Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Birds are chirping.

The grass rustles softly.

It's a lovely day for catching butterflies, Frank decides.

He rests his bug net over their shoulder and sets off on a familiar path out of Home.

The path leads to his favourite bug-catching clearing. An absolute beauty of nature, with a stunning cherry blossom at the centre, its thick branches reaching for the sky.

Frank arrives to familiar tall grass, just above their knees and smiles, admiring the scenery.

"What a lovely day," he breathes a sigh, shrugging off the bug net and looking around.

The sun is just peaking over the nearby hill on a bright and pleasantly chilly morning.

They spend a while walking around, examining caterpillars and grasshoppers, when he notices something bright red out of the corner of their vision.

He turns, excitedly, expecting a monarch butterfly or a large poppy flower but...

Their mouth falls open in a gasp, bug net slipping from his hand and into the grass.

There is a person curled up against the side of the cherry blossom, tiny and shivering

Raggedy Ann wasn't sure what happened... Or how. Or where. Or even when.

One moment she was talking with her brother Andy, then the next, she blinks and opens her button eyes to foliage.

"Andy?" She asks, confused.

The only answer she gets is the rustle of the leaves.

She stands slowly (when did she get on the ground?), looking around.

All she can see in every direction is trees, grass, bushes, and more trees. The grass is up to her hips outside the circle she stands in. She tries not to dwell on the weirdness of it. Not now.

"Guys...?"

Ann glances up, and notes with growing dread that she can barely see anything past the many leaves, but the sky is darkening, and fast.

The doll gulps, looking around more frantically. Her candy heart picks up speed.

Without thinking she picks a direction at random and begins speed walking, shoulders hunched.

Branches of all shapes and sizes whack her in the face and sides, even as she lifts her arms to protect her head.

An unfamiliar sound from her right has her gasping, turning heel and taking off in the opposite direction.

Just a few steps later her foot catches on something hard and she goes tumbling to the ground.

Except the ground is slanted and—

Ann's eyes widen, arms flailing as she starts rolling and tumbling down the hill with a yelp.

Something sharp stabs her in the side but she does not get the chance to even react before she's getting a face full of green as she rolls to a jarring stop.

She just lies there for a moment, panting and trembling as wind rushes past.

The doll's eyes begin to sting and a blink later, a hot tear runs down her cheek. Then a second. And a third.

In just a few moments, Ann breaks down into sobs, confused and scared.

"An- Andy," she hiccups, "Andy, where are you? I- I need you..." Her heart throbs in her chest painfully. Grief and fear striking deep.

Her surroundings have long gone dark by the time she finally calms her sobs. Silent tears roll down her face as she stares into the darkness.

I need to find shelter, the logical part of her mind says.

But I'm so very afraid, the other side whimpers back.

Ann curls up, shivering, and stays like that for a while.

Until something rustles in the distance, too loud to just be the wind. Leaves and sticks crunch underfoot.

Ann tenses, wide eyes shooting up to stare ahead.

Through the barely visible shapes of leaves and grass, she makes out a shadow.

The vague shape of two triangles and a mound between twitches and that's all the warning she gets. She blinks, eyes widening as something large pounces on her, sending her toppling onto her back.

Ann raises an arm to protect herself or distract the thing from her face or anything.

She hears more than feels the loud RIIIIIIIP as whatever is attacking her bites down onto her flailing arm and pulls.

Seams pop out of place, stuffing bursting forth and filling the animal's maw.

The thing jumps back, hacking and gagging.

Ann doesn't wait for another chance, she stumbles to her feet and bolts.

Leaves and branches block her path, obscuring her already barely existing vision as she stumbles through. Her right arm bounces against her side uselessly, stinging.

She doesn't dwell on it.

Instead, she runs, only coming to a stop once the foliage around her thins, and the moonlight finally breaks through the treeline, showing off the prettiest tree she has ever seen.

She tries to keep her trembling breaths quiet as she looks back over her shoulder into the darkness.

She holds her breath for a moment, waiting.

A few moments pass.

Nothing happens.

"Phew," Ann breathes softly, letting her tense shoulders slump in relief.

Slowly but surely, the panic ebbs away, leaving her exhausted and achy. Her legs throb in protest.

The doll sighs and carefully approaches the pretty tree. It's a gigantic thing, the stem (that's the word for plants, right?) is thick and tall, like the rest of it.

Ann doesn't think about the dirt or the bugs as she leans her back against it and slides down to the ground.

Her candy heart finally calms in her chest, though tremors still consume her.

She hugs her hurt arm to her chest and lets her eyes slip shut, keeping a keen ear out for even the tiniest sound.

She doesn't notice her limbs getting heavy, or the calm washing over her until she's already almost asleep.

The doll faintly wonders if she's supposed to be going to sleep in some unknown place before she drifts off.

Frank takes a step closer, blinking in disbelief.

"Ex- excuse me?" They approach cautiously, and freeze when the redhead flinches hard, wide eyes shooting up to stare at him fearfully, "Are you alright?"

"I don- don't know," The tiniest whisper of a voice responds and they frown when he notices their tear-streaked cheeks, "I just wan- want to go ho- home..."

"Alright, uhm," Frank steps closer slowly, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I- I could use some help..." They say, a little louder.

"Well, I'm confident everyone in the neighbourhood would be happy to help," Frank offers a wobbly smile, "I can take you there, if you'd like, it's not far."

"O- okay..." They give a tiny nod and his smile becomes a tad more genuine.

"Would you like help getting up?" Frank asks carefully, not quite within arm's reach.

"Yes, please," The fellow puppet (well, they vaguely resemble a puppet at least...) whispers.

Frank takes a few steps to get to their side and offers out a hand, "Ah, where are my manners, I'm Frank Frankly. I'd like to be addressed as he and they."

A small hand takes his and Frank almost misses what they say when he notices their lack of fingers, like an oven mitt. Fascinating.

"Uhm, I'm Rag- Raggedy Ann." They respond slowly, "Just she is fine."

"It's a pleasure to meet..." They trail off after helping Ann up and noticing her other arm. There is a huge patch missing, cotton fluff sticking out in bulk, "Oh goodness! Your arm!"

"Yeah... Some animal attacked me in the woods last night," she answers, voice going tiny again.

"Oh, dear," Frank frowns, steadying her when she wobbles upon taking a step, "We need to get you to Poppy, quickly. Can you walk?"

"I- I think so?" Her eyes meet their own, a frown on her round face, "How- how far is your... Your neighbourhood?"

"About a ten-minute walk," He guides her good arm over their shoulder and starts leading the way, "But it frankly might take a bit longer."

"Oh," Ann whispers, sighing, "That's alright..."

They begin walking towards the path, then down it and all Frank can think about is how different she looks from everyone they've met before, not to mention her tiny stature. Heck, she's probably shorter than Wally, which is saying something.

"Say, Ann," he speaks up after a minute of shambling along, "Where are you from?"

"I think it's called Arcola, but I'm not sure... They don't really talk about our home city, only out- outside it in geography."

"Never heard of it," Frank admits, his curiosity piqued, "What's it like?"

"Oh, well, I usually only see a few pla- places, the yard, the park, the market and the "kinder garden"."

"A garden?" Frank looks down at her, brow raised, "What plants do they grow there? Any flowers?"

"That's the thing..." Ann says, "It's a building where there are most- mostly little kids and almost no plants, eve- even though it's called a garden."

"Huh. Strange." Frank tilts his head in fascination, trying to imagine it, "But very interesting."

"Yeah—" Ann wobbles and he steadies her with their free hand.

"Careful," Frank mutters, getting the puppet up to her feet again when a thought occurs to them.

"I hope this is not too rude to ask, but what exactly are you?" The grey puppet asks, "You vaguely resemble a puppet but I'm just not sure."

"Oh," Ann giggles softly, "I'm a ragdoll, silly."

"Never heard of that before," Frank admits quietly, then looks down at her again, "You are just a ball of mystery, aren't you?"

"I sup— GAH!"

Ann hunches forward suddenly, injured arm rising to her chest and desperately grasping at her apron.

"What's wrong?!" Frank gasps, skidding to a stop, free arm lingering in the air between them.

"My chest—" Ann cries out, pulling her good arm off of his shoulders and to her chest, grasping at the material with trembling hands, "It hurts... It hurts so bad..."

"We need to get you to Poppy right now," Frank says and only hesitates for a moment before looping a hand behind the doll's back and legs and lifting her up.

He huffs at the weight, just barely lighter than Wally, arms trembling but sets off sprinting anyway, fuelled by adrenaline alone.

Chapter Text

Ann's mind is consumed with flashes of her home, her chest throbs painfully at the image of Andy, Marcella and her having a tea party in the yard.

The doll squeezes her button eyes shut and wills herself to think of something else. She thinks about plants and darkness, about Frank and his kindness, and the pain lessens.

Her world rocks around her, swaying. (She's being carried, right?)

She tries to focus on the sensation, the feeling of a warm chest against her side (Andy... just like Andy— no, stop that). The ache gives one final stab before subsiding.

Ann sighs a breath of relief, finally peeling her eyes open.

Only to flinch when a voice calls out right next to her ear.

"Somebody help!" Frank shouts. Ann hasn't known him long but she decides the loudness and fear don't suit him, "I need help!"

"Frank," she tries, but her voice is a hoarse tiny thing, barely a peep. She swallows thickly and tries again, "Frank, I'm okay."

"We—!" Frank's words cut off and and she sees him look down at her in surprise and what looks like hesitant relief, "Are- are you sure?" They ask, much quieter.

"I... Yeah, I—"

"Frank?!" A new voice intervenes and Ann flinches before she can stop herself, "Is everything okay? What's..."

The doll blinks, looking up and finds a large yellowish puppet with a rainbow tie staring at her. She shies away, curling in on herself just a tad within Frank's arms.

"Hey, who's that?" The puppet asks, approaching quickly. Ann notices a red and orange bag slung over their shoulder, it suits them, "Oh, are they okay? What happened?"

"Hold your questions, Mr Dear," Frank sighs but meets the taller puppet halfway, "Could you carry her for me, please? My arms are getting really tired."

"Oh, sure, uhm," Ann's eyes widen when she sees the stranger's arms approaching and she shies away, curling further into Frank's chest with a tiny "please no." Both of the puppets pause. Mr Dear's face scrunches up with what looks like pity while Frank sighs.

"Oh, alright, fine, I'll carry you," the grey puppet huffs, beginning to walk again, "I suppose we've got things covered here, Mr Dear, you may go back to what you were doing."

"Oh, it can wait," Mr Dear responds quickly, falling into step beside the shorter puppet, "Possible new friends in need always take priority."

Ann's chest swells with warmth and she suddenly feels bad for not letting them carry her.

But she does not get the chance to dwell on it as she notices where they are. About fifty steps away is a circle of colourful houses, with a bright red house in the centre.

"Wow..." The doll whispers, eyes darting here and there.

"Pretty place, ain't it?" Mr Dear chuckles.

"Y- yeah," Ann answers quietly.

The trio pass what looks like a shop and a business of some sort and approaches a large barn. Ann blinks in awe.

"Mr Dear, could you get Poppy?" Frank half asks, half instructs.

"Of, course," Mr Dear tips his hat and rushes forward, knocking on the double doors loudly. A squawk is heard from within before quick footsteps hurry closer and the doors swing open.

Ann gasps at the sight of a giant, colourful bird.

"What's wrong?" The giant puppet (Poppy?) asks, eyes fleeting between Frank and Mr Dear quickly before widening as they settle onto her, "Oh goodness! Please do come inside!"

The trio follow them as they turn around, stepping inside.

They arrive at what looks almost like the kinder garden's nurse's office.

"Please set them down," Poppy instructs, pointing to a cot. Ann frowns but doesn't say anything as she is set down ever so gently. A moment later, Frank is replaced by Poppy, "Now, deary, what's wrong?"

"Oh, uhm, my- my arm," Ann lifts the limb, turning it with a wince to show off the gaping wound. Poppy gasps, wings rising to cover their beak.

"Is- is that all?" The puppet asks as they start rummaging through a bag of what looks like supplies.

"Well... No, but that's the worst one—"

"You seem to be forgetting something," Frank buts in, turning to Poppy, "Ann here had some sudden chest pain on the way back. If she weren't awake and coherent right now I would have thought she had a heart attack."

"Oh goodness," Poppy gasps.

"Oh dear," Mr Dear mumbles from somewhere in the room.

"It... Wasn't that bad?" Ann tries, smiling sheepishly when everyone turns to stare at her in varying stages of concern and disbelief.

"Ann, you looked like you were going to collapse if I didn't pick you up," she winces, "Also you specified that it hurt a lot, so I quite frankly doubt you on that statement."

Ann purses her lips, not responding.

"Aha! There it is!" Poppy suddenly speaks up and holds up a tiny needle. Ann winces at the sight but says nothing.

"Alright, dear, you're gonna have to take off your dress so I can fix you up," the bird turns to her, expression sympathetic, "Or I could try to roll up your sleeve if you're not comfortable with taking it off," they add when Ann's face scrunches up in distaste at the idea.

"I'd prefer not- not taking it off, please," the doll mutters quietly, eyeing the needle as Poppy steps closer. Her uninjured hand curls into a fist at the idea of what comes next. Poppy pauses.

"Would somebody holding your hand help you stay calm?" The bird asks softly, eyes kind.

"That would be nice," Ann whispers. All heads turn to Frank, who quickly shakes his head, waving their hand as though shooing the very thought away.

"I've had enough physical contact to last me a week, thank you," he says, then points at Mr Dear, "Mr Dear can do it. Right, Mr Dear?"

The larger puppet stutters, gesturing vaguely towards Ann, "But they—"

"It's okay, I wouldn't mind..." the doll adds quickly, gaze shying away when everyone turns to her.

"Well, if you're sure," Mr Dear approaches, sitting down in a chair beside the cot. Their eyes meet and Mr Dear smiles as they hold out a large hand.

Ann returns the gesture, albeit a tad wobbly and unsure, placing her hand atop their palm. She watches as their fingers close around her hand, enveloping it completely.

"Is this alright?" The puppet asks softly. Ann feels her sleeve being rolled up and winces as the cotton is budged.

"Yes, thank you, Mr Dear," the doll answers earnestly, trying to ignore the touching and prodding on her right arm.

"Please. Call me Eddie," Eddie says lightly, smile bright, "Just so you know, I use he and him."

"You already know my name," Ann giggles, faintly feeling the tug of thread, "But people usually call me Raggedy Ann. I just use she... And uhm her."

"Well, it's lovely to meet you, Ann," Eddie grins, then opens his mouth to say something else but is cut off.

"What do you mean by that?" Frank buts in, stepping closer.

"By what?" Ann blinks at them.

"That people only usually call you that. Is that not your real name?"

"Well, yes and no," she explains, barely holding back the urge to pull her hands free and gesture as she talks, "I'm pretty sure my name is Raggedy Ann, but I've been called different names throughout the years by some."

"I understand a nickname," Eddie speaks up, huffing, "but to refer to you with a name that isn't yours? That's just weird and a tad rude."

"Well, not all of them knew my name so I don't blame them," Ann adds quickly, "I couldn't exactly tell them, you know?"

The atmosphere in the room shifts minutely. Ann sees both Frank and Eddie make a confused face out of the corners of her vision.

"What do you mean you couldn't tell them?" Frank asks, an edge to his tone, "Why not?"

"We... Aren't allowed to talk or move around people...?" Ann tries to explain but it comes out as more of a question. Her brows furrow when everyone around her goes still.

A moment of stillness passes when soft appendages cup Ann's cheeks and raise her head. She meets eyes with Poppy, who looks... Concerned? (But why? Did she say something bad?)

"Deary, why aren't you allowed to do those things?" The bird asks slowly. Ann can almost feel the other puppets in the room holding their breath.

"Uhm, well," Ann blinks, confused and surprised, "If people discover we're alive and thinking, they might stop playing with us, or throw us out. Some might even..." She trails off as an image of missing limbs and piles of cotton fuzz enters her mind. She barely suppresses a shudder.

"That is not normal. And also complete nonsense," Frank states matter-of-factly, brows furrowed, "Does everyone do that where you're from?"

"I mean, no, mostly just us dolls," Ann answers slowly, carefully watching everyone's expressions, "We have to pretend to be objects so our owners can play with us, you know?"

Ann's confusion rises when Poppy gasps, while Frank's face morphs into disbelief and Eddie's face goes blank.

"What?" The doll asks, blinking, as she looks around at everyone, "What's wrong?"

"What is wrong?" Frank parrots, anger filling his features, "Everything is wrong! You are a living, sentient being yet you say you have an owner," the puppet waves their arms frantically, "It's wrong that you have to basically play dead, while someone does whatever they want with you, being it playing or anything else!"

Ann subconsciously shrinks back from the yelling, pulling her now stitched-up arm to her chest, which is starting to ache again.

"Frank, deary, maybe you should—" Poppy raises a wing, which the puppet pushes away.

"What? Calm down?" Frank hisses, then points at Ann, who flinches, "I can't just say nothing when she's living under such conditions..." He trails off, suddenly turning to face her and stomping closer.

Ann notices Eddie let her hand go and stand up from beside her but he doesn't intervene yet.

"Ann," Frank stares down at her, eyes frantic, then they reach out and take the hand that Eddie had been holding and give it a squeeze, "Please, at least tell me you don't think that what you've been through is okay."

Her silence is answer enough.

"I- I know I said I've had enough physical contact for a good while but," the puppet's face goes sad, "Would it be okay if I gave you a hug?"

Ann hesitates for a moment but gives a tiny nod, and then she's being pulled against their chest. One arm wraps around her back while the other lies over her head, petting her hair.

The pain in her chest swells when she involuntarily thinks about Andy and she tightens her grip on the puppet.

A few moments of silence pass.

Then Eddie sits back down and the spell is broken.

Frank loosens his grip but Ann hardly notices over the swirl of memories and pain.

"Ann, you're trembling," the puppet states, suddenly at arm's reach with their hands on her shoulders, "What's wrong?"

"Hurts," the doll grits out, bringing her hands to her chest.

"Poppy!

Is there...

you can....."

The world falls away, replaced by a memory of her and Andy sitting on the rocking chair, shoulder to shoulder, as they talked and joked.

They had been holding hands.

The lines blur, her brother's face falling apart the longer she stares.

His hand was warm and comforting.

"We should go to sleep soon, Annie," he had said softly.

"Yeah... We should," She smiled, eyes already drooping.

"I'll see you in the morning, yeah?"

He starts pulling away.

"You know it, Andy."

Their fingers share one final graze.

Then the world shatters.

.

.

.

.

.

"Poppy!" Frank turns to the bird, wide eyes meeting, "Is there anything you can do?"

"I- I- I'm not sure," Poppy wrings her feathers, "I've never—"

"Whoa!"

The duo turn just in time to see Eddie catch Ann as she tilts forward limply.

The mailman lowers her down onto the cot slowly.

A beat passes.

Then the room devolves into chaos.

"Oh- oh god, oh no—" Poppy stutters.

"This is bad," Frank mutters, tugging on his hair, "This is so not good."

Eddie stares at Ann sadly.

Mutters and the shuffling of feet fill the room.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Everyone stills, heads snapping to look at the door.

It creaks open slowly.

"Say, Eddie, weren't you supposed to bring me my..." Howdy trails off, taking in the scene before him, "What... Is— are they okay?"

Everyone's faces scrunch up, eyes wandering back to the doll lying on the cot, almost lifelessly still except for the slow rise and fall of her chest.

"We don't know..." Poppy whispers.

And it's the cold, honest truth.

Chapter Text

Marcella was not having a good day.

She had come home to find her favourite doll missing. She could not find it no matter where she looked or for how long. The girl had even asked her parents, but they hadn't seen it either.

The reality set in slowly — Ann was gone.

"Oh, Andy," Marcella said through teary eyes, hugging the doll close, "What are we going to do?"

She did not get a response.

"You poor thing," she sniffled, a tear running down her cheek as she brushed the hair from his eyes, "You must feel so lost without your sister."

(Oh if only she knew...)

Ann comes to slowly to the feeling of fingers carding through her hair. She lies still for a while, enjoying the sensation.

Then there is a sudden pull and she winces.

"Oh, mighty sorry," A familiar drawl greets her, "Just trying to get the sticks and leaves out of your hair."

"It's okay," the doll whispers, relaxing again.

A moment of silence passes.

"Say, Ann," Eddie speaks up, "Got any ideas of what happened?"

Ann hums a question, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you fainted, and—"

Ann shoots up, gasping, when the memories come back with a rush. She blinks, looking around.

She is still on the medical cot at Poppie's barnhouse.

Her eyes meet Eddie's, who is sitting at the head of the cot, hands frozen in the air as he watches her carefully.

"Oh," is all she says, sighing and flopping back down.

"Guessing you remembered?"

"Yeah..." Ann's eyes slip shut when the touch returns, "Sorry for the scare."

"It's alright," Eddie hums, pausing to carefully pull something from her hair, much more gently this time.

"I... I might have an idea as to what caused it," her eyes begin to sting as she speaks and her lips pull down in a frown.

"Oh?" The fingers still again with a final card through, "Mind filling me in?"

"Should- shouldn't we wait for everyone to be here?" Ann asks softly, voice dipping down to a whisper, "I'd rather not repeat it for everyone..."

"Fair enough," Eddie stands up and she opens her eyes, feeling a pang of sadness at the loss of the comforting touch, "You mind being alone for a bit while I go get the others?"

"I don't mind," Ann says, and she isn't sure if it's the truth.

"Alrighty then, I shouldn't be gone longer than five minutes but you holler if anything happens and we'll come running, alright?" The yellow puppet gives her a kind look and her chest swells with warmth.

"Alright," the doll whispers, nodding.

And then Eddie is gone and she is left alone with her thoughts.

She tries her best not to think of home as she waits, tries not to even acknowledge the existence of Andy (And isn't that one impossible task? How could she ever hope to forget her whole world?).

So she sits there, letting her eyes roam around the room, inspecting the decor and different trinkets while she waits.

There is a row of red bags on a shelf by the door. Probably med kits.

A potted plant sits on the windowsill, blooming red and yellow.

She notices that the floor is tile, smooth and grey.

There is—

Knock knock knock.

Ann's thoughts derail.

"May I come in?" The light voice of Poppy reaches her.

"Of course," the doll says, trying to raise her voice to be heard through the door.

The handle dips and the door opens, a familiar, colourful bird slipping inside. The door clicks shut behind them.

"How are you feeling, deary?" Poppy asks, coming closer.

"I'm alright, I guess," Ann responds honestly.

"That's good," the bird nods, stopping in front of her, "Everyone who has seen you is coming back—"

Ann smiles.

"Which includes Howdy, who came in just after you fainted and we filled him in on what we knew."

Her smile becomes a tad strained.

"But don't you worry," Poppy adds quickly, as though sensing her nerves, "Howdy's a kind and friendly bug, you'll like him." Then, much quieter and with a shake of their head, they add, "Even if he keeps advertising his sales to everyone within earshot."

Just then, there is a knock on the door.

"That might be him, actually," Poppy hurries to the door, opening it to reveal a—

"Oh, wow," Ann whispers before she can stop herself.

Ducking through the door is a large green puppet, with two pairs of arms and two pairs of legs (so Poppy was literal when they said he was a bug), they are almost as tall as Poppy, which is still very tall compared to her own small stature.

"Well, howdy, there, neighbour!" Howdy speaks up as his eyes settle onto her. The puppet grins, plucking off their hat and giving an exaggerated bow.

Ann can't help but giggle, smiling at the display.

"Hi, Mr Howdy," she hesitates for a moment before holding out a hand, "I'm Raggedy Ann, I use she and her."

"Mighty fine meeting you, Ann," the bug takes her hand with one of his, giving it a shake, "I'm Howdy Pillar, I'm just a plain ol' he and him."

"I don't think that's plain," the doll blurts out before she can stop herself, "It's- it's who you are and you are unique in- in your own way."

"Aw, shucks, Annie," she tries not to wince at the stab in her chest the nickname brings, "That's mighty nice of you."

"It's- it's no problem," Ann offers a wobbly smile, cupping her hands together to stop them from rising to her chest again.

"Frank and Eddie should be here any moment now," Poppy says quickly, wringing her feathers.

A few moments pass.

There is a quick, polite knock on the door.

"Come in!" Howdy exclaims, and the mentioned duo step inside.

Ann catches a glimpse of them holding hands (Oh, they must be close) but she blinks and their hands are no longer together (But keeping it on the down low...?).

"Ann!" Eddie springs forth, a nervous grin on his face, "Did anything happen while you were alone? Nothing hurts, does it?"

"No, I'm okay," Ann replies, a tiny smile on her face, "Poppy came in soon after you left so I was sup- soup- super—"

"Supervised?" Frank lifts a brow, a slightly teasing look on his face.

"Yes, that," the doll flushes but her smile grows.

"That's good to hear," Eddie adds.

There is a moment of silence, then Frank sighs, stepping closer.

"Now, we are all here for a reason," the atmosphere in the room grows noticeably heavier at the topic change, "And I frankly don't think we should put it off any longer."

Frank turns to her and their eyes meet.

"Do you have any ideas as to what keeps causing your pain?"

"Oh, uhm, well," Ann fidgets, takes a breath, then faces everyone, "I only have a theory at best."

"That's better than nothing," Howdy shrugs his upper pair of arms, expression subdued.

"What is it?" Poppy asks, eyes wide.

"It might- well, I think it might be caused by me thinking about my home...?" She trails off, fingers bunching up her apron nervously, "At least that's the only thing I can think of..."

"That's... Hmmm," Frank cups his chin, "It certainly could be a possibility," they turn to Poppy, "What do you think, Poppy?"

"Oh!" The large puppet jolts, blinking, "I- I mean, homesickness can some- sometimes make you really sad and could the- theoretically cause physical pain in severe enough cases," then they pause and add on a quick, "But- but I'm not sure."

"Well, it's still something," Eddie huffs, then he turns to her, eyes sad, "But if that's right, it would mean that to avoid the pain, you would have to..."

"Not think about my home," Ann finishes when the mailman trails off, "I'd have to not think about my friends, about my—" her throat closes up and her eyes grow wet but she still croaks out a quiet, "My family..."

Silence fills the room, then Eddie steps closer, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's gonna be okay, I swear we'll find a way to get you home somehow," he says, squeezing her shoulder.

"Hopefully soon," Frank adds.

The moment is ruined when there's a bang in the other room and then the door is being thrown open.

"You guys are having a party and you didn't even think to invite me!?" A short puppet with gigantic hair shrieks.

Then they pause, their eyes roam the room before quickly finding her.

"Oh! Hi, new person!"

"Julie! Manners!" Frank huffs.

The blonde puppet ignores Frank completely, suddenly at Ann's side.

"Ooh! What's your name? Where are you from? Are you staying a while?" They bounce up and down excitedly, "Oh oh oh! Do you like playing games? I love games!"

"Uhm- I- I-" Ann blinks, holding up her hands, confused and overwhelmed.

"Julie," Eddie buts in before the puppet can continue again, a fond but exasperated look on his face, "One question at a time, you wouldn't want to overwhelm our guest."

Julie gawks at him for barely a second before whipping around to face her again, an almost exaggerated look of guilt on their face.

"Sorry! Uhm, let's start, simple!" They begin to bounce again, much more mildly, "I'm Julie Joyful, she and they! Who are you?"

"Hi," Ann offers a meek smile, "I'm Raggedy Ann, she and her."

"Ooooh! Ann! I could think of something many fun nicknames for you!" The puppet grins, flapping her hands excitedly.

"I can't wait," the doll says, smile wobbling as her chest gives a sharp throb.

Chapter Text

No this fic is NOT BEING ABANDONED, I REPEAT NOT ABANDONED OR SCRAPPED

I've just been listening to music, which usually helps me think of things to write or helps me in getting ideas for where to take a fic if I'm stuck (which I kinda am)

But.

My brain hates me (not new or surprising honestly)

Because for the life of me I could not relate any song to LDWH or RA&A or hell even WH. Even ones that I related to them before.

It was all random fandoms and I just can't stop thinking about a few now.

I know that no matter how much I want to not disappoint the few people enjoying this fic (if they even exist), writing this with no interest or motivation has not been fun, it feels like a chore or a- idk just bad.

And I already felt bad about changing the update schedule from every few days to weekly but now I just feel like an ass.

So, I just wanna say sorry, cuz it might take me days to come back to this, but the much more likely outcome is it taking weeks, months, hell, YEARS.

But I promise with my whole being and fragile happiness and my FUCKING SOUL that I am not abandoning this and I will be back.

That is a promise I plan on keeping.

Unless I fucking keel over sometime in-between but idk

I should not be writing this while sleep deprived and not logical.

On a totally unrelated note:

Hey look, it's 420 am :D