#Imagine how hard it must have been for Freddy

[mastermindmiko]

Promised

Pairing: Fred Weasley + fem!reader

word count: 3310

summary: Your family wants you to marry someone from a rich, prejudiced, pureblood family, unfortunately, the person you love isn’t that.

trigger warnings: kissing, prejudiced purebloods, arranged marriages, mentions of sex, male masturbation, grinding, swearing, the L word, crying, early marriage, the rain

my masterlist

Requests are open

You didn’t know when exactly did this start, maybe it was when you got paired up in potions when you didn’t even tolerate each other; or maybe it was when he kissed you and you both liked it.

You were sitting in the astronomy tower, it was the dead of night. The soft blanket under you was your second source of warmth from the cold midnight air that was rushing through gusts all around the star surrounded tower. The main accumulation of snugness from your body was caused by the body that was both softly and tightly wrapped around you, Fred Weasley.

You shuffled closer to him as a breeze swept through the skylight classroom, and you felt him pull you completely flush against him. You had a smile on your face as you looked up at him, he had the same smile on his face maybe slightly bigger than yours; as he pressed a light, long kiss on your lips.

Spending time with him has become a habit. It’s been year since he kissed you. You kept no labels on what your relationship was with him, considering your pureblood prejudiced family. You had set up rules for your ‘relationship’ 1. No one can know except for George. 2. No sex. 3. It ends as soon as you get engaged at Christmas.

Your parents have been planning your engagement for many years with Adrian Pucey, it wasn’t fully officiated yet but you knew it was happening the Christmas of your last year, this year.

You didn’t hate Adrian Pucey but you saw him as a brother, he was always protecting you from all the other guys who wanted to just knock you up. You couldn’t imagine him marrying you, you loved him as a sibling not as a husband.

Fred on the other hand, you had agreed with him that this ends in two weeks and you intend to keep it that way; but you couldn’t help but tell him how much you love him every time he kisses you like this.

You laid your head on his chest and thought about your second rule. The only reason you wanted to keep that rule was because you were afraid you’d get too attached to him after that; the problem is that you’re already too attached.

You looked up at him and pressed a rough kiss to his lips as you straddled his hips. You looked up at you wide-eyed as he said nervously “What are you doing, love?”

Butterflies erupted at the nickname as you replied “I want to break rule two.” Your firm statement caught him off-guard; he must have thought this was another one of your very heated makeout sessions that would then lead to him jerking off in the shower while moaning your name. -he would never admit it but you know that’s what happens-

“You sure?” He asked, putting his hands on your hips. You could feel him grow hard under you and you decided to tease him, “Don’t tell me you don’t want this, Freddie?” You grinned your hips against his and you heard him groan at your action.

He looked at you with lust in his eyes as he said “Of course I fucking do, but are you sure?” You nodded as you leaned in to kiss him feverishly, his hands wrapped around hips tighter and pulled you right on his cock. You let out a small moan at the feeling and started tugging his hair as you kissed him harder.

If you were going to get engaged in two weeks to a man you didn’t feel anything but brotherly feelings, you at least wanted to know the feeling of having sex with the one you love. In the Astronomy Tower there was skin on skin and kisses like it would be the last time -which it might- and Fred saying that he loved you.

***

You hadn’t seen Fred since he told you that he loved you, you adored hearing those words from him; but for merlin’s sake you were getting married in ten days. You love him so much, but this was your family and your future.

You wanted to run to him to kiss him forever to tell him ‘I love you I love you I love you I love you.’ but you couldn’t. If your parents ever knew about this not only would it ruin your relationship with your family but it would also cost you your inheritance.

You were on your way to the Potions classroom, you were not ready to see Fred again; despite the fact that you weren’t even partners. The only reason that Fred was taking potions this year was because he would use the skills in making products for his joke shop. The reason that you didn’t know is because he loves seeing your expressions that you have on your face when you focus. He didn’t know a thing about potions but he could ace a test about what you do in potions.

You were grabbed by your hips into an abandoned classroom, you heard the door of the classroom close as you saw Fred incredibly close to you and his hands on your hips rubbing smooth circles on your hip-bone with his thumbs as he did so often.

“I know that you never want to see me again, and that we’re supposed to end this Christmas; because of your family and your future, but I don’t want you to. I know we said no strings attached but I can’t stop loving you. As soon as this year started I tried I swear I tried to not love you but I can’t. I love you so much Y/n and I want you to know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to wake up with you every morning I want to call you mine and I want everyone to know how much I fucking adore you. Please let that happen.”

“Fred-” You started looking away from him feeling your eyes start to sting, “Please don’t make this harder Fred.”

He lifted one hand from your hip and tilted your chin up to him and you saw his eyes red. “I want you and I want you to be happy and I know that you won’t be happy with Pucey. If I knew you’d be happy with him I wouldn’t have tried to make you stay with me because I care about your happiness much more than I care about mine.”

“Fred, you couldn’t leave your family so why would I have to leave min-” You started but you were cut off by Fred’s voice growing angry and desperate “Because my family doesn’t use the crutatious curse on me for not getting an O and they don’t get me married to someone I see as a sibling.”

A tear spilled from your eye the same time that a tear fell from his. “P-please Fred.” you choked out quietly. “I love you I love you I love you.” He repeated pressing kisses on your lips. “Tell me that you want to marry him and I will let you go I promise.”

Your eyes fell on the floor, you didn’t want to marry him but you just couldn’t do that to Pucey, he wanted to marry a muggle born as he told you before. Not only would you be covering for yourself but you would also be covering your inheritance and for him.

“I can’t stay with you Fred. I’m sorry.” You pulled yourself out of his grasp and started to control the tears that were falling helplessly.

His tears stopped and his face became emotionless as he said “Fine.” roughly and then added “But if you ever need anything, I’m here for you.”

He walked out of the classroom and you fell on the floor crying. You didn’t go to class and as you were told from gossiping whispers neither did Fred.

***

The wedding was in Two days. You were currently lying in bed while Adrian was on his desk doing ministry paperwork. In Christmas you had in fact gotten engaged to him, and you graduated, and secured an internship at St. Mungo’s and you were about to start work as an actual healer in a month.

You had seen Fred around Hogwarts as you knew you would, you couldn’t stop looking at him every time you saw him. You couldn’t help but also notice how much happier he looked without meeting with you. The thought made your heart clench as it always did when you thought of him.

You let out a sigh, as you watched Adrian finish his paperwork and place his quill on top of the papers. “You work too hard, you know that right. We just graduated two months ago.”

“Yeah I know.” He said he got up and sat beside you on the bed. You never slept together in the same bed -unknown to anyone else- you would take turns to sleep on the couch that was in the same room. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine.” You replied shortly, sitting up and avoiding his gaze. “Oh come off it, really how are you feeling? The wedding’s in two days.”

“Horrible.”

“Yeah that seems about right.” He replied with a small chuckle trying to add humor into the situation. “You could always go to him, you know.” Adrian had found out about you and Fred the semester after Christmas, always following your sad looks at Fred.

“I can’t do that to you-”

He let out a frustrated sound at your words “you know this isn’t about me anymore.” His parents were put in Azkaban after what happened in the ministry with Voldemort so he was able to do whatever he wanted. You couldn’t go to Fred. He had seemed so happy without you and you didn’t want to make him sad anymore.

“I can’t Adrian, you saw how happy he looked after what happened.”

“I personally think it’s all for show. Considering that who I think is him is waiting outside right now.” He said looking out the window where he saw a Weasley hesitant to ring the doorbell or not.

You rushed down stairs noticing Adrian looking out the window, this was the Pucey manor so your parents wouldn’t know anything. You opened the door seemingly at the same time that he was about to ring the doorbell and it was George Weasley.

“In hindsight, I can tell why you’re married to him.” George said, eyeing the manor. When you were about to tell him that that’s not the reason you married Adrian he waved a hand dismissing your words while saying “I know the story, don’t worry.”

You pressed your lips to a thin line as you motioned for him to step inside. “I heard you’re working in St. Mungo’s congratulations.” He said casually as he walked into the manor.

You curled an eyebrow wondering how he found that out and sensing this he replied looking at you “Fred asks about you a lot, talks about you a lot too. I was starting to think you were an angel considering the way he talks about you.”

You felt a sad feeling flutter in your stomach as you said “I heard your joke shop is going good, that’s great.”

He nodded and said “It has, but Fred hasn’t. Let’s just skip the pleasantries and get to the important part. You’re getting married in two days and considering how awful Fred’s been, he’ll be in a cave of sadness when you get married. Do you love Pucey?”

You shook your head finding no reason in denying it anymore “Then why are you still here? You won’t be covering up for Pucey considering his imprisoned parents and you won’t be mending any relationship with your parents either since it’s been broken a long time ago. As for your money, you’re going to be working as a healer in the biggest wizarding hospital. So why are you still here?”

“Fred just looks so much happier without me and I didn’t want to ruin that.” You said sadly, not believing yourself considering what George just said about Fred being miserable.

“If that’s the only thing holding you back then just know if you thought he was happy after Christmas then you’re so wrong. You should see the way he was when you were meeting up. He was chanting all around the Burrow that he’s in love and it was honestly sickening as Ron would put it. Mom didn’t even care that she didn’t know who he was in love with, she was just happy for him. You should also know that he was preparing to give you this, if you know the engagement hadn’t happened.” He walked up closer to you and handed you a small box and a letter. “I best get going now, you know, for the shop.”

He left the manor and apparated away and you sat down on one of the chairs as you reluctantly opened the letter.

Dear Y/n,

Hello my love, I want to tell you that I thinking of doing something insanely stupid. I always told you how I personally didn’t want to get married before I turned at least Twenty, but then I met you. I love you, and I want to take every last breath of my life while I’m with you. I still don’t want to get married right now, but I still want you to know that someday I will marry you. The only reason I wrote this letter is because I’d probably be too awkward saying this in front of you, George is the one with the open feelings, not me. I promise I will always want to be with you and I hope you never doubt that for a second.

I love you,

Fred.

You could see the tear stains on the letter and at the point when you finished reading the letter you couldn’t tell if the stains were from you or from Fred. You reluctantly opened the box and found a ring inside, a promise ring. You let out a choked sob and you heard Adrian rushing down the stairs. He read the letter and looked at the box in your hand and then hugged you tightly.

***

The next day was spent with you crying and Adrian comforting you. “I think you should go to him.” He said as he held you tightly after you finished crying for the millionth time as it seemed.

“Do you think I really should? Wouldn’t he be mad?”

“For merlin’s sake Y/n! He wouldn’t be mad, he’d be thrilled. You read the letter and you saw the ring. What more do you want?!” He said loudly shaking you as if he was hyping you up for a quidditch game.

“Okay I’ll go.” You said with a small smile on your face. “What about you? Will you be cancelling the wedding?” You said as you started to get up. A smirk was on his face as he said “I don’t need to cancel the wedding, just need to change the bride.”

*Fred’s Pov.*

There was a knock on the door when he was sitting on the couch thinking about how the person that he loves is getting married in less than 24 hours.

He got up reluctantly to go open the door, George was out on a date with Angelina; so he wouldn’t open the door like he usually would have.

When he opened the door he saw you standing there with your hair and clothes wet, from the rain he didn’t even notice was there and your eyes blood-shot. Probably resembling his, he thought. After a few seconds of shock passed he asked “What are you doing here?”

You fiddled with the sleeves of your sweater as you said looking at the floor in a small voice “I love you.” He felt his heart skip several beats and his stomach fluttered but his face remained emotionless as you looked up at him.

“Why now?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowed and heart still leaping. You held out a familiar letter and box that were restrained with your tears instead of his. His breath caught in his throat when he took them from your hand, fingers brushing lightly.

“I love you and I want you to be with me.” You said looking at him. He resisted the urge to bring you in his arms and kiss you until he couldn’t breathe just to do it again. “What about Pucey and the wedding?”

“There’s still going to be a wedding just that he’s not going to get married to me.” He raised an eyebrow at your statement. “Tomorrow is going to be the wedding of Adrian and Audrey almost Pucey, about time.” You said with a small smile on your lips and you let out a chuckle.

He couldn’t resist the smile that found its way on his face when you smiled. “Fred, I’m sorry that I didn’t do this sooner. I just- you looked so happy after Christmas that I thought that you’d be better off without me.” You added your face serious again as you looked up at him meekly, eyes stinging; you hated how much you cried lately.

He cupped your face with both his hands as he leaned down to reach your height and said “I’d never be better off without you. I love you, how can I be better off without someone I love?”

He kissed you softly and then you wrapped your arms around him and hugged him tightly as you cried in his arms from both how sad you were without him and how happy you are now. He hugged you back just as tightly and let you inside the apartment and he wrapped your legs around him as he sat you both on the couch. You kissed him and said “I love you so much Fred.”

“I adore you, love.” Your stomach fluttered at the familiar nickname and he pressed kisses all over your face and repeated an ‘I love you.’ between each one. You felt yourself laugh between your happy tears, He brushed away all your tears with his thumbs. “I can’t stand seeing you cry, and we have a wedding to get to tomorrow. We can’t have such a pretty face crying a day before a wedding.”

You laughed once again as you kissed him deeply, “Fred, let’s break rule number two again, please?” He kissed you again just after he said “I thought you’d never ask.”

When you fell on Fred’s bed you put your finger on his lips and said “We can’t stay up late, we have a wedding to get to tomorrow. Okay?”

Fred nodded seemingly not interested in your words as he was kissing your neck. He let out a hum and said “Less talking, more kissing.” You laugh at his statement and you spent the entire night doing exactly that and a lot more shagging. You ended up being late for the wedding, but Adrian didn’t mind seeing the happy smile on your face.

[goldenfreddys]

september '04, cont.—hangin' with the unloved kids

When Nadia arrived, the front entrance of Freddy’s was locked, and there was still no word from Jeremy. She peered through the glass, scanning the main party room for clues. There was the movement of a door swinging shut as a figure walked into a fenced off play area at one end, though she didn’t catch a good look. She squinted, then walked back to her car.

There were no other cars in the parking lot. Nadia opened the trunk, briefly considered smashing the entrance open with her tire iron. Bad idea, given there was a camera out front and it would draw attention. Kneeling out in the open to pick the lock was out of the question, too. She grabbed her backpack and hefted it over her shoulder, then locked the trunk.

For the past few weeks, she’d been working at a hardware store in the area, processing orders and moving stock around in the warehouse. She remembered a coworker complaining about having to prepare a big order of various machinery, screws, brackets, clamps and wiring for Fazbear Ent. which were listed in very specific quantities. Naturally, this meant the building had some sort of docking area to receive the supplies.

She yawned, pulling her hood up as she made her way to the back end of the pizzeria. Her dusty converse crunched against the gravel driveway that led around to small bay door. To her relief, there was only one security camera back there, which was too caked in dirt to function. There was also a regular single-person entrance before the corner with an “authorized personal only” sign above it.

A laminated piece of hot pink paper written in comic sans read: Pinpad broken. Key in the mailbox. DO NOT misplace it. Thanks, Sean.

As promised, there was a key in the box beside the door. Nadia let herself in, then tucked it in her pocket. As expected, it led into a storage garage, which had doors into, according to the scuffed plaques, a kitchen and a parts & service room. There was a corkboard beside the kitchen door, with more printed notices from ‘Sean’ ranging from reminders that smoking must be confined to the designated area and away from view of clientele, to warnings about certain employees failing to properly record their break time, to legal disclaimers and safety procedures.

Cautiously, Nadia tried the door to the kitchen. It was definitely locked. She then moved to the parts & service entrance. The handle seized partway, but opened with a bit of applied force.

How spooky, she mused. A couple badly damaged animatronics were slumped around the room, which was cluttered with various robotic parts and costume pieces. There was a tangible sense of impending doom fluttering around in her chest. She imagined her friends at the movies, watching her as the protagonist of some annual slasher reboot, saying “Boo, bitch! Why is she doing that?”

Nadia started humming to herself, nervously, as she crept through the room.

“He was a boy, she was a girl, can I make it anymore obvious?” she sang under her breath, “He was depressed, she was insane- what more can I say?”

She reached the other side of the room without incident, eyeing the broken down robots as she slipped out. It was hard to shrug off the fear that something really bad had happened to Jeremy. She chewed on her hoodie string as she continued across the party room, towards the area she saw the figure. The checkered tile seemed familiar, somehow. Vague memories of Ms. Fitzgerald’s family photos came to mind. This was Jeremy’s hometown, he'd told her. That he always thought about maybe moving back after graduating, but never had the nerve to consider it for real.

Suddenly, a large gift box by the prize counter jostled. Nadia froze, staring at it. The lid opened, slowly, and a marionette peeked its painted face out. It stared back at her for a moment, before beckoning her over and disappearing back inside the box. She glanced around, then cautiously approached the box. The puppet emerged, again, and held out a checkered, holographic pink slap bracelet.

“For me?” Nadia asked, smiling despite herself.

The puppet nodded, carefully snapping it around her wrist. Nadia struck a goofy pose to flaunt her new accessory.

“Why, thank you. You shouldn’t have.”

The puppet turned its head to the play area. There was a small clatter from the dark, then the sound of screws rolling across the floor. Nadia walked closer to the sound, gripping the shoulder strap of her bag. There was someone in there, trying to gather the screws back up. She strained to get a better look.

The figure froze for a moment, then scrambled to their feet and whipped around. Their eyes caught the light like freshly minted dimes— Nadia was suddenly unsure if it was a person at all. She took a step back. The figure lunged forward, catching against the wall just short of where she stood. They flicked a switch.

Kid’s Cove lit up with warm, fluorescent light.

Not Jeremy, Nadia realized, but uncannily similar. She let a sharp breath out and let her shoulders fall. The girl had the same brown, freckled skin and dark curly hair, though hers was seemingly tied into a loose ponytail. She briefly imagined an underpaid cartoonist pasting big eyelashes on her boyfriend before calling it a day.

“Um, miss? We’re not open until nine.” the girl’s face was expressionless, though she was evidently startled.

Nadia decided to take things one problem at a time, admitting, “I was supposed to pick someone up, but I can’t find him, so…”

“So you… Broke in?”

“I think it’s more like spontaneous urban exploration, but yeah.”

She smiled approvingly, “Okay, metal. You can call me Chucky, I work in maintenance. Your name?”

Behind her, a tangled mess of metal limbs and animatronic pieces jostled, sending a few more screws from the spilled pile on the floor rolling away.

“Nadia… Uh, what’s over there?”

Chucky turned and walked back to the tangled animatronic heap. She swept the screws away with her hand and kneeled down next to it, “Toy Foxy, captain of Kid’s Cove.”

A fuzzy off-white snout flopped across Chucky’s lap with a creak. She gave it a pat, before turning her head to stare at Nadia.

“But her enemies call her… The Mangle.” She stated, dourly, fluttering her fingers for dramatic effect.

“... Somehow, the tots here are really good at disassembling him while we’re not looking, but my supervisor said he doesn’t want me wasting time on it, anymore. So, I like to come in early and see what I can do before opening time- just, y’know… Making sure he’s mobile and there’s no sharp edges poking out, anywhere… What was the name of the employee you're looking for?”

“Jeremy.”

“Journey Fokker, Catering…? No, that's not right… You mean Jeremiah Fitzgerald, overnight security!”

Nadia hummed in agreement.

“Right. Mike said he was giving him a ride, earlier. Had a rough shift, or something… He’s daytime security, but he's been sitting in overnight to make sure the rookie has everything down.”

“So Mike drove him home?” Nadia asked.

“Probably. He's been bitching up-and-down about the guy for days, but it's just tough love.”

Chucky got to her feet and smiled fondly, hitting Nadia with a weird sense of deja vu. Her brow furrowed as she rooted around in her head, looking for what she was reminded of. Maybe it was the angle, the lighting, or the position of the name tag on her jumpsuit.

A little tiny Ghostbuster on the front lawn, dated October ‘88. Charlotte and her brother, ready to trick-or-treat.

“This is a crazy question, but like… Did you ever have a twin brother? Maybe?”

“Yeah,” Chucky’s poker face returned, “... Why?”

[abbythewritor]

"Janitor." Fnaf sb x Fem Reader. *Prologue*

Description: What happens when Y/n L/n lands a cleaning Job at the mega pizza plex? How will she handle all the Animatronics falling for her?

Warnings: Slight drama and jealousy, but other than that, none.

Other things: Micheal and Phone Guy are in the story, and Bonnie and Foxie aren't dismantled, thanks to Gregory. Gregory is in High School along with his girlfriend, who saved him. Cassie works as a security guard at the pizza plex to keep Freddy and the others safe. There is a new Daycare attendant named Joker, who will be introduced later, and the attendants have better upgrades than their original selves.

Enjoy the prologue, everyone. :.

Master list. Next Chapter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Y/n? Hello, nice to meet you, come on follow me to the back and I can show you around."

It was about early noon on a Monday, and this day you started your very new Job as a janitor.

Everything was happening all at once, you graduated Highschool, entered your first year at college, and now, you are already at your second Job, which was surprisingly easy to Nail.

The pizza plex mall has been through shit and opened recently under new management. And, of course, them struggling to find people to work for them, and the poor industry has been hard to be kept open for more extended periods.

But, you decided to work here, not because you were a massive fan of the Glamrocks, but because the pay here is excellent.

How can you pass the opportunity of getting paid almost 50 dollars an hour? That's just being a janitor; imagine what being a security guard or a mechanic pays?

Anyways, the guy you were following was probably your co-worker; he seemed to know everyone as you both headed to the cleaning area, himself having too much of a smile on his face.

Not that it bothered you, but you were nervous for some reason; you didn't expect this place to be so huge, as it felt like you were on a different planet. He could sense you were nervous as his hands grabbed a key card, swiping it into the holder as the door unlocked.

"Nervous?" He asked, facing you as his hand held the door open. Chuckling nervously, you scratched your neck. "Yeah, a little." "Well, don't be; it's ok to be nervous all the time at a new job; this place can be a little overwhelming, but once your first month flies by, it can feel a little better. Now some ground rules, put your stuff there first." Pointing to some sort of desk, you nodded before setting your bag down, putting your phone in a desk drawer, along with your car keys and personal information.

"The Janitor of the Pizza plex is one of the more critical jobs, which is why we get paid so much. Since there are multiple layers of dirt, grime, and germs from daycare, we must clean, and training employees for 90 or more days is very important. First things first, here is something that will come in handy." Giving you a folded-up piece of paper, you took it between your fingers before realizing it was a map, circles of red marking the main areas. "If you notice the numbers beside the circles, those are the areas in order we have to go by each day. First, the stage, since we are right by it, then we move over to Dj, then to Glamrock's central area, then their dressing rooms, then to the attractions, and then lastly, Daycare."

Your head tilted. "But why does Daycare last? Isn't that place supposed to be the dirtiest?" He smirked. "everyone asks that. We do it last because all the kids are there now, they'll just see us and try to play with us all the time, so it slows things down. Gotta keep those little rugrats down. Once all the main attractions are done, in between, we usually get the main area and hallways and other areas that need to be cleaned. I know it sounds a little overwhelming, but I promise once you get trained, it will be a breeze to remember because every room is the same routine over and over." Your head nodded. "Got it."

"Well, before I give you something, Hi, I'm Cyrus; I've been working here for at least....6 years now, I know, save the applause later." Snorting, your hand went into your mouth as he pointed. "See?! There's something I like to see; enough of the introductions here." He gave you some sort of Freddy-shaped watch that slipped from his hands to yours. Watching as your eyes sparkled with excitement, the male folded his arms. "This thing you drooling for is called a fazz watch; it will help with communication from farther places. It was upgraded thanks to my good friend, Greggory, so it can detect threats, your health, stress level, and even hunger level. Also, you can order from every restaurant here online, so you don't have to wait in those ungodly long lines. Now that I explained everything, you are, just for today and tomorrow, going to follow me and watch; I will let you try a couple of things to see if you were paying attention, but having the workers just shadow for the first few days is rather important, think you can handle it, newbie?"

Putting on the watch, you let out a nervous sigh before slightly smiling. "I-Uhm, yeah, I think I can handle it." He smiled while roughly patting your back. "Atta girl, come on, let's head to the stage Newbie."

Watching him walk passed, you took a final deep breath before looking back to your map, which slightly crumpled under your fingertips.

This Job is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and if Cybrus says you can get comfortable in just a month, then this job might not be so bad......

.......

.......

.......

Right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name: Cyrus.

Age: 26

Height: 6;3

Placement; Janitor and Part-time Daycare attendant.

Relationship: Aquaintences/ Co-Worker.

Family: Unknown.

Other Information: Unknown.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[sumu-samu]

Behind The Glass

This was how I imagined Tank reacting to the things Quinn was saying. Please have in mind I wrote this before Quinn’s Aftermath was uploaded I was just busy posting the Broken series and don’t have the energy to rewrite it. So if things don’t match up exactly I apologize

“He’s gonna try and get into your head Sam, say… say things that aren’t true to try and get you to tick. You have to take everything he says with a grain of salt. And no small talk. You have to go in knowing what you want. You give into his stalling he’s just going to get more and more under your skin.” Tank’s heart was beating at a rapid pace. What did Quinn want with Sam. It didn’t make any sense to them. 

“Darlin.” Sam grabbed their face so they could look him in the eyes. “I know.” He said staring deep into their eyes. They could tell he was trying to calm them down. It only half worked. 

“Sam there’s been things I haven’t told you….. he… I want to be the one to tell you personally but… knowing Quinn he’s going to bring them up. Please…. If you hate me after what he says then… give me at least a chance to explain myself.” They held on to him tight, they couldn’t let him go. He was their mate, their world. 

“Darlin, Quinn is a sick fuck. I’m not going to let what ever bullshit he spews change my opinion of you. I love you, with my absolute everything.” Hearing him say that made their heart metaphorically skip a beat.  He kissed their forehead and walked out to go confront Quinn. 

When he got in there he did everything they told him to do. Skip the small talk, go straight to questions. But Quinn had other plans, as per usual. 

“Why the hell am I here?” Sam asked.

“Because I want to get to know you Samuel. We’ve barley even met.” Hearing Quinn’s voice again was like needle’s piercing their skin from every direction.

“Oh I remember the night we met, perfectly. That image is never gonna leave my mind.” Sam shook his head No Sam don’t tell him that. 

“I do look rather dashing in blood. Don’t I?” Quinn laughed, the needles pushed in harder. 

“That supposed to be funnny?” Sam cocked his head.

“Two and a half years.” Quinn ignored the question “You think they would all blend together over the decades. But I never forget a face. How if Freddie doing? Does he still wake up screaming at night, thinking of me?” Quinn smirked. They could see the smoke coming off of Sam.

“Keep his name, out of your fucking mouth.” Sam seethed.

“Fredrick Collins.” At that point Tank themselves wanted to jump through the glass and strangle the fucker. “He did take your name didn’t he? Must have left a pretty good impression as a maker then. Was that your way of compensating for than your own less than stellar undead upbringing?” That got Tanks blood boiling. How fucking dare he bring up Sam’s turning. Especially knowing how hard it was for them. 

“Tank, calm.” David shot them a look. 

“Sorry.” They cleared their throat.

“Where is she?” Sam pushed

“I’m not done playing with you Sammy.” The nickname made them growl.

“Calm.” David repeated.

This was going on way too long, Quinn kept stalling, trying to get under Sam’s skin. They didn’t expect much less from him but they weren’t the most patient of people.

“I’ve never had a progeny. Tell me, what’s it feel like when he has the nightmares? Do you feel them too? Do you feel his fear like it’s your own or something separate? When he remembers my teeth tearing through his skin, ripping muscle off the bone. His blood splattering his face. Do you feel it whgen hes sobbing in bed, trapped in a dream begging for his life. What doe that feel like.” Tank was thankful Bright wasn’t here at the moment, the pain and anger they would be feeling having to listen to that.

 Sam saw the two as if they were his own kids, as with Sam being their mate they met the two of them many times. They were good kids gone too soon. Sam was often really hard of Bright but Tank was able to get him to lossen up on them. Bright reminded Tank as themself, only younger and having more to live for. That night at wonderworld they never would have known Quinn would attack. They probably didn’t even know he was there. They were unempowered, and that world was hidden from them, for all they knew vampires were pale white teen heartthrobs who sparkle in the sun light. 

“I don’t have to sit through this.” Sam started to get up.

“Is her life worth less than your comfort?” Quinn asked when Sam had his hand on the door. “Sit.” He demanded, a tone Tank heard a lot during their time with him. “Do you hold him when hes crying or is that too much? Consoling isn’t everyone’s strong suit.” 

“Clearly.” They could practically hear Sam roll his eyes. “I have a question of my own,” 

“Oh yes, ‘where is she?’ I heard you the first ten times” Quinn mocked

“No, something different.” Sam sounded proud, like he was able to get the jump on Quinn.

“And what might that be?” Curiosity, something rarely used by Quinn.

“Why am I the one in this chair? You know who you should actually be facing.” Tank’s eyes went wide, what was he doing.

“Be cause this is more fun.”

“Because youre a coward. Because youre scared to face them-”

“Because theres no greater pain I can give them than denying them closure. Because I know that having me this close just out of reach, refusing to talk to anyone but their beloved mate-” Tanks eyes could have popped out of their head hearing him say that.

“David….” they whispered.

“What?”

“He’s been watching me…” Their breathing got faster.

“What? How do you know?” He took a step closer to them.

“He called Sam my mate” The fear could practically be heard on their voice.

“Ok? So? He is.” David was very confused.

“But how would he know that? I’ve never called anyone that. Not even him…”

“Why are you doing this to them?” Sam questioned.

“I take betrayal very seriously.” Betrayal? Betrayal? He was the one who betrayed them, hes the sicko who attacked innocent people. 

“You have to have trust before you can have betrayal.” Sam countered.

“Oh, they trusted me. They trusted me with every part of them.” Tank’s stomach dropped. “I was their safe place for all those ugly thoughts in their head, because they knew what was in my head was much worse. That I wouldn’t judge them for it, that they could ask me to do anything to them and I’d do it with a smile. Anything for my precious” The name made them want to puke, to scream, to cry. “Are you enjoying my sloppy seconds?” They felt something in their heart hurt, like Quinn took a wooden stake and gud it into them, their chest got tight. 

“I’m enjoying being with my mate” Sam seethed, “Someone who is stronger than the shit you’ve tried to put them through.” Sam defended them.

“This is why your more fun Sammy! You don’t crack under pressure like they do. Not yet anyway. I wonder how many buttons I have to press to push you over the edge.” Quinn was trearting this like a game. To him it was. 

“Save us both some time end this. tell me where the girl is.” Sam tried to get back on track.

“Game’s not over yet. Tell me something, vampire to vampire, their blood tastes like heaven, doesn’t it.” Their face got hot with shame. They could feel David looking at them. “And the sounds they make when the fang sinks in.” They shut their eyes, tight. “The way they’d wind their fingers into my hair, dragged me in tighter like they wanted me to bite hard enough to hit bone. It’s like nothing else.” They knew he was doing this to get under Sam’s skin, but they couldn’t help but feel absolutely disgusted by who they used to be, what they used to do. 

“Where is the girl?” Sam didn’t let him in. 

“Do they still prefer their bites on the thigh? I was never picky. Ephemeral artery would suit me just fine. Especially with how hard they always wanted me to bite. But with a mate, maybe they prefer the neck nowadays.” Tank tried to hide themself, the look they felt coming off of David was enough to send them back into their old self. 

“He… bit… you?” David’s voice growled. 

“It…. It was all consensual at the time David….” The tried to hide even harder. 

“What is the point of any of this.” That obviously got on Sam’s nerves. 

“I guess I’m asking the wrong person… because… you’ve never bitten them… have you?” Quinn chuckled. “I’ve been close to them Sammy, so close. With out them even noticing. I would have detected your mark on them. But I haven’t. You refuse to taste them. How interesting.” The smile on Quinn’s face sent a chill through them, the metaphorical needles in their skin were practically hitting bone at this point. “Surley they’ve asked for it by now. Knowing them.” 

“You don’t know anything about them.” Sam was trying so hard to keep it together.

“I’m sure you wish that was true. Sorry to burst your bubble there cowboy. They always were my favorite thrall.” Quinn chuckled at Sam’s obvious anger. “How are the scales looking? Your comfort weighed against the life of a stranger. Still worth it?”

“If listening to your sick shit is what it takes to ensure that girl’s safety. Then yes, it’s worth it.” Sam looked into Quinn’s eyes.

“You mean that… how interesting. You know, I considered adding the stipulation that no one be listening behind the mirror while we spoke, I do love my privacy after all.” Quinn poked.

“Why didn’t you?” And Sam bit.

“Because then I wouldnt have the satisfaction of knowing my favorite thrall was in the audience.” He laughed and it made everything in Tanks body run cold. “I know you’re back there Precious. Have you missed me?”

 He smiled looking at the mirror almost like he was looking directly at them. And that’s when they broke, the fear and anger and sadness that was running through their body had started to overflow. Their breathing got rapid, their eyes began to well with tears, their body began to tremble. 

“Tank? What… hey.” David grabbed their shoulder but it only just made them jump and slip deeper into the panic. “Woah, hey, look at me. Tank, it’s okay.” 

Almost as if he could sense their panic Sam shot up out of his seat “you asked for me. Talk. To. Me. Leave them out of this.” His words like knives

They felt their knees start to give out. And luckily David never let go of them, he lowered them down as they continued to let the panic attack run its course. 

“It might be best to get them out of here. They don’t need to relive stories of their trauma from the one who gave it to them.” The detective interjected.

“No… Sam…” they managed between gasps. 

“Sam’s going to be fine Tank. Come on, let’s get you some water.” David lifted them up and carried them out to the car to calm down.

[rosemary-morgan]

Headcanons - Confession of love

Hello, lovely ones (❁´◡`❁) I hope you’ll enjoy my HC’s  🖤 A big thank you to my dear friend @fangirl-ramblings​ 🖤 she has been beta reading for me 🌹

Characters: Draco Malfoy, Fred Weasley, Young Sirius Black

Draco Malfoy

Draco attaches great importance to his appearance. After all, he wants to be the most beautiful man for you. His hair must fit perfectly, as well as his clothes! Is he nervous, you ask? Yes, very much so!

Draco applies aftershave, but not too much, after all, he wants to smell pleasant. 

He plans everything for the perfect evening. You are so important to him and he would like to tell you how much he is in love with you.

As a sign of his affection, he brings you red roses. The symbol of passion and love. He fails to find the right words, but flowers have their own language. Although they are silent, they say so much.

Draco takes you to a very fine restaurant.

You have never had dinner at this quality before! 

Draco looks you in the eye all the time. Your eyes are full of love and affection while he's holding your hands.

After that delicious dinner, he will walk you to a carriage

Suddenly, while you are sitting in the carriage, it starts to snow. Nobody knew where this snow came from, but it is so romantic!

“Are you cold, Y/N?” You don´t need to answer him, because he is a gentleman, and he knows what to do.

He puts his coat over your shoulders so that you don't have to freeze. You immediately snuggle against him.

When you looked up at him, with your eyes sparkling like two stars, Draco couldn’t help but kiss your pretty lips…

"I've wanted to tell you for so long, Y/N, but..." "I love you Draco..." And when Draco hears that, he is more than happy and his smile is the most beautiful thing you have seen in a long time. Because just as Draco wants to see you happy, you want to see him happy too ♥

Fred Weasley

You’ll have a picnic in the forest. Fred has discovered a wonderful place that he doesn't want to keep from you.

He can't wait to see how your eyes will shine. This place is magical and very special. 

In the forest is a hidden place surrounded by beautiful flowers and fireflies. Created by magic? Or maybe an illusion? Whatever, it is a special place

"Fred? Where are you taking me?" Of course you are very curious and to make it even more exciting for you, Fred has blindfolded you."Patience, Y/N." You smile as you feel Fred squeeze your hand. "Trust me." "I trust you." You do with all your heart.

When Fred finally stops and takes off your blindfold, you are speechless.

You have never seen anything as beautiful as this place before. Was it a dream? It looked like something out of a fairy tale. 

"Come with me, Y/N." His voice is so soft, there is so much love and affection for you in his eyes.

In the middle of the flower field was a large blanket. A basket and two glasses. Fred has prepared everything, for a cozy picnic for two.

You laugh a lot, and Fred shows you a whole other side that you didn't know before. Hidden deep inside he hid a romantic side.

Fred even makes a crown of flowers for you while fireflies surround you. He himself has to laugh softly and he blushes. You've really turned his head, because he no longer recognized himself.

When Fred puts the crown on you, he leans forward and kisses your cheek tenderly.

He looks deep into your eyes as he slowly backs away. Oh dear god, what was he thinking? But he can't take his eyes off your pretty face.

You can't help but kiss him gently and carefully. Afraid you might scare him off, or be rejected, you look at him quite shy.

But Fred can't imagine anything more beautiful than kissing you. For so long he has dreamed about it.

He smiles lovingly at you as he places his hand to your cheek, coming a little closer again. "I think... I've fallen in love with you, Y/N. No, I've fallen hard for you!"

This time you kiss him without fear. "I love you too, Freddy." You both laugh softly as you lean your forehead against his and just lie in his strong arms. Safe and sound ♥

Young! Sirius Black

Sirius will bring you white jasmine. This beautiful flower stands for sweet love. Your story started early. Sirius had spent a lot of time with you and flirted with you. You have stolen his heart.

You go out for a ride together on his motorcycle

You will first drive through the illuminated streets of London by night. There is so much life and joy!

You feel Sirius tense under your embrace, but he really enjoys having you so close. He enjoys the feeling that you trust him.

Walking through the park, you notice that Sirius is different today. More quiet and yet you can feel that something very special was in the air. 

That gleam and hunger in his eyes. Your heart is racing, your knees are getting weak. Oh, you've been feeling for weeks that something very special is going to happen between you. You're really just waiting for him to kiss you.

But when he tries, you just slip away and smile cheekily at him. He should earn his kiss by catching you.

Sirius is confused at first, but immediately understands what you want to do and goes straight into your game.

However, you don't make it that easy for him and that spurs young Sirius on even more. He loves every challenge.

"What's going on? Not fast enough, Sirius?"

And you can't even look that fast beforehe grabs your arm and makes you stop instantly. As he pulls you to his chest in a swoop, you gaze into each other's eyes and both of your hearts pound in rhythm.

"I got you," he whispers. "And?" you ask softly, leaning forward to his face, your hands resting on his chest. Sirius just smirks and runs his hand through your hair. Ever so gently.

Before any of you could take the first step, it started raining heavily. 

You look up to the sky, the summer rain soaked you both completely - It is very erotic and romantic. "Don't you want your prize, Sirius? I'm waiting for it!"

He chuckles softly, as you reach for his wet shirt, pulling him closer. 

Sirius did not hesitate for a moment and kisses you deeply and passionately. Sighing softly, you respond to his kiss, snuggling up to his warm but very wet body.

"I love you..." "Love you too, babygirl."

The next day Sirius is lying in bed with a cold. But you take care of him ♥

[redtoondevils]

How the DCA got injuries. Theories.

So, you see those holes they have in their arms, the cracks in their torso, and the ripped pants. Might not only have been caused by getting caught in a rock slide, and the fire as such.

But also with how they lost their part of their face plate. How did it get that badly damaged? If they have fallen down somewhere, and hit their head.

The fall damage done already, I believe that's how they lost their left foot theory. That as Cassie, you'll see a lot of S.T.A.F.F bot scraps every where. Some heads has been decapitated. And their bodies and left in places. That are peculiar, but hard to explain.

The DCA's foot, in this theory would have to be, have to be laying somewhere. To start a damage info, of what caused it.

And then the rest of it, how did they get further damaged. This is my theory. Feel free to have your own. So, I believe that the attendant had fallen down somewhere. That I think that he was trying to get something.

Trying to alert others because of the fire. I imagine, that he tried to alert the other robots, because he's a determined character. But wasn't watching out for himself. Until he fell into an accident.

He may have had an electrical burn. Similar like that of Monty. But it was more of an electrical surge that he fell onto, and it blew up destroying half of his face, and gave him most.

Of the few lacerations that he had on his arms, and torso. That must of caused him/Them the pain that they were having.

And yes, I am aware that there is a theory also, that they may have been harming themselves. (Very sad subject.) But, I would also would like to add, how they have been damaged even more.

So, the burn would have damaged their outer shell. That's probably how half of their face came off. (And also, with the theory of them beating themselves up.) And that burn must of been the one that damaged their pants.

When they pulled themselves out from under the gravel, that their leg must of had the most pressure of being stuck. That they had to wiggle out, and tearing off their pant leg in the process.

I don't think that with them falling, and hitting their face was enough to knock off the face plate. The damage given would crack, and slightly busted open hole or dent.

They're broken shell around their hands may have been damaged by a number of things, such as clawing at the rocks, property harm, Moon, and getting into a fight.

It is evident that the attendants has gotten into fights with the Endo's. The scraps found in the daycare, and in the small closet. But, this is where my theory comes in.

That the lacerations caused on their arms, and a part of their torso, and back. Because they have a missing hoop. Not only they have been attacked/been attacked by the Endo's.

But even the withered Glam rocks. Including the likely Chica, Monty, Roxanne, and Freddy. The question is, is that how did Freddy (The prototype.)

Version of him, got trapped? Where did it come from? Apart from that. The ones that are closer, were more likely to attack them.

Mostly Monty. And Chica. Even Roxanne might of attacked them mistakenly, because she probably couldn't diffenciate between the Endo's, and the Attendants. Is because she probably hasn't heard of their sounds from the common.

And that, she is blind. She may have attacked them. They stayed away from her. Since they are now on free roam, they may have bumped into Monty.

From time to time, and he has gotten aggressive with them. Perhaps, with Chica as well. Because of how damaged she is. Her condition is worse, because she may not be aware of the traps that she falls herself into.

Then when Monty attacked the attendant, he came up and bit their arms, and broke the shell off. He may have ripped out the hook, when the attendant tried to escape. So, I think that they might have also gotten into fights with the Glamrocks, and that was the cause of their injuries that they had.

And the specific ones, on how their loop had gotten broken. It looks like, that some other Robot, had pulled it off. That caused them a great amount of damage, and physical trauma. That they wouldn't be able to fend off all of the Endo's themselves.

[cetaitlaverite]

I feel like I need to play devil's advocate and defend Freddie. Daniel's death caused a massive traumatic shock to Freddie, and as she herself said, it broke something inside her. It’s very understandable why she wants to keep everyone she loves close to her; she doesn’t want to miss any moments with them, good or bad. Also, can you imagine what it must feel like to immigrate to a completely different country, a different continent? By ship, it takes days to arrive in New York, and that's if the weather is good. The first commercial flight from London to New York happened in the late 1950s. The main way of communicating was through letters, which took days to arrive. When Freddie felt homesick, she couldn’t just FaceTime her parents; she had to write a letter or maybe call, but it still wouldn’t be enough.

I know she has Rosie, but it's not the same. You can't tell me that when you have a really hard time, you don’t want your parents. When she has children, she would definitely want her mother (please don’t bring up her age; people want their parents close no matter how old they are. Parents give their children a type of comfort that no one else can). She will have Rosie’s family, but it’s still not the same.You can’t speak to your in law family the same way you speak to your, no matter how much you love them.

Is she spoiled and selfish? Yes, she is, especially when she asked Jen to come to New York because Jen has her own life and everyone she loves is in England. So why should she move to New York just because of Freddie? But Freddie asking her parents to move to New York is not completely unreasonable. Daniel died, and Rosie almost died. Those two instances almost shattered Freddie completely. You can’t call her selfish and spoiled when she wants her parents close to her after everything she has been through. Imagine something happens to your family, but when you learn about it, it’s too late to even say goodbye. Does she need a fresh start somewhere far away from all the horrible things she has been through? Yes, she does! But she is not unreasonable in asking her parents to come with her.

i absolutely get what you’re saying and i do agree with you, in the sense that if i didn’t think it made sense i wouldn’t have had freddie ask her parents to come at all!! it’s completely understandable to me that after her trauma she would want to keep her loved ones close - i wouldn’t have written her with separation anxiety if it wasn’t!!

when i say she’s selfish it’s less because she’s asking at all and more because she expects the answer to be yes. she tells rosie that her parents have no reason to stay in england if she’s not there because her british grandparents are dead, which is a very self-centred perspective to take on the matter. her father’s job is there and her parents have been there since since freddie was 14 - that’s 11 years at this point!! - not to mention it’s the city where they met and fell in love. so they absolutely do have reasons to stay in england even if freddie’s not there.

she’s a spoilt character, it’s a product of her upbringing and her experiences. do i think this makes her a bad person? absolutely not!! she has a good heart, and it’s important that she doesn’t truly understand how much she asks of those she loves because if she did she wouldn’t ask. and moving overseas is a huge deal!! it’ll be such a huge upheaval for her!! but that’s why she shouldn’t expect everyone she loves to do it with her. she can ask, but the main thing that makes her spoiled is that she expects it. when her mother first says no her first instinct is to accuse her of not wanting to have freddie around instead of to understand why she might not want to follow her.

i can understand where you’re coming from with this, though!! and it genuinely makes me so happy you wanted to come and defend freddie - she’s my baby and i’m so glad you love her as much as i do!!! but ultimately we can love her and empathise with her and understand why she does the things she does without always having to agree with them. it’s understandable that she wants her family close to her, after everything, but she can’t demand it of them. the same way rosie had to let freddie make the choice for herself whether she wanted to follow him to america, freddie has to let her parents decide, too.

[angelofrainfrogs]

Going Back: Ch. 10

~Coauthored by @zeitghest~

Fandom(s): Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: Things are looking up for Gregory. After putting the soul of a formerly-immortal killer to rest, he and his new family can finally begin their lives anew. Sure, Gregory might have been cursed with mysterious Remnant in exchange for being involved in this mess—not to mention his caretakers consist of sentient robots and ghosts… But there’s no doubt that the bond they share is unbreakable. They love him, and he in turn. 

All in all, life is finally starting to go right for once. 

…Unfortunately, true peace is a hard-won battle. There are other things to contend with besides William’s decrepit soul, and Gregory will learn that his role in the lives of the Aftons and Emilys is far greater than anyone could’ve imagined. 

Rating: T

Read on Ao3

The group parted ways as soon as they entered the Pizzaplex the next evening. Finding Michael waiting by the front door, as he'd slipped out early to do some mechanical work, Charlie hooked their arms together to track down Sam.

Meanwhile, Freddy took Gregory to the basement so he could play with the other kids—the tour of the Pizzaplex would be continued later with Hannah in tow. After parting ways with his son, Freddy made a beeline for Bonnie Bowl. To his pleasant surprise he found the bunny already wandering the central atrium, so it was a short walk to Rockstar Row where the old friends would settle on the couch in Freddy’s room to discuss everything Bonnie missed… This time focused on the bad things.

Freddy told the rabbit everything he knew, the information coming out in a steady stream like water from a fountain. He revealed events in chronological order when he could, starting with Evan’s birthday in ‘83 that triggered it all. There were certainly areas he was lacking information for, but Freddy did his best to tell Bonnie all the details. The rabbit needed to have as much context as possible before the big reveal of why he’d been feeling these human emotions since being powered back on. 

“…And therefore Henry burned the diner to the ground, trapping William and taking the Aftons, Cassidy, and Charlie along with them,” Freddy said, bringing the penultimate chapter of the child murderer to a close. He watched Bonnie carefully, trying to gauge his stress level before he revealed the most harrowing part of the saga—at least with regards to the rabbit himself.

Patting his old friend’s shoulder, Freddy asked: “How are you feeling, Bon? There is one more part to this whole debacle, but I must warn you that it will be far less pleasant for you to hear than everything else, if you can believe it.”

Turns out you should never meet your heroes—or in Bonnie's case, even hear about your heroes. The man who made him murdered children. The most disgusting part was the feeling it gave Bonnie in retrospect, how that blind worship of a man he'd never met before made his mechanical chest ache like there was a ton of bricks bearing down upon it. After the long explanation, Bonnie looked as if he was still gathering his thoughts before he could even register that Freddy had yet one more thing to tell him—and that it was going to be the worst bit of information he'd hear. Bonnie twiddled his thumbs in his lap, careful and collected as he thought of the poor kids and dwelling on the fact that Gregory was nearly an equation inside a messed up science experiment.

“S'pose so, Fred. I doubt it's worse than any of that mess...,” Bonnie said with a raised eyebrow. Surely it couldn't be worse than any of that. It took everything in him not to sound shaken up and scared from the mere thought of more kids going missing.

Freddy's heart ached watching his best friend struggle with so much horrible information. Whereas the bear had a few days to learn things in piecemeal, Bonnie was essentially being force-fed the information in one go. Perhaps there was a better way to approach this, but at the same time Freddy knew the rabbit wouldn't leave him alone until he knew everything. Taking a deep breath, Freddy clenched his fists atop his knees, steeling himself for delivering the final blow.

This was going to hurt.

“Obviously I am telling you this for a reason, and that reason is to explain how we got mixed up in everything,” Freddy continued somberly. “Unfortunately, Henry's plan failed. William escaped and was somehow able to digitize himself, essentially becoming a virus that could infect computers and humans alike. He gained influence over a staff member employed in the Pizzaplex and forced her to do horrible things...”

Here the ursine man paused again, looking into Bonnie’s eyes. He didn’t want to reveal Vanessa’s name just yet, though he was sure Bonnie could figure it out eventually. 

“She sent out malware that infected all the animatronics, causing them to become... to become bloodthirsty, willing to attack anyone who opposed them—even children—as soon as night shift began.” Freddy winced, thinking of Gregory's close encounters at the hands of his former bandmates. “Though William had another goal in mind first: he wanted a new body, and a very specific one at that. He was the reason for you being decommissioned. William’s virus worked its way into Monty’s systems, causing him to summon you to the golf course under false pretenses and attack so he could—”

Freddy’s voice broke off, the fact of what William had done still so terrible after all this time. However, it was clear by Bonnie’s expression that the swift rabbit was putting the pieces together.

Bonnie’s hands lifted to his mouth, unable to explain why he felt nauseous when he didn’t even have a stomach to throw up from. But he didn’t need to justify it; Freddy had already done that for him.

He is—no… was William Afton, if only for a few nights. It explained far too much, and Bonnie took to pulling on his ears to relieve the stress. He tugged on them harshly, looking back to Freddy. It was clear whatever evil he was capable of when he was in a coma-like state hadn’t been too bad, though. Surely, Freddy would tell him if it was…

“N… No more. I-I get it, old hat…,” Bonnie replied, shuddering out the unshakable notion he still had that evil lurking inside him somewhere.

Just out of view of his friends, and undetectable by his virus scan, Bonnie feared William Afton’s return to take his body and use it for his nefarious deeds. Worst of all, that man who was supposed to be their loving creator had turned and hurt Freddy, Gregory, and all the others in ways that could never fully be repaired.

“I surely can’t believe it… You all went through too much,” Bonnie said, fighting the self-doubt in his head. Had he put up a fight up until the end, or had Bonnie's mind been torn from his body kicking and screaming? Either way, he failed to protect any of the children.

“Did... Did I hurt any of y'all…?” Bonnie meekly asked. 

Freddy opened his mouth to answer, then let it slowly shut. Bonnie hadn’t laid a finger on them, but William hurt Michael and Charlie on multiple occasions, and nearly jabbed a Remnant-infused needle into Gregory’s neck—which he’d indirectly succeeded in doing in the end.

“…It was not your fault,” was all Freddy could say, voice slow and measured as he got to his feet. He couldn’t lie to Bonnie and say everything was fine, but he could at least reassure that his friend’s consciousness was innocent.

Moving to Bonnie’s front, Freddy wrapped him in a hug. Their heights were more equivalent now with the rabbit still seated, so Freddy easily slipped his arms around the lagomorph’s neck and held on tight.

“You did absolutely nothing wrong, Bonnie,” he went on. “No animatronic was safe from William’s influence—the only reason I was spared is because Michael latched onto me. If he had picked someone else, it likely would not be me sitting here telling you this. But I can assure you that William is gone—we made sure of it.”

Now Freddy pulled back, offering the tiniest smile. “The fact that you are powered on and back to your old self is proof we trust that horrible man was rid from the world and my dear friend is back. Please do not doubt yourself, as hard as it may be. No one blames you for anything.” 

“But why ME?” Bonnie asked, raising his voice just slightly. He covered his mouth, smacking his paws over his snout as he forced his voice box to manually reset, the outburst only serving to feed his paranoia that there was something wrong with him.

Bonnie forced himself to sit still, but only for a few seconds. He crossed his legs and anxiously bounced his foot over the edge of his knee, a habit now birthed from his new nervous disposition. Is that where those awful emotions were coming from? The man who previously possessed his body and computer system had given him complexes, and all Bonnie wanted to do was give himself a hard reset when they made themselves known. Bonnie ran his hands up his face, massaging it as if stressed skin and muscle were there instead of wires and fur.

“I'm not a bad bunny...,” Bonnie reinforced like a mantra, shutting his eyes. “I'm not a bad bunny...”

Freddy would never lie to him just to spare his feelings, he reminded himself. Most of all, Bonnie just felt violated; being burdened with consciousness only amplified these feelings.

“Bonnie, relax,” Freddy soothed, gripping the rabbit’s paws and stilling them before they did actual damage to his newly-refurbished face. Freddy was thankful yet again for his robotic strength, as he could feel Bonnie’s wires pulled taught as he strained to relieve the internal stress.

“You are not a bad bunny,” Freddy repeated, meeting Bonnie’s flighty gaze when he could, holding his hands in an iron grip between them. “You are a wonderful rabbit, and everyone knows that. I know that, and I trust you implicitly. You are not a danger to anyone.

“As for why it was you, I am afraid I do not have an answer for that. We were all simply caught up in one man’s delusions. I am sorry you bore so much of the burden, but… all we can do is move past this and look to the future.” Releasing one of Bonnie’s paws, Freddy gently patted the top of his head. “We had a discussion yesterday about what it was like to have human emotions—now you know why you have been feeling so strange. Yes, not all of them are pleasant, but so many of them are—and we will be here to help you through them. Alright, old friend?” 

Bonnie couldn't find it in him to answer Freddy. While it felt like the end of his whole world not a few seconds ago, Bonnie was reeled back to reality by his pragmatic friend. He’d always been a little melodramatic—though his current outburst was justified. He may dwell of this for a long time, but at least Freddy and the others were here to help him navigate this sea of emotions and lead him back to the shores of sanity.

Bonnie too was happy for Freddy's android strength. It made it less awkward when he leaned into his friend in the world’s laziest hug.

“My chest feels heavy,” he admitted, still holding onto the burden, though less loud about it now. “But... thanks for bein’ here, Fred.”

Everything would be alright eventually. And when it wasn't alright? Bonnie could call Freddy, or Monty, or anyone that would listen—anyone who’d remind him he wasn't insane and that he wasn't going to hurt anyone again.

Freddy kept the embrace as long as he could, though eventually he pulled back. The action was slow, trying to assure Bonnie that his new feelings were all understood and valid. Only when they were fully disconnected did Freddy realize there was one more thing he wanted Bonnie to know before the night was out.

“Bonnie, I have one final thing to tell you, and then I promise I will drop the topic until you wish to talk about it again,” Freddy said. “It is about Monty—I know you could tell he was acting off yesterday, so I wanted to reassure you that it is not because he is afraid of you. He… he does not truly know what happened, save for the fact there was a malware attack that caused everyone to act out.”

The ursine man’s smile slipped the tiniest bit. “I will leave it up to the two of you to have a conversation, but I can at least say that Monty seems strange because he knows he was the one who decommissioned you. He does not remember anything—none of the animatronics will. But there were rumors from the beginning that he was the cause of you going missing, and when he found out the truth he was beside himself. He is simply afraid of hurting you again.”

When it came down to it, Monty and Bonnie shared at least that much in common—the fear of slipping back into an uncontrolled state and lashing out at those they care for. 

Bonnie, strangely enough, didn’t seem so upset about it. Like Fred mentioned, it wasn’t as if anyone was in control of their full mental faculties these past few months. Honestly, Bonnie was more upset that Monty was able to beat him at their game of wrestling…

Still, at some point, it became less of a game and more of Bonnie fighting just so his face wasn’t ripped from his body, or his limbs torn off one by one until he was an incoherent mess of wires, parts, and broken casing.

“Aw, shucks, that’s Monty for ya, huh? He makes one mistake and now he’s gonna hold it against himself forever…” Bonnie sighed with a shake of his head. It was something he was gonna have to talk to the old gator about. Hopefully they could sweep all this unpleasantness under the lily pad with a few rounds of golf or bowling. “He’s such a sensitive lug… I’m fine now.”

“Monty will be pleased to hear that, I am sure,” Freddy said, the usual brightness returning to his demeanor now that the initial unpleasantness of things was past. With a grin, Freddy tugged the rabbit forward, urging him to his feet.

“Now, as I said I will move past this topic until you are ready to speak about it again,” the redhead reassured. Once Bonnie was upright, Freddy released him and checked his phone, noting the time. “I promised Gregory that I would take him and a few of his friends on a little tour of the Pizzaplex tonight. I am sure they would be ecstatic if you joined us.”

He glanced up at the comparatively tall rabbit questioningly. “There is a good chance we will run into Henry Emily when I pick them up—but I guarantee he will be kind to you, as that is his nature. Would you like to come along?”

Bonnie couldn't look happier. He’d take anything fun to distract him from the horrible truth he just learned. He just knew the moment he saw Gregory and those poor kids, he'd give all of them a great big hug! He couldn't mention knowing the truth about their shared demises and various tortures, but he'd try to help ease the pain with one of his famous hugs.

“I sure would, Fred! I think that's a swell idea.” He beamed, slipping his arm around Freddy's shoulders to get their journey going. His jolty movements made it clear he was a little shaken and quick to push everything back into the closet of his mind again. The next time he'd speak of this dreadful incident would be when he talked it all out with Monty, then no more for a long time.

“Besides, I couldn't possibly pass up the chance to meet THE He—nry Em-Em-ily...” Bonnie found his voice box needing another manual reset. There goes that weird tick again...

Freddy spared a raised-eyebrow at the glitch but said nothing, simply slipping his arm through Bonnie’s as an anchor. He had to admit, he was just as relieved that their conversation was over for now; he hated dwelling on such topics, too.

It was a slower trip down to the basement than usual due to Bonnie's inclination to pause every once in a while and look around or comment about how he never knew such things like the old, burned down diner even existed in the Pizzaplex. When they finally made it to the workshop door Freddy dislodged himself, flashing Bonnie a smile. “Henry is just inside this room. Let me get him.”

“One sec!” the jovial voice called after Freddy's knock. After some shuffling and heaving, Henry managed to push the android he was working on refurbishing into a corner of the room, away from potentially sensitive eyes. He soon threw the door open, grinning up at the kind-faced creation he'd put so much heart and soul into. “Hey, Fred—oh.”

There was a pause, in which Henry stared up at Bonnie with a slightly lax jaw. However, he was quick to slap himself with a gentle swat of his cheek, mouth flipping back into a smile before the robots could even register his minor internal crisis. “Well, well! If it isn't Bonnie the Bunny!” 

That was him. It was really him. Wow...

Bonnie himself was in quite the tizzy. Grasping his head and making his ears flop to the side, he let out a short, albeit star-struck laugh, the expression on his face matching Henry's own micro-crisis.

“Mr. Emily, I presume?” Bonnie asked, feeling his voice box cut in a strange way again. His thick country accent sounded clear, though a tad forced. “I really don't believe my scanners, but it's you! Wowee—it's an honor!”

The normally charismatic bunny was abnormally shy, trying to make himself a little smaller as he talked. Henry knew the man that possessed him; knew what he did. Hopefully he could look past that and accept the paw Bonnie jutted out for a somewhat awkward handshake.

Henry let out a jovial laugh, shaking Bonnie's hand thoroughly. Honestly, he praised Sam for making this version so far removed from the golden springlock suit Henry had come to associate with his former business partner. It was easy for him to see Glamrock Bonnie as just another animatronic; despite William's possession earlier that week, Henry had been assured by multiple sources that his “old friend” was gone for good.

“You can just call me Henry; everyone does. I even got Fredbear to, after a bit of needling,” the ghost said, releasing Bonnie's hand only to playfully jab Freddy in the side. He ushered the pair into the workshop proper, closing the door behind them. “The kids are playing in the diner with Puppet, so we have the place to ourselves for abouuuut—” Henry mimed looking at his nonexistent watch. “—five minutes before they bother me again.”

“We will take some of them out of your hair in a moment,” Freddy assured, settling near the workbench.

“Oh, I'm only joking; I love those little terrors,” Henry chuckled, then glanced up at Bonnie. “It's good to meet you, Bon! How are you feeling? Er, is 'Bon' okay? I guess I should be asking you all these things...”

He scratched the back of his head, mumbling this last part to himself. He'd gotten so used to Freddy looking human that it was easy to forget the Glamrock line was known for its sentience—and Bonnie in particular had much more human qualities than most due to extenuating circumstances.

“Oh, Bon is just great! Bon, Bonnie, that big ol' purple Bunny—” The rabbit laughed, warming up well to their original creator. “—you can call me anything ya like!”

The amiable rabbit offered a smile and a wink. He hoped that it didn't come off in the way he spoke to Henry, but there was an odd need for Henry to like him. Though it didn't seem to be something he'd have to vie for so desperately; Henry was a nice guy, and Bonnie could tell already that they'd make great friends.

The way he spoke about the kids reminded him of the way Freddy talked about them. It was the warmth in his voice, he reckoned. He and Fredbear seemed to share that affinity.

“I'm feeling ter—iffic!” His voice box glitched out, trying to change its pitch all on his own. Bonnie laughed again, scratching lightly behind an ear. “Well! That keeps happening, but besides that I’m all better now!”

“I can take a look at that, if you want,” Henry offered with a questioning tilt of the head. “Sounds like something might've slipped out of place; shouldn't be a hard fix. I'm quite the mechanic, if I do say so myself.” His faux-haughty demeanor softened as he looked at the rabbit's confused mix of facial expressions. “Only if you want—no pressure.”

Bonnie didn't feel afraid; who else would be a more perfect candidate to look over his functions besides from Sam himself?

“Well if you'd kindly, I'd appreciate it.” Bonnie hopped onto the workbench faster than two shakes of a lamb's tail, then laid down to relax his neck joints and his disconnecting jaw. He laid still, disabling his mechanical features to allow Henry easier access to his voice box. After a series of humming and what appeared to be squinting in measured frustration aimed at his odd wiring, Bonnie was then given free range to sit up and click his face plating back into position.

“So what's the prognosis, Doc? My head screwed on wrong?” he teased, batting his eyes playfully to let Henry know he was just joking.

“Only a bit,” Henry joked right back, gently knocking a fist against the top of Bonnie's noggin right between the ears. “Really, though, I do think it's just a few wires that slipped out of place—not a major repair, but it might take a few minutes to fix up. Honestly, Mike or Sam could probably get it done faster than me; hate to say it, but I'm not as familiar with the Glamrock line!”

“We can ask for their assistance later tonight,” Freddy suggested, although before Bonnie had a chance to respond a tiny voice sounded from the recesses of the basement.

“Uncle Henry!” Evan called, floating into the room and making a beeline for the elder ghost's side. “Uncle Henry! Can we bring Puppet up with us tonight?!”

“I don't see why not,” Henry responded, his eyes softening as they always did when talking to the (usually) sweet-tempered Evan. Besides, he had no doubt Puppet would go anywhere she could if the kids asked her to. He gestured to Freddy, who the boy had completely skipped over in his focused mission. “Good timing, too—you're chaperone's here.”

“Oh! Hey, Freddy!” Evan gave the ursine man a bright wave, then did the same to Bonnie when he realized the rabbit was staring down at him from the workbench. Since their time at the bowling alley last night, Evan had no more fear of the purple bunny. “Lemme go get the others. Gregory! Your dad's here!”

With that the boy took off like a rocket, phasing through numerous walls as he headed back to the old diner to gather the crew for tonight's tour, now including Hannah and the Marionette. Henry shook his head with a chuckle, arms crossed in front of his chest. It was good to see the kid in high spirits after so long. 

Gregory was walking with the lanky Puppet draped across his shoulders, her wrist limp in his as he gestured her hand wildly at Hannah. As they laughed together, walking through the door at Evan’s call, he waved Marionette’s arm at the group.

“Hey, Dad! Puppet wanted to come and look at Henry’s blueprints!” he shouted, prompting the Puppet to slip off his frame and slink towards the work table.

Bonnie marveled at the silent animatronic. Her movements seemed advanced for her apparent age as she made her way over, unabashedly using Bonnie to climb up onto the workbench besides him with an aura of excitement.

Gregory, now that his hand was freed up, decided to take Hannah’s instead. Not for his own gain—though holding her hand like this was certainly a special occasion in itself for him. Gregory just gleaned that Hannah wasn’t the most comfortable around new people—whether that involved new animatronics she hadn’t met before was unclear, but judging by the way she clutched his palm back, Gregory knew she didn’t mind.

“Bonnie! This is my friend Hannah; come say ‘hi!’” he beckoned, leading her further into the workshop. Bonnie hopped away from the table, fixing the collar of his shirt and pretending to check the smell of his breath as he walked up to greet the kids. The silly rabbit knelt to one knee to meet the children on their level and said

“Howdy, guys! It’s sure swell to meet you, Hannah. Aren’t you two just little peas in a pod?” Bonnie remarked at the close knit friend group he found oh so adorable. In the peripheral of his vision, the strawberry-blonde girl he’d met yesterday with a huge red ribbon in her hair peaked from behind the door, currently glaring holes into Bonnie’s head.

Lizzie was hiding her scowl around the corner, wishing she could simply explode the rabbit with her mind. She hadn’t given Bonnie much thought last night, too wrapped up in the magic of the Pizzaplex itself and their rousing game of Gator Golf. However, now Lizzie had time to think on things—and as usual, when her thoughts were left to wander they also tended to fester.

Looking upon Bonnie now, she came to the conclusion that everything about him irked her, from the heavy accent to his quirky mannerisms. It all reminded her too much of him, and immediately soured her good mood. The dumb bunny must have felt her weak attempt at a psychic onslaught, because he glanced up to look at Liz with a bewildered expression.

“Uh—howdy, little lady!” Bonnie greeted with a wave. “Lizzie, right? You were smokin’ Monty at golf yesterday!”

“Lizzie…” Attuned to his sister’s distress, Evan clung to her shoulders like Puppet had done to Gregory moments before, pressing his cheek against hers as he eyed the rabbit and murmured in her ear. “I don’t sense anything weird, Liz; I think he’s okay… He was nice last night, remember?”

Hannah, on the other hand, seemed a bit star-struck. Bonnie had always been her favorite, starting from his part in the old cartoons she’d watched as a little kid, but by the time her parents actually took her to the Pizzaplex, Bonnie was decommissioned shortly after. She’d only gotten to see him live once, performing on stage with the rest of the band. Never did she think she’d get to have a personal conversation with him—her parents could never afford such a luxury package. 

In retrospect, it’d been far too easy for Vanny to lead Hannah away with the promise of an encounter with the rabbit. Her fingers clenched tight around Gregory’s, pushing down the memories under a little smile as she directed the animatronic’s attention back to her. “Hi, Bonnie! It’s super awesome to meet you! I’m like… your biggest fan!”

Something so simple shouldn't have made Bonnie's heartstrings pull like that. It was a sentiment he heard a hundred times by other fans, and normally he'd give them one of the usual responses without deeper thought. Coming from this girl—a ghost if he wasn't mistaken—it felt more real than before he’d gained consciousness. He was someone's favorite member of the band, their first choice and a star in her eyes.

“That's a good thing I get to come hang out with y'all today! I can get to know my new friend better,” Bonnie said to specifically hype Hannah up, trying his best to ignore Elizabeth's more abrasive response.

She screwed up her nose and muttered under her breath. Gregory at least looked happy at his offer to come play with them. While he was sure it was due to their previous day's bonding, Bonnie might not’ve caught on that his huge grin was because of how tight Hannah was gripping his palm still. Bonnie leaned into the mixed group slightly, pointing to the youngest ghost.

“And you’re Evan! I remember—you look just like your lil’ twin over here! And my biggest fan is Hannah,” he reiterated, making sure he knew their names by memory. Then, his index finger pointed to Liz, who still glared at him in hopes he would soon burst into flames. “And miss sour-patch is Lizzie.”

“Yup!” Evan confirmed, absolutely no fear or hesitation in his demeanor. He moved from Lizzie’s shoulders to her side, grabbing one arm with both hands and trying to tug her forward. “Come on, Liz! Stop being a grouch!”

“Evan, do not push her,” Freddy gently warned. When Evan opened his mouth to protest, Freddy continued with an understanding smile. “Everyone processes things differently—you know that. I am sure she will warm up in time.”

This last sentence was partially directed to the girl herself, who turned her narrowed eyes on Freddy. However, the ursine man was completely unfazed by her fierce attitude. After a few seconds Evan released Lizzie’s arm, though he stayed attentively by her side. Freddy had a point—though they both knew their father‘s rabbit obsession forever tainted Bonnie the Bunny, it was easier for Evan to separate his grudge against William from the animatronic in front of them… Much more so than Lizzie, it seemed.

Despite the tense reaction from Liz, Hannah was still entranced by the rabbit. He was even friendlier than she’d imagined! Lightly swinging Gregory’s arm, she asked Bonnie:

“So you’re gonna hang out with us in the Pizzaplex?!” At his conforming nod, she clenched her fists excitedly, squeezing Gregory’s hand in the process as the smile on her face grew impossibly wider. “Yessss!”

She was coming to realize that being dead and stuck in the Pizzaplex wasn’t all bad… Getting exclusive time with the animatronics was certainly one of the best perks.

Henry had been listening in on all of this of course, though only with one ear as the rest of his attention was directed to Puppet who meticulously scanned the blueprints.

“So, what’s the verdict?” the old ghost intoned, giving her a gentle pat on the back as her slim frame crouched over the workbench. “Think you can deal with this body, or does it need any tweaks?” 

Puppet gently picked up the blueprints and held their intricate designs to her chest, swaying excitedly. To be able to express these new feelings and thoughts she had would be amazing, if just for a little while. Mari was careful not to crumple the papers before placing them down and showing her gratitude through a gentle hug squeezed around Henry's shoulders. Right now, she appreciated him more than he could know. The design was perfect, and soon she’d understand completely how Charlie and Michael felt in their androids.

Despite Liz's unwillingness to cooperate, she tried to wipe the frown off of her face. She’d simply have to avert her gaze from the rabbit to avoid feeling so blue. Bonnie's image made her heart hurt, and she couldn't help but lash out in a silent anger—anger that indented her nails into her synthetic skin as she clenched her hands.

“So what's our first destination, pals?” Bonnie asked, hands placed confidently on his hips as he stood.

The kids looked at each other expectantly, waiting for one of them to speak up. It was Hannah who talked first, finally releasing Gregory’s hand with the tiniest blush to clasp her palms together behind her back. 

“Evan and Liz, where do you guys wanna go?” she asked, tilting her head questioningly at the Aftons. The siblings shared a look, before Evan shrugged.

“I dunno… What else is there to do around here?” He posed the query to the room, knowing someone would be able to provide an answer. “We already checked out mini-golf and the bowling alley… Oh, and the Daycare!”

“I believe you would be most interested in Roxy Raceway or Fazerblast,” Freddy suggested, though his gaze was fixed on Gregory. The boy had traumatic experiences in both attractions, so it was up to him whether he was ready to tackle them. A slight frown creased the redhead’s face. “Although I do not know if the raceway is functional yet… So perhaps Fazerblast? Or an arcade… We could also simply wander and stop by whatever area catches our fancy.”

“What do you think, Gregory?” Hannah inquired, also wanting his opinion. The two of them had the most experience at the Pizzaplex out of all the kids, so she was curious as to what he thought would be a good place to check out first. 

Oh, the Raceway. Gregory seemed to have a particularly nonplused stare as he remembered their close call, Michael bleeding all over him and using himself as a fleshy shield... If it weren't for Ennard, they wouldn't be here to make the choice of where to hang out today. In a way, it would be a triumphant return to the very place they had conquered. And while he heard Hannah, it took him a second of thinking to decide.

“Maybe we'll check out the arcades?” Gregory suggested. “Then we can swing around the Raceway and see what's going on with it.”

Bonnie rubbed the side of his head with a broad paw, smiling at the thought of racing their little karts around the track. “Ah, Roxy Raceway—brings back such good memories. Right, Fredbear?”

How Monty and Fred laughed when Roxy's naturally competitive nature made her cross with Bonnie, who only wanted to take a leisurely drive around the track.

“It's a Raceway,” Roxy had argued to the brick wall of a bunny. “We're not taking your grandma shopping. Put the pedal to the metal, rabbit!”

Bonnie couldn't wait to see them all again. Thankfully Michael, Sam, and Henry were hard at work as they spoke tuning up their friends—and currently restoring old ones.

“It does indeed,” Freddy agreed with a soft smile, then gestured for the little band of ghosts and animatronics to follow him. They’d wasted too much time thinking over the past when they could be having fun already. “To the arcades it is; we will see you later, Henry!”

“Have fun!” Henry replied, feeling Puppet dislodge herself so she could slink over and latch onto another friend who’d be making their way upstairs. Clapping Bonnie amiably on the back, he grinned up at the rabbit. “It’s good to meet you, Bon; we’ll definitely catch up more another time. Oh, and don’t forget to ask Mike and Sam about that voice box of yours!”

“Oh you know it, Henry!” Bonnie told him, now brave enough in front of his hero—his good creator—to reach for a quick hug around his shoulders. Weirdly enough, it felt... homey. Familiar and comforting in the way it was when showing Fred quick bouts of affection.

He didn't think about it too hard, merely focusing on one of the good feelings and letting go when that synthetic serotonin wore off. The children were already being wrangled by Freddy, and the former bear looked like he needed help with the rambunctious children. So with a wave goodbye Bonnie met them by the door, happy to hold it open and let everyone through.

Evan was currently being wrapped up in Puppet's hugging arms. She clung to his shoulders as the shortest Afton unintentionally dragged the lower half of her body behind them.

“Don't drag her like that, Evan! Her legs will catch on something,” Liz gently scolded, bending at the waist to pick up Puppet’s limbs while speaking. Gregory couldn't help but crack a smile at them.

“She survived the garbage chute, 'Lizabeth. Mari's tougher than a jawbreaker,” he praised, much to the Puppet's joy.

“Yeah—besides, if she wrapped all around me I couldn’t walk, so what else am I ‘sposed to do?” Evan deadpanned, though his grin showed he appreciated Lizzie’s help nonetheless. Puppet was certainly a long animatronic, apt to converge around a child completely when all her limbs got involved in an embrace—all the better to protect them with her own body if necessary, as was her design.

While the Aftons chatted, Hannah hung back slightly to fall into step with Bonnie. It was still hard for her to believe he was up and running after all this time. With a questioning tilt of her head and hands still clasped behind her back, she inquired: “So, Bonnie, are you gonna be back in the band now? I know Monty took your place, but like… can’t you both play the bass? Or one of you go on drums or something?”

Freddy had slowed his pace as well to better watch the kids, and he glanced over his shoulder briefly at Hannah’s question. He felt strongly inclined to speak up on Bonnie’s behalf, wanting to save his friend from potentially thinking back to any negatives… but as hard as it was to stay quiet, Freddy knew it was best to let Bonnie answer for himself. Now that his old friend knew everything, there was no need to respond for him. Besides, one way for Bonnie to get used to his new emotions was to deal with them head-on, just as Freddy had.

“Huh, you know what? I didn't rightly get to thinking about that,” Bonnie replied, scratching beneath his chin. It'd sure be nice to perform in front of a crowd again! It was just a question on whether management wanted that from him or not.

Maybe now was the time to start flexing his creative muscles—to go back to his roots and practice for an instrument they've been needing in their little ensemble. Bright pink eyes glanced down to Hannah and the expressive robot smiled with them to her.

“I've been meaning to pick up a new instrument! Heck, I might take Fred's old job! Singin' has always been my secret talent.” He mentioned that last part specifically as he saw Freddy listening in, knowing the bear would appreciate the joke. 

“Say Hannah, do you play any instruments?” Bonnie asked, offering the girl his hand as they walked. The younger kids liked to hold onto his paw, and though Hannah was a little older he figured being cordial to his biggest fan was only good manners.

Hannah was over the moon at this gesture, her feet floating off the ground slightly in her excited haste to latch onto her favorite bunny’s paw. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but Bonnie’s grip was comfortingly soft for such a big metallic robot.

“Um… I was actually trying to learn guitar,” the little ghost admitted, sounding a bit embarrassed. She hadn’t wanted to learn just because Bonnie played—at least, that wasn’t the only reason. A slight frown crossed her face. “My big sister was super good at it, and he started to teach me a little before—”

She cut off with a distant stare at the ground. However, the motion of her arm swinging along with Bonnie’s quickly perked her up enough to give a small laugh, pushing away the memories of her old life as was becoming a habit. “I’m not good at all though!”

“I am sure with more practice, you would be a wonderful guitarist,” Freddy commented, and Hannah beamed up at him. Freddy’s blue eyes flickered to Bonnie’s, a smile turning up his lips. “Perhaps we can find an extra guitar around here and someone could give you a few pointers…?”

Bonnie knew exactly what she was getting at. She must miss her family so much... Bonnie's empathy was going haywire, and he firmly squeezed her hand to garner her attention.

“Heck—I'll teach you guitar! I know a little thing or two about it. But we gotta get you to meet up with Chica. Boy howdy, she can really rip on the strings!” he offered, simultaneously praising their friend's talents for the electric guitar shredding she often was want to do. He refused to let this girl be sad on his watch. The next time they swung by the stage, Bonnie was sure Sam wouldn't mind them taking a guitar or two to teach Hannah how to hone her skills a little more. “You and I could start our own little band if the Glamrocks don't take me back!”

In the group ahead, Lizzie had asked Evan quietly: “Do you think Hannah's going to write a song about Gregory?”

She said it just to tease their newest friends. Though it earned her a well-placed elbow to the side from Gregory, making her shriek out in a bubbly laugh as she successfully got under his skin.

“That’d be awesome!” Hannah gasped, her eyes shining with the thought of playing with the Glamrocks. She loved them all, but Chica was definitely her second favorite without question, so the chance to have a jam sesh with her and Bonnie was filling her cold little heart full to bursting. She shook Bonnie’s arm, floating higher and completely unaware of the conversation happening a few feet away. “You’ve gotta tell me as soon as Chica’s back so I can meet her, too!”

Snickering at Gregory’s reaction, Evan leaned into his sister conspiratorially and replied: “Hannah’s gonna write him a song, and Gregory’s gonna draw her a picture on that electric notepad thingy Sam gave him.”

Gregory had shown off his tablet briefly the other day, though Freddy opted to take it for safe keeping when the kid started running around. The ursine man might not know exactly how much it cost, but judging by Michael’s reaction to the cell phones he reasoned the CEO spent a pretty penny on family gifts. The last thing they needed was for it to get broken in a prank gone awry…

“You promised you’d show us that again, Gregory,” Evan reminded eagerly. The years of being stuck inside outdated Pizzerias—and even more outdated animatronics—were starting to reveal their effect the more time Gregory spent around the old ghosts. “I still don’t believe it’s a computer! It’s waaaay too small!”

Gregory had taken a cursory glance behind them, content to know that Hannah was preoccupied with her conversation with Bonnie to even recognize her name was being said repeatedly. Though their affection was quickly becoming mutualized, Gregory still hadn't had the guts to say anything to Hannah yet. Evan's playful jeer did give Gregory an idea though—making Hannah something would show her that he thought she was special to him.

What to draw her, though? Maybe something with Bonnie... He'd have to use the rabbit as a model.

Gregory sent the Aftons exaggerated glares before raising an eyebrow to Evan. His sister and brother were robots, plus they themselves were ghosts—and Evan couldn't believe that computers could be small? Then again, these two came from a strange world of technological marvels. Recreational computers just weren't anything like the things they had now. Still, a smile eventually found its way to Gregory's face and he told them:

“I'll show you guys when we get to the arcade! I... I should draw her something though.” He laughed, admitting what the group already knew without actually having to say it out loud. “All of us can draw and play video games together.”

They opted for the East Arcade, allowing Music Man to rest another night without being awoken to blast some more tunes for screeching children. The attractions had all been opened up to allow staff easy access wherever and whenever they needed, so the slated garage doors rose automatically upon the group's arrival. While Hannah tugged Bonnie forward towards her favorite console, Evan stopped dead in his tracks. The flashing neon lights reflected off his huge eyes as he stared around in jaw-dropping wonder. This place had nothing on any Fazbear restaurants he'd seen before—and it was apparently just one of several arcades throughout the building. Sammy had really outdone himself.

“Whoa,” the ghost breathed out, not even sure where to go first. At least the arcade cabinets themselves were familiar, although surely most of the games were new to him. Plus, there were just so many of them! As his gaze swiveled rapidly around the room, Evan noticed a massive prize counter stuffed to the brim with plushies and other gifts to be won with an exorbitant amount of tickets. He tapped the Puppet's arm with one hand, pointing the prize counter with the other. “Look, Mari! You can hand out a buttload of presents from there!”

Elizabeth was frozen solid, her eyes unblinking before she could wiggle herself free. The nearly endless feeling of all the game titles and challenges was making her head swim with all the possibilities. Watching Gregory draw would have to wait; Liz simply couldn't keep all of these games waiting for her. It figured that a former child raised within the confines of the Fazbear diners would have a vision so grandiose.

“This is only the east arcade?” Liz dared to ask Gregory, amazed that there were more of these goliath entertainment centers around the Pizzaplex with even more challenges and titles to test their skills at.

The Puppet slowly slunk off of Evan in favor of performing her little programed tasks. She may partially have a human's consciousness now, but there was something about the simplicity of handing a kid a toy after a hard day’s work of earning tickets that felt satisfying.

“Yeah! We won't get through all of them today, so we got to do the classics and THEN do the new ones,” Gregory said, walking towards Freddy to tug on his shirt. “Dad? Hey, do you have my tablet?”

“Ah—I believe I left it in Sam's office since it was inconvenient to carry,” Freddy replied, patting down his pockets just in case the device would magically appear. With an apologetic smile, he ruffled Gregory's hair and told him: “I can fetch it for you; it will only take a moment. Bonnie?”

The rabbit had already been pulled to a far corner of the arcade by his superfan, who'd finally released his paw so she could show him her talent at her favorite Pacman-like iteration. Freddy's expression softened at the display and he placed a hand on Gregory's back, gently urging him towards the still overwhelmed-looking Evan. “Go play, superstar; I will be right back.”

When Gregory moved towards his surrogate sibling, Freddy headed towards Bonnie and Hannah, stopping at their side and reaching up to tap the rabbit's shoulder. Hannah was fully engrossed in her game, barely acknowledging Freddy's presence as he told the lagomorphic robot: “I am going to grab Gregory's tablet from Samuel's office—do you mind watching them for five minutes, old friend?” 

Bonnie had his attention pulled from Hannah for just a short moment. With the confidence and experience to watch groups of kids, he didn't have a worry in the world. With a lazy smile, Bonnie waved him off.

“Sure thing, Freddy! Tell the Boss-man I said 'Howdy', will ya?” he asked, turning back to place a hand on Hannah's shoulder as she played her game. She was impressing the old bunny with her skill on the old joystick and button console. “How are you this good at Balloon Pop?! You're going to make the high score roster for sure!”

A cursory glance over to the Afton kids let Bonnie know the kids were still adjusting from the shock of the more modern Pizzeria. Gregory meanwhile began to shake both Elizabeth and Evan from their stupors.

“GUYS! Come on! We should play bug stomp before Freddy gets back!” he tried to encourage, only managing to move them a few inches before they loosened up on their own accords. He needed to get some gaming in before his dad returned, or he'd likely not get a chance to play at all tonight with the picture he wanted to make for Hannah.

Evan finally got the wherewithal to start forward, following after Gregory as the boy directed them to the game in question. Evan tried his best to take in all the new titles and artwork of these modern day machines, but everything blended together in a big blur. He vaguely registered Puppet's slim frame lounging in the netting above the prize counter, relaxing in a pile of plushies until her first “customer” came over to trade tickets for gifts. A wistful little smile crossed the ghost's face at this. At least Mari was happy; she deserved it, after everything she'd done for them.

Mari was a relatively carefree animatronic on the surface, her lackadaisical repose inside the netting giving her the air of a sentinel amidst the various toys and gadgets. She waved to the kids as they frantically passed her by, happy to watch them from the sidelines to make sure everyone was safe.

It's why she did everything. First and foremost, her central programming was to make sure Charlie was safe. But with every missing child that came after her, Puppet had slowly righted every tragedy. Her Gifts were finally being enjoyed to their fullest extent, and those children could relive their happiest days forever...

Yet it always seemed something wanted to place themselves in the way of that perfect, picturesque life.

Hardly anything got past the Puppet. Not one sound or motion that wasn't analyzed critically. And the shadow passing just outside the hall had drawn her attention quickly. It could be Monty, but the shadow itself was smaller—Freddy was a rather tall man in his human form, and even with this stretched-out darkness just lurking quietly outside, she could see it wasn't their friend. Her music box clicked, starting out of old habit. Above the sounds of various arcade games being played, the old melody played as she slowly slunk down from her precarious perch to investigate.

Bonnie had hardly noticed. His attention was either fixated solely on Hannah, or having called out in asking what game the others were off to go play.

There was that music box again. It played for various reasons—to soothe, to help a child drift off to sleep, to announce when a big prize was won... But it could also play when the Puppet was curious.

Having spent so long by her side, Evan was particularly tuned into Mari's lullaby. Cassidy was the same, but seeing as she was nowhere in the vicinity it was only Evan who turned his head, watching the slim, striped Marionette slink across the floor in a fluid search. He started to ask what she was looking for, but a tug on his sleeve from Gregory distracted him enough.

Puppet would let them know if there was danger about, he was sure of it. There was no need to stress; he was here to have fun, and that's what he was going to do.

***

Meanwhile, Freddy arrived at Sam's office only to find it locked. He must be off gallivanting the Pizzaplex with Michael and Charlie. Freddy sighed, wishing he could connect to one of them in an instant like he used to be able to do with his bandmates... Until he realized that he could, in a way. Finally, he'd get to use this cell phone Sam so graciously provided.

Slipping it out of his pocket, Freddy scrolled through the few contacts Sam preinstalled until he found the CEO, upon which he'd press the “call” button as Michael showed him the other day. He held the device up to his ear, thankful to hear it ringing on the other end and even more relieved when Sam's familiar voice picked up.

“Hello, Sam,” Freddy said, speaking a bit louder than he needed to with the microphone so close to his mouth. “I would like to get Gregory's tablet from your office, but it is locked; I apologize for the inconvenience, but would you be able to meet me here? It should only take a moment!” 

Sometimes Sam wondered if he designed Freddy far too politely. It didn't grate his nerves by any means, though he hoped it eventually didn't lead to some kind of complex. Regardless, he answered with a happy sounding: “Fredbear! No, it won't be a problem. I was just showing Mike the newest upgrades in the security system, but he'll be fine while I'm gone.”

Sam would give the guard in question a thumbs up in case he was wondering why Freddy called. It was by no means an emergency, but that didn't mean it didn’t require Sam's attention.

“I'll meet you there,” Sam said decisively, briefly looking down at his nails before wishing him goodbye and hanging up. Oil and dirt came clean from under the whites of his nail bed, and he flicked the dirt to the floor with the dismantled Chica parts. Another robot was almost ready to go, and the more Sam worked with Michael the more thankful he was to have the guy back in his life. He had so much experience inside the company, Mike by all means should be running it with him.

“I'll be right back—Gregory needs his tablet and it's inside the office.” Sam raised a bushy brow towards his friend at the security desk. “You're going to be good while I'm gone?”

Whether he meant ''good' as if fine mood and work wise, or 'good' as in no causing harm or mischief seemed to be left up to Michael. Now clad in the standard white button-up and black pants of the Fazbear security uniform, Michael leaned back in the swivel chair and tipped his hat with a jaunty grin.

“I’ll be fine, Boss,” he replied, still amused that his childhood friend was now technically his employer. Gesturing to the multitude of camera feeds on the monitors, Mike added: “I’ve done this a thousand times—trust me, I know what I’m doing. If there’s any trouble on either end, we’ve got walkies and cell phones to contact each other. Just leave it up to your night guard to keep things running smoothly.”

Was this mild pontificating a way to cover up his nerves at being left alone at a security desk again?

…Possibly, though Michael would never admit it. For literally the first time since he’d started working security guard positions, he would not be on the lookout for possessed, bloodthirsty animatronics. In fact, everyone he’d able to see on the cameras—robotic, ghostly, or human—was his friend in some capacity. Well, except Ennard, though they clung to the vents and would be hard to spot on camera anyway.

With a grimace, Michael glanced up to the grated vent opening in the wall in front of him, hoping he wouldn’t get a surprise visit. No promises he wouldn’t instantly taze the now-helpful amalgamation due to traumatic flashbacks…

Flipping his expression back into a casual smile, Michael kicked his feet up on the desk and gestured lazily for Sam to go. “You’d better meet Freddy before he starts freaking out because you’re thirty seconds later than he expects you to be; we’ll be in touch.” 

“You're the best, Mikey.” Sam smiled, throwing up another thumb in the air as the pneumatic hiss of the security door whooshed up and over his head. Samuel walked leisurely, checking his phone on his walk to the office. There was never a break for work for him; when not actively tightening bolts on an animatronic, he was always checking emails or texts from business suppliers and partners.

As Samuel arrived to his office in search of the drawing tablet, Mike would probably notice the movements on the other cameras. With several sections of the mall to flip through, he could catch glimpses of their friends in Daycare. Charlie was currently blowing up his phone with memes she'd found from 2008, now fully entrenched in the culture of that time.

Scrolling through the feeds, something struck Michael as odd: the sound of a familiar music box, growing closer and closer no matter which camera he checked.

***

Previous Chapter ~~ Next Chapter (Coming soon)

Looking for more? Check out the Chapter Masterlist on Tumblr!

Or check out the entire Wires that Bind Us Series on ao3!

[cardhamine]

Tiny short AU of an AU

*Christmas Breached Ficlet Under Readmore*

This technically takes place one year AFTER the end of Breached - except it's after an ending that I didn't go with. So it technically doesn't have spoilers! This is from an Alt Ending of the Breached AU I've called "5 Star Fam" since way before Ruin came out. Haha

For the uninitiated, the Breached AU is about if Vanny and the nightguard (Vanessa/'Ava') are different people and they're gay.

5 Star Fam Ending is one where everything turns out 100% fine, and they all (including a certain DID alter) live fairly normal lives after Security Breach night is over with. Although there's zero Freddy in this one. (There's a more Malhare-centric Xmas fic that does feature Freddy more, but I decided not to post it.)

Also, leave it to me to start off with a cute Xmas idea and make it emotional by the end.

TW: One mildly suggestive sentence

12/23/202X

“I think … they’re done.”

“Ooh! Lemme see!”

A little over a year after the horrible events at the Pizzaplex had been resolved, Vanny still couldn’t believe she was there. This time last year, she had only just been released from the hospital. Back then, she was still so, so afraid that Glitchtrap would come back – much too afraid to trust herself alone with the blonde ex-security guard she’d almost murdered a dozen times over. And much too guilt-ridden to allow herself the enjoyment of standing in that same woman’s kitchen doing something so innocent as decorating sweets for Christmas.

That same woman, by the way, had eagerly made her way over to get a better look at the icing-laced designs Vanny had just finished on her portion of the sugar cookies. Placing a hand on Vanny’s shoulder and peeking over, Ava’s green eyes grew wide, and she grinned. “Awe, they’re so cute! Like from a real patisserie! You’re too good at stuff, Van.”

Ava’s fawning was something she feared she’d never get used to. She huffed out a red-cheeked sigh, then cleared her throat. “It’s really not that impressive. I did all that work tinkering with tiny parts in the animatronics, and then I made some miniature models to present to the design team. Like Moon, remember? So I’m good with my hands, that’s all.”

“Oh, I’m very aware of how good you are with your hands.”

Vanny imagined her cheeks must have resembled the red of the Christmas stockings hanging a few feet away. Noticing the response, the blonde burst into a fit of uncontrollable giggles, which only flustered Vanny more. Before she could muster any adequate response, though, another person stepped through the doorway to the kitchen.

Gregory’s tongue stuck out just a bit as he concentrated hard on not dropping the plate of carefully decorated cookies in his hands. Five sugary figures of what looked like the Glamrocks had been meticulously detailed in colorful icing, and he was determined to get them to their place on the counter without messing them up. Once he set the plate down, he eyed the two women suspiciously. Vanny looked pointedly away, though that made her embarrassment even more obvious. Ava, on the other hand, looked the picture of innocence with her usual sunshiny smile.

“You guys are being weird again,” Gregory commented, his eyes narrowing.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about.” Ava stepped over to get a better look at his designs. “Holy cow, Kiddo! Those look amazing!” She waved Vanny over and nodded in the direction of his cookies. From the way the brunette’s expression melted free of embarrassment and into some mild surprise, it was obvious she was genuinely impressed.

“I didn’t know you were an artist,” she said mildly. “Not bad at all.”

“I know I’m good,” the boy grumbled in response, crossing his arms. “I draw a lot.” Vanny couldn’t help the tiny smile that tugged at her lips. (Ava deliberately did not bring up the very well-done but incredibly macabre comics he had been producing over the last year; she was pretty sure Vanny wasn’t aware of them quite yet.)

Vanny, meanwhile, was still looking over Gregory’s decorating skills. “Oh, you did Bonnie too.” Her eyes widened a bit as she noticed the neon-blue icing of the fifth cookie.

“Well, you said you were fixing him so he’d be back in the band again.” Gregory reached forward and adjusted the placing of the cookies so they stood in a straight row. With a low mutter, he added, “Six months ago.”

Vanny sighed. “We talked about this. You’ve done a great job helping me rebuild his frame, but repairing a CPU that was as damaged as Bonnie’s can be difficult – if not impossible. Doing things right takes time. Plus, with the M.X.E.S. programming taking up so much of my focus-”

“Yeah, yeah. You have more important things to do.”

Vanny and Ava traded glances. Before Ava could come to her girlfriend’s defense, Vanny gave a quick shake of her head, so the blonde stood down.

Gregory huffed and turned to leave. “I’m going to my-“ Abruptly, he paused, eyes trained on the space at the top of the doorway. Hanging there was a sprig of mistletoe, its white berries glaringly obvious against its green leaves. He spun around again, his face contorted in disgust as he pointed accusingly at the offending foliage. “No wonder you guys were being so weird. I can’t believe you actually put that up.”

Ava “snnrked” out a laugh but shook her head. “Good guess and all, Kid, but neither of us put that up.” Vanny groaned out a sigh, and Ava snickered again. “Either way, it’s cute! It’s just a silly tradition.”

Gregory rolled his eyes. “A dumb tradition gross adults made up so they’d have an excuse to kiss.”

Taking a few steps in his direction, Ava let out a long, drawn-out “Hmmm.” She tapped thoughtfully – exaggeratedly so – at her chin and mused, “You know, it sounds to me like someone’s jealous.”

Gregory scoffed. “Jealous? Of gross adults kissing?”

She took another couple steps. “I mean, maybe I’m just reading into it too much or something, but you’re complaining an awful lot. Sounds kind of like you’re just mad you’re missing out on all the kisses.”

The boy squinted in her direction suspiciously. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ava shook her head sadly. “I just didn’t realize you felt so left out! I’m a terrible guardian. Everyone should feel included.”

Gregory’s eyes grew wide as dinner plates, and he took two steps back. “Vanessa Avalon Andros, you’d better not!”

From her comfortable spot a few feet away, Vanny held her hand up to cover the grin growing up her cheeks. “Oh, he used your whole name, Blondie. He must be serious.”

“Not as serious as me~” In a flash, she had scooped the boy up, his arms pinned against his sides as she kissed the top of his head. Vanny bit back a laugh as she considered that the image looked a lot more like a chicken pecking at grain than a grown woman delivering a dozen obnoxious smooches to a boy’s messy mop of hair. For his part, Gregory fussed and kicked his feet back and forth futilely, but her grip around him was too tight.   

Once she was done peppering kisses, she let go, allowing him to land on his feet. "There you go, Squirt! Your share of Christmas smooches."

He huffed and pushed her away. "I hate it here," he grumbled; though there was an exasperated smile tugging at his lips that made it seem that the complaint wasn’t entirely genuine.

Still, he turned to leave for his room, so she piped up, "Oh, wait! The icing on the cookies will be dry in like, an hour or something. You're still gonna come help us eat them, right?"

"After that? I shouldn’t," he answered blandly, "but yeah. I just promised I'd do a video call with my friend. I'll be back in a little while." After he was out of sight down the hall, he called back, "But don't eat Monty before I get back like you did last year!"

The blonde turned back, eyed the plate of Christmas cookies with interest, then murmured conspiringly to Vanny, "No promises~"

Though Vanny smiled back, her mind was caught on something. "This time last year,” she asked slowly, her smile fading a little as she thought back, "he was already staying with you. Did you guys actually celebrate Christmas? Or..?"

"Oh." Ava started cleaning up all manner of messy baking ingredients from their earlier cookie preparations. "Well, sort of. I tried, I mean. But he apparently hadn't celebrated Christmas since he lost his parents a few years ago, and after everything that happened last September... He's a lot more open to celebrating this year, I guess is how I should put it. We both are."

Vanny nodded wordlessly, staring down at the kitchen counter without asking anything else.

Ava began scrubbing a little too hard at a spot of icing that had begun to stain the counter linoleum. Her voice was uncharacteristically cautious when she asked, "You-... Did you-..  I mean, Bunny said you guys never had Christmas, growing up. Is that true, or..?"

Vanny groaned. "Did she tell you every miserable detail about our life?" She sighed. "No. Our family didn't celebrate any holidays. At least, not with us. And once we lived on our own, I focused so much on work that I never got around to it, exactly."

"Oh."

There was silence again until Vanny spoke up again. "I can't think of a better first Christmas to have than one shared with you, anyway."

Ava glanced over, her green eyes bright. "You mean that?"

"Of course I do."

With a rosy-cheeked grin, Ava closed the distance between them immediately. She rested her forehead against her girlfriend's and let out a pleased sigh. "That's a relief. I was really nervous, actually."

Vanny huffed out a breathy laugh. "I could tell."

"I hate that you always know when I'm anxious."

"You wear your emotions on your sleeve, Blondie. It's something I love about you."

"Yeah, well..." Flustered, Ava nuzzled her forehead against Vanny's. "Anyway. I wanted your first Christmas to be good."

"As long as it's with you, it will be."

Ava huffed out a flustered laugh. "Then it's going to be great, because I'm not going anywhere." She planted a peck on Vanny's forehead and pulled back to return to her cleaning. A few moments passed before she changed subjects slightly. "I'm a little nervous about the Kid's Christmas, too, it being the first one without his parents and all. I'm not ... pushing things, am I?"

Vanny frowned softly. "No, I don't think so. He's come a long way since he first moved in. And you've been really careful to not push the more family-oriented traditions. He... He seems like he's doing okay."

"Christmas will be the real test." The words were spoken so resolutely it almost sounded like she was preparing to go to war.

"Christmas will be the real test," Vanny repeated with a nod, though her tone was gentler. "But no matter what, it'll be okay. You handled the nightmares and the panic attacks, then him starting school... You can handle whatever comes next." She paused. "And I'll be here. Even if he doesn't want my help, I'll do what I can."

Ava shook her head. "I know you think he doesn’t like you, but-"

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening echoed from the other side of the house. Following it came footsteps and Gregory's voice. The women paused and turned as he approached.

"Yeah, hold on, I'll prove it! I did all of them; why would I leave out Roxy?" He made his way in, holding his phone up as he facetimed with someone. He didn’t acknowledge the other two as he beelined to cookies and turned the camera of his phone toward them. “See?” He pointed towards the wolf-shaped sugar cookie. “Roxy.”

A young feminine voice spoke out through the speaker. “You got the design on her top wrong, but it looks good other than that!”

The boy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, I wasn’t a nut about Roxy like you,” he argued.

“Hey! I said it looked good otherwise!”

“Thanks, I guess.” He puffed.

“Is she still getting fixed? Roxy, I mean?”

“My friend said she is, so she is. Hold your horses, alright? Doing stuff right takes time.”

“I was just asking.” Before Gregory could respond, the girl spoke up again. “Oh, shoot. My dad’s calling. Sorry, Gregory.”

“It’s okay.”

“I’ll text you! See you.”

“See you.”

Gregory poked at his phone screen, then continued to poke around at apps for a few more seconds before a curious Ava spoke up.

“Who was that?”

Gregory looked up. Ava and Vanny were watching him with interest, but Ava was the one who was leaning forward, resting her chin in her hands with wide eyes.

He looked back at his phone. “A friend from when I was living in the pizzaplex,” he answered mildly.

Ava buzzed with excitement. “Awe, a little friend!”

On the other hand, Vanny’s eyes narrowed. She crossed her arms. “Like, one you met in real life? Not just one you only know from your VR games?”

“My online friends are real friends.”

Vanny sighed and evened out her tone. “I didn’t say they weren’t. I very specifically said, ‘one you met in real life.’ Like, in person.”

Gregory relaxed a little. “Yeah. We hung out at the pizzaplex a lot before- … before everything happened. We go to different schools now, but she plays some of the same online games as me.”

There was another question Vanny was itching to ask, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it in front of Ava. There were some things she didn’t know if Ava knew. Things that weren’t entirely hers to tell. Maybe she could get that question answered in a more roundabout way. “She must’ve been at the pizzaplex pretty often if you guys spent that much time together. She wasn’t one of those kids obsessed with going to the arcade every day, was she?”

Gregory cast a knowing look her way. He shook his head. “No. Her dad worked there is all.”

Vanny let out a quiet sigh of relief. If Gregory was spending time with the other apprentices again – if they were even still alive – that could be a problem. There was always the chance that William’s influence wasn’t entirely gone, wasn’t there? Even after everything they’d done, after everything they were still doing, the possibility was there. If there was even a single person out there that had been influenced by William, there was a risk that he could claw his way back to power. That was her fear, at least.

Ava, it seemed, did not have the same concerns weighing her down. In fact, the revelation about Gregory’s friend had brought out her golden retriever energy in full force. She practically had stars in her eyes as she asked eagerly, “Does she live nearby? Why don’t you invite her over? What’s her name?”

Used to her overzealous behavior by now, Gregory waited patiently for the deluge of questions to come to an end. Once it had, he answered in order, “She lives maybe twenty minutes from here. I haven’t invited her because I live with a bunch of weirdos. Her name’s Cassie.”

“Cassie!” Ava crooned. “Well, if she lives so close, you have to invite Cassie to meet the weirdos you live with. I can go pick her up and everything! Or I could drive you over there to hang out. Unless her dad is bad news, I mean. Is her dad bad news?”

“Blondie.” Vanny nudged her girlfriend gently. “Your savior complex is showing.” Though a charmed smile tugged at her lips, she couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit overwhelmed on Gregory’s behalf.

If Gregory was overwhelmed by the blonde’s overbearing exuberance, it didn’t show. “Her dad is super cool, actually. He just has to work all the time, and with the pizzaplex closed down, she gets left home alone a lot.”

“Well,” Ava was definitely trying to reign in her enthusiasm but failing, “there’s no need for her to be alone all the time. We have plenty of company over here, even if we’re a little weird. Oh! Maybe even for Christmas! That would be fun, don’t you think, Van?”

Vanny huffed out a breathy laugh. Noticing the boy’s thoughtful expression, she asked softly, “What do you think about that, Gregory?”

Gregory glanced back down at his phone, considering the question quietly. Eventually, he nodded. “I think that would be cool.”

[natromanxoff]

News Of The World - 1985

(x)

[Photo caption: “No one ever loves the real me — everyone falls in love with my stardom”]

[Photo caption: Queen to Freddie is ex-lover Mary Austin — she’s the one constant person in his life and in line for his fortune]

[Photo caption: Mad or macho, Freddie always loves to shock]

[Photo caption: Performing is Freddie’s life. “I’m driven by my work,” he admits. “And I’ll go on as long as my system allows — until I go insane”

ROCK ON FREDDIE

As thousands of adoring fans flock to buy his first solo album this week, Freddie Mercury tells of the one thing that all his success and all his millions can’t ever buy… Sharon Feinstein reports

Freddie Mercury, the outrageous front-man of superband Queen, is addicted to his phenomenal success, but his fame and fortune have also been the source of his deepest misery.

Freddie loves creating bizarre stage images and thrives on the roar of his audiences and the beat of his music. But when the lights go down at the end of a show, he is left feeling lost and lonely.

"You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man, and that is the most bitter type of loneliness," says Freddie. "Success has brought me world idolisation and millions of pounds, but it's prevented me from having the one thing we all need — a loving, on-going relationship.

"It's like the old Hollywood stories where all those wonderful actresses just couldn't carry on a relationship because their careers came first.

"That's the way it is with me. I can't stop the wheel for a while and devote myself to a love affair because all sorts of business problems would pile up. The wheel has to keep turning and that makes it very hard for anyone to live with me and be happy.

"I'm driven by my work and will go on for as long as my system allows me — until I go insane. There's a voice inside me saying, "Slow down Freddie, you're going to burn yourself out”, but I just can't stop.

"You can't revel in the success and then, 13 years down the line, wake up one morning and say, ‘No, I don't want to be a superstar today. I want to go out in the streets on my own, or pour my heart into a relationship.’ It's impossible. Because this is it.”

"It" is being the extrovert lead-singer with probably the most successful rock band ever. In their 13-year reign, Queen have rocked the world in a way that no other group has before or since… not even the Beatles.

Today, Freddie and the boys — Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon — each earn over £1 million a year and need never make another record or undertake another tour. But they have no intention of stopping. Last year, Queen toured Europe and had yet another hit with Thank God It's Christmas, and Freddie released his first solo single, Love Kills — which made the top 10 — and began work on his new single and first solo album. Earlier this year, he and the band were the star attraction for the 250.000 fans at the rock festival in Rio, Brazil.

"It was awe-inspiring and mind-boggling to be up there, with all those people in the palm of your hand," says Freddie. "But the other side of the coin is that, though I was surrounded by masses of people who love me, I must have been the loneliest person there. Can you imagine how temble it is when you've got everything and you're still desperately lonely? That is awful beyond words.

"I don't want people to think, poor old Freddie, because I can deal with it. But I'm so powerful on stage that I seem to have created a monster. When I'm performing, I'm an extrovert, yet inside I'm a completely different man.

Of course, the stagey streak in me, where I love to jump around […]

"My love affairs never last. I seem to eat people up and destroy them"

[…] and be volatile, is real, but people don't realise there's more. They expect me to be the same in my personal life as well. They say, "Come on, Freddie, perform, give us some excitement."

The hunky, dark-haired singer, who takes pride in his rippling muscles and ever-changing appearance, once joked that he'd had more lovers than any Hollywood star.

"But they never last," says 38-year-old Freddie. "I seem to eat people up and destroy them. There must be a destructive element in me because I do try very hard to build up relationships, but somehow I drive people away.

"They always blame the end of the love affair on me because I'm the successful one. Whoever I'm with seems to get into a battle of trying to match up to me, so all the time I'm feeling guilty and over-compensating… Then they end up treading all over me.

"I can't win. Love is Russian roulette for me. No one loves the real me inside, they're all in love with my fame, my stardom.

"I fall in love far too quickly and end up getting hurt all the time. I've got scars all over. But I can't help myself because basically I'm a softie — I have this hard, macho shell which I project on stage but there's a much softer side, too, which melts like butter.

"I try to hold back when I'm attracted to someone but I just can't control love. It runs riot. All my one-night-stands are just me playing my part. What I really like is a lot of loving. And I spoil my lovers terribly. I like to make them happy and I get so much pleasure out of giving them really wonderful, expensive presents."

Freddie has admitted that he is bisexual, but says: "I couldn't fall in love with a man the way I could with a girl". The one love of his life and the only person he really trusts is 31-year-old Mary Austin, a quiet fair-haired woman. Freddie and Mary had a seven-year romance.

"Our love affair ended in tears but a deep bond grew out of it, and that's something nobody can take away from us. It's unreachable,” he says. "All my lovers ask me why they can't replace her, but it's simply impossible.

"I don't feel jealous of her lovers because, of course, she has a life to lead, and so do I. Basically, I try to make sure she's happy with whoever she's with and she tries to do the same for me.

“We look after each other and that's a wonderful form of love. I might have all the problems in the world, but I have Mary and that gets me through."

The seal of Freddie's commitment to Mary is his decision to leave her his millions.

"What better person to leave my fortune to when I go ?" he smiles. "Of course my parents are in my will and so are my cats, but the vast bulk of it will go to Mary.

"If I dropped down dead tomorrow, Mary's the one person I know who could cope with my vast wealth. She works in my organisation and looks after my money side and all my possessions. She's in charge of the chauffeurs, maids, gardeners, accountants and lawyers. All I have to do is throw my carcass around on stage."

Freddie is one of the world's richest rock stars but he never has a […]

"You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man'

[…] penny in his pocket and has no idea of how many millions he owns.

"I love having so much money," he admits, "but I don't believe in counting it. And because I have far more than I need, I give a lot of it away to people I like.

"I try to enjoy life and if there was no money I wouldn't let it stop me having a good time. In the early days, when I hardly had anything I'd save for two weeks and then blow it all in a day so that I could have a blast of fun."

Certainly, money hasn't always been so free for Freddie. Born Freddie Bulsara on September 5, 1946, his father was a government accountant, which meant Freddie spent some of his childhood in Zanzibar and India. After school, he did a graphics course at Ealing College of Art in London (he designed the band's logo, using the four members' birth signs as inspiration). It was in late 1971 that he joined May, Taylor and Deacon and the Queen phenomenon began.

The biggest visible mark of Freddie's success (and millions) must be his magnificent 28-room mansion in London's Kensington, for which he paid over £1/2 million… in cash!

When Freddie bought the house four years ago, he had three of the eight bedrooms knocked into one for himself, and filled the mansion with handmade furniture from Harrods and priceless Japanese carvings and paintings from Toyko. Outside, an army of gardeners carved out a country retreat in the grounds.

But the king of the castle still hasn't moved in. For the first time Freddie explains why: "Every person who makes a lot of money has a dream he wants to carry out, and I achieved that dream with this wonderful house.

“Whenever I watched Hollywood movies set in plush homes with lavish decor, I wanted that for myself and now I've got it. But to me it was much more important to get the damn thing than to actually go and live in it. Maybe the challenge has worn off now. I'm very much like that — once I get something I'm not that keen on it any more. I still love the house but the real enjoyment is that I've achieved it.

"Sometimes, when I'm alone at night, I imagine that when I'm 50 I'll creep into that house as my refuge and then I'll start making it a home. Anyway, as it is, I can only spend 60 days a year in England for tax reasons."

Freddie has spent the last few months in Munich putting the finishing touches to his first solo album, Mr Bad Guy, which he has dedicated to his dead cat, Jerry.

The album, which is out this week, is packed with new material taking […]

[Photo caption: In 13 years with Queen, Freddie may have changed outwardly, but inside the heartache is the same]

[…] Freddie in an exciting new and different direction.

"I've put my heart and soul into this album,” he says. "It's much more beat orientated than Queen's music and it also has some very moving ballads."

In between hard work he also found time to begin a new friendship with a German actress — 42-year-old Barbara Valentin.

"Barbara and I have formed a bond that is stronger than anything I've had with a lover for the last six years," he says. “I can really talk to her and be myself in a way that's very rare."

Among his existing close friends, Freddie counts Rod Stewart, Elton John and Michael Jackson.

“Rod, Elton and I were going to form a band called Hair, Nose and Teeth after the three of us," he laughs. "But it hasn't happened because none of our egos can agree on the order of the words! Naturally I want it to be called Teeth, Nose and Hair.

“I'm very fond of Rod and Elton. They both came to my last birthday party and sang happy birthday when the cake was wheeled in. I shouted out, ‘This is probably the first time the two of you have sung without being paid for it!' and they laughed like mad.

“Michael Jackson and | have grown apart a bit since his massive success with Thriller. He's simply retreated into a world of his own.

“Two years ago we used to have great fun going to clubs together but now he won't come out of his fortress. It's very sad. He's so worried that someone will do him in that he's paranoid about absolutely everything.

“I get worried about that myself but I'll never let it take over my life like that.”

Freddie has said that if he wasn't a rock star with Queen, he'd have liked to have been a ballet dancer.

He once appeared with the Royal Ballet dancing to a selection of Queen hits, and it was at a glittering Royal Ballet party that Freddie met Prince Andrew.

“I was wearing a white scarf and holding a glass of wine when I was introduced to Prince Andrew. But I was so nervous I didn't realise my scarf was dangling in the drink,” Freddie recalls.

"There I was trying to be really cool and suddenly the Prince said, “Freddie, I don't think you really want this getting wet. He squeezed out the scarf and that broke the ice between us.

"I said, 'Thank goodness you've put me at ease. Now I can use the odd bit of dirty language.’ Then we both burst out laughing.

"He really got into the spirit of things and even had a dance. He's really quite hip in those sort of situations.

“I have a lot of respect for royalty. I'm a tremendous patriot."

Yet another unexpected side to the king of Queen. But then there's much more to Freddie Mercury than most of us ever see. Underneath the bizarre clothes and images that have become his trademark, there is the other Freddie. He sums it up simply… "Sometimes, I just long to be perfectly ordinary as well."

[kathxsoupp]

In Love With a Fever: Chapter 5

William Afton x law enforcement ! reader (fem)

HELLO HI I'M BACK FROM THE DEAD!!!!

Summary: Reader is a detective who was put on the missing children incident case, her person of interest is William and is currently investigating him.

WARNINGS: very graphic violence throughout the whole fic, eventual smut, slow burn, age-gap between reader and Will, manipulation, mutilation, broken bones, use of pet names, Will is obsessive, mentions of death, death and murder, there will be smut, a lot probably, I think, dub-con at some point maybe, fluff and angst, idk if I missed something just read with caution

Notes: NOT ENTIRELY LORE ACCURATE!!! This fic is also posted on my AO3, linked in my pinned post, I'm updating this fic every Monday and it's the first thing I have ever posted, so I hope you like it!

--MINORS DNI--

Chapter 5

He stood before his office window, thoughts racing through his mind. The satisfaction of his perfect plan slowly but surely working out made him feel like he was on top of the world. The clueless girl like an angel sent from heavens above right there for him to use. He promised himself he wasn’t actually going to fall in love with her or anything. He didn’t perceive her as that special. She was just there to cover for him. She was there for him to manipulate and shape into what he needed her to be, ‘so don’t fall too hard sweetheart. I’ll get rid of you in the end anyway.’

The clock finally struck 2:30 pm. You looked into the mirror once more, fixing your appearance and taking a deep breath. You were a little bit too nervous for a work-related meeting. If you could always be so professional about your job, why couldn’t you do the same right now? Working in law enforcement was always your dream job. True crime, mystery and even horror and paranormal stuff always intrigued you so much. That’s why you were so excited about being on this case.

You’ve known about Freddy’s for a while and about the diner that came before it. To be honest, you were still hoping you could maybe somehow get Afton to show you the robots, since you didn’t get the chance earlier. You wanted to know more about them. How they work, how they were built if there’s any stories behind them, etc. The animatronics were interesting to you, but you also found them a little bit creepy. That didn’t discourage you from wanting to find out more though, quite the opposite. Now you needed to focus on the task at hand.

You grabbed your bag and left your office. You walked out of the building and headed to the appointed place. The café wasn’t too far from where you worked. It was about fifteen minutes away, so you decided to just walk instead of driving. You got there a little earlier than you meant to. At least you had the time to find some place to sit and collect your thoughts.

Ten minutes later, he arrived. You looked up from your notebook and your heart skipped a beat when you saw him.

Why were you this nervous?

Breathe, (y/n). Breathe.

You stood up from your chair with a small polite smile and held your hand out to him.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Afton. Thank you again for taking the time to speak with me.” You greeted him. He took your hand in a handshake. “The pleasure is all mine, agent.” He said, returning your smile.

You couldn’t believe how quickly he got so comfortable around you; however, you didn’t exactly mind that. It was your intention to get him to trust you as much as possible. They tend to be the most talkative then. You both sat back down, and you opened your notebook to write down anything he says.

“So, how have you been since we last spoke?” you asked him. “I’ve been alright, but I have to say I’m still very concerned about the recent events.” he replied with a serious look on his face. “It feels so surreal to me, and it has left me feeling quite numb I have to admit.”

Your heart ached at his words. You knew he was also a grieving father and couldn’t imagine what it must be like to go through the pain all over again.

“Again, I am so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine what that must be like.” “What was it you needed to talk to me about?” he said to change the subject.

You were now a little nervous to ask about his family. You didn’t want to make the situation worse than it already was, but you didn’t have a choice, really.

“I just needed to ask you a few more personal questions. I promise you it’s just routine work, we need any lead we can get so we can finally put a stop to this madness. Would you be comfortable with that?”

He smiled to himself. He didn’t think his act would be so good you’d believe every single word he said.

“Of course, miss (l/n). Go ahead.” He said with that same smile, leaning forward, hands on the table fingers intertwined.

You asked him some questions you had written down in your notebook. Everything went well, until you mentioned the co-owner of the pizzeria, Henry.

“Henry, huh?” he said. “I have to say Henry Emily is the nicest man I know. Cheerful all the time, always happy to help, but he’s been acting strange lately. You know, I don’t want to point fingers at anyone, and I genuinely don’t believe he could be a suspect here I just figured you should know.”  “What about his behavior do you consider as strange?” you asked with a furrowed brow. “Well… he’s secretive and startled easily, I guess. Every time I speak to him, he seems nervous Fidgeting with his hands, not his usual calm and friendly self, but that might just be this whole situation getting to him.”

Interesting. You made sure to note down what he told you and then closed your notebook.

“Alright, well that would be all from me today. Thank you again for meeting up with me today, Mr. Afton. Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?” He leaned forward in his chair closer to you. “I saw you looking for the animatronics the last time you visited my restaurant. Tell me, do those fascinate you?” he said with a small smirk. Your face went red. “Oh you did? I didn’t mean to stare, but yeah, I have to say those are very interesting. It’s a shame I didn’t get to get a look at them.” “You know, if you want, I will gladly take you to see them sometime. I can show you around too. Show you how they work, I can even let you see the blueprints, if you’d like.”

His offer shocked you. You didn’t expect him to be so eager to show you his work. Especially when you were literally a cop, a possible threat to him. The fact that he would voluntarily like to spend time with you showing you his restaurant gave you the slight feeling he really had nothing to hide, but you couldn’t jump to conclusions yet. And as much as you hated to admit, you really wanted to accept. You wanted to see the animatronics and spending time with him would be the cherry on top. You knew it would be so unprofessional. You knew it wasn’t right, but there was no way you could say no.

“Really?” you exclaimed a little louder than you meant to. “You know, I’d love to, but I don’t think it’s right you know. And besides, I wouldn’t want to be a bother to you.” You answered with an apologetic smile, but you prayed he would insist on his offer. “It wouldn’t be a bother at all, love. I was the one with the idea, wasn’t I? And as for the professionality of it,” he lowered his voice, “if you can keep a secret so can I.”

The nickname gave you butterflies. His attractiveness was a little too much for you. You hated it, but you were melting on the inside. You did your best to not make a huge deal out of it. He was a brit after all, and it most likely didn’t mean anything. You pushed your thoughts to the back of your head and leaned forward to get closer to him.

“My lips are sealed, sir.” You replied with your voice lowered, mimicking his, and with a smug little smile. He grinned. “It’s a deal then, agent. Tomorrow, after work, at 9:00?” You kept your smile. “Sounds perfect.”

[obsessivelollipoplalala]

Related to talk about finding a timeline, I wonder exactly when Brian wrote Too Much Love Will Kill you? Do you think it was before or after he broke up with Chrissie and got back together with Anita?

Oooh, interesting question. We don’t know for certain, but let’s look at the information we do have. First of all, Brian originally let Freddie sing the song and the only reason why it didn’t appear on The Miracle was copyright issues regarding his solo album. The song must have been written during The Miracle era, and I believe the songs for that album were written in 1988. Wikipedia says the album was recorded over the course of the whole year, for what that’s worth. Thus, Brian likely wrote the song during the year his marriage broke up for good. Whether he did it before or after that happened is hard to say, although the lyrics are all about him being torn between the two of them and being unable to choose, which suggests it was written before he and Chrissy broke up. Something that might contradict that a little bit is how the lyrics very much say he’s in love with two people, and there’s that interview we discussed yesterday where Brian said he was in denial he was in love with Anita in 1988 and was living on his own after his marriage ended because he thought the feelings would pass. Was he simply more honest with himself about his feelings in music? It’s hard to say.

HOWEVER, there was an interview Brian did during the rerelease of Back to the Light in 2021 that intrigued me. I don’t have it handy now, sorry, but he said he got the permission of the people who the song affected to go ahead and publish the song, and obviously, he must’ve meant Chrissy and Anita. He said something like they realized it was something he needed to do. I cannot imagine Brian still being in an actual relationship with Chrissy with the marriage on its last legs, and him turning and going, “Hey, do you mind if I publish this song about how I can’t choose between you and Anita?” Like lmao call me crazy, but I could imagine Chrissy not being happy about that! BUT if he approached her about it after they were separated, that would make much more sense. It’s possible he wrote it while he was still technically in a relationship with her but on the brink of breaking up and he simply approached her for permission later, but I don’t think that much time would pass between those two events if that had been the case, since we know the breakup and writing of the song happened within a single year.

I’ll also mention the interview with Anita at the end of the year where she said she and Brian were broken up, too. That all suggests to me that Brian either wrote the song while on the brink of breaking up with Chrissy and he got her permission for the song later that year, or he wrote it in that unspecified time period when he was single and living alone. But I don’t think we can narrow it down more.

[dorotheado]

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT TRACKLIST THEORIES

"Fortnight" (ft Post Malone) - gosh what a start. my guess feels unrealistic but i'm imagining a song that goes like 'day 1:' and starts at a brilliant relationship and ends on day 14 with a break up. lol. there were 2 ish weeks between the start of the eras tour and the breakup right........

"The Tortured Poets Department" - im imagining a real breakdown of lockdown like how the pandemic resulted in two people sitting in the dark writing tortured poetry. rip

"My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys" - interesting how this is self-objectifying (i.e. she is the toy). i'm assuming this is a bit like tongue in cheek, he loves me so much that he breaks me. imagining some poppy sounds tbh

"Down Bad" - ok so im expecting this one to be about being in love and it sucks. it just sucks. lol im really not guessing very many emotional facets in this album im sticking w like 2 ideas: in love or in pain so far lol. anyway

"So Long, London" - this place haunts me it has all my memories and i love it but it's too painful (SAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!) (sidenote she will be singing this one as the last surprise song in london on the eras tour obviously)

"But Daddy I Love Him" - oh this one gonna break me i reckon lol like i am both thinking sad bop w extremely like sassy tone and also slow sad song realising the inevitability of it all. so idk how to reconcile those but 🤷🏻‍♀️

"Fresh Out the Slammer" - im imagining rock-y sounds with very get-him-back-olivia-rodrigo-vibes but mainly im just thinking "getaway car" IM OUT IM OUT desperation lyrics

"Florida!!!" (ft Florence and the Machine) - based on my very limited knowledge of florence and the machine i am picturing gospel backing vocals and lyrics about adrenaline rushes and desperation in the face of weighty emotions

"Guilty as Sin?" - literally no clue about this one. i guess like 'was it my fault?'

"Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" - anti hero extended? maybe like 'we had this fight and you're retreating... but what is there to be afraid of?' maybe a bit angry also ?

"I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)" - EVERYBODY IS DOUBTING ME BUT MY WHOLE LIFE I BEEN FIXING PEOPLE AND I'M 1000000% THIS GUY CAN BE FIXED AND THAT I AM GOOD ENOUGH TO DO IT NO PLS BELIEVE ME (i am aware this is essentially just the title but i just am imagining very classic un-self-aware but also supremely self aware sad bop)

"Loml" - i'll be honest every time i just think of Queen & freddie mercury singing 'love of my life' lol but if i hazard a guess i will say loml DOES stand for love of my life and it's a painful love song (like this is the love of my life. maybe it wont last forever but it's the one chance i have. very "false god")

"I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" - i agree w jaime that this is giving long live 2.0 like 'yoh sang these words back to me and suddenly i have strength' but tbh i have been guessing long live 2.0 on every album since lover so watch me be wrong

"The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" - FUCK U IT'S JOEVER (either hard rocky sounds or soft strings a la ivy/illicit affairs/invisible string)

"The Alchemy" - i'm imagining that the chorus ends with the line 'but what about the alchemy?' - i.e. everything sucks but the chemistry pulls us back together each time, a la "style"

"Clara Bow" - 'how must she have felt? i could take a guess'

"The Manuscript" - i thought this was it and it wasnt and maybe the invisible string wasnt between us but was just the direction of my life ?

"The Bolter" - oh classic me i just run! i always run! and i stayed but now im running! fable-moral-lesson vibes maybe?

"The Albatross" - it's hanging around my neck. im imagining epiphany type strings

"The Black Dog" - haunting me its haunting me everywhere i go, im imagining haunted but the despair is quieter.

[legxllyblxndc]

noah hayes || 10 years later

work: after getting fired from the football team, noah had, had no idea what to do. he worked the odd job here and there but none of them stuck - they all found out that he was using eventually. it was only when noah got sober, that he realised that he needed to knuckle down and be the kind of man he wanted his daughter to see. he took a job as a bartender and saved as much as he possibly could - while still making sure that mia and kendall had everything he could give them. it took a long time but eventually, around a year ago, noah was able to buy back the old hayes nightclub. he renamed it freddies after his grandfather and has never been more proud of himself. 

relationships: despite noahs inability to stay clean, mia stuck with him and after about four years of being together, she fell pregnant with their daughter. he wasn’t sober at the time and he hadn’t reacted well. after a blow out argument, mia moved out. noah just continued to go on a downward path from there. it would be very rare to see him without something in his system - usually a little too much. so it was no surprise that when kendall was born, noah was in no fit state to meet her. it was the kick that he needed to be the man that his daughter deserved though. he went to rehab and, before kendall was six months old, he and mia were back together. things were really good for the two of them, until about two years ago, when annies fiance died. mia wasn’t around as much which left noah picking up a lot of the slack at home. and he turned to his old habits. he thought that he could be in control of it. he didn’t use when kendall was away - not in the beginning, anyway. he went back to rehab after a couple months but has been clean since. it has been incredible hard for noah to stay sober but he can’t believe the domestic life that he has with his family now. he had never imagined this life for himself but it is one that he would never change. 

general life: it took noah until kendall was born, and he was completely sober, to finally forgive ava. once he held his daughter in his arms, he realised how it all must have felt for her. he goes to see her at least once a week. he still hasn’t brought himself to forgive jude, though. noah sees elias as much as the elder allows him too, though they never really had the same relationship he had as a kid. 

[modgirlyreposts-revamped]

Bowser and Luigi meeting your Millie’s grandpa and Funtime Freddy sounds cursed-

Bowser who treats Luigi like his own royalty and the lovely new father of his children would be horrified by Funtime Freddy’s constant sadism. Funtime Freddy is confused and thinks Bowser must not really love Luigi because love and evil are intrinsically linked in his mind- everything comes back to his instinct to maim and torture- and if Bowser doesn’t take ownership of him and get rough then he must not love him enough. Bowser on the other hand pulls Millie’s grandpa aside to ask if he needs to get out of this relationship, if Funtime Freddy is abusive or anything, and Maurice has to embarrassedly explain that it’s all a big misunderstanding, and tries to as minimally as possible hint at what Freddy actually means when he talks about playing rough, getting violent, or taking ownership.

He would take a liking to Millie I think. He’s been around children, particularly his own, she’s not too unlike one or two of his, just older and allowed to say cuss words without being sent to her room. She finds all his spikes cool, and when she says something herself about how hard it is to find good spiked stuff, Bowser totally blows her away by telling her he fashions the spikes himself and nails them to the bracelets.

Funtime Freddy is programmed to kill kids, and obviously doesn’t do too well with Bowser Jr. He just wants to tell him about all the cool torture and execution methods created by tyrants like his dad and how the nobles were beheaded in the French Revolution, even offering to “let him try [being beheaded.]” Luigi tries to cover Junior’s ears but can’t find them.

While that last bit gets Funtime Freddy a claw nearly prying out his eyeball and the treat if being ripped limb from limb if he tries ANYTHING on Bowser’s little man, Bowser is otherwise totally chill with it. “Nothing wrong with an ol’ history lesson!”

He then instructs the responsible ones (Luigi and Maurice) on where Junior’s ears actually are.

Bowser is slightly confused by the relationship between Millie and Funtime Freddy.

“So, he’s dating your old man, so to speak… is he just your grandpa’s boyfriend or, like, your step-grandpa?”

“Something like that.”

If he somehow found out Freddy tried to decapitate Millie, for some reason I just imagine him like sitting on the couch, then he stands up, does a Single Dad Clap, goes, “well, I think that about does it for me!” and then fucking charges him and tries to rip his head off and Freddy’s like THE HELL MAN

This concept is actually so funny, like-

Idk what's funnier, Bowser's reaction to their relationship and CTW Funtime Freddy's sadism, or if Millie's grandpa told him that he actually likes when CTW Funtime Freddy gets rough with him, and degrades him-

Imagine he accidentally walks into the workshop or something cuz he hears Millie's grandpa screaming, and thinks he's in trouble, only to see CTW Funtime Freddy pinning him against the wall holding a leash attached to a collar around Millie's grandpa's neck which he was busy kissing and biting until Bowser walked in, and Millie's grandpa is completely embarrassed trying to explain, while CTW Funtime Freddy's just "DO YOU FUCKING MIND, I'M HAVING A MOMENT WITH MY TOY?!"

He'd never fucking recover from that

Millie would probably initially be scared of Bowser for obvious reasons, like she can take sentient murderous animatronics but whatever he is? Nope, but when he makes it clear that he isn't going to hurt her or anyone else she'd definitely find him cool af

CTW Funtime Freddy getting the absolute shit beaten out of him by Bowser is one of the funniest mental images, considering the fact that Bowser is like over 2 feet taller than my version of CTW Funtime Freddy, and while she'd probably be all for it Millie would probably try to stop him, since her grandpa would be sad if anything happened to him

[angelofrainfrogs]

Going Back: Ch. 24

~Coauthored by @zeitghest~

Fandom(s): Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: Things are looking up for Gregory. After putting the soul of a formerly-immortal killer to rest, he and his new family can finally begin their lives anew. Sure, Gregory might have been cursed with mysterious Remnant in exchange for being involved in this mess—not to mention his caretakers consist of sentient robots and ghosts… But there’s no doubt that the bond they share is unbreakable. They love him, and he in turn. 

All in all, life is finally starting to go right for once. 

…Unfortunately, true peace is a hard-won battle. There are other things to contend with besides William’s decrepit soul, and Gregory will learn that his role in the lives of the Aftons and Emilys is far greater than anyone could’ve imagined. 

Rating: T

Read on Ao3

Henry hadn't gotten as much work done today as he thought he would. Henry hadn't gotten as much work done today as he thought he would. With the Pizzaplex up and running, it meant everyone was busy for the majority of the day and he figured he'd have a solid chunk of time in his workshop free of distractions. However, instead of being able to focus on sketching out his next android, the Fazbear creator couldn't seem to keep his thoughts aligned. Now that he knew what was happening upstairs, he was desperate to see how his son handled the life of a CEO for such a massive franchise. Henry had no doubts that Sammy did a wonderful job, but he still wished he could be there, standing over his shoulder like the proud father he was...

Instead, he turned his attention to the kids playing in the basement. With most of them being ghosts, they didn't have to worry about such things as rest and food. One boy, however, certainly did—and when Henry poked his head in the diner to see the group involved in a raucous game of tag, he could tell the kid in question was ready for a break.

“Hey, Gregory, come here for a sec!” the ghost called with a smile, waving him over.

Despite the heartache one's spirit could only feel after outliving one of their children, Henry still kept a positive demeanor over the specters. When the kids started to get a bit gloomy, he always had some wise words or something fun to tell them. Gregory never felt sadness when around the ghosts now; for the most part, it’d been all smiles and games since their common enemy was officially disposed of.

The only issue was that the games were never-ending. Spectral energy was something Gregory could hardly keep up with. Still, though his panting and sweating suggested otherwise, no one could ever tell him that the constant exercise wasn't good for him. Wiping the loose and shaggy hair from his eyes, Gregory half-jogged to meet with Henry. He was mocked gently by his friends, Cassidy saying something like he was 'deserting' the game. But he ignored her with an eye roll as the others laughed. Gregory came to Henry.

“What's up?” Gregory asked, sweaty and a little bit grimy from tripping over trash in the dark with his pals.

“Geez, the stamina you kids have is insane!” Henry laughed, reaching out to brush a layer of dust off Gregory's hair and shoulders. “I just wanted to check in with you—I know, I know, adults always worry about nothing.”

He chuckled as he saw Gregory gearing up to protest that he was perfectly fine. Henry might not have a physical health scan feature like the Glamrocks, but after years of running a child-based entertainment company he knew the signs of when a kid needed a refresher—even an immortal one.

“You didn't happen to bring any snacks, did you?” Henry inquired, a slight crease in his brow. His caretakers must have rightfully assumed that, given Gregory's all-access status, he'd be able to get sustenance from one of the restaurants or vending machines whenever he needed. “As much as I hate to make you pause your game, I think your dad would be veeeery upset if I didn't insist you take a break and grab some food.”

With a little hum, Henry leaned forward to wipe a smudge of dirt off Gregory's cheek. “You have some money, right? Or an unlimited pass?” He frowned again. “...Does Sam still give those out here?”

Gregory had an infallible smile on his face. Even if his legs were burning or the fact that Henry was asking him to go get himself a refresher, today was nice. All the adults and Charlie trusted him to self-govern for a while, and hang out responsibly with his friends. And now, for the first time ever, he was being asked to go alone... Upstairs.

The more Gregory thought about it the less he wanted to leave. Though Henry was right—at the mention of food, Gregory felt his hunger growing.

“Yeah, you're probably right.” Gregory didn't argue, digging in one of the many pockets of his cargo shorts to show off the unlimited pass. It was official—labeled a Best Buddies pass for free concessions, ride, and amusement admissions, complete with a QR code to scan for robot and employee alike. Gregory would have to ration what he ate, as going to the bathroom alone in this place was out of the question forever now.

“Tell everyone I'll be right back!” he asked of Henry, reaching out and poking the ghost’s arm. “By the way, you're it!”

***

Most people paid no attention to the young boy wandering through the Pizzaplex decked out in Fazbear merch. Gregory got a few stares for his interesting hairstyle and slightly-dirty clothes, though it wasn't anything like what he'd received when he snuck in before. Those judgmental gazes had been rough. Besides, if he kept moving there wasn't really a chance of anyone spotting those cold, grey eyes that would give most humans pause.

He needed to loosen up. Gregory felt like he was being so suspicious darting through crowds and lines like he was sneaking around. He wasn't! This time he was invited to join the ongoing parties and games at the Pizzaplex. By this point it was purely a reflex not to let anyone stare at him for too long.

Henry didn't say what exactly would make a good meal. With no supervision around, Gregory ducked into the Faz-Pad. The dimly lit, new-age coffee shop probably had enough energy to spare given how many milligrams of caffeine their house blend had. Besides, it was the closest restaurant he could get into without a huge line.

There was a surprising amount of teenagers that were lazing around the longue and stage, nursing various styles of coffee and munching on pastries and snack packs with their friends. Throwing up the hood on his Freddy pullover, Gregory made his way for the line and tried to ignore the queasy feeling he was getting around all these people.

“HELLO. WELCOME TO THE FAZ PAD. MAY I TAKE YOUR ORDER?” The S.T.A.F.F. bot behind the counter greeted the latest customer in their usual monotone. Head tilted downwards to look at Gregory, they stood stoic awaiting the order.

“Can I please get a large Chica-Chai and the Freddy-mame?” Gregory asked, holding up his Best Friends pass to the scanner. Just as he swiped the card, he felt a hard shove to the center of his shoulders. It made Gregory wobble slightly, and he was about to lash out in anger at the push—maybe feeling just a little touchy when surrounded by this many people—

—though when he saw a girl wearing a Monty shirt scolding her giggling friend, he just blinked. There was nothing to be freaked out by; Gregory was just being paranoid. His hood fell back down as he scooted from their path.

“Oof—Jamie, you jerk!” the girl laughed, giving her friend a shove as she righted herself before turning to the person she’d unceremoniously fallen into. “Hey, sorry about that—you okay?”

She couldn’t be more than fourteen, standing in line with two others around her age. They were all clad in jeans and various Glamrock name-shirts—the girl in the Monty one had a matching green hair tie she pulled on to readjust her ponytail.

“Uh—yeah, it’s good!” Gregory answered a little too flustered to really think about his words. “—I mean, I’m good.”

Jamie, the one who pushed her friend, moved a thick blonde braid over her shoulder. She squinted over her star-shaped shades at Gregory and gasped in what seemed to be shock, setting the boy’s heartbeat into overdrive as a feeling of unwarranted shame washed over him. As quickly as it came, it dispelled itself.

Jamie half-covered her smiling, braces-filled mouth as an earnest question spilled forth. “Is that new Freddy merch? What store did you get your hoodie in? So cool...”

Gregory was taken back by this. Without many good experiences with living people so far, he was left confused by this interaction.

“I... I think it's an early release, honestly. Sorry,” he attempted to excuse with a nervous laugh.

His words and Best Friend pass did not go unnoticed by Jamie, and she eyed the objects with some envy. Who was this guy that could get early release merchandise and an expensive party pass?

“Whaaat? Dude, that's awesome!” the first girl exclaimed. She too noticed the high-class status of this slightly-grungy kid and was curious to know how he got to that level—and if there was any opportunity for her and her friends to get there, too.

“I wish I could get early-release stuff...,” the girl lamented with a sigh, absently twirling the end of her long, black ponytail as it rested over her shoulder. With a smile and genuine curiosity in her brown eyes, she glanced at her friends in silent question. Receiving a nod and a noncommittal shrug, she turned back to Gregory. “Hey, if you aren't waiting for anyone, do you wanna, like... sit with us? We're waiting for Adam's mom to pick up his sister from the Daycare, so we have some time to kill.”

She rolled her eyes and the others laughed at some internal joke. Adam, who seemed the least interested in the random kid in the Freddy hoodie, scooted around the girls to give his order as the S.T.A.F.F. bot began loudly asking for the next customer.

“Only if you want, though!” the girl insisted, not wanting to make the situation weird. “I'm Becky, by the way.”

Gregory blinked again, surprised that these kids who looked a little better off than he used to be actually wanted anything to do with him. Nothing about them seemed threatening off the bat; Adam mostly ignored Gregory, but the girls talking to him were friendly and outgoing. Gregory's more nervous expression, one he attempted to previously hide, had broken into a very subtle smile.

“Becky. Jamie. Adam.” He repeated the names back to help his memory. “I'm Gregory. It’s… nice to meet you.”

He took a moment to think on his answer. Henry did want him to rest. And with the positive attention he was getting from these kids, Gregory gave a nonchalant shrug.

“Sure,” he relented, remembering what he overheard Charlie and the others saying about his need to make more human friends. “I'm not busy at all. I'll sit with you guys.”

As Adam ordered their drinks, Gregory followed the girls as they grabbed a booth by the wall. Jamie of course was reading her bestie’s mind: it’d be fun to try and befriend another kid with a prepaid party pass! If this Gregory guy liked them enough, he might be able to get them free stuff as well... As they took their seats, Jamie leaned on the table and propped her head up under her chin.

“So did your mom get you that hoodie for your birthday?” she asked, making his head tilt for just a moment in thought.

“Huh? Oh, nah; no, uh... Actually my Dad got it for me,” Gregory replied, attempting to be casual about it. He wasn't sure how much he wanted to tell them about his family working here, though he could see Jamie's eyes widening in interest. Humbly, he pinched the fabric of his pullover near the hem. “He just wanted to get me something nice—I don't know. I've got to wash this thing...”

The girls shared a look. If this kid's dad got him early merch and an unlimited pass just for “something nice,” he must be loaded...

“Dude, if my dad got me stuff like that I'd scream,” Becky proclaimed, leaning back against the booth with her face tilted to the ceiling. “Our parents only take us here a few times a month.” She paused, pursing her lips for a moment in thought. “Which I guess is more than some kids, but, like... I'd live here if I could.”

She gave a wistful sigh, lowering her head to look over Gregory's shoulder at Adam, who was just finishing up at the counter. “Adam comes here a lot more, though—his mom looooves the Daycare. Says it's like the best place ever for his little sister. Right, Adam?”

“Huh?” The boy in question had appeared at the table, wearing a deadpan expression as he scooted Jamie over so the three of them could cram in one side of the booth. At first glance one might think he was supremely bored with the situation, but that was just how his face was made—with his hooded eyes and naturally downturned lips, Adam always looked a bit bored. Glancing at Becky, he processed her question and rolled his amber eyes.

“Oh yeah—” Turning to Gregory, he gave a short laugh. “My mom's obsessed with the attendant—says he's the 'most wonderful, safest robot to watch over our little angel.'” His tone took on a mocking lilt as he repeated a phrase he'd heard one too many times. “She even likes that freaky Moon side, too...”

Jamie smacked Adam's arm as she giggled. “Bro, that sounds just like her!”

Gregory resisted doing the same, feeling odd laughing at something that insulting, as he still loved playing in the Daycare still... But Daycares were boring and predictable to these kids, even if they were realistically only a year older than him. And, oh, Becky had no idea what it would really be like to live here—there was this odd need to impress these kids. To fit in... Gregory sat back in the booth, attempting to look cool and unbothered.

“Yeah, I practically live here,” he said, not wanting to embarrass himself  “I have to come here every night—my family works here, so...” He trailed off, trying to avert his gaze as he saw excitement pool in Jamie's eyes.

“No way—what does your family do?” she asked, not willing to trust this random kid Becky invited to their table based on face-value alone.

“Well, Dad's the stage manager. My cousin’s head of security... My... Uncle owns the building and everything,” Gregory said, trying to keep his voice from growing quiet as Jamie didn't really look like she believed him.  

“Wait, wait, wait—you're related to the Emilys!" Becky gasped, wide-eyed at the frankly unbelievable confession. The names of the stage manager and head security might not be common knowledge, but everyone knew the Pizzaplex's owner... and to find his supposed relative just wandering around was almost too good to be true. "That's so cool!"

If it's true, was the unspoken end to that sentence.

“Hold up—”Adam frowned as a vague memory surfaced. Coming to the Pizzaplex nearly every day for the Daycare gave him far more exposure and familiarity than his friends to the attractions and the staff. “—your cousin’s head of security? Isn't she that blonde lady? Victoria or something like that... y'know, the weird one who's always grumpy or like... staring all the time?”

He'd been at the tail end of that stare far too many times to count... Something about the guard had made him really uneasy, so if Gregory was telling the truth about her replacement he wasn't too cut up about it.

That was a funny way of describing Vanessa. Adam's criticism of the currently vacationing guardswomen actually made Gregory laugh.

“Vanessa—” he managed to say, curbing his laughter to explain himself. “—and no, she's just, uh... a friend. She’s on vacation right now. Sam said she needed a lot of rest, and my cousin's got experience as a security guard so he stepped in. You'll probably see him around, too.” Shoving his hands inside his hoodie's pockets, Gregory's vision trailed to the bustling atrium outside café. “She'll be back when her sleep schedule's on track or something...”

Jamie took one of her braids, playing with it as she hummed thoughtfully. Gregory could definitely get them into places for free. Maybe not tonight, what with Adam's mom picking up his little sister from the Daycare soon, but if they made quick friends, they could potentially get passes for another day—or even just be able to come with Gregory as he hung out with the animatronics.

Just then, Gregory's order was called, followed almost instantaneously by Adam's. The boys hopped out of the booth, and as they walked to the pick-up section Adam sidled up to Gregory's shoulder.

“Hey... were you serious back there? About your family and stuff?” he asked, not necessarily distrusting but wary. “'Cause that's super epic if you are, but if you're lying that's... really not cool.”

Becky and Jamie weren't just Adam's friends—they were his best friends. They'd all come across people at times that lied about stupid things to impress them, and they acted as each other's pseudo-guards to make sure no one like that got too close. Adam would never claim to be a body-language expert, but this Gregory kid seemed just a bit too awkward to ease his mind without proof of his claims.

Yep. My Dad made Freddy Fazbear a rockstar. Be jealous of me.

It definitely sounded like a lie. Wasn't it all too good to be true?

Gregory hoped that it didn't all come out that way. His eyes met Adam's and he wasn't sure how to stop himself from being nervous around living people. Grabbing his food and drinks, then deciding to help Adam out by taking one of the girl's orders, he shrugged.

“I don't exactly have any proof right now, so... Believe me or don't,” he said. “But... Thanks. It's pretty cool for me.”

For now, he’d take Adam's comment earnestly. Gregory wished that he had a phone—some way to text or call his dad or Mike to prove himself.

“If you come around here a lot, I'm sure you'll end up seeing me walk through again,” Gregory pointed out as they turned to bring everything back for the group.

Little did Gregory know, his proof was quite nearby. As he and Adam turned their backs from the Faz Pad entrance, the elevators in the main atrium opened to reveal none other than Freddy Fazbear himself, trailed closely behind by his temporary “security” of Gregory's dad and sister. They were on the way to the Daycare in fact, on their last stop of Freddy's welcome-back tour.

“Fair enough,” Adam said, offering Gregory a little smile as they walked back to the table. He was right—if they both hung out as much as they claimed, they'd surely run into each other again. When they got to the table Adam slid Becky's drink and pastry to her across the table while Gregory set Jamie's down. Once they were all settled, the group sat in relatively companionable silence as they worked on their meals until Becky was the one to break the quiet.

“So, Gregory,” she began, pausing to take a sip of her drink and looking at the boy with more curiosity than suspicion now. “If your uncle is Mr. Emily, does that mean you’ve seen a bunch of other Fazbear restaurants, too? I don't think any of them are as cool as the Pizzaplex, but I heard there used to be a lot...”

There did used to be many... Not that Gregory ever would’ve known of them. As he set his steaming cup of chai tea down, he told them the truth. Or rather, the furthest extent of the truth that he knew.

“Actually, this might be weird, but sometimes I hang out in one of the old locations with some of my friends,” Gregory remarked, finding himself smiling a little easier now that the tension had gone away some. “It's the only one I've ever been to, but it's so gross inside. I think my cousin worked there, too...”

Outside nearest the hallway, Charlie and Freddy were nearly done with showing the animatronic around the main portions of the Pizzaplex. It had been hard work corralling people away from the bear and guiding him through the already mapped out location to familiarize Freddy with his home again. Charlie looked at the time on her phone and decided to text the group chat while thinking out loud.

“I wonder if Gregory's at the Daycare right now. Might be too crowded for him...,” she murmured, asking everyone through text:

anyone know what Gregory's up to? I haven't seen him in a minute.

Soon, there was a response from head of security.

give me one sec

Michael hit send, then rolled his chair to the central computer. Now back in the security office, he reveled in the fact that most of his job was not customer-facing. That little excursion with Freddy 2.0 had been exhausting…

Scrolling through the camera feeds, it didn’t take Mike long to find his brother chilling in the Faz Pad. His mechanical heart soared when he realized Gregory was sitting with other kids—and none of them appeared to be ghosts or androids. Catching sight of Freddy and co. nearby, Michael had an idea.

Gregory’s in Faz Pad. I think he made some friends! bring Freddy over; they’re gonna lose their minds

In the atrium, the original bear checked his phone and smiled at Michael’s messages. Looking up at his counterpart, he asked: “Freddy, would you mind making a slight detour before the Daycare? Gregory is close by and I am sure his new friends would love to meet you!”

***

“Ohh, was your cousin a security guard there too?” Becky asked, recalling that Gregory mentioned he’d been hired at the Pizzaplex because of experience. Before Gregory could answer though, Adam nearly spit out his drink as he stared wide-eyed at the opening doors.

“Holy crap!” he exclaimed, pointing to something over Gregory’s shoulder. “Freddy’s back!”

Gregory eyes widened at the interruption. It wasn’t often that the animatronics stopped in for a cup of coffee and a Danish. Of course, the bear was being escorted by two humans—people that no one but Gregory recognized or particularly cared about. Gregory turned, careful not to bump Adam or the table as he kneeled on the booth and waved to his family.

“Hey guys!” he greeted, finding Charlie’s smile impossibly wide as she tried to contain her joy.

“Kiddo!” she said, coming over to rustle Gregory’s teased locks of hair. “We wanted to stop in, see if you remembered to eat anything today.”

“I totally almost forgot to.” Gregory laughed, gesturing vaguely to the group he was hanging out with. “This is Adam, Becky, and Jamie, by the way.”

He felt much more at ease with his family here. No one was going to hurt him with them around.

“Uh… hi?” Becky murmured, staring wide-eyed between the trio. She was desperately trying to figure out their connection to Gregory, but the fact that Freddy Fazbear himself was so close distracted her. Meanwhile, Jamie was practically fanning herself with her hands as she looked up to the recently refurbished Freddy model, too starstruck to even speak.  

“Hello, superstars!” the jovial bear greeted with a wave. “How wonderful to meet you!”

“Whoa…,” was all Adam could say. Dropping off his sister with the Daycare attendant everyday was a far cry from essentially a personal meet and greet with the company’s namesake.

“Ah, I can see you are a fan of Monty,” Freddy remarked, his electric blue gaze settling on Becky. He blinked a few times, then perked up with a grin. “I have catalogued your guest profiles and attached a complimentary ticket for one free golf game for each of you—you can claim them at the kiosk inside Monty Golf.”

“Wha—seriously?!” Becky was practically vibrating in her seat along with the others. “Oh my gosh, thanks, Freddy!”

“Of course; any friend of Gregory’s is a friend of mine!”

The redheaded man patted the bear’s arm firmly. That was exactly what he’d have done in this situation. With a soft smile, he sidled up to Gregory and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Are you having a good time, superstar?”

Jamie grasped onto Becky's arm and shook it excitedly. A free game of mini-golf to claim whenever? She found herself looking between the smiling boy and the group who came to ask how he was. Her hunch was right; being friends with this kid had perks. Jamie then took notice of the redhead who leaned in to murmur in Gregory’s ear.

“Yeah! I’m just hanging out. Henry told me I needed to go take a break from playing tag,” the boy explained. It made sense; otherwise, Gregory wouldn’t have been caught dead up on the surface during work hours.

Huh; this guy calls Gregory superstar, too, Jamie found herself thinking. She wondered if he happened to do voice acting work for Freddy’s model.

“Is this your dad, Gregory?” she asked curiously. Gregory felt an unexpected swell of happiness to be able to answer with the utmost confidence.

“Yep! This is my dad.” Pointing to the girl by Freddy, he further elaborated. “And that’s Charlie, my… other cousin.”

Despite their family dynamic being a little different feeling in reality, Gregory knew better than to mix up cover stories. Charlie waved at the group with a cheery grin. “Nice to meet you kids! Enjoy Gator Golf whenever you go—tell Monty we said ‘hi!’”

Looking to both Freddy and 2.0, Charlie told them: “We should get down to the Daycare soon. Have fun, Gregory; don’t cause trouble, okay?”

“Have fun!” Freddy echoed, offering the group a beaming smile. He gave Gregory’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze before turning to the huge bear, ushering him towards the door with a gentle palm on his back.

“Have a Faz-eriffic rest of your day!” Freddy 2.0 called over his shoulder with a parting wave.

There was complete silence in the booth as the kids watched the trio walk off towards the Daycare. Only once the Faz Pad doors closed behind Freddy’s hulking frame did Becky’s gaze slide to Gregory’s.

“…Dude.” Her look of disbelief flipped up into an ecstatic smile. “That was awesome!”

“Yeah, man—your family seems really cool!” Adam said earnestly, taking a bite of his pastry. Speaking through a mouthful of buttery dough, he added: “‘n not just ‘cause they give you free stuff.”

“Ew, Adam,” Becky chided, pulling a disgusted face. Looking back to Gregory, she wiggled in her seat, sharing a similar thought to Jamie. “I bet you get this all the time, but you know your dad sounds just like Freddy, right?”

Either the redhead had some deep-rooted influence over the bear, or he’d simply been around Freddy way too long and had absorbed some of his mannerisms.

“Oh yeah—Sammy kinda based Glamrock Freddy on my dad. He helped voice act for him, too,” he said, trying not to sound so boastful. But now that they knew he was telling the truth to some extent, Gregory grew more confident in his speech. “I guess you could say he is Freddy, in a way.” He finished with an easy laugh, making Jamie giggle in the process.

“Wow. You’re so lucky…,” she praised, looking to Becky for a split-second with a teasing grin. “Beck totally wishes Monty was her dad. Maybe you could get him to adopt her?”

“Shut up, Jamie—no I don't!” Becky snapped. “I just think Monty's cool! And a lot of people hate him for no reason just because he replaced Bonnie...”

She frowned slightly, recalling all the drama that incident caused. Becky never disliked Bonnie, though the hate her favorite character got after he replaced the rabbit left a sour taste in her mouth. Some of the kids even told rumors that Monty was the one to take Bonnie out in an epic robot showdown... but Becky knew that was ridiculous. The animatronics were programmed not to hurt anyone—even each other.

If they could, why would parents send their kids to such a dangerous place?

“Anyway—” Becky perked up, smiling at Gregory. “—you should totally join us for that free golf game! I think we're coming back next week, right?” She looked to the others for confirmation, and Adam nodded.

“Yup.” He tipped his cup back, downing the last of his drink. “My mom's dropping us off next Sunday. Oh shoot, speaking of...”

Pulling out his phone, Adam saw a text from two minutes ago. With a heavy sigh, he typed a reply and then looked to the table. “She says we should meet her in the Daycare... my sister's having a tantrum and doesn't want to leave. Again.”

That sounded rough. Gregory was glad that he was an only child now. Maybe it was a little selfish, but it was fun to be the center of your father's attention all the time.

“Those little kids love Sun and Moon, dude. It's probably all the candy they give out there,” he remarked, trying to ease his new friend’s frustration about his baby sister. Then Gregory thought on Becky’s question, pretending to focus on the tea he was sipping before replying. “Yeah! I don't think I'm doing anything. I'd love to hang out again!”

“Let's do Saturday? Give us your number, and we'll text you when we get here,” Jamie suggested, pulling out her cell. 

“Heh... Uh, sorry I-I don't have a phone,” the boy admitted, maybe a little embarrassed to be the only one without. Though Jamie didn't look disappointed. She locked her phone up again and waved away his concern.

“No worries!” she assured with an easy shrug. Sure, it was weird for a kid as loaded as an Emily to be without a fancy phone, but there was probably an explanation. Gregory could just be a clumsy kid and his might be broken. Or his parents didn’t think he was old enough yet for one...

“We'll just bug the employees to go find you. Meet up sometime around like 2?” she would plan, looking between the four of them to come to a consensus in the group.  

“Yeah, that works—my mom usually lets us stay till like 7 on weekends, so that'll give us some time to hang,” Adam replied with a nod. He began gathering up the trash, then paused with a tilt of his head. “You... wanna walk to the Daycare with us? I totally get if you don't wanna hear all those screaming kids though.”

“Yeah, come with us!” Becky encouraged, slipping out of the booth after Jamie. She adjusted her ponytail before grabbing a few napkins off the table that Adam missed, giggling as the group started towards the door. “Oh my god, I bet those kids are freaking out if Freddy's in there right now...”

It couldn't hurt. He'd have to visit the Superstar Daycare eventually tonight, so he might as well go with his new friends before the inevitable tackle he’d receive from all the animatronics that lived there. Gregory chugged down the rest of his tea, making sure to leave no crumb on his plate before standing up and brushing himself off.

“I'm down!” he said excitably. “When we get there, if it looks like Sun or Moon is running at us, it's just because he's going to give me a hug.”

Jamie laughed at him, figuring he might be exaggerating. Though with the incredibly fast way the Daycare attendant moved sometimes, she wouldn't doubt that it could look as if they were attacking someone at first glance...

Heading for the door, Gregory thought he could get used to the normalcy of everyday life again. He really did miss doing dreadfully average things like this: hanging out and getting coffee with living friends... It felt nice, like his life wasn't all a strange dream.

“Say what you want about the Daycare...” Gregory remarked. “But that giant slide you use to get in? I can't get tired of it.”

“...Okay, yeah, that is pretty fun,” Adam relented, having been sent in on a number of occasions to retrieve his sister in his mother's stead. He wondered if tonight would be another of those nights; sometimes she reacted a little better to her brother taking her away from her robot friend.

Walking under the first set of garage doors showed a number of people milling about by the fountain. When the group stepped into the Daycare proper, Gregory finally got a look at what the place was really like during opening hours. In a word: chaos. But controlled chaos, for the most part. The lights were on, meaning Sun was out and about to entertain the kids. Contrary to the open space Gregory had seen before, the play area was packed with little ones running to and fro, clambering all over the jungle gym and oversized pillows. Thank god the floor was designed to be cushy, because not five seconds after the quartet of teens peered down into the netting they saw a little boy do a faceplant. Just as he geared up to let out a wail, the bright attendant was scooping him into the air, soothing him with words as he conducted a health scan to make sure the kid was alright.

“Whoa... he is really fast,” Becky murmured, watching as Sun gave the boy a hug before placing him down and moving onto the next child that caught his attention.

“Hey—looks like our parents met already,” Adam murmured, nudging Gregory and pointing to a spot just inside the wooden doors. There was Adam's mother, looking a bit frazzled as she spoke with Gregory's dad. Adam's brow creased as he searched for his sister, only to find her right next to the adults... being rocked to sleep in Glamrock Freddy's arms.

“What?! Oh my god, she's so spoiled...,” the boy grumbled, making his way for the slide without even checking to see if the others were following.

“Yoooo!” Jamie started laughing at the display with her hands on the netting as she stared down into the Daycare. “Aw, are you jelly your baby sister gets a hug from Freddy?”

Gregory found himself chuckling when Adam completely ignored her to fall into the slide. Jamie couldn’t help it, she laughed as she followed after Adam. Gregory would wait until Becky sent herself down the slide, happy to find himself falling fast into the deep pool of plastic again. As his friends clambered out to go meet with Adam's mom, Gregory would scan the area carefully to find Mari close by and admiring Glamrock Freddy. He attempted to ignore all the overstimulating sounds and sights of children having their fun and quickly made his way over to rejoin his new friends.

Even with two dozen children vying for his attention, Sun still managed to clock each new visitor that entered the play area. He registered and catalogued their faces as they popped out of the slide: Adam, Jamie, Becky—

“Gregory!” Sun shouted, waving enthusiastically from his place in the middle of the room. “Good to see you and your friends! Adam, your mom and sister are by the door!”

“Got it—thanks!��� Adam called back, returning the wave. Despite his reservations about Moon, he had to concede that Sun was too friendly to really hold a grudge against.

“Wow, you're like a celebrity around here, Gregory...,” Becky remarked as she followed the others to the edge of the ball pit. There was no jealousy in her tone, only amazement.

Honestly, she never even fathomed a kid could reach such a height of popularity within Fazbear Entertainment—although she supposed if anyone could, it'd be the owner's relative. She bet all the animatronics gave him special treatment... which normally Becky would be jealous of, except for the fact that Gregory seemed like a pretty nice kid and she felt like they could become actual friends given the time. If being around him also happened to have extra perks, that was just a plus.

Gregory immediately went to scratch the back of his head, a little flustered at the compliment. It was true that all of the animatronics knew him. There shouldn't be any shame in admitting he was popular! Though he never saw himself as such. Maybe that was because this whole situation was entirely new for him. Sun was one of the first friends he made here—even if their first meeting did end in a night-long ban from the Superstar Daycare...

“Not a celebrity just yet. I'm still trying to get them to bring me on stage,” he laughed, joking entirely. Gregory would hate having that many people staring at him.

“Don't be so modest, dude! You're a proper icon,” Jamie told Gregory with a nudge. “Adam's our ride home, so we'll see you next Saturday. Got it?”

“I'll meet you all at Monty Golf—promise!” he assured with a sure smirk on his face.

“Sweet—bye, Gregory!” Becky flashed him a bright grin and a wave, then turned to catch up with Adam. She patted his shoulder and pointed behind them, causing Adam to turn around and wave to Gregory as well.

“See you on Sunday!” he called, walking backwards for a bit until he reached the door. Dutifully taking his sister from Glamrock Freddy's strangely comfortable embrace, Adam thanked the bear and then immediately started telling his mother the plans for next Sunday so she wouldn't forget.

“You picked a good little crew to hang out with, sunbeam,” the Daycare attendant murmured, bending over to speak a bit quieter in Gregory's ear. “Those kids are super ni—oh! Hello, little ones—okay, hold on, no pushing, I have two arms!”

Sun laughed as two kids no older than three began tugging on his pants to be picked up, effectively breaking his concentration on Gregory. 

...Huh. It was weird not having all of Sun's attention now that the Daycare was in full swing again.

Maybe he was getting too spoiled, Gregory thought, catching a glimpse of his father attempting to get his attention. He was far off for a moment, watching as Sun returned to his duties. When he finally snapped back into reality again, Gregory smiled and jogged over, careful of stacked can towers and discarded crayon drawings littered about. Gregory fell into Freddy's side, hugging him tightly.

“How's it going?” he said, looking up to his Glamrock twin. “Are you getting used to the Pizzaplex, Freddy?”

“Oh, yes!” the bear agreed with a nod. “It is wonderful to be back again, and your father and Charlie have been quite attentive helpers!”

“We are here for you anytime you need,” Freddy reassured, smiling up at his counterpart. Looking to Gregory, he placed a hand on his back and pressed him closer into the hug. “You seem to be having fun, superstar; I am glad you were able to make some friends already! Did you—”

Suddenly, a loud ringtone filled the air. Everyone in the immediate vicinity stopped for a moment and turned, watching the redheaded man grimace and frantically reach for his cell phone.

“I must have the volume adjusted too high again...,” he mumbled as he tried to answer the call. He succeeded eventually, and everyone went back to doing their own thing as he greeted the person on the other line. “Hello, Michael. What do you need?”

“Freddy, can one of you tell Ennard to get back in the dang room?” a familiar voice hissed, curbing his language for the sake of the animatronics and children. “They can't just stick an eyeball out to watch things now; people are starting to notice a random stranger staring at everyone...”

From Michael's position in the office, he could see Ennard lying flat against the little stage. They were clearly trying to make themselves unobtrusive, but they weren't quite used to the differences in their human body yet—in some ways, this was more noticeable than the old form that could shrink down or extend vestigial limbs to do what was needed.

“Oh dear,” Freddy murmured, looking to the stage as well. “Yes, we will take care of it. Speak again soon—bye.” He sighed, glancing at Gregory again. “I assume you could hear that, superstar?”

Gregory had wondered where the former amalgamation was, but looked no further once he caught glimpse of Ennard curled in on themselves and trying to seem as small as possible atop the stage balcony. When his dad asked him whether or not he heard Michael's chiding tone, Gregory nodded.

“Yeeeah, that's probably not good. I'll go tell them to chill,” Gregory replied, absconding to tell Ennard as politely as possible to go back to their room. Though Ennard looked so contemplative up there, Gregory wondered why anyone would be threatened by them. Then again, Gregory wasn't a parent. He'd never understand why the random person without uniform or a badge sitting up top staring out wistfully could be unnerving. Ennard’s watchful, two-toned eyes caught the approaching boy, and from the stage they would wave.

“Gregory! Hey... Are you feeling shy, too?” they asked, their unblinking gaze molded by scrunched up brows to form a look of worry. “All these people together in one spot...”

Gregory tilted his head at the former recovering clown.

“If you're shy, why don't you go inside your room?” Gregory asked, tilting his head at the recovering clown and trying not to sound accusatory. After all, Ennard wasn't really doing anything wrong per se, just creeping people out with their presence. What else was new?

Ennard laughed nervously, looking out over the crowd as they adjusted their position for the first time in two hours. “I'm trying to learn... Looking for Mari, too. She's off having fun with everyone. But... I'm too scared to go out there.”

“Well—tomorrow's another day. If you're feeling too shy, you shouldn't beat yourself up about it,” Gregory encouraged, giving Ennard some hope for now. It seemed like an anxious exercise in futility.

This did serve to make Ennard feel a little better. They didn't have to force themselves to do anything they weren’t comfortable with in the slightest. Tomorrow, they'd try again as per Gregory's suggestion. After a faked yawn and an uneven blink, Ennard agreed.

“I'll try again later. Thanks, Gregory,” they replied, rolling to do a backwards somersault into Sun's room that ended in a loud bang. This made Gregory facepalm, though he found Ennard to be more endearing than most people.

As Gregory returned to Freddy's side, he relayed a message. “Michael says thank you. I hope Ennard was not too much trouble, or in any distress? I know this is probably quite overwhelming to them...”

Freddy knew the former amalgamation was trying their best, but there was no question they could be rather unnerving at times. That fixed stare was enough to put most humans on edge, but hopefully they'd be able to get a handle on their mannerisms soon enough... And their out of time blinking.

“I think they were so shy they couldn't move. Ennard said they were looking for Mari but she was too busy running around and playing,” Gregory explained, feeling a little bad for their inability to relax around people. Though, he couldn't imagine how Ennard would act when given full confidence. 

“Ah.” Freddy nodded in understanding, glancing towards the now-closed curtains. “Well, I am sure you helped put their mind at ease. Now—”

He looked to the animatronic bear, who was currently crouched down talking to some very awestruck children. With a soft laugh, Freddy tapped his Glamrock twin on the shoulder to get his attention.

“I believe it is time to return to Sam's office, Freddy—he does not want you overworked on your first day back!” the man said, and the bear gave an affirmative hum.

“Yes, my clock indicates that it is about that time as well,” he replied, then turned to the kids and scooped them up in a brief hug. “It was Faz-tastic to meet you, superstars! I will be back to play again before you know it!” As Freddy stood, Sun bounded over with Mari close at his heels.

“Freddy! Leaving already?!” He leaned over and squeezed the bear in a tight hug, then pulled back with that wide, static grin. “Come back soon! All of you! The Daycare always has room for our bestest friends!”

Mari was like a little shadow to Sun, creeping out from behind to sneak attack the gang with a bunch of hugs, Gregory seemingly receiving the biggest of all. He couldn't believe closing time was nearly here. With only so much time left before the final call for all patrons to exit, Gregory assumed that his family's dayshift was soon to end.

Gregory hugged the Daycare bots tightly, promising to come and play soon when it wasn't so very busy. Though Sun and Mari were content to go back to their old jobs, Gregory was hoping deep inside that he was still their favorite. Between Freddy and his father, Gregory slipped his hand into theirs as they made for the exit. Mari would miss them all, as normal, but knew she would have a lot of work to do with Ennard and coaxing them back out of hiding once more. Soon, Freddy would be dropped off to his room at Rockstar Row, the others seeming to settle into their places as the night wound now and the crowds thinned out.

They'd all agreed to meet at Sam's for one final check in before the night officially began. Gathered in his office, the quartet relayed him with Freddy's successful outing, as well as the continued overjoyed reactions from patrons about Bonnie's revival and Foxy's addition to the lineup. All in all, Sam's near-sleepless week seemed to pay off in all the ways he was hoping for.

***

Compared to the bustling dayshift, the night was a welcome quiet. The animatronics were still welcome to free-roam of course, though before they could consider that they were programmed to recharge and spruce up in their rooms. While the robots settled down for a bit, Mike, Freddy, Charlie, and Gregory said bye to Sam and headed back to the hotel for a bit of shut-eye before evening's playtime.

Sleep came easy for them tonight. All the excitement from reopening the Pizzaplex had the spirits beat. Besides, it was soon to be Gregory's special day.

Charlie felt her blood boil with excitement as she laid down next to Michael. Tomorrow was the party—the day all of the animatronics had been planning for. Gregory was going to have a blast! With ghostly and mechanical friends alike, not to mention the world’s largest DJ for a host, they were all hoping to throw him the best birthday a kid could ask for. Who could ask for something better?

***

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