#saving this

AAAUHVGGHGGAAHHHHG

THIS IS SO GOOODDD MY BELOVED DORKS I LOVE YOU

Free to use with credit! ;)

Bonus w/o circle:

And said lover, his Dawnlight, was left to yearn for him in increasingly odd ways during his absences. First, it was filling their home with blue, white, and gold flowers that suspiciously mirrored the colors of Phainon's outfit. After that, it was puppysitting a litter of pups that they conveniently named after Phainon in some way (Snowy - because of their snow white fur, of course; Puppynon - a fan of the Deliverer named them such and Reader couldn't refuse; Pienon [the Devourer] - because they were determined to steal pies from the bakery; Clawslana - it came to them in a dream, which they choose to blame on Oronyx). Then it was taking up baking and baking scarily accurate cookies in Phainon's image.

Every time Phainon came home to these scenes, he was left feeling touched at being missed so dearly as well as struck with amusement so fierce he could barely contain his laughter. But this time, his Dawnlight was coping with his absence in a very peculiar way.

One day, during Phainon's recent call to duty, a mysterious merchant had begun peddling dolls in the image of the Deliverer (although those clinging to dignity called them "figurines"). If the Phainon cookies were scarily accurate, then the dolls were even more so to the point where one could say someone had shrunk the real Phainon and made copies of him. Reader was awestruck by the close resemblance the dolls had to their lover, but at the same time, was filled with unease at the idea of other people having something so well crafted in the hands of others! So they did something completely rational - they spent an unknown amount of balance coins buying all 12 Phainon dolls available.

At first, they were giddy! Reader placed all 12 Phainon dolls in the living room surrounded by the blue, white, and gold flowers and some of the Phainon cookies. But then they realized it was starting to look like a shrine to Phainon which quickly snapped them out of their yearning haze. Reader looked for the merchant the next day and asked if they could return all the dolls or at least most of them. But the merchant said they didn't have to worry about returning them because "all shall bid farewell to one". Reader was obviously confused, but the merchant cryptically said they would understand soon.

After returning home, Reader saw all 12 dolls exactly where they had left them. But after turning away for a moment and looking back, only one of the 12 Phainon dolls remained! They wondered if some master thief had snuck in and stolen the other dolls, but then they started attributing the entire situation to either Bartholos or Cipher. With a groan, they took the remaining Phainon doll and set it beside them on the couch while they read. A minute later, the Phainon doll's head was turned in a position it wasn't in before, facing Reader as if asking, "What are you reading?"

In the coming days, the Phainon doll would be in the strangest places and positions. While Reader cooked in the kitchen, the Phainon doll would be on the counter behind them, even though they had left the doll on the couch a good distance away. When Reader was in the garden, the Phainon doll was suddenly inches away next to a trowel they were about to grab. When coming out of the bathroom, the Phainon doll would be waiting right outside the door.

When turning in for the night, Reader would put the doll on a nightstand. But whenever they woke up - in the morning or in the middle of the night - the Phainon doll would be right next to them in the bed. If Reader ever tried putting the doll in different places or genuinely misplaced the doll, they would always find it back in the bed she shared with the real Phainon. It even ended up in their bag whenever they went shopping! Befuddled by the situation, but just choosing the blame the Trickery Titan, Reader decided to roll with it.

And then Phainon finally comes home. Naturally, he goes looking for his Dawnlight only to find a doll perfectly replicated in his image in his bed. The laughs were already coming out of him when Reader came up behind him. Phainon was only able to point to the doll and ask "…Why?" just for Reader to say, "That's his bed." as if that perfectly explained things.

This was too much for Phainon. He was left laughing on the floor and clutching his sides. By the time he was finished, he was still chuckling, but Reader was able to explain the whole mess with all the dolls and the remaining one that followed them around all day. The whole thing was undeniably hilarious to Phainon. The fact that his Dawnlight was compelled to buy 12 dolls of him in the first place would make him laugh for weeks to comes. However, he would soon feel threatened by his doll duplicate, jealous that they had kept Reader company in his absence and even followed them around the house. He knew it was strange, but he couldn't help but see the doll as his rival.

One day, Reader would realize the Phainon doll was nowhere to be found. They asked Phainon if they had seen it, only for him to mysteriously say he had taken care of it. And neither of them ever saw the doll again (Explanation: Phainon got Cipher to take the doll back).

Hi again 🧋 anon! :) OMG. When you asked me whether you should weave me a story about the haunted Phainon doll, I had absolutely no idea it would end up being this wholesome, hilarious, mysterious, and heartfelt all at once.

You are such a good storyteller. I was intrigued the entire way through, but I was also giggling constantly. And I think this is such a perfect bedtime story. It feels a little magical, a little absurd (in the best way), and incredibly endearing.

This really helped me this week when I wasn’t feeling great. I’ve reread it several times already and it never fails to make me smile.

What makes me laugh is that while reading it, I kept thinking that this feels like exactly the kind of story Phainon himself would invent for Reader. The kind he would tell while lying beside them or read aloud with that warm voice of his.

So please take that as one of the highest compliments I can give. :) ☀️

And omg, there are so many details in here that I loved. I will put them under the cut:

tjis might be a bit extreme but. im going off of vibes here.

It's really good trust me. Here's my result:

Tags! (No pressure of course! <3)