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Hybrids were incredibly common amongst the people of the Dream SMP; in fact it was harder to find a non-hybrid if there were any to be found in the first place. So it came as a shock to no one when Ram Hybrid Schlatt came to town, flaunting his prized horns like a crown granted by the Gods themselves. His confident aura and smooth words captured everyone's interests; it practically dragged your attention to him even if he was speaking nonsense. What did surprise everyone was the hostile take over of the elections, the once joyous and friendly ram turned into a new dictator to replace the one they all fought beside. It was safe to say his popularity amongst the closer friends had gone downhill after this. But not to some, and especially not to one.
A certain loud mouthed, feathered hybrid dubbed Quackity. To Quackity he was still the same man, the same ram he wanted to joke with and cause chaos and sometimes simply sit and chat with. When they won the election together people cried for the president they were forced to exile. When they married the people cried in joy for the newly weds, romantic or not they were happy together, and who were their friends to deny them that?
Their first night together as newly weds was when Quackity finally noticed. Neither of them were any sort of tired and yet Schlatt still collapsed onto their bed with a small grunt, taking a brief moment to adjust the decorative chains attached to his beloved horns.
"Tired already Mi amor?" Despite the sweet words it was clear Quackity was teasing. With a confused expression and a small 'heh?' Schlatt turned around to face the duck hybrid.
"No? I'm just sitting down." With a small shrug he started to pull his jacket off, tapping his hooves on the rug below his feet as he thought. "Why, ya don't sit down after a long day?"
The answer threw Quackity off for a second but he persevered, it was what he did best after all.
"Not tired? You certainly act like it." The duck flopped onto the bed with his head beside his partner, kicking his shoes off onto the floor. Yellow wings ruffled under his body as he tried to get comfy, some loose ones falling onto the sheets.
"I'm not tired Ducky, it's just something I do." A small snort escaped him as he watched the other, the ram finding amusement in the others lack of knowledge on other hybrid traits.
The next time Quackity pointed it out was when they were in Schlatt's office, watching the excited man collapse with a huff into his chair as he rambled about his latest plans, as well as Tubbo's reaction to it when he had told him. The duck knew that there was no reason or even way for the president to be tired at this moment but still asked.
"I knew being president would be tiring but already Schlatt?" Of course Schlatt looked confused at this, his rambling coming to an abrupt stop as did his writing.
"Quackity, I appreciate the concern but I am far from tired." To further prove his point Schlatt sat up in his chair, no longer in a comfortable slouch the collapse had granted him. Again Quackity stared in disbelief. He had /just/ watched Schlatt practically fall into his chair, he had heard the usual huff of exhaustion. Before he could even make another sound Schlatt held his hand up, effectively silencing his right hand man and partner.
"Mi amor, I'm gonna need you to watch over Tubbo for a bit and then come back to me." The grin on the ram's face sent shivers up his spine but Quackity happily nodded, rushing off to go hang out with one of his close friends. Schlatt had always had a soft spot for the boy, so Quackity didn't question the order to watch over him; even if sometimes it came at ridiculous o'clock at night.
The duck and the younger ram hung out for hours, chatting and running and just generally relaxing. Quackity nearly forgot why he was here until he saw Tubbo do the thing. The young boy collapsed onto the ground near some flowers, his hooves neatly tucked to the side as he continued rambling about his latest idea.
"Tubbo?" The boy slowed his speech to a stop, giving Quackity an unimpressed stare. "You tired mate? That collapse looked heavy?" Again, no verbal response. He did however get a few laughs out of the boy who continued to thread flowers together.
"You have been living with Schlatt for so long, how do you not know yet?" It seemed to him that Tubbo was more so talking to himself than to anyone else, but still he responded.
"Don't know what?" It very much came out as a whine, of desperation mostly at wanting to know the truth.
"It's a hybrid thing Quackity, sheep, rams, goats, we all do it. It's how we get from up to down to put it simply." Then it was Quackity's turn to chuckle, holding back full laughs so he didn't offend his friend. To his relief Tubbo joined in, the two laughing at Quackity's ignorance to the situation. Now that it was finally cleared up the duck returned to his partner in crime (or he guessed law?), a grin on his face. This was gonna be fun.
It didn't take long to get back to Schlatt, nor did it take long for Schlatt to figure out the duck hybrid now knew as the other started laughing rather loudly when he started to bring it up. The ram could see where the amusement could come from it, after all there weren't many hybrids that did it and even if they did it was usually with far more grace or agility compared to the collapse of himself and his family. Even after their chat about it, where Schlatt went into more detail to explain why they couldn't just sit 'normally', Quackity would let out a laugh or a snicker whenever he saw Schlatt do his signature collapse. He especially found it funny when the other collapsed onto the bed with as much grace as he could muster, still sending the pillows and even sometimes Quackity for a small bounce. One would think it would embarrass Schlatt to be constantly laughed at, by his partner at that, but he found it endearing. Something that came so easily and naturally to him brought his partner joy and entertainment and in the end that's all he wanted, to make Quackity (and others) happy. Even when the stress and pressure started to get to him, even when his people started to turn on him, even when his days started to feel shorter, all he wanted was to bring his family joy. Quackity, Tubbo, Fundy, hell even people like Tommy and Niki; all of them he just wanted to keep safe and happy.
The first victim of Quackity's antics was George. The man had simply come in to see Schlatt about some business, unaware of Quackity's additional bounce in his step or the seemingly bright aura of excitement around the duck hybrid. It was too early in the morning for him to care anyway. Whilst George gracefully settled into his chair Schlatt collapsed into his with a grunt, letting his body go mostly limp as usual. George couldn't even open his mouth before the half laughing sobs started, Quackity's cries for help echoing through the room. Schlatt, of course, went along with it and went fully limp. It was more comfortable anyway. George was certainly stunned at first, panic rising before he remembered that Dream did something very similar when they hung out. With this knowledge in hand he tried to calm Quackity, pulling out every fact about Bovidae hybrids he could muster to try and calm the duck hybrid without losing himself to the panic in the room too. It was Schlatt who broke first, letting out his signature laugh as his two friends struggled together, allowing his body to slump forward instead so he could lean on his desk. It didn't take long for Quackity's laughs to join the others, but alas George didn't join in. Two of them walked out of that room with a red mark on their heads that day, and George was seemingly ready for another hundred year coma. At least the married couple now knew that their prank would work on people less knowledgeable on hybrid traits, already discussing who would be a good next victim. Schlatt never planned for his ram traits to become the basis of a joke or a prank, but he was alright with it. His friends and him were having fun, no one was getting hurt!
The one time they managed to get someone who wasn't apart of Manburg was when Punz came to chat on the behalf of Dream. The three weren't exactly close but Quackity was determined that they could pull it off without the mercenary killing them both, or more likely just Quackity so as to not start a war. The chat was mostly Schlatt and Punz, Quackity always preferring to listen and pipe up when he actually had an idea. Instead he preferred to watch, especially nowadays. The stress was clearly getting to Schlatt. Wrinkles of laughter and smiling were now replaced with lines from frowns and yawning. Cigarette ash clung to his breathe, uncomfortably mixed with alcohol on particularly bad days. Of course Quackity tried his best to help the other, even as they drifted apart, and he was always thanked profusely (more commonly sober than not, so he took it) afterwards. He knew that if it wasn't for him and Tubbo the man would be in a much worse state, so he vowed to stick with him. It was all he could do now.
The conversation dwindled as they reached Schlatt's office, the ram not bothering with grace as he collapsed into his chair. A slightly sad grin came onto the ducks face as he started his act. It had been too long, and they both needed a good laugh.
"Quick! Someone help!" The yells started, emotion laced into every word. "My husband needs help now!" Schlatt as always let his body go limp, struggling to keep his grin away. Even these days he still kept his partner entertained with his biology, it was comforting to say the least. Punz of course was startled, a shocked expression decorating his face instead of his cocky grin or expressionless grimace. It didn't take long for him to start asking what happened, asking what to do. It took for him to pick up an empty whisky bottle and blame it on alcoholism for the two to crack, the married friends bursting out in laughter as Punz just fell into confusion. Moving slightly sluggishly Schlatt sat up to watch Punz, eyes meeting the others.
"Don't worry yourself kid, we're just messin." The snicker at the end was enough to make Punz curse them out with a relieved sigh. A comfortable aura filled the air as the three continued to chat, everyone smiling in some way. Sometimes to break the ice all they needed was a bit of Quackity's nonsense.
The war of Pogtopia and Manburg was in full swing, swords clashing and yells echoing around a ghost town once declared the land of freedom. A simple ram who never wanted to become the villain stood in the van that started it all, a bottle of whisky in hand and a picture of himself, Fundy, Tubbo and of course Quackity in the other. His family, shattered because of his stupid actions. He slipped the picture back into his wallet for safe keeping, the last grasp of love he had left. His sons gone to the enemy, his husband probably with them now too. At least they could be together now, happy without the drunken mess he had become. He didn't want to sit, even as his legs begged for rest. The stupidest part of him, the dumb ram trait of collapsing, was so intricately connected to those he loved that all it brought was pain now. Memories of his partner laughing with him, of teaching Tubbo to do it with style, of people making sitting areas more comfortable so he could collapse comfortably. It was enough to make him tear up, and now every one of those people were outside, fighting to take away the land he was gifted to protect. And protect them he had tried! He had tried so hard, and it still wasn't enough. He supposed he now understand the mythical curse of the L'Manburg leader, the curse that lead to all of their demises, but at least he took it instead of his beloved family. They could hate him all they wanted, but at least they were safe.
JSchlatt was already drunk by the time everyone arrived, by the time the fighting had halted, by the time all the yelling was now in the van with him instead of outside. It didn't matter to him though, because all he could concentrate on was the three in front of him. His Fundy, His Tubbo, and His Quackity. Except they weren't smiling anymore, they weren't his anymore. His was barely conscious the whole argument, doing his best to keep the hostility on him rather than his family, especially away from Tubbo and Fundy. They were only kids, they didn't deserve to be apart of this already. Then of course the fatal sentence that sent everyone into confusion.
"Does anyone else smell toast?" Despite his tearful eyes his voice was clear, just as emotional and powerful as when he had first arrived at the SMP. And then? He collapsed to the ground, just like he always would except this time his upper half followed too soon after. Everyone was too startled to talk, that is until Quackity stepped forward shakily, tears falling but grin still apparent if a bit weak.
"Tired already Schlatt? We were the ones that were fighting, not you." No one knew what to do as the duck hybrid approached his husband, reaching a hand out for the man. "C'mon man, I don't feel like pranking people right now. We can try again later okay?" Forced laughter echoed through the van, a small thud as Quackity knelt beside the ram hybrid. Gentle fingers ran over the others horns, rarely was he allowed to touch them. They were Schlatt's favourite feature, his prize horns that he took care of even when he was half dead in a drunken stupor. "Mi amor please get up, you can collapse again when at home, I'll even let you use my pillow!" Quackity was sobbing now, clutching onto the others jacket as he begged for him to wake up. Even Tubbo and Fundy started to cry at the loss of their father figure, despite having just been fighting against him. People finally started to try and pull Quackity away, Niki bringing Fundy and Tubbo outside to comfort them away from the dead man. It didn't work though as Quackity's cries and sobs got louder, travelling out of the van and into the world as he mourned the one man that had finally loved him back. It took Wilbur, Punz and George to pull him away and out the van, the Duck stealing the ram's jacket for some form of comfort that he wanted from a dead man. The last members of the Schlatt family huddled together, mourning the ram in the comfort of his large jacket. It was Tubbo that found the picture in the wallet, having grown curious after seeing a small corner poking out of the leather. The picture of them all together set them all off again into a fresh wave of sobs, trying not to dampen the precious memory they had left in their hands. No one dared to interrupt them, to speak near them. It was clearly a situation they weren't allowed to become a part of. To all this was a very harsh slap of reality, that one day death would be permanent whether they liked it or not.
They held two funerals for Schlatt. There was the public funeral for everyone to mourn the loss of their president, to mourn the loss of a friend, to mourn the loss of a powerful force. Everyone was invited, but quite a few didn't turn up. They instead came to the second funeral, for friends and Family to mourn the loss of Schlatt the ram, not Schlatt the president. Everyone invited turned up, even those not too fond of the man. Whether they were there for the dead man or their friends, people turned up and the quieter funeral was held. When Quackity stood at the front to tell his stories, his memories, most expected him to be distraught but instead were met with a sad smile. To them, Quackity was holding back to try and be strong for the kids, to Quackity he was being comforted the whole time as a cold air rested around him, and all he could think was Schlatt came back for one last party with those he loved.