Shivering: an Inanimate Insanity fan-fiction

The sun had set over Inanimate Island, and Microphone, having just finished her nightly soundcheck, was settling into her sleeping bag. It was more than a little uncomfortable, sleeping on the ground, especially during the chilly autumn season, but being blanketed by the moon and stars made up for some of it. She would’ve preferred to sleep in an actual bed, though.

Fully nestled into her sleeping bag, and with her blanket wrapped around her, Microphone reached down and clicked her gain up a few notches. She liked falling asleep to the sound of wind whistling in the trees and weird owls on the other side of the island.

This time, though, something caught her figurative ear. Through the breathing of the contestants who had already fallen asleep, the weird owls & bugs, and the rustling of tree branches in the wind…was that…shivering?

She turned her gain up a bit more to make sure it wasn’t just another weird owl. It was distant, but yep, that was a person, shivering in the cold.

Who…? And where…?

Microphone unzipped her sleeping bag, stood up, and loosely pulled her blanket around her, providing protection from the night breeze. She clicked her gain up even higher, and began to follow the sound.

She felt lucky to have the full moon lighting her way as the shivering led her away from the contest grounds and into the woods. The woods were already dark during the day, but at night, it would’ve been impossible for Mic to even tell where she was stepping, if not for the small ripples of moonlight peeking through the trees.

It was the moonlight that allowed Mic to make sense of the clearing she stumbled upon when she finally found the source of the sound. There was a figure lying next to a log, wrapped tightly in a ratty old picnic blanket, shivering in time with the wind. Microphone looked closer.

“Taco?” she said.

Taco shifted slightly and made a small mmph.

“Oh,” Microphone said, lowering her volume to a whisper. “Sorry.”

Taco just pulled her blanket closer as the breeze carried a few leaves far off into the night sky.

Microphone stood there for a few seconds, watching Taco tremble in the cold. Mic wasn’t sure why she was so surprised to see Taco here. Obviously Taco didn’t live in Hotel OJ. But Mic just…hadn’t thought about it before.

Mic wondered how many nights Taco had spent like this. At least Microphone had a sleeping bag, and…an actual blanket. She knew there was someone she could complain to if she got cold. How much complaining she had to do before he actually did anything was annoying, but…

Mic looked down at the blanket draped across her shoulders, then back up to the shivering Taco.

Mic carefully stepped towards Taco and silently draped her blanket over Taco’s body. Taco shifted again.

Mic turned her gain down as far as it would go, to be sure she actually whispered. “Good night, Taco.”

Mic turned to leave, clicking her gain back up to help her find her way back, then turned back to Taco. Another wind came through. Microphone felt a chill, but Taco did not make a sound.

…hopefully MePhone had an extra blanket.

Notes and credits

Thank you to CloverGeneral and my mom for beta reading!

Originally shared on Archive of Our Own, on June 26, 2025. If you liked it, feel free to leave kudos and/or a comment over there (You don't need an account to do either)!