dirt-encrusted floor, leaning your hand on the doorframe. When you peel it away, it comes back filthy.

Ugh. You need a sink.

Going further into the house, you head into the kitchen. The outdated orange shag carpet alone makes you groan. Plus, who puts carpet in the kitchen?

You head over to the large metal sink set up on the bright yellow countertops to wash your hand of the dirt. You turn the handle of the faucet.

Nothing.

You turn it more. Then off again and then on again. Still, no water comes out. You sigh, wondering if the water was shut off or if the sink is just another of the busted household items this house will provide.

The living room offshoots the kitchen. What was once probably beautiful white and flowered wallpaper has now yellowed and peels off the walls in large stripes. Several windows are cracked, but it doesn't look like it's from force. You guess it's probably from improper care in the cold.

There's a bathroom. As you creak open the door, you see something dash out. You shriek, scrambling back wildly as you watch the mouse slip away into a crack in the wall. You breathe heavy. You're definitely going to have to go buy some mouse traps tonight. Still, you cautiously enter the bathroom. When you turn on the sink, you're relieved to find that it runs.

You wash the dirt away, then flick your wet hands at the sink. Even if there were towels in the bathroom, you wouldn't trust them to dry your hands.

There's an upstairs, which you expect that you'll set up your bedroom up there. The stairs themselves though are awfully steep and seem to be littered with staples that stick out from the floorboards. You opt to avoid that for now and continue to explore the ground floor. There's a small closet filled with spiderwebs and a door that leads to the basement, though when you flick the lightswitch no light turns on down there.

You sigh, leaning your head against the door to the basement. Can you really do this? This is going to be so much hard work. You've scraped together all of your savings for this?

There's one more door at the end of the hall. You discover it's an office. It's still rough around the edges like the rest of the house, but it has a large window that takes up almost the whole wall. It looks out into the neighborhood.

You stand in front of it, admiring the view. You can see many houses, each one brightly painted with jolly colors, their lawns perfect. Butterflies and hummingbirds float near the bushes of flowers that are planted under the window. The sky is a brilliant blue, clearer than you've ever seen it before. This place truly is paradise.

One thing the realtor really sold you on was the neighborhood. She said that the community bands together in a way that she's never seen before. Seeing it now, you can already tell that these people are special. How can they not be when they create such a beautiful environment?

Yes, this will be your painting room. Just standing here now you feel a rush of inspiration. You want to paint this moment. You rush to the front door, eager to grab your painting supplies before the mood runs out.

As you open the door, you jolt back, you had not been expecting any visitors. You have an entire welcome crew at your front door.

"Hello neighbor!" A man with a stunning blue pompadour steps forward, extending a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Wally Darling."

You gingerly take his hand, face flushing. He's clearly a charmer. His grip is firm but delicate.

"It's nice to meet you too."

"These are our other neighbors here, we have Julie, Eddie, Frank, Barnaby, Poppy, Howdy, and Sally!" Each one waves as he says their name.

"We wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood!" Poppy raises up a cake she's been holding. In fancy cursive font, it reads:

Welcome Home.

"Poppy is our resident baker." Wally grins. "She's who you want to cater all your events!"

"Oh, Poppy, will you do my birthday!" Julie chimes in.

"Of course." Poppy laughs at Julie, then turns back to you. "Here you are, dear." She hands you the cake.

You smile, this is so sweet of them! It truly makes this miserable house better. "Thank you! Um, my place is a wreck right now, but please, come in."

They all shuffle into your kitchen. Luckily the previous owners left you a kitchen table and some chairs so that your guests can sit. You set the cake on the table.

"So where are you from?" Frank asks, taking a seat.

"I actually came a long way." You give a nervous chuckle. "Wanted to start fresh... I'm from a little town in the middle of nowhere."

"Oh that's where I'm from too!" Eddie bursts out excitedly, then hesitates. "Wait, no." Frank pats Eddie on the back.

"This place seems like it needs a bit of work." Wally notices, hands in pockets as he leans on the counter.

Howdy nods along with him. "I have a bunch of supplies in my shop if you ever need anything." He says. "On the house for a new neighbor."

"Oh, I can help too!" Sally says. "I work on my sets all the time!"

"That would be awesome!" You suddenly have a bit more hope for this place. "Only if it's not an inconvenience for you guys of course."

"It's no issue." Wally promises, looking down at you with his half lidded eyes. "It's all a part of being in the neighborhood."

"When are we having cake?" Barnaby suddenly asks, eyeing it.

"Oh, um-" You glance around the kitchen. "All my kitchen utensils are still packed in the car..."

Everyone puzzles over this for a minute. Then, Barnaby reaches out and takes a handful of cake. His paws smear with frosting and he brings it up to his mouth to take a bite.

"What are you doing!" Frank demands.

"No plates and no utensils." Barnaby shrugs.

There's another pause. Then, you reach out and grab a handful too. The cake is squishy and messy between your fingers, but when you bring it to your mouth, it's delicious. Slowly, everyone is scooping up the cake, laughing as they play with it in their palms.

"This is ridiculous." Frank says, crossing his arms. "I refuse to act so childish!"

"Aw, come on, Frank." Barnaby says, leaning over. "Oh, you got something on your face."

"What? Where-"

"Right... there." Barnaby smushes some cake onto Franks face, smearing it down. Frank sits in shock for a second, then reaches a finger up to wipe the frosting at his cheek. He sticks the finger in his mouth, sucking at the frosting.

"Well... at least the cake is delicious." He admits. Everyone laughs, but soon it devolves into everyone tossing the cake. Julie and Frank team up to get Barnaby, Sally tosses the cake in the air while Eddie tries to catch it in his mouth, and Howdy and Poppy try to down as much cake as they can. Wally still leans on the counter, watching the chaos with a small smirk.

You slide next to him, cake still in hand.

"Sure you don't want a bite?" You grin, intending to smash it on his face. Before you can though, he takes his index finger and swipes it through the frosting, bringing it to your face and gently smearing the frosting onto the tip of your nose. He brings his finger back to suck on the small bit of leftovers.

"You can have it all, my dear." He says, returning to his casual, laidback position.

Eventually, all the cake the gone. Whether more is in your bellies or streaked along your floor, table, and walls, you're unsure. It's a mess, but somehow it makes the old house feel less dreary than before. Your guests head home, promising to come help with the house.

"Oh!" Julie turns back as she leaves, grasping at your hands. "We're having a barbeque tomorrow. You simply have to come!"

"I don't know." You chuckle. "I still have to unpack."

"Well, please keep us in mind." She lets go, giving a warm smile. "I had a lot of fun today." With that, she turns and scurries down the steps.

It's Wally's turn next. He gives you another one of his signature warm smiles. It makes your stomach flutter.

"I'm just in the Home over there." He says, pointing towards a peppy little red house down the street. "Come down whenever you need me."

"Thank you again." You say. He gives a polite nod before stepping away.

When everyone is out of sight, you sigh. It's already sunset and you haven't done any unpacking. One by one you bring the boxes in. Then, you puzzle over how you're going to get your larger furniture inside. In the end, you decide you don't need to bring in the couch, the desk, or the TV in tonight and that you can ask for help tomorrow, but you have to bring the mattress in now. It's a struggle, but eventually you manage.

That's it. That's all the work you're doing today. You can take all your stuff out of the boxes tomorrow.

However, there is one box that you unpack, labeled painting supplies. You set up in your new office, putting the easel in front of the window. It's pitch black out now, so you decide to paint the quiet calmness of the neighborhood at night. It seems as if everyone is already asleep, there's not a single window light on down the street. You throw a canvas on the easel, digging through your oil paints to find the right ones.

You notice Wally's house is right near your window, you have a perfect view of it. It only adds to your inspiration, using the darkness as a metaphor in your painting. It's the mystery... the curiosity... the intimacy. Despite being in two separate homes, you can't help but feel like you're glimpsing into his soul by painting his house.

It's nearly three in the morning when you finally finish your painting. It's crude and hastily done, but you enjoy it's charm. As you lay it on the floor to dry, you notice an odd detail that you don't remember adding.

There's a single light on in Wally's attic.

_____

Despite promising yourself that you'll get completely unpacked today, by midmorning you're already exhausted. You take a break, steaming yourself a cup of tea. So far in your packing, you've only uncovered one of your coffee mugs, so you're left sipping out of a chipped mug that reads: I DESTROYED THE UNIVERSE AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS STUPID MUG.

In the very least, a couple of things are coming along nicely. You hesitate to unpack everything right away, since you'll surely soon be tearing up carpet and painting over walls, but the essentials are out. Still, there is work to do.

Although...

You glance at the time. The barbeque is going to be soon... should you go? While they were all very king to you yesterday, you really don't know any of them.

Maybe this is your chance though. You'd particularly like to know that Wally fellow a little more.

You've decided it. You're going.

You glance down at your work clothes, a ragged old sweatshirt and worn out jeans with paint splattered all over. You're going to need to dress better than this.

Which box are your clothes in?

You spend another while digging through boxes. While you don't find dress clothes, you do find your stash of mugs. You set them in the kitchen. Eventually, you opt to just wear your paint splattered jeans but with a hole-free tee shirt.

You make your way outside. As you exit the house, the warm summer air hits you and you take a deep breath in, enjoying the season. It's absolutely beautiful in this town. You're surprised no one outbid on the house in a place like this.

Walking along the street, you spot a picnic spot set up in Wally's backyard. It seems you're the last one to arrive. The delectable smell of fresh meat cooking on the grill catches your nose.

"Yay, you came!" Julie practically jumps into your arms.

You laugh, "I figured I could take a lunch break."

Two picnic tables are set up next to the large grill where Poppy and Barnaby flip meat patties and turn hot dogs. At one table is Sally, Howdy, and Wally while the other is Frank and Eddie. Julie leads you over, taking a seat next to Frank.

"Hello neighbor!" Wally pats the seat next to him. "Come sit with us."

You take your seat, giving a polite smile.

"How was your first night at your new home?" Sally squeals excitedly, leaning over the table.

"It was fine." You shrug. "A little uncomfortable since my mattress was on the floor because I haven't set up my bedframe yet."

"Oh dear!" Howdy exclaims.

"What?" Eddie asks from the other table.

"It's nothing, Eddie." Sally rolls her eyes at him. "So when do we get to come help! Oh! What colors do you want to paint your walls? I was thinking bright! We can magenta or chartreuse or turquoise or-"

"Easy there." Howdy laughs, patting Sally on the shoulder. "I think we'll need to do some repairs before we can get into the decor aspect."

"What needs to be fixed?" Wally asks you in his usual chill manner. "So that we can help."

You raise your eyebrows, mind scanning through the plethora of problems in that house. "The sink doesn't run, there are staples in the stairs, the basement light doesn't work, there are mice and god knows what else, and some of my windows are broken."

Those are just the ones you've discovered so far.

Howdy runs his hand along his chin, "Some of those don't sound too bad. We can take some pliers to the stairs, then hopefully the light just needs replacing and isn't an electrical issue..." He trails off in thought.

"Food is ready!" Barnaby announces. Poppy sets down plates while Barnaby hands out the food.

"Hotdog or hamburger?" Barnaby asks when he gets to you.

"Hotdog please."

Barnaby loads up your plate, "Say, how does the enthusiastic man eat his hotdog?"

"Huh?" You ask, staring up at him.

With a large grin, Barnaby leans in and whispers, "With relish."

You blink, taking a minute to process the joke. Then, you laugh.

"Thank you, I'll be here all week." Barnaby prides himself while sliding Wally a burger.

"When can I get you on stage with me, Barnaby?" Sally bites into her hotdog.

Barnaby shrugs, "Alas, my stardom is meant for small crowds."

Sally shakes her head, "One day I'll convince you."

"I'd love to see it."

You bite down on your hotdog. It's probably the most delicious you've ever had. Does everything in this town taste amazing or are it's residents just master chefs?

"We have to go play lawn games!" Sally yells as she finishes her food. "Wally, you're on my team!"

"What are we playing-"

Sally grabs Wally by the arm, dragging him out to the field before he can protest.

"Want to team up?" Howdy wipes his mouth with a napkin.

"I think I need to digest my food first." You tell him, patting your belly. "Sorry."

"All good." Howdy leans over to the other table. "Hey Edds, you and me?"

"You know it!" Eddie says through a mouthful of burger. He shoves the rest in his mouth, hurrying to stand up. Barnaby and Poppy team up as well, heading over to the group.

That leaves Julie and Frank. Neither seem interested in joining the games. You move over to their table.

"Why don't you just ask him, Frank!" Julie whispers as you sit down.

Frank looks at you nervously, "Julie! There's someone else here!"

Julie sighs, looking over at you. "You can keep a secret, right?"

You nod.

Julie looks at Frank expectedly. He sighs, hands fiddling with a book he keeps in his lap. "Fine."

"Frank likes Eddie!" Julie giggles excitedly. "And Eddie SO likes him back!"

"You can't say that for sure." Frank fidgets. "I was reading a study where they found that people are very unreliable in determining if they are being flirted with or not!"

"But it's so obvious!" Julie groans.

You glance over at the game being played. It seems to be some weird hybrid of croquet and tennis. Your eyes can't help but wander over to Wally, who is holding his mallet like he's never played a sport before. His hooded eyes meet yours, giving you a dazed smile. You quickly look away.

"I just want to wait." Frank shifts uncomfortably. "Just to make sure that he likes me."

"How many signs do you need?" Julie shakes her head.

Frank doesn't answer, he's too busy staring. You look over at where his gaze lands. It seems as if Howdy and Eddie won, as Eddie is jumping up and down in excitement and Howdy is doing an awkward victory dance. They lock arms, swinging around happily.

Eddie trots over to the picnic table, breath heavy from all the jumping. "Did you see that winning shot?" He taps his foot happily, eyes glancing around the table.

"Oh, I missed it!" Julie complains.

"It was a good shot." Frank looks up at Eddie. "Are you good at geometry? The angle on that shot was quite amazing to see."

Eddie gives him a goofy grin. "Angels? No, I'm not really religious." He pauses. "But if you want to talk about it more I'd listen."

Frank perks up, then starts on a long winded explanation about math. You take the opportunity to slip away.

Wally waves you over, making your stomach do a somersault. It seems Frank isn't the only one with a stupid little crush. The way you're practically drooling over him has you embarrassed, it's like you're a middle schooler again. You jog over.

"Want to play?" He asks, holding up a mallet.

"I thought you were in a team with Sally?" You glance over to see Sally standing with Howdy.

"She didn't want to be on my team anymore." He says casually, looking up at the sky. "Apparently I couldn't hit a brick wall even if I ran into it."

You can't help but laugh. Upon seeing you laugh, he laughs along too.

"Well I don't know how to play either, so we'll be quite the team."

"You two ready?" Sally swings her mallet over her shoulder. Howdy has his baseball cap on backwards.

You and Wally line up. What ensues is the most pathetic beatdown you've ever seen. Not only are Sally and Howdy more acquainted with the game, they're also just quicker and more agile than you and Wally. The two of you also have absolutely no coordination skills, constantly bumping into each other and dropping the ball. Wally just plainly face plants several times. Somehow, he always manages to laugh it off though.

When Sally scores the winning point, she leaps into the air, grabbing Howdy by the arms.

"Yay!" She squeals.

"Two victories!" Howdy grins.

Wally dusts the dirt off his clothes. He had tripped again. "I'm afraid I dragged us down." He says, tilting his head as he looks down at you.

You shake your head, "Did you see me out there? I think we're a perfect match." You blush, realizing what you've said. "I mean... perfect match as a team, of course."

"Yes." He echoes. "Perfect match." There's a hidden smile in his words.

You glance over to see Howdy and Sally still celebrating.

"I want to show you something." Wally diverts your attention back to him.

"Oh, should I get the others?" You turn, but Wally grabs your wrist.

"No, I want it to be the two of us."

You and Wally slip away. You feel slightly bad that you're abandoning everyone, but Wally assures you that it won't be for long.

"Right through here." Wally ducks through a small passage in the bushes. The greenery is absolutely stunning here. Are plants usually this green?

As you step from the shrubs, you're greeted with more stunning scenery. Before you are acres and acres of beautiful apple trees. The bright red apples dangle from each tree while fallen ones scatter the ground. It feels like something out of a storybook.

"I like to come here." Wally reaches up, picking you a nice plump apple and gingerly setting it in his hands. "I thought you'd like it too."

"This is so pretty." You stroll through the trees, fingers rubbing over the apple in your palm. This is something you'd like to paint.

"So you're a painter too?"

You pause for a second, wondering if Wally can read your mind. "Huh?"

"Your pants." He points and you follow his gaze. Ah, that's right, you're wearing your shitty painting jeans.

"Yes, I paint." You tell him, turning. He follows behind you as you walk, hands tucked respectfully behind his back. You feel like a fancy Victorian woman and he your eager suitor. "You do too?"

"I do."

"What do you paint?"

He ponders on this. "Still life, mostly." He shrugs. "Apples." He picks one up from the ground, then tosses it. "They're my muse, one could say."

"Oh I see, a muse." You tease him. "Most artists' muses are pretty women or handsome men, you know."

"Does a handsome apple count?"

You laugh, "No."

"Since you clearly have a strict idea of what a muse should be," He trots to catch up so that he walks by your side. "Who is the lucky fellow that is occupying your thoughts and paintings?"

"I don't have one." You tell him very matter-of-factly.

He shakes his head, smiling. "Perhaps you just haven't met someone handsome enough to be your muse."

"Perhaps." You smile back and finally take a bite of the apple. It's ripe and juicy.

"We should paint together." Wally shoves his hands in his pockets.

"Apples?" You ask, raising a brow.

He laughs, "No, not apples... well, unless you want to."

You hold your half eaten apple in front of you, pretending to study it like it's a piece of modern art. "I don't know... maybe I'm starting to see the complexity of it."

"Look a little harder." Wally nudges you playfully. "Maybe you'll finally find your muse."

"This apple is starting to look a little handsome."

"I knew you would eventually see my side of things." He watches as you take another bite.

"Tomorrow for painting then?" You ask. "Apples as our muse?"

"Sounds like a plan."

_____

Beautiful emerald green paint rolls onto the wall as you work. Somehow, it's even more stunning than the sample paint swatch. Your living room is going to look positively royal.

Beside you, Sally leans up, jabbering away, "-And then Julie had to come rescue me from out of the dumpster! Not only that, but the lawnmower was nowhere to be found!" She finishes her story, shaking her head as she applies more paint. "I still wonder what happened to it."

Howdy is on the floor, removing staples from where the ugly shag carpet once was. When he peeled it up, you were thrilled to find out that there were beautiful hardwood floors underneath.

"Do these crazy things happen to everyone in Home, or just you?" You ask with a smile. It's still funny to you how the town is named Home, just another example of how perfect the place is.

"Oh you should see all the trouble some of them get into." Howdy rolls his eyes. "It's only if you're looking for it."

"Have a little adventure, Howdy!" Sally teases.

Howdy pulls out a particularly difficult staple with a grunt, "I've had enough adventure, particularly from that Wally fellow."

You perk up.

Sally laughs, "Do you remember that time he tried to sew his own clothes and got caught in the sewing machine?"

"How did he do that?" You laugh along with her.

"The idiot thought that he had to sew them right onto his body." The corners of Howdy's mouth twitch up.

Sally continues chatting, "There's also this weird thing about Wally, be warned he-"

Howdy cuts her off with a cough, communicating something with his eyes that you don't quite understand.

"Err, I mean, he's just so naïve sometimes." Sally says.

"That's true." Howdy adds.

A silence falls over the room, the only sound being the occasional splash as you and Sally dip your rollers into the paint. It gives you time to wonder what Sally was going to say. Wally just gets so... what?

Your thoughts are interrupted by a loud thud, making you jump. Then comes more thudding. You blink, processing the noise for a second before realizing that it's knocking.

"Oh!" You set down your paint roller. "I'll go get it!"

You rush over to the door, slipping through the kitchen. You fling open the door, out of breath from your jog over.

It's Wally, dressed just as dapper as usual. No, he seems more dapper today. His necktie a little straighter and his hair more precisely groomed. The minute his eyes lock on yours he smiles, glancing down at your clothes.

"Painting without me?"

"Well, only my living room." You say, slightly flustered to find yourself in indecent clothes around him once more. You wish you would've been able to change into something nicer. "I wasn't expecting you so soon-" You glance at the clock you had hastily hung in the mudroom. "Oh wait, it's already noon? I'm so sorry, I meant to be ready-"

"It's no worry." Wally assures you, as casual as ever.

"Are you coming back?" Sally yells from the other room.

Wally tilts his head, eyes casting towards the noise. "Oh? There's someone else here?"

"Yeah." You feel bad about losing track of time. You sincerely were looking forward to painting with Wally! "Sally and Howdy are just helping me paint."

"Let me just step in and say hi."

You invite Wally in, leading him to the living room. It's nearly finished.

"Oh, hi Wally." Howdy plucks out another staple.

"You should've invited me, I would've done quite a nice job with the paint." Wally says casually. "It looks nice though, you all did a good job."

"It was kind of a last minute thing." You explain.

Sally sets down her roller, "We had fun doing it! You would've been more help by assisting Howdy with the staples."

"Hey! I can do it by myself-"

You laugh, "I really appreciate the help, guys."

"That being said, I think I have her claimed for the afternoon." Wally slides in. "We're going painting."

Howdy and Sally both take the hint.

"Oh! We can come back later and help." Howdy stands, stretching out his back.

"Bye!" Sally gives a cheerful wave as they exit. "We gotta hang out again!"

You wave back eagerly and they leave through the front door. You turn back to see Wally leaning on the doorframe to the living room, watching you with his relaxed eyes.

"You really did you a nice job on this living room." His voice is ever so soft.

You sigh, placing your hands on your hips. "This place still needs a lot more work."

"I know you can breathe some life into this place." Wally's eyes seem to sparkle. "Homes are very special, you know."

You shake your head, "Are we painting at the orchard?"

"Best place to find apples."

It's not long after that you and Wally have your easels set up in the orchard, plenty of fresh apples on display for references. Wally stands across from you, paint at the ready.

"I'm still not so sure that I understand apples as a muse." You tease, reaching up to tree to grasp an apple. It's just out of your reach. "I bet you think they're complex or something." You mock like you're some kind philosopher, " Apples... the thing that made Newton discover gravity, the so called forbidden fruit."

"Or maybe they're not." Wally reaches up and grabs the apple for you, placing it in your palm. "Maybe they're just apples. Simple."

You take a bite of it.

"I guess I'm getting too deep about apples." You say in between bites, smiling.

He smiles along with you, "Perhaps we should just paint."

"Let's."

You pour over your canvas, examining the half eaten apple with rigor. They are surprisingly difficult to get right. The small spots and stripes make the work tedious.

"How are you doing the shading?" You ask, trying to peek at Wally's work. He shies away, turning his canvas so that you can't see.

"You'll see." Wally smiles. "I want to see your own interpretation, no outside influences."

"Is my work going to professionally assessed?" You tease, still struggling over the shading. "Should I be nervous?"

"Oh, very nervous." Wally replies. After a brief pause, he speaks up again. "What do you think of Home so far?"

"I really like it." You tell him enthusiastically. "I love the views, I love the weather, I love the people."

"I'm glad you like it." He says.

"It's quite lucky I got that house too." You say. "It's insane that there were no other bidders when it's such a lovely place. I'm sure that someone with more money than me could've easily fixed it up and loved it here."

Wally merely smiles and the two of you fall into concentrated silence once again.

You fall into the trance of painting. It's not a feeling you're unused to. There's something about concentrating on the details that just makes you lose track of time. Eventually, you tune back in, taking a step back as you finish your painting.

You're proud of it, you think. You've painted a small, half eaten apple resting in the grass, the field of orchards sprawled out behind it. It's a simple but elegant painting.

"I'm done." You say with a breath, looking up to see Wally watching you carefully. "How much do you have left?"

"Oh, I've been done for a while." Wally beams at you. "I'm very curious to see what you've produced."

Wally saunters over to look at your canvas. His eyes scan the painting, noticing the small efforts you put in. There is truly something amazing about another artist studying your work.

"It feels... happy." He says. "A simple kind of happy."

You pause, then slowly nod. "That's how I feel here in Home, I think." You chew at your lip. "I like it."

Wally takes your arm, leading you over to his painting.

It's... you. You're leaning over a canvas, paintbrush in one hand and apple in the other. Your hair spills in your face and paint covers your clothes. It's clear where he put the most effort in though, in your face. Your expression is one of focus and concentration as you're hunched over, eyebrows scrunched and mouth slightly agape.

It feels happy.

_____

Wally walks you home after you finish painting. He gifted you his painting and you gifted yours to him. He seems quite proud to own your artwork, even if it inferior to his. You're in awe at his skill honestly.

"I had fun today, Wally." You tell him as you reach your house.

Wally lights up, "I had fun too." He lingers at the door for a second, hands shoved into his pockets and painting tucked neatly under his arm. "I'll see you again tomorrow?" He asks. "I'll even help with house, if you want."

You laugh, "That sounds great."

He flashes you a charming smile, "Goodnight, then." He does a half bow, turning and trotting away. You watch him go, heart pumping in your chest.

As you close the door behind you, you can't help but jump and squeal excitedly. This neighborhood is truly everything you dreamed it would be. Your house is coming together nicely, you've got wonderful new friends, and now you've got the attention of a handsome guy!

Nothing could ruin this.

You walk further into your house, stepping into the living room. It's a perfect start, you feel a sense of pride.

Picking up a hammer, you head to a free space on the wall, pounding in a nail. You hang your new painting up, stepping back to admire it.

You turn around, patting the doorframe of the living room before heading upstairs to bed. You've had a long day today and you're sure that tomorrow is going to be just as busy. Your bedroom is less put together than the living room, but the fact that you've made progress prevents you from feeling bad.

As you slip into bed, you hear an odd noise.

You perk up, pausing and listening for the noise again.

It almost sounds like footsteps.

Your heart pounds in your chest as you peek out from your room. The sound echoes up the stairs. It sounds like it's coming from either the kitchen or the living room. You grab the nearest heavy object, which just so happens to be a leg of an easel that you had taken apart for the move. It's a strong wooden beam. You hold it up high on your shoulder.

"Hello?" You call.

The only answer you get is more footsteps.

Your hands tremble as you make your way down, placing your steps carefully. Your mind races through a million scenarios of robbery, kidnapping, and murder.

When you reach the bottom of the steps, you decide to make sure you surprise this intruder. You come into the living room swinging.

There's nothing.

You stop and listen for a minute.

The noises are gone. No more footsteps.

You breathe a sigh of relief, running your hand through your hair. It wasn't even footsteps at all, must just be the old house settling. You laugh at yourself, shaking your head as you prepare yourself to go back to bed. Before you do though, you notice something amiss.

Wally's painting had fallen off the wall.

The next morning you're awoken by the sound of loud, unrelenting knocking. You groan, startled and tired. After the incident last night you hadn't gotten much quality of sleep. You know you're just being paranoid, but for some reason it really stuck with you.

You roll out of bed, quickly throwing on clothes and heading downstairs. You wonder if Wally has come to help you fix the house up more.

"Oh my god, hey!" Julie throws her arms around you, giving you a big hug. "I was worried you might not be home!"

"Well, here I am."

"It's break time!" Julie tells you. "No more working on the house, you and I are going out."

You laugh, "Well, I would have to start working for it to be considered a break-"

Julie tugs on your arm, "Pleaseee go out with me?" She blinks up at you with wide eyes. "We'll have so much fun!"

You glance back at your unfinished house, still reluctant to leave. Yet, you grab your coat anyways, stepping out into the sunshine. "Where are we going?"

Julie lights up, "You'll see."

You're lead through the neighborhood. As you walk, you're given the full tour by Julie.

"There's the supermarket." She points. "Oh and that there is Barnaby's house. He's still sleeping at this time of day."

You check your watch. It's nearly noon already.

"That's my house!" She points at a lovely flowered red house. "You're invited anytime, just so you know."

"How long did it take you to fix that up?" You ask, marveling at how elegant yet simple it is.

Julie thinks on it for a second, "Fix it up?" She asks. "It's just... always been that way."

You scrunch your face up, "You bought it like that?"

"Bought it...?" Julie looks up, considering this. "I think... I've always lived here."

She seems confused, so you decide not to press it any further. Has Julie lived here her whole life? Where is her family?

That's when another odd thing strikes you. The entire town consists of single individuals that live alone in homes. You've never heard of such a thing. Sure, a few individuals here and there in homes is normal, but an entire town?

You notice Julie has gone quiet. It's an unusual change from her normally peppy self. You fear that maybe you pressed into something personal.

"This is the post office." Julie gestures, suddenly speaking up again. Her previous demeanor is forgotten now and her lively energy is returned. "That's where Eddie works."

You notice another familiar face poking about.

"Frank!" Julie bounces up and down excitedly, waving her hand.

Frank jumps from the sudden noise, head swiveling to find the source. He relaxes slightly when he sees it's only Julie.

You and Julie trot over to him.

"What are you doing here?" He asks, chin raised pompously.

"What are you doing here is the real question." Julie teases. "Have you come to see Eddie?"

"No!" Frank tenses, eyes looking around nervously. "I just have a letter to send and wanted to make sure that it got here. Mailboxes and so unreliable-"

"Uh huh." Julie can't control her grin. "Sure, Frank."

Frank opens his mouth to say something else, but Eddie comes around the corner just as he does. You thought that Frank already looked nervous, but that is nothing compared to how he looks as he and Eddie make eye contact.

"Oh hey Frank!" Eddie gives a toothy grin, cheeks scrunched up and head tilting to the side.

"Eddie!" Frank holds his envelope to his chest. "I-I've been looking for you!"

Eddie seems to perk up, "You have?"

"Yes!" Frank shoves out the letter. "I just needed to mail this."

"Oh." Eddie takes the letter. "Frank, you know I could've picked it up at your house, right?"

"Well, he wanted to hand deliver it." Julie nudges Frank playfully and receives a glare in return.

"I'll take good care it, Frank, I promise." Eddie tucks the letter into his pouch.

Julie coughs, "Well, we better get going, right?" She looks at you.

"Uh, right." You echo.

"You know, Eddie, I think Frank was talking about lunch?" Julie says. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he was hungry! You two should go eat somewhere!"

"Julie!" Frank hisses.

"That sounds fun!" Eddie inputs.

"Perfect!" Julie grabs your arm. "Have fun guys! Bye-"

The two of you quickly stumble away. You can't help but laugh at Julie's blatant matchmaking attempt, Eddie's innocent obliviousness, and Frank's adorable embarrassment. Julie giggles along with you, leaning on you for support.

When you're both far enough away, Julie speaks up, "Do you think Eddie will ever take the hint?"

You shrug, "Only if Frank tells him directly."

"Like that'll ever happen." She lets go of your arm, standing up straighter. "Oh! We're almost there?"

"There?"

"The reason I brought you out!"

"Oh." You reply, following behind her as she picks up speed. "I thought the tour was why you brought me out here."

"Don't be silly!" Julie suddenly stops. "I brought you out here for this!"

You're not quite sure what you're looking at. The bright summer colors of Home are here. They are present in the brilliant green trees with fresh fruit and in the yellow dandelions and white daises and baby blue forget me nots. You've always adored the vividness of the neighborhood, but here...

It just stops.

It's like there's a line drawn in the forest. The fresh flora wilts and dies along it, the line marking there on out as dead.

"Was there... a fire?" You ask.

"No fire."

Even the sky looks bleaker on the other side.

You step back, "Some sort of parasite?"

"No parasites. No fires. No droughts, floods, locusts, or diseases."

You step forward again, gaining a bit of courage. Slowly, you reach out, sticking it beyond the line.

Nothing happens. You feel normal.

"Why?" You finally ask. "Why is this here?"

"I can't say."

When you finally return to your house, it's later than you would've liked. It's past dinnertime and you haven't even eaten yet. As you approach, you notice a familiar face sitting on your porch.

"Hey!" Wally stands quickly, brushing off his pants. "I've been waiting for you!" He adds with a playful tease.

"I like to play hard to get." You prod him back, unlocking the door and welcoming him in.

His large eyes flick over you. You feel like you're being examined. "Where have you been?"

"I'm sorry, Julie took me out on a tour of the town." You tell him. "I saw the market, the post office, Barnaby's house-"

"And you stayed in town the whole time?" He presses. "I looked for you, I didn't see you."

You chuckle, "You didn't have to come searching for me, I'm sure you have more important things to do." You avoid the original question. You're not sure why, but you feel like the forest is a secret between you and Julie.

"You are the important thing." Wally follows behind you as you clean up the kitchen.

You pause, then quickly resume your work. "Am I?"

As you reach up to tuck a mug into the cupboard, Wally takes the mug from you, reaching up with ease to place it for you, "I would've imagined that you would've taken the hint by now, but it seems that I must take the liberties myself."

Wally leans on the counter and faces you, "Do you find me attractive?"

You're not sure what to say to that, you sputter out nonsense, "Well, err-"

"I find you attractive. Every part. I find your quips and teasing attractive, your laugh and the way your cheeks scrunch up when you smile, the curve of your lips and the paint droplets on your pants." He takes a second to breathe. "And honestly, there's nothing more in the world that I would like to do right now than to help you paint your house or whatever else you would ask of me."

You wait a moment, processing his words.

"Whatever I ask of you?"

He looks earnest, "Whatever."

You tug him into a kiss, closing your eyes. He seems surprised at first and the kiss is slow and hesitant, each of you too afraid to do much. You're slightly surprised, for such a smooth talker, Wally doesn't really seem to know what to do. Has he kissed someone before?

You decide to take the lead. His lips are soft and gentle as you mouth over his bottom lip, tongue sticking out to play around.

Wally's hands find their way to your waist, gripping you tight as if he's checking that you're real. His thumb rubs small circles at the small of your back.

He seems to mimic you, tongue poking out to prod at yours, eventually making it's way into your mouth to feel around. He's gentle, but he is slowly growing more confident by the second. Wally tugs your waist in tighter and tongue going deeper into your mouth almost possessively.

The intensity of the kiss escalates quickly and you find yourself having to pull away to catch a breath. You open your eyes to find him staring down at you, his normally half lidded eyes wide open and exhilarated, a faint blush scattering his cheeks.

"I liked that." Wally says quietly. "We should do that more often."

_____

Life is great.

You've gotten quite a bit done on the house, mostly with the help of all the neighbors. The living room, kitchen, and bedroom are all finished and you've honestly never felt more at home. When you go to the supermarket, Howdy always greets you with a warm hello and a free sample of whatever the special of the day is. In the mornings, Eddie stops by for idle chat as he brings the mail. Whenever Poppy makes a new treat she comes over to give you some. Even with just a stroll through the neighborhood you're always greeted and smiled at by the other neighbors.

You sit in your backyard, cross-legged in the grass with your canvas propped up awkwardly on your legs. Your brush glides along the canvas, curving around to get the details just right. You bring the brush up to your face for a moment, biting on the wooden end as you think.

"You look cute when you're concentrating."

You blink up in surprise to see Wally leaning on the side of your house, arms crossed.

"How long have you been there?" You smile at him, setting down your canvas and standing up.

Wally merely shrugs with a grin. You run over to him, throwing your arms around his neck. He grips onto your waist, lifting you up and spinning around once before setting you back down and planting a gentle kiss to your forehead. You hug him, taking a moment to enjoy his masculine cologne scent before pulling away.

Yes, life is great. Wally Darling is yours.

“I was thinking you and I could spent the day together.” He hums.

You nod, “Let me just clean up my painting supplies-“

“Let me help.” Wally follows, carefully taking your paintbrushes as you grab your wet canvas. He trails behind you as you go inside, setting up your canvas to dry in your art room as Wally washes the brushes in the kitchen sink.

When you return, you find Wally with his head tilted and eyes cast towards the ceiling, frozen at the kitchen sink. He doesn’t seem to notice your presence.

“Is… something wrong?”

Wally blinks, snapping out of it and turning his head to smile at you warmly. “No, of course not.” He replies. “I was just thinking.”

“Oh?” You ask, walking up beside him as he finishes washing the last brush.

“You haven’t been to my Home yet.” His half lidded eyes cast towards you.

“No, I suppose I haven’t.” You say. “Odd, considering you’re over here all the time.

Wally chuckles, “Well, would you like to go?”

Before you know it, you’re inside Wally Darling’s house. It’s somehow exactly how you expected it to be. Everything is neat and tidy, carefully placed and well maintained. There’s an old charm to the house, as if it stepped out of the 60’s.

“It’s weird being in here.” You say, wandering through his living room. There’s framed photos on the walls of Wally and his friends. You take the time to examine them.

“Why so?” Wally watches you with warm amusement.

“It just feels so…” You stare at a picture of Barnaby holding Wally in a tight hug. Wally looks like he’s being squished. “Personal.”

Wally laughs, “Well, it is personal.” He wraps his arms around you from behind, resting his head on your shoulder as you continue to stare at his pictures.

“No, it’s different.” You tell him. “Somehow it feels like I’m getting a glimpse into your soul.”

There’s a pause.

“Well maybe you are.”

Wally lets go, turning and heading up a set of stairs. “Let me show you my painting room.” You follow after him.

He leads you to a large, beautiful room. With the high ceiling and long window sill big enough to lounge on, the room looks elegant. Coupled with the mass amount of paintings lining the walls and easels of the room, it looks like a modern art gallery.

“Wow, Wally.” You stare at his work, secretly jealous of his technique.

He seems proud of himself. “I think-“

There’s a sudden loud crash from downstairs. You jump.

Whipping your head around, you turn back towards the door. “Did something fall?”

Wally merely frowns. “Yeah. Something fell.” He says, turning his eyes up.

“Oh.” You say. Clearly Wally seems to not be concerned with it, so you won’t be either.

“Why don’t we go back downstairs.” Wally suggests, taking your hand.

The two of you settle down on the couch. You giggle and tease Wally for his old school television. You swear that thing probably is still in black and white.

As you chat, you both slowly inch closer together. It starts with a simple finger brushing at your thigh, then an arm is popped around your neck, and then finally Wally is leaning in and kissing you.

You let yourself be taken by the kiss, planting your hand at the back of his neck and brushing your finger along the base of his soft hair. Wally places his hand on your cheek and you press into it, tilting your head more into the kiss.

Your chest flutters, eyes blinking open for half a second so that you can stare at him. To your surprise, his eyes are already open and watching you. He squints happily at you, smiling into the kiss as he deepens it, tongue pressing further into your mouth.

Wally’s other hand trails down your arm, causing goosebumps all the way. He flicks his tongue against the sensitive roof of your mouth before retreating back.

You feel words pressed against your lips but you can’t hear them. They’re hardly even a whisper, more like he is just mouthing words.

No, he’s repeating something. You try to understand him.

“I love you.”

You blink, pulling away from him.

“I love you too.” You whisper.

Yes, life is great.

Until it isn’t.

_____

Lightning cracks, illuminating the room as you finish up moving some furniture around. You stand with your hands on your hips, staring out at the freshly decorated art room. Finally, the work on your house is all done.

You could hear the wind beat about outside and the hard rain hit your windows. There was something odd about it all, though you couldn't quite put your finger on it. Storms are natural, after all.

Though, there hadn't been a single storm since you moved in.

Walking through the finished halls of your house gives you a sense of accomplishment. Patting the wall, you glance at the clock.

It's nearing time for you to meet up with Wally. The two of you had planned a date out to the pond to feed ducks, though you suppose that the rain ruined those plans.

You near the window, watching the dreary sky. It's midafternoon, but it looks like it's the middle of the night. Your eyes sweep over the neighborhood, making eye contact with Wally's house.

Wait, no, not eye contact. It's a house, it doesn't have eyes.

Still, the lights are on and now you have this odd feeling in your stomach.

As you look back up at the sky, you think the clouds don't look like regular rainclouds. They seem a sickly black color and you remember the forest that Julie had showed you. The dark clouds remind you of the baren land.

Is this a sign it's spreading? The lump in your stomach grows heavier. You feel dumb for forgetting about it.

You glance at the clock again. Perhaps there's enough time to check before Wally arrives. You rush to your mudroom, tugging on your rain coat and rubber boots.

As you trek through the rain, you wonder if you should've just stayed in your house. The wind moves you about, making you stumble over your heavy boots. The rain blows sideways, rendering your raincoat nearly useless as you're soaked anyways.

It's never rained this bad in the neighborhood. Actually, now that you think about it, it's never rained at all in the neighborhood.

Soon enough you reach the edge of the neighborhood, where the rot stretches as far as you can see. You were right, it seems to be spreading. The rot has crept forward, consuming what was once a small woodsy park path.

You stare down at where the sidewalk ends and the forest starts. Why does the sidewalk stop?

Where is the road to lea-

"What are you doing out here?"

You startle, flipping around quickly. Wally stands in his usual attire, his navy hair and knitted overcoat soaked from the rain.

"I just wanted to explore in the rain." You lie. You don't even know why you lie. You trust Wally.

Right?

Wally glances towards the forest, scrunching his brows, "Did somebody tell you something?"

You quickly shake your head, "No, I was just walking around and... I found this." You gesture toward the forest. "What is this, Wally?"

Wally frowns, looking at you, not the forest. "It's been so warm lately, there was a small fire that lit up the grass around here." He looks up. "We really needed this rain."

It's a lie. Your stomach turns in knots. Wally is lying to you. This rot has been here a while. If it had been a fire, new green growth would've sprang up ages ago.

"We should get out of this rain." Wally says, water dripping down his face and arms. "So much for feeding ducks, huh?" He extends his hand.

You take it, though hesitantly. Before, you hadn't suspected that he would be a part of this, but now nothing makes sense.

"Wally, how did you find me out here?" You ask as you walk with him. "We were supposed to meet up at my house."

"Hm?" His eyes cast upwards as he thinks for a moment. "I suppose I just... had a feeling."

This makes you even more wary and you feel bad for it. You love Wally, and yet you're now doubting his motivations. You don't even know how he would have anything to do with the forest's color.

You and Wally arrive back at your house. You grab a towel for him to dry off with and he rubs it over his plush skin.

Plush skin?

You hadn't thought about it before, but isn't that weird? You look at your own hands. You are definitely not plush.

Wally throws the towel over his head, wringing out his hair. You stare at him and the more you look, the more unsettled you get. He has no nose, is that normal? Something in the back of your mind is telling you it isn't.

Wally's intense eyes peek from behind the towel. "Everything okay?"

"Yes." You shake your head, turning away. "I was just watching you."

He gives a lazy smile, eyes relaxing. "Well, I like watching you too."

You give a laugh, "Thanks, Wally."

He stands, walking over and hugging you from behind. Before, it used to feel gentle and safe, but now it feels like entrapment. He nuzzles into your neck, pressing soft kisses.

"What shall we do now that our plans have been ruined?" He smiles, hot breath on your neck.

You pull away from him, "Actually, I'm feeling a little tired. Maybe rain check?"

Wally's face falls, then suddenly lights back up again, "We could nap together-"

"No, no, I mean, I just want to be alone right now." You tell him. "I just... had a rough night's sleep."

Wally stares at you for a long moment, wide eyes peering into your conscience. Finally, he smiles, "Oh, no worries, neighbor." He hands you back your towel. "We'll do something tomorrow when it's less rainy, right?"

"Right." You nod, watching him head to the door.

Wally grasps the doorknob, turning to you at the last second, "Oh, one more thing." He leans towards where you stand in the kitchen doorway. "I wouldn't go exploring in the forest anymore, too many nasty things out there, if you ask me. Wouldn't want anyone getting hurt." He gives a light smile, opening the door and heading out.

You watch him go, hurrying to the window. You keep your eye on him until he is home.

Something is not right in the neighborhood.

You throw your rain attire back on, determined to get to the bottom of this. You take a deep breath, patting the side of your house.

"We got this." You whisper.

As you step outside, you notice that the rain seems to have worsened. You hold onto the hood of your raincoat, pushing past the wind. When you reach the edge of the forest, you don't stop. Instead, you trudge forward into the rot.

It's squishy against your feet, with the occasional odd lump of hardness. Everything is wilted and scorched. You wonder what could possibly be the cause.

As you wonder, you start to really think about the circumstances in the neighborhood. You lift your hand again, staring at it.

Flesh. You have flesh. Not felt or feathers or fur.

How did you move into a neighborhood with such creatures?

No, wait, how did you move into the neighborhood at all?

You bought the house... but you don't remember any real estate agents or documents.

You... you haven't even been working. What have you been doing? You've just been playing around the neighborhood. In fact, nobody in the neighborhood seemed to have jobs.

Your brain feels fuzzy. None of this makes sense.

You're still hiking through the decay, finding nothing of note. That is, until you see green in the distance. You perk up, sprinting forward.

Yes, there is green grass ahead. Whatever the decay is, it isn't very big luckily.

As you get closer, you furrow your brow.

Somehow, you've ended up on the other side of the neighborhood.

How?

You step onto the grass, realizing you've ended up by the post office.

That doesn't make sense. You walked away from the neighborhood, there's no possible way you ended up on the other side of it.

Perhaps you got mixed up. You turn around, jogging through the diseased wood.

This time, you end up near Julie's.

How do you walk away from something and end up back at it?

Walk around the world.

The hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Wally wanted you away from the forest for a reason. This is his world, and you're in it.

You sprint up to Julie's house, pounding on the door. "Julie!" You yell. "Julie!"

You get no answer, so you move over to the window, shielding your eyes against the glass to see inside.

There's no one there.

You tug your raincoat closer to your body, looking up at the ever blackening clouds.

You have to confront Wally.

Back at your house, you prepare to face him. You're not sure what to expect, but you want to be ready for anything. You dig through your belongings, procuring a baseball bat and a box cutter.

Your house whines against the wind, creaking and settling in the powerful storm. You sit for a minute, putting your head in your hands. All this work on your house, all this friendship, and is any of it real? Nothing seems to make sense. Why? Why is any of this happening?

As you leave, you sigh.

"I'll be back."

The wind catches on your house and it whines louder.

When you arrive at Wally's house, you go to knock on the door only to find it already open. You press it open, keeping your guard up as you grip the baseball bat.

"Wally?" Your voice echoes off the walls as you step inside. It seems awfully dark in Wally's house.

Lightning cracks, illuminating the front windows of Wally's house. For a moment, they are eyes, observing you. The lightning then leaves darkness and you hear the front door slam shut. You turn back towards the door, tugging on the doorknob only to find it locked.

"Caught the snitch."

You turn to see Wally illuminated in the darkness, a figure hanging over his head.

It's Julie. She hangs from strings, her limbs twisted and broken. Her jaw hangs unnaturally slack, face bloodied.

"In fact, I caught everybody." More lights irradiate from the darkness, casting large shadows on the wall as they illuminate the bodies of the other neighbors, all in similar states.

Wally walks towards Howdy, "Too much talking lately, really a shame. I wanted to have you willingly."

You stand frozen, hands still on your baseball bat.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He laughs. "Plus, they're fine." He gestures towards the bodies on strings above him. "I just took away their will. Clearly they couldn't be trusted with it on their own." He clicks his tongue, shaking his head disapprovingly.

The edges of your eyes crease up. You still don't understand.

"Come, let me explain." He gestures to the couch. You don't move. "Please, sit."

You don't.

Wally looks up. "Home?"

To your amazement, a chair glides over, moving behind you and slamming into your legs, making you tumble down onto it. It slides over to where Wally now sits.

You clutch the edges of the chair in fright.

"That's Home." Wally explains. "Home is... the source of it all. A manifestation of desire, if you will."

You swallow, "It's alive?"

Wally grins. It's wider and realer than any grin you've seen before. "Of course." He crosses one leg over the other. "It's alive just like you and me are alive."

"But you're plush." You tell him.

"I'm built on the desires of thousands of young children across the nation that watched my show." Wally looks nostalgic. "Oh, you were such a dedicated little viewer, you know that?"

"Huh?" Show? What is he talking about.

"You used to sit every night in front of the TV, you know that?" Wally continues. "And you would say, 'Okay, Mr. Wally, show me how to draw!' I taught you everything you know about painting."

... Yes, the show. How could you forget? The theme song starts to play in your head. You loved that show as a kid.

"You loved me so much." Wally sighs. "And I loved you, and then you went away."

"I was an adult." Of course you went away, you couldn't sit around watching TV all day. You had a job, you had a family... your family! How long have you been gone? "I had responsibilities."

"I desired you." Wally looks at you desperately. "You desired a place you belonged! I watched you, how you struggled to fit in, the long hours at work, the family arguments. I made it all go away! You've been so happy-"

"They were struggles, but they were my struggles!" You shout, standing up. "You don't get to decide for me!"

Wally sighs, head falling to the side. "See, this is why I wanted you willingly." He casts his hand up. "Oh well."

You feel tightness tug at your arms. No, it's tugging at your bones. You look, thin wire strings protrude from your arms and spring from your legs, pulling you up towards the ceiling.

"I'll just take away your free will for a while." Wally runs a hand through his dark hair. "Then you'll want to play along."

You can feel the strings scraping against your bones under your skin. You struggle against them, getting yourself tangled in the process.

"What shall we act out first?" Wally stands, pacing around the room. "We did have that pond date-"

You twist, reaching your hand towards your back pocket, where the box cutter is stashed. It's an awkward reach, but you manage to grasp it, pushing it open with your thumb and slashing at your strings. You fall to the floor, grabbing the bat and taking off running for the door.

Wally clicks his tongue, "You were so docile before you knew the truth. I'll have to stamp this disobedience out of you now."

You ram the baseball bat into the door, denting the doorknob until the lock falls apart and you can run out the door.

There's no exit. The forest loops. Surely there must be a way out, right? Where, where...

Wally laughs, "Where are you running to? There's no where to go!"

You don't know, but away from here. You sprint, running towards the only place where you feel safe, your house.

"My little viewer." Wally sounds agitated now. "Enough games. If you come back now, I'll go easy on you."

Over your dead body. You're out of breath by the time you reach your house, slamming the door shut and locking it, back pressed against the door as you pant and Wally begins to bang on the door.

Surely there must be something of use to you. Think, think... where is the exit out of this place?

You hear Wally start to kick down the door. It cracks and starts to splinter with each kick.

One of the neighbors' houses? No, they might've said something.

Wally is stronger than you thought. With a final kick, your door crumbles, swinging open. Wally looks even more deranged now, eyes large and locked on you.

"My dear," he breathes. "Let's be reasonable, come back with me."

He extends his hand. When you don't take it, he frowns, moving forward. He grasps you by your face, fingertips digging bruises into your cheeks as he pulls you closer.

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

You press your hands against his chest, trying to push him away. This only angers him more. Wally lifts his hand, readying it to fall down on your face. You close your eyes, preparing yourself for the eventual hit.

It doesn't come.

You open your eyes to see Wally's hand still in the air. Except... there's a string attached to it. Wally's expression has changed from anger to fear, he stares at his arm as another string appears on his opposite arm. You back away from him.

Wally looks at you, "Please, don't-" He reaches for you, only to have his hand yanked away before he can.

It's... your house. It dawns upon you quickly and more strings appear from Wally's skin. He struggles, the strings dragging him.

"Please, please, I can't-"

You look up at your house, reaching and patting the wall. "Take him away."

"Please-"

Wally screams as the strings scratch against his bones, dragging him kicking and screaming towards your basement.

_____

"Oh, I have some drinks in the fridge, let me grab you one!"

You weave your way through the bustling party, dodging Barnaby as he throws grapes in the air and catches them in his mouth and sliding past the way-too-handsy Frank and Eddie.

You're celebrating your finished house, and the party is going spectacularly. Two guests still haven't arrived, but you're not too worried.

You snatch up glass bottles of soda that you bought at Howdy's shop earlier that day and toss one to Sally, who gracefully catches it.

"You've put a lot of work into this place." Howdy says with a smile, leaning on the counter.

You glance over, "Yeah, I couldn't have done it without you guys though, thank you all for your help."

"Oh, you did most of it!" Sally waves her hand.

"It's just what neighbors do." Howdy shrugs.

The doorbell rings and you rush to the door, throwing it open to reveal Julie, holding a small present in her hands.

"Sorry I'm so late, I had to wrap your gift!"

"You didn't have to get me a gift!" You laugh, throwing your arms around her for a big hug. She squeezes you tight before you both pull away from each other.

"No, I really had to." She holds out the gift. "After everything you've done for all of us."

You gently take the wrapped gift as she steps into your house, waving at everybody.

"Hello everybody!" Julie squeals, making her way over to nudge Frank playfully. "And hello, Frank and Eddie!"

Frank turns a deep red, shying away. "It's really nothing-"

Eddie gives a wide smile, gripping Franks hand tighter, "Almost losing all your control makes you confess things."

Julie gives a light smile, "Well, we never have to worry about that again."

You politely set the gift on the counter for later, turning back towards everybody. "Then I propose a toast!"

"We'll need bread for that." Barnaby grins, nudging you playfully. You shake your head with a laugh, gently shoving him away.

Everyone raises their sodas, letting you speak.

"To freedom, to free will, to all of us. It's what lets us choose our paths, chase our dreams, and live life to our own terms. To making our choices, learning from our own mistakes, and creating our victories."

Everyone cheers.

"Most importantly, to you." Julie adds in, pointing her raised glass to you. "You've made this neighborhood a wonderful place."

This makes everyone cheer louder. You bump glasses with everyone, letting Barnaby rub your head affectionately and Sally rope you into a side hug.

"Now open the gift!" Julie claps.

You laugh, grabbing the gift and tearing it open. Sitting inside in a beautiful framed picture of everyone in the neighborhood.

Well, everyone except-

The doorbell rings again, and you politely excuse yourself to answer it.

It's Wally. He looks rough. Dark bags underline his eyes and his usually tidy hair is in disarray. He looks up at your house nervously.

"Oh, hello Wally." You watch him carefully. If you look close enough, you can see the strings buried in his arms and neck.

He holds out flowers, which is nice, you guess. You take them, opening the door for him to come inside. He hesitates, then steps in.

You linger, your eyes following him as he greets everyone else. He got what he wanted, you're stuck here. There's no way out.

You can see his stiff movements, the fish line strings tugging at his skin and bones, uncomfortably present at all times.

"Are you coming?" Julie yells. "Poppy's going to bring out the cake!"

"I'm coming!" You shut the door, rushing over.

It's all okay, because he's trapped too.

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thebelovedmuse · 1 year

Note

Could do a Wally x a reader and Wally’s flirting with the reader

**AN: Anon I hope you're ok with Wally aggressively flirting 😂

💜💙💚

You enter Julie's house, hoping you're not late for her party. Almost everyone is there but luckily there is one seat left open, you sit down and glance over to Wally who is sitting next to you. Mentally you are over the moon being able to sit next to him, you for sure had a crush on him and you weren't sure but it seemed like maybe he felt the same way? You just hadn't gotten up the confidence to make a move yet.

"Y/N you're looking lovely today," Wally says. You smile and begin to respond but you suddenly hear Julie call out your name from the kitchen, she needs help bringing the food out to everyone. You head into the kitchen and help to bring a few trays out, you set them on a table in the living room and turn around to find your seat once again and oh...Poppy has arrived and has taken your seat! You look around dismayed, there are no seats left.

"Y/N! Here, sit with me." Wally exclaimed, you walk over and he pats his lap. You then realize he meant sitting ON him which secretly gives you a thrill but you don't want to seem overly excited, still not sure about Wally's intentions. "You're so warm Y/N, I should ask you to sit in my lap more often. It's...nice."

"Um, thanks Wally," you say with a small laugh. You join in the conversations with the rest of the group when you begin to feel a hand softly running up and down your back. You turn your head back to look at Wally, your eyes meeting his. You're surprised to see how big his dark eyes had become, you find yourself not being able to look away. You feel the heat in your body rising like you're on fire and you bite your lip but still cannot tear your eyes away. You have no idea how long you were stuck in this staring contest but you manage to blink and Wally lets out a content sigh, his eyes now have a heavy-lidded, dreamy look to them.

This moment between the two of you is interrupted when you overhear Frank make a sarcastic remark involving the two of you needing to get a room. You try to snap yourself out of the embarrassment and join the rest of the group.

Soon the party is over and you hug everyone goodbye. You walk up to Wally last and give him a hug, he seems to hold you a little tighter then usual and whispers into your ear, "You know, Frank's idea might not be so bad...."

💜💙💚

#wally darling x reader #wally darling #welcome home wally #welcome home x reader #welcome home #welcomeh #welcome home fanfic

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gay-dorito-dust · 1 year

Text

Gif art Credit: @submech

‘So neighbour, what do you think about Wally?’ Julie asked one day as you were helping her trim her flowers in her garden.

You lower the trimmers you had held in your hand before committing an murder by accidentally snipping off the head of a carnation that was a beautiful shade of ruby red, turning your head to address her properly as she tended to her lavenders, shrugging.

‘Dunno, I haven’t been here long enough to get a read on the guy but from what I know so far, I’d say he’s a decent guy.’ You told truthfully. ‘Why’d you ask?’

Julie stops what she’s doing to look at you but her eyes immediately clock the puppet in question whom silently loomed over your shoulder, looking on with those half lidded eyes and laid back smile on his felt face.

‘No reason.’ Julie says, going back to her lavenders. ‘Just been seeing him getting close to you lately.’

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sunnie-writes · 1 year

Text

kiss marks !!

pairing: wally darling x reader !!

genre: fluff, friends to lovers.

tw: stimming(?), mentions of intense staring.

plot: julie convinces reader to try makeup for fun, and then end up leaving a certain yellow fellow easily flustered by this.

pronouns: they/them, makeup has no gender !!

sunnie, talk that talk: AAAAAAAH MY FIRST WELCOME HOME FIC !! i seriously hope you guys enjoy it <33 feel free to give any constructive criticism if needed !!

"trust me, you'll look delightful!!" julie happily said.

you could only smile at her antics. in this situation, you were being julie's test doll as she tried different makeup looks on you. after some time though, she decided to set on a particularly chic look on you, smokey eyes and cherry red lipstick. not only that, she made you dress up in clothes that fit the makeup more, saying something about "fitting the dark fancy look".

"aaaand done!!" julie placed down the lipstick, "oh. my. gosh!! you look absolutely stunning!!"

"do i? where is the mirror??" you asked, going directly to your reflection.

you could agree, that looked absolutely great on you, maybe you should try different styles for often. only with julie around, though.

"you look like a hollywood star, or maybe one of those crazy rich people on tv shows!!" she stimmed, flapping her hands nonstop.

"thank you, i... liked this." the praise made you shy.

"oh, we need to go now!! poppy is holding a friend gathering tonight in her backyard!!" julie smiled while catching your hand to hold hers.

you both left the girl's house and began walking towards poppy's. on the way, you thought about what could the neighbors say, maybe even a certain yellow artist would notice and think of you as something more.

truth be told, you had a huuuuuge crush in wally darling, the artist in your lovely tiny neighborhood. nobody could blame you, those half lidded eyes with a cat-like smirk surely would make more than just you fall completely down the stairs of love.

as you two finally arrived, you could see everyone eventually get into your point of view. the food table was full of delicious looking meals, and not to mention how everyone was dressed in different outfits from their usual daytime clothing, opting for a more formal look even.

"oh? julie and y/n arrived!!" barbaby exclaimed, "how are you doing, lady and--"

everyone immediately looked in your direction, julie hugged your arm on your side and giggled. heat started pooling in your cheeks as each of their eyes seemed to get wider at your presence. sally was the first to break the silence.

"oh my, y/n looks amazing!!"

barbaby whistled, "julie sure did a great job, you look stunning."

you chuckle as more praises pour in. unfortunately, it seems like the reason you got overly dressed up hasn't shown up yet. moving to the table, you get yourself a nice glass of grape juice while looking over to the gateway incase wally randomly pops out of the air.

looks like your prayers were answered, you hear poppy scream like a mother seeing her son in graduation clothing, "wally!! you're finally here!!"

you look over to him, your cheeks heating up immediately and heart beating a bit more fast. standing in a blue tuxedo with a red tie was wally, with his pompadour still up and his mesmerizing eyes. you swallow the air as to control yourself.

"ha ha, hello everyone." his voice still sounds as calm and relaxed as ever, which doesn't help at all with your flustered state.

"let me guess, you're late because you were working on your pompadour?" frank sarcastically spoke.

"oh, you guessed it. nice one, ha ha!" wally just laughed before looking around him, "all of you look amaziiiiiiiingggg..." his words slurred down as his eyes stopped at you.

you could feel his eyes burning through your skin. if you were made of wax, you would've melted already. his stare was everywhere, your clothing, your hair before finally stopping at your face, meeting your gaze.

"oh my..." wally had his mouth wide opened.

"hehe, surprised?" barnaby questioned his friend with a knowing face.

"y/n decided to let me do their makeup and choose their outfit today, don't they look amazing?!" julie exclaimed happily.

snapping out of his thoughts, wally answered.

"yea, of course." he smirked as usual while looking in your eyes, "what a sight for sore eyes."

you blushed before thanking him, earning another one of his half lidded eyes stare. wally made his way to you, holding one of your hands and planting a kiss on the back of your palm.

"oh my, what a gentleman we have here." you chuckled, trying to play cool.

it seemed to work, his usual yellow cheeks earned a light red shade. liking his reaction, you decided to be a bit more bold, planting a kiss on his cheek before walking away to julie, leaving a flustered wally holding where your lips once were.

"ooh, what was that?? you looked so... powerful!!" she jumped up and down.

"w- well i mean, two can play this game, right?" your tongue failed you, making you stutter and julie giggle at that.

"hehe, sly y/n!! i like this side of you, makes you look all cool and mysterious!" she striked a pose with finger guns, you laughed at that.

suddenly, sally walked right behind julie, waving at her and stopping in front of you, motioning for you to get close.

"i don't mean to gossip, but wally can't keep his eyes off of you!" the sunshine whispered.

you looked over your shoulder, making eye contact with that smug stare of his. you could feel him scanning your face, which was obviously making him more flustered since he couldn't stop staring so much.

seeing the romantic tension in the air, julie and sally looked at each other before walking together to the opposite side that you were, starting a conversation with eddie and frank. wally, seeing this opportunity, approached you with confident steps.

"so, mx. l/n, what made you dress up so... differently?" he asked.

"oh, you know darling, just for the friend gathering." you took use of his last name, obviously causing a reaction as he noticed what you did.

"ha ha, clever as ever, i see."

"thank you. any other question?" you smugly smiled at him while screeching on the inside.

"hmm, do you wanna take a walk with me, we can take a look at the stars maybe."

you were jumping up and down inside your head, "of course, lead the way."

you walked by his side, interlocking your arms together. his shoulders relaxed and he widened his eyes before walking out of the gateway with you by his side.

you gotta' give him credits, the sky looked absolutely beautiful that night.

"the stars look beautiful tonight." you spoke, eyes shining like the billions of lights above you two.

"not so beautiful as someone i know." wally was obviously hinting at you, but you decided to play his game.

"oh really? who?" you jokingly questioned.

"you know who." he responded, you tilted your head in a provocative manner, "you, of course."

"quite the romantic you are." you leaned closer to him, making his cheeks get brighter, "any other reason of why you wanted to take me out in this particular night?"

he looked to the side before staring right back at you.

"there is another reason." he released your arm and got in one knee, "you see, i have something to confess to you. y/n l/n, ever since you moved in here, i was never able to take my eyes off of you. even as you walked by and just laughed with our friends, i could always find my gaze stuck upon your figure. i thought i was able to keep my feelings hidden for you, each and all of my pining could be hidden as i fell more deeper for you. but today, you showed up in a way that i can't explain, blessing my eyes and enchanting this puppet's heart right into your palm." your heart was beating so fast, eyes almost watering before you calmed down, cheeks reddening at the sight of his moonlit self, "so i beg and ask of you, would you wanna give this artist a chance and become his one and only muse?"

you were speechless, only nodding your head before he got up and you threw yourself at him, kissing his face and leaving multiple lipstick marks. cheeks, forehead, the space where his nose would be, and finally, his lips.

you were so happy, couldn't contain yourself from leaving him absolutely breathless.

"of course, i do." you chuckled while he tried to recompose himself, only to be stared at by heart eyes and a loving sigh.

"give a man a warning before you rock his world like that." he laughed quietly.

you held his face on your palms, and it felt like you were holding the world, feeling confidence wash over you as you traced your eyes towards the marks you left on him.

"WOOOO-HOOOO!! GO Y/N!!!!" you heard someone scream.

looking over your shoulder, you were met with all of your friends watching you guys from afar. eddie and frank holding hands while eddie laughed and his boyfriend just slightly smiled, julie jumping up and down while stimming alongside sally who was shining even more brightly, howdy chuckling while clapping all of his four hands, barnaby clapping while howling happily and poppy stared with watered eyes like a proud mother.

well, at least you two didn't need to spend the rest of the night explaining how you and wally darling became a couple.

and with that, you gave him another peck on the lips, before pulling him to all of your friends, while he lovingly stared at you, his for now and forever number one muse.

"dearest, you're the absolute most."

sunnie, talk that talk: HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED!! I HAD SO MUCH FUN WRITING THIS OMG SUFNEJFJSJDJS n e ways, byeeee dear reader, ily mwah /p

#welcome home #welcome home arg #welcome home x reader #welcome home x you #welcome home x y/n #wally darling #wally darling x reader #wally darling x you #wally darling x y/n #wally darling x self insert #welcome home self insert #welcome home fanfic

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nepxnth3 · 1 year

Text

The pancake incident

Wally x G!N reader

As you know, Wally cannot cook. While Wally was talking to Frank about making breakfast in bed for Eddie. Wally wanted to do the same thing for you.

So while you’re asleep. He tried to make pancakes. Well, that didn’t even well. It was completely burnt, and there was a few missing / wrong ingredients since Wally tried to make it out of memory since he couldn’t find his cook book. He tried to make some more but he some how got the milk on fire.

Yeah… so when you woke up, the first thing you smelt is burnt food, at first you thought the house was on fire and you panicked before Wally walked in with burnt pancakes which were very.. clearly uneatable. “I made them for you, Darling!” He chirped. “Aww thank you, sweetheart.” You smiled. You watched as he sat there and waited for you to take a bite. You grabbed a fork and and nervously smiled at him. Well, you tried to cut it and it almost slipped off your plate, you took a bite and it was like a brink. You chewed it and smile and nodded at him, you just couldn’t break his heart. “It’s good” you smiled, your eyes got teary. It was horrible, there was egg shells, it was hard like a brick, it was burnt and there was salt instead of sugar and an odd texture. I guess your expression said other wise. “Are you okay, you look don’t look alright.” He asked softly tilting his head. “I’m fine” you Choked up, you put your thumbs up. “I just need milk.” You smiled at him trying to choke infront of him again. “How silly of me! I’ll get it for you.” He runs out of the room.

When Wally left the room you got up open the window and threw the pancakes away. Your aim was something alright..Well poor Barnaby was walking by the neighborhood and next thing you know he’s knocked out by brick pancakes when you saw this you immediately closed the window and went back to bed.

“DARLING I’M BACK!!” Wally walks in with a cup of milk in his hand. He neatly sits near you on the bed, he gives you a small peck. “Here it is!. Wait you already finished the pancakes were they that good?!” He smiles, he had this bright look in eyes. “Ehh, yeah they were great.” You awkwardly smiled while he stared at you. You grab the milk from Wally’s hands and completely gulp it. God, you wanted to get rid of that taste. “I’m just thirsty, thank you they were great, Wally.” You grinned. You caress his face, of course he blushes and turns a pink shade before pulling him in for a kiss.

Later that day..

“I wonder what happened with Barnaby, he’s been out for like a few hours.” Julie looks at Frank. “Is that a brick next to him??” Eddie questioned pointing at Wally’s pancake. “Is he even breathing” Sally asked slightly mortified. Poppy just pokes him with a stick. “Omg they killed Barnaby, em’ bastards.” Howdy chimes in. Eddie picks up the black pancake brick and examines it. “Woah what happened?” Barnaby slowly gets up. Everyone one screams in terrors not expecting him to wake up, out of fear Eddie hits Barnaby with the pancake again which knocks him out… again. “God damn it Eddie you knocked him out again” howdy says turning to Eddie. “IM SORRY!” He apologizes.

Author’s note: I am comedy

#wally darling #welcome home #wally darling x reader #wally darling x y/n #welcome home x reader #welcome home wally #welcome home fanfic #welcome home fanfiction #welcome home fic #welcome home arg #welcome home x you #welcome home x y/n #Wally darling fanfic

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mr-spotatohead · 1 year

Text

-Inseparable.-

Welcome Home & Child!Reader Platonic.

Words: 3,470.

|Contains: Swearing. Slight Horror.|

Synopsis: You draw a lot, and you want attention from your mother, but she doesn't give you the attention you need. Until she puts on a show for you that caught your eye. And the main character gives you the attention you deserve.

You ran your hand across the white paper containing a green crayon. Your small, untrained hands made you pick up the crayon with your closed fist, scribbling on the paper with your grass-colored crayon. You were on your knees on the floor, with your toys and painting materials scattered around. You had your tongue out, concentrating hard on the work of art you were going to make.

"Uhum, yes, yes, I've checked that before." Your mother said in the background, her footsteps rushing, the sound of her shoes with a heel clicked against the floor. You continued drawing content to show the end result to your extremely busy mother. The cheap TV played in the background, it was something that didn't catch your attention.

You finished the drawing and got up awkwardly, happy to find your mother in the house, which was easy since she was right behind the couch. She was on the phone, her purse already in her arms, you approached her talking to her but she didn't hear you because she was already talking to someone else. She walked straight past you and made her way to the kitchen table, grabbing her car keys. You puffed out your cheeks. After being ignored, again. You walked back to the floor in front of the television. Your mother soon came close to you and bent down, placing a kiss on your head. "Sorry honey, mommy has to go out now. How about a cartoon for you to watch?" Your mother suggested already changing the channel, just watching the first thing that looked childish was enough. It was a cartoon. That was enough. You didn't even have time to show her your drawing because your mother already closed and locked the door. And left you alone again. Not that you cared, you're old enough to take care of yourself, and you are proud of it. But still, it was very disappointing not to have your mother's attention, all your drawings, all your work, your mother didn't have time, at least not anymore. You sulked now, you looked at your toys on the floor, you didn't feel like playing. Until an animated song started playing on the TV. Making you look at the screen. Your curious eyes observed how bad the quality of the show on your TV was. But that didn't matter to you. What caught your attention was the funny colors of the show. You watched the animation of the show go on like a normal day, showing a few houses in a colorful neighborhood, the camera moving closer to a greener place, focusing on a character. A man with blue hair. You kept looking at the screen, seeing that the character was concentrating on painting a picture, and when he finished, the character noticed the presence of the audience and commented. "Oh, hello, neighbor! You've finally arrived." The character smiled at the audience and that caught your attention. He moved to the side and put his equipment aside. Focusing on the audience. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it? How are you?" The character asked turning his head to the side. You, not taking your eyes off the screen, decided to sit on the floor. Curiosity on your face.

There was a silence after the question, and you wondered if the television had frozen as it sometimes does. But you could hear music in the background, so you decided to answer happily. "I'm fine! I just drew a picture, so I'm happy." "Oh, that's wonderful. When you're happy, I'm happy." The character smiled closing his eyes, with his hands together. You crossed your legs and let your hands rest in the space between them. A silly smile rose to your face. You genuinely liked that the character was paying attention to you. You, being a child with a creative mind, genuinely thought that the character was talking to you. Not noticing the generic lines that he responded to after you spoke. This character, that you just met, you don't know his name so far, but he asks you questions! He asks things of you. And that was exactly the kind of attention you wanted. And you were loving it!

"How many apples are in that tree?" "Four!" "Perfect! Four apples, one for Julie, one for Barnaby, one for me, and one for you, neighbor!" Wally was smiling and looking at you with such enthusiasm, you were jumping in place, even though you knew there was no way you could eat the apple. "Woah, time passes when you're having fun, doesn't it?" Wally said after the episode was coming to an end, at least you learned this character's name. "Well, we better get some rest, see you tomorrow, neighbor!" Wally said with a smile on his face, a little wave of the hand and then the credits rolled, you, still not satisfied, wanted more of that show. You just loved everything and everyone! Luckily, you saw the intro and the same song start playing again. You smiled contentedly, expecting more from the program. . . . This is the second day you've been watching Welcome Home, all afternoon you've been marathon watching the show, learning more about the characters, 'talking' to Wally and watching the comedy episodes. Today you were already in the living room waiting for the program to start, excited to watch them all again. Your mother noticed that you were absent in running around the house, she walked around the house, not being late this time. She noticed you in the living room, sitting on the floor watching TV. Your mother came over and when she went to ask you something, the show music started up and you excitedly hummed along. Seeing Wally already leaving his house, you smiled contently and spoke his name aloud. "Wally! Hi!!!" The puppet started with the identical opening line, which you didn't even realize was all from the show's script. But you were still happy to see the puppet answer you with the same "Oh, hello, neighbor! You've finally arrived."

You answered each question happily. Your mother looked at you with soft eyes. She saw how innocent you were to answer the TV. It was something simple and cute, that made you excited, so your mother let this channel play more often. . . .

This was the third day you were in the living room, waiting to watch your new favorite show. Your face was freshly wet, because what had happened earlier had made you very anxious. Your mother argued loudly on the phone, swearing, she even locked herself in another room so you couldn't hear, but it was difficult. So you tried to overcome this on your own, so you were lying on the floor drawing Wally, being soothed by drawing him. Your mother had to leave early today, but she would be back early too. So you were alone, waiting for the program to start. And when the music started, you excitedly sniffed and looked at the TV with sparkling eyes. Waiting for entertainment after waking up in an unpleasant way. Wally then appeared again, you were on the floor and quickly got up and sat down, grabbed your blankets and wrapped yourself up, since it was cold. Your favorite character came out of his house and started with his same normal question. "Oh, hello, neighbor! You've finally arrive-"

Suddenly, he stopped, in the middle of the sentence. You notice that the eyes of the puppet on the screen widened a little, as he noticed... something? Maybe. You curiously frowned slightly, wondering what had gotten into Wally? This is different. The pause that was taken left you confused, and then he continued, but his posture was different. "Uh- It's a beautiful day and…"

"How, uh. How are you?…" You watched the puppet in front of you with a more droopy posture, it didn't look like he was confident like all the other times. You shook your head, not thinking much. "I'm fine, how are you?" You asked just to ask, because you knew Wally would answer that anyway. But what you didn't expect was that the silence returned. The figure of Wally standing there, looking at you. Then you heard a low: "Are you sure?..."

You raised your eyebrows. Oh, he really answered you this time. You ran your hands over your face, feeling your hands get a little wet after wiping some of the liquid off your face. You looked down at your drawing and then looked into the puppet's eyes. "Hhm, I'm fine, Wally." You hummed affirming what you said earlier. But that didn't seem to have much effect, as the puppet in front of you stared at you with a silence in the background that seemed like forever before something happened.

And it wasn't what you expected. Because the image of Wally looking at you was soon replaced by the continuation of the episode. The view was of a clearing and a butterfly fluttered across the screen. You were surprised by Wally's strange behavior, but you ignored it.

The episode continued as usual, although Wally didn't appear for a few minutes. The characters are in a situation and need help, it was in this part that Wally would ask for your help in this situation. But he wasn't there. You questioned for a few seconds until the screen started to crash, the voices of some characters in the background still talking, but the screen was a mess, there were two scenes trying to appear on the screen, the colors were all mixed up and this made even the voices of the characters stop. Sitting in the dark with the screen all glitched made you a little worried, you remember that the last time the television was like this was on a rainy day. But it wasn't raining now. It made you get out of your blankets and look at the TV still frozen, occasionally making sounds. Suddenly an idea popped into your head. Your mother once hit the TV hard because she said it would fix it, you saw her do it, and it worked, maybe you could try it. Getting close to the TV you raised your small hand and slapped it lightly. Looking at the TV, it didn't work. Maybe you need more strength? You made your hand into a fist and when you went to lift it you were startled by the screen behaving more aggressively with colors and a loud, not pleasant, sound was made. "DO NOT" It was written illegibly on the screen, but you were able to read it despite the mess of glitches. "FIX IT." It appeared at the bottom of the screen, along with the other words. You stopped moving your hand and observed what was happening on the screen. Suddenly. Statics. The television became pure static, no music, no show, nothing. And then only two words appeared. The font was better, despite the random color streaks being made on the screen. "Let me." After a few seconds. The TV went black and a song started. You realized it was the intro of the show, without much doubt, the show started again, the animation of the houses in the neighborhood, the title 'Welcome Home', everything was normal again. You sighed, glad that it was working again, and then you saw him. Wally had his back to you, with a white canvas in front of him, he wasn't painting anything. And then he noticed you. He turned and smiled looking at you. "Oh, hello again neighbor." Wally said putting his brush aside. "Sorry about that, something happened. An... inconvenience." The man in blue said with a smile and his eyes closed, looking even a little forced. "But now! No interruptions. Let's talk, shall we?" Wally put his hands together and smiled broadly, looking at you again. You looked surprised at the screen. Talk? About what? You frowned and turned your head away. "Aren't we going to help your friends? Earlier they seemed to need help with who took their-"

Suddenly the screen changed and some characters from before appeared with a big smile on their faces. "Wowie! Thanks for finding my stuffed animal Wally and neighbor!" Sally said hugging the little toy. Julie nodded in agreement happy that they had found what was missing. And then the screen crashed and went back to the same greenish corner with Wally standing there smiling.

"See, they already found it, everyone is happy." Wally explained trying to convince you that there was no need to 'end the episode'. You frowned slightly, clearly not convinced. Wally quickly began.

"Although…" In a slightly lower voice, you looked at the screen curious by your favorite character's change of mood. "I'm out of ideas of what to paint." Wally let you look at the blank canvas with nothing on it. You happily jumped in place, taking interest. "Oh! I can help you!" You said enthusiastically, the puppet looked at you and a smile formed on his face, he put his hands on his own face, with the same kind of enthusiasm. "Perfect!"

Time passed and you two talked for hours. While Wally was painting what you suggested, you yourself decided to draw another picture, the atmosphere was fun and comfortable. You were loving this session of talking and painting.

"So, (Name)." Wally started, you hummed paying attention, not taking your eyes off your drawing. It was nice to hear Wally say your name instead of just neighbor, you told him at the beginning of your long conversation. "Why were you crying before? If it's okay to ask." Wally asked a bit monotonously, you scrabbled a bit at the colors abstractly and hummend thoughtfully. "Hmm, well…"

Wally is your friend, right? It's okay to tell him about you, he also tells you all about himself, so fair enough. "My mommy is very busy. She ignores all my drawings!" You said with your cheeks puffy. "Ah, but that's just not very nice of her, hm?" Wally commented, and you aggressively nodded several times. "But that has nothing to do with your crying, does it?"

You stopped swinging your legs and looked at the TV screen and just watched the back of Wally, who continued to paint the picture. You sighed and continued. "Yeah… Today my mom had an argument on the phone…. And she's very short-tempered, you know? She'll blow up at anything. She gets aggressive."

Your last line was probably what made Wally stop moving the brush across the canvas, as you were looking at the canvas, you saw Wally glance at you, his eyes were a tad sinister.

"With you?…"

You looked at Wally a little innocently and shook your head, "No, not with me, she locks herself in her room and breaks things right there. And I don't like it when she gets like that. That's why I was sad." As if your words were air, the puppet on the TV sighed, and turned his back again and continued painting.

"I'm done!" You smiled excitedly, the puppet looked back and watched you. "Already? That was quite fast." You laughed at Wally's comment and then got down on your knees, bringing your drawing to the screen, trying to show your drawing to the screen. "Look, look, what do you think?!" You smiled and looked at your drawing, expecting some kind of comment from Wally, but it was so quiet that you had to put your drawing down and look at him.

Wally was staring at you the whole time you got close to the screen, and the puppet raised one hand and coughed falsely. "I'm sorry, it's just that I can't see the drawing if you don't look into my eyes." Wally explained this and you were confused, the puppet explained to you how he can't see anything if someone doesn't look into his eyes. You thought that was strange but you held up the drawing while looking at Wally. And then he finally reacted, taking his eyes off you and looked at the drawing in your hands. He smiled big when he saw your little work of art, complimenting you in every way, watching your smile grow wider and wider with his company. You spent the whole afternoon talking and having fun, your mother came home a little exhausted. She greeted you from afar and went to make herself a cup of coffee. You didn't, however, do the usual thing of running after her after she arrived. You kept your conversation with Wally happy and content. Your mother noticed the change in your behavior. Like every day, you stopped interacting so much with her and started to stay more in front of the TV. Maybe this was a consequence of her actions in leaving you alone so much that now you didn't worry about bothering her. But one night. That's what changed things. You were so annoyed by your mother's neglect that you decided to turn on the TV on your own at night and talk to the only friend who made you feel good.

After the intro passed, you couldn't even keep your crying face long, after you knew that you would be happy with your friend's presence. You didn't even wait for Wally to arrive right on the scene and you quickly began to talk and talk, making the puppet in front of you look surprised by your state. You tried to wipe your full tears on your sleeves, along with your snot. "Shh, shh…" Wally tried to calm you down, you were so close to the screen, it was a bad feeling to see you in that state. The puppet managed to cheer you back up with sweet comments. Your face was red with a huge smile now. Although you started to cry in your room when you realized that your mother was ignoring you while she fiddled with her laptop, you ran into the living room in a loud, clearly sad voice. Your mother noticed her actions at that moment. And she tried to tidy things up a bit. She went into the living room, where she heard where you were talking.

What was strange, were you watching that program again? It looked like you were complaining about her to the TV. She walked silently into the living room and saw you standing near the TV, talking to it.

"Wally, can you be my best friend?" You asked, a few tears escaping and you wiped them away with your sleeves again. Your mother frowned at seeing you in this state, and just as she was about to step in to comfort you she noticed something that was probably not normal. "Of course, (Name). Best friends forever?" Wally asked smiling with half open eyes, he put his hand on the TV screen and you nodded aggressively with approval. "Forever!" Placing your hand on the TV screen where his was. Wally smiled contentedly, and since you were looking at him, he could see everything. He even managed to notice your mother in the back of the room, watching the interaction. The puppet's eyes widened a bit and he looked at you a little worried. Your mother then arrived frightened. And clearly with her heart in her hand. "(Name)." Your mother said firmly. You looked back and saw your mother's hand outstretched. "Come here." She said breathlessly. Staring at the puppet on the screen in fear. You denied it, however, and frowned. "No. I'm having fun with Wally." The nominee softened his gaze at looking at you, but soon intensified at looking at your mother. She approached you and pulled you up, quickly moving away from the TV. "(Name). Go to your room, it's not safe here." Suddenly the TV made a loud bang on the screen, two hands were there now, Wally's eyes fixed strongly on your mother, clearly not liking that you were being forced to leave him. "Stay the FUCK AWAY from them!" Your mother shouted at the TV, clearly frightened. You began to tear up again. Your mother was arguing with your best friend, that wasn't fair! "N-No, don't fight please…" You looked at Wally and he was looking at you, there was no emotion on his face except for that stare. But you still saw him as your friend. Your best friend! "Wally!" You held out your hand as if it would help you, and the TV once again made a loud bang. Your mother in panic quickly ran to her room and left you there, you still crying tried to open the door, but it was too late after you saw, your mother had unplugged the TV.

She still looked panicked and started to drag the TV away to throw it away. That night was the last time you saw your best friend.

. . . Was it?

-OO I was holding myself to not make a long one shot, I kinda see this as a rushed thing, but hey ho, I still liked writing this one :D-

#welcome home #welcome home arg #wally darling #wally darling welcome home #wally darling wh #welcome home wally #welcome home puppet show #welcome home fanfic #welcome home x you #welcome home x reader #wally darling x reader #wally darling x you

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ten-shi-fandoms · 1 year

Text

"Don't worry your safe now, I promise."

___________________________________

CW: Wally Darling x Platonic!Child Reader, gender neutral reader, minor mentions of neglect, parent issues, parental arguing, reader gets called names, Wally breaking the fourth wall, first person pov, angst to fluff

_______________________________________

It was happening all over again, not like it was unusual for you to hear.

There was yelling, and lots of it between your mother and father. It was normal for you to hear and for a young child's mind you didn't have much attention to give to the pointless screaming match that raged on outside your room. All you cared about were the pretty colors and lovely music that filled your room as a popular show called "Welcome Home" was about to start on the TV.

Your mother had sat you in your room not long before starting the argument with your father over something simple. She turned on the TV, switching it to whatever seemed colorful and childish enough to keep you occupied as she readied herself to yell before she left you locking the room from the outside to keep you from leaving.

This happened more times than not, being locked in the room while your mother did whatever she wanted leaving you alone with your toys, crayons and the tv. This time she placed it on "Welcome Home" a show that had become popular and you were immediately interested in the moment the colors shined on the screen.

You sat patiently as the title card appeared signalling the show was about to start. The screen soon bloomed into a beautiful colorful neighborhood with a guy painting beside a house. As the camera panned in the guy turned, acknowledging the presence of the viewer. Half lidded eyes turned to the camera with a small smile. "Hello there Neighbor, I was wondering when you would show up." he teased, his voice soft, a voice you never really heard from your parents.

"How are you today Neighbor?" he questioned, silence following after aside from the light music that played behind him. Only after a bit did you realize he was waiting for you, a large smile graced your face as you happily responded unaware of the generic question. "I'm good!" After a bit Wally smiled once more, "That's good." he responded placing his paintbrush down beside him, completely turning to face the viewer. "How about we go talk to Barnaby today? I'm sure he would like that." Quickly nodding your head agreeing to the idea as he stood from his seat. "Alright then Neighbor, let's go."

Who knows how long that argument lasted, the only way you could tell it was over was the loud slam of the front door and walking around the house, but you didn't really care you were more interested in talking to Wally who happily spent his time with you playing with friends, bothering others and talking to you. Even though it was generic how Wally would speak to you, asking easy questions and pointing things out it was the most attention you had in a while. Before you knew it the episode was ending. Wally sat infront of his house, a place you now knew as Home holding his hands in his lap.

"It seems that's it for today. It was really fun wasn't it Neighbor? I can't wait to see what we do tomorrow, goodbye Neighbor." slowly the camera panned out, the ending song playing as Wally waved goodbye to the viewer. Sadness laced your face as the screen changed to something else, waving goodbye to your new friend.

This soon became a daily routine. Everyday around the same time one of your parents would put Welcome Home on for you as they went to do what they wanted or needed to do. Your mother would go off to go with friends or hang out with others while your father worked living you alone with Wally. Wally was always so happy to see you, and you felt the same. He would ask you about your day, offer to see his friends, play games and hang out with the residents of the neighborhood before saying some kind words then waving goodbye before the next episode played. It was the normal generic stuff for children cartoons but it felt so directed at you, like he saw you and was talking with you.

Things were fine for a few months until your parents got into a large about you. Your mother was upset with you for bothering her while on the way home and called you dramatic when you had begun go cry. This lead to your father screaming at your mother causing her to scream back. All of it was to much even for a child. Large tears filled your (e/c) eyes as you ran to your room. The tv was already on when you got there; due to you forgetting to turn it off earlier, the title card of Welcome Home was playing showing you that show was a about to start. Grabbing your favorite blanket you curled into it, before walking over to the brightly colored screen.

The screen changed showing Wally sitting on the floor by a window, drawing something on a piece of paper. As the camera got closer he perked up, his head turning to acknowledge the viewer about to say something before he paused no words leaving him as he stared. It felt as if he was staring at you, no words being said making you worried something was wrong.

"Wally?" you mumbled gently, soft sniffles leaving you as the tears that filled your eyes rolled down your cheeks in large globs staining your cheeks with wet streaks. Even with your voice calling out to him he didn't say a word only standing up walking closer to the camera as if he was trying to get closer to you.

"You seem sad, what's wrong Neighbor?" he asked, his voice soft, even gentle as he spoke his head tilting to the side as he waited for a answer. You nodded, your (h/c) hair bouncing a bit with each nod. "I'm fine, don't worry Wally!" your voice wavering at the ends as you said his name as happily as you could. Though Wally didn't look convinced. "Are you sure Neighbor? You seem to be crying-" before he could finish the tv begun to glitch suddenly placing the camera in a scene with Julie and Sally peforming a play with Wally sitting beside Barnaby smiling at the two peforming some line.

Confused as you were, you smiled happy to see the characters you loved so much having fun and including you in their games. You had fun bouncing around reading lines from a script Sally held up for the viewer as they played a part in her play. Julie played jump rope with you. Frank let you watch the butterflies. Eddie gave you some mail. Howdy let you take some crayons. And so much more. The happy episode made you feel better after what happened with your mother earlier that day. At the end of the episode it was just you, Wally and Home just like before. Wally seemed to be in thought before he begun to speak.

"Are you sure your okay Neighbor? You seemed so sad earlier, I hope you at least had some fun with us." he said, the words making you tilt your head before moving closer to the tv. "I'm better now Wally! Thanks to you and and everyone else! I'm so happy!" you cheered, your tears having cleared up for the most part and your mood alot better too. Wally nodded, a sweet smile on his face. "Thats good Neighbor. As long as your happy, I'm happy. Goodbye Neighbor, I love you." happiness filled your face as your placed your hands against the tv screen after hearing Wally's words. "I love you too Wally! Bye bye!" you could hear him let out a odd, broken monotone laugh as he waved goodbye to you.

You let out a soft yawn, your body slumping against the tv, your body slowly sliding onto the floor in front of it as your curled further into your blanket, tired from all the crying you had done. When you closed your eyes you heard Wally's voice call out to you one more time, this time is voice was lower than before like he was whispering to you.

"Don't worry your safe now, I promise."

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sentientfunfetti · 7 months

Note

Yandere! Actor Wally, please...

possessive actor!wally/reader hcs

(actor wally and his au was made by @/frillsand on tumblr! go support their work!)

REBLOGS AND FEEDBACK APPRECIATED!

CW// POSSESSIVE THEMES

of course, like any other version of him, this one would be very cautious and closed off at first. he wouldn’t share much with you and if he does it’s brief, but after you ‘prove yourself’ to him he immediately becomes attached to you. he's absolutely stuck by you. you're just his assistant but he falls hard. harder than he ever has.

seeing as how you’re the first person to ever see him for who he is, he lets you get away…with a lot. it’s all bias of course, and you may not even use it but you start to notice that your small mistakes barely go noticed. he doesn't even allow anyone else to scold you either. you can tell that his patience is still thin, however.

he values your time with him. in his downtime he’s hellbent on spending time with you and you only, even if this means dragging you along on subtly planned ‘lunch breaks’ with him. (these are dates) or calling you for petty tasks he could have easily done himself just to see you.

he likes spoiling you, and that becomes very obvious very fast. he loves it when you tell him ‘thank you’ for buying you lunch or getting you coffee. he goes from sending you in to get these things for him to go in with you, bringing his bodyguards along.

you take up so much of his mind he starts to stumble in rehearsal. this actually frustrates him at first. he takes his frustration out on you a tad before finally cooling down.

practically demands all of your attention. he goes to you for just about everything. input, script reading, any excuse to see you. any excuse to get closer. he hates the fact that you two have such a professional relationship and wants to be more, even if that means breaking a few rules. it's not like you're a fan, you're his assistant. no harm done.

ignores fanmail entirely. when you ask why he brushes it off the way he usually does. "why would i want a bunch of strangers telling me what i already know?". the truth is very different, however. he secretly wishes to be praised by you and you only.

speaking of, he may not show it but he soaks up any and all praise you give him and internalizes it almost immediately. no matter how small. he loves it when you compliment him.

it's hard to keep his cool when he sees you getting the same treatment from others, however. he silently watches from the corner, fuming. how dare they. until he can muster up the courage to fully compliment you himself, he glares daggers at people who do. repeat offenders get fired and blacklisted from acting entirely.

he is not above blackmail to get his way. not to you, no of course not! other people, however? free game. he has dirt on just about everyone. they don't even know.

even though he has a tendency of doing horrible things to get his way, he always tries to steer away from that entirely. he keeps trying to convince himself that he’s above that and he’s a changed man. unfortunately, you make that a bit hard with how many other people you seem to attract every other day.

appreciates your patience with him most of all. set aside the fact you're not weird about the fact that he's a puppet like most people, he loves your kind heart and wants to protect that, even if that means burning bridges to see more of you. he craves intimacy with you. he hates how weak you make him feel, but he can't help but let all of those walls come crumbling down when you're that nice to him.

isn't good with physical contact at first, so he sticks to small things: 'accidental' brushes against you, linking pinkies with you, shoving you along. he’s experimenting, give him time.

drags you along to rehearse his lines. he loves using his 'deadlines' as an excuse to get your help. he knows he could ask anyone else but why would he? you say yes every time anyway because that's how nice you are. he absolutely loves the scenes where he gets to subtly flirt with you. did the script call for improv? ssssh. doesn't matter. your red face makes it all worth it in the end.

is not above using the character he's playing mannerisms to get his way. he knows he's good at what he does, and he knows he's adorable. he uses this to his advantage, even incorporating past character's mannerisms into his own when he notices people stick to them. this includes you. if he notices you like a certain thing about a character he's playing he is quick to pick up on this and use that against you.

in the end, his end goal is for you to date, and maybe be something more in the future. he's willing to do whatever that takes, even if that means working on himself more just to make sure you're more comfortable with the idea of dating. has no issue with having a 'secret' relationship if that's what you want.

isn't much of a pet name person but he would call you 'hun' sarcastically at first but over time it would become a genuine pet name for him.

if you two do something together then expect that to be something you two do together. he would get upset at people who try and 'butt in' in the things you two do together. those things are for you two and you two only. certified gatekeeper.

author’s note ⊹˚. ♡

funny thing! i actually got two requests to do this guy!

it was a bit hard to do seeing as how i don’t really know much about the au, but thank you for requesting it anyway! (both of you LMFAO). i have a few more planned, and two more requests to do. i’m still working on my reboot wally/reader fic so if i seem a bit slow that’s why. please be patient. i already have the outlines and things like that made for the requests i’ve gotten.

thanks for the request, neighbor!

#welcome home au #welcome home #wally darling #wally please i have a family #welcome home fanfic #i love wally #possessive wally darling #yandere wally darling headcanons #yandere wally x reader #actor wally au #actor wally darling #welcome home wally #wally darling headcanons #yandere wally darling #yandere welcome home

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aerkame · 1 year

Note

Alright I read your request rules and I’m ready to request!

Wally Darling x Curious Reader

You know that little fic you made where you wrote the puppets coming into the real world? (I commented on it!)——I hope you wouldn’t mind me trying to branch off it! Imaging it happening to me, I would actually like to inspect Wally since he’s clearly not human. Of course, with consent. I would open his mouth- see what’s inside, touch his felt, his hair, all of it.

And I’d imagine he’d be curious about us too.

Sorry for this being a bit late, I wanted a short break from writing and drawing all day. Also I'm perfectly fine with that being branched off of! Most of my previous posts are kind of like foundations for future fics and requests to go off of.

Also for the sake of simplicity I will just call this an AU(Alternate Universe). The Alive AU. It's exactly what it sounds like, the puppets come to life but as their cartoon selves in the real world and are capable of going back to their own world at any time. (Wally needs to do that though or they're stuck, he knows what he's doing). I'm also doing this so that in the future when we do have answers to Welcome Home, it won't interfere with theories or what is considered "canon". This request is based on a previous post (linked below this), for context.

Just a Little Look

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Out of all the other 'puppets', Wally was the one you were most curious and cautious about. It wasn't that he ate differently, it wasn't because his eyes looked different from the rest, and it wasn't because he was always staring at you. No, it was the way he acted. He acted like he's done this before. The whole going into this world and not being a normal puppet bit. You decided that you might as well ask Wally if you could feel him or look inside his mouth...maybe not that first one though, that might come out as weird to him and the others. It's not like he had a reason to say no really, you were just curious.

The 'puppet' with an Elvis cut was sitting down on your couch one leg crossed over the other like the distinguished dude that he was, face buried in a newspaper from this morning. You don't remember teaching him how to read the newspaper, where did he even get that? "Hey Wally..." You shuffled your foot a bit, getting somewhat anxious. "Can I look in your mouth?"

"Hmm?" He looked up from reading the paper with an almost dreamy look to him. "Can I look in your mouth?" You repeated the question, this time he heard you as his head tilted to the side. "Now what would you want to look in my mouth for?" His voice was as calm as usual, though he did have a bit of a smirk today.

"I'm just curious is all, you're not like the others and I've never seen what you guys look like on the inside." You gestured to the inside of your mouth, sticking your tongue out. Wally slowly got up from the couch and leaned over you, smirk still lingering on his face. "Well, I don't see why not, but I'll only let you look inside me if you let me look inside you." You nodded, excited to finally get a look. "Alright, sounds fair." You responded as Wally folded up the newspaper and neatly placed it on the coffee table.

Bending down, Wally opened his mouth quite a bit to let you look, making a small "Ahhh~" like a child would when letting a doctor look at their throat. You peered over to see inside. It was what a normal puppet mouth would look like save for the small black void at the back of the 'throat'. You're not even going to question how Wally speaks or eats, nothing surprises you anymore at this point. Kind of weird to see what is basically a tiny void though.

He closed his mouth once you were done looking before leaning closer to softly grab your face in his hands. It wasn't what you'd thought it'd feel like. You were expecting something like felt, but that wasn't it. It was some other material you've never felt before, it was soft and smooth like silk, but not in a sense that it was fabric. "I believe it's my turn to see the inside of your mouth now." You nodded quietly and opened your mouth as wide as you could, showing off your canines and molars.

It was awkwardly quiet in the living room for a while and you slowly found yourself leaning further and further into the soft hands that held your head up earning a small chuckle from Wally. "Tired?" You nodded. It's been a rough week both from your job getting busy and you being busy at the house trying to keep your new guests out of trouble. "It's like I'm taking care of a bunch of kids.." You mumbled into his hands.

"How about you take a good nap then, you'll be up and full of that energy you need." There it was again. You could feel him staring at you with those eyes. You were too tired to say anything this time though and opted for just getting up and heading to your room. Leaving behind a still smirking Wally.

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I told you guys, I write medium to long posts even if they take a while.

Next up? Barnaby and Wally teach the dear reader how to slow dance. :)

#Alive AU #Welcome Home Alive #welcome home #wh #wally darling #wally darling x reader #welcome home wally darling x reader #welcome home wally darling #wally x reader #fanfiction #requests open #fanfic #welcome home arg #welcome home fanfic #welcome home AU #AU

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leon-dechino · 1 year

Text

[His gaze softened, never breaking from yours. He opened his mouth, hesitating.

“I’m in love with you,” he whispered.

And that’s all you needed to hear.]

I am just about obsessed with @b-o-e's fanfic series silly lil wally things. The whole thing is absolutely wonderful and I just had to draw this scene. If this is your cup of tea, go give it a read!

This scene comes from sleepy phone call.

#fanfiction #wally darling #welcome home #wally x reader #wally darling x reader #welcome home wally #this fanfic so good I swear #it's so soft #i promise #boe's fics give me peace #welcome home fanfic #wally darling x y/n

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thebelovedmuse · 1 year

Text

Mwah!

Summary: You hang out with Wally and realize the poor guy doesn't know how to kiss.

Contents: Tooth-rotting fluff, short one-shot Wally x GN!Reader

A/N: I haven't written in a bit and I needed to get this idea out my head. Wally not knowing how to kiss gives me cute-aggression.

Wally had insisted on taking you to this large apple tree in the meadow. You glance over it, thinking that it was indeed a great place for reading or napping in the sun. You lay down the blanket and get comfortable sitting next to Wally in the shade. The two of you had been spending more time together and you found yourself developing feelings for him. For the moment you had decided to keep those feelings to yourself, not sure of how Wally would react.

You were excited to continue the book that you had been reading to Wally for the last few hang outs. As you read aloud you feel a nervous energy coming from Wally. He can’t seem to get comfortable, shifting around constantly.

You see out the corner of your eye, Wally’s face coming closer. You feel your face flush as this moment you were waiting for is finally happening. Suddenly you feel Wally’s face collide with your cheek, he pulls back with a “Mwah!”

You freeze for a moment, confused by the sudden bonk on the face.

“Wally, what…was that?”

“A kiss, silly!”

You’re not sure if you should be blushing or laughing, you feel like doing both. “Wally that is…not…a kiss,” you say hesitantly, you didn’t want to embarrass him. “Oh?! Then how does a kiss work?” Wally says as his face lights up in curiosity. You start to wonder if he can even feel embarrassment. You certainly can though as you feel a blush creep up your cheeks while you think through how to explain to Wally how kissing works. You try to quickly push through an explanation to Wally, he seems eager to learn but you’re not sure if he understood a single thing you said. You finally accept that you would have to show him. “Here Wally, like this…” you say as you lean in, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Wally’s eyes fly open and you swear you saw his pupils get massively larger for a second.

“Oh, neighbor, that was amazing! Does that mean we’re together now?”

“Wait what?....What?” You feel your brain become overwhelmed, so many questions and revelations happening so quickly.

“You know since we kissed and all. I thought that’s how people in a relationship act? Eddie and Frank kiss all the time.”

“I mean they do Wally but, they kiss on the lips? That’s more of a romantic thing and that was a kiss on the cheek I wasn’t sure what…” you find yourself rambling. You then realize that Wally has repositioned himself kneeling in front you. You start to question him when he springs forward, colliding with you at such force that you fall back a bit, catching yourself with your forearms behind you. You’re surprised at how quickly Wally has learned as his lips press against yours, this time in an actual kiss. You feel his lips and the weight of him leaning on you lift as he sits back. “How was that?” he asks. “That was…perfect, Wally,” you say as your face turns pink.

“So we’re together now, right?”

“Wally was this whole thing a way to ask me out?”

“It was, neighbor! I asked Barnaby for some tips but I came up with most of the plan on my own.”

You giggle to yourself, of course he did. You reach over and grab his hand, you notice a light blush on Wally’s face.

“So does this mean I can kiss you whenever I want, neighbor?”

Wally Icon created by @nyan-editmaidcafe

#wally darling x reader #welcome home #wally darling #tooth rotting fluff #welcome home fanfic #wally darling x you #welcome home x reader

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gay-dorito-dust · 1 year

Text

‘Um…Wally?’

‘Yes, neighbour?’

‘Do you need some help there little buddy?’ You asked as you were forced to watch your puppet friend try -and comedically fail- to climb up your back.

‘No.’ He grunts, gripping onto the fabric of your shirt as he pulled himself up, which was only made more hilarious by the fact that Wally weighed little to nothing but yet here he was, struggling to haul his own weight. ‘I’m perfectly capable on my own.’

You shrugged out of impulse and it wasn’t until you heard the puppet exclaim did you realise what you had done as Wally landed back to square one, looking at you with what you thought was a pout as he crossed his arms over his chest like a disgruntled child, tapping his foot.

‘Oops.’ You chuckled.

‘S’not funny, neighbour.’ He told you, ‘I almost made it that time.’ He added in a small murmur as he turned his back to you, continuing his actin being upset with you, but would look over his shoulder now and then to gauge your reaction; only to turn back when he noticed you still standing there with a knowing smile.

You threw your head back as you sighed dramatically, turning your back to him as you knelt on the floor slowly, arms out by your sides for when you needed to hold his legs securely.

‘Come on up little guy.’ You said as Wally smiled, turning himself to face you before clambering up your back; throwing his arms over your shoulders where he would then rest his head whilst hanging on tightly as you lifted yourself off the floor.

‘Happy now?’ You asked as you began carrying Wally through town, saying hi to all that crossed your path. Wally pressed his face against your neck.

‘Very.’ He replied, the smile never once leaving his face.

Inspired by @tainted-heartz post about carrying Wally and such. I just want to carry the little guy. Is that too much to ask? 🦦

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hunnitastic · 1 year

Text

🩹~Tend to your wound~🩹

||Wally Darling x GN!Reader||

(Work can also be found on my ao3. Art used for fanfic done by @/partycoffin )

[I'd be happy to take any requests as well! Shoot me an ask anytime]

~°.•☆*~`.°☆~*'•.`°~☆•.*,°`.'°☆~

It was a nice relaxing sunny day in the neighborhood. The sun was shining bright, the sky painted a beautiful sky blue, fluffy white clouds slowly drifting above. Your friends had invited you out to play at the park. You gladly accepted their invitation as you haven't left your house for the past couple of days. Surely it wouldn't hurt to get some sunlight and play with your friends right?

After walking around your house spending some time trying to find your favorite ball you use to play fetch with barnaby, this found it hiding underneath your couch. You grabbed it and brushed the dust off. you quickly ran outside and headed straight to the park. You were running so fast you didn't even notice that deep hole in the ground coming straight your way. And in the blink of an eye the tip of your foot dragged against the deep hole sending you to plummet straight to the ground. But before you could break for impact, a big pair of light blue fuzzy colored paws grabbed hold of your arms bringing you straight back to your feet.

"Whoa there (y/n)! There's no need to be in such a hurry. The park isn't that far buddy!" Barnaby chuckled and slapped your back. You grimaced at the sudden slap but smiled seeing the rest of your friends where already here but, your friend Wally Darling was missing from the group.

You wondered where he could be. It wasn't like him to be late for a get together...how odd.

You stared at the ground for a slight minute. A faint frown painted your face wondering if wally was to ever show up. But you have the whole day after all There! 'Just be patient (y/n). He probably had something important to do' you thought to yourself before shaking the negative thoughts out of your head as you and the rest of the gang proceeded to walk to the park together.

There was Julie with a picnic basket happily swinging back and forth in her hands as she skipped her way to the park. Finding the perfect spot near a field of flowers Julie began to set up the picnic. She layed out a large red and white checkered blanket and set out the plates, cups and forks. "Hey Julie do you need any help?" You asked as you plopped down on the grass setting your ball beside you. "Hi (y/n)! I sure could use some help thank you for asking! Could you please organize the plates and cups and math them with the correct color?" You nodded with a smile and did exactly as asked. You organized the colorful plates and cups with their respective matching colors. They even had the names of everyone from the neighborhood. You even had your own plate as well! And it was your favorite color too. 'Julie is such a good friend' you thought as you smiled sweetly, staring at the plate a little longer before setting it down.

You glanced over to look at the surprisingly large amount of food Julie had packed. Small sandwiches, gelatin for who you assume is for frank, (your favorite food/snack) oh boy you couldn't wait to dig in! Some apples for wally and a comedically large 3 tier cake. Its colorful frosting surely would catch anyone's attention. It was a bit odd but it was nice to look at. It looked yummy too.

After the 2 of you were done setting up the picnic you got up and grabbed your ball. "Hey barnaby! Wanna play some catch?" You hollered watching barnaby quickly run towards you at lightning speed. "You bet I do! You get any better at throwing? Last time we played you threw it so close it felt more like I was picking the ball that up you kept dropping. It was really boring." the dog joked grinning at the offended look on your face. "I was just tired that day!" You huffed and stomped your foot. "And just so you know I'm most definitely better at throwing things now! So you better get ready!" You huffed some more before taking a few steps back while you watched Barnaby take a few steps back as well. "Ok! HERE I GOOOOO!" you yelled as you threw the ball high into the air watching as it traveled in the sky.

Perhaps...you might have thrown it a little too far. It doesn't seem like barnaby could catch it in time. And it looks like the ball is headed right towards wallys house.

Oh you poor silly fool!

Closing your eyes shut and slapping your hands over your face you were prepared to gear the shattering of glass breaking from a window. But..there was no such sound. What happened? Did the ball fly over the house instead? Removing your hands and slowly opening your eyes you saw a familiar blue hair individual walking your way tossing a certian ball up and down in right hand while his other rested behind his back.

It was wally...

Your heart started to skip a beat, your face becoming flushed and hot, and your hands started to get sweaty.

Oh- did I forget to mention you had certian feelings for your kind dear neighbor wally? What was there to not like about this man? He was a kindly spoken gentlemen. Sure he could be a little empty headed at times but that's what you loved about him.

If only you had the courage to tell him how you really feel.

If...

O n ly...

You swallowed the saliva that gathered in your mouth and waved at wally as he aproched you. "Hello (y/n), looking for this?" He spoke in his usual calm soft voice. He held up the ball. You sheepishly nodded your head. Embarrassed at the fact you almost threw that ball straight into wallys house. "U-uh yes. Sorry about that-" you mumbled. Struggling to find the right words to say. Smiling, wally softly grabbed ahold of your hand and placed the ball in your palm and cupped his hand over yours. Looking straight into your eyes wally tilted his head to the side, his smile never leaving his face. "You should be more careful neighbor. It'd be a shame for you to lose your favorite ball." He whispered.

You wanted to say 'thank you wally, I'll be more careful next time!' But all the came out of your mouth was "...uh-uh." Wally chuckled and walked over to Julie before barnaby ran back towards you. Panting heavily, Hunching over wth his paws rested on his knees. "Geez (y/n) if I had known you throw that hard I would have suggested we play another game instead" you patted the dogs back and softly apologized. "Hey it's alright! You did prove me wrong though! You got a good arm (y/n)!" You grinned while proudly placing your hands on your hips. "Why thank you! Did you wanna take a break and eat with others?" Barnaby shook his head. "Nah! I've got so much energy after chasing the ball! Hey- why don't we play a game of tag?" Barnaby asked standing straight up after finally managing to catch his breath. "That sounds like a good ide-"

"TAG. YOU'RE IT"

Barnaby ran leaving you standing there like a baffled idiot. "Barnaby that's not fair!" You shouted as you proceeded to chase after him while the two of you laughed. The game went on for so long. You even managed to accidentally knock frank into a bush while he was inspecting a butterfly. "Opps! Sorry about that frank!" You quickly pulled frank out of the bush and helped brushed him off. "You best be careful when running around (y/n). You could hurt someone or even hurt yourself- uh?" before frank could scold anymore you had already run off after seeing barnaby coming straight towards you.

Circling around a tree you run as fast as you could to get barnaby off your tail but he was pretty fast considering how big he is. Using the rest of the energy you had left you bolted to the right towards the flower patch. Looking behind you already ended up gaining a couple feet between barnaby and yourself. You let out a breathy laugh. "HA TAKE THAT BARNABY! I'M THE FASTEST IN THE NEIGHBORHO- OOF-" without keeping your eyes in front of you you failed to see a large patch of dirt sitting right in front of your path. And barnaby was too far away to catch you this time.

You fell straight down, roughing up your knees in the process. You let out a low long groan as you laid there with your face buried in the dirt and pebbles. "(Y/N)!" You heard barnaby shout as you began to slowly sit yourself up. The burning and stinging sensation on your knees was enough to bring tears to your eyes. You bit down on your lip to keep the sobs from escaping your throat. The bubbling feeling in your throat grew as you stared at your bloody knees. You looked up seeing barnaby and the others running your direction. "(Y/n) are you okay?!" Julie asked kneeling down and slowly rubbed her hand up and down your back to help soothe you. "Y-yeah I'm fine. I wasn't p-paying attention" frank frowned and shook his head. "I told you you need to be careful when running around (y/n). You need to get home and tend to those cuts before they get infected." Before you could respond wally walked over, placing one arm behind your back and the other hooking under your legs. He held you up, carrying you close to his chest. "I'll take (y/n) back home." "Are you sure you don't need help?" Barnaby asked looking awfully concerned. Wally simply nodded and began to walk to the direction of his house.

Oh could you feel even more embarrassed? You just had to go and act like a fool and not pay attention! Now here you are, carried in wallys arms and cut up and trying you awful best to hold back your weeping sobs. It didn't take long to make it back to wallys house after the silent walk back.

Once walking inside wally carefully sat you down on the couch in his living room. "Wait right there. I'll be right back." You nodded watching wally walk towards the back. You let out a soft sigh staring down at your knees. "Way to make a fool of yourself infront of wally (y/n) you idiot. This day couldn't be anymore worse." you whispered to yourself cringing as you replied the moment you fell in your head. "Did you say something (y/n)?" Wally asked as he came back with a box of bandages, cotton balls and a bottle of hydroxide. You flinched not hearing him walk back in the living room. He sure is a quiet one isn't he?

"OH- UHM, n-no I didn't say anything...haha" you awkwardly spoke watching wally kneel down on the ground infront of you. You stared as he opened the brown colored bottle grabbing a cotton ball he carefully doused the soft fluffy white ball in the liquid. Gently, he grasped the back of your leg lifting your knee up. "This is going to sting a little bit ok? If it hurts too much just tell me to stop." You swallowed and nodded your head slowly bracing yourself for the pain. The closer wally moved the cottonball the more you tried your best to move your leg away. "Now, now (y/n). Remember what frank said? If we don't get this taken care of your cuts will get infected. And it will hurt alot more if you leave it the way it is. Do you really want that? Hmm?" Wally had a good point. You didn't want your cuts to get more worse. You shook your head. "Good. Just stay still. I'll be as gentle as I can". Wally spoke im a soft calming tone.

Your roughly gripped the couch seats hissing at the stinging sensation tingling as the wet ball lightly dabbed against your skin. The feeling spread through out your knee. It hurt alot and you wanted to tell wally to stop but you had to be strong and push through this. You felt more tears begin to well up in the corner of your eyes while you bit down on your bottom lip. 'It's almost over. Just one more knee and you're done (y/n)' you reassured yourself as wally moved to work on the next leg. "You're doing good. Just a couple more seconds" wally hummed cleaning up your wound on the other knee. After he was done wiping up your cut a lightly blew on the cut to make it dry faster. Your body shivered at the coolness against your throbbing skin. It was a nice feeling.

Really nice.

After making sure your cuts were dry wally placed a band-aid on each knee. "And there you go. All done~" he happily sung looking up at you. You still had your eyes closed shut. Your tears streaming down your red flushed cheeks. "Hmm..." wally sounded. "I heard from poppy about the best medicine one can receive when they're hurt. Do you know what that medicine is (y/n?)" He asked not looking away. You shook your head. Your lips trembling as you let out soft shakey whimpers. "The best medicine one can receive when they're not feeling good you see..." he paused. Moving his hand to softly grasp your calf while his other rested against the heel of your foot.

"Is a kiss."

Wally softly pressed a sweet kiss against your bandaged knee. Leaving his lips there for a few seconds before pressing another loving kiss to the other. You opened your eyes, face still flushed a bright red as you watched wally sweetly kiss your knee before lightly pressing his cheek against your skin. "Does that feel better?" He asked. You nodded and softly smiled. "Ahh there's that smile I like to see". Wally hummed, reaching up to wipe away the rest of your tears. His thumb brushing against your cheek. "I really do hate to see you so upset (y/n). It hurts my heart so much" he whispered staring into your eyes.

There was a short moment of silence. The 2 of you just stared at each other with soft expressions before wally spoke up again. "Please don't ever say you're an idiot. That's just not true. You're a lovely person." Your eyes widened. "So...you heard that?" You mumbled. He didn't respond. Just continued to stare at you with his usual smile and droopy eyes. "I think you're really neat (y/n). You bring so much light in any room you walk in." He cupped your cheek in his hand as he leaned forward bringing his hand to sotly pet the top of your head. "You're so good for me. Always helping our friends and making them smile. You're very very good." His smile grew wider when he watched your flustered reaction. You enjoyed the sudden praise and comfort. It was definitely something you needed.

Wally cupped both your cheeks this time forcing you to look up at him. You held in your breath as you stared into his eyes. His pupils seemed...more larger than they were a few seconds ago.

"....I really like you too."

You opened your mouth to speak but wally cut you off. "(Y/n) will you promise me you'll try to be a little more careful when you play with our friends?" You stayed silent for a minute before answering. "I- I promise to be more careful." Wally hummed letting go of your face and reached down and grabbed hold of your hands. Intertwining your fingers together. "Shall we go back to our friends now?" He asked helping you up off the couch. "Hehe, yes let us go back to our friends." You replied back in a soft voice.

And with that you both walked back to the park, hand in hand with smiles spread across your faces.

Maybe this day was going to go alright alright after all.

THE END.

|| This is the first fanfic I've written after a few years of not writing anything so I do apologize that I'm rather rusty. I hoped you enjoyed reading it tho! ||

#welcomehomearg #welcomehome #welcome home puppet show #welcomehomewally #welcome home julie #welcome home barnaby #welcome home frank #welcome home wally #wally darling #wally darling x reader #x Reader #self-insert #welcome home fanfic #welcome home fanfiction #reader is clumsy #reader is a bit of a cry baby

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