Chapter Text
1x4 huffed as they walked down the hallway toward what they already considered their inevitable demise, also known as Bluudude’s room. The screaming had not stopped for even a moment, and with every step it somehow grew louder, sharper, and more chaotic.
By the time they reached the door they could clearly hear the boy yelling excitedly about whatever game he was playing, his voice rising and falling dramatically as if the fate of the entire world depended on the outcome.
1x4 cringed, stopping right outside the door while their wings twitched irritably behind them, the thin wood vibrating slightly from the sheer volume of noise inside. If they had been in their normal body this situation would have been simple and already resolved, because they would have opened the door, shouted at him to be quiet, and returned to whatever they were doing without a second thought.
Now, however, things were different, and the difference was infuriating. Their smaller body did not inspire the same level of immediate authority, and the thought alone made their head ache. Right now they didn’t even want to argue, they simply wanted to pick someone up and throw them out of a window just to regain a sense of control over the day.
They stood there for a moment, listening to Bluudude shout triumphantly about something that sounded suspiciously like a score or a victory, while the faint crackle of sound from the headphones leaked through the door.
1x4 briefly considered knocking like a reasonable person, but the thought lasted less than a second before their patience snapped. Without ceremony they pushed the door open and stepped inside the room, their eyes immediately landing on the chaotic setup in front of them.
Bluudude sat on the floor with his headphones clamped over his ears, leaning forward with full focus, completely absorbed in whatever imaginary competition he had created for himself.
Next to him sat a chair that had clearly been dragged there with great effort, and placed carefully on top of it was the plushie that Shedletsky had once given him. The stuffed toy had been dressed up for the occasion, wearing a pair of fake headphones that Bluudude had somehow strapped onto its soft head so that it looked like it was participating in the game as well.
Bluudude waved one hand wildly as if arguing with the plushie while continuing to shout about the match, entirely unaware that 1x4 had entered the room and was now standing there with tired eyes, dripping patience, and the growing certainty that this was going to be another very long problem to deal with.
Bluudude finally noticed movement near the door when 1x4 stepped further inside the room, their small shoes scraping lightly against the floorboards. The boy paused for half a second, his head turning slowly toward them while the loud noise from his headphones continued to leak out in a chaotic mix of music and shouting from whatever game he was playing.
His eyes widened immediately, not because 1x4 had interrupted him, but because he had an audience now. “WAIT WAIT WAIT DON’T MOVE” Bluudude shouted, pointing dramatically at them as if they had just walked onto the stage of a very important event. 1x4 froze purely out of confusion, staring at him with a tired expression while Bluudude turned back toward the plushie on the chair.
“You see that?” Bluudude said loudly, gesturing toward 1x4 while speaking to the plushie as if it could answer. “That’s a witness. You can’t deny it now.” The plushie, still sitting upright with its fake headphones crooked over its head, stared forward with its permanent stitched smile. Bluudude leaned closer to it, lowering his voice slightly but still speaking loud enough for the entire cabin to hear. “You lost the round. I told you the jump timing was wrong.”
1x4 rubbed their face slowly, already feeling the headache building behind their eyes. “Bluudude” they said, voice flat and exhausted. The boy did not react. His attention had already snapped back to the game in front of him.
“NO WAY NO WAY NO WAY THAT WAS CHEATING” Bluudude yelled, pointing accusingly at the plushie again. “You pushed me!”
The plushie remained perfectly still.
1x4 stared at the scene for several seconds, their wings slowly drooping further behind them. “You… are playing a gam,” they said slowly, trying to process it, “against a stuffed toy.”
Bluudude turned his head again, looking at them like the answer should have been obvious. “Yeah” he said.
“And you’re losing” 1x4 added.
Bluudude immediately pointed at the plushie again. “He started it.”
1x4 closed their eyes for a moment, inhaling slowly through their nose while trying to hold onto the last pieces of their patience. They could hear Slasher moving somewhere in the cabin behind them, the faint sound of fish sliding in the sink mixing with Bluudude’s shouting and the distant creaking of the building.
Their brain tried to calculate how much energy it would take to simply walk away and pretend none of this was happening. Unfortunately, they were still technically the closest thing to an adult present.
When they opened their eyes again, Bluudude was leaning toward the plushie with narrowed eyes. “You better not rage quit again” he warned it seriously. “Last time you did that I had to restart the whole tournament”
“The plushie cannot rage quit” 1x4 said slowly.
Bluudude looked back at them, completely serious. “You don’t know that”
1x4 stared at him for several long seconds before their shoulders dropped in defeat. “I am surrounded by idiots” they muttered under their breath.
Bluudude gasped suddenly, pointing toward the imaginary screen again. “OH OH WATCH THIS WATCH THIS”
“I am not watching this” 1x4 said immediately.
“Too late” Bluudude replied.
1x4 stood there, tired, damp, and completely regretting every decision that had brought them to this exact moment, while Bluudude continued yelling at a plush toy wearing fake headphones about a game that only existed inside his own head. Somewhere deep in their mind, a quiet voice reminded them that they had once been a powerful, respected figure capable of controlling entire situations.
Now they were supervising a screaming child arguing with a stuffed animal about tournament rules.
1x4 remained near the doorway for a moment longer, staring at the scene like their brain was still trying to decide whether it was worth processing any of it. Bluudude had already leaned forward again, elbows on his knees, completely absorbed in the screen in front of him while occasionally shouting instructions or insults at the plushie sitting on the chair.
The fake headphones had slid slightly to one side of the plushie’s head, which apparently counted as a serious offense because Bluudude stopped mid-game to fix them carefully before returning to whatever match they were playing. 1x4 watched the entire adjustment happen in silence, their wings drooping further with every second that passed.
They slowly walked further into the room, dragging their feet across the floor while Bluudude continued his loud commentary. “No no no you cannot do that move again” the boy argued with the plushie, waving his hand in the air like a referee who had just caught someone cheating.
“That combo is banned after round three” He nodded to himself as if the rule had always existed. The plushie, still smiling with its stitched face, sat there quietly while wearing the oversized headphones that Bluudude had somehow secured around its soft head.
1x4 reached the chair and stared down at it, then looked at Bluudude, then back at the plushie again as if hoping the object would suddenly explain the rules of the game.
“You are aware that it cannot hear the game” 1x4 said slowly, rubbing their temple with two fingers while exhaustion crept into their voice again. Bluudude waved one hand dismissively without even looking at them.
“That’s why the headphones are there” he explained like it was obvious.
“They are fake headphones” 1x4 replied.
Bluudude finally looked up at them with a serious expression that suggested they were the one missing the point. “Yeah but they help with immersion”
1x4 blinked twice, trying to find the logic in that sentence, before deciding it was not worth the effort. Their eyes drifted toward the battlefield again while Bluudude suddenly gasped loudly.
“NO WAY YOU DID THAT” he shouted at the plushie, leaning forward so fast he almost tipped the chair over. “That was a cheap move and you know it” He paused, staring intensely at the plushie like he was waiting for an answer. After a few seconds he nodded slowly. “Oh so now you’re pretending you didn’t do it. Classic.”
1x4 pinched the bridge of their nose while their wings twitched behind them in frustration. “Bluudude” they said again, voice carrying the weight of someone who had already dealt with too many problems in one day.
The boy raised a finger without turning around. “Hold on, this is the final round”
1x4 stared at the back of his head in disbelief. “You said that five minutes ago”
“That was the final round of the semifinals” Bluudude replied confidently.
“There are only two players” 1x4 pointed out.
Bluudude paused again, clearly thinking very hard about that information, before nodding with complete confidence. “Yeah but the bracket was complicated”
1x4 slowly lowered their hand from their face and looked at the ceiling as if silently asking the universe for patience.
Suddenly Bluudude jumped up from the floor and pointed dramatically at the plushie.
“YES I WON” he yelled.
The chair tipped backward and barely avoided falling when he grabbed the plushie in both hands and lifted it into the air. “You see that? Victory”
1x4 watched silently as Bluudude shook the plushie once before placing it back on the chair with surprising gentleness. The boy leaned down toward it and narrowed his eyes.
“Best out of five” he declared.
1x4’s wings dropped even lower while they turned slowly toward the door again, clearly reconsidering every life choice that had brought them here. As they began walking away, Bluudude’s voice rose behind them once more as he restarted the entire imaginary match.
“Okay but this time no cheating” the boy warned the plushie seriously.
1x4 stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind them with a slow motion, staring at the wood for several seconds in complete silence while Bluudude’s shouting continued on the other side. Their shoulders slumped again as they let out a long, exhausted breath.
1x4 glanced at him, then back at the door, before muttering under their breath, “I miss the lake”
1x4 stayed in the hallway for a moment after closing the door, their hand still resting on the handle while Bluudude’s shouting continued from inside the room like nothing had happened.
The noise rose and fell in dramatic bursts, sometimes sounding like commentary, other times like an argument, and occasionally like a full celebration of victory. 1x4 slowly turned their head toward the door again, their expression blank in the way that only someone extremely tired could achieve.
They already knew this was not going to end by itself, and pretending it would was only delaying the inevitable. With a quiet groan they pushed the door open once more, stepping back into the room with the slow determination of someone returning to a problem they wished had solved itself while they were gone.
Bluudude had not moved far from his position on the floor, but the setup around him had somehow expanded. The chair with the plushie had been pulled slightly closer, a second chair now sat beside it, and Bluudude had placed another toy between them like it was part of the tournament bracket he kept talking about.
His headphones were still blasting noise loud enough to be heard across the room, though he clearly was not paying attention to the actual audio anymore. Instead he had fully committed to narrating the game himself, leaning forward while moving his hands as if he were controlling two different characters at once.
When he noticed 1x4 returning he lit up instantly, pointing toward the invisible screen again like they had arrived at the perfect moment.
“You’re just in time” Bluudude said excitedly while bouncing slightly where he sat. “This is the rematch round and the stakes are higher now”
1x4 stepped further into the room while giving the arrangement a careful look, noticing how the plushie still wore its fake headphones while the second toy had been placed upright like it was waiting for its own turn to play.
The whole situation looked less like a game and more like a tiny competition that Bluudude had fully organized in his head. Their eyes narrowed slightly while they tried to understand the rules behind it, though they already suspected there were none.
“You added another contestant” 1x4 said slowly.
“Yeah” Bluudude answered without hesitation. “We needed a tie breaker”
“There was no tie” 1x4 replied.
Bluudude paused for a second as if reviewing the previous match in his memory, then nodded with confidence anyway. “There could have been”
1x4 stared at him while their wings twitched once behind their back, but Bluudude had already turned toward the chair again and grabbed the plushie carefully before setting it back down in what he apparently considered a better position.
He leaned closer to the toys, lowering his voice like a coach giving instructions before a big match, though his attempt at whispering was still loud enough to echo around the room.
“Alright listen” Bluudude told them seriously. “No more weird moves this time because we have an audience”
The plushie said nothing, but Bluudude nodded as if it had agreed. He then glanced toward 1x4 again and gave a quick thumbs up like they were part of the event now whether they wanted to be or not.
1x4 slowly lowered themselves against the wall, realizing that walking away again would only lead to more shouting in the hallway. Watching the nonsense unfold might actually be quieter.
Bluudude cleared his throat dramatically before starting the next round, his hands moving rapidly while he narrated every action like a sports commentator who had memorized every detail of the match.
He described jumps, dodges, attacks, and near misses with complete enthusiasm while occasionally pausing to glare at one of the toys for breaking a rule that apparently only existed in his mind. At one point he leaned so far forward that he almost knocked the chair over again, but he caught it just in time and continued the narration without missing a beat.
1x4 listened for several minutes, their expression slowly shifting from exhaustion to mild disbelief as Bluudude managed to keep the entire imaginary competition running without repeating the same explanation twice.
The boy was completely focused, completely invested, and completely convinced that the tournament was real. When the final moment of the round arrived Bluudude jumped to his feet again, raising both arms into the air while declaring the winner with the kind of excitement that usually came from a real crowd.
He then looked toward 1x4 with a proud grin.
“See” Bluudude said happily. “It’s more fun with spectators”
Bluudude’s excitement did not fade even after declaring the winner of the round. He immediately grabbed the plushie again, adjusting its fake headphones with careful attention before placing it back on the chair like an honored competitor who had just finished an important match.
His hands moved quickly as he reorganized the toys around him, shifting them into new positions while continuing to talk about strategies, scores, and rematches that only existed in his head. The room filled with his constant commentary, the loud rhythm of his voice bouncing between the walls while the headphones around his ears kept leaking small bursts of sound that did not match the story he was telling.
1x4 remained near the wall, arms folded loosely while they watched the entire process unfold. At first they had expected the boy to slow down after the match ended, but Bluudude showed no sign of stopping. He was already explaining the rules for the next game, occasionally nodding toward the plushie as if it had agreed to the terms.
Every time he moved the toys around the floor he did it with surprising care, making sure they stayed upright and properly placed as if the arrangement mattered deeply to the invisible tournament he had built.
At one point Bluudude suddenly looked toward 1x4 again, his expression bright with the same excitement he had at the beginning. “You missed the best part earlier” he said while pointing toward the imaginary screen again.
“There was this moment where he almost won but then I did the jump combo and everything flipped” He acted out the movement with both hands, leaning to one side as if the invisible character had just performed a perfect dodge. For a moment he waited, clearly expecting a reaction.
1x4 stared at him with tired eyes before giving a slow nod that was more polite than interested. Bluudude seemed satisfied with that response and immediately turned back toward the plushie again, continuing his explanation while rearranging the chairs for another match. The noise started to build again, the familiar rising volume of Bluudude preparing for another long round of commentary.
1x4 finally pushed themselves away from the wall. Their wings shifted slightly as they stretched their arms, feeling the lingering ache of the day settle into their shoulders.
Watching Bluudude had confirmed something important: the boy was not going to calm down any time soon. The tournament in his mind would probably last for hours, and every round would sound just as loud as the last.
Without interrupting him, 1x4 quietly moved toward the door. Bluudude did not notice, already arguing with the plushie about starting positions for the next match. The moment 1x4 stepped into the hallway the noise became slightly muffled, though his voice still carried through the wooden door as he loudly counted down the beginning of another round.
The cabin hallway felt calmer by comparison. The floor creaked lightly under their steps as they moved toward the stairs, their small body still heavy with exhaustion.
Instead of going down they climbed upward, one step at a time, until they reached the narrow ladder that led to the roof access. The climb took a bit more effort than usual with their smaller frame, but the quiet waiting above was worth it.
When they finally pulled themselves onto the roof, the cool night air greeted them immediately. The noise from inside the cabin faded into a distant murmur as they sat down on the wooden surface and let their wings relax behind them.
Above the cabin the sky stretched wide and dark, scattered with quiet stars that did not care about screaming children, imaginary tournaments, or endless chaos.
1x4 leaned back slightly, resting their hands on the roof while they looked upward. For the first time that day nothing demanded their attention, nothing shouted for help, and nothing tried to start another game.
They stayed there quietly, staring at the sky and letting the calm settle around them while the distant sounds of Bluudude’s match continued somewhere far below.