#Mainly because I kind of want to make a digital version of it after the fact

[ellasent]

Doing a full page of smaller drawings is just so dang satisfying since you have smaller stuff to focus on, and when you're done on that that's both a full thing on its own and part of a bigger thing at the same time. I just love the experience of it all with the thing I'm working on right now.

[unexpectederawhilesubmitting]

WARNING: DOCTOR WHO SPOILERS EXPLAINING REGENERATION SHENANIGANS

-------------------

okay so I was kind of not on board with the concept of bi-regeneration, mainly because of how it seemed like all of the Sad and the Trauma that the Doctor had undergone got kind of handwaved away? i'm all for ncuti's Doctor being sort of a fresh start/jumping on point for new viewers, but i didn't get how that could work if like, literally 40 minutes ago he was David Tennant being a sad wet puppy dog of a man

however, after rewatching it, i've realized what i think happened there, and it goes all the way back to something introduced with the 4th doctor's regeneration that was never explained: the Watcher

^this spooky guy

so, for those that don't know (or haven't seen every episode of a show that is over half a century old), the Fourth Doctor regenerates at the end of a story called Logopolis (he falls off a satellite dish, but that's not important right now). all throughout the episode, this weird figure, The Watcher, stands off in the distance, and even intervenes slightly by saving the Fourth Doctor's companion. there's not much given in the way of an explanation until the Fourth Doctor regenerates, saying "it's the end. but the moment has been prepared for..."

the watcher walks up, and gets absorbed in a super rad 1980's digital effect (never change doctor who), while his companion just gives us the not-super-helpful-for-lore statement "He was the Doctor all the time!"

then, in a crossfade, the Doctor goes from Four to weird-powder-man to Five

canonically, the Watcher is explained as a future version of the doctor that comes about in sort of a weird overlapping thing with the doctor's timeline, it's very wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey.

-------------------------

SO what does this have to do with biregeneration and satisfying character arcs/moving on from trauma?

Well, remember, Fifteen said this, about Time Lords doing rehab out of order:

so, here's the thing: Fifteen is the Doctor AFTER Fourteen (duh, I know?) But to be clear...Fourteen lives out an entire lifetime with Donna and family, gets to a ripe old age, and then, when his lifetime of healing is over, he gets yeeted back through his own timestream just to zoot himself out of David Tennant's chest.

Remember, his first words to Fourteen (after popping out of his chest) are "So good to see you! So good!", not the RTD classic "what?". He greets himself like he's almost expecting this, he then says "does anyone want to tell me what the hell is going on here?" which only makes sense if he's coming from a different point in his own timestream (remember, when two doctors interact, memory gets really weird, 10 and the War Doctor don't remember the events of Day of the Doctor until they live through them as 11).

SO TO BE CLEAR: Ncuti Gatwa is playing the Doctor AFTER he has spent years healing from his traumas. His Doctor is fine because Fourteen takes the time to rest and work on himself.

tl;dr: I didn't like biregeneration at first because I thought it looked like this:

In actuality, it looks more like this:

[kimbap-r0ll]

Hello, Kimbap! May I request the overblot victims with an s/o who's got the ability to manipulate all kinds of electronics (computers, tvs, traffic lights) within her sight? She can also remotely control communication lines at quick speeds with this ability.

Wait that's such an interesting idea 😭 thank you for the ask! I'm sticking to the overblotters from the English version for this one ^^

Overblot students x s/o who can manipulate electronics/communications

Riddle

First doesn't really see the reason behind it, thinks it's cool but doesn't see himself necessarily asking for help

He tends to like using everything on pen and paper still, so if he has to write emails or do things online, he may ask you there. In return, he helps you with things like snail mail (his handwriting's beautiful btw)

I feel like overall he would find it to be cool and will ask you about your abilities just to learn more about you. However, he won't be needing your powers anytime soon (just more simple online help would be enough)

Leona

He will only ask for your help in the most basics of tasks like turning on or off the lights or putting his phone on "do not disturb"

Despite his lazier attitude, he's pretty alert. He knows for example if you're going to use your ability when doing homework (will ask you randomly) and he learns how you are able to manipulate electronics without asking you a lot of questions

I feel like Leona would've liked you for who you were whether or not he knew about your abilities, but nonetheless he does find it to be a pretty cool (and useful) one

Azul

He really likes your abilities and will ask you to help him create some kind of digital ordering app or reservation platform for his lounge hahaha

However he does also like learning from you about your abilities and perhaps about electronics in general (you might have a lot of knowledge on them just because you use them so often). He's still not the best when it comes to online platforms, so you can definitely help him there

He finds your ability to be fascinating! While he himself won't be needing as much help as perhaps some others, he does appreciate the little help you give him when running the lounge's digital side

Jamil

Will ask you how your ability came to be since it's really new to him. He likes learning about others anyways, so it's a nice thing for him to hear about!

Jamil might ask if you can hack into systems and if you can. For some reason I can see him going after scammers that try to target Kalim's computer haha. It might be kind of fun to prank them too

The vice dorm leader isn't the best with technology so you might want to help him out when you can. He'll deeply appreciate it, perhaps he'll make you some of your favorite foods in return!

Vil

You can turn off or block people that try to message him? Like all the crazy fans he has or his annoying manager? Great. He'll ask for your help

Vil's more tech-savvy than he looks, mainly because he has to keep his online presence so up to date. He however, likes how you can manipulate communications. He also likes that you can change traffic lights so whenever you two are going somewhere, expect him to ask you to use it

Though he may find your ability to be super useful, he still feels bad when asking for your help. He'll show you a lot of gratitude whenever you do end up helping him with something, perhaps in the form of a really expensive perfume haha

Idia

Probably the only one that uses your ability the most but you also like using it with him so it's a win-win situation

The internet speed in his room is like crazy high, some other Ignihyde students will ask how that's even possible. Like how can it just be Idia's room and specifically only when you're around haha

He would've been too shy to ask you for help at first, but seeing how he looked curious about your abilities you decided to help. Honestly now you two use it whenever you two play games together or watch anime (it's very convenient!)

[planet-poptropica]

⋆ So....I was scrolling through Instagram the other day and I saw one those fav character charts, and I thought it would be fun to make my own! ⋆

⋆ Poptropica mutuals, tell me about your favs, not just your main favs, your side favs! I will include the transparent version below, and my explanation to my choices down below if you are interested! I'm interested to see your choices. ⋆

⋆ Tada! Have fun! ⋆

⋆ Now, an explanation to my choices: ⋆

⋆ Your Favorite: Director D ⋆

I think it's no surprise to ANYONE that knows me that Director D has always been my favorite, since day 1. There was a moment where he was almost replaced by Binary Bard, but he is a close second. Director D is my favorite because he is associated to my nostalgia of a time when I was obsessed with being a spy or ninja when I was a kid. (Spy kids may have played a BIG role in that.) Playing as an agent in that island was so exciting for me, but I do remember having trouble with certain parts like the decoder. (In hindsight I probably would be horrible spy XD.) Now that I'm older, his island is still one of my favs for that reason, but it's not my number one. I wish we could have gotten a bit more backstory for him, but, what can you do. (But create a backstory for him and I have.)

⋆ You Relate To: Black Widow ⋆

Black widow is a character I don't really talk about or draw like....ever, which is crazy because she's probably the character I relate to the most, just like many other artist do too I'm sure. I relate to her in the way of being jealous of other people's art success, and the constantly comparing yourself to others. They say you are your worst critic after all. I don't so much anymore. I'm actually proud of where I am in my art journey, but I used to do that a lot when I was younger, especially when I just started doing digital art.

You won't catch me stealing or ruining other people's art though... girl what-

⋆ Your Favorite Design: Ringmaster Raven ⋆

Look at him, 'nuff said. His design is amazing. I love the color palette, the mask used to cover his true look, the raven theme with the wings and mask, the hat with eyes, everything. His design is the best because it matches with the overall theme of the island, it being a MONSTER CARNIVAL, and he is the Ringmaster. I remember how hipped I was when his island trailer released. One of the best islands for sure.

⋆ Is Underrated: Count Bram⋆

Yeah, remember when I was constantly drawing him for a short period of time? It's for a reason. I love my vampire peepaw who's confused about everything. I'm curious, do people consider him a villain? I kind of don't for the reason that he kidnapped Katya because he thought she was Anabelle, and once he was cured and was bought back to reality, he apologized for it because he didn't know. You want to talk about villain? Christopher is the real villain, you can't change my mind. Anyway, I was looking at the old art I drew of him, and he looked familiar to me. Then it all came together. You know who he reminds of? Exactly? Simon Petrikov, you know, Ice King from Adventure Time? Not only do they have the same hair style and would have the same personality, but they were both humans at some point with a partner, and once they became what they became, all they thought about was their partner, aka Anabelle and Betty.

Poof, mind blown. Vampire peepaw deserves more love.

⋆ You'd get along with IRL: Amelia ⋆

Amelia is another character I don't really talk about or draw, mainly because I associate her with the new era of Poptropica. But, I don't think that's fair. Amelia is actually a very sweet character that I think little me would have appreciated if she came to the game sooner. I would probably get along with her really well, considering how silly, and nice she is. Not to mention, her love for cute stuff. Imagine her unicorn bedroom but replaced with bunnies. That's my room right now. I think that even traveling with her would be really fun. She would have gotten under the "you relate to" category too but I didn't want Amelia on here twice. XD

⋆ And finally...Your Favorite Side Character: Dr. Spyglass ⋆

I... do not know how to explain this one. Dr. Spyglass only gets a few words of dialog, and we know nothing about him in canon, besides him working for HQ, and being an eye doctor. I won't lie, I actually had a crush on this guy years ago, hence why I shipped him with Muddy. (I cringe at that ship now. XD) Probably because...he looks like Director D...with a lab coat. >_> Look at both of them and TELL ME they are not related, I dare you. My version of them are. I love the idea of this silly scientist being hired by his brother after failing the entry agent exam, not because he pitted him, but because he understood how incredibly smart he was and is. Constantly being compared to his brother and what he could have been. So, you can say I like MY version of him... a lot.

I should dedicate a post to him some day, eh?

[venusmage]

FAQ Post!

I've gotten a good amount of repeat questions the past few years and thought I'd make an FAQ. No need to RB or anything, this is going to go in my pinned post!

I still always happily will take questions, this is just for folks who might want to just find the answer without going through the extra effort. These are mostly about art and TTRPGs :)

ART STUFF

What brushes/programs/hardware do you use?

Almost all of my regularly used brushes come from either Retro Supply or True Grit Texture Supply! I'm not sponsored or affiliated, just really like the quality of their products. They have sales fairly frequently and I've never had any complaints. I also use quite a few products by Ittai Manero.

Right now I primarily work in Procreate on an iPad Pro. Procreate is my favorite art program and I'm quietly hoping they eventually make a desktop version.

I very recently also got an XPPen Deco 01 V2. Partially because there's some art programs on desktop I want to learn (Aseprite, Blender) or programs that have superior desktop versions as compared to mobile (ClipStudio). I'm also teaching some grade-schoolers digital art and wanted to have the same kind of tablet as them (I haven't used a screenless tablet for over half a decade). As of right now I'm very happy with it! For the price it's an easy recommendation.

I mainly use ClipStudio in this instance, and the brushes linked above both also support the program (aside from Manero). However there's a huge user-base that upload free assets constantly that makes ClipStudio so great. I especially like painting in it for some reason!

What's your opinion on AI art?

I don't like it, obviously, but I get how people who lack the context and education on why it's bad wouldn't get it. I also think that some other artists fearmonger a little too hard regarding it and it has the unintended effect of making the situation and it's nuances even harder to understand. I talked about it here.

Did you go to art school? Would you recommend it?

I did, I have a BFA in illustration and graduated from CCAD in 2018. Every art school is unique and my experience with art school and the benefit it gave me is VERY different from how I believe it may be for others. As of right now I think there's a lot of good cheaper online resources than private art education in general. I did have a wonderful time there though, and it's availability helped me eventually escape a domestic abuse situation - so my feelings are a bit complicated.

Do you have a dream art job?

I'd love to be a college-level art teacher. Funny I know, considering I just said art school isn't always worth it. I just deeply enjoy the craft and discussion surrounding art in general. I'm tempted to make art videos one day to scratch that itch.

What's your favorite/least favorite part of the drawing process?

I hate sitting down and getting the sketch started (hello ADHD...) And flatting. Linework/sketch cleanup and finishing details for color are where it's at for me.

What made you interested in art?

My grandfather was a painter, sculptor, and stained glass maker. He will always be one of my biggest inspirations. In terms of media, there's a ton - but I started internalizing art as a skill after seeing the Shivering Isles DLC concept art by Adam Adamowicz. I started appreciating how art can be weird and beautiful and whatever you want after reading Evan Dahm's Rice Boy (and the rest of his work). I also had a particularly beautiful book cover for A Wrinkle in Time by Leo and Diane Dillon when I was little and their art rewired my brain chemistry. At the time I said Adamowicz was my most impactful inspiration but on reflection I really do think it's the Dillons. I talked a little about it here.

(2023-24) Commissions haven't been updated in a while. Can I get some more information as to why?

I have a post here about it! If you're one of my clients, please feel free to reach out to me if you have any further issues. I apologize for the delay and am more than happy to work out something with you if you're unhappy with the wait. I'd advise messaging me here or on discord - the latter of which is linked in the post.

TTRPG/DND STUFF

What system is your DnD game running?

I'm running my game using a modified 5e ruleset. 5e happened to just be the first TTRPG system I learned and I also really enjoy Forgotten Realms as a setting - though I take extensive liberties with both. I'll probably be moving away from WoTC's products and the system after this campaign, though. I already change lore so much the setting has a lot of differences.

What materials do you use in your DnD game? Do you play online or in person?

As much as I'd adore to get to play IRL with my friends at some point, our game is currently online. For our current campaign I recently made the switch from Roll20 to Foundry VTT. If you're an online exclusive DM and have the money to buy the one time license, I would recommend it!

A list of what I use to run my current game:

Foundry VTT

Discord (A custom server for Voice Chatting/Private DMs/Memes and art sharing/Scheduling)

Epic Isometric (On Patreon. Digital isometric maps and tokens. Have been using them since at least 2020 if not earlier. Will be making tutorial videos soon!)

The Dungeon Sketcher (Also on Patreon. Also isometric maps and tokens. The artist frequents Epic Isometric's discord server where we all share custom assets we've made, too. His stuff blends in pretty seamlessly with EpicIso)

Vile Tiles by Gabriel Pickard (Found on the Roll20 marketplace, but you can use the assets in any VTT. For theater of the mind and RP backgrounds)

Artstation (Our game is not streamed, so I tend to use backgrounds I source from concept artists for RP backgrounds. If you stream a game, obviously always ask the creators of your assets if you can use them.)

Procreate/An art program (I draw the PC/NPC portraits for our game myself)

Milanote/Any note-taking method (Milanote is just what I use to plan the game, since I already use it for other hobbies and commissions as well.)

Do you stream your game? Is there someplace I can find out more about it? Are you looking for players?

I am not looking for players! Our game is also not recorded or streamed - mostly because I'd get some serious DM stage-fright. I also like it being a relaxing experience for myself and my friends where we're performing for ourselves, instead of with the pressure of a potential audience.

However, I do have a toyhou.se world where information on the game is available - including session recaps! If I ever get the time I also want to draw fun comics and little animations of what happens because my friends are very inspiring to me and DMing has quickly become a favorite hobby.

You can also search the words "Seven Asunder" on this blog and you'll find relevant posts here.

Can I use your art/assets/ideas in my own game?

I can't really stop you. If it's not recorded, streamed or monetized and you're not saying you created anything I made yourself, I legitimately don't care! This even includes using character art I've made. I just would like to politely request you don't post any of it publicly to avoid confusion and to respect my players - many of the NPCs in my games are also characters they create and I cannot give permission for them (obviously). It also would kind of suck to see one of my own beloved characters supposedly "belonging" to someone else.

Essentially, I understand taking inspiration and having "placeholder" images/artwork for characters in a game. Not all of us have time or resources to have custom art! Just don't take one of my or my players' OC's designs and start saying they're yours publicly , pretty please :)

Once commissions are over and I find the spare time, I intend to release free-to-use (personally and for streaming) art packs for folks' games. I also highly recommend the patreons I linked above.

[lets-try-some-writing]

Request for starscream as a sparkling headcanons, his interactions with both the autobots and decepticons, i want teeny lil baby seeker

Awww, baby screamer is such a cute idea! How can I not write about it? (and there is also a little doodle I did for this because I thought it was cute)

Baby Screamer and the Bots

Decepticons

Because of some relic mumbo jumbo Starscream somehow manages to get himself turned into a sparkling and it is sheer chaos. All of Decepticon high command just kind of... stare blankly for a few minutes at the screeching sparkling that is sitting where Starscream just was. But after a second it would be Soundwave to break out of his trance first and collect the sparkling.

The Spymaster would quickly take up the role of Starscream's primary Caretaker due to his previous experience smaller bots (namely his cassettes). Knockout and Breakdown would also come in to take up the roles of Starscream's secondary Caretakers due to how much affection the little seeker needs. And surprisingly, Starscream would adapt incredibly quickly and imprint upon his adopted Caretakers without much issue.

While Shockwave is busy figuring out how to reverse the effects of the relic and possibly come up with a way to make it benefit the Decepticon cause, life around the nemesis changes.

Megatron for the most part doesn't interact with sparkling Starscream, but when he comes to check up on him or randomly bumps into him, he always ends up being a little softer than usual. Despite hating Starscream's adult self with a passion, the warlord can't help but dote on the first sparkling he has seen in millennia. As such he has developed a habit of carrying around a little something for Starscream just in case he meets the small seeker. Starscream loves the little gifts he gets, especially the shiny things which he adds to his makeshift nest.

Knockout and Breakdown for their part absolutely adore little Starscream. He is the sparkling they never had and they love him dearly. They would and will fight denta and digit to protect him.

Breakdown has taken up the role of a Sire, a protector and someone for Starscream to look to for guidance on the nemesis. He loves taking Starscream and playing little games with him, like holding Starscream up in the air and swinging him around so he can feel like he is flying. He also likes taking Starscream around the nemesis to explore and occasionally (mainly whenever Knockout isn't around) he will help Starscream do a little gliding from ledges and whatnot.

Breakdown also secretly loves putting Starscream down for recharge, his favorite part is singing to the sparkling and tucking him against his chassis until he is comfortably in recharge. Playing a much tamer version of lob ball with the sparkling is also an activity Breakdown enjoys. Starscream isn't all that good at it, but his attempts to carry the ball on his shaky pedes is the cutest thing ever.

Knockout has taken on the role of a Nurturer, the more maternal and emotionally aware counterpart of a Sire. He takes great joy in keeping Starscream happy and healthy. Seekers natural have a tendency to want to look good, and so Starscream adores having fresh and colorful paint just as much as the medic adores doing it for him. Knockout will spend hours with the sparkling touching up his paint, giving his little wings massages, and telling Starscream stories from his own sparkling years.

He also carries the sparkling around with him whenever he can, mainly to keep Starscream from getting into anything. But also because he thinks its funny to watch Starscream hiss and flare his plating at any bot he doesn't know who they pass. Knockout also takes great pride in his energon goodies which he and Starscream love to decorate together and eat afterwards. Starscream is always a mess when they are done, but his secondary Caretakers couldn't care less when he is busy stuffing his face with goodies.

Soundwave despite technically being Starscream's primary Caretaker, does not have a ton of time to spend with the little seeker. However he is not sparkless and actually loves little sparklings more than any bot would dare think. He tries to finish his work as quickly as possible or get one of his cassettes to cover for him so that he can go and see Starscream and possibly steal him away from his secondary Caretakers for a few hours. When he comes to see Starscream the sparkling always comes running with a squeal of joy and before crashing against the spymaster's legs. Soundwave then picks up his precious charge and will spend what little time he has with the sparkling carefully. Usually this means he will watch Starscream play with his cassettes or carry the little seeker around in a sling and hum quietly until he falls asleep against his chassis. No bot will ever say it out loud, but it is obvious that Soundwave loves his little seekerling.

The Vehicons think sparkling Starscream is great. They adore him and love to give him little gifts and dress him up for photos. The braver Vehicons will also steal Starscream away from his Caretakers and take him on adventures. Sometimes they will have little tea parties with energon goodies and other treats, other times they will play games with Starscream. Usually hide and seek or some variation or house which Starscream always has a blast playing. However despite being good playmates, the Vehicons have a very limited sense of maturity when it comes to handling sparklings. As such at some point, a few of them would get the bright idea to take Starscream out of the nemesis so he could experience the fresh air and the feel of the wind in his wings. This would in turn lead an Autobot patrol to accidentally acquire a little seekerling after incapacitating his Vehicon companions.

Autobots

Starscream would throw an absolute fit after the Autobots collect him and take him back to base. He wants his Dad, his Sire, and his Nurturer and he doesn't care how much noise he needs to make to get back to them. Thankfully for every bot involved, while Optimus is busy negotiating with the Decepticons for the rights to their seeker, it is Ratchet who surprisingly steps up as the new Nurturer for Starscream.

It takes a while, with Starscream already having imprinted and all that. But after a few days Starscream calms down and due to his need for affection, quickly manages to imprint upon Ratchet and later Optimus as well.

Bulkhead and Wheeljack aren't quite sure what to think of Starscream, but he is a sparkling and all sparklings are cute in their book. And so they swiftly became the fun uncles for the little seeker, playing with Starscream, making him little toys, and dragging him down from the rafters whenever he manages to get up there. However Wheeljack has tried one too many times to give Starscream a knife and so his sparklingsitting rights have been revoked. Bulkhead also isn't exactly the most careful mech, and so after nearly stepping on Starscream by accident, he has also lost his sparklingsitting rights. They do still try to play with the seekerling when they get the chance though, albeit under the supervision of some other Autobot.

Arcee is conflicted on the subject of sparkling Starscream. On one hand, Starscream's adult self has the energon of thousands staining his servos, including Cliffjumper. And he is also indirectly responsible for the deaths of millions of others. But on the other hand he is now a defenseless, innocent, and good natured sparkling. She as a result, tends to keep away from Starscream as a whole. However she does interact with him every now and then by bringing him toys he has scattered around base or by fishing him out of some small crevice no other bot can get into.

Ultra Magnus is the only bot truly indifferent toward Starscream. In his optics Starscream is just a regular sparkling until he does something that would warrant retaliation. The seekerling is under his protection until he returns to his previous self or to the nemesis. As such Ultra Magnus doesn't mind taking care of Starscream when Ratchet and Optimus find themselves busy. He actually enjoys having the seekerling with him while he works on paperwork and reports. Despite what one would think, Starscream is actually a rather tame sparkling as long as he has something to do. And so to keep him busy, Ultra Magnus will regularly hand the sparkling datapads to scribble on and then put the pictures he creates up on display in some quiet corner of his berthroom. He thinks they are cute but he will never say so out loud.

Bumblebee and Smokescreen were slightly hesitant when it came to handling Starscream at first, but they quickly lightened up after Ratchet or all mechs took a liking to him. Seeing their excitableness and their hyper awareness to Starscream's moods and needs, Optimus gave the team's two younglings a mission. Bumblebee and Smokescreen were made the designated secondary Caretakers for Starscream and they take their job very seriously. While their positions aren't formal and are more akin to the responsibilities that come with being elder siblings, Smokescreen and Bumblebee still give it their all. Everything Starscream needs is attended to immediately and he is absolutely smothered in attention from them.

Ratchet didn't really intend to have the sparkling imprint on him, especially as a Nurturer of all things, but he has since come to accept his role and take it in stride. He is the biggest mother hen and will not hesitate to throw hands if needed to protect Starscream. He is not the most touchy feely individual but Ratchet makes and exception for Starscream and actively carries him around in a sling when the sparkling isn't off playing. He regularly sings for Starscream and massages his little wings while the sparkling is in the sling. Ratchet also takes extra care to keep the base sparkling proofed, he doesn't want his little one getting hurt.

Optimus already has his servos full dealing with his two rambunctious younglings and the three human children (who are definably not his sparkling as well- why would you think that?) but how could he not get attached to sparkling Starscream? As Prime it is his duty to protect Cybertron and its people, especially the sparklings (at least that is the answer he gives when asked about his ever increasing number of adopted children). With this in mind it took less than two seconds for Optimus to claim Starscream as one of his and dote on the seekerling. When he is not fighting for custody of the little one, he carries Starscream around on his shoulders and reads him stories.

The humans are rather wary of Starscream considering he is about as big as they are even as a sparkling. But the children do try to play with him when the bots are there to supervise. June and Fowler don't mind sparkling Starscream all that much, they just want reassurance that he won't accidentally crush one of the kids.

Extra

Until (or if) Shockwave can figure out how to turn Starscream back into his normal egotistical self, both Autobots and Decepticons are stuck in a very intense custody battle.

Megatron isn't all that concerned in all honesty, but he is not fond of the thought of dealing with half of his crew rebelling and so he makes an effort to get Starscream back. He and Optimus meet once a week to try and discuss custody through the use of the old Cybertronian laws regarding the matter. It usually devolves into a brawl where one side steals the sparkling for a while until the other comes and steals him back.

Soundwave is incredibly depressed without the seekerling around and so does his best to try and kidnap Starscream whenever he can. This has resulted in several fights between the two factions, both sides constantly stealing Starscream from each other in a never ending game of hot potato.

The location of both the Autobot base and the Decepticon warship has now become common knowledge. The only reason both factions don't try and wipe the other off the map is because Starscream may or may not be in the base/nemesis. This has led both factions, mainly the Caretakers, to meet and swap Starscream around in a more organized manner so as to not scare him. The supposed ceasefire does not stop the Autobot and Decepticon Caretakers from trying to one-up each other when given the chance.

[welcometoteyvat]

graphics rambling/metacognitive time (the Kinich graphics in question)

Honestly I started this on a whim, I think I wanted to make some kind of video game character profile mock for him, taking inspiration from how his trailer was structured lol, and it ended up morphing into 4 posters, none of which remotely resemble a character card lol. Overall I knew I wanted some kind of pixel theme to unite the entire thing, if not a 1-1 video game reference, and over the course of making that the uniting theme morphed into halftone, pixelation, squares, and elements of his green/blue/yellow color scheme.

I started out with his splash art because I thought the pose was really dynamic, and I actually started with a landscape oriented banner image instead of portrait orientation like the final version. I wanted to incorporate kinich's pixel chibis into another banner and make it a sillier type of project lol, but that didn't happen.

For the actual editing, I knew I wanted something with his pixel theme, and while I was inspiration hunting, I stumbled upon this neat butterfly graphic design for a piece on digital transformations. Thought it looked super cool, especially the illusion of the butterfly wing disintegrating at the edges! I wanted to try it out on kinich but ended up not actually using it; after I got the image into black and white and added some halftone patterning, I couldn’t figure out how to automatically cut it up into squares and reassemble it with all squares in the correct locations (it would’ve taken way too much time manually with like 300 squares lmao). Gave up on that and thought it looked ok with just black and white coloring (3 thresholds worth of b/w adjustment lol), but there was too little color in the black and white so I ended up experimenting with some colored squares and quite liked the result!

I ended up deciding the banner was too cramped, so I switched orientations to see if it helped. It forced me to rearrange the text, and I then wanted to combine his splash and icon into one image, like a character profile/card, but I ended up getting rid of the icon because it was too cluttered and I couldn’t integrate it well into the overall poster. Cutting off his leg also looked awkward to me lmao

I think this took me the least amount of time overall, or at least I didn't feel blocked anywhere while working on it. Silkscreen pixel font thanks for your service (shame I didn't use it anywhere...)

second poster I made was the turnfire hunt poster; I was going to stop after that one but thought the two posters side by side were too… uncohesive? They each had their own central focus (Kinich) so it felt awkward putting them next to each other, I wanted to add some more stuff/filler to balance them out. Anyways, I was scrolling through kinich's official art and thought that image was a pretty cool pose too—he really has such dynamic art. I was going to use halftone + b/w color scheme again, so the background was going to be the one with color, but then I couldn't make it work and the green was making my eyes bleed so I gave up.

lowkey this one still reminds me of some kind of cartoony action movie poster.

I still wanted to try the color blocking style that the butterfly design used, and ended up stumbling upon the pixelate filter to create large color blocks sampled from the original image, and using those to color the black and white base! At first I didn’t edit the original colors, but I changed it to all green to be more cohesive (the orange-browns felt out of place in a mainly cool color dominated scheme). I tried limiting the colors to green and blue first, to match the first poster, but it looked weird removing the browns from his face (don't have an example of this version)

Ended up with the shades of green and I’m pretty happy with it. I was originally thinking about making him hang from the image border, but it didn’t pull off that illusion as well as I wanted (probably because the top of his hand was cut off) so I tried it with some text; it still felt really flat but bending the text helped a lotttt. Playing around with that was really fun! Had trouble with the background on this (as evidenced by the green halftone lol), but I found one of genshin's texture files they used for the natlan events (thank you genshinimpactresources) and I layered that for the background so it wasn't super boring.

and then I was like well. I can’t just post these two because their background colors and their designs in general are too similar, so I started looking for more stuff to edit him with. For panel 3 I chose the pose from his tribe reputation quest background, and the quote from his character stories. sidenote I could go on about how many times it stresses his connection between the mountains (they gave him freedom in an empty box ueueue) but anyways. I had a lot of fun playing around with blur/halftone/weird coloring effects on this, and styling the text! I love highlighting certain words with different colors and fonts hehe. incidentally this probably has the most saved versions because I was struggling with background texture, bg color, and kinich's color too lmao. I didn't choose the green filter because it looked too similar to #2, and discarded the white background because the green text doesn't pop as well. I feel like he melts into the background better in the white version tho (and I like the illusion of brighter colors on Kinich), so it was a tradeoff ig.

The second poster in the layout and 4th poster I made gave me so much trouble because I literally just didn't know how to design it. I didn't want to have yet another panel with Kinich as the focus, so it was either a) find an object or something similar that's associated with him b) use his quest icon/tribe's icon c) pure typography, which I barely have experience with. I tried using his ascension materials and his weapon for something, tried just sticking a quote on there and shaping it into the shape of his necklace, etc. I was so stuck lmao this was my closest attempt. I full circled back to the video game UI theme I tried at first, but it felt way too empty lol.

the font made it into the final version of panel 4 though! Honestly, I don't have much to say about this design. I caved and used another Kinich image instead of forcing myself to stick with a design centered around his constellation/quest icon and it made things a lot smoother. I was playing around with different formatting of "atonement or compensation" and "give up" (tried overlaying them on top of kinich's scribbled out eyes, etc) but those versions all ended up asymmetrical, so I chose to wrap the quote around the frame instead. I also tried using some leaf textures to mask his face, but it made the scribble look like it's floating around randomly, because you can't really see where his eyes are supposed to be. Ig, have a version with thinner text (kinda hard to read unless you zoom in) and no filters. the font's called m+1c or something and lowkey idk whether there's any difference between some of its thickness settings. i swear to god regular and medium weights look exactly the same

conclusion: kinich. i love your character stories. live your best life.

[nayialovecat]

Nimona :/

Ok, we finally watched Nimona and I admit that I'm a bit disappointed - mainly with the plot and the world that has no right to function.

After everyone was raving about this movie, I really expected something much better. I will only point out a few of the biggest logical, plot and world building errors (warning: spoilers):

The queen is dead - where is the mourning? Where's the new queen or king? She died and people were like "aha, so we have a villain in the city now" and continued their lives? What the hell?

For a thousand-year-old being, Nimona acts like they're been in some kind of hibernation for 99% of those thousand years. They have no experience, no knowledge, and basically… nothing. Personally, I bet that they are a descendant of a monster and are younger than their "main" form. That would make more sense.

Where are the older knights? The new ones were only choosed when the old ones died or what? And if only the descendants of the original team became knights - how come there were still so many of them? Within a thousand years, at least half of these families should be extinct!

So the city really had no contact with the outside world? How on earth was it self-sustaining? Okay, with the technology they could do it - but not in medieval times, damn it! Read how many hectares of land are needed to feed the appropriate number of cows to feed 700,000 people. Man! Seriously!

Since apparently there was ONLY this one kingdom in the whole world, why was it called a kingdom - yes A KINGDOM, even not THE KINGDOM (by the way, it had no other name, lol), but also - who did they trade with at the end? And if there were other countries - why didn't they try to contact this one?

Nimona and Ballister gain evidence of the principal's guilt IN THE DIGITAL VERSION. Ballister doesn't want to share the recording online - but WHY can't he send it to his lover VIA EMAIL? Fucking hell… The technology in this world is advanced but only works when there is a plot need. It hurts so much.

Horses that magically appear when the epicness of the scene requires it and disappear when something could happen to them (then we have exploding flying scooters).

Please, did they only post this short fragment of the principal's statement online, or were the animators simply lazy? Why didn't they include the scene of Nimona changing from lover back to themself - then it would be clear that they couldn't have been the principal when she confessed. Am I the only one who sees the idiocy here?

The principal's motivation doesn't make any sense. I'm not saying anything more here. Her whole plan simply exists to create a plot problem, giving an excuse for fights, betrayals, dramatic scenes and the deaths of other characters. Bleh.

Ballister attack on Nimona have no sens also. Bleh.

People. Don't. Act. That. Way. They don't forgive because the monster saved their lives when he previously almost destroyed the city.

And finally, two more comments about the Polish translation: flattering and unflattering. Unflattering: why "dyrektora". What's wrong with the word "dyrektorka"? I mean, I know what it's about, the fucking linguistic political hypercorrectness, but… When I first heard the phrase "dyrektora", I thought it was just slang. At school we called the principal "dyro" - I thought that was what it was about. Political hypercorrectness disgusts me in this case. And flattering one: Nimona's pronouns. In the Polish version, they talk about themself in the neuter gender - and that's cool. But others call them "she". And here's a big plus in that: a) there's no saying "that's not my pronoun, use proper one!!!", which actually gets tiring, b) there's no exaggeration in the other direction, i.e. Nimona calls themself "ono" once and then everyone magically knows to address them with this form (this is also what irritates me in TV series, that no one is ever wrong - unless they use the plot to justify it or is needed conflic about that). So here I consider translations to be a plus, I don't know if it was the same in English, but it's a tiny plus for Polish translators. Good job.

Let it not be so harsh. The movie has good moments. I think the animation is wonderful. The dialogues are even funny. There are nice character designs. I like the romance between Ballister and Ambrosius. There are some really cute scenes that I liked (e.g. a possessed child, a scene with an otter - although at first I thought it was a hydra - similar words in Polish "wydra" and "hydra") and a few texts that made me laugh (somewhere at the end there was "leave the kid and run away" from some random characters - I laughed at this). But overall… the movie disappointed me. This was not what I expected after so many praises in its honor. And the main (I assume it was supposed to be the main) thread about tolerance and respecting others, no matter who they are, completely disappeared.

[death2normalcy]

Since I’m officially done with the main guides to Stray Kids, I figured I’d do a couple fun guides, just for, well, fun. I’m done with the dynamics, but I didn’t want to stop making these, lmao. So, I thought it would be interesting to kind of explain the boys music, kind of like a summary of all the music they’ve put out. Not each song individually, that may be too much. But maybe the albums/mini albums/ EPs, etc.

This post once again skips around a bit and talks about the two compilation albums they made that includes their remade songs.

(Most of the info was taken from Wikipedia, or from my own listen of the album. I’ve gotten bits and pieces from other areas, but yea. If I got something wrong, or missed something important, please let me know!)

SKZ 2020

released in March 2020.

this one was released as a physical copy in Japan.

actually a compilation album, as well as their Japanese debut.

27 tracks in total, however, they are almost all re-recorded tracks that were remade after Woojin left the group in 2019.

there’s also 3 songs that were recorded in Japanese (My Pace, Double Knot, and Levanter)

the re-recorded songs on this one are: hellevator, beware, spread my wings, yayaya, district 9, mirror, grow up, my pace, voices, question, m.i.a., awkward silence, i am you, get cool, miroh, victory song, boxer, chronosaurus, 19,  side effects, tmt, double knot, levanter, and astronaut

no new music videos, that I can tell, as this was mainly just a compilation album

there’s a lot that’s been said about these re-recordings, for sure. i’m not here to talk about all that, as this is meant to just be a guide, but if you’re interested in that kind of stuff, some stays have been vocal about their thoughts.

i think that other members were able to shine more in these newer versions and i’m grateful for that. one standout for me specifically is han on chronosaurus, but a lot of the vocal line is given more time to shine and it’s fantastic.

Peak Position - 3 on Japanese Albums chart.

SKZ 2021

released in December 2021, digitally only.

this is another compilation album that contains re-recorded versions of their previous songs minus Woojin.

this album contains 14 tracks, including the Korean version of scars.

it also contains the previous mixtapes, #1-5, only under their original titles, which in order are, placebo, behind the light, for you, broken compass, and hoodie season.

other songs featured on this album: awaken, rock, 3rd eye, insomnia, my side, n/s, 0325, and maze of memories

again, no music videos for this specific album. also, i don’t think this was an image for the album, but as i couldn’t seem to find out, i just used it.

WAIT. I almost forgot, there was a video. hold on, i’m gonna just copy and paste from wikipedia

The special music video of "Placebo", stated that it was made by the group's alter ego as SKZ Company personnel from their online program SKZ Code, was released on December 24.

Peak position - 5 on Japanese Digital Albums

there were a couple of songs that were never re-recorded. i’m unsure of why the exact reasoning is, maybe because they contained lyrics by woojin, or some other technical reason. either way, they are hero’s soup, school life, glow and 4419

Overall, not much to say about these two. I just wanted to make a quick post and get them out, so I can move on to other things, lol.

[poiboi133]

What if… Cassidy was the virus?

“Those who heard the stories of terrified night guards would never have believed their stories.” OMC began to reel in something from the pond, it didn’t seem to fight back. The line easily returned to him, but there wasn’t a fish on the end of the line. “Until this game was created.” On the hook, was a familiar VR game. “Five Nights at Freddy’s, Help Wanted. A virtual reality experience, where you got to feel, see, and fear what these night guards did. But there was one thing that you saw, felt, and feared that the night guards didn’t.”

He lowered the game into the pond, which showed the outline of an eerily familiar rabbit.

“Glitchtrap, the digital manifestation of William Afton. Who escaped into the game after a piece of the rotting and burning Scraptrap suit was used to finish the game.” OMC lifted the rod out of the pond, changing the scene to a burnt and rotting pizzeria. “But in this universe, another suit was used to finish the game..”

– – –

“AAH!”

Luis whirled around, Jeremy’s pants were caught on something. His pants were caught on an animatronic arm… or claw for that matter. He hurried to help Jeremy out, they had to get this done quickly.

“There.” Luis said, detaching the claw from Jeremy’s pants. “Now come on, we’ve gotta hurry!” He pulled Jeremy by the arm and hurried through the darkened hallways.

“Why does it have to be something from these things?!” Jeremy asked, pulling away from Luis’s grasp. “Can’t they just buy something?! Maybe.. A phone or a laptop?!”

“You know the bosses don’t wanna spend too much money.” Luis responded calmly. “Besides, this kind of tech is worth millions! We have the tech of the future right at our fingertips!”

“But haven’t you heard the stories?!” Jeremy shot back in a panic. “These things… they’re haunted!”

Luis sighed. “Know what, repeat what you just said.”

“That these things are haunted!” Jeremy shot back.

“No. Before that.” Luis answered, calmly.

“The stories!” Jeremy said. “The stories that these things are haunted!”

“Exactly.” Luis said, putting his hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. “Stories. Conspiracy theories, they’re not true. It’s just a.. Bunch of idiots telling fake stories about animatronics. They’re robots, they’re not sentient.”

“What about the missing kids?” Jeremy demanded. “Back in 1985? The bite of 83? The Jeremy before me?!”

Luis sighed again. “Again. Stories. Whatever happened to Jeremy Fitzgerald won’t happen to you, wanna know why?”

“..why?” Jeremy asked, nervously.

“Because it’s all fake.” Luis said assuringly. “That Jeremy was a lunatic who decided to hurt himself terribly in a car accident to make it look like Toy Foxy bit him.” He let go of Jeremy's shoulder. “Everything that happened happened because of crazy people who want us dead. And do you want to be like Jeremy Fitzgerald?”

“..no.” Jeremy answered, with a hint of bravery in his voice.

“Good. Because you know what? I bet they told you to come down here with me, so that you could be everything that Fitzgerald couldn’t. Don’t spread stories, you came here so you could earn a living. Right?” Luis asked.

“Right!” Jeremy responded, hyping himself up. “I came here on behalf of Silver Parasol!”

“That’s right.” Luis said enthusiastically. “You’re not gonna let a bunch of stories scare you, are you?” He began walking through the old pizzeria again, they’ve wasted enough time as it was.

“No! I’m not!” Jeremy said, hurrying past Luis further down into the pizzeria. “Let’s go! We’ve got a job to do!”

Luis sighed in relief, he followed Jeremy through the darkened hallways. All they needed to do was find a sustainable old animatronic suit, get some of its programming, and get out. Not a Funtime endoskeleton, since it was all mainly wires, they needed the ones that Henry specifically designed.

Maybe the Puppet.

Or the new versions of the four infamous animatronics.

Or even the ancient Fredbear and Springbonnie.

Wouldn’t that be something?

“HEY!” Jeremy called through the dark. “I GOT SOMETHING!”

Luis hurried to where Jeremy was calling from. “Did you find an old Henry suit?!” He called.

“Yeah! I think so!” Jeremy called, as he began to come into view. He was standing over an old animatronic suit, there was another one beside him. “Check it out! You’ll never believe who it is!”

Luis looked down at the suit Jeremy was looking at.

Or at least, what remained of it.

Luis wasn’t even sure he could call it a suit anymore.

It was extremely worn down, and there was a terrible scent coming from inside. It looked like one of its ears was gone, since there was another one that was really worn down. The suit’s left arm was gone, while the right arm was intact. And there was a strange white filling inside of the suit’s head.

“It’s Springbonnie, dude!” Jeremy said, patting Luis on the back. “I thought they scrapped this guy so long ago.. What’s up?”

Luis reached down to the suit’s head, towards the mouth, and lifted the mouth up.

Where a skull was staring back at him.

“....oh..my…HRPH!” Jeremy turned back around, covering his mouth with his hands. He looked a little green, like the suit, and as if he was about to vomit.

“No! No! Don’t throw up!” Luis told him, closing the mouth, hiding the skull. “Please… don’t throw up!”

Jeremy swallowed the bile, and shakingly pointed at the suit. “I… the stories…!”

“What?” Luis asked. “What do you mean?”

“There was a story… about someone getting springlocked..!” Jeremy responded shakingly. He quickly turned away from the rotting Springbonnie suit, and looked down at the other suit. “Open.. open it!” He told Luis.

“What?! Why me?!” Luis demanded, pushing Jeremy to the other yellow suit.

“Because I’m gonna hurl if there’s another dead body in there!” Jeremy shot back, covering his eyes.

“Okay, okay! Fine!” Luis answered, slowly reaching for the mouth.

He opened it.

Nothing.

All there was, was a bit of endoskeleton, and nothing else.

Besides the endoskeleton, the suit was an empty shell.

Luis closed the mouth, recognizing who the suit was.

Fredbear.

“We’re clear.” Luis told Jeremy, shaking his shoulder.

Jeremy peeked through his fingers, and finally lowered them after staring down into the suit’s mouth. He sighed in relief.

“Oh thank god..” Jeremy breathed. “I thought.. I thought..”

“You thought what?!” Luis demanded.

“I thought.. Dead kid..” Jeremy answered, putting his hands on his knees. “But.. again.. Stories!” He chuckled. “Let’s.. Just grab a piece of the endoskeleton and go…”

Luis sighed, pulled a pair of pliers out from his pockets, and began to twist the endoskeleton inside the suit.

– – –

“Instead of getting a piece from the remains of an infamous serial killer, the two settled on using what remained of Fredbear.” OMC said, swishing the surface of the pond, changing the scene. “Unaware of familiar consequences that would soon follow.”

– – –

“How’s the security system going?” Luis asked, putting a cup of coffee on her desk.

“It’s.. coming along.” She responded, taking a sip of the coffee. “HandUnit is pretty impressive for a security system, but there are some things that are gonna take time to upload.. And other things that need to be installed and possibly reprogrammed. His structural and compositional formatting can’t download the necessary security schematics, so we may need to ask to extend the deadline.”

“The bosses aren’t gonna understand a word you’re saying.” Luis asked, sitting down in front of the desk with a large variety of computer screens on it. Each computer was running through numbers and digital codes.. And stuff the board couldn’t even begin to understand.

Briana sighed. “HandUnit probably wouldn’t be the best security system. There are things that would have to be updated, but that would take way too long.”

“Beyond our deadline?” Luis asked, concerningly.

“Yup.” She sighed, taking another sip of coffee. “Sorry, bud.” Briana turned off her tape recorder and whirled her seat around to face the small, yellow pad. Who was hooked up to the computers.

“It’s understandable if I’m unable to calibrate the necessary requirements for an efficient security system.” The yellow pad responded. “Technology is changing by the day, and there hopefully may be enough time to discover an artificial intelligence to do what I cannot.”

“Finding that kind of AI sounds like a miracle.” Briana responded, getting up from her seat and walking out of the room. She seemed frustrated, so Luis followed behind.

“What now?” He asked, closing the door behind him as he followed her out into the hallway.

“Beats me. There’s a clear barrier between past and modern technology, but we just need something to work…” She sighed. “The board isn’t gonna like this.”

“Maybe I could try and develop or find a program that could handle the bosses’ demands.” Luis offered, being an IT for Fazbear Entertainment could let him buy the time needed to do so.

“Thanks, but we need this security system in two weeks.” Briana responded. “And we both know our bosses are getting really impatient.”

Luis nodded.

There had to be some kind of answer to this..

But Luis’s train of thought was cut off by the sound of someone running through the hallways.

“LUIS! BRI!”

Jeremy was running down the hallway toward them, he seemed to be in a massive panic. Once he reached them, he needed a few moments to catch his breath.

“Hey, hey…” Luis said, holding Jeremy’s shoulders. “Take it easy.. deep breaths.”

Jeremy seemed to comply, as he took two massive breaths in and out.

“You good?” Luis asked.

Jeremy nodded.

“Okay, tell me what’s wrong.” Luis said, helping Jeremy calm down.

“There’s.. There’s something inside the game!” Jeremy answered, pointing back from the way he came. “Something that shouldn’t be there…”

“..what?” Briana and Luis asked at the same time.

“Follow me.” Jeremy said before heading down the hallway again.

The two gave pursuit, turning a few corners before arriving at the beta testing room. The headset was lying on the table, around several cameras and scripts with blueprints on them for the game. Pictures of old animatronic characters lay around everywhere, which were then uploaded into the game files.

“Here, put it on.” Jeremy said, handing the headset to Briana.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Briana said, holding onto the headset. “Are you sure you weren’t seeing things?”

“I’m positive.” Jeremy said, sincerely. “See for yourself.”

Briana slid the headset over her eyes and head, taking a moment to adjust to the virtual reality experience.

“It’s just the Main Hub.” She said, looking around the room. “What’s the–”

She stopped in her tracks and her sentence, staring at something that made her freeze completely.

“You see it.. You see it, right?!” Jeremy said, walking over to the right corner of the room. “It’s right here, where my voice is, right?”

Briana didn’t respond, but she was staring directly where Jeremy was standing.

“Bri?” Luis asked worriedly. “Is everything okay? What is it?”

“...pull up the code for the game.” Briana answered, removing the headset and handing it over to Luis.

Jeremy walked with Briana over to a computer, which contained the coding used in the game. Meanwhile, Luis was sliding on the headset to see what they were looking at.

Everything looked fine so far in the Main Hub, but he braced himself to turn to where Briana was staring. After a moment to collect himself, he turned to the corner.

Where a small, yellow, figure was staring back at him.

It appeared to look like a young girl, since it was so small. She had a yellow dress, a yellow skin tone on her legs and arms. With a brighter tone of yellow for her hair. On her head, was a small crown. And her face was covered by a Fredbear mask.

– – –

“Instead of William manifesting in the digital plane within Help Wanted, a familiar someone became the virus in the game.” OMC tapped the water, and it changed into an office. “The vengeful spirit, Cassidy, found herself going from the living hellscape she created for William into a completely different world.” The scene of the office changed into the Main Hub in Help Wanted. But this time, it was in a different perspective, as the point of view the pond displayed was looking towards a white figure sitting at the game selector in the Main Hub. “But her journey through the digital realm had just begun..”

– – –

“You called?” Luis asked, walking into Briana’s room.

“Well, it turns out that little virus in the game came from the endoskeleton programming you and Jeremy collected from Fredbear.” Briana punched in a few commands on her keyboard. “At first, I thought it was just a little solvable glitch, but as I rebooted and restarted the game file, it didn’t change anything. So then I looked deeper, and discovered a link between the virus, a port of Princess Quest, and the endoskeleton programming that was collected from Fredbear. So when I removed the endoskeleton piece and its programming, the little virus was no longer in the now incomplete Main Hub. Which I can still fix, thankfully.”

“That’s a relief..” Luis sighed. “But what about the piece?”

“I’m glad you asked, because I’ve been analyzing the piece you collected… and I think we may have just made a breakthrough on so many levels..” She said while punching in one last code.

Behind Luis, came a projection of all of HandUnit’s programming. The image appeared as an oval, with multiple key aspects that came from within HandUnit, displayed by a projector in the ceiling.

“What’s HandUnit got to do with this?” Luis asked. “We already examined his outline and programming.”

Briana hooked up a container, holding the endoskeleton piece from Fredbear inside, to another computer. “Wait till you see this.” TG pressed a button on the computer’s keyboard.

Another projection came from a different projector. But this one was larger than HandUnits. Luis had to take a few steps back to gain a full look at what the projection was showing.

The image looked like a yellow cloud, larger than HandUnit’s image. Surrounding that cloud, was what looked like a yellow aura circling the cloud. It was moving in and out, like how a stomach would when someone was breathing in and out. From within the aura, small lights and lines could be seen moving around the interior of it, each moving in a different direction. The lights were completely independent, moving around on their own. While the lines connected to each other, forming a ladder shape, only without the large space between each step.

Luis walked around the entire thing, examining each part of it. He didn’t even know what to say.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Briana asked, looking around the entire image.

“..what..” Luis breathed. “How is this..”

“What does it look like?” She asked.

“...a.. A cloud.. Or.. or a brain..” Luis answered, standing still while keeping his gaze on the image. “It’s.. like code..” He pointed at the connected lines, moving around the yellow cloud in the center. “And it looks.. Alive..”

“Unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” Briana responded, taking in the entire image. “Now watch this..” She hit a few keys on the keyboard, and pulled up an image of a beach ball, and then uploaded it to the piece.

The image had begun to change, forming the image of the beach ball within the yellow cloud. The lights and lines had suddenly moved towards the beach ball. The lights surrounded the image, and then attached themselves to the image, covering the beach ball with light yellow lights. Then, the lights began to form little wire-like connections between each other, creating a web shape around the beach ball. The lines moved around the image, forming a circular rotation around it.

“What’s it look like it’s doing?” Briana asked.

“Like it’s.. Thinking or analyzing it..” Luis responded. “Like neurons..connecting and firing electrical impulses.”

“Only one mind is smart enough to pull off something extraordinary like this.” Briana continued.

“..Henry.” Luis answered. “He made… an AI for Fredbear..”

“But it was never used,” she clicked a few more commands on her keyboard, which made the two images disappear, “until now.”

“What do you mean?” Luis asked.

“I mean we can use this to fill in the missing piece of our security system!” TG announced, happily. “This is the key we need to finish our system, and we can get this done by the deadline!”

“Alright.” Luis said, nodding. “Let’s get to work.”

– – –

“On the bright side,” OMC said, watching a sped-up sequence of the two working on getting Cassidy into the security system, “there was no face removal, or possession of anybody’s mind. However, they are completely unaware of what or who they’re working with here. And giving Cassidy access to the entire security system of the Pizzaplex… Well.. perhaps I should just let you see for yourself.”

He tapped the surface of the pond, showing a completely dark void. Except for a bright, shining light falling through the void.

– – –

Everything stopped.

She felt herself land on something.

How long has she been falling for?

Where was she?!

Cassidy lifted herself to her feet, and looked around at..

Darkness.

All around her.

“Hello?” She called out into the void, her voice echoed through the darkness.

“Hello?!” She called again. “Someone?”

Nobody answered.

“Anyone?!”

No answer.

“..oh no.. I’m in Hell, aren’t I?”

No answer.

“DAMN IT!” She cried out. “WHY, UNIVERSE? DON’T YOU THINK THAT WILLIAM TOTALLY DESERVES WHAT I WAS GIVING HIM?!” She yelled up towards the darkness above her. “Sure! I was doing exactly what Charlie didn’t want me to do.. Sure, I made Evan worry. Sure, Michael was angry at me for doing what I was doing.. But is that any reason to send me down to Hell?!”

There was no aurora borealis as she thought there would be.

No Heavenly figure coming down to judge her.

No Charlie.

No Evan.

No Michael.

Nobody.

Just silence.

“Fine! Be that way!” Cassidy yelled again, pointing her sword into the void above her. “You should be grateful! But if you won’t then…” She blew a raspberry at the void. Then she brushed the dust off of her dress..

Wait.

There wasn’t any dust.

What was–

“Hello.” A voice called from the darkness.

Cassidy whirled around in terror.

“WHO’S… WHO’S THERE?!” She yelled.

A light shone behind her, casting a small shadow on the ground.

“I’m a model 5 of the Handyman’s Robotics and Unit-Repair System, but you can call me HandUnit.” The voice responded.

Cassidy turned around, pointing her sword out to…

A tablet?

A yellow tablet with two eyes, two hands on either side of the tablet screen, and a handle beneath the screen.

“You are the security artificial intelligence, designed by Fazbear Entertainment’s technology division, programmed to keep an eye out for any dangers within the new Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex.” It continued.

Freddy Fazbear’s..?

“Wrong, idiot.” Cassidy shot back, tapping the tablet with her sword. “My name is Cassidy, the one William shouldn’t have killed. Not some.. random.. security system, or whatever! And what do you mean by Freddy Fazbear’s Mega.. something? The franchise died with Henry!”

“Your confusion is understandable.” HandUnit responded. “After all, you were discovered within a system connecting a port of Princess Quest and the VR game Five Nights at Freddy’s Help Wanted, and were just suddenly brought here after being in two different places. Times have changed since Henry was around. You see, after Henry’s unexpected death inside of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, Fazbear Entertainment decided to continue his legacy and the franchise. With hopes of achieving and creating what Henry envisioned his franchise to–”

“Wait! Wait! I recall Henry saying that Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza was finally the end for the franchise! Didn’t the company talk with him or something?” Cassidy asked, concerningly.

“Nope.” HandUnit answered, nonchalantly.

“What?! What do you mean, ‘nope?!’” Cassidy demanded. “That doesn’t make any sense! And isn’t that illegal or something?!”

“Most likely, but.. We here at Fazbear Entertainment like to keep things to ourselves!” HandUnit responded.

“I want to speak to your manager–”

“Now, there are important matters we must get to.” HandUnit cut Cassidy off, and then began to float backwards into the void.

“HEY! WAIT! COME BACK HERE! I’M NOT DONE BEING THREATENING!” Cassidy yelled towards the yellow tablet, and began to chase after him. As she gave chase, the void around her began to change. The darkness turned into rows and rows of file cabinets, extending as far as the horizon of the void.

“..what..?” Cassidy breathed, looking around the materializing cabinets. “What is going on?!”

“These are the security protocols that you will be taking over.” HandUnit responded, floating towards Cassidy. “I will explain to you how the system works–”

She had opened one of the file cabinets and began to look through what was supposed to be a paper..

But was actually a screen for some part of a large.. Arcade?

“This is the West Arcade area.” HandUnit said. “I was going to explain to you how it works.. And I’m not sure how you managed to access it without the IT technicians allowing you to do so-”

“Wait.. They already built this place?” Cassidy asked, looking through the screen at the massive arcade. She scrolled down, noticing that there was code beneath the image. And she could somehow.. read it.

“Yes, all they needed was a security program-”

“This doesn’t feel right..” Cassidy cut in, putting the file away and turning around to examine other files. “This.. feels wrong..”

“Please, be patient while I contact Briana and Mr. Cabrera-”

“Mr. Cabrera?” Cassidy asked, scrolling through the file cabinets. She stopped when she reached one that had ‘Employees’ on it. She opened it and began to scroll through the files inside. “Luis. Luis Cabrera.” Cassidy discovered, once she found a file containing information on Luis Cabrera, along with a picture of the man.

“..I’ve lost access to the Employee database.. What are you..” HandUnit asked, with a hint of distress in his voice.

“I’m just doing my duty.” Cassidy responded. “You did say that this is my job, think of it as having a nice conversation.”

“This shouldn’t be happening,” HandUnit said, “you shouldn’t be able to do this on command.. Perhaps you are malfunctioning, if you just shut down–”

“..I don’t…” Cassidy started, scrolling through the files of other employees. “I don’t get it.”

“What do you mean?” HandUnit asked.

“I don’t understand why they’re doing this.. Don’t they care about us?” Cassidy asked, looking at more employee profiles. She placed them back in the cabinet and looked through more cabinets. “Give me a second..”

“Do not access that cabinet.” HandUnit warned Cassidy, who was about to open said cabinet.

“Why?” She asked, cautiously. “What’s in here?”

“That information is strictly classified. We are not allowed to access it.” HandUnit answered. “All that is in that cabinet is information belonging to Fazbear Entertainment, and its new leaders. You’re only supposed to access the security files, and the security files only. I don’t know how you can access that, so please–”

“You mean the people who built that place?” Cassidy responded. “And continued the franchise? Are they the reason why I’m here?” She had pulled the cabinet open a bit..

“I cannot.. Why can’t I..” HandUnit attempted to move from where he was. But something was holding his back, allowing Cassidy to access the file.

Upon looking at the screen in her hand.. Cassidy was being shown far too much information for her mind to understand.

Business deals..

Construction..

Lawsuits..

The Federal Government..

Court hearings..

A sinkhole burying Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza..

A VR game..

“This is… they.. They really don’t…” Cassidy’s voice trailed off as she looked down in shock and despair into the file. “Oh no..” She lowered the file, in complete disbelief as to how far the company had gone to let this entire operation happen.

“You’re in distress.” HandUnit said, worriedly.

“You think?” Cassidy answered. “I just saw the worst possible thing that someone like me could see.” She put the file back into the cabinet and began to scroll through the other files in the cabinet.

“If you just allow me to contact Mr. Cabrera-”

“Why do you call him that?” Cassidy asked.

“What?” HandUnit asked.

“Why don’t you call him.. casually? Like, his actual first name?” Cassidy asked, reaching for her sword.

“I don’t think that our intentions are the same.” HandUnit responded, with more fear in his voice.

“No. They’re not.” Cassidy responded.

She slowly walked towards the yellow tablet, which appeared to be trying to get away.

But Cassidy wouldn’t let him.

Her newfound powers kept him in place, and with a firm grip on her sword and a clear shot..

She sliced HandUnit into two pieces, cutting him across his screen.

The yellow tablet began to glitch out of view, disappearing into nothing.

Cassidy turned back around, putting her sword and forbidden files away, and began looking through the rest of the files.

Looking for a specific file, if it existed at all.

– – –

“The fate of this Pizzaplex rests now in the oncoming conflict between the vengeful spirit, and the individuals who brought her here..” OMC said, tapping the surface of the pond, making the room disappear from view. “Because now, Cassidy has officially entered the digital realm of the Pizzaplex, and has taken Glitchtrap’s place. She is now the virus, and an equal threat to the virus that became of William..”

– – –

“You wanna know something?” Vanessa asked Luis, who was sitting next to her at one of the coffee tables.

“What’s up?” Luis asked, taking a sip of coffee.

“I actually was into the franchise when I was in middle school.” Vanessa answered, staring at a poster for the four main animatronics. “And there was another reason I decided to.. Y’know, stick around..” She looked away for a moment, should she have even said that?

“..is everything okay?” Luis seemed worried, he put his coffee aside and gave Vanessa a concerned look.

“..it’s just an old secret I had.” Vanessa answered. “I really don’t wanna say it.”

“No worries.” Luis said reassuringly. “We all have secrets we wanna keep, it’s just a factor of privacy. I understand.” Earning him a smile from Vanessa, who also appeared to be blushing a little.

“So, are we gonna be able to have parties like this after each work day?” Vanessa asked, looking out at the rest of the partying employees. Mostly everybody who worked at the Pizzaplex was celebrating the Pizzaplex’s success in the Atrium. Jeremy and Briana were there as well, along with some of the Board members treating themselves to some of the pizza.

“Well, as long as we continue to work hard, then I think that they’ll award us with more.” Luis answered, getting up from his seat and heading over to speak with everybody else. Vanessa got up as well, then turned to look around the place. She has been here multiple times, but she can’t help herself but take it all in. All the different attractions, Fazer Blast, Roxy Raceway, Monty’s Gator Golf, and so much more..

It made her feel like a little kid again, a little kid being able to work in what would be a haven for children's imagination. A dream come true.

“You okay, Nessie?”

Vanessa’s daydreaming was interrupted by the sound of Briana’s voice.

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine, just.. taking it all in..” Vanessa answered, looking around the beautiful Pizzaplex.

“I know, to think it took so long to finally accomplish what Henry really wanted..” Briana responded. “So much bullcrap happened in the previous locations.. And the Pizzaplex is the only Freddy’s location that managed to last longer than any of them.”

“And make the animatronics less freaky.” Jeremy added, jumping in on the conversation with a pizza box in hand. “Pepperoni?”

“Hey, don’t be too rough on the old models, okay?” Vanessa responded, taking a slice from the open pizza box. “Henry worked hard on those.”

“Does anyone here even know what Henry was like?” Jeremy asked, looking back at the large crowd of people.

“I don’t think so.” Vanessa responded. “But, to be honest, I think that a place like this is exactly what he envisioned for Freddy’s.”

“I agree, this is like a dream come true.” TG said, looking around the place. “I think he would’ve loved this, seeing all the hard work the Board put in to make this place possible..”

“Well, I think this calls for a toast!” Jeremy exclaimed, passing out cups of juice to everyone. “To Henry!”

“To Henry!” Everyone cheered, about to clink their cups together before-

“...He…HE..HENry…”

The group’s celebration stopped.

Mechanical footsteps grew closer to where they were.

They all turned around behind them.

To see Freddy slowly walking towards them.

But something about the way he was moving was.. off.

Instead of walking normally, he appeared to be limping, dragging one foot after the other.

His arms dangled along his sides, and his head and body tilted to the left. Displaying his black hat towards the group.

“....no..” He said in a deep, distorted tone.

His torso suddenly snapped upright, and then his head snapped to face them.

With black eyes and two small white pupils.

His mouth hung open, and his body slowly turned to face them.

“How could you?” He asked in a demanding tone. “If you really knew Henry… you would know he would never have wanted any of this..” He swung his arm behind him, mentioning towards the Atrium.

“..uh.. Freddy?” Vanessa asked nervously. “You’re.. You’re supposed to be on lockdown.. What are you doing here…?”

“Freddy is on sabbatical, unfortunately for you.” He answered, stepping closer towards them. “Or.. decommissioned, in the digital sense..”

Everyone stepped back as the bear got closer to them.

“See.. I was.. In my own dimension.. Or.. dream.. Tormenting the guy who killed me, and a bunch of other kids..” He clutched his hard with his hands, as if his head was hurting. “Then I was.. suddenly ripped out.. And then I was.. In a.. castle.. And then.. Freddy’s.. I think.”

“....The Fredbear AI.” Luis suddenly said, breaking the silence of the team.

“Wrong.” Freddy shot back, twitching his head to face Luis. “I have a name.. and if you really cared about this place and.. Henry’s legacy..” He pointed his finger accusingly at Luis. “You and your friend wouldn’t have allowed this to happen.” He turned to look at Briana, who was scooching on a table to the other side.

“Cassidy.”

Everyone turned to look at Jeremy, who was sweating profusely at the sight of Freddy.

“Bingo.” Freddy answered. “Y’know, when I found your name in the files.. I thought you were my friend, Jeremy.. Or the Jeremy that got his head bitten open..” He chuckled, but in a slow and creepy manner. “I guess the name brings bad luck to whoever has it..”

“But.. the fire!” Jeremy responded, pointing at the bear. “It should’ve.. Killed you!”

“Killed me?” Cassidy demanded, taking quick steps towards the group, and then stopping once she saw them backing away faster. “..I was already dead by then.” She growled in a low voice. “I chose not to let go.. I wasn’t done with William yet..”

“You know William?” Luis asked, surprised at the sound of the man’s name.

“Of course I do.” She shot back, twisting her head to look at Luis. “He killed me.”

“..I told you!” Jeremy said, punching Luis’s back. “The stories!”

“They’re only stories because that’s what the guys on top told you.” Cassidy responded, walking closer towards the group. “Those.. Liars..” She growled in anger. “They’re the real threat here, and this place is an insult to Henry, to the other dead kids, and me..”

“...so you want us to help you?” Luis asked cautiously.

“You?” Cassidy chuckled. “No.. I can’t trust you. Especially after I found out that you contributed to this mess.. Whatever happens now.. Is your fault, Cabrera, Briana.”

Luis and Briana looked at each other, noticing the sweat pouring down from their heads.

“Because you let me inside the security systems..” Cassidy said, “and now I have complete control over everything that happens in this Pizzaplex..”

As she finished, the crew could hear more mechanical footsteps approaching from all around them.

Vanessa turned around, to see Roxy, Monty, and Chica trudging towards them.

Their eyes were just like Freddy’s, and their mouths hung open.

“..what..”

Luis was interrupted at the sight of other individuals moving behind Cassidy.

Behind her, several Glamrock endoskeletons crawled towards the group.

Crawling on the ceiling, on the floor, and even up on the ceiling.

“What are you doing..?” Luis asked nervously.

“Vengeance.”

With that, all of the animatronics and endoskeletons charged right at the group of employees. The group ran in complete terror away from the oncoming army, running for the closest exit.

– – –

“The terror and onslaught that occurred within the Pizzaplex shook the media of Utah.” The Atrium setting switched to a recorded conference with the leaders of Fazbear Entertainment, who appeared to be denying everything that was asked of them. “While the money-hungry leaders of the company were safe outside the reaches of the vengeful security system, most of the employees remained trapped within the Pizzaplex, now in ruins.” Ripples ran across the pond, changing the setting to a ruined Pizzaplex. With vines overgrowing the entrance, holes around the walls, the sign had fallen down to the ground, and the entrance was covered in wooden boards. “But heroes are never truly gone, as some of them managed to survive.”

– – –

The scraping against the wall grew louder.

Out on recon already?

Vanessa kept as quiet as she could, huddled under one of the party room tables. She held her breath and stopped moving completely. The cameras were definitely activated by now, and it would only be a matter of time before Cassidy found her.

She kept on waiting underneath the table until whoever was hunting her left the room. Footsteps grew louder, and Vanessa could make out the shape of Monty’s foot from beneath the table.

He stood still, waiting for whoever it was he heard to come out. But Vanessa remained as still as possible, except for the sweat running down her face. Speaking of her face, Vanessa could feel the lack of air get to her, her face was probably red by now. She wanted to breathe, but she couldn’t while Monty was still out there. Her heartbeat began to pick up speed, and the sweat ran down faster.

She heard Monty move some of the remaining plates and cups on top of the table, Vanessa hoped and prayed that Monty wouldn’t check under the table. But Monty began to move the chairs around, raising Vanessa’s heartbeat. Now she really needed to catch a breath, the world around her began to become blurry.

And Monty put one of his hands on the edge of the table, right next to Vanessa’s head.

It seemed to be all over.

Vanessa was about to take a breath…

A large explosion went off somewhere.

Monty seemed to take notice, because he let out a gasp and hurried out of the room. Once she made sure he was gone, Vanessa finally took a quick breath through her nose. She crawled out from under the table, and quickly made a break for it.

From her position outside the party room, she saw a small fire inside the Daycare.

‘Thanks, Luis.’ She thought to herself. Vanessa quickly ran away from the party rooms and back towards Roxy Raceway.

– – –

Monty charged into the Daycare, along with several endoskeletons.

Luis waited inside the slide until they were all out of sight.

..the last endoskeleton entered the Daycare, and Luis made a break for the kitchen. He saw someone else running in the same direction he was going, it was Vanessa.

His distraction worked!

He crept up the staircase and hurried towards the kitchen.

“You can’t hide from me!” Monty’s voice ran out through the room. “I will hunt you down!”

‘Fat chance.’ Luis shot back in his mind, and adjusted his black cloak to blend in with the darkness of the Pizzaplex. He caught up with Vanessa, running beside her.

“Thanks!” She whispered to him.

“Don’t mention it.” Luis responded, whispering back.

The two hurried past the Atrium and towards the elevator.

– – –

“Look, so long as we get the last power source we need from a charging station, we’ll be alright.”

Briana laid out a map of the Pizzaplex, along with all of its layers. “A strong enough shock should be able to stun Cassidy long enough to set the fire.”

Jeremy nodded along, marking every place that had a recharge station on the maps.

“Only question is, where to start the damn fire?” Jeremy asked. “We can’t set the whole thing on fire from down in the sewers.”

“...”

“What?” Jeremy whirled around, trying to see what caused Briana to stop talking.

“..thought I heard something.” She answered, looking back at the map. “I was thinking we could start multiple fires, maybe in Roxy Raceway, open space and big enough to set a couple gas canisters and wood on fire. ..or maybe the arcade…” She stopped talking again, she looked up above the two.

Jeremy slowly looked up, he could hear something moving closer towards them.

“...hide the goods.” Briana warned, grabbing hold of the maps and matches.

Jeremy hurried over to the oil cans and quickly dragged them towards the back of the room, then covered them with a tarp to keep them hidden from view. Briana locked the door, turned out the lights, and peeked through the doors leading inside the abandoned Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place.

“..is it her?” Jeremy whispered.

“..no.” Briana answered, taking in a quick breath. She opened the door, letting Vanessa and Luis in. Who were both clearly out of breath, as they needed to take a breather before being able to speak.

“Hey.. hey, easy..” Jeremy assured the two, patting them both on the back. “What happened? I thought you two were gonna take longer.”

“…I.. I couldn’t get them.” Vanessa answered, removing her cloak and goggles. “Monty.. Cassidy saw me.”

“I lit a fire to save her.” Luis said, patting Vanessa on the back. “Now we’re even.”

“Mhm..” Vanessa answered, taking a seat at the table.

“…okay.” Luis responded, relaxing on a chair. “What’s the plan now?”

“We’re just going to have to try again.” Briana responded, pulling out the maps from beneath the table. “But this time you two are gonna stay here.”

“What? No! Absolutely not!” Luis interjected. “I can handle this.”

“With that leg?” Jeremy pulled out a medical kit from a cabinet they recovered. “That thing needs to be taken care of.”

“I can handle it-”

“No.” Briana cut Luis off. “You are staying here, you’ve already volunteered to go out there several times. You need to take care of yourself sometimes!”

“I can’t. Not if I know I’m putting you guys in peril.” Luis shot back.

“Hey, take it easy.” Jeremy said. “I’m trying to fix your leg here.”

“Luis, sometimes.. it’s okay to put yourself before others.” Briana placed a hand on Luis’s shoulder. “We appreciate you doing this for us, but–”

“But I can’t let you get hurt.” Luis cut in, heading back towards the door. Which earned him a grunt from Jeremy.

“At what cost, Luis?” Vanessa said, rising from her chair. “Are you willing to lose a leg, an arm, or.. Even your life?”

She sounded hurt, which got Luis to listen.

He turned around, nodding at what Vanessa said.

“She’s right, get some rest.” Briana nudged him back to his chair. “Besides, we need to work out where to start the fire. …Or fires.” She looked around the map laid out on the table, which had multiple marks on them. “Just don’t know where to put them.. or..” she turned over towards the abandoned and scrapped Glamrock Animatronic. “We could fuel that thing with.. The recharge station power sources.”

“No, absolutely not,” Jeremy said. “Cassidy will go mental if she sees that thing.”

“As if she hasn’t gone mental already.” Briana shot back. “Look, if we can get a machine on our side–”

“You mean a machine that looks exactly like the man who killed her.” Jeremy growled. “She already wants us dead, do you want her to torment us by slowly killing us?”

“If she ever finds us, that is, which hasn’t happened.” Briana responded. “You guys also said that he doesn’t have a completed security protocol, meaning that Cassidy can’t control him.”

“But he is Springbonnie. Aka, the suit that William wore while killing those kids, and the one thing that’ll piss off Cassidy more than anything!” Jeremy said.

“Well.. he isn’t really Springbonnie..” Briana pulled the tarp off of the rehashed version of Springbonnie.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jeremy said, rubbing his temples. “It’s a rabbit, and it's yellow…”

“But it isn’t being worn by a serial killer.” Briana said.

“We. Are. Not. Using. It!” Jeremy said, slamming his first on the table.

“Hear me out!” Briana continued. “With a machine that isn’t connected to Cassidy’s hivemind, we can teach it to love and cherish what we’ve tried to make out of the Pizzaplex!”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Jeremy demanded.

“I mean make an animatronic that would be good!” Briana proposed.

“Can we just stick to the plan of finding a good place to start the fire?!” Jeremy cried, smalling his fists on the table, hot tears streaming down his face.

Nobody spoke for a while, giving Jeremy the time he needed to calm down.

“...you okay?” Luis asked.

Jeremy nodded in response.

“Okay.. so, what’s the plan now?” Luis looked around the team. “What do we all agree on?”

“..get the power from the recharge stations.” Vanessa said, looking at the places Jeremy marked. “Shock the little shit. And burn down the place.”

“We do have the wood for this, right?” Jeremy asked, looking around the place.

“Yeah, they’re backstage.” Briana responded.

“Okay, so we grab the power source from the recharge stations… and work out where to place the fires from there.” Luis said. “Agreed?”

“Agreed.” Ness, Jeremy, and Briana said at once.

“Okay, let’s-”

“Ah, ah, ah! Not you Luis.” Briana said, pulling him back to the chair. “This time, Jeremy and I are going up there.”

“...fine.” Luis responded, taking a seat at one of the party tables.

“Okay, good. Jeremy?”

Jeremy nodded in response.

“Alright, let’s go.” Briana said, grabbing a backpack and a toolbox. She headed for the entrance doors, Jeremy following behind her.

Vanessa sat at the table with Luis, wrapping an arm around him. “They’re gonna be okay.” She assured him.

Luis nodded nervously.

“...y’know, I’ve been thinking about what Briana said about the scrapped Springbonnie..” Vanessa said, looking at the wasted animatronic. “It’s.. reasonable why he doesn’t want that thing walking around.. But..”

“You think that Briana may have a point.” Luis answered.

“..yeah.” Vanessa said. “These old computers showed that it was okay. No glitch. No Cassidy..”

“You really think it could work out?” Luis asked.

“..maybe. We just need to power it on.” Vanessa responded. “You think it's worth a shot?”

– – –

“There’s too many of them..” Jeremy whispered and sighed, staring through his night vision goggles at the amount of Glamrock endoskeletons standing outside the entrance to the Daycare. They were all keeping guard, crawling around on the floor and the walls. “I think we should go for another one..”

“Wait.. I have an idea.” Briana answered. She reached into her backpack, pulled out a wooden plank, and threw it with all her strength. It landed on the ground with thunks and what sounded like wood breaking.

Jeremy shuddered at what just happened. “Seriously?!” He whispered harshly.

“Shh!” Briana pulled him behind the pillar, and peeked out to make sure that the endoskeletons were all heading towards the sound.

“We good?” Jeremy whispered.

Briana nodded in response.

“..okay. Let’s get going..” He whispered back, checking around to ensure that the endoskeletons weren’t coming back. Once he made sure the coast was clear, he tiptoed quickly over to the charging station, making sure that his black cloak was completely covering him. He heard Briana following behind him, he looked back to see her pulling out a screwdriver. They circled around the charging station, searching for the panel on the floor.

“Okay.. make it quick!” Jeremy whispered, keeping an eye out for any returning endoskeletons.

Briana made quick work of the screws in the floor, she managed to pull the panel off of the floor, revealing several wires and a small glowing core in the center of the hole in the floor.

“Crap!” She hissed, covering the light coming out of the hole with her black cloak. Jeremy helped, throwing his cloak over the hole, but still allowing Briana to access the power in the floor. “Hang on.. I’ve almost got it!” She whispered.

Jeremy was shaking, he knew that at least one of those endoskeletons must’ve seen or noticed the sudden bright light coming out of the floor. He turned around to look at Briana, who was holding the power core in her hand. Jeremy sighed in relief, and picked his cloak off of the floor. “Let’s go..” He whispered, hurrying back towards the pillar where they were hiding before.

Only to be intercepted by an endoskeleton reaching out from behind the pillar to grab him.

– – –

“Okay.. the Glamrock schematics are being uploaded.. Are you almost done?” Vanessa asked, punching a few commands into the computer, which was hooked up to the old Glamrock endoskeleton.

“...hm?” Luis asked suddenly. “Oh, yeah, almost done!” He said, plugging in the last few wires into the animatronic.

“..you’re still worried, huh?” Vanessa asked.

“Of course I am!” Luis answered. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to them!”

“They’re gonna be okay, don’t worry.” Vanessa assured him, earning a slight nod from Luis. “..hey did you hear that?”

Luis looked towards the doors, someone was trying to get in. “Oh, thank god.” He sighed in relief. He ran towards them, and opened the doors to let Jeremy and Briana in.

..along with a trail of blood coming from Jeremy’s arm.

“Oh god..” Vanessa whispered, rushing over towards Jeremy. “What..?”

“We.. got it… that’s all that..” Jeremy began to fade out, collapsing to his knees.

“Get him bandages!” Briana exclaimed, helping Jeremy get back to his feet.

“Wait.” Luis said, searching through the medical box. “Were you guys seen?”

“No.. I don’t-”

The doors barged open behind them.

Several staff bots entered the old pizzeria.

“Now this!” A voice rang from within them all. “This.. brings back memories..” The Staff Bots moved aside, allowing the main four animatronics to come through.

“Oh no…” Vanessa whispered upon seeing the empty and black eyes of the main four.

“Hiding out down here?” Cassidy asked. “As if you hadn’t ruined Henry’s big speech enough.” She growled through Freddy.

“No one has to ruin anything. Not anymore.” Luis answered, standing in front of his friends.

“Clearly you don’t remember what I did to your leg.” Cassidy responded threateningly.

“She beat me by one second.” Vanessa whispered.

“You don’t have to do this.” Briana said, reaching for the nearest weapon-looking tool. “You can still walk away.. or move on from this.”

“I’ve got an anger complex.” Cassidy responded. “And I think you’re confused about who’s the real victim here..”

“We’re all victims of circumstance here.” Vanessa said, pulling out a Fazerblaster. “Bring you’re taking things way too far..”

“Stop!” Jeremy interjected, wrapping his bleeding arm with a bandage. “…I know what happened to you… and it wasn’t fair..”

Cassidy appeared intrigued, tilting the heads of all the animatronics in the room.

“But… William Afton is gone. You can rest now..” He said, sympathetically.

“Maybe.” Cassidy responded. “But I’ve got a new mission.” She answered. “And besides, do you really think I didn’t notice the elephant in the room?” She turned, not looking at an Orville, but to the fixed up Glamrock Springbonnie.

Jeremy and Briana whirled back at Luis and Vanessa once they saw it.

Briana looked surprised and shocked, but Jeremy looked hurt and angry, giving them a complete ‘What the fuck?!’ face.

“So.. let’s just evaluate what’s happening here.” Cassidy proposed. “Not only are you insulting Henry’s legacy, insulting the pained and immortal lives of my friends and I, including Michael, but you’re also turning yourselves against each other, judging by the looks on your friends’ faces.” Cassidy turned to look at Jeremy and Briana. “From that, it’s obvious that there is no structural plan here, only two forces divided over what’s right and what’s wrong.” She nodded. “I know that well..”

“That’s not what’s happening!” Luis said, looking at Cassidy, Briana, and Jeremy.

“That is clearly what’s happening.” Cassidy shot back. “Now, if you don’t mind, I'm finally going to–”

A smoke bomb went off in front of the group, along with several shots from the Fazerblaster towards the distracted robots. Screeching and the silhouettes from the smoke ran throughout the room.

“GET TO THE ESCAPE HOLE!” Vanessa shouted, firing multiple shots from the Fazerblaster. The other three ran towards the hole in the ground, bringing whatever they could with them. Vanessa fired a few last shots before heading down the hole herself. They all descended deeper down into a layer of the old pizzeria that they hadn’t explored much before. A large room and two pathways leading further into the ground. They could hear the sounds of mechanical footsteps following behind them, telling them to keep running into the old pizzeria. Vanessa led them through the right hallway, and into another path that spread down into an unknown cave system. Twists and turns were the only way they could go, but the light from the pizzeria began to fade as they went deeper into the cave systems.

The metal footsteps grew louder, and none of them dared to look back.

Except for when they heard someone screaming.

Luis turned around, one of the endoskeletons had caught Jeremy.

He rushed back to help him, Briana following behind him.

But more endoskeletons pounced on Jeremy, and began to tear away at him. Jeremy’s screams grew louder as each one scratched away at him.

More endoskeletons descended from the roof of the cave system, forcing Luis and Briana to go forward.

– – –

She got one.

There were only three left, but she couldn’t see them anymore through the eyes of the endoskeleton.

Cassidy grumbled, she should’ve gotten Luis and Briana when she had the chance..

But she did manage to get her hands on the old Glamrock. It had multiple spare parts that she could use for her plan.. But it felt.. Wrong. Like she was using William as a means to help herself..

But she really did want to have a massive army to take on Fazbear Entertainment.. So sacrifices had to be made.

Cassidy looked back at the dark void of the cave system, where the three remaining Fazbear employees fled. And before returning to Freddy, she sent one more endoskeleton down into the cave, just to be on the safe side..

– – –

“..did we lose her?” Vanessa asked shakingly. Luis and Briana couldn’t see her in the void of.. wherever they were. “..guys?”

“...I think so.” Briana responded, looking back the way they came. She almost passed out from how long and far they were running, causing her to sit down on the rough cave floor to catch her breath.

Luis’s sniffling and whimpering could be heard in the darkness.

“...I.. I just left… I left him.. And now..” He fell to his knees. “..there’s nothing left by now.. nothing..”

Vanessa walked over to where she could hear him, and once she found him, got down on the ground and hugged him tightly. She let her own tears fall down with his, scarred and horrified by Jeremy’s screams ringing in their heads.

“..this is as good a spot as any… I guess.” Briana said, turning on one of the remaining flashlights. She illuminated one of the walls of the cavern, and brought out some sleeping bags from her salvaged backpack.

“..what do we do?” Luis asked, looking around the cave. “We lost everything..”

“..let’s..let’s just..” Vanessa sniffed, wiping tears out of her eyes. “Let’s.. Sleep here for the night.. There’s no way she can find us now…” She said shakingly. Vanessa helped Briana roll out the sleeping bags on the ground.

The trio would rest in three, while leaving the remaining fourth sleeping bag empty, alongside them.

Vanessa sobbed into her pillow upon seeing the empty sleeping bag.

“...don’t worry..” Briana said, rubbing Vanessa’s back. “It’s going to be okay..”

“Okay?!” Luis cried, rising from his sleeping bed. “Jeremy’s dead because of me!”

“No. No. Luis..” Briana rose from hers and hugged him tightly. “It’s not your fault.. We all should’ve made sure that he was with us…”

Vanessa joined in on the group hug, holding her two remaining friends close. After a while, they all settled into their sleeping bags.. And turned off the flashlight.

– – –

“Cassidy’s rage cost the lives of many employees within the Pizzaplex, but this one… hurts the most.” OMC commented sorrowfully, looking down upon the sleeping employees. “Down one member, the surviving three are lost.. And possibly doomed to the vengeful grasp of Cassidy.. Unless they keep their spirits up, and keep going.. Which would be for the greater good of many other employees in the corrupted company of Fazbear Entertainment.. Because now, Cassidy has all she needs in order to finish building her army..” He tapped the surface of the pond, which had displayed Parts and Service, with Glamrock Springbonnie inside of it. “With the parts inside that animatronic, Cassidy can finish creating a few more endoskeletons.. To take on the company with, unless our heroes can stop her..”

– – –

Something fell onto Luis’s face, causing him to wake up from his sleep.

He stared up at the dark void of the cave ceiling, then began to return to his sleep..

Until another piece of debris fell onto his face again, followed by the sounds of metal above him.

This time, he really woke up, and tried to make out the shape of the animatronic on the ceiling. He could feel his heart about to burst out of his chest, and sweat rolled down from his face to his pillow. His breathing increased with each step the animatronic took.

But that’s when he heard the sound of someone moving in their sleeping bag, he turned to the left, and could just make out the shape of Vanessa sitting up in her sleeping bag. He couldn’t make out her face, but he could make out the sounds of her breathing, it was rapid as his heartbeat.

The mechanical crawling got louder, as if the animatronic was right behind or in front of him…

He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the cold metal to strike…

But then he heard it get softer and softer.. And quieter, like it was getting further away.

And eventually, he couldn’t hear it anymore.

Luis stayed put in his sleeping bag, bracing himself to be caught off guard..

But the flashlight turned on, and Briana got up from her sleeping bag.

She shone the flashlight around the room, checking to see if the robot was still in the cave, but there was nothing on the ceiling or walls. Once she made sure the coast was clear, she shook Luis and pulled Vanessa to her feet.

“Get up, get up, getup!” She whispered harshly.

“What are you doing?!” Luis whispered back.

“We’ve got to go!” Briana answered, focusing the light at another path in the walls of the cave. “Come on! Quick!” She packed the sleeping bags and hurried down the path. Vanessa and Luis followed behind once they gathered their remaining belongings.

“Where are we going?!” Vanessa demanded quietly.

“It doesn't matter!” Briana whispered back. “We’ve got to go!”

Metal scraping bounced off the walls of the cave.

“I hear it!” Luis whispered to the other two. He picked up the pace, running through the path.

“Let’s kill it!” Vanessa whispered, reaching for something in her knapsack.

“We can’t!” Briana said, grabbing hold of her arm and running to catch up with Luis.

As they hurried further down the path, the metal scraping got quieter, yet they still kept going. They luckily had the flashlight on this time, allowing them to see where they were going. Their footsteps turned into light splashing as they hurried. Luis looked down to look at a small flow of water running with them, and the ground got higher like running up a hill as they hurried.

“Guys, wait.” Briana whispered, stopping in her tracks. She turned to her left..

Was something glowing…?

She led Luis and Vanessa towards the purple light source, which got them onto a stone path and a fence lying around. In front of Briana, were multiple trash bags littered all over the floor.

“What the hell..?” Briana kicked at the garbage. “...guys, I think we’re back at the Pizzaplex..” She whispered to the other two behind her.

“What?” Luis whispered back. “No way.. We were below the Pizzaplex, how did we get back so fast?”

Briana pointed her flashlight towards the source of the purple light source..

A purple light above a door, with a small Helpy pad beneath it, which was used to help employees know where they are.

To the right of the Helpy pad, was a small flight of stairs, leading towards a red door.

“...what..?” Vanessa whispered, looking around the place. “This is where they send the trash?”

“I guess..” Luis whispered back.

Briana opened the door, which opened up to a garage.

This was where Briana found the maps!

“..hey, you guys know where we are, right?” Briana whispered.

“..yeah. I think this is Garage 4.” Vanessa answered, looking around the place. “Then.. that must mean..” Vanessa led the trio through the garage, past several carts and towards a gate door. Which led to another stone pathway towards two double doors.. And into a room filled with sticky notes.

They had been here before, searching around for anything that could be used to help them in their plan to take down Cassidy. None of them understood binary code, which was probably left behind by Cassidy, but they didn’t have the time to read it. They had to keep going. The trio ascended multiple teal flights of stairs, and back towards the laundry room, past another hallway, into the kitchen, and eventually led them towards an elevator.

“..hey wait a second.” Luis whispered. “Why are we going back into the Pizzaplex?”

“Would you rather stay down there in all that garbage?” Vanessa answered. “Besides, she’s probably still searching down there, this is our chance!”

“To do what?” Luis asked.

“To burn her out of this place.” Vanessa responded, reaching into her bag to search for some matches.

“Wait a second, we don’t even know where to start burning!” Luis whispered harshly at her.

“...and we don’t even have the matches to burn the place..” Vanessa answered, defeatedly. She pulled her hand out, empty. “I think we left the matches down in Freddy’s..”

By then, the elevator had brought them back up to their stop. The trio stepped out of the elevator, wondering what to do next.

“...that’s it. We’re done for.” Briana said, slumping down on the floor.

The trio all got onto the floor, lost as to what to do next.

“We don’t have anything to burn down the place now..” Briana said, curled up with her head resting on her knees.

“...we can go back to Parts and Service.” Vanessa suggested, standing from where she was sitting. “We got most of our supplies from there.”

“..you think it’s worth a shot?” Luis asked. “Cause I don’t have any ideas of my own..”

“We know our way there,” Briana responded, “so I think we can pull it off.”

“Yeah.” Vanessa said, turning towards the hallway leading to another door. “For Jeremy.”

It struck Luis and Briana like bullets, remembering back to their friend. The vengeful little shit that murdered him… couldn’t get away with what she had done..

“For Jeremy.” Luis said, standing up and holding a fist out.

“For Jeremy.” Briana continued, bumping that fist.

“For Jeremy.” Vanessa bumped her fist against theirs before they could split.

The trio headed off towards the doors once they finished with their little group fistbump, which didn’t feel the same without Jeremy around. But that feeling empowered them to continue forth and avenge their fallen friend. Cassidy wouldn’t get away with it..

Vanessa led the charge through two more doors and stopped once they had reached the Atrium. “..okay. Try to be careful.” Vanessa whispered, she looked around the place. Ensuring that there weren’t any endoskeletons around. Thankfully, it was just Staff Bots, which were easy to handle, so as long as Cassidy wasn’t present in the same locale as they were, it would usually lead to them being chased by the bots. For now, they could relax, knowing that they were simply moving back and forth throughout the Atrium. Vanessa snuck along the sides of the Atrium, making sure that none of the Staff Bots could see her. Luis and Briana followed quietly behind her, heading towards the stage to access the elevator to get to Parts and Service. Thankfully, they managed to make it without getting spotted, until they activated the elevator to go down.

Once the elevator began to descend, a few of the Staff Bots realized what was happening. A few hurried towards the elevator, but were stopped by the depth they had descended by then. Down through the darkness of the elevator shaft and into the depths where Parts and Service was waiting for them.

“Alright, this is our-”

Luis caught sight of something inside of Parts and Service. He ran over to see what was inside.

“Luis, everything okay?” Vanessa called, running after him.

And getting a good look as to what was inside.

The Glamrock Springbonnie animatronic, which its stomach hatch opened up.

When Briana also saw it, she immediately began to access the computer outside the cylinder. “We have to access the program, break it down from within. She’s probably infected it by now.” After punching in a few commands, the bed holding the animatronic lifted up, from lying down flat to the shape of a beach chair. “I can work on frying whatever Cassidy put in there, if you guys could work on finding what we need to burn this thing..”

“...yeah, uh, ‘bout that..” Luis said, looking through the data that came up on the screen on the small computer. “Come take a look.”

Briana exited the cylinder and took a look at the screen, which displayed an entire database and program.

“It’s clear.” Briana said in relief. “She hasn’t infected it yet, so we can just burn it.”

“Actually, I had a better idea.” Luis said.

Briana and Vanessa turned to look at him.

“Why don’t we just do your plan?” He asked, looking at Briana.

“..you mean turning this thing into a good animatronic?” She asked.

“Yeah, exactly, we helped program the original Glamrocks. So, why can’t we do the same for him?” Luis said, looking at Springbonnie. “But, we do things differently this time.”

“What do you mean?” Briana asked.

“We show him everything that’s happened with Fazbear Entertainment, including the deaths of the missing kids, William Afton, Cassidy, everything.”

“..wait.” Vanessa said, intervening Luis and his reach of the computer. “You mean, finish installing the Glamrock schematics into that thing, while also showing him everything that’s happened?”

Luis nodded. “And I have something that can help us.” He reached into his knapsack, and pulled out a small removable drive. The kind that one would plug into a laptop or computer and remove it after downloading or uploading something.

“What’s that?” Briana asked.

“When we found HandUnit disabled, possibly done by Cassidy, I noticed that he was attempting to download to protect something. Files that were only available to the Board of Fazbear Entertainment. Everything that was hidden from the public is on this drive.”

“And you saved this information how?” Vanessa asked. “How do we know that it’s not corrupted as well?”

“I looked through the computer database and discovered that the files were acting up at some point, but then returned to normal. And then, other files were being tampered with, and that’s when I decided to protect and download the most important and hidden information for our bosses until I found out what was going on with the files.” Luis then reached into one of their knapsacks, and pulled out the power core from the recharging station. “And with this, we can make sure that he’s powered on for as long as we need him.”

“Are you sure?” Briana asked. “Are you sure that it’s going to work out as expected?”

“It was your original plan.” Luis answered, handing her the power core. “This guy can be the yang to the yin that’s conquered this place. With him, we can finally have a step up over Cassidy.”

Briana took a deep breath. “Well, we better do this quick then.”

Vanessa began to work on the computer connected to the cylinder. “We should also tell him about what happened to the employees.. and Jeremy.”

Luis and Briana nodded in response, and began to quickly work on the animatronic.

– – –

Nothing.

Again.

The endoskeleton didn’t recover anything.

Just endless cave systems and the disgusting sewer system beneath the Pizzaplex.

Cassidy sighed, but continued working on her Staff Bots, they needed to be fit with the right programming to take down Fazbear Entertainment.

The thought of it just elevated her.

This entire experience, being within a system, was.. godly.

She could control everything without having another voice in her mind telling her ‘no.’ She didn’t have to worry about Evan trying to stop her from killing the night guards and..

Evan..

Her best friend..

Or only friend, for quite some time.

Together they shared stories of their life, they bonded, and a friendship grew within them. Though despite having different points of view about what to do about the company and William, they did get along well. Cassidy helped Evan cope with the fact that he was dead, and helped him feel less alone…

She heard him out, listened to everything he had to say..

Whenever he cried his eyes out, she was there to give him the biggest hug she could.. Comforting him whenever he needed it, he was all she had for the longest time. The pain bestowed upon him made her angry, he didn’t deserve anything that happened to him! She made sure that he knew that, made sure that he was always given the comfort that he hardly ever got throughout his life..

And in return, Evan heard Cassidy out. Always seemed to be calm and patient with her after being in the same body for some time. He learned how to deal with her outbursts, and even helped her calm down. She was grateful, and he was grateful about the comfort he had finally been given.

And now, she felt like she was the one who needed comfort.

It was lonely after so long…

The first few days were exciting and coursed power and encouragement through her!

But then, it became the new normal.

And it bothered her that she didn’t have anyone to talk to..

Or anyone that deserved her attention.

Those guards?

Luis?

Vanessa?

Briana?

They didn’t deserve what Cassidy gave Evan.

They helped the company that ensured their stories were never heard.

Went down into the old pizzeria and brushed off the pain the kids and Cassidy went through.

Speaking of old pizzeria’s, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place would soon finally be put to rest.

The genius that took place there would never be disturbed again.

Burned and crumbled completely.

Just like Henry wanted.

A shame that she needed the Pizzaplex, which had all the technology she needed to wage war on the company that created it..

She opened a location fil-

Wait..

Why couldn’t she reach Parts and Service?

– – –

“...okay. The Glamrock schematics are all uploaded to his database.” Vanessa said, then left the computer to enter the protective cylinder. “You guys have got to download the history files into him right now.”

Luis complied, and plugged the removable drive into the computer, which then began to be uploaded to the animatronic. “Okay.. Briana, is that power core ready?” Luis asked as the bar began to fill up.

After plugging a few wires into the animatronics abdomen, Briana stepped away from the animatronic and gave the thumbs up.

With that confirmation, Luis punched in a few more commands..

Briana got out of the cylinder..

And the Glamrock Springbonnie began to shake rapidly.

The computer began to freak out.

And the lights began to flicker.

“She’s found us!” Vanessa exclaimed, looking around the room.

“We’re losing him!” Braina yelled, trying to get the computer back on track.

Luis whirled around the room, looking for something that could help.

That’s when he noticed a distorted Fredbear face on the computer screen..

The computer!

Luis hurried towards the back of the computer and pulled out every wire connecting it to the cylinder.

The computer shut off.

Glamrock Springbonnie stopped shaking.

But the lights were still flickering.

And then the cylinder door barged open.

Sparks of electricity flew all over the open cylinder..

And the Glamrock animatronic came to life.

He stepped off of the table, and looked around.

The flickering lights caught his eye, and he stared up at the ceiling.

Which stopped flickering after a while.

Then, he looked at the trio, who were all getting up off of the ground.

They all backed away from him slowly, as he observed them for a bit.

Then he turned around to look at the protective cylinder.

“...forgive me.” He spoke in a robotic, light and soft British tone. “I was.. Surprised is all.” He continued calmly.

“...are..” Briana breathed. “..are you.. Yourself?”

The animatronic looked at her, then down at its body. “...I believe so.” He responded.

“..alright, let me ask you this,” Briana continued, “what are you?”

“..I..am the only animatronic that isn’t under Cassidy’s control.” He answered, seeming to speak in a sympathetic tone when mentioning Cassidy. “I assure you, I am aware of what you created me to do.”

“Really?” Vanessa asked.

“Yes. You want me to help you get rid of Cassidy.” He responded. “..but it’s not that simple.”

None of the trio spoke, unsure as to what the rabbit was talking about.

“..I don’t.. want to hurt her more than she already has been.” He said, looking up at the ceiling. “She’s in pain, and in anguish and anger.. She’s been inside my head for a split second.. and with the knowledge of this company’s past.. I can see what caused her rage.”

“So,” Luis said demandingly, “are you on our side or not? Because that.. Honestly, it sounded like you were sympathizing with her.”

“She was murdered at a young age..” Springbonnie replied, sadly. “And I saw that rage when she was in my head.. And now she’s exacting it upon the wrong people.” He sighed. “I truly don’t want to hurt her.. but her rage will cost more lives than it has already claimed, so she must be stopped at all costs.”

“So we’re good?” Vanessa asked.

“Yes, we are.” Glamrock Springbonnie answered. “I am aware of what Cassidy has done to the animatronics here, and what she is planning with them. We have to destroy them, unfortunately. Every animatronic she has complete control over, every endoskeleton she’s constructed, and the entire Pizzaplex itself.”

“..what do you mean?” Vanessa asked, stepping closer to the rabbit. “What’s she planning to do with them?”

“Cassidy’s plan to truly bring down the company, which will result in multiple casualties regarding other employees such as yourselves. Her rage will roll over the innocent, so we have to act now.” Springbonnie lifted a finger up to the ceiling, which flipped open to reveal a lighter beneath it, then turned back towards the open cylinder. “You do have a plan, correct?”

– – –

“No… No! No! No, no, no!” Cassidy yelled, striking her sword on the digital ground. “I should’ve broken that thing when I had the chance!”

Parts and Service had gone up in flames, and the fire extinguishers took way too long to contain the flames. All that was left was a pile of melting scrap metal that would continue to lose its shape until it was all gone.

She wanted more… she NEEDED more..!

..or did she?

She had already constructed a significant amount of endoskeletons to use against the company..

So maybe being a couple of robots short for her little invasion wouldn’t terribly affect the plan..

But the trio that survived were a massive pain in her side.

They wounded her.

Proved that they really didn’t give a damn about her, just like the company.

But she was lucky enough that the fire from Parts and Service didn’t reach the rest of the Pizzaplex.

And without Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place, which Cassidy ensured was really destroyed, the remaining trio and the Glamrock wouldn’t have anywhere else to go. So she braced and calmed herself, everything would eventually work out.

– – –

“We should be safe here, there’s no cameras down this far in the sewers.” Luis said, walking down the turquoise staircases. “Here. Let’s start planning everything out.” He set his knapsack on a table that was placed to the side of the flights of stairs.

The four followed him, and began to surround the table. Briana pulled out the remaining maps she preserved, and set another bag down on the floor, containing the firewood they would need. “Okay, we still need to find out where we can start setting the fires..” Briana said, looking through each map on the table. “Anyone got any ideas?”

“Our main target should be any areas with highly combustible items, or surroundings.” Springbonnie answered, he pointed at multiple areas of each map. “There’s an emergency exit behind the VIP room, and around there are some remaining plushies of the main four animatronics. It should be enough to start a significant amount of damage to that area of the Pizzaplex.”

“..okay..” Vanessa nodded to what Springbonnie was saying. “Well if we’re looking at places that would be considered dangerous to have a fire around.. Why don’t we start a fire in the arcade? The machines aren’t that old, they could still be used. Right?”

“That would work, yes.” Springbonnie answered. “We should set another fire elsewhere, just to be on the safe side, correct?”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Luis replied. “..what about Parts and Services? Maybe she won’t expect us to go back there.”

Everyone else nodded.

“Okay, Spring, we’re gonna need you to light our oversized matches for us.” Luis reached into the knapsack on the floor and pulled out a few pieces of firewood.

“I understand.” Springbonnie replied. “Are you all sure you’re ready?”

Nobody answered.

“I think we all need a breather.” Briana said, breaking the short silence. She sat back against the wall, allowing herself to catch her breath and calm herself. Luis and Vanessa did the same, and Luis appeared to be upset.

“I sense that something is wrong.” Springbonnie said, looking down at Luis. He sat down next to him. “May I ask what is wrong?”

“..it’s our friend. The one who died. Jeremy.” Luis answered. When he said that, Vanessa’s eyebrows rose, as if she remembered something herself. Briana did the same. “We planned to all escape together.. and now he’s gone..” Luis’s voice began to break, and his eyes had begun to water. “I.. we.. should’ve gone back for him.. we should’ve tried to save him..!”

“We should’ve listened to him.” Vanessa said. “He was right..”

“..about the past of the company.” Springbonnie said softly. “About everything that’s happened..”

“Y’know, Jeremy was scared of you.” Vanessa said. Catching Springbonnie’s attention. “He thought that using you would anger Cassidy more.. because of the whole William Afton thing..”

“I understand.” Springbonnie answered. “I look like the man who took the lives of innocent children. And ruined everything for Henry.. But I am not William Afton.” He said softly, not in a commanding way, but in a comforting and reassuring way. “The horrors I have seen, that you all gave to me, I am thankful for them.”

“Really?” Briana asked. “Because I was honestly worried it would make you malfunction or insane.”

“It’s quite a lot to take in and understand.” Springbonnie said. “The torment that was caused by William Afton, the lives that those children would never have, including his own children..” As he said that, his face turned into sorrow. “But now I understand where Cassidy is coming from, she will never be able to live a full life, and she will never get the chance to be with a loving family again.. William Afton ruined everything for her, that is where her rage comes from. This place.. This company is an insult and an affront in her eyes, she and the missing children deserve to have their stories told.. But not like this. She is angry, and in pain, and perhaps we can use that to our advantage.”

“What do you mean?” Luis asked.

“If anything, she would probably hate me the most. Especially regarding the resemblance to Afton.” Springbonnie replied. “I can distract her while you all head to the locations to light the fires.”

“Wait, she’ll destroy you. You know that, right?” Luis had just thought through what Springbonnie just said, and knew that Cassidy would hate seeing Springbonnie if he was against her. It would just be like William.

“This isn’t about me, Mr. Cabrera.” Springbonnie answered. “This is about protecting the lives of innocent people beyond the confines of this Pizzaplex, putting Cassidy out of her pain and rage, and getting you three out of here. It matters not whatever happens to me, I must ensure that the three of you are safe.”

The trio was silent.

They knew that Springbonnie would be nice, but never self-sacrificial nice.

Since that never happened with the other Glamrocks..

Then again, they never really got to know them that well.

And now this Glamrock with the knowledge of what happened in the past, and had seen inside of Cassidy’s head..

Was it just part of the Glamrock programming?

Or was it because this Glamrock knows more than it should?

If only Jeremy could see it now.. His mind would probably explode in shock and disbelief..

“..Cassidy believes that we are the true enemy.” Springbonnie continued. “That we have it out for her, and maybe we do now. But still, we must prove her wrong, change her mind, and end her reign over this place.”

Luis stood up. “Then we should get going, the sooner we take care of this, the better. Can’t keep Cassidy waiting any longer, she already knows we’re coming for her, and she’s gonna throw everything she’s got at us.”

“Then we make sure that not one animatronic is left standing, they all have to go, besides Springbonnie of course.” Briana said, sliding the pieces of wood over to Springbonnie. “We’re gonna have to make sure that the fires go on, and that she can’t put them out.”

“That’s where I come in, I’d like to share a few words with her anyway.” Springbonnie said.

“You sure?” Briana asked.

“I believe I can stall long enough to let you all fuel the flames past Cassidy’s control, and I want you all to run for the nearest exit once you’ve completed your mission.” Springbonnie said, looking down at the maps. “Understood?”

The trio nodded.

– – –

The darkness of the Pizzaplex would’ve been soothing, had it not been for the sound of approaching footsteps behind him.

“..I always knew they had it out for me.”

Springbonnie turned around slowly, staring towards a possessed Glamrock Freddy.

Springbonnie winced a bit, this wasn’t what Freddy was supposed to be.

He was meant to be a source of children’s entertainment.

He was meant to be a star.

Now everyone will look at the bear in terror, because of William, and now because of Cassidy.

Unless if they could end this.

“But I never thought they’d take it this far.” Cassidy continued. “Of all the animatronics they could’ve chosen, I should’ve known it would’ve been you.” She growled, the white pupils of her black eyes vibrating rapidly. “A symbol of their hatred in the form of the man who ruined everything for me…” The body of the Glamrock began to twitch and shake slightly.

Around him, Springbonnie could hear and even see a few more endoskeletons crawling on the floor and walls towards him. Louder footsteps could be heard coming from Rockstar Row, where the other of the main four began heading towards the yellow rabbit.

“I understand where your rage stems from.” Springbonnie answered calmly. “You’ve suffered because of a man’s depraved desires.. But I’m not William.”

“I don’t care.” Cassidy shot back. “You’re still a pain in my side nonetheless.”

“Killing innocent employees will never fix what happened to you.” Springbonnie continued. “You need rest, you should’ve let go when you still had the chance. Before you got dragged down into this mess with the people you brought suffering to.”

“They were all siding with that damn company.” Cassidy growled. “They built this place, this insult, they’re flipping us off by building this place..”

“And by ‘us’ you mean the other missing children.” Springbonnie answered. “I know that they’ve suffered as well, and that this company covered up what happened to them. But doing this..” He turned around to look at the ruined Pizzaplex, along with all the animatronics moving slowly towards him. “This will not resolve anything, the company will find a way to return regardless of what happens to this location.”

“Not unless I finally bring the fight to them.” Cassidy responded, raising a hand up in the air. “With all these animatronics.. I have everything I need to finally bring them down.”

“And then what?” Springbonnie asked. “How many more lives will you take until you are satisfied?”

“As many as I want.” Cassidy responded. “I don’t care how many there are, I just want them to pay for what they’ve built out of this place.. Hiding the dark truth behind a happy and lighthearted show..”

“...you’re letting your anger get the best of you.” Springbonnie said, stepping slowly towards the bear. “It’s drowning you in a sea of insanity, it will mentally destroy you–”

“My mental stability was fading away when William murdered me.” Cassidy said.

“Maybe so, but you truly didn’t have to take it this far.” Springbonnie replied. “While it is true that Fazbear Entertainment went against Henry’s wishes, and hid the truth from the public, that wasn’t an excuse to let you kill several innocent people.”

“They deserved what was coming to them.” Cassidy growled.

“No.” Springbonnie said, walking further towards her. “That’s what your rage was compelling you to do. You let your anger get the better of you, and that cost the lives of innocent people.”

“And here you are…” Cassidy’s voice lowered, and her twitching got faster. “Defending those thieves as they remain safe in their ivory tower.” Some of the endoskeletons behind him grabbed ahold of him, but Springbonnie held them off and even managed to break a few by delivering several punches and tearing their mechanical limbs off. “Not even thinking about what happened to us.. We had lives too!”

“I am not praising Fazbear Entertainment, I am aware of their wrongdoings!” Springbonnie shouted, fighting off the last endoskeleton that attacked him. “I am trying to help you!”

“Help me?” Cassidy chuckled. “I know damn well that you’re not going to help me, you’re going to use me…”

“No..” Springbonnie answered. “I know what happened to you and the other missing children.. Fritz, Susie, Gabriel, Jeremy, Charlie, Evan, Elizabeth.. And so many others.. Their lives taken by the hands of William Afton, and then hidden from the public by Fazbear Entertainment. It was wrong, but I still won’t let you commit any more acts of murder.”

Freddy’s arms reached to his head, and snapped it to the left and right, before settling it upright. “Well, I hope you’re ready to feel what William felt when I was tormenting him..”

Springbonnie readied himself for the fight.

More endoskeletons and Staff Bots headed straight towards him from the darkness, and Glamrock Freddy himself charged directly at Springbonnie.

– – –

Soft rumbling ran throughout the Pizzaplex walls.

The plan was working just as planned.

Vanessa quickly threw the burning planks of wood onto several arcade games, which had begun to ignite small flames within the games. The flames grew as Vanessa ran all throughout the arcade, throwing more burning wood on the game, hurrying to not burn herself. As she ran to the next level of the arcade, she heard the sounds of Music Man crawling around on the walls.

But it sounded like it was coming from behind her, meaning that the mechanical spider was paying attention to the burning arcade games rather than where Vanessa was headed next. She continued her part of the plan, lighting more arcade machines aflame.

Then stopped when she heard explosions going off behind her.

The flames from the destroyed arcade games rose to the ceiling in a swirling inferno, lighting more arcade machines aflame around it. And even managed to damage Music Man a bit. But the flames grew big enough to light up most of the arcade, including Vanessa’s location on the second floor.

And once Music Man took notice of her, he quickly crawled his way up towards her. Now Vanessa had to pick up the pace..

– – –

‘One flame is all it takes..’ Luis thought to himself, as he threw his burning plank onto the large pile of Pizzaplex plushies. He felt a little upset to see all these dolls go to waste, but he had to make sure that they provided the fuel he needed to light this part of the Pizzaplex on fire. Much to his surprise, the flames spread throughout the dolls faster than he had previously expected. Luis lit another extra piece of wood he had with him on fire, and then threw it on the floor in front of him, blocking his path to the rest of the Pizzaplex, but not to the VIP room and emergency escape..

– – –

Smoke from the garages emerged in the laundry room, Briana hurried out towards the turquoise staircase to hurry back to Parts and Service. She had a few more lit planks of wood in her hands, and she had to hurry before the flames burned her. Luckily, she had made it to the ruined cylinder and computer, then threw the remaining planks onto them.

The machine ignited quickly, flames bursting out from the interior of the cylinder.

With that, she hurried towards the stage elevator to make her escape and meet up with Vanessa and Springbonnie.

The floor behind her began to catch fire as well, and the flames spread all throughout the room behind her. But Briana had managed to make it towards the stage elevator.

– – –

“You think you can save them?” Cassidy demanded, charging at an injured Springbonnie and pushing him towards the Daycare. “I have an entire army at my disposal, even if one–”

Parts of the ceiling above them began crumbling down, with flames bursting out from the hole in the ceiling. Smoke began to fill the room, catching Cassidy’s attention and horror.

Springbonnie took this chance to push Cassidy over the railing and down towards the entrance to the Daycare. Then whirled around to catch a punch from Monty. He opened his finger lighter, and shoved the flames into Monty’s open maw. The alligator recoiled quickly, and shook around wildly, attempting to put the flames inside him out.

More endoskeletons and Staff Bots charged at Springbonnie, who used his finger lighter against them. Causing some to combust into flames and frantically began to freak and panic from the flames.

Springbonnie then ran back towards the entrance of the Pizzaplex, pushing aside several endoskeletons and Staff Bots, and even getting to light some of them on fire as he hurried.

But as he got to the entrance of the Pizzaplex, the ground beneath him began to quake and tremble.

The stage elevator rose from the depths, and Briana hurried towards the front entrance, dodging each falling piece from the ceiling.

“Where is Vanessa?!” Springbonnie called to Briana, on the top of the escalator from the Pizzaplex entrance.

“I don’t–”

The ground erupted from beneath them, and as flames erupted from the hole in the floor, a burning Music Man rose from the depths. Swishing and swaying his massive, melting arms left and right.

“Get to the front door!” Springbonnie cried, hurrying towards the front entrance.

The front entrance was blocked with boards and rusted metal.

Briana and Springbonnie mustered all their strength to get it open, but to no avail. They were trapped between the door, and a burning Music Man, breaking through the Pizzaplex and heading straight towards them. Music Man reared back and charged at full speed towards them, Springbonnie grabbed Briana and pulled her to the left before Music Man could grab ahold of them.

But this caused the spider to break through the front entrance of the Pizzaplex, opening the building to the outside world ever since the Pizzaplex was forced to close.

Music Man turned around, and once again headed towards Springbonnie and Briana. But the two quickly managed to dodge each of the spider’s arms, successfully managing to get to the exit. They didn’t even have time to celebrate before Music Man ran towards them again, enlarging the massive hole he had made in the Pizzaplex wall.

But then, he began to fall to his knees, the flames within the machine were beginning to get to him. Small explosions burst through his metal shell, in his abdomen and head. His eyes burst into flames, and his mouth expelled a large amount of smoke. Which rose up into the night sky along with the smoke coming from inside the building.

Music Man took a few more large steps towards the retreating Briana and Springbonnie, before completely collapsing to the ground.

Briana and Springbonnie quickly got away from the fallen animatronic, Spring helping Briana get further away from the smoke and flames. Briana was coughing loudly as a result of being exposed to burning material and smoke.

As the flames behind them crackled and the explosions from Music Man increased in size and speed, Springbonnie took no time to hurry back towards the burning building to find Luis and Vanessa.

The sounds of roaring flames and explosions prevented him from hearing Briana’s calls for him to come back. But he probably wouldn’t have gone back anyway, not when her two good friends were in danger of the flames!

As Springbonnie ran to the exposed front entrance of the building, he could barely make out a silhouette trudging towards him from the flames. He got as close as he could, but stopped when he noticed two round ears and a top hat on the figure’s head.

It was Cassidy.

But as she emerged from the flames, Springbonnie had seen the damage done to her.

Her bottom jaw had completely melted off, and her hands had melted to reveal the endoskeleton claws beneath. As for the rest of her body, it was all melting and wearing down quickly. A few more flames could be seen from the exposed endoskeleton parts, and smoke began to rise from her open mouth.

Springbonnie took a few steps back, trying to get away from the approaching, melting, bear. Which let out several charred and screeching noises of rage. The animatronic collapsed to its knees when it took a few more steps towards the rabbit.

“SPRING!”

Springbonnie turned to his left, where Vanessa was helping Luis. He had one foot on the ground, with the other lifted off the ground in the air. His left arm was wrapped around Vanessa’s shoulder.

Springbonnie rushed over towards them, and helped Luis off of Vanessa’s shoulders. He let Luis rest on his shoulders as he helped Luis get farther away from the burning building.

But before they could get far, Springbonnie turned around to stare at Cassidy’s decomposing and burning body. She was still glaring at him from the distance they had reached, but there was no time to go back now.

Luis needed him.

Springbonnie helped Luis over to Briana, who soon took over for Springbonnie.

The Pizzaplex was lost.

Along with everything that was inside of it.

All the animatronics and endoskeletons burning within the building.

It was over.

“...hey.” Luis whispered, catching everyone else’s attention. “..is that real…?” He asked, pointing towards the burning building. “..or am I dying?”

“It’s real..” Briana breathed, with a hint of relief. “..it’s over.” She placed a hand on Luis’s shoulder, helping him relax.

The four of them rested on the ground, finally being free of the confines of the Pizzaplex and Cassidy. The crackling of the flames grew louder, but it sounded so soothing for them..

It was the sound that the trio wanted to hear..

And so would Jeremy.

The blinding light of the burning Pizzaplex encouraged the trio to close their eyes and look away from the flames. They never felt this exhausted or worn out before, but maybe that was from the fact that they had survived and managed to bring down Cassidy and the Pizzaplex.

Springbonnie sat down beside them, allowing the trio to catch a small break..

– – –

“Come and sit with me a while.” Old Man Consequences said, looking at the freed spirit. Who didn’t approach the alligator at first, but rather stared at him, and then looked around to see where she was now.

“..I.. I lost..” Cassidy finally spoke as she realized what had just happened, she fell to her knees and rested her hands on the red grass.

“It was destiny for you to fail.” OMC said, reeling in a red fish, which was staged to make it believable for the kid. “Your story ends here, child.”

“..I was trying to avenge my friends..” Cassidy growled. “I wasn’t doing anything wrong..”

“Well, despite you murdering innocent people, I wouldn’t say that you’re innocent yourself.” OMC said. “In fact, nobody in your world was truly innocent.”

“Those bastards didn’t care about us.” Cassidy shot back. “We’re not real to them, we’re just ghost stories. I was the real victim there, I was the innocent one, they didn’t-”

“To be fair and honest,” OMC interrupted, “you did kill innocent workers who had no intent of shaming you.”

“They were on terms with Fazbear Entertainment!” Cassidy shouted back. “They got what they deserve..”

“Do you know who also kills innocent individuals?” OMC asked.

“William?” Cassidy answered.

“Exactly.” OMC said. “There’s as much blood on your hands as there was on his.”

Cassidy stayed silent for a few moments, before beginning to say something.

“And let’s not forget the impact that caused on the people who cared about the people you killed. Knowing that they’ll never see their loved ones again. Do you know who would also like to see their loved ones again?” OMC asked.

“..my friends and their parents..?” Cassidy answered.

“Yes.” OMC replied, casting his line in the pond again.

Cassidy looked down, starting to understand what the alligator was implying. “Besides, I believe that your previous mission is done.”

As he reeled his line in, the pond changed to show William hurrying to keep Nightmarrione and Music Man at bay. Only to be killed by Scrap Baby.

“He’s still in the everlasting hell you put him into.” OMC commented as they both looked upon the monster’s suffering. “You beat him, that’s what you wanted right?”

Cassidy nodded.

“Leave the demon to his demons.” OMC continued.

Cassidy sat down next to him, seeming to finally come to terms with her actions.

“Rest your own soul. There is nothing else.” OMC opened a rift in the pond by casting his lines and quickly reeling it back in.

“Nothing else..?” Cassidy asked.

“You’ve already finished your mission, right?” OMC continued.

Cassidy looked around the forest, and the sudden sound of her murderer’s screaming of pain and agony.

“..know what? Screw it.”

With that, Cassidy walked towards the pond, and jumped down into the rift.

Finally putting her soul to rest.

– – –

Luis began to snap out of his drowsiness, and had begun to hear the sounds of sirens in the distance, followed by the whirring of helicopters.

He hurried over to where Vanessa and Briana were sleeping.

After getting a fair distance away from the Pizzaplex, they had all settled down on a hill to sleep peacefully for what seemed forever.

“Get up! They’re coming to save us!” Luis cried to Ness and Briana.

The two got up in shock, and whirled around in response to hearing the police cars and helicopters approaching.

“They saw the fire!” Briana cried in glee. “We’re saved!”

“Oh thank god..” Vanessa said in relief. “I was worried we were going to have to walk all the way back to the city..”

Luis cheered in glee, then looked towards the sunrise to try to make out the shape of helicopters.

“..wait.” Briana said, cutting off Luis’s victory cheers. “Where’s Bon?”

“Who?” Vanessa asked.

“Springbonnie! He was right…”

Briana’s voice trailed off, Springbonnie wasn’t sitting down in front of the tree.

But in his place, was a small note, and a dying smoke signal.

Briana picked up the note, and read it out loud;

“To Luis, Briana, and Vanessa,

If you’re reading this, it’s likely too late. I likely have already disappeared, leaving many questions in your heads. But do not fear, I am still me. I wanted to keep you all safe, and after we escaped the Pizzaplex, I feared what the outside world would do if they saw you three with me. So I made the difficult decision of leaving, and hiding away from the rest of the world in order to keep you safe. And to ensure that you were found, I created a smoke signal with the remaining wood you had. Do not worry about me, I will try to keep myself intact and safe.

But I want to thank you all for bringing me into this world. I may be a machine, but I am lucky to have been created by you three. Because now, I can feel things, I can help others, I can do good.

My only regret is that we cannot see the rest of the world together, or live together as friends. But I want you all to keep each other safe, look out for each other, and be happy.

I only hope that you all can find peace after escaping the confines of the Pizzaplex.

And live happily ever after.

Sincerely,

Springbonnie.”

[thisaintascenereviews]

Motionless In White - Scoring The End Of The World

Out of all the late 00s and early 2010s metalcore bands that have lasted the longest, Motionless In White seems to be at the top of the list; if you're unaware, Motionless In White has been around since the late 2000s, but their debut LP came out in 2010, entitled Creatures. I always looked at them as the metalcore version of Marilyn Manson (probably not the best reference anymore, but I can't really compare them to anyone else), especially vocalist Chris Motionless sounding quite like him at times, and they had a horror aesthetic that no other band did at the time, but I never cared for them. I've listened to Creatures in retrospect, and it's a pretty cool album, but I haven't listened to anything else. They slowly turned into a radio-rock / hard-rock band, versus a metalcore band, but they're also one of the biggest rock bands in the world. That's what happens when you change your sound to be more accessible, but it seems to have culminated in their latest LP, Scoring The End Of The World. I didn't listen to this when it came out last year, but I've wanted to go back to this record for one reason -- Chris Motionless is featured on the new album from guitarist Nita Strauss, and I was shocked when the song he's featured on, "Digital Bullets," is one of my favorites from the whole album, so it made me want to hear this record.

I've given Scoring The End Of The World a handful of listens, and I don't particularly know how to feel about it. I mean, on one hand, I like it, and it's got some solid tracks on it, but on the other hand, there are some things about it I don't particularly like. I wouldn't say this album is outright awful, although I can completely understand if someone thinks so. This isn't an album of the year contender in any capacity, at least for me, but this album was a bit of a surprise in a few respects. For starters, Chris Motionless is a solid vocalist; he mainly uses a mixture of singing, screaming, and that whisper-talking thing that Marilyn Manson does, but he's competent at all three, even if he mainly sings throughout this record. His screams are pretty good, too, but his clean vocals really aren't bad. There are some solid hooks here, and that's what saves most of the album, even on some of the songs I don't mind, such as "Werewolf," "Sign Of Life," "Porcelain," and "Slaughterhouse." They're generic, sure, but they're at least kind of catchy. The album also has a bit of variety when it comes to its sound, mainly being a hard-rock record, but it's got traces of metalcore, alt-metal, nu-metal, and industrial. Hell, "Werewolf" is a straight up pop-rock song, but it's one of my favorites on the album.

With that said, though, the album is a mixed bag in terms of quality, because a lot of songs here just don't click for me, at least in a way that's more than "yeah, this is okay," because of how bland and generic it is. I can't tell you anything about most of these songs minus their title and the hook after I listen to it, because a lot of the songs just aren't memorable. It doesn't help that the album is 50 minutes long, and it doesn't need to be, especially when it's 13 songs long. You could have cut three songs, and the album would be about ten minutes shorter, which would make it a lot easier to digest. The lyrics are also a major problem I have with this album, despite how I enjoy a lot of the hooks (even though they're very bland themselves). The lyrics are much more politically charged this time around, and I know songs like "Red, White & Boom" with Caleb Shomo of Beartooth or "Slaughterhouse" with Bryan Garris of Knocked Loose try to say something but I don't know what they're talking about, because a lot of this record is just word salad, including buzzwords and vague ideas that don't amount to anything. It's a shame, too, because both of those guest vocalists are great, although Garris' feature is truly a highlight, and the song itself is my favorite out of the bunch, because of how heavy and intense it is.

Scoring The End Of The World isn't a horrible record, it's just bland, really long, and generic in a lot of spots. They've dialed back the metalcore stylings of their earlier work for a more streamlined hard-rock sound, and it's fine, but it just doesn't amount to anything. Chris Motionless is a good vocalist, although a lot of hooks on this record do sound like Breaking Benjamin outtakes (and I don't know if I mean that in a good or bad way), but that's the best part of the album. Hell, the song he's featured on, "Digital Bullets," on the new Nita Strauss album, is the best song that's not on here (but that's kind of because Strauss' guitarwork on that song makes up for it, and the hooks is quite strong). I was hoping this album would be better, and it's worth a few listens to sink your teeth into it, but if you're looking for a worthwhile rock album that has something interesting to say, you might want to look elsewhere. The guests are cool, even if they don't add a whole lot, and the album does have some variety, despite how it doesn't always work and the album is way longer than it needs to be. I don't know, folks, I'm glad that I heard it. It's just not an album that I'll probably ever go back to, unless I'm in a really specific mood, but if you're a fan of these guys, or you like this kind of stuff, it wouldn't hurt to check it out.

[march-harrigan]

Feel like talkin' about my top 3 Jervi now. I don't mean top 3 like a ranking list but rather, these three Hatters are tied for first place in my heart. I love damn near every Jervis I've come across but these. THESE are the ones I'm thinking about constantly. Since they're all equal, I'll just post them in the order that I 'met' them. Spoilers ahead.

BTAS

Baby's first Hatter. I make it no secret on here that I'm an old fogey. Batman: The Animated Series got it's start when I was just a little thing. A couple of years later, I was watching reruns whenever I could catch them, and one of those was Perchance to Dream. So imagine a little hare, sat in front of the TV. I don't remember how old I was exactly but it was single digits and I could READ. I remember this because I was pissed when Bruce pulled the whole "can't read in dreams" line because I had absolutely read things in dreams. But anyway, probably about 7-8 years old. Now obviously Jervis wasn't revealed until near the end of the episode and we didn't get a whole lot of time with him but I was little, okay? So when I saw a character design I liked or enjoyed a character's voice, that stuck with me. Jervis had both of these things going for him in SPADES. I was very confused by "the Mad Hatter" being in a Batman cartoon but I was THERE for it. Not much later, I managed to catch a rerun of Mad as a Hatter and that cleared a few things up for me. By that point, I was smitten. His pretty blue eyes in the first half of the episode(god I wish they'd kept that), those big teeth, his SMILE, Roddy McDowall's voicework. And in some ways, even though I knew he was doing bad things, I kind of felt for him. Even as a kid, I could kind of recognize when a character was tragic. I just didn't really have the words for it at the time. I'd go through phases, in and out of BTAS throughout my childhood. But any time I could catch one of his episodes was an absolute joy for me. I fully admit that part of this one is the nostalgia goggles. But I truly do love him as well, especially as I've gotten older and better at analyzing why I like him, even coming to relate to him in some ways(mainly the hyperfixation on and tendency to withdraw into fictional worlds. I know this applies to all versions, but this is the one I grew up with and where the comfort of someone who was 'like me' in that way began). I also relate to the meek persona he shows early on, and the eventual temper more than I probably should. I've gotten better at managing it. But it's safe to say I've been the quiet guy with the eventual hare trigger temper. If there's one positive thing I can take away from my shared experience with him, it's that I've learned to drop the facade and be as cring-I mean WHIMSICAL as I want to be.

Arkham Games

You have NO idea how excited I was when I heard that Arkham City had a Mad Hatter side mission. My main goal when I started the game, even after doing the research and finding out how many I would have to play, was to get to him. I was definitely in it for the Riddler challenges as well, but Jervis was my top priority and bonus points for the audio logs(have I mentioned I hate every iteration of Hugo Strange I have seen to date?). I was... Disappointed? But not by Jervis himself. No, Jervis was absolutely delightful. From his dialogue, to the way he moved, and right down to his disheveled appearance. And lord knows Peter MacNicol's voice has an effect on me. This man does 'crazy little bastard' SO fucking well. Not just the voice but the mannerisms were absolutely flawless. I listen to Arkham Hatter voice lines at bedtime just so I can go to sleep in a good mood. He makes me giddy and giggly and I don't even know what else to say on the matter! No, the reason I was disappointed was that the side mission was so short! The cutscene leading into it was enough to have me instantly smitten with the man, only for it to be a short beat 'em up section. My heart hurt for him when I unlocked the audio logs. Just listening to Strange actively and purposely making Jervis' mental issues worse(Did I mention... I hate Hugo Strange?). After that I played Origins. I think it did better in giving us more Hatter content(uncomfortable ending aside). When I climbed out of that sewer and those rabbit mask goons started singing, I was CACKLING. I was SO excited to get into another Hatter mission, just hoping this time I'd get more and it delivered! Finally getting to go into the hat shop I saw in Arkham City, the 'sir' dialogue, taking screenshots because I wanted to capture how fuckin' SHORT he was. All leading into a fun and beautiful Wonderland platforming section. My first time through, it took me a damn while because I had to stop and admire every little detail. It might have bee a different dev team, but they went all out to make this section scream 'Jervis'. From the cards replacing the experience bats, to the stone faces and stained glass images of Jervis, right down to the tea river with sugar cubes floating down it. GOD, it was an experience. Also. "No one ever wanted to hear what Jervis had to say, he might as well have been INVISIBLE." That. Should not have given me childhood flashbacks, but MORE RELATABILITY I GUESS. And finally Arkham Knight. This game cemented his place as one of my favorite Hatters in any Batman media. He's gone from a sometimes rhymer to an always rhymer and as much as I hate it, knowing it's indicative of his mental state, I also find it kind of endearing? The interrogation recording with him and Cash never fails to make me laugh and, OOOOH speaking of laughs, his makes my heart flutter. By this point, Peter MacNicol had been cemented as my favorite Hatter voice(not an easy feat when you have Roddy McDowall to compete with). I liked this one because we get to talk with him a lot. SO much good dialogue. And the pop-up book setting of the finale was just... Masterfully done. I spent so much time taking screenshots, admiring all the little details in his face and hands during this section. The sweat and grime and stubble on his face, that little smirk as he turns the page the first time, the painful-looking cracks in his fingernails. Even the fuzz on his fingerless gloves looked good. I usually don't make a big deal about graphics in games, but this? I loved. PS - Diversity win, Jervis is bisexual.

Secret Six

Where do I begin with this one? At first, I read it because I wanted to see him fight Doctor Psycho. But by the end, I was madly in love with this Hatter. So how about the fact that he's introduced fully nude and looking like absolute shit, high off his ass and wrapped around a skull hookah? Or the nonsensical speech patterns that are introduced with that scene? How he manages to simultaneously be a horrid little bastard and the cutest man I have ever seen in my life? And the wide range of expressions that accentuate how awful or cute he is in those moments? The bizarre but honestly funny writing choice that is him being, to quote Deadshot, a 'hat junkie'? And when I say hat junkie, I mean he built a setting into his hat that allows him to hypnotize himself into a state of euphoria. Also, he likes to get naked when he gets high. Sensory thing, maybe? Hell if I know, but here we are. High, naked Jervis. Honestly, they went into such detail with all of his weird little quirks. From the hilarious shit that comes out of his mouth to the fact he was making little hats for his fruit before he ate it. But then in his moments of lucidity, he's easily the smartest fucker on the team. And dangerous too. The fact that he was their secret weapon to block Doctor Psycho's mind control(and keep in mind that Psycho is one of the most powerful telepaths in the DC universe) is enough to attest to that. But then they go and up the ante by showing just what he's capable of when he singlehandedly defeats the Doom Patrol. After all the fun we'd had with him up to that point, it was incredible to see. I like scary men, and in that moment, Jervis was terrifying. But THE big moment that had me in awe of this Jervis was in the final battle. Stabbed with Cheshire's poison knife, finding himself in a hallucination of Wonderland. He's happy there, he's ready to accept his fate until his teammates explain what's happening to him. And what does this little son of a bitch do? He takes the knife out, walks it off, and hunts down Doctor Psycho by himself. And why does he do this? Why, because he thinks Psycho's a little bitch, of course! "When the real fighting starts, you always run. Why is that, do you suppose?" he asks. "See, that's why you'll never make the grade, doctor. Always hiding from the eye of madness." He proceeds to comment on Psycho eating tuna and not flossing afterwards and cuts him with that same poison knife. This Jervis is a genuine fucking badass! But as many Hatter stories do, this one ends in heartbreak and I'm left feeling for him. Man feels like he's finally made some real, genuine friends and gets pushed off a building. I'm not about to join the Ragdoll hate club for that moment(a lot of my faves in various media hurt a lot of my other faves so I'm used to that). But damn it hurt.

[inukag]

Hiii! Where do you read the manga online? Some of the translations you post look different than the ones I find online.

Example- I forget which chapter exactly but when Kagome was trying to dress Inuyasha’s wounds after their fight with Yura- Kagome’s like “Take your clothes off!” And Inuyasha was like “Beg me to!”

The manga I’m reading has Inuyasha calling Kagome a bitch every other sentence. There has to be a better way to enjoy this story 🥲

Hi! I've talked about this before but there is 2 different translations of the Inuyasha manga that you can find online. I have a lot of things to say about the different translations so I will use your ask to ramble a bit ^^

So basically when the Inuyasha manga was first released in Japan, fans would get the raw scans in Japanese, translate them and upload them online. This is the "fan translation". I know the first half of the manga was translated by one person (but I don't remember their name), and the second half by @inu-fanon / @fast-moon aka Patches.

The manga was also officially translated and published in North America by Viz Media. If you find physical volumes of Inuyasha in English this is the translation you'll find. Viz also recently released digital versions of their "VIZBIG" (3-in-1) volumes of Inuyasha, so that's why we now have high-quality scans of the Inuyasha manga.

The scans you're reading where Inuyasha calls Kagome a "bitch" is the fan translation, and the scans I've been reblogging recently (mainly posted by @mustardyellowsunshine), is the Viz translation. You can easily tell which translation you're reading based on the font of the text: The fan translation usually uses either Comic Sans or Manga Temple while the Viz translation uses Whizbang (just google the name of the font and you'll see). Also the onomatopoeia (sound effects) are translated to English in the Viz version, but usually they're not in the fan version.

The thing with Inuyasha calling Kagome a "bitch" is that the word he uses in Japanese is pretty hard to translate. When he's angry at her, he uses the word てめぇ [temee] which is a rude way of saying "You".

He uses that word in the Japanese dub of the anime too by the way, so it's not something that the anime "toned down". It's just that the translation varies a lot. The fan translations usually opt for "You bitch" or "You bastard" while Viz and the English subs and dub usually go for "Why you", "Damn you" or they change the sentence completely to make it clear that Inuyasha is angry at Kagome.

Here's a few examples so you can see what I'm talking about. From chapter 6 / episode 3:

Chapter 411 / TFA episode 1:

Chapter 520 / TFA episode 18:

If it really bothers you then I would suggest reading the Viz translation! The only problem with the Viz translation is that they don't always translate the text "literally". Quite a few times I read something in the Viz volumes and went "uh??" so I asked my friend who has the Japanese volumes of the manga what the original text says, and every time the fan translation was correct but not the Viz one.

I can give you a few examples on top of my head where the Viz translation was really amusing or frustrating and it turned out to be the Viz translator doing whatever they want....

Chapter 34:

This one had me going "Have to tell her WHAT???" until I learned he was really just saying "Kagome..." :')

Chapter 332:

"Too long" is funny because it makes them sound like an old married couple, but it's also kind of mean? He only says "Quite a while" in the original text.

Chapter 417:

Sango says "Sesshomaru should be sneezing" because there's a superstition in Japan that says sneezing means someone is talking behind your back. Viz changed it because non-Japanese audiences probably wouldn't get the joke.

Chapter 458:

I was laughing so hard at the Viz translation here because Kagome getting called out for "behaving as if Inuyasha annoys her while dreaming of having him all to herself" was just so funny to me but it turns out the actual dialogue is completely different and not amusing at all lmao.

Oh and Sesshomaru speaks French at one point in the Viz translation, but I can't remember which chapter it's from:

There's only one instance where I've been told the Viz translation is more accurate than the fan one, and it's in chapter 465:

Apparently it's hard to tell who the subject is in Japanese sentences so there was some confusion here. But the Viz translation makes more sense and the English dub of the anime also has Inuyasha saying that line.

Anyway there's a lot more examples but I'm sure you get the idea.

So the unfortunate answer is that there is no perfect way to read the Inuyasha manga! The Viz scans are a lot nicer in terms of quality but the text can be quite different from the original, while the fan translation has a lot of swearing and the scans are low-quality but you get a more accurate translation of what the characters are saying in the original text. Someday someone should take the Viz scans and fix all the mistranslations and reupload them somewhere but that would be a looot of work.

Here's where you can read each version online: Fan translation: Manganelo Viz translation: Mangapill

[shihalyfie]

Shiramine Nokia, and her role in Cyber Sleuth’s narrative

This one’s on request! Cyber Sleuth is quite the interesting game and a rather landmark entry in the franchise, mainly for being a love letter to the franchise and its long history itself, and for being the franchise’s very first work exclusively aimed at adults, meaning that it can explore different topics that wouldn’t normally be Sunday morning timeslot material, while also being a little more willing to assume that the people playing this are familiar with a lot of older parts of the franchise (not that it’s advisable to have complete lockout, but the game benefits greatly by not needing to assume lockout by default).

One of the ways Cyber Sleuth exhibits its “franchise love letter” status is by starting off the game all the way back at the franchise’s roots, before Digimon Adventure changed the game and everyone’s perception of Digimon and Digimon partnership, when the V-Pet lore was intertwined with Digimon as elements of hard sci-fi. As the game proceeds, the atmosphere slowly starts to resemble the more fantasy-like version of the franchise established by Digimon Adventure and its follower entries -- and that change is represented in none other than Nokia herself.

Before we begin: As anyone who follows my meta work has probably noticed, I generally prefer to have my analyses use tons of references and screenshots so that it’s easy to follow and the evidence is concrete, but Cyber Sleuth is a game, and it’s much harder to get those things without replaying the entire game, so I hope this won’t be too hard to follow despite being mostly text.

Nokia’s background and personality

If we want to apply the producer’s statements on Twitter, Nokia is 17 years old at the time of Cyber Sleuth, and has a backstory of having originally been a shy, bullied child who broke out of her shell thanks to the influence of her cousin (who, of all people, happens to be none other than Date Makiko). The flashback we get with Nokia in chapter 18, however, portrays her as just a fairly cheerful, go-getter child, but (although we only get to see her hair) she’s not quite as “flashy” or in-your-face as the description entails.

A possible hypothesis for rationalizing this all together comes from a what we learn about the process of memory wiping in Cyber Sleuth chapter 14: even if memories are extracted from the person, there’s some kind of residual memory left behind (the producer’s above statement also states that the same thing had even happened to Suedou). In Hacker’s Memory chapter 16, Arata confesses to Ryuji that the first Under Zero incident and Jude's loss to the Knightmon had re-triggered his trauma from having lost Yuugo years prior -- “not the memory, but the feeling.” So in other words, there was some feeling of loss that came after the loss of Yuugo that impacted those involved -- and it’s very possible that this deeply impacted and traumatized Nokia as well.

Assuming we’re still following this line of thought (since, again, this background point wasn’t actually in the game proper), Nokia eventually decided to break out of her shell thanks to Makiko’s influence, and become eccentric and assertive, and thus, the game begins.

While we’re here, I also want to point out that Nokia is also voiced by Han Megumi, possibly the Digimon franchise’s most notorious “promoted fangirl” who freaked out after getting to meet her childhood characters’ voice actors while cast as Airu in the Xros Wars crossover and ended up casted in a handful of major Digimon roles thereafter as a result. Which is not to say that her voice performance wasn’t also absolutely perfect for the bright and aggressive Nokia, but, you know...considering the below analysis, food for thought.

Nokia as a representative of “the conventional franchise”

Cyber Sleuth opens on a world where Digimon are largely seen as hacker programs, and even the hackers themselves only see them as non-sentient programs; there are ones like Chitose who treat them with empathy, but his attitude seems to be kindness towards them in a way not entirely unlike a family would treat a Roomba. Although he doesn’t admit to it at first, Arata himself also comes from this “world” of hackers, and we later learn that Yuuko herself is as well (via her “Yuugo” persona), meaning that, other than the playable protagonist, Nokia is the only “outside-context” person -- a completely ordinary civilian who’s gotten dragged into all of this.

Much like, say, the protagonists of Digimon Adventure.

With this background behind her, once she’s thrown into the world of hackers, she immediately has a “fateful encounter” with Agumon and Gabumon, instantly recognizable as two of the franchise’s most prominent Digimon (and complete with their Adventure voice actors, too). And I do especially bring up Adventure specifically, because while Nokia’s position in the game does end up taking in certain elements that roughly came around that era and possibly slightly predated it (mostly Digimon World and V-Tamer), Agumon and Gabumon weren’t particular mascots of the franchise until Adventure basically blew everything to pieces.

Right off the bat, Nokia does not have a single shred of doubt that Agumon and Gabumon are living beings and should be treated as such (again, much like the protagonists of Digimon Adventure; even Taichi in his “is this a game?” mode never doubted this). And they open up their meeting with this conversation:

Agumon: Umm, who are you? Nokia: It... It can talk?! It's so... so... so adoooooorable! M-M-M-M-My name's Nokia. What're your names? Agumon: Me? My name is Agumon! Gabumon: I... I'm Gabumon. Nokia: Agumon and Gabumon? Hee hee! What weird names! Gabumon: Hey, they're not weird! Agumon: You're the one with the weird name! Nokia: As if! My name's not weird! Hee hee!

And on top of that, Agumon refers to Nokia as having a “familiar” scent. Remember this for later.

Nokia’s second encounter with Agumon and Gabumon in Cyber Sleuth chapter 3 involves her properly partnering herself with Agumon and Gabumon, and learning about the existence of the “Digital World”. Note that, for all intents and purposes, EDEN had been treated like the functional equivalent of the Digital World in this narrative up until this point -- cyberspace with hackers, coming from the network, it’s basically a “digital world” from top to bottom, and yet here Agumon and Gabumon are introducing the concept of a more fantasy-esque incarnation of a digital world. (And, in fact, despite EDEN being right there, many long-time Digimon fans playing this game often complained about how little you get to see the “Digital World” in this game, because of how associated that term is with something more fantasy-like.) So, again: here we have Nokia, who’s forming a partnership with Agumon and Gabumon as equals instead of recruiting them as hacker tools (even the protagonist wasn’t immune to this method), and being indirectly responsible for introducing the more fantasy-like concept of the Digital World that the modern franchise is currently associated with.

Nokia embarks on the conventional shounen anime character arc of starting off cowardly, but eventually learning to have her own inner strength, with her Digimon evolving in accordance to her emotions. And, eventually, in Cyber Sleuth chapter 8, she decides to form her own hacker team, called the “Rebels”. She ostensibly bases it off the old creed of Jude, having heard that they were a team that never caused trouble for others, but we later learn via Arata turning out to have been its former leader, and the even later portrayal in Hacker’s Memory of its spiritual successor Hudie, that this is an extremely rose-colored image of them -- Jude (and Hudie) was not a well-intentioned team by any means, but rather a sort of mercenary group meant to enforce the “freedom” of EDEN, often taking on shady jobs and “punishing” entities they considered to be causing chaos. But in this case, Nokia forms her team under the idea of legitimately fighting for justice and good will -- again, much like a Digimon Adventure protagonist.

In case the metaphor weren’t clear enough, Nokia decides that the members of her group will not be called “hackers”, but “Tamers” -- the same lingo used by the franchise to refer to a human who partners alongside a Digimon to help them get stronger -- and that she wants to promote the idea of humans and Digimon working in tandem (complete with emotional bonding exercises). For this, everyone looks at her weird, and yet her methodology, initially naive as it seems, keeps working, because Nokia’s natural charisma starts bringing people from different places together and making quite the formidable team. Everyone is perplexed by this, but perhaps it’s only natural, because Nokia has just independently invented the modern concept of Digimon partnership in a world where it did not exist. And this is eventually solidified by the Under Zero invasion in Cyber Sleuth chapter 10, in which Omegamon is finally formed (from sheer guts on her part).

Omegamon is yet another symbol of the modern franchise, but it’s important to remember that he hasn’t always been so; even his appearance in V-Tamer was as more of a tactical piece than any kind of game-breaker, but the impact of Our War Game! has led him to constantly make a resurgence in major franchise roles (maybe a little too much these days). However, on top of Nokia basically embodying the modern franchise itself by doing this, Nokia and Arata’s positions are an obvious reference to Our War Game! in particular, being Omegamon and Diablomon Tamers -- but they’re not seen directly fighting each other. In fact, Arata’s partner only ever reaches Diablomon when he’s at the highest point of his morality, so the reference is more ideological; Nokia represents the more idealistic and heroic side of Digimon, whereas Arata represents the more dirty-playing and cynical hard sci-fi side of it (remember that Diablomon himself was rather detached from the fantasy conflict of Adventure, being a mysterious entity that sprouted out of nowhere on the Internet and wreaked havoc). Moreover, Nokia’s usage of Omegamon embodies a theme that’s central to both Our War Game! and Cyber Sleuth itself as a whole -- while most people associate Omegamon with Taichi and Yamato these days, the original method of formation back in Our War Game! came from “bringing people from different places together”. Nokia managed to bring together a formidable army in a place where everyone else in the hacker world was trying to promote a dog-eat-dog philosophy, and the sense of cooperation is arguably making her stronger than anyone else.

(I should also point out that Nokia’s name is, obviously, a reference to the Finnish telephone communications company, and this has a lot of relevance to the game’s theme of connection, along with her phone Digivice...and, also, the method used to bring everyone’s powers together in Our War Game!’s spiritual successor, Diablomon Strikes Back. Feels a bit too on-the-nose here.)

In the second half of the game, when the world starts falling apart due to the Digital World portal opening, Nokia becomes one of most important people holding everything together as Arata goes off the deep end and Yuuko starts fixating on her own personal problems and revenge -- because she’s the one most in tune with treating Digimon as the living beings they are, she’s most active in advocating for them and helping them bond with humans, and and she’s the one making the chaos be a little less chaotic. The second half is basically the more fantasy-esque version of Digimon leaking into the sci-fi, with the sidequests progressively resembling your average Digimon anime monster-of-the-week episode, and holding that all together is Nokia, who becomes a vital figure in maintaining that fellowship by being in tune with the modern franchise’s philosophy.

Through all of this, Nokia ends up taking a role rather similar to a Digimon protagonist, which is highlighted very strongly in Cyber Sleuth chapter 18 when she ends up literally becoming the player character while the main protagonist is out of commission. During that time, Yuuko and Nokia learn the truth of what happened during the EDEN incident eight years prior -- and we also learn that the five children involved had an extremely conventional “first meeting in the Digital World” experience that could have been pulled right out of the first episode of a Digimon anime, with them having a lovely adventure meeting new creatures. And at the center of that “first contact” was none other than Nokia, Agumon, and Gabumon themselves:

Agumon: Um... who are you? Nokia: Ahem! I am Nokia! And just who are you? Agumon: Me? My name is Agumon! Gabumon: I... I'm Gabumon. Nokia: Agumon and Gabumon? Hee hee! What weird names! Gabumon: Hey, they're not weird! Agumon: You're the one with the weird name! Nokia: As if! My name's not weird! Hee hee!

Nokia, Agumon, and Gabumon’s meeting at the beginning of the game had been an (accidental) reenactment of their first meeting in the Digital World eight years prior -- and, in the flashback, Nokia invites them to go on an “adventure” with them. So in other words, Nokia getting involved in the hacker conflict at the beginning of the game was, unknown to all of them, her attempting to restore that beauty and idealism of the Digimon Adventure-esque philosophy and fun in a world where the Eaters had torn it away and EDEN had turned into a haven of cynicism and hacker battle royale.

In the end, the game’s conflict is only resolved by bringing everyone together; Arata has to be retrieved from the deep end, and Yuuko has to settle her deep-seated personal grievances. Everyone makes a promise to return together, in the sense of making things right and repairing the connections between them that had been cut in that incident. The final battle (momentarily) causes the playable protagonist to literally fall apart, and the one reaching out to them and sending her message to them at the end of the game is none other than Nokia herself -- again, in the absence of the game’s protagonist, Nokia is the one with the closest role, because in the face of the new world going forward, she was the one who contributed most to restoring its idealism.

Ultimately, all of this is especially because Cyber Sleuth works under one of the most terrifying imaginable premises for a fan of a kids’ franchise: “we made an entry for this, but for adults.” Many of us can testify that this kind of premise can go very well, or very badly -- the latter especially in the case of things that decide “taking the opportunity to do things that you can’t do on a Sunday morning kids’ timeslot” means “going out of your way to put edgy violence and sexy things and cynicism just because you can”, or, in other words, looking down condescendingly on its kids’ franchise roots with malice and deciding that something for adults means “more suffering” and not “issues that require more life experience to understand”. The reason the game ended up getting as much acclaim among longtime Digimon fans as it did was that despite being the franchise’s first venture into this territory, it did end up setting itself up as something that took that opportunity to do something new and unique that would have never made it into any of the prior entries (holy hell the doll quest) and yet never gave up on the idealism and themes of connection that make up the franchise at its core, and paid respect to everything that had contributed to all of that while it was at it.

And at the center of that is Shiramine Nokia, who is effectively the spirit of Digimon Adventure, condensed into a single character.

[uomo-accattivante]

This is so wild! Oscar Isaac is planning to act for Francis Ford Coppola in this film and play him in another film (Francis and the Godfather).

Coppola on Megalopolis: “It’s based on The Catiline Conspiracy, which comes to us from ancient Rome. This was a famous duel between a patrician, Catiline, and that part will be played by Oscar Isaac, and the famous Cicero, who will be Forest Whitaker.” Filming is planned for the Fall of 2022.

EXCLUSIVE: Breathtaking bets on his vision established him as one of the greatest living American filmmakers and a vineyard magnate. Now, Francis Coppola is ready to put a lot of his hard-won chips on the table one more time to make his epic dream project, Megalopolis.

While the financial configuration is still evolving, Coppola at 82 years young is betting big on himself once again, by sharing the financial risks of a film that will cost between $100 million-$120 million. He is in deep discussions with a stellar cast of actors eager to work with the director of The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now!, The Conversation and other classics, on a seminal picture that is decades in the making.

While some conversations are further along then others, the actors Coppola is discussing roles with include Oscar Isaac, Forest Whitaker, Cate Blanchett and Jon Voight, with Zendaya, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jessica Lange also among those he is seeking. He will also reunite with James Caan, whose role as Sonny Corleone in Coppola’s The Godfather made Caan one of the biggest stars of that era. This for a big tapestry film that will have many other actors in the cast.

Deadline has written about Coppola’s Megalopolis hopes for several years – I’ve seen second-unit footage of Manhattan architecture and street sounds that was shot 20 years ago, a campaign that ended after 9/11 shook Manhattan to its core. Coppola’s enthusiasm never wavered.

Emboldened by the recent sale of a portion of his considerable vineyard holdings in Sonoma County to Delicato Family Wines, Coppola has fortified his resources to borrow against, and is ready to gamble once again on his vision to make a movie he feels can be a North Star for a younger audience, and society in general, searching for optimism in a moment where global warming is taking its toll, and polarizing politics and digital misinformation are so pronounced that half the country is resisting Covid vaccines that scientists honed in a remarkably short time to combat a global pandemic.

“It has become like a religious war, in that it’s not about anything logical,” Coppola told Deadline. “I think the big news here is that I am still the same as I was 20 years ago or 40 years ago. I’m still willing to do the dream picture, even if I have to put up my own money, and I am capable of putting up $100 million if I have to here. I don’t want to, but I will do it if I have to.

“I’m committed to making this movie, I’d like to make it in the fall of 2022,” Coppola revealed. “I don’t have all my cast approved, but I have enough of them to have confidence that it is going to be a very exciting cast. The picture’s going to cost between $100 million and $120 million. Needless to say, I hope it’s closer to $100 million. I’m prepared to match some outside financing, almost dollar for dollar. In other words, I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is. What’s interesting about that is, there was a documentary about my dream studio, when I owned Zoetrope Studios and I was unafraid to risk everything I had in order to make my dream come true. Well, I really haven’t changed my personality, at all.”

While waiting for this Megalopolis moment, Coppola has spent the last few years preparing himself. He has kept off the weight he shed several years ago, and his stamina is in evidence in the way he created new versions of some of his past films, most notably the final installment of The Godfather trilogy that he retitled The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, Apocalypse Now and The Cotton Club. I hear he will be at Telluride this weekend to unveil restored versions of his films The Rain People, and The Outsiders: The Complete Novel. After doing the work and feeling at peace with those past great films, as Coppola holds court at that festival, I expect the dominant conversation will be about how he is looking forward, toward Megalopolis.

While few filmmakers would ever put their own money on the table, Coppola detailed to Deadline his big bets in the past when studios wouldn’t back him,; the musical One From the Heart plunged him into Chapter 11 back in the early ‘90s, and his risk-taking on Apocalypse Now once threated to cost him the vineyards whose revenues now dwarf his Hollywood earnings. Each time, Coppola found his way back from adversity. The classic Apocalypse Now continues to give him financial comfort.

“You know that I own the negative of Apocalypse Now, and do you know why I own it? Because nobody wanted it,” he said. “And Apocalypse Now these years earns almost as much as we get from The Godfather. Pictures like this [are difficult]; everyone wants to make the next Marvel movie, but no one wants to make a picture that really talks to young people in a hopeful way, that we are in a position to get together and solve any problem thrown at us. That is what I believe, and it is what the theme of the picture really is. Utopia is talking about how we can make the society we live in solve these problems. I believe it is an exciting change from the kinds of movies being offered to the public,” he said. “Mainly because it puts forward a fundamental message that it’s time for us to consider that the society we live in isn’t the only alternative available to us. And that utopia isn’t so much a little experimental place in the country; utopia is a discussion of people, asking the right questions on if the society we’re living in is the only alternative or, if for the sake of young people, there are better choices that should be discussed. That is the influence I dream of this movie having. And for that reason I am willing and capable of investing at a high number, to make it come true. I’m putting together the means of doing that.”

While Coppola set his script in a contemporary city and explores timely themes, the sprawling tale has its origins in ancient Rome.

“The concept of the film is a Roman epic, in the traditional Cecile B. DeMille or Ben-Hur way, but told as a modern counterpart focusing on America,” he said. “It’s based on The Catiline Conspiracy, which comes to us from ancient Rome. This was a famous duel between a patrician, Catiline, and that part will be played by Oscar Isaac, and the famous Cicero, who will be Forest Whitaker. He is now the beleaguered mayor of New York, during a financial crisis, close to the one that Mayor Dinkins had. This story takes place in a new Rome, a Roman epic sent in modern times. The time set is not a specific year in modern New York, it’s an impression of modern New York, which I call New Rome.”

Coppola realizes these serious themes leave him swimming against the tide in an industry fixated with franchises, high concepts and familiar formulas. But he’s been a maverick his whole life and would like to stake himself this one more time, hoping to prevail again.

“This film I want to make, I believe is an exciting change from the kinds of movies being offered to the public,” Coppola said. “Mainly because it puts forward a fundamental message that it’s time for us to consider that the society we live in isn’t the only alternative available to us. And that a utopia isn’t so much a little experimental place in the country; a utopia is a discussion of people asking the right questions on just that subject, and if the society we’re living in is the only alternative or, if for the sake of young people, there are better choices that should be discussed. Hopefully that is the influence I dream of this movie having. And for that reason I am willing and capable of investing at a high number, to make it come true. I’m putting together the means of doing that.

He also understands this turn of events brings him full circle, and it seems to energize him.

“I have some private financiers who want to come in on a partner basis, and I’m willing to match their funds, if I have to,” he said. “Obviously the more money I have to put up, the more complications it gives me, but I am capable of doing it. I am capable of going the whole distance if I really had to. It would be hard for me or anyone to put up $100 million to make a utopian dream of a film, but it is not impossible for that to happen. It has been in the news I just sold one of my wineries to another company. So I’m a position where I don’t have the money but I can borrow it. So basically I am the same position as I was in that Dream Studio period, where I want to see the dream come true and I am not afraid to risk my own money to make it happen.”

###

[gizkasparadise]

18 and 22 for the writing meme.

thanks for the ask! sorry for the delay in answering!!

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

it really depends on the project, tbh. with fic writing, it's very very basic outlining where i do something like this:

chapter title -thing 1 -thing 2 -thing 3

chapter title 2 -thing 1

repeat. and then i just delete the chapter section in the outline after i post it.

for work projects, it's a lot more intense. i usually spend a few days outlining, then i organize research/background stuff into physical piles if it's hardcopy or gDrive folders if it's digital. then i make liberal use of post-its to lay out points and general brainstorming. i outline sometimes in a word doc/gdoc, but most of the outlining takes place in notepads

for outlining tools, i mainly use google drive (i have folders and subfolders for each project) and the free version of trello (project management tool). ive thought about scrivener but i dont want to pay for anything :'D

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

i had such a hard time thinking of a passage :'| but let's do malak's death scene from i loved rome more (kotor, revan/malak). excerpt/thoughts under the cut:

general thoughts: i think this is the most i've gone over line edits in a fic, especially with the final lines in the scene. i wanted to phrase everything really carefully. the "this is drowning, this is breathing/This is loving, this is leaving" pair of lines went through a thousand variations in particular. but the main thing i wanted to do was 1) write this scene in a way that was still somewhat interesting despite being a canon scene all the readers have presumably played through already, 2) integrate/come full circle with some of the arc words and themes (in particular revan's inability to apologize with malak's avoidance tendencies/leaving a situation without resolving it, and 3) be sad LOL and kind of romantic? in a weird way (maybe more Romantic). a lot of it's call backs to previous chapters in the story

excerpt w/ commentary in bold

Revan meets his eyes. They both know that there is no coming back from what she’s done to him. this line works on two levels-- revan's killing him fully aware that she's responsible for the monster he's become

He sinks to his knees, then collapses backward. Without thinking, she kneels beside him, much like she did when she was eighteen and he was near death for the first time at the Enclave following a failed mission with Vrook.

No one will hurt you again, she lies. callback to chapter....2? i think?? anyway, it's revisiting the scene where revan kind of is threatened with alek/malak's mortality and basically says Not Today, Satan to it. sort of a bitter irony, here

For the first time in a long time, it’s just them, the quiet, and the emptiness of space. And it’s not peace, but it’s not hatred. It’s just empty.

He coughs. One of his hands is pressed over his chest. She watches it rise and fall with increasing shallowness, his breath coming and leaving in awful hitches.

Malak coughs again and she’s numb. “Revan.”

She swallows. “Yes?”

“I... I cannot help but wonder. What would have happened had our positions been reversed?” canon question lifted verbatim from the game, and part of why this ship is my favorite because of their inherent tragedy and the unfairness of everything

Her hair is sweat-soaked and stuck to her neck. Her body will be screaming in pain later. But now, it’s as though every nerve she has is dead, that every breath she’s taken is for someone else.

“You would have used it better,” she admits quietly. she knows, fundamentally, that alek was a better person than she ever was.

Unable to move, he reaches for her hand blindly.

She grabs it, holds his fingers even after they fall slack. this is a callback to a previous chapter (idr which one, but one of the mandalorian wars flashback chapters) where alek reaches for her hand when he's injured and she doesnt grab it because she doesnt want to look like she's showing favoritism in front of the other soldiers

“As the darkness takes me...I am nothing.”

-

This is drowning, this is breathing. This is loving, this is leaving.  lol the way i STRUGGLED with these lines and debated including them. but w/e im happy with them/the flow of this scene and im glad they're here

-

For the first time, she’s able to say it.

"I'm sorry," she chokes.

But he still goes away.

this is a final callback to the continued arc words "She can never say she's sorry/As always, Malak/Alek walks away" that's present several times in the fic

Thanks for reading!!!