#Soda on the rocks duo

[just-jarren]

Drawing base by: @mellon-soup

I was bored :3

[ramtowncos]

MORE DIGITAL ART I SAY!!

and its literally of my two fave streamers??

i literally screamed seeing Pezzy and John paired in the first round of lockdown protocal.

[cailinsblog]

Soft Side of Rafe | rafe Cameron

Rafe Cameron x reader

I have never written for him so I hope you like this

Masterlist

It was a warm, breezy afternoon in the Outer Banks, and the group had gathered at the Cameron family’s estate for a casual hangout. The boys—Topper, Kelce, and JJ—were lounging by the pool, laughing and tossing a football back and forth. Meanwhile, Y/N was sitting with Sarah and Kie on the patio, their soft laughter and chatter filling the air.

Rafe Cameron, the usually tough and aloof figure among the group, was nowhere near his usual antics. Instead, he was cradling his five-month-old daughter, Lilly, in his arms with a tenderness none of the boys had ever seen. Dressed in a tiny sundress, Lilly cooed and gurgled, her chubby little hands occasionally reaching out to grab Rafe’s nose or his shirt.

Topper was the first to notice. He nudged Kelce with his elbow, nodding in Rafe’s direction. “Dude, look at him,” he said, grinning. “Rafe freaking Cameron, Mr. Tough Guy, all gooey-eyed over a baby.”

Kelce snorted, glancing over. “It’s like he’s a completely different person,” he said. “I’ve never seen him like this.”

JJ, lounging on a deck chair with a soda in hand, shook his head in disbelief. “I gotta say, it’s weird seeing him all...soft,” he said, though his tone was teasing. “I mean, he’s talking to her like she’s a princess or something.”

“Because she is,” Rafe shot back without even looking up, his voice surprisingly calm and unbothered. Lilly let out a tiny squeal, and Rafe’s face instantly softened as he gently rocked her. “Isn’t that right, Lilly? You’re Daddy’s little princess.”

The guys erupted into laughter, but Rafe didn’t care. He kissed the top of Lilly’s head, his focus entirely on his daughter.

“Man, you’ve gone soft,” Topper said, shaking his head. “Who would’ve thought?”

Rafe finally looked up, his signature smirk back on his face for a moment. “You’re just jealous,” he said, holding Lilly a little closer. “Because I’ve got the cutest baby and the hottest girl.”

JJ laughed, tossing the football up and catching it. “We’re just not used to seeing you like this, bro. All lovey-dovey and stuff.”

Rafe shrugged, unfazed. “Yeah, well, get used to it,” he said, flipping them off casually with one hand while keeping Lilly securely cradled in the other. The boys burst into laughter again, but it didn’t bother Rafe in the slightest.

He turned his attention back to Lilly, who was now staring up at him with her big, curious eyes. “You’re so pretty, just like your momma,” he murmured softly, his voice barely audible over the background noise. His thumb gently brushed against her cheek as she let out a tiny yawn.

Rafe glanced over toward the patio, where Y/N was sitting with Sarah and Kie. She was laughing at something Sarah had said, her face lighting up in that way that always made Rafe’s heart skip a beat. She caught his eye for a moment and gave him a warm, knowing smile before turning back to the conversation.

“You see that, Lilly?” Rafe whispered, his eyes still on Y/N. “That’s your momma. The most beautiful girl in the world.”

Lilly responded with a happy coo, and Rafe chuckled softly. “Yeah, I know. We’re both pretty lucky, huh?”

After a while, Y/N excused herself from the patio and walked over to Rafe, her eyes immediately softening at the sight of him with Lilly. “Hey, you two,” she said, leaning down to press a kiss to Rafe’s temple. “How’s my favorite duo?”

Rafe looked up at her, his expression filled with nothing but love. “We’re good,” he said. “Just telling Lilly how lucky we are to have you.”

Y/N smiled, her heart melting. She reached out to gently stroke Lilly’s head, her touch tender. “Well, I think I’m the lucky one,” she said softly.

Rafe shook his head, his eyes never leaving hers. “Not a chance,” he said, his voice low but firm. “It’s us.”

The boys, still watching from a distance, exchanged amused looks but didn’t say anything further. It was clear that this side of Rafe wasn’t just a phase—it was who he truly was when he was with his family.

Later, as the sun began to set, the group gathered around the fire pit. Rafe sat with Y/N on one side, Lilly nestled in her arms. The boys continued to tease him every now and then, but it was all in good fun. And every time they did, Rafe just smiled, knowing he wouldn’t trade his life for anything.

Because at the end of the day, Rafe Cameron wasn’t just the tough guy everyone knew. He was a dad, a boyfriend, and a man completely and unapologetically in love with his little family.

[angelsgame-au]

Angel's Game Masterpost

Character Refs

Angel | Kris | Ralsei | Noelle | Vessel

Main Story

Click here for the lore specific masterpost

Asks

♥ = lore ★ = silly/non-canon

Kris Asks

"How long have you known Angel?" ♥ | First real conversation with Angel ♥ | "Do you have a crush on Berdly?" | SAA- | Egg | Eggs! | Something is off... ♥ | Kris x Berdly?? | "Don't break Angel!" | They can WHAT?? |

Angel Asks

Angel's original Vessel | Angel's eyes | "Kris or Frisk?" | "Have you ever done a weird route?" ♥ | "Opinions on Susie and Ralsei?" | Angel's fave characters | "Thoughts about the church?" ♥ | :eyes: ★ | Silliness | Was that a threat?? ★ | "Do you feel sad for this?" ♥ | Greetings from another angel ★ | Scardy Angel | "Can anyone see you?" | "What do you taste like?" ★ | Anon hug ★ | "Who discarded your vessel?" ♥ | A new vessel? | "What if your vessel had a mind of its own?" | Kris x Angel?? | Someone interesting | Adult soda? | Angel's a coward | Cage | How's Spamton? | Yellow! | "How can you resist the temptation?" | Life outside the game | Short | Omni hugs | tiny Angel | Shared feelings | Higher being | Powers

Duo Asks

Multiverse?! ★ | Egg or Rock? | Scary Faces | ACCELERATE ★ | "What's behind the door...?" ♥ | Respect your elders! | Aren't you the little one? | microwave

Ask Compilations

Silly ask comp 01 ★ | Ask comp 02 ★ | Ask comp 03 ★

Bonus Content

Nuh UH! (comic) | Doodle Dump 01 | Doodle Dump 02 | Doodle Dump 03 | Angel | Another Angel? | Angel's Vessel | Vessel Meeting | Angel's Vessel (Dark World) | Scrapped doodles | Player meeting | Doodle dump 04 | Angel Vessel (Dark World) V2 | Gun | Vessel Friends | Beloved baby Vessel (Feat. Mike) | Vessel Squad

[chcrryade]

⠀EVERY  TIME,⠀I  MAKE  IT  SO  OUTRAGEOUS!  ˚ ◯ ⁺⠀⠀⸻⠀⠀Born out of just the right mix of spite,  desperation,  and greed,  CHERRYADE  ( 체리 에이드 )  are a last-ditch attempt—a withered hand clawing its way out of the grave—at boy group fame for their managing company JAGUAR.  Following their previous list of tragedies,  the seven-piece ensemble  (cobbled together with more members that weren’t even signed to them to begin with that those that were)  seemed to be yet another set-up,  another failed venture that would last a year or two at the very most before a scandal ripped them apart from the inside out and they were shoved aside to make room for the next five minutes of fame JAGUAR were chasing.

However,  they seemed to be the ones that broke the mould of those that had come before them.  Wrapped in an almost artificially sugary-sweet concept with the uneasy-on-the-eyes colour scheme to match  (although the contrasting tang of their sharp personalities cut through the façade more often than not),  CHERRYADE saw success after their debut release ‘DOUBLE DIP,’  a five-track mini album that made everything seem a little bit more real,  proving all those that had been calling bullshit wrong.  They were here,  and they were hopefully here to stay—for better or for worse,  completely uncaring of whether people liked them or not;  as was per with all of JAGUAR’s attempts before them.

They were  (predictably)  not without scandal,  and allegations were thrown at them not long after debut for both their less-than-stellar treatment of their fellow idols in the industry and having loose lips when it came to secrets that weren’t always their own,  but surprisingly there was nothing to be heard about infighting this time around.  Some said they were just the ones that managed to get along,  or they had turned over new leaves, but others theorised that they were all still horrible,  and this time had simply united to wreak their havoc on their mutual enemies instead.

Still,  despite the articles and the fan videos and the general confusion of the crowds at all of their shows while they wondered if they should be throwing rocks or waving their lightsticks in time,  CHERRYADE persevered.  Next was the full album ‘TASTE TEST’ in March 2022,  one that,  despite the more suggestive nature of the songs within,  was another that was met with widespread success.  Everything seemed to be going swimmingly—until the November 2022 one-time-only reunion of JAGUAR’s first and only co-ed duo JUST4U,  who ran from 2009 until 2016.  Another explosive scene of theirs erupted right in plain view,  for everyone to see,  more insults thrown and glass smashed.  An apology  (that,  although was signed by Seungdae,  no-one believes he actually wrote a word of—witnesses said he was egging them on,  if anything)  was released after the media got ahold of the story,  and after that all things JAGUAR  (and by proxy,  all things CHERRYADE)  seemed to fall quiet for a while.  No comeback was announced,  nor rumoured,  nor..  Anything.  It took the leader of the seven himself making a stand and asking for something to be done for any more moves to be made,  and not terribly long after—May 2023,  to be exact—the mini album ‘SWEET (SOUR)’ was dropped.

It seemed the hype hadn’t died down at all,  as fans were just as excited as they’d been for the previous two releases,  and the attention was back in full swing.  Next came the second full album ‘CLUB SODA’ in November 2023,  and most recently the mini album ‘LEMON ON ICE’ in April 2024.  Allegations and accusations have followed them all throughout their careers,  ranging from bullying to drug use to renting rooms in love hotels to the countless rumours of infighting that seem to crop up every two weeks.  But CHERRYADE just keeps on pushing,  not paying any mind to any article that drags their name through the mud for the nth time. 

They have yet to take the title of JAGUAR’s longest running group  (as that crown still belongs to the aforementioned duo JUST4U),  but fans are hopeful and non-fans are more..  Curious.  One journalist described them as a group that was a little like an incoming car crash—you don’t know how things are going to end up,  but you still don’t want to look away.

So,  whether you’re dancing along to their  (admittedly catchy)  discography,  or praying on their imminent disbandment,  CHERRYADE will be here to welcome you all the same.  Grab a gumdrop and make yourself comfortable,  because it’s almost certain that you’re going to be here for a while.

⁺⠀ෆ  ⠀›  ⠀ ᶻ .ᐟ  BACK2BASICS…

GROUP NAME⠀☆⠀CHERRYADE  ( 체리 에이드 )

LABEL⠀☆⠀JAGUAR

DEBUT DATE⠀☆⠀AUG 1,  2021

DEBUT RELEASE⠀☆⠀DOUBLE DIP  ( MINI-ALBUM )

CONCEPT⠀☆⠀COLOURFUL,  SUGARY GOODNESS!

GREETING⠀☆⠀CRACK,  FIZZLE,  POP!  WE’RE CHERRYADE!

FANDOM NAME⠀☆⠀SODA BOMBS

⁺⠀ෆ  ⠀›  ⠀ ᶻ .ᐟ  LINEUP…

KIL DOYEON⠀✶⠀‘98  LEADER MAIN DANCER

DUAN ‘JALEN’ JIEYANG⠀✶⠀‘97  MAIN VOCALIST DANCER

JEON HAEIL⠀✶⠀‘99  LEAD VOCALIST LEAD RAPPER

QIAO YIJUN⠀✶⠀‘01  MAIN RAPPER CENTRE

HWAN ‘GOGO’ MINHUI⠀✶⠀‘02  MAIN DANCER VOCALIST

AHN JAEHEE⠀✶⠀‘02  MAIN RAPPER VISUAL

LEE HASUN⠀✶⠀‘03  MAIN VOCALIST MAKNAE

⁺⠀ෆ  ⠀›  ⠀ ᶻ .ᐟ  DISCOGRAPHY…

AUGUST 2021⠀‘DOUBLE DIP’⠀MINI ALBUM

MARCH 2022⠀‘TASTE TEST’⠀FULL ALBUM

MAY 2023⠀‘SWEET (SOUR)’⠀MINI ALBUM

NOVEMBER 2023⠀‘CLUB SODA’⠀FULL ALBUM

APRIL 2024⠀‘LEMON ON ICE’⠀MINI ALBUM

[xcometstarx]

one shot ideas!!

Solar is a reasonable person. Hes also a logical person. So when a building came down on his 3 oldest brothers, there was no way they should be alive.

𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?

"Guys! GUYS 𝘔𝘖𝘝𝘌!" Blaze shouted to the old, destroyed building, that was currently cracking, and threatening to fall on top of the 3 oldest siblings. Duri had his hands over his mouth, he'd tried to stop the building with his vines, but failed to hold up the building because of his exhaustion from the fight. Ais had tried multiple times to use his arrows to hold up the building, but failed.

None of the 3 oldest had listened to the youngers calls, because they were still in the building. Solar glanced, trying to figure 𝘢𝘯𝘺 possible way their siblings would come out of this alive. And then, the most loud, defening crack any of the 4 had heard happened.

"I can't hold it up much longer!" Gempa said, holding his hands up, protecting the 3 from the falling rubble, with a rock shield that was all the way around them. He had sweat on his brow, and turned to see Taufan leaning against Halilintar for support, glancing at his left leg. 

"Did you 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 to cut my foot off?" Taufan asked, glancing up at Halilintar. Halilintar scoffed, and said, "What else was I supposed to do? Your foot was stuck under that rubble, and refused to move. You almost 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 because you were stuck."

"Oh I don't know 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘎𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦?? Really, 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘳, I thought you were the smart one out of the 3 of us." Taufan said, turning his head away and rolling his eyes, completely ignoring the death glare Halilintar was giving him that went send any normal person running to Jupiter.

"𝘎𝘶𝘺𝘴!" Gempa shouted at the duo, who both looked up at the youngest of the three. The older duo noticed how the rocks that were shielding them slowly started disappearing as Gempa struggled to hold it up any longer.

"Let it fall on us." Halilintar said, Taufan and Gempa whipping to look at him like he'd grown a second head. "But-" Taufan started, and Halilintar shook his head.

"I don't care if we get found out. We'll deal with the consequences." Halilintar said firmly, and nodded to Gempa, who put his hands down, and the rocks started slowly disappearing, until the trio looked up as a loud, defening crack sounded, and saw the roof of the building fall onto them. __________________________________ It's been two weeks since their 3 oldest siblings died. Solar was swishing his soda straw in the drink, as he sat in McDonald's, Duri at his left, Blaze and Ais across from him. Blaze suddenly paused eating his fry as he looked outside, a stunned expression on his face. Ais turned to look at his twin, before turning around, and pausing when he saw what Blaze was looking at. "What?" Duri asked, turning around, and Solar turned around to, almost choking on his soda when he saw what his siblings saw.

Taufan. Alive. And..getting..𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮? Solar blinked. There 𝘩𝘢𝘥 to be a logical explanation. But they 𝘴𝘢𝘸 the building fall on their siblings. They 𝘴𝘢𝘸 the trio get trapped and stuck and 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥. But there was Taufan, getting ice cream, like he didn't have a care in the world.

Like 2 weeks earlier, he hadn't had a building come down on top of him and the other two oldest and killed them. Before Solar could even blink, Duri and Blaze had bounded up, and bolted out of the door. Solar turned to Ais, who shrugged, and followed the duo, Solar sighing and jumping up after them.

"𝘛𝘈𝘜𝘍𝘈𝘕!" Blaze and Duri yelled at the same time, Duri's voice cracking slightly. Taufan looked up, saw them, and gulped. He quickly started backing up, until his hover board had formed under him, and he jumped onto it, saluted, and flew away. Solar watched as a ice arrow went right past Taufan, who looked about as shocked as Solar felt as he turned to Ais, who clicked his tongue, lowering his bow.

At the house, the 4 were restless. Was it just Taufan who'd survived? Were the other two also alive? Solar watched as Blaze paced, Ais trying to get him to calm down. Duri's hands were shaking, and he looked up at Solar, giving him a, 'Please tell me that was real' look. Solar turned away, looking across the living room to the stairs. He couldn't. He couldn't answer Duri's question, because he didn't even know. Part of him 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 and 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 it was real, the other part told him that, that wasn't possible. It was probably a hallucination.

Everyone looked up as a door slammed open, and they all inhaled as they saw Taufan, gesturing something with his hand, walking in, Halilintar and Gempa behind him. The trio paused as they looked at the 4, and each, even Halilintar, gave a playful, taunting smile.

Duri let out a sob of happiness, and ran immediately into Gempas arms, Gempa holding the boy. Blaze glanced at Taufan, who held his arms out, and Blaze bolted into the boys arms, laughing but sobbing, saying he couldn't believe that they were alive. Ais tried to wipe away his tears, but gave a greatful smile, and Solar looked about as stunned as a statue. He was extremely grateful his older siblings were alive, sure, but..

"How?" Solar finally voiced, the gang turning to look at him. "How? We 𝘴𝘢𝘸 the building collapse on you three. You should be 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥-" "Ouch." Taufan interrupted him, letting go of Blaze.

"Being happy we're alive would be nice." Halilintar said, his tone matching Taufans. Ais stepped forward, saying, "I mean, Solar does have a point, while were happy your alive, just..how?" Duri and Blaze stepped back, joining the other two, as trio original exchanged looks.

Finally, Gempa spoke up, his tone laced with hesitation, and a little mischief.

"Would you believe me if I said the three of us are immortal?"

[unhonest-iago]

Risky Business

^^ basically this but w/ Schlatt

Gn reader

‘Alright, let’s get this over with,’ Schlatt had begrudgingly agreed to recreate the scene from Risky Business. The only thing making this worth doing was he got to witness how excited y/n got over all of this. Setting it all up, he had a stereo system in the living room. Being old schooled himself. ‘What’s this?’ He asked, seeing them hold up two shot glasses. ‘Apparently Cruise drank a whiskey soda, or at least that’s my guess.’ Placing them back on the kitchen table as they both downed the liquid courage. Schlatt had only agreed as long as y/n did the whole gig with him. Moving forward to turn on the stereo, the beginning notes of ‘Old Time Rock and Roll’ echoed through their small space. Two tv dinners in the microwave, already cooked. Neither wanting to recreate eating into a cold brick and they'd have food to eat once they were done.

Both of them sliding across the floor in white tube socks. 'What the hell tuts?' Y/n ending on top of Schlatt after they ran into him. Peels of laughter echoing in the living room entrance as the realization hit them. 'I'm so-rry, I swear. I didn't mean to.' Quickly getting up, y/n reset the stereo. 'Attempt 2, and I'll go in front this time.' Schlatt grabbing y/n's hand, he used it to pull himself up. Y/n holding the empty candle holster as they lip synced the beginning line, 'Just take those old records off the shelf.' Doing somewhat of a shimmy before pasting it to Schlatt. 'I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself' pointing his thumb towards himself as he lip synced. He'd told himself he wasn't doing a 3rd attempt and this one had to be perfect.

Tossing the candle holder on the couch once getting to the fireplace. 'Don't try to take me to a disco', y/n helped Schlatt get up onto the table. Grabbing the fire poker, air-strumming as if it were an electric guitar. 'You'll never even get me out on the floor,' the duo unable to take themselves seriously as they looked at each other. Laughing as they realized it went down to the outfit, Schlatt's shirt being oversized on them and his own socks not staying up. 'Give me your hand.' Doing a dance move akin to a rocking horse before turning off the music and sitting down to eat their tv dinners. 'We're so stupid,' the words lighthearted as Jambo finally came out of his hiding spot to join them.

[z-exo-l]

Exist First Impressions

(Excluding Let Me In, Hear Me Out and Cream Soda)

Regret It. !! Wha?? Hello PCY. Omg. Dem Jointz. ??? What is happening??? What a weird instrumental??? I mean they sound grea—Kai! So much Kai!!?? Ohhhhh R&B Kyungsoo!!! I’m liking the duos on the chorus. Okay, this has the recipe to be a grower. The chorus and close out are great. It would be better if it was longer, and I still think the random bits at the beginning and end are weird.

Private Party. Ohhh…OHHH YESS! Ohhh smooth opening. Oop! Switch up. This one I’m not weirded out by because I heard the highlight already. Niiice. OMG I love when vocals go up and down! Ooh see this one’s switch up is FAR more homogenous. Omg they know what they’re doing with the English distribution. Kaiiii! So many shortys. I’m curious about the lyrics here. Yeees signature harmonies! That one’s cute!

Cinderella. Okay…I’m having fun. Awww, Kai’s making me so happy. Pfft! Sehun is standing out to me this album. Pcy is rocking it though. I’m having a lot of fun w these melodies. Yeeees give Ksoo those soft Cs!!! I’m loving the more features of Minseok too.

No Makeup. Ohhhhh yes soft kjm! Kaisoo trade off. *sigh* Yeeeeesss. This is the sweet spot man. KYUNGSOO RUN! Ooooh a xiubaek pair up? YES! Is that vocal pcy??? …Ngl, I’m worried about the lyrics but…LISTEN TO THEM! Jongdaaaae!!! Pcyyyy! LOW VOCAL SEHUN???? YES!!! Omg Baek, hell yeah. So far this b-side is the ONE.

Love Fool. OOH! This is the one Baek spoiled months ago! YES, Kyungsoo! You’re going off Minseok! Ohhh…don’t love this segment. 😬 Okay, it picked up again. Idk why that part’s there when the rest is good. I’m getting Kyungsoo fed on this one too. See, outside that one—two 😑 dumb parts this song’s great!

Another Day. Niiice start Baek! Yeees go OFF kji! I *love* the kjd pair! Oooh ksoo! Kjm yes!!! OMG! ohh the distortion effects are interesting. !!! MINSEOK SLAY!!! Oop—why did they do that to ksoo’s voice there? Kai gahDAMN. This song is just a vocal flex, man. 😆 Why do they keep putting effects on ksoo’s voice??? Oop! Deep voice Kyungsoo close out?? Wow. I’m worried this one will land in the camp of song that bums me outnif I’m in the wrong state of mind but we’ll have to see.

Okay. First impression filed away, but I am running on five hours sleep over the last 24 hours and after a couple reblogs I’m going to sleep…for an hour. 😅 I’ll do a more comprehensive overall opinion later.

[just-jarren]

I NEED HELP FINDING A PICTURE

I NEED TO FIND THAT ONE PICTURE OF KRYOZ AND PEZZY, WHERE PEZZY IS LIKE KINDA LAYING ON SOMETHING AND KRYOZ IS LEANING OVER HIM. DOES ANYONE HAVE THIS PICTURE?? I CAN'T FIND IT.

[ramtowncos]

Soda on the Rocks cus i said so-

i love these two together sm its actually a problem.

[donotscratchyoureyes]

All The Gear And No Idea

A tortured musical instrument/Watford FC analogy 

Back in the day, when Britpop was at it’s peak, I played guitar in a local covers band. If you frequented small live music venues between 1995-2000 in the corridor between Hayes and Watford (centring mainly around the Uxbridge area) you might have seen me and four other struggling local musicians performing for a few quid and as much lime and soda as it was possible to consume in three hours.  

Often, we’d be on the bill with other bands, most of which were highly accomplished and showed us up to be the young pretenders that we were. Occasionally, however, we would look on in bewildered disbelief at bands who we termed as “all the gear and no idea”. 

One such evening that illustrates this was when we were one of four bands booked to play as part of a “mini-festival” at RAF Northolt. Two bands went on before us; a school band doing their first ever gig started proceedings, followed by a female duo one of whom was an excellent bass player clothed only in a skimpy bra. Whilst we were watching and waiting at the side of the stage the headliners decided to come across and introduce themselves. A more cocky and arrogant bunch of pricks it would have been hard to find. Their guitarist was quick to point out the thousands of pounds worth of guitars at his disposal, his hugely impressive rack of effects pedals (he scoffed that I only ever used one clean/overdrive switch) and their over-powering PA. Blimey, we thought, we’d better up our game here or these new superstars of rock n’ roll are going to make us look like right chumps. Such was their collective ego I was imagining that this was going to be a seminal moment in music history and one day I’d be able to tell people we supported them. 

Anyway. Our set went down very well with the crowd and once we had finished packing up we got ourselves crowd side to watch the headliners. 

What followed was 45 minutes of utter drivel. Out of tune badly played instruments accompanied badly-chosen covers and sixth form standard  “here’s one of our own” songs that concluded to absolute silence. In an act of self-preservation they fired up a 20-minute jam of “20th Century Boy” by T-Rex to round off the evening. Unfortunately this proved to be a poor decision and the crowd went mild. 

The promoter was understandably rather cheesed-off and asked us to unpack our less expensive, understated gear and do another set. So we did. Starting with a rousing version of “20th Century Boy” by T-Rex. 

“This is all marvellous” I hear you say “but what has all of this got to do with Watford?!”

Well. Is it just me or are Watford a bit...”all the gear and no idea” at the moment?

We have, on paper, a squad that most of The Championship would LOVE to have at their disposal. Every time we guest on other team’s podcasts there’s often a slight note of jealousy when they talk about our players. For every Argos £199 guitar and amp bundle in their squad, we can show them a 1958 Les Paul and Marshall JCM800 combo. Trouble is we seem to be missing our equivalent of Slash to get a decent tune out of them. 

Watford are a headline band, blessed with a rack of the finest instruments money can buy, but too often they’re only good for the odd chorus sing-a-long. Watching them week in week out you’ll quickly discover yourself in extended “RAF Festival Glam Rock jam” territory. 

Still, today, 26 years after the event, I get to tell people we supported that band. Only not in the terms that I suspect they would have wanted at the time.

[anotherblogaboutguys]

Almost A Hit Flashback: 80s Edition

As most music fans know, songs that reached the Top 40 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart were considered to be hits and tended to get all the glory...although even some of them became known as forgotten hits. With this new weekly feature, I want to show some love to the great songs that didn't make it into the Top 40. Maybe they performed well on another genre-specific chart but didn't make it to the Top 40 on the Hot 100 or onto the Hot 100 at all. For now, I'm going to start with the 80s because there are a plethora of songs for me to choose from that I absolutely love.

Yaz(oo) - Situation (1982)

"Situation" was initially released as the B-side to the song "Only You" by English synth-pop duo, Yazoo, became a #2 hit in the U.K., and saw success elsewhere around the world. By the time the song made its way to the U.S., it was included on the duo's album, Upstairs At Eric's. Another change is that they were marketed in the U.S. as Yaz instead of Yazoo. This is because of the existence of a Rock band that was already using the name Yazoo. Whether you call them Yaz or Yazoo, it didn't find a breakthrough on the U.S. chart of record, the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart where it got only to #73. But it went all the way to #1 on Dance chart and even managed a #31 showing on the R&B chart. Even if you aren't familiar with the full version of "Situation," chances are good that - if you watch TV at all - you've probably heard it played as the backing music in commercials for the Truly brand of Hard Soda. And really... Isn't hat the highest form of compliment for a song? If a company wants to use it to sell their product...

[isthisasin]

The increase of the conventional SIN is naturally the CARDINAL SIN

Advanced adepts of the higher spiral demonology must first of all be able to master the prehistoric history of the Babylonian spiral galaxies and their deadly sins in their sleep, in order to be able to adequately assess contemporary Deja Vus, as well as relevant new underground currents or to exorcise their individual Poltergeist perpetually. The highest form of spiral demonology knows no higher order structure anymore and borders liquefy to acid reality pixel mush. Playing with Babylonian druids is certainly fully illuminating - but also fraught with Faustian risks, it is a transgressive procedure, in the midst of the spiral dance floor. To be able to fully grasp this eons-old cycle, we have invited the archpopes - or rather - the primordial gods of all Past/Present & Future Spiral Revolutions to FLUCC: R-Zac aka Crystal Distortion & 69db, who with the legendary Spiral Tribe 23 Soundsystem laid the foundation for all varieties of the current TEKnoid interstellar time travel and thus both are also an elementary part of the contemporary Techno Memplex of this planet.

DAY 1: Friday 1/9/2023 - starting at 22:00 - FLUCC Deck (upstairs) & starting at 23:00 - Wanne (downstairs):

FWD THE MENTAL TRIBE EVOLUTION

The first day of the two-day head worlds ceremony at FLUCC is entirely dedicated to the all-encompassing Mental Tribe Dancefloor Head Kino, we are here in the midst of the far-flung TEK-verse of introverted dance legs. For this, the spearhead of the domestic arch-magic of all surrounding spiral lands was invited: Shirin & Keton, Illtek, as well as Symbiotik Sound Crew from faraway Linz and of course Audiopirat.

Day 2: Saturday 2/9/2023 - from 22:00 - FLUCC Deck (upstairs) & from 23:00 - Wanne (downstairs):

FWD THE SPIRAL TRIBE 23 [R]EVOLUTION:

The last duo LIVE performance of R-Zac in Vienna is already a while back - 2006 in the Arena - the more we are looking forward to their commitment to rewrite a piece of local event history at FLUCC. With R-Zac, the 2nd day of the Cardinal Sins Orgy leaves no genre dogma untouched and catapults us straight off the event horizon of the spiral galaxies we know. Basically, we’re talking about an improvised Babylonian Futura Demon Casino, and these elusive entities mostly reside in the haze of Post-Modern Limbo Portal Number 23. The credo here is: Sirius 23 Channeling is nowadays an evergreen, all the more it is nowadays a more than sought-after state of mind or memetic knowledge transfer on an interstellar level and therefore this two-day head trip can also only be advanced to the all-encompassing CARDINAL SIN for body & soul with the native rocks in the surf - namely - TingelTangelTek LIVE, SoDa, as well as Gesindel der Nacht.

… each on 2 floors on both days.

LineUp - Day 1 - FR 1/9/2023:

FWD the Mental Tribe Evolution

Wanne - 23:00:

👅 Shirin & Keton LIVE 100% Hardware Duo LIVE-Set [Multiplan Kollektiv]

👅 Illtek LIVE 1.5 hours LIVE-Set [Mazatek Soundsystem | V.I.E.S. Productions]

👅 Toxictribe LIVE [Symbiotik Sound Crew | Linz]

👅 Audiopirat (Vinyl-Set) [Independent]

Deck (Upstairs) - 22:00:

Advanced Mental Tribe Floor hosted by:

👅 Symbiotik Sound Crew LIVE & DJ-Sets

LineUp - Day 2 - SA 2/9/2023:

FWD the Spiral Tribe 23 [R]Evolution

Wanne - 23:00:

👅 R-Zac LIVE aka Crystal Distortion x 69db 2 hours Duo LIVE-Set [Spiral Tribe 23 | SP23 | Network 23 | UK/FR/GER]

👅 TingelTangelTek LIVE [S.B.S. Soundsystem]

👅 SoDa (DJ-Set) [Paxnicht Club | X!ndl Sound]

👅 … and more Suprise Artists, stay tuned

Deck (Upstairs) - 22:00:

Hard Techno Floor hosted by:

👅 Gesindel der Nacht

Event Artworks & Visuals:

👅 Glowie [Top Secret International]

Links:

FLUCC Homepage Entry Day 1 FLUCC Homepage Entry Day 2 Facebook Invite Day 1 Facebook Invite Day 2 Artwork Hi Res Day 1 Artwork Hi Res Day 2

Day 1 Media Embeds:

Day 2 Media Embeds:

Free Tekno History with Crystal Distortion, 69db, Spiral Tribe 23 Soundsystem:

[smoothsailingthroughstars]

(With a wet, happy laugh, they pulled back and put together their things.)

(Soon enough, the duo was sitting on top of a gas station roof, shooting away with strange crossbows as a plethora of soda bottles and cans. Soda splatters decorated the area in a nefarious array.)

(Late into the night, with much laughter had, they kept on shooting rocks and other things into them.)

“LOOK!!!! LOOK!!!”

“*They’re running [bad idea] with crossbow in hand [bad idea], towards her, smiling proudly.*”

(They open the lighthouse door at the noise, to see Apollo with a crossbow running.)

Hello, Apollo!

...What do you have there?

[equallyshaw]

auld lang syne with dylan larkin

auld lang syne, is about catching up with old friends and loved ones or time long past; hence this imagine :)

Warnings: nothing much just talks about past toxic relationships. but this is a looong one haha.

Word Count: 3.5k +

← day four. day six. →

────────────

dylan and faye had been broken up for about 4 years by the time they saw one another in their infamous detroit bar; darcys. both of them were set to be married this upcoming july, and on this cold, wet and rainy march evening, the duo were reunited and had much to talk about.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And days of auld lang syne?

faye sat down at the bar, instantly ordering a vodka lime and soda to start before moving her way down the bar. today was a frustrating and long day with the final wedding planning. her mom was killing her, stressing her about anything and everything, her sister was freaking out over the seating chart and her fiance and her were stressed to the max over their budget. it had been a day, and she just needed a strong drink and some solitutde.

dylan walked into the bar, and waved to the bartender and got his usual. it had been a tough practice as the playoff's were just around the corner, and he needed to relax a bit before going home.

both of them looked over at one another, without realizing it. their eyes both went wide as they realized who one another were. both looking away instantly, thinking they should forget about one another. maybe the other would, get up and move away. they hadn't spoken or seen one another since the break up 4 years ago. it was a bit amicable and a bit not so amicable. though they stuck it up, like adults and moved on with their lives in a healthy and mature way. though, there were definetly days where they cursed the other and what not, that was expected. faye rubbed the back of her neck, her ring in full view for dylan. he choked on his drink and wiped his mouth instantly. she looked over at him and quirked an eyebrow, as if to ask if he was ok. he nodded, looking down at his drink before sighing. was he really going to do this?

For auld lang syne

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet

For auld lang syne

faye watched as the tall brunette took a few steps and was now sitting next to her. he stared at her ring, a vintage round diamond set on a gold band. "im getting married in july." she stated, and he smiled a bit. "me too, actually the 23rd." he responded. "me on the 16th." she smiled. the two nodded, and looked in front of them. the last time they had spoken was a bit tense, and therefore this meeting was a bit uncomfortable. "you struggled right? you struggled after our break up right?" faye blurted and gasped as soon as she realized what she had said. he looked at her and nodded, "yeah, how could i not? we had an amazing four years despite the last year." he stated and she nodded, "good, i didn't want to feel like i was crazy for doing so." she responded. he acknowledged the change in her body language, she sighed a sigh of relief. "yeah, i was a wreck after. it took me about a year before i met my fiance." he added. she smiled softly, "same here." she mused pulling some hair behind her ear. "do you remember when we first came to this bar?" he quizzed as he finished his drink. she smiled a wide smiled, remembering that cold winter night. "oh yes! phil here, for sure made sure we had a good time. the drinks kept coming!" she laughed. that memory replayed in their mind's, remembering.

flashback.

it was a snowy and cold janurary night as the two wandered into the desolate bar. "welcome to darcy's bar, what can i get for you two lovebirds?" phil the older bartender asked. dylan and faye looked at one another and blushed. a vodka lime soda for her, a whiskey on the rocks. the two sat down at the bar, and looked around at the outdate italian bar. nobody elese was in here, besides phil. "yeah, when it snows badly i tend to be alone for the evening. though i am happy that you strolled in." phil said genuinly. faye smiled, sipping her drink. "us too, we've never come over this way so we haven't seen the bar before." dylan responded. "oh i know! i would of remember you two." phil stated with genuine fondness.

it was around four hours later at 2 am that dylan and faye were finally making their way out of the bar. phil poured and poured for the young couple and at one point made a call with dylans phone for a teammate to come fetch the two. and throughout their four years, they ventured in here a few times a year and always made sure to catch up with phil who became somebody they came to for some wisdom or advice.

present.

faye and dylan smiled at one another. "that was a great evening, i had realized that i was falling in love with you." she confessed and he nodded. "me too especially when you got up on on the booth seat and sang party in the usa." he said bringing back a vivid memory and faye immediatley covered her face in embarrasment. that was here go to song when she was drunk and did karaoke. "noooo, no that was horrible thank god phil was not in the room at that moment." she said in between fits of laughter. she wiped her eyes, almost crying tears of laughter. dyland couldn't hold back his laughter either. that was a night they would always remember. "remember when we had the christmas get together here our second year together? the team most certaintly enjoyed their time here." faye said and dylan nodded enthusastically. "yeah and i cant forget out karaoke duet of dont stop believing." he said and faye laughed. the two's laughter settled down after a minute, "i always loved that song. i always thought of that as our song." she said hesitantly. dylan smiled to himself, because he had thought that too. "me too, i always thought that would be our first dance song, even from the gecko." he said sheepishly. faye felt her heart drop, because she too had thought that. she chugged the rest of her drink and set the cup back down. she needed more alcohol for this conversation than she previously thought. phil popped over, and smiled. "what may i get you miss faye?" he questioned, already knowing the answer. "a moscow mule." dylan responded like second nature. faye blushed a bit and nodded, and phil smiled. "coming right up." he said promtly, and whisked himself away. faye sat back in the bar chair and looked over at dylan. she smiled leaning over and fixed his tie a bit. she smoothed it down, awe overtaking his face. she pulled away, and took the drink gratefully from phil who handed dylan another drink.

We too have run around the slopes

We've londoned many weary foot

Since auld lang syne

dylan and faye became close rather quickly about 7 years ago. together from their first year at university of michigan at the age of 18 and to ages 22. spending every free moment of dylan's together, and between her overdemanding fast track for her international relations degree so she could get her masters quicker. there relationship was overall amazing, but they definetly had their up's and down's during the transition from michigan to the nhl. dylan never let up over the constant nagging her did on himself, and sometimes faye.

flashback.

"stop yelling at my dylan! youre hurting my feelings!" faye screamed at dylan. the two were in his new home outside of detroit and dylan was frustrated with moving in. having offered to help, dylan made it known that the way she was trying to help and make things easier was not helping. "dyl- just stop." she said frustratingly as she wiped away some tears. she leaned back against the kitchen counter and shut her eyes. dylan was never very good at keeping his emotions, feelings or thoughts in check. which made faye upset especially if he was throwing out the things he was saying. dylan stood across the room with his hands on his hips, and began to pace. faye had had enough, this was one of the last straws that finally broke the camels back. this was unfortuntly one of the last conversations they had had before their breakup. faye sighed, walking towards her bag and started to walk towards the front door, dylan instantly going after her. he stopped the door from shutting by grabbing it, she looked back and he saw the defeated expression. she was done, she was over everything. "im done dylan, let me know when your done. ill come over then since i don't seem to be much help." she stated before walking towards her car. she opened the door, slammed it and drove off in a span of 2 minutes. dylan stood there with the door still open, as he watched her drive off. fuck that, faye thought as she drove towards her on campus apartment. if he wasn't going to treat me with respect and as an adult, she wasn't going to stand around and solve nothing.

a week later the two were at dylans house eating thai takeout and talking about the previous week. "are you unhappy with me?" she asked curiously, as she set down her food. he looked up from his food and gave her a shocked look. "what do you mean?" he questioned, sipping some pop. she sighed, rolling her eyes. she stood up, and rubbed her exhausted eyes. "you've been treating me horribly dylan. this past year has been shit and ive felt like shit. i feel like im not good enough, especially now that youre in the nhl- i dont feel like im good enough." she began and held her hand up as soon as he tried to defend himself. "no, youre constantly upset. always needing a punching bag and that punching bag is me. i cant catch a break. im so close to fucking graduating, i dont need or deserve the extra stress that makes me feel physically sick dylan, i just don't. i shouldn't have to walk around you with egg shells all the time." she said exasperated as she stared at him with tears in her eyes. she felt a physical release of all the pent up thoughts and feelings subside, just a bit. dylan looked down at his hands, trying to find the right words. "there's nothing you can really say dyl that'll make me forget or forgive." she paused taking in his reaction. he looked up, but didn't give her a distinctive reaction or emotion. she swallowed her tears, not suprised. "theres nothing you can say or do that will change my mind. i love you dyl, but everytime i see you a little bit of me dies everytime. you make me miserable, angry, sad and lonely. it's not worth losing myself every day a bit more just trying to appease you." she said the last part softly. he stood up and walked over to her and paused. she looked at him unsurely, and he wrapped his arms around her. he felt her tense up before relaxing, and she placed her arms around him. she had tiptoed around dylan for the past year and she was tired, and frankly over it. even though she would always have immense love for him, she would rather watch from afar than be in his life. "im sorry, for everything faye." he said kissing her head and then releasing from the hug. faye walked out of the house for the very last time that evening, and never looked back.

present.

"yeah after you told me what i had been doing, i really focused on myself that year. i went to therapy, got on some meds for anxiety. never realizing until then that i took out my anxiety on you in the form of anger. and i deeply apologize for that. i learned a lot about our relationship and myself in that year, and since then i haven't been able to stop going. it helps me a lot and my fiance appreciates that i take the time to do so." dylan confessed and faye smiled, placing her hand on his. "im so glad dylan, that's all i wanted for you." she beamed catching his brunette eyes. "yeah, i told myself that after the four years i wouldn't date anybody for a long while. but fate had other plans." she giggled, amusing herself. he quirked an eyebrow, "oh why's that?" he inquired sipping his drink. "i met my fiance four months after we broke up when he moved into the same townhosue complex as me. he had a golden retriever and collie mix, named felix who i absolutley was smitten with the very first time i saw him. he had somehow gotten off his leash in the complex and ran over towards to me as i was walking towards my door. i joked to my fiance that he needed to get a harness for his dog but the dog loved me. felix was cupid, we like to joke." she blushed. dylan studied the twinkle in her eye as she talked about them. that was how he looked when he spoke about his fiance. "and then it took about a year before i said yes to getting coffee." she said looking over at dylan. "playing hard to get?" he joked, and she giggled. "yes and no, you were very hard to get over mr.hockey player." she joked pushing his shoulder. he jokingly grabbed his chest where his heart was, and pretended to act hurt. "still a big baby huh?" she joked.

We too have paddled in the stream

From morning sun to night

But the seas between us broad have roared

From auld lang syne

the year after the couple broke up was difficult for both of them. they didn't know life without one another. with dylan in therapy, and faye becoming recluse. they fought their battles alone and without one another. they had to overcome guilt, shame, anger and sadness throughout that year. still to this day, the way things ended sometimes pop up from time to time when new situations arise with their partners.

"have you, you know thought about me at all?" dylan asked nervously while they got their fourth drink for the evening. the same for him, and a expresso martini for her. she shrugged, "you were my first with everything dylan; its hard not to think of you sometimes." she said smiling at phil. "you?" she questioned, sipping her drink. perfect, she thought. he nodded, "yeah. what we shared was different than what me and my fiance share now. and ive been reassured that that is true with a lot of young couples our age when we were together. a lot of immaturity on my part not yours, and things constantly changing." he responded and she nodded. "i feel the same. at the beginning of my relationship, i would compare with what we had and then at one point i was like, no. stop. that isn't healthy and i think sometimes hurt him. and it wasn't fair to him at all, either i was gonna be all in or not." she stated. dylan grunted in agreemant, "yeah my therapist was very blunt with me when i started dating her. i needed to put the past in the past and have it not be so constant. over time it got easier, but when we went to niagra falls a few months back i couldn't help but remember our trip up there. the little bed and breakfast we stayed at, the coffee and pancakes. things like that, our experiences sometimes creep up." he said thinking about their trip to niagra falls the summer between her sophmore and junior year. she nodded, "well when him and i got in our first fight which fighting is pretty rare with us now but i remember closing off because i kept getting flashabcks of how you were when we fought. which was a lot." she paused giggling and rubbing her face. dylan understood, it was the same for him and his fiance. "he had no idea why i stopped talking when i walked into the other room. he didn't understnad that i had fought with somebody who didn't know how to express their emotions without acting like a five year old." she winked, and he smirked. "touche miss franklin." he tipped his drink towards her. he wasn't upset at her dig, he understood where she was coming from. old him, would of lashed out and said somethings that he wouldn't have been able to take back the following morning.

"its taken a lot of positive experiences to kinda erase the hard year we faced togther. grandite it was only a small piece of our relationship but it defintatly left a scar on me. it was the last thing i knew, and it hurt me very deeply." she said honestly and he nodded. "yeah me too. i forgot what a healthy relationship felt like." he stated and faye tipped her drink towards him on that.

For auld lang syne

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet

For auld lang syne

their relationship for three years was healthy, positive and exciting.obviously, things took a turn that fourth year with him having his second year in the nhl. after talking things through the messy parts of their relationship and breakup they couldn't help but talk about the good times.

"your first nhl game was something else." faye smiled with fondness. "your mom i thought was going to break my hand while we watched you throughout. especially then when you scored, i had never seen her scream so loud and jump." she paused giggling, "your dad was certaintly having a great time as well. remember how we celebrated afterwards? the champagne would not stop coming." she smiled. dylan nodded, "yeah it was a great night. especially with you by my side." he smiled. "though we had only been dating for a year, i knew. i knew you were the one." he confessed. "and then along with that night coming in here underage." he joked causing her to giggle. "oh god yes, phil was so kind!" she laughed. dylan agreed, rubbing the back of his neck. "i brought you a promise ring the next day. a nice one at that." he prompted and she smiled. "yep, that nhl money really came in handy." she joked causing him to throw his head back in laughter. "one positive thing that came from the nhl and hockey." she said with a double meaning. dylan knew what she meant too. dylan a year into his nhl career, became angry and had outburts. his anxiety was at an all time high and didn't understand and realize how that was affecting his personal life, life away from the rink. thus, adding to the breakup. "yeah youre right." he simply stated. she gave him a small apologizing smile. "what's his name?" he asked, and she looked up at him surprised. "morgan fox." she stated. "hers?" she questioned. "mackenzie smith." he responded and she nodded.

faye looked down at her phone and realized it was 1 am, and saw texts from her family and morgan. he was wondering what time she'd be home. she texted him that she was at darcys and that she would be getting an uber home. he said no, and that he was on his way over. she looked back up at dylan and the two sat in silence until their rides pulled up. they walked outside, and saw their fiances waiting. dylan faced faye and she did the same as well. she pulled him in for a warm and inviting hug, "good luck with the wedding. i wish you guys the best." she smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. somewhat shocked. "you too, though i know you don't need it." he half joked ahd she smiled. they let go of one another, and morgan walked around to open the car door for her. she thanked him, placing a quick peck on his cheek and hopped in. mackenzie smiled up at dylan as he hopped in the car, and as he placed a quick peck on hers.

the two had shared a lot that night and we emotionally drained as they headed to their respective homes. they both shared to their fiances what happened, and both of them agreed that it was good to get that closure that they had been longing for for years. two old friends and partners catching up with a drink in hand. both about to start a new chapter in their lives, reminiscning about some parts. they could finally go into their chapters with clarity and with their wholehearts; no longer clouded or stuck in the past.

────────────

@fayefox: so grateful for you my love. Here’s to forever. 🤍 #meetthefoxs

455 likes, 120 comments.

Tag: morganfox

Location: Denver

— 

@morganfox: my girl forever 🫶🏻

@dylan.larkin: congrats you guys! Wish you all the best.

@morganfox: thankyoy man! Appreciate it.

•

@dylan.larkin: my partner for life :) #happyeverlarkins

Tag: @kenzielarkinn

Location: Ann Arbor

23.9k likes, 1.4k comments

—

@kenzielarkinn: love u mostest 🤭

@fayefox: ahh the hair lol. Congrats you guys!

@kenzielarkinn: Thankyou Faye!!!

—

Hope you all enjoyed :)

RANDOM tags: @jayda12 @fallinallincurls @mack-samo @13hischier @nolanmoylee @blankenlove @nicoleloveshockey

please like and reblog-- apprecaite it!!!!

[ticklish-touch]

Five Nights At Sunny’s Ch 1: Living in the Sunlight

Mina Tailor decides to take the night shift at the Daycare within Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzaplex. The horror lover has always had a soft spot for creepy-but-cute, and she loves staying up late to party at night. The sunshine animatronic is more than happy to have a new playmate! But there seems to be a darker side to him that he doesn’t want Mina to know about. But he’s so friendly! What’s the worst that could happen...? (Chapter One (You are here!) Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five )

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

           Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex had become quite the hotspot attraction for families all over the state. It was like a huge mashup of everything that made the 80s and 90s so great: Synth-rock, arcades, bowling alleys, go-karts, laser tag, dance halls, an overall retro aesthetic decked out in neon lights. Combined, of course, with cutting-edge modern technology. The “animatronics” that performed on stage and roamed the halls for fans to meet were far more along the lines of robots with advanced AI. They could carry conversations, give their thoughts and opinions, react emotionally. Though, that didn’t stop a good amount of people from finding them creepy and uncanny, especially since the place was crawling with rumors about murder and mishaps.

             The rumors didn’t deter a group of friends that had started frequenting the complex in their down time. Though they were easily in their early and mid-twenties, Mina Tailor and Nate Hawkins weren’t ashamed to let loose and have fun. Mina’s inner Scene Kid phase ate up all the bright colors and punk-rock charm; Nate’s shameless love of all things nerdy and action-packed kept him frequenting the arcades and newly renovated go-kart racing.

          In the meantime, Mina's parents were in a bit of a rough spot. Her journalism assignments were turning up dry, and she needed a way to make some extra cash for a little while. It just so happened that there were a few job openings at the Pizzaplex, mainly for night watch. The most prominent one was for a night guard position at the kid's day care. The robot attendant had apparently started becoming antsy at night, sneaking out and causing trouble for the other staff.           The images and giant statues of the Daycare's two robots had caught Mina's interest whenever she walked by the area. What a fun-looking duo! She'd always had a bit of a soft spot for clowns and jesters. She decided to take the job, at least for a month or so. Her boyfriend Inzi would get very sad if they weren’t able to spend the nights together anymore. But hey, it was just looking after a robot made to take care of children. What could go wrong? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

              At midnight on her first night, Mina was directed to the small security office by the Daycare, following instructions to click on the large video thumbnail in the center of the screen titled 'Orientation'.            The image of an unassuming staff member with a receding hairline appeared, giving a wave to the camera. "Hello...? Hello hello! So sorry that I can't be there to greet you in person. I'm out of town for a conference, but this video should help you get settled in."            The man cut away to show two graphics of the jester-like animatronics. "Now, a lot of folks don't realize this, but Sun and Moon here are actually one in the same. Think Transformers, heh. Sun - aka Sunny, Sundrop, Sunshine, Sun-man, Sunrise, whatever you wanna call him... though uh, it should be noted that Sunnydrop is actually the name of his candy, not the animatronic, a lotta folks seem to get that mixed up... We tried branding it as Sundrop but we would’ve been sued by the soda company in a heartbeat...”            She could already tell this guy was gonna be long-winded. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to listen to one of these every night for her training week.

         “Anyways; Sunny is the default when the lights are on. When the lights go off, his sun rays retract, his clothing pattern shifts like one of those fancy holograph cards and shows off his glow-in-the-dark stars, his metal plating changes like those color-changing Barbie dolls... Super advanced stuff."            The next slide showed various murals and cutouts of Sun around the pizzaplex, and a video clip of the robot skipping about in the daycare, playing tag with some of the young kids.            "Sunny shouldn't give you too much trouble. He's probably my favorite ‘bot here aside from good ol' Freddy. He is a bit uh, hyperactive, his entertainment and companionship programming is cranked to max in order to deal with all those rambunctious little tykes. Might wanna make sure you have plenty of coffee in your system if you're gonna try to keep him entertained all night, haha. My recommendation is, try to keep him busy in your first couple hours, so that you can get your audit paperwork done in the third hour."

          The next slide was similar, showing various depictions of moon. This time, though, it didn't show any imagery of the actual animatronic.            "Moon is... well..." There was a distinct hesitation in his voice. "He can also be a bit much to deal with. It's typically why we don't turn the lights off in there. He's pretty good-natured, but he's programmed to make sure the kids have their nap-time, so he can come off as kinda imposing to the little ones. Tells them that the tickle monster'll get them if they don't go to bed on time, scoops em up and plops them into the little daycare cots, reads them bedtime stories, gives them Moondrop candy when they need to calm down. They’re just melatonin supplements, though there are some with light sedatives like pentobarbital and chloral hydrate that the parents gotta give a doctor’s notice for.”            Oh, alright, well that doesn't sound bad at all. Pretty cute, actually. Though there was one word that caught her attention...

          "But you should know that after-hours, that programming goes a little haywire. Especially around adults. It isn't anything to worry about, of course! You see, all of our robots have security protocols to deal with would-be robbers, squatters, and other unlawful visitors. It usually entails knocking them out and dragging them to an office for holding until authorities show up. Don't worry, he won't knock you out when he sees your uniform," he tried to reassure with a laugh. "He just can't really fight off his programming telling him that lights off means bedtime. He scolds night staff all the time for working such late hours."            Mina snickered to herself at the image of a grumpy jester in pajamas running around yelling at everyone to go to bed.            "You're gonna meet him sooner or later, because all the power in the building gets diverted to the charging stations for about twenty to thirty minutes at the end of the night. It gives the other guys a quick boost to make sure they don't go dead. It used to be that the power would go off every hour for a few minutes, but guess they figured that was a little inefficient, and Sunny was getting frustrated with Moon draggin' him out of the Daycare every hour." 

          A short video clip showed an example of the pizzaplex powered down, and Chica and Roxy stepping inside the quick-charge stations. Mina could've sworn she saw a lanky silhouette dancing about in the background, with vivid red eyes peering out from its face...            "Your best bet for making sure not to get on his bad side might be to just kinda... Play dead. Pretend you're asleep. And uh, better hope you're not ticklish," he gave a light-hearted laugh, with a twinge of nervousness.

          That sentence alone was enough to make Mina stiffen in her seat. "Oh...?"            "Well honestly, both of em might try to get at you. They uh...show a lot less restraint around adults. They're good about stopping when you say the word 'Eclipse' though. Think it's a safety override precaution or something."

          Oh... Oh no. Now she was curious. She swallowed back a lump in her throat at the thought of being locked in a room all night with this supposed tickle-hungry devil.            "Well, that's about all I've got for ya! If you have any questions, concerns or complaints, feel free to bring them to management. Just remember the waivers you signed when you were hired on, and uh, good luck!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~            Unlocking the side door into the daycare, Mina was greeted with a fun little jingle playing on the overhead speakers, and a very nostalgic sight that brought her back to her days of spending time at playgrounds and fast-food jungle gyms. The room was well-lit, with spotlights illuminating a large opening on a mural of a castle tower high up on the wall.            "Helloo? Sunny?" She called out.            It didn't take long for an answer; the golden-colored jester robot pirouetted out onto the ledge. "YA-HOO~!" He called out, before doing a swan-dive down into the ballpit below. Mina walked over to the edge, trying to follow the rustling lump with her eyes.

          "HEELLOOO~!" The robot burst out of the pit right in front of her.

          Mina couldn't help but let out a startled yelp, jumping back. Holy crap he's tall!! Then again, everyone was tall to her 5′2″ frame, but he easily could've been a little over seven feet. Seeing him up close in person was also quite a bit different than his images. She could understand how slow-blinking robot eyelids and a wide, permanent smile could be unnerving, but in her eyes, he was very cute. He had spots on his face and nose that resembled large freckles, twinkling baby-blue, almost pearlescent eyes, a gap between his teeth where his face was divided by his crescent moon ‘mask’, and prominent rosy cheeks.

          Sun just giggled. "Hehehe~! Are you my new night buddy?? Nice to meet ya, sunshine!" He took the brunette's hand in his own massive digits, shaking hard enough to jerk her whole arm up and down. "Oh I can't WAIT to have a new pal!! You're not one of the little guys, but I'm sure you still like to have plenty of fun, right??" He excitedly swayed back and forth.            Mina was immediately won over by his cheerful - and maybe slightly obnoxious - demeanor. "Hehe, hi Sunny! The name's Mina. And heck yeah! You don't need to be a kid to know how to have fun. Everyone deserves to let themselves goof off every now and then, y'know?"            "Yes, yes, exactly!! I’m glad you understand!” He giggled wildly. “Oh we’re gonna have SUCH a good time!! We can sing, dance, fingerpaint, tell stories, eat all the junk food we want!! There's only one rule here! Keep the lights onnn!!" He booped Mina's nose. Though he kept his cheery cadence, there was a definite stern edge to his last word. “SO, whaddya wanna do first??” He kept his eyes glued to her expectantly.           “Well, what do you usually do at night? Do you have a routine?"

           "Well!" He clapped his hands together. "I always gotta start by making sure everything's cleaned up nice and tidy," he patted the top of a nearby tower of squeaky cylinder barrels. "Then I go up to my tower and and spend time looking at all the wonderful drawings that the kids give to me! We can do that later though, I'd rather spend time with you!" He hopped in place. "OH-! And later, I like to take a stroll around the Pizzaplex, say hi to everyone, maybe play some of the arcade games. And it's really fun to mess with the STAFF bots, they can barely tell their left from their right and it's funny to make them spin around like confused Roombas, hahaha~!" He cackled into his hand.              Welp, the orientation video wasn't exaggerating. His energy was on par with Nate's after chugging one too many sodas for his late night DnD sessions.               "I gotta be sure to recharge a couple times at night though! You'll know when I'm runnin' low on juice when I staaarrtt taalkiiinngg liiike thiisss..." He dragged out his words and slowed his voice in a comical drawl, sagging his arms and head... Before popping right back upright. "BUT that's about all! It's your first night here so I wanna do whatever you wanna do!"

              Mina giggled to herself. This bot was adorable in a manic kind of way. "That all sounds good to me! Well, you probably know this already, but I do need to get paperwork done and do some cleaning and routines outside the daycare.”                "Ughh, yeah I knooow," Sun groaned and rolled his eyes. “I don’t get why organics gotta have all the boring jobs.”                She shook her head. “Well, I can’t imagine taking care of a room full of kids is easy. Not a lot of humans would envy that position.”                Sunny just puffed out his chest proudly. “Well I was built to keep up with ‘em! I got an energy core like no other! Want me to prove it to ya~?”                “Oh?” She raised an eyebrow. “And how’re you gonna do-”

                "TAGYOU'REIT!" Sunny gave her a tap on the shoulder before cackling and taking off, merrily skipping away.                Mina blinked hard. Was she seriously about to play tag with a robot in an empty kid’s daycare while on-shift? ...Absolutely. “Oh you’re on!” Luckily for her, she was pretty fast on her feet. She managed to catch up to him before he clambered up one of the slides, tagging his leg before darting off. They kept up the back-and-forth tag for a little while, and she nearly tripped over one of the squeaky barrel towers, accidentally knocking them over.

             Sunny shrieked. “Nono NO be careful of those!!” He ran over to quickly stack them back up with an exasperated sigh. “Ohh what a mess, which one was the bottom, which one’s the top?!”               Mina was a bit taken aback by his mini panic. “Uh, sorry, Sunny, I didn’t mean to--”               The moment he re-stacked them, he acted like it hadn’t even happened. He responded by reaching out to tag her. “Don’t worry ‘bout it, sunshine! Just don’t do it again, or else~!” He wiggled his fingers at her playfully.               She did everything to keep the squeak from escaping her throat. “G-Gotcha, I’ll keep that in mi-”               He took off running, shouting back at her. “Well hurry up, you’re it!!”

              After she tagged him back again, he ramped up his efforts. He eventually corraled her over toward the ballpit; she'd either have to jump in, or swiftly turn around and attempt to duck past him. But he didn't leave her any choice. Instead of just tagging her, he effortlessly scooped her up in his long arms and tossed her into the ballpit, making her scream.            "TAAAG~!" He burst into loud squawking laughter, slapping his knee and doubling over. "HAHAHAAA I gotcha good~!!"            "UGH- SUN!!" Mina scrambled out of the pit, but she couldn't even act fake-annoyed, bursting into a fit of giggles. "Okahahay okay, that was a good one, but do that again and I'm pulling you in with me!!"            Still giggling and snorting at his successful prank, Sunny reached down to help Mina out, grabbing around her sides. "Hehehe, okayokay, deal--"                       "YEEP-!" She couldn't stop the squeal that escaped her when she felt those metal fingers prod at her sides.            "Oh-! You squeaked!" Sun tilted his head at her, starting to set her down on her feet.

           Mina quickly tried to save face, but she could feel the blush quickly creeping up to her cheeks and ears. "Y-Yeah, you just surprised me, that's all, I-I'm not used to being picked up like thahahat-!!" Another giggle slipped out, just from the close proximity of his fingertips near her armpits, making her wiggle more.

          "...Waaaait a minute. Is someone tiickliiish~?"

          She immediately felt butterflies. She knew that question had sealed her fate. "W-Wha?? Nooo nono not at aAAEE-HEHEHE!!" He didn't allow her the chance to finish before giving soft, rapid-fire squeezes up and down her sides. She instantly burst into giggles, folding in on herself.            "Ohhh that's so CUTE! I love when you organics have these giggle-buttons~!" The bot snickered impishly, skillfully flurrying his dexterous fingertips over her soft belly, playing her ribcage like a piano. He kept his touch gentle, but fast-paced.               EEee-heeheehee!! NAAaa-hahaha stahahaha-!!" Mina tried to shield her torso with her arms and swat his hands away, looking away shyly and shutting her eyes, stumbling back more. Sun wasn’t deterred, taking a step forward, leaning in very close to loom over her.                "Coochie coochie coochieee~ You have such a pretty laugh, sunshine~! It brightens up my day! Er... Night!"                The cooing and punny compliments just made her squeal and giggle louder.  "Staahahap-hehehe!! Nuuu-hahahaha!!" She tried to shove his arms away. Eventually, her staggering back caused her to stumble and fall. Thankfully the floor was very plush.

                Instead of helping her up, Sun immediately knelt down over her and used one of his large hands to keep both of her arms above her head. He raked his fingers down the hollows of her armpit, before wiggling them back up and around in circles, switching to the other side to repeat the process. “Heeheehee, you’re so wiggly, like a squeaky little caterpillar~! Tickletickletickleee~!”                 She squealed in delight, though she had now become very flustered by the attention, her cheeks and ears burning, shaking her head back and forth. “NUUU-HEEHEHEHE SUNNYYY-HEEHEE!! P-Pleeeheheheheasee!!” 

                A playful glint appeared in his eye. He scooted himself down, and quickly grabbed her ankles the moment she attempted to scramble backwards, yanking off one of her shoes and socks. “I spy some cute little piggies~” He cooed, fluttering his fingers very close to the ball of her foot.                 Mina yelped and frantically - but half-heartedly - tried yanking her ankle away. “NOO nonono don’t even THINK about it-!!” She hoped the bot could tell how half-hearted her protests were. Either way, he raked his fingers down her soles and up again, flurrying them over her toes. “Heeere, piggiepiggiepiggieess~! Heeheehee!!”                 “GYEE-HEEHEHEHEHE SUHUHUNNYYYEEE-HEHEHEHE!!” She flailed in his grip, hiding her face shyly, trying to curl her toes down. Her squealing laughter just became louder when he took off her other shoe and sock, holding both her ankles with his large hand and flurrying his fingers back and forth between each foot. “NUUU-HAHAHAHA PLEEHEHEHEHEASE~!”                  When he finally decided she’d had enough, he let go, scooting up to sit next to her. She laid sprawled out on the plush floor, her face red as a beet, panting for breath for a few moments. “How ya feelin’, sunshine~? Sorry I got carried away, you just looked so CUTE laughing like that~!” He giggled, petting her head.                  “Y-Yeah yeah, I’m fine... But you’re a total brat,” she stuck her tongue out at him.                   He just snickered and gave an exaggerated shrug. "What can I say~? I could do that alllll night~ OH, wait, you know the magic word, don'tcha?"                "Magic word? ...You mean Eclipse?"               "Yep, that's the one!!"               "Sooo you do this often enough to need a safeword?" She teased.               Sunny snickered sheepishly. "Yeaaah, kinda," he shrugged. "I never get carried away with the little guys, they're too fragile and I don't EVER wanna make em feel uncomfy. But you adults and 'big, tough' security guards are just too much fun to turn into a giggly mess!!" He chuckled, though his laugh had a very sly edge to it. “Anyways!! Let’s do something else!” He hopped up, helping her to her feet after she put her shoes and socks back on. “What else d’you like to do?”               “Hmmm,” Mina held her chin in her hand. “Well, usually my friends and I watch movies or play video games at night.”               “OH, we could use the TV!” He waved her over to follow him to a large flatscreen on the wall. “They tried adding games and movies for the kids a while ago, buuut DVDs and game controllers kept getting broken or going missing, haha... So now the adults are in charge of what the kids can do on the TV. But you can find the movies under the security desk! I’m not allowed to go behind there, so..”               “Really? Seems kinda mean to keep them from you.”               “Ehh, it’s not really any fun to watch or play stuff alone, so it doesn’t matter either way,” he shrugged. “What kinda movies do ya like?”                 After Mina found the cabinet drawer full of movies and games, she started shuffling through them. “I kinda like a bit of everything. Action, fantasy, sci-fi, thrillers & horror...”               “O-Ohh, I see, heh,” he laughed nervously. “Well! We don’t have anything too scary or graphic for the little ones, but-! Hopefully you’ll find something you like!”                 She eventually settled on Moana, holding it up to show him.               "OOH, yes, I love that one it's so pretty!!” He ran over to the TV area and started collecting some nearby cushions to pile up, while Mina put in the blu-ray.               She was impressed that he was actually able to stay somewhat still during the movie. He'd shift between laying on his stomach while kicking his legs behind him then sitting cross-legged, then pulling Mina into his lap to rest his chin on her head. He laughed obnoxiously loud at some of the jokes - which in turn just got Mina laughing harder over things she didn't find as funny before. He sang along with "How Far I'll Go" and "Shiny", hopping up to put on theatrical improy dances right along with the characters. He wasn't the best singer, he missed a few notes and sounded a bit like a rasping parrot at times. But Mina didn't mind, as she sang right along with him. The cheeky robot found plenty more opportunities to sneak in quick tickle-attacks.

              He whined quietly and hid behind Mina at the climactic appearance of Te-ka, gripping her shoulders.               “You remember what happens after this, right?"                “I know, but it's stil scary...” he fidgeted. “She isn’t herself, and it’s all Maui’s fault!! If Moana didn’t help her, then she could still be all angry, and in pain, and...” He trailed off. Mina was impressed; For someone so childlike, he was also surprisingly insightful.                But he quickly calmed down at Moana’s final song to restore Te Fiti, clapping at the end of the movie.

              Mina glanced up at the cuckoo clock on the wall, seeing that it was already 3am. "Oh shit-”            Sunny gasped and covered her mouth with his large hand. “Language, young lady!! Or I’ll hafta reprimand you~!” His other hand fluttered its fingers against her ribs.            “MMPH-HEHEHE!” She squealed and wiggled, pushing his hand away. “W-whaahahat, I can’t even swear after-hours?”            “Now now Miss Mina, you should leeeaaddd by exaammmp-p-pllee--” his voice suddenly slowed as if he was lagging out. “Ohhh no, I should re-re-re charrggeee,” his head twitched a little, and he covered his eyes and face in embarrassment.             She just snickered and started to stand up, tugging his arm to try and help him up. “Go do that, then! I need to start doing my night audit stuff, so I’m gonna walk the halls first.”           "Aww, okayyyyy," Sun whined, staggering to his feet to go to his recharging station. "But promise you’ll be back!!"

          Mina felt a little relieved to have a little time away from the hyperactive bot. She didn't dislike his company at all; he was adorable, and she was a pretty high-energy person herself. And the incessant tickle-attacks were far from unappreciated. But having to keep up with the energy of a clingy curious seven-foot-tall puppy every night might get to be a bit much. It might even be nice to have a break with the version of him that would demand her to go to sleep.            Which got her thinking... He hadn't even mentioned Moon yet. The training video led her to believe they were two separate personalities. But maybe they were still the same, just with alternate appearances? Was Sun aware of Moon at all, or did they just appear with seperate programming?

            After running her checks on the nearby door locks, she went back into the daycare. Sunny was just a few feet away from the door, rocking back and forth on his heels. The moment he saw Mina, he bounded over and picked her up to give her a spin. “YAYY you’re baaack!!”              ”EEP-!! Of cohohourse I’m back!! I said I’d come back!” She gave him a playful shove when he put her back down.              ”Hehehe, I knoow I know! I’m just all juiced up now and ready to roll!! So hurry, go do your papers n’ stuff!” He skipped over toward the security desk area. Following him closely, she decided to use the opportunity.                “Hey, Sunny?”                “Yeees?”                “Can you tell me a little about Moon?”

          “Uh— ...” He paused on the spot, and for the first time, his cheery disposition seemed to make way for nervousness, tapping his fingertips together. “I-I’d rather not, haha... He doesn’t like me talkin’ too much about him to new people.”            ”Oh, okay, that’s fair,” Mina shrugged. “I’ll just talk to him myself, then.”             “U-Uhh, he won’t wanna do that, either...” He just seemed even more nervous. “H-How ‘bout you just get your dumb work stuff done? Then we can play more!!”              How strange... Both the manager and the robot seemed like they had something to hide about this nighttime counterpart. She decided not to pry, though. She went to the security desk to work on the paperwork. It was mostly just logs of events that happened throughout the day; She did a lot of filing like this back at her newspaper office, so she got the gist of it pretty quickly.

          The jester didn’t really appreciate the lack of attention. After ten minutes or so of him keeping himself entertained on the jungle gym, he cartwheeled over and placed his hands on the desk, looming over her. "Heyyy, Miss Mina, are ya done yet??"              She gasped and jumped at his imposing figure over her. "Ah-! No, not yet, Sunny."            "Are you almost done?"            "I think so! I'll let you know when." She was answered by the disheartened jingle of bells as he shuffled away.              Ten minutes passed, another ‘THUD’ as he slammed his hands on the desk, making her yelp. He snickered at her reaction. "Aaaaare ya done yet?"            "Don’t do that, you brat,” she stuck his tongue out at him, which just made him let out another gremlin giggle. "And no, not yet; Gimme ten more minutes, okay?"            "Okaaaayyy," he whined, slinking away again.            Five more minutes passed. "Minaaa I know you said ten minutes but I thought maybe you got done early!"            Mina rolled her eyes and shook her head. It was difficult to stay annoyed at him; It was in his programming to be this wired up after all, and she also wondered just how lonely he probably got at night. “Sunnyyy, I’m not done yet,” she gently reprimanded. “I don’t want to rush it and do something wrong. Be patient, okay?”            “Okayyy I’m sorry,” he scooted back. “I’m just excited!! I haven’t had a night buddy since…Well, since the last one a couple months ago,” he scratched his cheek. “He quit because he said the night shift here was…Too much for him,” he chuckled nervously.                 “I see...” Mina let out a big loud yawn, rubbing her eyes. "Ohh, man...”                  "Uh-oh, someone getting sleepy?" Sunny ruffled her hair. "Here, I got something that'll help!" He rustled in his pockets to take out a couple hard candies with a sun pattern on the wrapper.                “Oh? Thanks!” She took it, starting to unwrap it. It looked a bit like a lemon toffee. "It isn't caffeine, is it? I've cut that out of my diet."            "Oh heavens no!!" Sun wheezed. "I'd NEVER give caffeine to kids! Nahh these have stuff like, potassium, vitamin B and D, serotonin... All good stuff! All good for you and gives a great energy boost! Plus, they taste like bananas and lemon!"

            After Mina had finished her paperwork, she did start to feel a bit perked up. She wasn’t sure if it was a placebo, but she decided to humor the robot while she still had a second wind. She was definitely going to have to start bringing some of her own games for him to play to keep him distracted. For now, they settled on the default Wii Sports games. Which, to Sun, were just about as fun as anything else. He cheered and jumped for joy whenever he won a round, but also quickly turned to give a show of good sportsmanship to Mina. ...And occasionally snuck behind her to attack her with tickles to try and mess her up. The Wii games easily ate up the remaining hour...

                 Until Sun suddenly let out a gasp, and looked over to the cuckoo clock: 5:35am. "Wait- Miss Mina, how late are you staying again??"            "Till 6am. I have the overnight shift, at least for now. I don't think I can handle more than a couple weeks of staying up that late.."            "Ohhhh dear," he scratched behind his head-plate. "Moony's gonna come out soon..."            "Oh! Yeah, I know, the guy on my orientation video told me about the power going off."            Sun let out a nervous laugh. "Y-You might wanna leave for the end of your shift then, I don't want you to get freaked out..."            Mina frowned and tilted her head. "How come? He's not a bad guy, is he?"             "Ah- No, nono, not really!" Sunny shook his head. "He's just...He scares a lot of the other staff, his idea of playtime isn't everyone's cup of tea, and he can be a real jerk about it..." He sighed. "I just want your night to end without any trouble, so you really should go!!" He started trying to push her toward the exit doors.            Mina had to try very hard to fight off the grin starting to creep onto her face. Everything he said just made her want to meet this other version all the more. But she just took Sun's hand, trying to give him a reassuring smile. "Hey; I appreciate you looking out for me, but I promise I'll be fine. I'm gonna have to meet him sooner or later if I'm going to be working here, aren't I?"            "Well... Yeah, I guess you're right, and he wouldn't wanna be left out..."

          With that, there was a huge metallic droning overhead as the lights in the building powered down. It wasn't completely pitch-black, as the ceiling was illuminated by star-like LEDs, including hundreds of glow-in-the-dark stars and planets; like the kind she used to have in her room as a kid.            "HGKH-" Sun let out a grunt. "J-Just don't say I didn't warn you!!" He staggered and took a knee on the floor, and his head flopped over, like he'd just passed out on the spot. His body started quietly clicking and whirring; his triangles retracted, and sure enough, Mina could swear she saw the fabric of his outfit shift. A mechanical 'arm' even popped up from inside him to place a night-cap on his head.

          "Hello...? Moon...?" She shined her flashlight on him.

          She was answered by a deep, gravelly, outright villainous chuckle rumbling from the robot's metallic chest. The sound immediately sent chills up her spine... As did his voice. It wasn't the same cheery energetic cadence anymore; it had shifted to a deep, raspy growl.

          "Naughty, naughtyyy...." He slowly lifted his head. She was taken aback to see that his pearly eyes were now illuminated a piercing red. "It is way past your bedtime, young lady..."            "U-Uhh...H-Hi, Moon..." She gulped and took a step back. "It's my job to be up this late, y'know... I'm here to keep an eye on you and the day care."            He stood up to his feet and took a couple slow, stalking steps forward, his round head tilting way over to the side; before 'tsk-tsk'ing at her, waggling one of his long digits in front of her face. "Silly girl...We don't need a night guard here. We can guard the daycare juuust fine on our own~"            His voice absolutely oozed with mischievous intent; as if he was a cartoon supervillain. He was freaking terrifying. And she couldn't stop smiling. "A-All right, then..." She folded her arms, looking up to glare him straight in the eyes. "What're you gonna do about it~?"            Moon stiffened, seeming taken aback by the show of bravery. Before he responded with an even louder amused laugh. "Hmhmhhehehehe...I think that kind of attitude.... needs to be punished~" He extended his fingers, wiggling them dangerously close to her sides.

          That's all it took for the brunette to bolt the other direction.            Moon immediately gave chase, that raspy, gremlin-like cackle echoing out into the huge empty daycare.               Mina attempted to duck behind the cage-like structure of one of the jungle gyms, keeping an eye out for his piercing red eyes and glowing stars.               "It's time for beeddd~!" He called out in a singsong voice, tiptoeing closer, looking right at her from between the jungle gym bars.               She squeaked and made a break for it. "No it isn't! I HAVE to be awake!!"               "Says who~?" He started clambering up the sides of the jungle gym like a spider monkey. "You're in MY domain now, and you'll listen to MY rules~" He tried to reach an arm in between the bars to take a swipe at her, still wiggling his long fingers at her. She yelped and hurriedly climbed up to the top of the steps. She did a double-take when she saw what looked like a power generator in one of the cubbies off to the side. What the hell was that doing inside a kid’s play structure?!                 Her direction was quickly brought back to her predicament by a loud THUD above her. The bot glared down at her with his Terminator eyes, letting out another mad, raspy cackle.                 Mina shrieked and quickly tried to clamber down the nearby tube slides before running across to the other play structure, her heart pounding in her chest. She remembered what the video had mentioned: Just play dead. Yeah, right!! There was NO way that was gonna work. Besides... It’d be no fun if she just gave up on the chase.                 Twenty minutes came and went quickly. She’d begun to familiarize herself with the layout of the jungle gyms. ...Sort of. At the very least she’d found three of those generators by now.

              "Hidey-hide... I will find you~"

              "Come out, come out, wherever you aaaare~"

          Every one of the jester bot's devious cackles and playful taunts sent shivers up her spine, and a thrill of both terror and delight.            And finally, he caught up. The next time she tried sneaking out from behind a solid wall, he took a flying leap at her, getting a death-grip around her ankle and pinning her to the floor, latching his hands onto her sides and rapidly wiggling those long, dexterous fingers.            She screamed, right before bursting into frantic, elated laughter. "YIEEE-HEEHEEHEE!!" She flailed, shoving at his arms, trying to clamp her arms to her sides, wiggling back and forth like a fish on land.            Unlike Sunny, this alter ego showed zero restraint. It's like he already knew to drill rapid circles into her ribs and hip bones, and knead her soft belly like dough, to really get her going.            “NOOOO-HAHAHAHA MOOHOOHOON PLEEEHEHEHEHEASE!!”            He laughed right along with her; A smug, sinister laugh, pleased with himself for reducing his target to this state. "Hehehehe, tickletickletiiickle~ This is what you get for breaking the rules~"            "I-I'M NAAAHAHAT BREAKIHIHING THE RUHUHULES!! I’M DOING MY JOHOHOHOB!"

          But before he could get too carried away, or carry on the 'punishment' any longer... The lights powered back on. "HHRGHK--" Moon grunted, stopping mid-attack to shield his eyes from the light, then plopped on top of Mina like a deadweight.            "Oof--" Thankfully his tall metal frame wasn't much heavier than Inzi.            The bot shifted back to Sunny again; he gasped and popped his head up. "Mina!! Are you okay??" He scrambled to get off her and help her sit upright. "Well you're still in one piece, so that's good, hahaha.."            Mina was still a little frazzled, her heart rate calming down, her face still red as a tomato. "Y-Yeah, I'm uh, I'm good..." She cleared her throat. "J-Jeez, he really goes after people, doesn't he?"            "Yeaaah, he... He really doesn't like it when the night staff isn't in bed, heh.."            "So I've heard.."            "He can get very carried away, but-!! You know the magic word so that'll help!!"            "I mean..." She shuffled a bit. "I don't...exactly mind... I get into pretty intense tickle fights like that with my friends and boyfriend all the time. And I think they're uh... Pretty fun~" she giggled sheepishly.            "Ooooh," Sun covered his mouth like a kid who just watched someone get in trouble. "You'd better hope Moony doesn't hear you say thaaat... But I mean, if you're sure, then I guess I can't really stop him~" he snickered, helping Mina to her feet.            Well that was sure a quick change of heart. "If you knew the worst he was gonna do was uh... That... Why were you so worried? Why'd you insist on me hiding from him?"

           “Well, I just... I didn't want you to get the wrong idea about him. About us.." he twiddled his fingers. "I-I know he can be pretty scary, but he means well, and... After the incident, he really doesn't like security guards. He doesn't trust 'em. And it's been a lot harder for people to trust us, so we both agreed it might be best if he just... lays low, y'know?" Though he tried to sound optimistic, Mina picked up on a twinge of sadness.            "Incident...?"            "UHH, don't worry about it!! It’s almost the end of your shift, yeah? Better get all cleaned up and ready to go!”

          Mina just let out a loud yawn in response. The night had really caught up to her and she was beginning to feel like she'd collapse at any moment. Sunny offered her another one of his candies, before scooping her up in a big, tight spinning hug.

           “Byeeee!! I can’t wait to see you again tomorrow night!!”

            Inzi picked her up at 6am, practically having to carry out his loopy, exhausted, flustered girlfriend, wondering just what kind of shenanigans she’d been up to all night.               This was going to be a very interesting night shift.