#Fnaf sb fanfic

[snailsnaps]

So, Beta DJMM has been infecting my brain a lot lately - just thinking about the posibilities

I Imagine it as this cryptid-bot roaming around the ruins of the plex, leaving a tangled mess of wires in its wake... But also, thinking of where the wires connect to. Because they have to connect to somewhere......... Maybe it has managed to connect itself to the Pizzaplex's main power supply, and that's how he keeps himself operative?

What if Beta DJ was a separate animatronic entirely? I might expand on that concept, I really enjoy the idea. Though I'm pretty sure that our DJ wouldn't be too thrilled about having a weird 'unfinished-prototype-ancestor-clone' of himself creepily roaming around........

I have more lore ideas but I'd like to work on em a bit more first.

[castercassette]

Chapter 3: There are no clock towers in the Big City

Hi

[chat-rivary]

Sun waved his hand with a big smile and immediately Moon lifted you up, the cable pulling him up to the balcony where he landed gently, but didn't let go of you, coming to snuggle his nose against you with a long, heavy purr as you returned his hug. Sun soon joined you, entering their room and placing your bag on the desk. Moon gently placed you on the floor before turning to Sun who came to stand on the other side of you grabbing your hand at the same time as Moon. Without exchanging a word the two led you to the balcony holding your hand.

"Could you sit here for a minute and close your eyes please Starlight ?" Sun asked, whispering in your ear.

"Give me a kiss and maybe I will." You reply.

Sun and Moon exchanged a look before leaning in simultaneously placing a kiss on your cheeks each. You let a chuckle escape you before grabbing their face disc, you placed a kiss on Sun's forehead whose rays began to turn before turning to Moon, lifting his cap slightly before placing a kiss on his forehead, watching his face color delicately.

"Now I'm inclined to wait."

"And close your eyes ?" Sun asked.

"And close my eyes." You confirmed.

You sat down on the ledge letting your legs fall to the ground, you looked in the direction of Sun and Moon, grinning at them as well, sticking your tongue out to tease them before finally closing your eyes. You heard their cable come down before hanging on to the back of one of them, you assumed it was Moon as Sun dove straight into the ball pool making you laugh slightly. For several long minutes you heard distant noises resounding without being able to know what it was about, you started to shake your legs, tilting your face backwards while keeping your eyelids closed.

Suddenly the lights that filtered through your eyelids disappeared, before slowly a slight source of light began to show, your curiosity slowly consumed you, pushing you to play with the bells attached to your bracelet. The sound of their acrobatic cable and the sensation of someone next to you told you that Moon had returned and soon after Sun joined you. You heard them stirring in their rooms again before finally they returned, each taking a seat next to you.

"You can open your eyes now Starlight." Sun sighed.

You opened your eyes slowly at first before finally opening them wide in surprise. Hanging from the ceiling a little further down the Daycare was a multitude of small pieces of what you assumed were pieces of mirrors or glass, each piece was different in size and shape, each suspended by what you assumed were very thin wires since you weren't able to see them and that was the only explanation you had for the floating pieces of glass. But you were only able to see all this because of a huge spotlight, which glowed quite dimly, that was just above the largest gathering of the small pieces of glass, illuminating the bits of mirrors and glass that reflected the light. You felt like you were watching the rain at sunset, the water droplets inevitably reflecting the sun as it began to disappear over the horizon.

[call-me-jmd]

Guess Whose Now Plannin On Reading A Second DCA Fic???

I Seen Art Of That AU And I'm Intrigued Enough To Start Since I Found Out Who Made It.

I'm Also Bored So I Shared.

-Someone Who Rarely Reads Fanfic After Years Of Not Due To Watching To Many Fancomic Dubs On YouTube As A Kid.

[machinelikesmachines]

The blue crochet octopus's kawaii grin bulged out between his clenching fingers. The other hand curled firmly around Emmett's neck. "Love for Sun equals 847," he hissed. "Love for Moon equals 844. Less love. Less loved!"

Emmett tugged in vain at Moon's hydraulically-locked fingers. "Wh-what are talking about? I made it for both of you! It's for you, too!"

"Every stitch with love, Emmett said." Moon pushed his thumb into the plush, turning it inside-out from the mischievous blue side to the cheery yellow side. "847 for perfect, nice, friendly Sun. 844 for me!"

Emmett looked into Moon's burning eyes, fighting adrenaline to even his breath. A gasp of cool air, and an idea flew in with it. "Moon, define gestalt."

In the quiet of the darkened closet, he could hear the processors churning. Fingers twitched in and out around Emmett's warm neck. "How," Moon whispered, eventually, "can something not be its parts?"

A maw of pity yawned before him, and he looked into its gnashing teeth and greedy tongues and bottomless throat and threw his heart in, and all the good it did him was to paint the walls a few months later instead.

[goatcheese-anon]

Ya'll..

A YEAR later.. It has risen from its grave..

[phrogggslayer]

Chapter 1 of Casting Call! is out now!

⬇️ Sneak peek and link below! ⬇️

Clutching the Fazwrench to her chest and chewing her lip, she hoped she could find where the technicians worked without a guide.  But, following her instincts, she found her bearings, memories leading her on. As she got closer, the halls became more and more cluttered.  Like a maze.  It wasn’t like she remembered… She grit her teeth and glanced around.  She must have taken a wrong turn or something.  She should’ve been there by now. “Get away from me!  Stop!” Her heart lurched at the shriek, her legs carrying her towards the sound before her mind could decide.  She tore down the hall, following the sound of crashes and yells.  What if it’s happening again?

[eyndr-stories]

I Think I Smell A Rat (FNAF SB fanfic) C1 - Something Amiss

In Summary:

Being a robotic repair rat who lives in the walls of the pizza-plex is a pretty great gig, all things considered! You fix the wires instead of chew them, and you get into tight spaces those silly humans can't reach and fix things up behind the scenes. You do your little tasks diligently, and all is well. That is, until one night when you realize all of your other repair rat friends have gone missing, and almost all of those animatronics outside the walls are acting strange... You aren't sure what it is that needs fixing, but by golly you'll fix it! You just might need a little help along the way...

Things To Know:

Not a lot of warnings for this one! There is some peril and danger, damage to robots, and damage to. Uh, whatever the heck Afton is at this point??

Reader insert! You're a little rat shaped robot a handful of inches long. Lots of borrower-related themes in here

Daycare attendant centered, though the other animatronics make brief appearances. You hang out with Sun in the first half of the story and Moon in the second half!

A little over 17000 words in total, just a lil guy! 5 chapters, they're all pretty short

I somehow managed not to swear once in the entire story, aw hell yeah! Wait-

Ao3 link: Here!

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

C1 - Something Amiss

     When you live in the walls of a place, you tend to get a decent sense for how things are going. Colder months meant slower weekends, not as many visitors. Slower weekends meant less damage to repair. You had been living in the walls of Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex for quite some time now, and so you could tell without a doubt that something was amiss.

     As a seasoned robotic repair rat, you were something of an expert on the inner workings of the pizza-plex. You knew every nook and cranny of this place, you'd even explored some of the abandoned building deep below everything else, where your map insisted you were navigating an empty void, and thinking became much more difficult there. The 'out of bounds' error was a particularly grating one. Not having the map in your mind meant it was very easy to get lost, and getting trapped down there had never seemed particularly appealing to you, and so needless to say you didn't go down there often.

     That 'amiss' feeling had you exploring, searching for its source and ignoring the 'battery half depleted' alert that tempted you towards your charging nest. You couldn't find most of the other rats- the walls were strangely empty. Sometimes you or the others would be summoned by contraptions in need out beyond the walls, small things, hard to reach things that the typical human worker couldn't reach. But the only rats you'd found were the ones still in rest mode, huddled away in their charging nests, filling up their batteries and downloading updates. No one on the network was answering your pings. For nearly every rat to be out beyond the walls on repairs was unheard of, though not impossible you supposed. Even so, surely someone would have answered you, even if they were all busy.

     Through the walls you scurried, maneuvering down a mix of paths designed for you, paths you and the others had built over time, and unintentional paths made by inconsiderate forces. The building settling over time, beams shifting and adjusting, thinner pieces of pathway constructed with scraps degrading over time, wear and tear weathering spots away, and even organic rats and other pests, messing with your familiar paths and often times getting in the way. You'd long since learned which paths in your map aligned with the real ones, and which ones were no longer traversable, regardless of the map in your brain assuring you they were still there.

     You came to one of the exit ports, leading out into the building. You didn’t like it out there as much. Nothing out there was built for you. Here in the walls, the corridors were all your size and sandwiched between two layers of sturdy concrete, your map made sense even when some of the paths were wrong, and there were far less dangers. Out there, everything was big and beyond you. Even the other robots, though only a few ever paid you any mind. You didn't care for them very much. You knew the animatronics were very important to the human affairs transpiring beyond the walls, but honestly, you could do without them.

     You studied the exit port. Something was wrong out there, you could feel it. Everyone else having gone missing wasn't helping that. However, you couldn't help but picture your own little nest in your mind, a charging station you shared with a small group of other rats assigned to the same general area. There was a new update tonight, waiting patiently in the cue for you to power down and install it. Maybe you should rest first, figure this all out later…

     No. This was important. You thought about at least downloading the update straight from the network while you searched, but you really needed to focus. Your friends might be in trouble out there. You should find them, figure out what was going on out there. Maybe the others had all felt that ‘something amiss’ as well, and when they'd gone out to investigate, something had happened to them. Maybe they needed your help!

     You set aside your hesitations about the world outside the walls and went through the exit port, the mouse hole shaped segment in the base of the wall sliding open as you neared, and quickly sliding shut behind you after you'd passed.

     The lights were uncomfortable for a moment as your vision adjusted. You much preferred the walls, where you knew the paths so well that sight wasn't even a necessity. Out here, the paths were structured differently, and you had to rely a lot more on sight. You weren't used to trusting your eyes as much. It wasn't dark out here like it was in the walls, either. All the lights were on and blazing, despite the hour. Your internal clock told you it was just after midnight. No people to worry about, at least. There hadn't been any human employees working at night for a while now.

     All you had to worry about were the animatronics, those robots that were even bigger than humans and walked around at all hours of the day. Hopefully you could avoid all of them, with any luck.

     Unfortunately, luck was not on your side tonight.

     "HELLO THERE!!"

     You spotted the animatronic quickly, considering he was barreling straight for you at an alarming speed. This one you weren't as familiar with; he was newer, not a part of the original cast of animatronics. This particular animatronic was not quite as imposing as the others, but with how he was running right for you, you were still more than a little wary. Strangely enough, he had two separate IDs; DCA-S-1.5 and DCA-M-1.2.

     "OHHHH look at YOU!! You're such a tiny little friend, my goodness!" The animatronic skidded to a halt before you and dropped into a crouch. Two massive hands three times your size pressed into the plush floor on either side of you, and the circular face of this overly friendly animatronic loomed over you.

     You'd barely made it a foot away from the port in the wall, and you were already considering dashing back inside.

     Without a voice box, communicating with the animatronics was difficult, especially since they couldn't access the same sub-network you shared with the other rats. However, in your many years of experience here, you'd learned to get creative. The animatronics were well versed in many languages, including Morse code. At the end of your tail was a little red light, which you usually used to light up areas in the walls that were pitch black, with no light at all to see by. You swiveled your tail around, and the little light at the end of the antennae began to glow on and off in a series of quick patterns.

     "BACK UP."

"Oh!! Oh my!" After a moment of shock, the animatronic immediately sprang back a considerable distance. He laid down flat on the ground, resting the bottom of his circular head awkwardly on the cushioned floor. "I'm so sorry if I scared you, tiny friend!! I was just sooo excited to see you! We don't get many tiny friends here, no sir-ie! There's not too much you would need to fix in here!"

     You appreciated the animatronic listening to you, but remained wary. Excitable animatronics, like Chica, could be dangerous even if they didn't intend to be. There was no programming or regulation for interactions between you rats and the animatronics. You weren't even really supposed to leave the walls, but ever since the human staff had started to thin out, you'd been getting more and more updates for handling navigation and repairs outside of the nice safe walls where you belonged.

     "Not here for repairs…" you started, still wondering if you should call the whole thing off and return to the walls. "Looking for something."

     "Oh??" The animatronic tapped his long fingers quickly over the padding, finger joints clicking quietly. "Can I help?! I'd love to help!! What are you looking for, tiny friend??"

     You weren't sure how to describe what you were doing. You gave it your best shot. "Everyone is gone. Something feels wrong. I'm looking for the problem to fix."

     "Hmm…" The animatronic seemed unsure what to make of this. He set his hands on the sides of his face, elbows braced on the floor. He tapped at the orange triangles sticking out of a gap between his front face plate and the covering over the back of his head. His legs kicked back and forth in the air behind him. "That sounds hard. How about we play a game instead? Would you like that??"

     You shook your head. "No." Games?? There wasn't time for games. You had a job to do! Your friends might be in trouble! "I need to find the others."

     "You wanna find your friends?? I can help you look!" The animatronic wiggled excitedly. "Oh, please, please?? We can look together! I could hold you up high and walk really fast and we'll find your friends in no time!"

     Your immediate thought was to decline. This sounded all sorts of dangerous, and you weren't sure if you trusted this bot just yet. Your tail twitched anxiously even at the thought of doing something so risky. The bot did make a good point, however… it would certainly be much faster if you could move as fast as a massive animatronic. Actually, it might even be safer for you to be up off the ground… you'd been accidentally stepped on once before and had needed to get nearly your entire shell replaced. You weren't exactly eager to repeat that particular experience. Besides, pathfinding outside of the walls was a pain for you. But for an animatronic…

     Begrudgingly, you swiveled your tail back around. "Will you be safe? You must be careful with me."

     "Oh, yes, yes!! Careful is my middle name!" The animatronic sat up excitedly, hands patting rapidly against the ground. "It's my job to care for children, you know! I'm so so so super careful all the time, I promise!!"

     You knew that children were smaller and more fragile humans. If this bot was meant to hang out with children all the time, maybe he really would be careful… "Okay. Let's look together then."

     "YAY!!!" The animatronic sprang up and did a spin. He was surprisingly graceful, unlike the other animatronics you'd met. "We'll find your friends!! And then, and then we can all play together! We'll have a great time, okay??" The bot crouched back down in front of you and offered his two massive hands out to you, cupped together to form a giant bowl.

     You looked back at the port leading back into the walls one last time. Hesitantly, you put your two little front paws on the tip of one of the bot's fingers. The bot held perfectly still, waiting patiently for you to climb aboard. You thought about your missing and unresponsive friends, and the reward of a well deserved recharge back in your nest that awaited you at the end of all of this.

     You hopped up into the bot's hands.

     "Alright!!" The animatronic straightened, and the world flew by in a blur as you were lifted quickly upwards.

     You immediately received several warning pings from your pathfinding program. You were up too far away from any detectable navigable surface. You dismissed the warnings one by one. The program struggled, eventually defining the bot's hands as a decent enough surface.

     True to his word, the bot was very careful, arms moving very smoothly and hands very still and steady beneath you. "Now lets go find your friends!! I'm sure we'll find them in no time at all. OH! Oh, I almost forgot! I have to introduce myself when I make a new friend! I'm Sun!"

     You looked up at the animatronic's front face plate as it spun a full 360 degrees. You attempted to mimic the gesture, tilting your head one way and then the other as far as your neck joint would allow. This caused Sun to giggle.

     You waved your tail, blinking your ID at Sun. "I am RR-YN."

     "I already knew your ID, silly! Don't you have a name?? Do repair rats not have names?" Sun asked.

     "No. We don't need them."

     "Well that's okay! I like nicknames anyways. Can I keep calling you tiny friend??"

     You didn't much care what Sun called you. There were far more important things to worry about. "Yes."

     "Yay!!" The triangles circling Sun's head spun a few inches around, then bounced back to spin the other way. "Okay, let's get going!!"

     Sun took one step towards the room's main door, then stopped. His triangles retracted halfway into his head. You turned your head back to look at Sun curiously.

     "Oh no, I just realized… I can't leave the daycare right now, the lights will be off! I'm only awake when the lights are on…"

     You weren't sure what Sun meant about that. Maybe he meant he was programmed to power down at night when the lights were off? You weren't sure how Sun worked exactly, but you guessed that must be it. If the lights were a problem though, that was no issue.

     "I can turn on the lights. Take me to that wall next to the door," you told Sun.

     Sun obliged. "That's right!! You can fix the lights from inside the walls, can't you?"

     "Yes. I will do this," you told him.

     Sun knelt down by the door, having already crossed the entire room in mere moments. He was right, you really would get around a lot faster with Sun carrying you around.

     You hopped out of Sun's hands and hurried to the port. Once you were in the blissfully comprehendible walls, you quickly navigated up the right paths until you reached the wiring for the lights in the area immediately outside of the daycare. You normally didn't mess with anything not damaged and in need of repairing, but this was a special occasion. You worked quickly with your practiced little paws, reconfiguring the controls so off was on and on was off. With the lights currently set to off for the night, the lights would now actually be on. You'd have to come back and fix this before the lights all automatically switched back over at 6AM, but for now you just needed to help Sun get out of the daycare.

     You hurried back down the path you'd scurried up and left the walls once more. Sun was waiting for you right where you'd left him.

     "Did you do it?? You turned the lights on outside?" Sun asked, offering you his hands once more.

     You climbed up into his hands, blinking the light on your tail as you did. "I did, the lights should be on now."

     Sun carefully peeked out around the door. Sure enough, the area outside was just as brightly lit as the daycare. Sun happily stepped outside.

     "Wow, good job tiny friend!! You really did it!" Sun praised you as he quickly made his way past tables and chairs and towards a flight of stairs. His face swiveled from side to side as he went, on the lookout. He ascended the stairs in a matter of seconds, a feat that would have taken you half an hour to accomplish. You were starting to feel pretty good about your decision to accept Sun's help.

     You kept your eyes focused on the surroundings as well. You didn't see any rats running around, unfortunately. You'd only just started searching though, and there was quite a lot of the building left to search. Searching the entire sprawling multi-level mess of a complex was daunting, but with Sun on your side, this would surely be a cinch. You were feeling pretty confidant, perched way up high in Sun's careful hands. What could possibly go wrong?

[maxwell-mtv]

NEW CHAPTER AHHHHH

I'VE BEEN TIRED, I'VE BEEN MENTALLY AND EMOTIONALLY EXHAUSTED, BUT I'LL BE DAMNED IF I LEAVE THIS PASSION PROJECT BEHIND!!!!

[funtimefanfiction]

check out chapter 10 of DECOMMISSIONED, a FNAF MURDER MYSTERY! we're getting closer and closer to finding the culprit...

[mouwrites]

Hi hi!! I’m starting a new series on AO3, and I just wanted to post the first chapter here in case any of you were interested!! :D

It’s a FNAF Security Breach x Reader fic :)

Word count: 1.6k

FNAF Security Breach - A Temporary Commitment

It’s just a summer job. Four months, max. Words you told yourself as you approached the tantalizing supercomplex looming at the other end of the parking lot. It was the size of a warehouse; taller, though, by your own estimate. Perhaps comparing it to a mall would be more accurate. Yes, you decided, it was quite like a mall—the decorative exterior, the noise coming from inside, the families pouring out of every exit like pus from an infected wound. You shuddered at the comparison. Okay, Y/n, enough with the analogies.

You offered a little smile to those you made accidental eye contact with as you pushed your way inside, going against the heavy flow of people. Dodging and weaving between kids and their parents, you finally made it to the entrance.

Stepping inside, you were greeted with relative quiet. The last of the families had cleared out, leaving the place void of human voices. There was music playing somewhere, the sound being carried acoustically through the entire massive space. You felt small looking up at the high ceilings, glimpsing down the gaping corridors, trying to make out the neon signs sporadically placed along the impressive lengths of the walls.

You were turning as you walked, trying to drink in every detail of this 80s-esque wonderland. It very much reminded you of an arcade, with the dark carpets and unnatural neon lighting.

You nearly jumped out of your skin when you ran straight into something—no, someone.

Whipping around with a yelp, you instantly felt your face heat up when you were met with the amused face of an employee.

“Sorry,” they said, giving a good-natured chuckle. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“I’m so sorry,” you replied immediately. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

The employee looked around, taking in the environment themselves. “I don’t blame you.” There was a twinkle in their eye when their gaze returned to yours. “This place is pretty striking.”

You stepped back, realizing how close you were still standing to them. With a proper distance established, you were able to get a full look at them.

Shorter than you by a couple inches and stocky in build, they stood with a relaxed posture, though you wondered if this was the result of a long shift. Their square face had a little smile that dimpled their full cheeks but didn’t fully reach their eyes. There was amusement in those dark brown pupils, but it was clearly directed at you and not indicative of their general mood. From under their cap you could see loose brown curls poking out, darkly contrasting the skin of their forehead.

They stuck out their hand. “You must be the new hire. I’m Asher.”

“Y/n,” you gave their warm hand a hardy shake, electing to ignore the vague stickiness.

“Nice to meet you. So, you want a tour?”

“I’d love a tour.”

An arcade, a stage, laser tag, mini golf… you were mesmerized with each exhibit and its unique neon sign. You were also noticing certain characters appearing in multiple signs, giving you the impression that these characters were the place’s mascots or something.

Going from attraction to attraction, there was quite a bit of walking between. The massive appearance of the outside was not deceptive; the place was just as huge on the inside, if not bigger because of the multiple levels. You could see yourself getting lost already.

“Sometimes I work days, sometimes I work nights. Hopefully I’ll be able to quit working nights now that you’re here, though,” Asher was explaining while you walked towards a bright sign reading “Roxy Raceway.”

While you were glad to get to know your coworker, you wished they’d tell you more about the Pizzaplex (as you had just now learned to call it). The extent of their explanations was a finger jabbed in the direction of the attraction and a reading of the obvious sign above it.

“Roxy Raceway,” they said, pointing as you walked past. “You ever worked at a place like this?”

You shook your head, and Asher laughed. “Probably should’ve expected that answer. There definitely aren’t that many places out there like this. Especially not with the animatronics.”

You perked up. You’d seen countless images of the mascots on the tour, and their names were featured in many of the bright signs.

Asher noticed your interest, and they seemed eager enough to play into it. “Yeah, each one is more than six feet tall and way heavier than you and me combined. They’re supposed to be mostly independent, so they walk around on their own and stuff. And they perform, of course. Pretty impressive engineering, if you ask me.”

“They walk around?”

“Oh yeah. They talk, too. And blink.” They leaned in a little to whisper, as if one of the animatronics might hear: “It’s kind of uncanny, how human-like they can be sometimes.”

“Can I see them?”

“We’ll probably run into one sometime soon. Though they might be in their rooms already. If they are, you’ll see them when we walk down Rockstar Row.”

You weren’t sure what you expected when Asher said they have rooms, but it certainly wasn’t the celebrity-style, decked out, individual rooms you saw down Rockstar Row. One of the walls for each room was glass, turning the spaces into exhibits. By now you recognized the mascots that were supposed to be inside. You peered eagerly into each room, disappointed to find each one empty.

Asher didn’t even note this. They just kept on walking and talking about their experiences. You might have been a little more interested if they were about experiences with the animatronics, but alas, they were mainly talking about unruly customers. Which you wouldn’t have to worry about, since you’d be working the night shift.

You were nearing the end of the tour. Asher was taking you into the employee area when they suddenly slowed down. You saw their teeth flash in the light as they winced.

“Ooh—there’s something I should warn you about.” They tilted their head so that they could murmur in your ear, and you leaned in a bit to hear. But instead of a quiet secret, you heard a snappy voice erupt from behind you.

“Asher! Have you done any closing tasks?”

Asher shot you a look that seemed to say “that’s what I was trying to warn you about.”

“No, Vanessa, I was giving the newbie a tour.”

“Newbie?” Vanessa spotted you at last. Her hard expression faltered for half a second. “Go finish up closing. I’ll take it from here.”

Asher pat your arm assuringly before departing to go do whatever it was that Vanessa was so worked up about. You were now alone with this cranky blonde.

“Y/n, right?” She didn’t wait for a response, walking past you into an office that she unlocked with a key. You followed her inside, finding the plainness of the little space a stark contrast to the rest of the massive and bright Pizzaplex.

“So, you already got a tour? Good. I’ll show you to your station.”

Vanessa pushed past you, shoving a uniform she fished out of a locker into your chest as she brusquely walked out of the office and further down the little corridor.

She came to a plain metal door and, using her key again, unlocked it. “I gave you a keycard that should unlock these doors.”

Fingering the uniform, you found said keycard in the breast pocket.

“What did Asher tell you about this job?”

You stammered, struggling to keep up with Vanessa as she rapidly descended flight after flight of concrete stairs, which were somehow even more plain than the office. “Um, it seems like they deal with a lot of fiesty parents. And sticky children.”

“You won’t be doing any customer service. The job I’m giving you requires you to stay in the basement.”

You felt both relieved and disappointed when she said that. While this did mean you wouldn’t have any horror stories like Asher’s, you doubted you’d get to see much of the animatronics that you were dying to meet.

“You’ll be watching for stray animatronics. Sometimes they end up here while they wander. You’ll patrol the basement and the utility tunnels, and if you see any animatronics, you see to it that they get back to the main level. They usually respond to verbal commands, but I want you to walk with them to make sure they don’t get lost.”

So you would get to meet some animatronics! You tried to hide the sudden giddiness that invaded your chest.

“This is the nearest bathroom. Get changed in there after I show you your station.”

You were feeling too elated to be disappointed when you saw your station. The word “station” was really an exaggeration for what you saw. A folding table against the wall in a storage room. That was it. You didn’t even see it until Vanessa pointed it out.

“You can stay in here between hourly patrols.”

How generous, you thought sarcastically. You smirked at your little quip, still too happy to let the disillusionment set in.

Vanessa proceeded to recite a long list of dos and don’ts (with much more of the latter, you noted) before crossing her arms conclusively.

“Any questions?”

Your head was already spinning trying to commit her words to memory. But you just shook your head.

“Good. Now go get changed, and you can start your first patrol,” she held out a flashlight and a walkie-talkie. She made a face that you interpreted as a smile when you accepted them. She gave a small nod, turning around and ascending the stairs, leaving you alone in the cold concrete storage room.

Okay, night one. Let’s do this.

Thank you for reading!! Let me know if you guys are interested in this; I can cross-post it on here if you are :]

(divider by saradika)

[snailsnaps]

Here are some of the other Beta DJ sketches I talked about in my last post!

His design doesn't stray too far from the original reference, but I decided on a more angular design, most prominently the mouth. Lore-wise, they probably went for a more round/friend-shape for what ended up being our DJ

But the Boombox-type face still kicks ass!!

Also, I've been messing about how his arms would work without an entire body to support him. I don't know much about robotics, but I hope my thoughts are easy enough to understand.

The support for his arms would probably need to be much bigger, but you get my point. They all connect to the same support that freely pivots up and down, allowing free head movement.

Each pair of arms should have their own purpose then. The first pair would almost never let go of the ceiling/walls, and the second pair provides support - making both pairs the ones responsible for both keeping Beta DJ standing, and to move around. The third pair would be then free for whatever, probably the ones designed for actually managing the mixing tables and such, so they're most likely the most precise out of the three.

He struggles a lot to move though. He's incomplete and worn, joints are loose and limbs are rusted. His arms probably creak with every inch they shift, so his movements are slow. I can't help but imagine him moving like a puppet on strings (or cables, heh), where the other limbs follow limply along as he focuses on the one he needs to move first, to then move to the next one. Yes, I'm also surprised those gloves haven't been torn already, who knows what kind of fiber those are made from...

[corchyn]

Part 1/? .•°*★

Friday night, the police department worked without rest.

In the stuffy office of (as it seemed to y/n) the chief, there was a police officer y/n. — Children continue to disappear in this damned pizzeria, and the way our department is constantly inundated with demanding calls from concerned parents doesn’t give me any free air. The higher ups are strangling me for crime statistics, sort it out. — Y/n's boss spoke, the black haired man clearly didn't care if it was Y/n's job... This could be seen in his bright, tired eyes, it read like this: “I don’t give a damn, just get this problem out of my eyes.” Y/n took a deep breath and nodded to her boss.

— By the way, a young guy has arrived in our department, you will be his mentor. — The girl’s usually calm eyes widened in surprise and shock at how much her boss felt absolutely omnipotent and just like that he simply gave her ballast in the form of a newcomer! — Wait a second... I'm working alone! — Y/n objected, it’s fine if they entrust her with dirty work, but she certainly wasn’t hired as a mentor.

— Yeah, Darlin’, I know that, okay? You're just the only one who can take it, and besides, it's your job. Let's go, go to work. — The man shifted several folders of papers, pretending that he was also busy with work, and after a few seconds he looked at her and raised his eyebrows as if to say: “why are you still here?”, y/n caught the signal and rolled her eyes and left the office, this disgusting guy... It seemed his main goal in life was to give her a heart attack from all this work overload, while he sat on his ass, in his soft boss chair, and did nothing.

****

The police car stopped near a huge shopping center, y/n got out of the car slamming the door, she carefully peered at the neon that was hung all over the entertainment center. Behind her, another slam of a closing door was heard, but more cautious and clumsy — Wow! Hah... Where do they get so much money to rebuild SUCH buildings! Looks beautiful... And very expensive... — The red-haired guy spoke, looking at the same neon signs as his mentor. — It's tasteless... And expensive, yes, I agree with you.

The guy turned his gaze to y/n, and after she moved towards the entrance, he ran after her.

Right now Pizza Plex was open and there were a lot of kids and parents around, which was surprising since this place clearly had a bad reputation. Two police officers moved around the pizzeria, looking around, suspicious persons, random things that looked traumatic, while officer y/n was doing her job, trainee Mikey was smiling from ear to ear and with stars in his eyes, enjoying the bright colors here and there.

Slowly they walked from one attraction to another, she met her eyes with the animatronics every time and every time they seemed to be hypnotized and scared looking at them, Apparently the animatronics had something in their codes like “if you see a person in uniform, you must behave well” or something like that. That's what y/n thought about every time, even ordinary bots, like the cleaners and those who distribute tickets and maps, began to behave more quietly in their presence.

Mikey at that time squealed with joy and even bought several keychains with Chika, being a devoted fan of Chika since childhood, he did not even suspect that the first days of his internship would go so well! — Officer, you look very sullen. Why don't you relax a little? Look how cute these little things are here! — The newbie showed his mentor the Chika keychain, smiling happily and looking at y/n — We're at work. — Y/n answered monosyllabically, not used to talking a lot and especially being distracted by something due to the fault of her colleague.

The green-eyed guy fell silent when his mentor put him in his place — Did you notice this? — The police officer started, but then she looked at her trainee and realized that it was pointless to ask him anything, because he was busy with all this glowing crap, as if he were 10. She rolled her eyes, sighed — All the animatronics and bots seem to just stop when they see someone in uniform. They looked at us, following us, even if they were busy with children, they still stopped. Don't you think this is strange? I noted that we need to talk to security and mechanics, let's see what they say... — Y/n said this as she took out her notepad and checked her notes. — Wasn't our goal to find out why the children disappeared, and not why the animatronics were behaving strangely? — Mikey asked, fiddling with Chica's keychains in his hands. — This is such an idiotic question that I want to laugh. Seeing animatronics this way may be the root of the problem. I suspect that someone rewrote the animatronics code and there is a wolf in uniform in the building. — Y/n answered

— Creepy... — It seemed Mikey's fun hours were over, one of the guards was the culprit and they should have dug deeper...

****

[chat-rivary]

Being a writer, your imagination has always run wild, but you never imagined that the little half-dead bat your big baby cat brought you one night could be anything other than a simple bat.

In your kindness and guilt at knowing that your cat had attacked the poor little creature, you decide to keep it and take care of it for one night. But things don't go as planned, and when the bat turns out to be a blood-drinking monster straight out of fiction, determined to kill you, you know you have to find a solution quickly before it's too late.

Luckily for you, your cat is by your side and seems determined to help you keep the vampire at bay.

Happy Halloween !

Here is the summary of my short (not so short) Halloween fanfiction with Vampire!Eclipse and Waffle, your vampire-hunting cat !

Two chapters already posted, more to come because I was too inspired but didn't have enough time. /ᐠ ˵> ˕ <˵マ

I also have a drawing that goes with this fiction but I'll post it at the same time as the end of the story ! ✧ (= ` ω ´ =)ﾉ

[nocturnal-official-blog]

WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT-

Explanation of this abomination:

Also ew, naked Sock Puppet

[turnupswritessometimes]

Glamrock Grunge - Oneshot

Title: Glamrock Grunge

Word Count: 3,756

Relationships: Cassie & Gregory (Slight romance, if you squint real hard)

Summary: No one comes to Cassie's birthday party, but she still ends up making a friend.

A03 Link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/49087507

Or keep reading:

They would be here any minute.

They had to be here any minute.

They really had to, because the party was starting in two minutes exactly. The Faz-Invitations said to get here fifteen minutes before the starting time, but it had been thirteen minutes and there was still no one at the start point. But that, Cassie had reasoned, was because no one ever arrived anywhere on time. Certainly not cool kids. They’d arrive just on time.

Though, even the uncool kids hadn't arrived, either.

Cassie leant against the entrance of the Glamrock Salon, staring at the digital face of her Faz-watch. One minute and thirty seconds, now. The Pizzaplex was busy, but she stood alone.

She'd been so excited a week ago, when her dad had come home from work and showed her his tablet screen. The email confirmation said: 'Cassy's Birthday Party Confirmed for the 11th! Roxanne Wolf can’t wait to be there!’

She’d literally jumped up and down, trying to hug him at the same time, grinning so hard that it hurt. Her dad had laughed, and patted her curls and said, “I was fairly sure you’d want Roxy.”

“Are you kidding?” She pulled away with fistfuls of her dad’s security jacket. “Roxy’s the best!”

He still laughed too; giving away his tease. “No one’s as cool as Bonnie, of course.”

Cassie scoffed, and rolled her eyes. It was a tired argument of theirs. Usually she’d ask why, if Bonnie was so cool, he wasn’t at the Pizzaplex? Everyone knew there were no rabbits in the Pizzaplex. But she let it slide this time, because of him sorting her party. She felt full of fizzing sherbet; of popping candy. She was having her birthday at Fazbear Pizzaplex! With Roxanne Wolf! And up to fifteen of her closest friends!

Cassie wouldn’t say she had a ton of close friends. Or any close friends. But this party was the perfect chance to change that.

Only the rich kids –the popular kids – the cool kids – threw character parties at the Pizzaplex. They were the pinnacle of parties: all you can eat pizza, party games with the animatronics, tickets to the race track, or Fazer blast, or golf, as well as entry to Mazercise and the theatre.

And they were ridiculously expensive.

Unless you had a dad who worked at the Pizzaplex, and could score a discount on the cost of the party. The perfect party was now possible. And this was Cassie’s chance to really make some friends. They’d all be dying to come to her party, and they’d all be together for the whole day. They had to be friends after that.

So she’d sent around the bright purple invitations last Monday, at school. Everyone had smiled, and said they’d be there.

There was only sixty seconds until the party was due to start. Cassie could see the attendants starting to make their way over, with Roxanne Wolf in tow. A coldness swept through her, down to her very bones, like she was sinking in freezing water. No one was coming to Cassie’s birthday party.

It was the kind of nightmare that only happened on TV shows. The cringe-worthy moments that had you hiding your face in your hands.

Cassie gripped her Faz-watch tightly, feeling each knob and dial digging into her palm. It stopped her from bursting into the baby tears that were threatening to fall. At least her dad was working on the other side of the building; he wouldn’t have to see her humiliation.

The attendants reached her, smiling as widely as if they were working in Disneyworld, leading Roxanne Wolf over.

“Here’s the birthday girl!” The first said; a guy with boy-band-esque hair and Glamrock Freddy sneakers that made his feet look clumsily big. He was checking his smartphone, eyes roving around to mark off the kids in attendance. When he saw it was only Cassie, the smile twitched, but didn’t quite shift.

Cassie held her watch even tighter to feel it hurt her palm. “Uh, I – I think they’re—”

“Happy Birthday, Cassie!” That was Roxy. Her hair fell over her shiny shoulder, waving slightly in the AC, as she knelt down, so they were eye level. Hers were round and bright, the same amber as Cassie’s at, thick lashes fluttering. “I’m so happy to get to share your special day with you!”

And she really sounded like it. She was really smiling at Cassie, holding up her paw for a high five. It helped soothe the sinking feeling; the warmth of humiliation eased into something more bearable. She could smile for Roxanne Wolf. She could give her a high five.

“I’m – happy you’re here too,” she managed to say, and at least her voice didn’t wobble too much.

Until Roxanne looked behind her. Around her. And realised that there was not a crowd of eager party-goers all clamouring to meet her.

“But where are all your friends, Cassie?”

Cold again. Completely. How could she tell Roxanne Wolf that no one had showed up to her birthday party?

“No worries, Roxanne,” that was the other attendant, who had a swishing ponytail, white teeth and perfect make-up. “I bet they’ve gotten lost in all the excitement of the Pizzaplex.”

“It happens all the time,” the boy-band attendant told Cassie. His smile was still fixed, but there was a different look in his eyes, now. They were full of pity. “We’ll have a look around for them.”

“Yep, we’ll keep an eye out, and send them your way.”

Both the attendants knew what had happened, but they were lying. And Cassie wasn’t that stupid. She knew they hadn’t gotten lost. But she didn’t want to see Roxanne Wolf confused. Worse, she didn’t want to see an animatronic pity her too. So, she mustered up a wobbly smile and said, “Thank you.”

“In the meantime, why don’t you two get started?” the ponytail attendant said. “You’re lucky, Cassie, you get to spend some one-on-one time with Roxanne Wolf!”

“Sounds great!” Roxanne chirped.

Cassie nodded, because there was a lump in her throat.

“Go ahead into the Glamrock Salon.” The boy-band attendant patted Roxanne’s shoulder, and she jerked to life, holding her hand out to Cassie. They were all looking at her, smiling fixedly. All pretending everything was okay. So she took Roxanne Wolf’s cold, metal hand, and let herself be led into the Glamrock Salon.

“You have such a rad birthday date,” Roxanne said. “It’s the eleventh today – one, and another one. That makes you number one twice!”

Number one twice. It made her grin, a giddiness flowing through her. It was hard to be sad about no one showing up when she had Roxanne Wolf calling her number one. When they were sat next to each other in the Glamrock Salon chairs, and she was the centre of attention. They were more attendants in here, ready to help a swarm of kids with make-up, but as it was only Cassie, they set up the make-up palettes at the table in front of her, then chatted away to each other. Keeping an eye on Roxanne, she supposed. But that was fine. She didn’t want their attention. She sat with Roxanne Wolf, who told her how to do Glamrock make-up. So she could be one of the crew and look, “Totally rockin’ for her birthday!”

It was fun. Fun to choose a bright, lime green for her nails. To put on a glittery, glue-like blusher that hid her red cheeks. Fun to choose a bright purple eyeshadow – also glittery – and lipstick that matched Roxy’s. To put on layer after layer of mascara that made her eyes look very big and very brown. She liked looking like that: bright and glittery.

“Well done, Cassie!” Roxy clapped her hands. “You look beautiful!”

Cassie felt beautiful. Felt glamorous. She smiled back at Roxanne Wolf, her eyelashes obscuring half her vision, and realised she didn’t need anyone else at her birthday party. The most important person was already here.

“And no birthday is complete without cake,” Roxy said, her hand on her hip. “I bet I can guess your favourite cake, because I’m the best.”

Cassie knew, in the back of her mind, that her dad had probably told them what her favourite cake was. But that was ruining the magic. So she said, “Alright, what’s my favourite cake?”

“Carrot cake, of course!” Roxy clapped her hands; they thumped together. 

The cake was brought out. A perfect carrot cake, with cream cheese, and marzipan carrots on the top. It was moist and sweet. Much better than the shop brought stuff her dad always got. Cassie tucked in, careful of her lipstick.

“I love carrot cake.”

“I love carrot cake, too!” Roxy had her own slice, and it didn’t matter if she wasn’t eating, because they were together. They were hanging out.

Her birthday was perfect, just as it was.

But then her hour with Roxy was up. Then the two attendants from before came back, with their wide smiles and pitying eyes. They had no other children in tow. No one had even showed up late. Cassie’s carrot cake turned over in her stomach.

“Hi Cassie – you look great!” The boy smiled. “But I’m afraid Roxy has some more guests to see to.”

There was an awkward pause. This was the time all of the party guests were meant to go onto the raceway together. Roxy had another birthday party to start off.

“You’re still free to go on the raceway,” the female attendant said. “Would you like me to race you?”

Roxy leant closer to Cassie. “That sounds like fun, double number one!”

But now that cold, humiliated feeling was back. Cassie didn’t feel like going on the raceway by herself. Definitely not with someone who would only race her out of pity. She’d wanted to race her friends.

Her only friend was an animatronic.

“No, I’m okay.” Her bottom lip wobbled, so she bit it sharply, to get it to behave. “I’ll just – watch, for a bit.”

Dad had paid for her to do it. For the whole party. And maybe, if it was a quieter day, the attendants would have stopped her going off alone. But it was busy, and the next party was rushing in. Roxy was greeting a birthday boy. Cassie faded into the background.

She slipped out of the salon.

Her tears were just as hot as her embarrassment.

*

Kids cried at the Pizzaplex all the time. Sometimes they even cried at the animatronics they’d come to see. Apparently, the real Glamrock Freddy was scarier than he was on TV. Or, a kid’s pizza accidentally had a mushroom on it; or a kid’s Faz-watch was broken; someone had lost at the arcade, or lost their Faz-camera, or just wasn’t getting enough attention from their favourite animatronic.

Gregory had seen a lot of kids crying. But there was a difference between the screaming tantrums and the real crying. Lost kids had a desperate kind of crying.

The crying of the girl by the entrance to the raceway was different. It was that same kind of earnest desperate crying, but it was quiet, and small. She sat curled up near one of the vending machines, against the wall, her knees against her chest and her head on her knees. She held herself tightly, as if that would hide the shaking on her shoulders.

Gregory had been waiting to check the arcade machine slots for any spare change when the kids cleared out. But that didn’t seem to matter so much now. Not when there was a girl crying, that no one was noticing. All the parents were too busy, and the workers had their hands full wrangling kids, teens and animatronics. The place was too busy for them to notice one upset girl. Really upset. She was deeply hurt, and needed someone.

So, Gregory slipped off one of the leather seats, and over to the wall. She tightened, like a hedgehog, and held her breath. As if that would make her invisible. He slid down the wall, searching in his pockets. He had his few hard earnt coins, his pocket-knife, and band-aids. And, thankfully, a leftover tissue.

“Uh…” It didn’t get her attention. Gregory hesitated. The girl’s head was bent, her dark, curly hair falling over her face. She probably wanted him to leave her alone, and move on.

But he couldn’t do that. Because Gregory knew how it felt to be alone. It was probably the worst thing in the world.

He put a hand on her shoulder, gently. Her cardigan was soft; clean; probably smelt of flowery detergent. She twitched.

“Here.” He held out the tissue; pleased that it was actually reasonably clean. “Your make-up’s…”

It was pretty much ruined. Her mascara had turned into black gloop, and she’d smudged her purple lipstick. Glitter streaked her brown skin in tear tracks.

The girl sniffed. “A mess?”

Gregory found himself smiling, a little. “I think it looks cooler smudged.”

She sniffed again, and took the tissue. She wiped at her cheeks, getting the worst of the black streaks off. It still left behind the purple glitter eyeshadow. It looked good against her skin tone. “Roxy helped me with it.”

“That’s cool.” Though Gregory didn’t really care for Roxanne Wolf.

“For my—” She sniffed again, though smaller this time. Her voice wobbled. “Birthday.”

He knew that voice wobble, and how it reverberated through a whole body. It was a voice wobble that hurt. He paused, trying to figure out the reason, but eventually settled for asking, “You’re crying on your birthday?”

The girl wiped at her chin, catching a lipstick streak, then staring at the mess she’d made on the tissue. She stared at him, and he was immediately aware of how dirty he was; his knee was covered in mud, his hair wild, his elbows scraped.

“My name’s Cassie,” she said.

“I’m Gregory.” He smiled.

And she smiled back. She still sniffed, and still pressed at her eyes with the tissue. It was nowhere near clean now. “I like your Freddy shoes.”

He’d stolen them from outside the daycare. Kids had to take their shoes off before they went in the ball pit, and he’d hung around for his chance to nick a pair. It had been out of necessity, Gregory had reasoned. His own shoes had been so worn down they had no sole at the back.

It hadn’t been entirely necessarily to wait for the Freddy ones. There had been others in his size.

But why shouldn’t he have the shoes that he wanted? For once?

“Freddy’s cool,” he said. These were the kind of empty conversations he had with everyone at the Pizzaplex. They were safe. “Cassie, are you lost?”

“No.” She shook her head, and tightened her pigtails. But she didn’t explain why she was crying.

They stayed sat against the wall, in silence. But it wasn’t awkward. It was – companionable. Comfortable. They watched the flood of parents and kids running past, shouting and laughing. They carried a rainbow of sweets, dropping half of them on the floor, and rushing to the arcade machines. Gregory could hear the tinny music and the sound of coins dropping into slots. Those kids would slot quarter after quarter in and not worry about how much it added up to. That they’d spent enough money to pay for a week’s worth of food on trying to win a Chica plush.

Cassie’s fingers twitched against his. They were warm, and he was very aware his were cold. He always seemed to be cold, now, and never could get warm again.

“You wanna play a game?” he asked Cassie. There wasn’t a lot else he could do. You needed a pass to do almost anything in the Pizzaplex, and to have a pass, you needed to be a guest. Gregory was not a guest. He couldn’t be.

She shrugged. But slowly got to her feet, so he took that as a yes. They headed into the arcade, together, and got lucky in finding a play chance leftover on one of the machines.

It wasn’t long before Cassie was smiling for real. And Gregory had been right; the make-up looked better when it was a little smudged. Maybe less Glamrock, and more grunge, but that was kind of cool; it made her stand out.

“I’m meant to be having a birthday party.” Cassie said it whilst they were waiting to go on the air hockey. They sat on one of the benches, and she scuffed her trainers on the carpet as she swung her legs. She seemed happier. Her amber eyes glinted in the lights.

“Right. Well, Happy birthday.”

“It hasn’t been.” Cassie shrugged, again. “Well, it was – but...It’s been better with you.”

Gregory blinked, feeling warm. He shrugged, like it was no big deal, and searched for something reassuring to say. “Those Pizzaplex parties are crappy.”

“No, they’re good.” Cassie paused. “They are good, when people actually show up to them.”

Oh. Gregory didn’t know what to say to that; he suspected that anything he could say would make it worse, or sound lame. But that explained why Cassie was crying to start with. It explained the wobble of her voice and the desperate crying. It must have been awful.

“They’re stupid, for not coming.” He didn’t think he had the nerve to take her hand, but he did nudge their shoulders together, and kept them pressed together. “And you’re kind of stupid for ditching your own party.”

“Hey!” Cassie pushed him – harder than he thought she would – he almost fell off the seat. Though it made him actually laugh. “I didn’t want to be a total saddo and go round the raceway by myself. But, I suppose you could come with me? It might be fun with two.”

To go on the raceway, you had to register as a guest. Kid guests needed parents, not to mention phone numbers and addresses.

“The air hockey’s free,” Gregory said instead. He forced a smile. He’d gotten quite good at lying, by now. To acting like everything he was fine, like he was as normal as them.

He nabbed their space at the table, and even used one of his precious quarters, to get it started. It swerved the conversation away from giving too much away about himself. No one could know how about who he was.

They played air hockey. And he let Cassie win two out of three rounds, because it was her birthday. And they kept laughing. It was an easy kind of laughing; the kind that settled in their guts and made their cheeks hurt from laughing. Gregory enjoyed it. Felt satisfied that he’d made this girl happy after she was so upset.

“You didn’t have to do all of this,” Cassie said, when they’d finished air hockey, and were watching other kids fail at the claw machines. “I’m sure your parents are worried about where you are.”

Any mention of parents made Gregory’s gut clench. He shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets. Trying to still seem casual. “Not really. What about yours?”

“Oh, dad’ll finish work in a bit.” She bit at her still purple lip and gave such a heavy sigh that her shoulders slumped. “Even with his work discount, he’s wasted a bunch of money today.”

Gregory’s clenched stomach twisted itself over and inside out. He tried to sound casual, but he was sure his voice wobbled. “Work discount?”

“He’s a security guard here.”

Security. Security asked questions. Security caused problems.

He caught hold of Cassie’s shoulders, turning her to him. With more force than he meant to. From her wince, he realised that he held her too hard, but he couldn’t relax his grip.

“Cassie, you can’t tell your dad you met me,” he said. “Not at all. Okay?”

Cassie caught hold of his wrists, ready to push him off, but not quite following through. She looked confused, but more than anything, hurt. “Why not?”

“Just – just don’t, alright?” Gregory insisted. “Not if you want to see me again.”

“Alright. Fine.” Cassie slid his hands off her shoulders, still puzzled. But then her lips twitched. “Will I see you again?”

Gregory wanted to see this girl again. He didn’t see many kids more than once. There were a few, but even those few seemed to be…disappearing. He didn’t want to think about that. It made him feel slightly guilty to smile at Cassie. To encourage her to come back here, when more and more often he felt there was something wrong about the Pizzaplex.

But it was the best place to scrounge for change and leftover food. It had Freddy Fazbear.

“Sure. We’re friends, now.”

Cassie beamed. It lit up her whole face. Her light brown eyes were warm, the colour of honey and just as sweet, and her skin still sparkling with glitter. She was like a Glamrock grunge fairy. She pressed forward, and threw her arms around his shoulders. Hugged him, and didn’t seem to mind that he didn’t smell great. Didn’t seem to mind that he was all sharp edges.

As she pulled away, she murmured, “That’s what I wanted on my birthday.”

She said it so quietly, Gregory thought she didn’t mean for him to hear. But he did. A friend; all she’d needed was a friend. Despite the guilt about bringing her back, and the fear of being caught and thrown out (or worse) – Gregory felt a rush of warmth through his chest. He grinned, genuinely, but couldn’t meet her eye.

“Then—” He scuffed his trainer on the thick carpet, feeling burning hot. “Happy Birthday, Cassie.”

Someone else called Cassie’s name. A man, an adult, in a security uniform. He looked nice enough; a friendly face, and Bonnie pinbadge on his uniform. But the friendly ones were just as bad as the strict ones; he’d make it his duty to take care of Gregory. And he couldn’t risk any adults looking at him too closely.

So he slipped away, back into the shadows of the arcade.

He watched Cassie meet up with her dad. He lifted her up and said, “You look beautiful! My little rockstar!”

Gregory leant against the side of the arcade machine, the warmth already fading into a painful ache. They were family. A happy family. Cassie was going to go home with her dad. Gregory was not. Could not.

But at least he’d made a friend too.