#THESE PEOPLE ARE ALL FORMERLY IN MY LIFE. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE AFTER THESE THINGS.

[thedevotionaltour]

if i had a nickel for every time i had online friends and acquaintances that started off in the realm of not having many strong opinions then became anti porn then became radfems and reposting terf rhetoric well it wouldn't be a lot but it's a disappointing amount because it's not zero

[hoesandnuggs]

It’s a Funny Story, Actually…

Please be kind, this is my first imagine

———

When you had first got involved with Leah, you were both 15. You'd met at an England camp and became friends, soon becoming more as you both realised you cared for each other a little more than you did for others. By the time you'd both had your 23rd birthdays, you'd been together for 8 years, longer than some marriages last.

You knew from the moment you met her you wanted to be hers for life. So the conversations you had about marriage and your future life together weren't anything terrifying.

When Leah had been asked to do an interview about your relationship, she felt happy.

It's not like she didn't already share you with the world. She was so proud to be yours and never shied away from public affection. She'd happily post pictures of you both, as well as kissing you after games, or mentioning you in passing comments in interviews.

"Baby, I've been asked if we can talk about our wedding and stuff. Are you okay with that?" She'd asked you as soon as she'd found out what it was about.

"Yes my love, it's all okay. Just don't make me look bad," you joked, curling her into your arms even more.

"We've never really spoken about it before," she replied, a thoughtful look gracing her features.

"Its never been the right time I guess." You responded, kissing her cheek gently before finding her hand where her wedding band stood proudly.

"I never imagined getting married until I met you," she said, a smile forming on her lips as she looked down at you from her higher ground on your lap.

"Save all the nice things for the interview babe."

And she did.

She was upset that you weren't able to come with her as originally planned, but a meeting with your agent had sprung up last minute and you couldn't find a work around.

"Leah, great to finally meet you." The interviewer said, whilst the crew were setting up the cameras. She engaged in small talk, as a text from you finally came through.

Lover🤍

Goodluck my love. I know you'll be just fine. I'll pick you up afterwards and we can go grab some dinner. You'll do fantastic as always. Miss you. Love youuuuu❤️❤️❤️

To: Lover🤍

Thank you love. Dinner sounds lovely, I'll hopefully be done by 7, but I'll text you as soon as I know anything. Miss you too. Love you toooooo🤍🤍🤍

Leah smiled as she put her phone away, waiting for the interview to start.

"So we're here today with Lioness Captain Leah Williamson, a different kind of interview than you're probably used to. Today we’re talking relationships."

"Yes so I've only ever had one relationship, the one I'm currently in. I met my wife when we were both 15 at an England camp, and we've never looked back since."

"So that's 10 years you've been together?"

"Yes, 10 years next month actually. "

"So you and your wife, Y/n Williamson, formerly Y/N L/N, got married 2 years ago?"

"We we're both 23, already been together for 8 years and we just knew it was the right next step. We got a lot of people commenting on it, saying we were to young to commit to the rest of our lives but when you've been with someone for that length of time, you just know, and we did."

"Did you propose or did she propose to you?"

"She proposed to me, although, it's a funny story actually."

———

You knew how close she was with her family. That was perhaps the only reason you stood outside the door of Leah's childhood home about to ask for her hand in marriage.

You were nervous, slightly. Amanda loved you, like her own, often telling everyone about her three kids, which brought a bit of confusion when they met you.

"Are you ever going to knock?" Amanda asked as she cracked open the front door. The smile on her lips wouldn't last long.

"No," her frown evident as she sat opposite you over the breakfast bar.

"We're ready." You tried, but you could tell that Amanda was stubborn with her choice.

"I won't deny that you are y/n, I know you're ready to take that next step, I just don't think Leah is. You're both only 23, you're still so young, you don't have to rush. Marriage is a big commitment, judt think about it some more," Amanda explained, but your heart had already shattered.

You weren't really expecting her to say no, and had the whole thing already planned out, the ring sat safely hidden away in your bedside draw, where you knew she'd never look. You knew Leah would love the date you had planned, and instead of wasting the cancellations you took her on it anyways.

Leah had butterflies from the moment you'd asked to take her out.

After your conversation in bed a month or two back, she'd been waiting for you to take her out and ask her to be yours forever.

The flowers that had arrived at her door were the first sign, the most beautiful bouquet of roses she'd ever seen.

And then you showed up at her door, dressed to the nines and a smile painted on your lips.

"God, you're so beautiful," you said with a smile, Leah's heart beating at a unknowing pace.

The compliments didn't stop there, and neither did the romance. Every stop in the journey, Leah waited for this to be the location you dropped to your knee and asked her you be yours.

But you never did.

As much as Leah loved the date, she'd also felt her heart break as it came to an end and she still didn't have a ring on her finger.

She didn't sleep that night, wondering if she hadn't been obvious enough in her approach. But you'd literally sat in bed on night and told each other that you were ready, that you'd only ever want each other. Maybe you just hadn't been ready just yet.

Her thought ran wild as she slept peacefully on her chest, her hand running through your hair.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Leah asked, hugging you from behind as you washed up the dishes you'd dirtied from breakfast.

"It's okay baby, I've got some things to take care of this afternoon. Maybe if you're still there at dinner I'll pop over." You smiled, giving her a kiss as she sighed.

It wasn't like you to miss family time. Especially when Amanda was making one of your favourites. Leah chalked it down to some of the stresses you'd had with your agent over the last few weeks, trying to cement a contract that you were worthy of at Arsenal, so you could stay with her.

"The pictures you sent me were lovely," Amanda said as she sat at the table with a tea in her hand, a juice for her daughter who still didn't drink hot drinks.

"Yeah it was amazing," Leah sighed, the frown that graced her forehead for a few seconds was not missed by her mother.

"Okay," she longed out, "that wasn't the reaction I was expecting."

"It was amazing, the most romantic date we've ever been on, and I thought she was going to propose, and she just-" Leah's heart sank, her head fell into her hands as she tried to contain her tears, therefore missing the reaction from her mother.

"She just what?" Amanda said, her hand squeezing lightly on her daughters shoulder in a weak attempt of comfort.

"She just didn't. We've literally spoken about it. I told her I only want her, that I'm ready. She said she was too and I guess I thought she meant she was ready now." Leah still hadn't been able to understand it, but seeing her mothers face made her question what she'd thought of you.

"Would you have said yes?" Amanda asked.

"Without a doubt. I don't want to wait another second." Leah replied.

Your phone buzzed a few seconds after your girlfriend had text you to let you know she was on her way home and that she'd pick up a Nandos for you both on her way back.

You assumed it would be Leah again, but was surprised when you saw Amanda's name on your screen.

"I'm sorry," she said before you even had chance to say hello.

"What have you got to be sorry for?" You laughed slightly, trying to hide your fear. What if she'd said something to Leah and she was coming back to end it.

"I said she wasn't ready and I was wrong, she is ready. You're both ready and I had no right to tell you otherwise. Go get the ring and do it." Amanda rushed down the phone, you could tell she was upset with herself.

"I've already got the ring, Amanda." You laughed.

"I'm home baby," Leah called, kicking off her shoes and heading straight to the kitchen to plate up your food.

"Babe?" She asked when you hadn't responded, only to find you stood in the garden, the fairy lights you'd hung up on the fence when you'd first moved in a-light.

"Darling, what's all this?" She asked as she made her way outside, confused by the roses in your hands.

"I love you," you started, as you handed her the roses. She gave them a sniff before she took in your nervous form. Placing them on the small outdoor table you had, she took your hands in hers, thanking you with a light kiss.

"I love you too." She said with a smile.

"This isn't what I had planned, but I can't wait another second." Still with your hands in hers, you dropped to one knee, only letting go to find the ring that was burning in your back pocket.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. 8 years is not enough time to have loved you, and I want to have the opportunity to love every single year you spend on this earth. You are my everything Leah and I-" you stopped when you felt a wet drop on your hand and looked up to find her crying.

"Please don't cry gorgeous," using your thumb to wipe away the tears on her cheeks.

"They're happy tears, I promise," she spoke through a sob. "Ask me." She demanded.

"Leah, will you make me the happiest girl alive and be my wife?" You ask.

She nods her head, slowly at first, but it quickly turns into a vigorous shake.

"Yes! Yes, yes," she said as she gives you her hand and allows you to slip the ring onto her finger.

She smiled at it for a second, before throwing herself into your arms.

"I thought you were going to propose the other day," she said, calming down enough to speak.

"It's a funny story actually."

To: Mum

She did it🤍

[thewriterowl]

Luke Skywalker is Mand’alor

Now that season 3 is done and I was able to stew over it, I find myself liking it more than the initial watch (not in love but I know it is that final scene that has made it loads better/worth it)...but I LOVE the idea more on Luke is the rightful ruler of Mandalore due to the ridiculous line of defeat of the Darksaber

Can you imagine?? We’ve had so much fun watching Din “my god let me just be a side character in my own show” Djarin do his thing...but Luke?? The guy who keeps getting pushed as the center of the galaxy? The poor guy. He already has to deal with being a “shared” Chosen One with his formerly very evil father, seen as a galactic hero who “single handedly” (he keeps saying this is not the case) took out the Empire, reviving a culture that was genocide-d basically on his own (his aunt seems to not be very involved in his life???), going on near-death missions still after doing his Chosen One duties...and now is a king by some weird technicality??

Do you know how DONE he would be???

Because he defeated his father, who defeated Kenobi, who defeated Maul? Or because he defeated his father who defeated the Emperor who defeated Maul? OR  because he defeated his father who defeated Ahsoka who defeated Maul? 

Luke would try to say, “The Emperor defeated me!” or “I didn’t win against my father, technically!” or “Weren’t at least one of those previous matches a draw or something???” or “Surely with all the hands it’s been passed around to the line was officially broken?????”. And like all of them have a counter-argument that still leads back RIGHT TO HIM because, even IF Anakin defeated the Emperor who defeated Luke, he still ADMITS that Luke defeated him by saving him from the Darkside with like his dying breath!! Or, even better because it is the words from Din in the season, he defeated the enemy who defeated/captured/cornered Din & Bo-Katan on the cruiser--cause, within the scene, it is heavily implied they were all about to die (aka be defeated) if he hadn’t shown up!

There is like literally no escape from it!

He literally just wants to be a teacher, like a pre-school teacher at this point and do fun flips over rocks while doing things to make people happy and not kill any more.

And he is made to be a king of a “cursed” planet of a former enemy.

Because of COURSE a Skywalker would have that luck.

[darethshirl]

Writing Pattern Tag Game

super late with this but better late than never! thank you for the tags @fadedsweater, @anneapocalypse, and @dragon--sage 🥰🥰 tagging back @roguelioness, @sarsaparillia, @korcariiwitch, @queenaeducan, @rosella-writes, @dreadfutures, @melisusthewee, @mel-0n-earth and anyone who sees this and wants to do it tbh!

Rules: list the first line of your last 10 fics and see if there's a pattern!

Goblins were disgusting, wretched little creatures, but even Astarion had to admit they knew how to throw a party.

from i'm not beaten by this yet (you can't tell me to regret) (bloodweave, explicit, 3k words)

It was only after Astarion had finished the kill—after the gut-deep slash, the satisfying spurt of blood—that he realized he was being watched.

from tear it through my heart (again, again, again) (tavstarion, mature, 4k words)

The cemetery was a quiet, unassuming little place, hidden between a shabby building and a formerly-tall church wall that was swiftly falling into ruin.

from cradle me with grace (tavstarion, explicit, 3k words)

Baldur’s Gate buzzed with all the activity of a healthy city, lively and unchanging throughout the ages.

from so long to this wretched form (tavstarion, teen, 4k words)

The tower at Moonrise was both more imposing and more cramped than Astarion had imagined.

from take me under, take me home (tavstarion, teen, 6k words)

The moon shone high overhead, and Ketheric Thorm’s world was crumbling all around him.

from deus proditus (Ketheric study, general, 1k words)

The thing was, Astarion really had wanted her from the moment he’d first laid eyes on her.

from let me wrap my teeth around the world (tavstarion, explicit, 5k words)

In retrospect, John should have waited before bringing his friends back to life.

from like prometheus we are bound, our godforsaken lot (John/Mercy/Augustine, The Locked Tomb, general, 2k words)

It starts so abruptly that Cliff doesn’t even realize what’s happening.

from you know how to make me crawl (Cliff/David, Black Mirror, explicit, 1k words)

Despite everything, and despite what her future memories will tell her, Erica grew up relatively happy in the House of Slaughter.

from ain’t it a gentle sound, the rolling in the graves (Erica study, Something Is Killing The Children, teen, 2k words)

so!! first of all I'm surprised I had to go deep enough that I ran out of bg3 fics lmao. I'd almost forgotten I'd written that black mirror fic!! and yet I didnt go far enough to reach a dragon age one 🥲 I really have left this fandom huh (for now! 😤🐺)

second of all, I'm surprised by how short some of these are! I definitely think of myself as more wordy, and I prefer my longer sentences when I look at this. I think the weakest are the bg3 ones in the middle where I have to establish which act we're in (and let me tell you I STRUGGLED with that Baldur's Gate city description, it was literally the last part I wrote in the fic and you can kinda tell i wanted to get things over with aksdh)

I do prefer the ones that are more character-centric (poor Ketheric, so dramatic lmao). I think if you're going in fandom-blind John's line is the most striking (he can bring people back from the dead???) even tho if you have the context it's not that impressive an opening 😂 And I super enjoyed writing astarion being a dick about goblins!

but I gotta say my favourite line is the "it was only after Astarion had finished the kill" etc etc from tear it through my heart 🥰🥰 in fact I liked that line so much I made it the summary! these are the kind of vibes I want to always achieve 👀 also, honestly, I should start in action/medias res more often! it seems like a fun style I've tragically underused so far

[lazuliquetzal]

i want to hear the sports anime manifesto

Okay short version:

My life was a sports anime for a bit, and watching sports anime makes me nostalgic for those days.

Medium version:

The typical shonen sports anime deals with themes of camaraderie, ambition, and the intersections of camaraderie and ambition, which ALWAYS hits me right in the chest.

I'm not an ambitious person by nature, but--you know that one poem floating around on here, the one about the moth that wants nothing more than to fly into the flame, and how it would be nice to feel that kind of all consuming passion? Yeah, that's the feeling I get from sports anime.

And often, for the Team Sports anime, you'll get characters who have nothing in common except that they Love the Same Thing--a friendship/rivalry/(romance) formed on the basis of a shared interest. That's sweet as hell!

And they're super predictable and low stress for me. Very easy to watch! Total popcorn shows. Also I like listening to people infodump about their passions. Someone loved their Sport so much they wrote a whole-ass story about it, so yeah, eat that shit up.

Long version:

The Socioeconomic Inequalities of High School Sports

In high school, I was on a crappy underfunded soccer team (with a healthy dose of sexism) and due to [sports league division reasons] the schools we played against were almost exclusively private schools.

I cannot describe how existential it is to be wearing a hand-me-down formerly white-turned-disgusting-gray uniform that's at least five years old when playing against a team that gets brand new windbreakers every season.

(If you've read AAB, YES this is where my obsession with the windbreakers comes from.)

(Hilariously, the guys team got windbreakers but we didn't.)

(I am not over the fucking windbreakers.)

But anyway, when you're constantly losing to private schools you get this fucking complex about it.

This should come as no surprise but like. People with the time and resources to practice their Thing get good at their Thing.

Playing pick up soccer at the park is practice. Playing rec league soccer is organized, repeated practice.

Playing competitive club soccer is all of that, plus a coach who knows How To Coach and What The Sport Is, plus you get morale-boosting uniforms and the chance to play with and against other skilled players. So you're exposed to a lot more, and thus, you learn a lot more.

Competitive club soccer is also Expensive. Rich kids get good.

There's a reason why the "Powerhouse School" is a thing in sports anime, because it's a thing in real life. People with leisure time and money get to invest in their sports development, and everyone else gets left behind in the dust. It's basically a microcosm of capitalism.

The underdog sports story is (quite tragically) bootstraps propaganda. All you have to do is be really good and work really hard and have A LOT OF PASSION to get good at your sport! The cream rises to the top! This is a meritocracy! Let's ignore all the other factors that go into an individual's development as an athlete!

(My brother got scouted for club soccer as a kid. He actually went to tryouts and got offered a spot and a scholarship and everything, but there's SO many hidden fees after the initial registration. Uniforms, equipment, travel and accommodation, tournaments, plus like, the time sink, so we never signed him up. And equipment-wise, soccer is one of the cheapest sports you can play--just imagine the price for something like baseball or hockey.)

In sports anime, there is no reform. There is no revolution.

But sports anime isn't really about that. It's about the narratives we create when we convince ourselves that we deserve to win.

(You know what I mean. Every billionaire is convinced they're some sort of heroic underdog. The same exact kind of 'working your way up' narrative.)

Sports anime is like, the uncomplicated power fantasy of playing the game. It's a world where you are rewarded for your hard work, because it's narratively satisfying. It's a world where it's safe to want things, because you have the exact same chances as the private school kids.

I used to be an obnoxiously competitive child. Then I got all my competition beaten out of me by 3 straight years of constant losing in my clownagerie of a high school soccer team (affectionate). I am going to admit that experience made me a better person and I would not trade it for anything, but I also had to like, relearn how to want things. And maybe real life is not as equal opportunity as the world of sports anime, but I think it's good to want things.

Of course, the winner-loser dichotomy makes sense in sports because of the inherent nature of competition, but it doesn't make sense in stuff like society and economics because that's like, competing over the right to live. That's where the capitalism metaphor ends,

Does sports anime actually go into the socioeconomic inequalities of sports? No. Of course not. Giant Killing never got a season 2.

But it is something I think about when I write sports anime fic. Even if it's not the point, it influences my characterization. The ego of a prodigy character in a shitty sports program is different from the ego of a prodigy character in a rich kid sports program. I am obligated to my amateur attempts to capture the complexities of the high school sports environment in my fanfiction because I am fucking insane I had a specific high school sports experience and they do say to write what you know.

[masoena]

SPN Rareship Bingo Fill - Midam

This is the second last fic to fill my SPN rareship bingo card (@spnrareships) and the prompt called for "Adam". Who else could I pair Adam with except canon Michael?

Enjoy this short one-shot that shows how I imagine their love-story started in the very depths of hell.

Community label due to some references of what is happening in hell between Lucifer and Sam.

Summary:

Adam struggles in the cage as Lucifer imparts particularly sadistic torture on his older half-brother Sam in the cage in hell and as he fights his own psyche, he finds himself transported to a beautiful space and supported by an unexpected ally that may have the potential to become far more than a formerly unwelcome visitor in his body. Or how the love story of Michael and Adam may have started.

Link to the fic on AO3: Does This Help?

Or read on below full fic posted under the keep reading bar.

At first Adam was angry, angry that Sam, his goodie-two-shoes saving people hunting things older half-brother got them into this mess. Mess being the cage in the deepest reaches of hell where no normal demon even dared to set foot, lest they be vaporized by Lucifer’s wrath that could reach beyond the cage but could not facilitate his freedom. That fact alone was all it took some days and on others he would lecture the cowering tall Winchester with the floppy brown hair about his life of failures.

The cage was a complete mind-fuck for the human psyche, that much Adam knew to be true, add to that the sharing of your own God-given body with an archangel who was about as warm and fluffy as a metal rod and you had a situation that was not only untenable it was bound to break anyone, no matter how strong they were.

It had been well over fifty years by now and over time Adam and Michael found a sort of truce with one another in that they were not surrendering to the ferocious but ultimately impotent anger of Lucifer nor did they subscribe to Sam’s wailing agonized suffering that seemed to dictate his every day of existence down here.

Most days they acted like the neighbours who pretended that it wasn’t their business, that what happened over at the Jones’ was not their responsibility. However, today Adam could not pretend, could not compartmentalize himself away from Sam’s suffering.

Lucifer was imposing particularly sadistic tortures on the former hunter that was nothing more than a whimpering pet, his soul long ago ripped, frazzled and flailed into shreds of consciousness that may never be whole again even if they were saved by someone, anyone today. He picked Sam apart, body part by body part, would only continue once his once perfect vessel would name the part removed out loud, a psychological mind game that Sam had long ago been broken by, as it meant he had a literal say in his torment continuing.

Adam was flustered, anxious, crying fitfully as every one of Sam’s pained noises ripped across his ear drums like nails on a chalkboard, he wanted to jump out of his skin, be anywhere but here and all of a sudden, he was.

The scene reminded him of the one beach vacation his mom ever managed to make happen for them. Santa Monica beach in California, he felt the sun warm on his skin, heard the waves as they broke on the sandy shore and curled his toes in the sand to test that this was in fact real.

“I’m afraid it’s not 100% real but it’s something I learned form my little brother Gabriel. He liked to escape whenever the arguments between Luci and I got too loud for him. He’d fabricate a world pocket with his grace, make it move, sound and feel just like the real thing.”

“Why would you take me here if we only have to go back to reality after all. You can’t keep this up forever, can you?”

“No but your body seemed … stressed, like you were, what's the word; hyperventilating?”

“I was," he hoped Michael calling it his body and not their vessel counted for something.

“Does this help, would you like it to look different?” It was almost endearing to Adam how considerate Michael was trying to be.

“Yes, it does Michael, thank you and no this is really nice,” little did Adam know that this gesture of protectiveness would be the first plot-point in a highly unconventional love story that would span over a thousand years.

[vincess-princess]

as we were falling

formerly untitled

ch. 3

a/n: do you like the title? idk if this idea is going anywhere but i felt bad leaving it nameless

warnings: take a wild guess (violence, piss mention)

word count: 1777

“It’s full,” Tommy said, plopping down onto Nikki’s mattress. “Heaping, even.”

“Damn it.” Nikki squeezed his knees tighter, agony on his face. “When are they gonna empty it? I’m dying here, man.”

“They usually do it after breakfast.”

“Breakfast was hours ago. Any chance they’re gonna do it today?”

“Eh…”

“So no.”

“Yeah,” Tommy sighed. One bucket for twenty captives definitely wasn’t enough, even when emptied regularly, and when it wasn’t… things got stinky. Nikki, still chained to the wall (Tommy couldn’t look at the red stripe of irritated skin underneath the ring of the handcuff without shuddering), couldn’t even make trips there, so the bucket instead made trips to him – with Tommy’s help.

Now, though, he couldn’t risk lifting it without splashing the contents all across the floor. The room already smelled worse than an underground bar toilet, and Tommy thought nothing could beat that. The first assumption his new life proved wrong, he thought grimly.

“We’re already drowning in shit, and now they decide to make it literal,” Nikki grumbled. “God, I’d love to splash it on their faces. Shower them in shit. Unite them with their kind, so to say.”

For a second Tommy indulged himself on imagining the guards’ faces if it happened. Or, rather, their shrieking and yelling – they couldn’t see their faces behind the helmets, after all. It was no great loss – helped somewhat, even. It made it easier to believe that those were some aliens, evil minions, androids, whatever – not real, regular people like them and Nikki for whom what they were doing was a job just as much as cleaning tables in a café was for Tommy. They did it for a living, probably had families they came home to. Did they ever tell them stories from work? “So this one captive today threw up on the boots of my buddy Jackson and we electrocuted her for fifteen seconds for that”?

“Hey?” he heard Nikki’s voice. Then he snapped his fingers in front of Tommy’s face. “Ground control to major Tom. Can you hear me?”

Tommy slapped his hand away. “Don’t interrupt me. I am speaking that into existence.”

Nikki huffed. “Oh, I’m sorry, master wizard. Of course, keep on weaving your spells. I’ll be here, peeing my pants quietly.”

“Well, what else can I do?” Tommy threw his hands up. “I’m already running back and forth with this bucket for Your Majesty to shit in three times a day. You could show a little gratitude.”

“I’m very grateful,” Nikki said seriously, but the force with which he pressed his hand to his chest gave out a taunt. “It doesn’t help my problem, though.”

“I’m not giving you my cup.”

“I wasn’t even thinking of that, but now that you mentioned it…” Nikki began eyeing Tommy’s cup hungrily. Tommy moved it farther back so that Nikki couldn’t reach it.

“You have no soul.” Nikki crossed his arms on his chest, but didn’t really pull off the offended face, only prompting Tommy to laugh. “You cruel, cruel bastard. What am I to do? Piss on the floor? Or hold it in and explode from too much pee?”

“You know,” Tommy looked at the floor with renewed interest, “it’s already dirty… wouldn’t hurt much.”

Nikki threw his head back and laughed. “We really getting desperate here, aren’t we? By the way,” he suddenly changed the topic, “when’s dinner?”

“Not sure,” Tommy said, confused. “It’s hard to track time here, you know. But… I’d say, in about half an hour.”

“Great. It won’t dry off by then.” Nikki said, whipped out his dick and peed right into the passage between the two rows of mattresses. “They always pass through here,” he grinned, shoved his dick back into his pants and returned to his place. Tommy and a dozen other captives watched the urine lazily flowing along the passage.

Tommy turned to Nikki and was met with a beaming smile.

“You really have no limits, man,” he said.

“The sky is the limit,” Nikki declared pompously. “And also it was the only place I could reach. But, as they say, two birds with one stone! They’ll have to walk along the passage, there’s not enough space between mattresses for the trolley. And my bladder isn’t tearing apart. I say, we’ve got a good deal.”

Thousands of objections began running through Tommy’s head until they became background noise. Yes, it will get their asses kicked, but it’s not like it hadn’t happened before. Besides, he wanted to hear the guards’ screams when they realized what they were walking on. Maybe it will get them to empty the bucket in time, too.

“Yeah,” Tommy grinned back. “Maybe it will teach them a lesson.”

Over the next half an hour three captives tried to demand they wipe the piss down, but to no avail. Nikki smiled at them with his brand smile – all sharp teeth and a crazy gleam in his eyes – and Tommy offered them to do it themselves if they disliked it so much, which none of them rushed to do. The urine persisted until the guards arrived with a trolley full of nutrient paste.

As expected, they didn’t look down. As expected, they heard the splash when it was already too late.

“Who the hell spilled water here?” one of the guards looked around the room. Everybody averted their gazes. “One of us could slip on that! If that happens again we’ll remove the washbowl and ration your water too!”

“Guys,” another said, “is it just me or does it smell like piss in here?”

Tommy and Nikki exchanged looks. It was increasingly hard not to laugh.

“Of course it does. The bucket’s heaping.” And they all laughed, the sound muffled by their helmets but nonetheless disgusting.

They began throwing packages with the paste at the captives, not really bothering to aim, but even when a package hit someone’s head, no one dared to say a word. Seeing people so beaten into humiliation and obedience was revolting, but also Tommy knew what they would get were they to act up, and he understood them. After all, when it’s a choice between dignity and survival, every normal person would choose the latter.

Nikki, by these standards, was straight-up bonkers, because he never once lowered his gaze even when black helmets turned right towards him. His sheer recklessness infected Tommy, because every time the piss splashed under the guards’ boots he couldn’t hold back a smile.

Eventually it attracted attention.

“What’s so funny, you pipsqueak?” One of the guards poked him in the shoulder with a bat.

“Nothing,” Tommy said quickly, staring at the guard’s wet boot traces on the floor.

“Bullshit!” The bat poked him harder. “You find something here funny? Tell us, we want to laugh too.”

Other guards began turning around and looking themselves over suspiciously. Tommy waited with bated breath for them to discover they were standing in piss.

“You see,” he began, “sometimes things are not what they seem. Not all that’s liquid is gold, but sometimes… it is.”

“What the hell does that mean? What liquid?” The guard looked down and Tommy could almost see his face falling. “Is this- is this-“

“That’s fucking piss! I said it smells like piss! I said it!” another one screamed, trying to wipe the soles of his boots on the floor. Tommy could only hope Nikki’s piss was acidic enough to leave those boots smelly for at least a little while after. “He peed in the fucking aisle!”

“You bastard!” the guard growled, grabbing Tommy by the scruff of his robe and single-handedly pulling him onto his feet. “You son of a bitch!” He pushed Tommy in the middle of the room towards the other guards. Tommy could bet their faces were creased with anger, and a chill went down his spine.

“Look at ‘im! He did it on purpose!” The one who smelled the piss jumped forward and raised the bat over his head. Then it collided with Tommy’s shoulder, and he almost dropped onto his knees, his vision for a second going white.

“Hey! Hey! He didn’t do it!” he heard from behind his back. Dammit, Nikki. “I did it! Leave him alone! I did it!”

The second blow never got there. All the guards turned towards Nikki.

“You?” one of them said.

“Me.” Nikki grinned back. “You should’ve sent someone to empty the bucket.”

Tommy watched the guards unchain him, but only to drag him to the middle of the room, push him onto his knees and zap him with two shockers at once, one in the chest and one in the hip. About twelve seconds into this Nikki must have blacked out, because he stopped screaming. The guards dragged him back to his mattress and dropped his lifeless body there, the knees of his robe soaked with urine.

“You knew he pissed there,” a guard said then to Tommy. “You knew and didn’t tell us.”

He got zapped too – later he figured out that he got an easier deal with just one shocker, though at the moment it was hard to tell with electricity seemingly disintegrating his body tissues. He was dropped on the floor right where he stood.

“You all knew,” he heard a guard say to the captives through ringing in his ears. “You all knew and said nothing, you spineless sacks of shit. You ain’t getting any dinner today. Give that back!”

It took Tommy some time to come around, and when he crawled back to his mattress, Nikki had only just awakened, his eyes still foggy and unfocused, a thread of saliva hanging from his half-open mouth.

“Man, you look like shit,” Tommy croaked.

Nikki only made an unintelligible groan in response, but Tommy knew he said something along the lines of “you ain’t no better”. Which, fair.

He laid down on his mattress, trying to combat the nausea that always came with electric shock. When one wanted to puke his guts out so badly, getting deprived of dinner didn’t seem half as bad. The captives probably didn’t agree, but none of them dared to express their discontent verbally – for now, at least.

Soon Nikki tried to raise his head and sit up. The guards forgot to chain him back, so he could finally use both his arms. Well, at least something good came out of this whole mess.

“Man,” he heard Nikki’s hoarse voice, “that was hella fun.”

And, despite his body hurting all over and his pants soaked in piss, Tommy could hardly disagree with him. At least now the guards knew they could get back at them – in their own way.

[angelofrainfrogs]

Going Back: Ch. 9

~Coauthored by @zeitghest~

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

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

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

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

Rating: T

Read on Ao3

Bonnie’s approach was lackadaisical, strolling casually beside Freddy as he watched the kid doze off completely. The sugar and adrenaline crash hit Gregory hard, and by the time they piled into the elevator for the attraction the boy was practically asleep in Freddy's arms. Curiously, Bonnie reached out and brushed the shaggy hair away from Gregory’s face, asking Freddy when out of earshot from the others: “So… since when did you want to be a Papa Bear, ol’ sport?”

The rabbit was still somewhat confused by the whole thing. Their AIs desired the safety and protection of all kids, this was true—but Freddy became so devoted to this sole child so fast…

“Oh… it was a rather sudden decision,” Freddy murmured, his gaze moving slowly between Gregory and his old companion. Taking a seat at a table near the lanes, Freddy patted the empty chair by his side with a soft smile. “You and I need to have a long conversation about what you missed, old friend. But for now I will say that it was a combination of many factors that led to the situation Gregory and I are in now. He is such a brave boy and helped with things you cannot even fathom at the moment.”

As he explained, Freddy absently ran his fingers through Gregory’s hair. “Michael influenced my decision greatly. He and I were, ah… bonded, for lack of a better term, and his humanity rubbed off on me—which only heightened my desire to protect and care for Gregory.”

Looking up at Bonnie’s absolutely confused gaze with a measured one of his own, Freddy could see him desperately trying to understand. He didn’t like keeping his friend in the dark, but he also didn’t want to overload his circuits. Still, he could at least give him something to dwell on before they got to talk one on one.

“You have seen and accepted that Evan is a ghost. This may or may not come as a surprise, but so are Michael and Charlie. However, before they got these android bodies they needed other vessels, and Michael happened to pick mine. It is a wonder what a human soul can do to a simple piece of coding.”

Bonnie sat and listened, absorbing the words Freddy told him. He wished to understand how people had souls that could imprint their marks into machines and computers... Was Freddy different now?

Bonnie seemed off-put for a mere second before dismissing the thought entirely, his bunny nose twitching. Freddy was the same as before. But what he felt was real.

“A human soul really made you feel this way?” the rabbit asked tentatively, eyebrows scrunched. It was an incredible thing to come to understand. “When did you realize? Y’know, that you felt human?”

“When did I know?” Freddy hummed, tilting his head. “Hmm... that is a good question. I suppose it was more of a feeling than an exact moment. The night I met those three, there came a time when Gregory and I were in a bit of distress.”

Freddy grimaced slightly at the memory of Monty chasing them on the catwalks. It was a far cry from the friendly gator they'd just encountered in the golf course not thirty minutes before. “Of course my goal was to protect the child, but when I saw Gregory in such a dire situation something in me just... snapped. I realized that this urge to protect far exceeded anything my programming would allow, and I was thinking with my heart instead of my head.”

The redhead smiled down at the boy in his lap. “It was not long after we were safely out of that situation that Gregory first called me 'dad,' and then I could deny it no longer: I felt things—emotions. True emotions. I wanted to care for him and keep him safe, and I wanted to do the same for Michael and Charlie. I felt happy at the thought of protecting them, thinking of how wonderful things would be when set to rights again. After that it was simply a matter of timing and fate as to how I ended up in this body, holding Gregory as I am now.” 

Bonnie listened, the look on his face uncharacteristically stoic and unanimated as he absorbed the meaning of what Freddy was talking about. He clenched and unclenched his hand against his bowling shirt. A brief flash of thought crossed his mind; a vague question of, ‘Can I feel things?’ as he watched the small family by the bowling lanes begin to wrestle. He didn’t quite feel all the emotions that Freddy described to him when watching the kids, though Bonnie felt himself becoming closer—but that could be chalked up to simple prolonged exposure.

That didn’t explain the weird stints of unmistakable jealousy he felt when others appeared to be getting along better with Freddy than him, though. He wasn’t programmed for jealousy; the emotion was ugly and unnecessary for entertaining robots.

“A human soul…,” Bonnie repeated wistfully. He looked on as Liz practically tackled both Charlie and Michael to retrieve her brother from their clutches. He chuckled at this display and unhealthily pushed down the false 'emotions,' ignoring them and hoping they would simply scatter with time. Still, it begged Bonnie to ask curiously: “Do you ever feel… bad?”

Freddy’s gaze sharpened, locked onto his old friend’s face as if searching for something. After a moment Freddy let out a small sigh.

“Yes,” he admitted softly. “I feel bad things, too. That is the trouble with these silly emotions—the good ones are amazing, but you must also contend with the negative ones. I have felt anger before—a white-hot, burning thing that I previously could not even comprehend. I have felt scared, annoyed, and anxious, among many other things.

“But regardless of how these emotions might make me feel about others, you are still my dearest friend,” Freddy reassured with his signature grin that crinkled the corners of his eyes. After a moment’s pause, Freddy’s brow furrowed slightly, a knowing light in his bright eyes. “I have been meaning to ask: how are you feeling, Bon? Besides what your internal diagnostics tell you, that is. Or, I suppose I should say—can you give me an answer to that question right now? It is perfectly alright if not, I am simply… curious.” 

How did he feel? Well, besides from the sudden tight—grateful?—wave of emotion he got from Freddy's assurance, he was feeling strangely. Could Freddy tell there was something wrong with him? Bonnie could sense something wrong. Yet with every background diagnostic test he ran that turned up negative, he wondered if it was all in his head.

“I’m… weird, Fredbear,” Bonnie answered, glancing to others to see they’d moved down the lanes to be fully in the company of the Emilys. “I've been running diagnostics for two days and found nothing wrong. But I swear I feel things, too... Things never in my programming. Not like you, though; you get all the nice things. The best thing my database can liken these to are… self-doubt and jealousy.”

When his eyes shifted back to see a worried expression on Freddy’s face, Bonnie elaborated with wide eyes. “I'm fine! Really, I know these are just programming bugs. Something I'll have to tell Boss-man about later. I'll be alright, Fred.”

Maybe Michael’s soul did something while he was working on his decommissioned body? Though Freddy said they had to be bonded, whatever that means, for those emotions to imprint upon him.

For just a second, Freddy’s worry slipped into an ache of sympathetic hurt. He’d been lucky—Michael was a good soul, and therefore had seemed to transfer mostly positive emotions. It wasn’t that Freddy couldn’t feel jealousy or self-doubt too, and Michael’s anxiety certainly seemed to take a toll on Freddy’s already amped-up concern for others. But the boy was nothing compared to his father. Who knew what sort of influence William’s soul would have on an animatronic, even as sweet a character as Bonnie?

Freddy didn’t doubt they could work through anything in time, but he hated to see his friend grapple with such confusion.

“There is nothing wrong with you, Bonnie,” Freddy said once he’d composed himself, his face once again a mask of serene calm. His voice was low and soothing, coupled with a tight squeeze of the rabbit’s paw. “And I am certain you will be just fine. Tomorrow, you and I are going to have a long chat about what happened while you were out of commission—just the two of us. Hopefully things will start to make more sense afterwards, but until then please try not to worry so much. Fretting about things is my job.”

The ursine man finally cracked a grin, slipping his hand out of Bonnie’s to lightly push the rabbit’s shoulder.

“Just what do you have to be jealous about anyway? The new friends I have met are wonderful, but they are no comparison to my best friend of unquantifiable years.” A light chuckle escaped his lips. “I came running straight to you when I heard you were back online, you know.” 

Bonnie couldn’t help but laugh as he shrugged off Freddy’s playful shove. “You came runnin' huh? Aw, shucks.”

It was less of a way to tease his friend and more of a reassurance that Freddy didn't forget about him. No one did. Everyone still loved him and people were probably hoping one day for his joyous return back to the Glamrock crew.

“Yeah, that sounds so silly when you put it that way... And you know what? I should be happy Monty's got a whole big attraction for himself now! He deserves it for how hard he works,” Bonnie said, the dopey, sweet bunny returning the more he worked through those negative emotions. It wasn't long before he gently rested the side of his head on the top of Freddy's own. “Thanks for listenin,' Fredbear.”

“Anytime,” Freddy promised, chuckling as Bonnie aggressively nuzzled their heads together. Seconds after the pair sat up straight Michael appeared, huffing as he pulled out a chair across the table from them. With a raised eyebrow, Freddy asked: “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” Mike replied, a grin twitching up the corner of his mouth despite his attempt to keep an exasperated expression. “They’re all ganging up against me, so I left them to their own devices; hopefully they’ll harass Sammy instead.”

“I see; how gracious of you,” Freddy commented, clear sarcasm in his voice. Michael flashed a real grin and leaned his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his palms.

“Thank you! How’s Gregory? He looks totally passed out.” 

“He is alright. You know how erratic his sleep schedule is—he probably just had a bit too much excitement at once,” Freddy said, running a hand through Gregory’s hair once more.

“We really need to fix that…” Michael grimaced briefly, then let out a snort. “He looks so calm and peaceful when he’s asleep; not like a little terror at all. Don’t you think, Bonnie?” Pale blue eyes flickered to the rabbit’s, showing he hadn’t been forgotten about.

Gregory's chest rose and fell deeply as they spoke. The kid was in such a deep state of sleep that a thing line of drool began to seep from the corner of his mouth. It was adorable—though worrisome that his schedule had been interrupted so frequently. It seemed the only time he could truly rest was when he completely ran out of energy, his mutated stamina still no match for the very nature of exhaustion.

“You kiddin' me? Look—that kid's plotting our destruction as we speak,” Bonnie replied, pointing down at Gregory with a rounded purple finger. “I think we may be dealing with some form of criminal mastermind here...”

“Mm, good point,” Michael conceded, narrowing his eyes and staring hard at the sleeping boy. His pensive expression only cracked when Freddy noticed the drool and wiped it away with his sleeve and a soft click of his tongue.

“Oh, hush you two,” Freddy chuckled, looking between the pair with a grin. He was so happy to see Michael and Bonnie getting along it was infectious. Tilting his head in question, Freddy asked: “What time is it, Michael? I feel as though we may need to leave soon…”

“You’ve got a phone now, you know,” Mike said, though he didn’t hesitate to take his out and check the display. “Yeah, I think I should take Liz and Evan back down to Henry so we can head out.” He stood, stretching out his arms before glancing at Freddy with a slight frown. “Oh damn; we didn’t get to talk about Gregory’s situation.”

“Hmm.” Freddy glanced down at his son, then let out a small sigh. “As much as I hate to disturb him either, this is an important topic. How about I come with you?”

“Sounds good,” Michael agreed, then stepped over to Bonnie and clapped the rabbit on the shoulder. “It’s good to finally hang out with you, Bon; we’ll touch base again when I come back for my next shift, okay?” 

Excitedly, Bonnie curled his paws into fists and held them by his chest as he looked to Michael.

“It's going to be so fun workin' with ya!” he predicted.

When the end of the week was up and the Pizzaplex returned to normalcy after a period of strangeness, it was be obvious his new coworkers would provide some much missed fun to Bonnie Bowl. Upon looking over to said ghost children, it seemed they’d overpowered the Emilys, with both Charlie and Sam being bullied by the two after Sammy dared to call them runts. Liz was still too fast for them and had Sam's arm in a lock behind his back.

“Lizzie! Lizzie, come on! Sam is actually old! You can't rough him up like that!” Charlie attempted to separate them with much difficulty.

Sam shot her a glare, griping to his sister with a bellow: “I am not old! I'm middle-aged at most, but I don't look it!”

“No—” Charlie answered, trying to hide her laugh as she told her twin. “—it’s worse: you just look like Dad...”

“What?!” Samuel shouted, causing Liz to let go as he nearly tumbled into Charlie and Evan.

Michel had moved to the other group for damage control, snagging the Aftons by their shirt collars before they could launch another attack. With a raised eyebrow he asked Sam: “They giving you trouble?”

“Nooooo!” Evan insisted, wriggling in his brother’s grip. He knew full well Michael sent them after Sammy intentionally, but before he could call his brother out Mike went on.

“Uh-huh. Well, Sam, you’re about to be saved—time to go back to Uncle Henry.” Michael released his siblings, then jerked a thumb over his shoulder to where Freddy and Bonnie were saying their goodbyes. “Freddy and Gregory are coming with us to see you off. You want to join, Charlie?” His gaze flickered to Sam with a wry grin. “You’re welcome to come too—if you can handle it, grandpa.”

Completely unaware that Michael had been the one to set the dogs of war loose upon him, Sam looked to his good friend with gratitude. He wasn’t the same relatively meek and stoic kid he had forced himself to grow into. Being with Michael and the others reminded him of what a hell-raiser he used to be with the others.

“Again with the old man crap—” Sam tutted, cracking the aching knuckles on his hands as he rejoined the group. “—aren’t you a month older than me?”

“He's right, Mikey,” Charlie pointed out, willing to stop picking on her biological brother to turn the tide on her best friend. “You are the oldest, technically.”

Michael narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared between the Emilys. “Oh sure, rub it in on me, why don’t you?”

“I mean, you are suuuuper old,” Evan added with a shit-eating grin, not unlike his big brother’s. “Like… ancient!”

“Okay, okay, chill out!” Michael snipped, shoving Evan unsteadily off his feet… though he did feel a minor swell of pride at his little brother’s sass. “You’re only a few years younger than me, damn.”

“Come on, everyone!” Freddy called as he walked over, now with his other arm wrapped around Gregory. “Let us get going before Henry starts to worry.”

“Honestly Sammy, you should take a rest,” Michael said, his tone softening as he amiably patted his back, though his lips were still quirked up in a smirk. “Anyone needs to recover after dealing with the Aftons all day.”

This was what made all the jeers and jokes worth it, knowing his friends really did have his best interests at heart. Sam scratched at his growing beard and reasoned silently about getting a few hours of sleep in his office before the dayshift showed up. If Samuel could see himself now, he might ask his own reflection who the old insomniac was and what they were doing inside his Mall...

“Heh—” Sam laughed, fixing his glasses as if hiding the heavy bags there. “—alright, I could squeeze in a few hours of rest. Then it's back to work.” Sam quick leaned on Michael, giving him a rough hug to communicate his thanks where words wouldn't suffice.

“Make sure Charlie doesn't pick her nose too much while I'm gone,” he asked of Mike, earning a slap on the shoulder from his sister. She gasped at the accusation while Lizzie just raised her finger to laugh at the group.

“Ew, Charlie you don't still pick your nose, do you?” Liz managed to ask through her giggles, which led to Charlie shaking Liz by her shoulders.

“I never did! He's a dirty fibber!” she asserted, throwing a glare Sam’s way.

“Oh no, she totally does—eeevery day,” Michael added, then turned fast on his heel and dashed towards the exit with Charlie in hot pursuit.

“Goodness…,” Freddy chuckled, shaking his head at their antics. He looked to Sam, offering him a smile. “I hope you get a solid nap in, Sam—and thank you again for these!” A pat of his pants pocket indicated the slim outline of his phone. “We will be sure to stay in touch.”

“Bye, Sammy!” Evan piped up, giving his old friend a quick hug on his leg before pulling Lizzie after Charlie and Michael. Freddy lifted Gregory’s rag doll-like hand in a little wave to the CEO then followed after the young Aftons, flashing Bonnie another gleaming smile as they piled into the elevator.

Samuel would retire to his office, heading off after parting ways with Bonnie—though that rabbit was no longer content to stay in Bonnie Bowl either. Without a guard to tell him otherwise, the distracted bunny would travel aimlessly through the Pizzaplex as he used to.

Upon arriving in the basement, it seemed the other children had been running around and leaving their mark while Henry worked tirelessly. Scorched items from the old dinner had made their way around the hidden workshop. Torn, half-melted plushies and collectors’ items were scattered haphazardly with evidence of being abandoned after the ghosts grew bored of their novelty. As soon as they crossed the door, Charlie was quick to ambush her hardworking father with a bear hug.

“Dad! Whatcha working on?” she interrogated.

“AH!” Henry was so focused on the schematics he was working on he hadn’t heard his daughter’s stealthy approach. He would’ve jumped a few feet in the air if her firm grip hadn’t cinched him in place. “Christ! I oughta put a bell on you guys!” He chuckled, giving Charlie a quick kiss on the cheek. “Hi, sweetheart.”

“Hey, Uncle Henry!” Michael greeted with a wave. As he stepped up to the Emilys, Henry was quick to shuffle a few papers around, causing Mike to raise an eyebrow. “What are you working on?”

“Oh, I’m thinking of repurposing some earlier drafts of your androids so others can have bodies, too,” Henry explained, wrapping his arm around Charlie’s waist. He grinned, swinging Charlie around to show her the workbench of papers. “You’re going to like this one—take a guess who it’s for.”

The schematic on top showed two images side by side: one of the generic inner workings of an android, and the other a distinctive “outer casing” that showed a sketched overview of what it would look like. The body was short and lanky with a bob of wavy black hair. Upon closer inspection the face seemed to take inspiration from Charlie’s, sharing almost all the same features except for the eyes being a smidge larger for even more expressive capabilities. 

Charlie speculated for a bit. The design for the animatronic looked so darn familiar. She cocked her head to the side as she let go of her father in contemplation before grasping Mike’s shoulder and shaking him with a gasp. “Look! It's the Marionette! Doesn't she look good?”

The design Henry gave her was so cutesy. With Henry's plans to retrofit the old AIs into newer bodies, she marveled at the possibilities. Would the public need to know that she was just a robot? Did it matter? After all, Puppet could probably pass for a college girl starting her first internship were she to hang around the Pizzaplex.

“Dad, your genius is showing,” Charlie warned him in a joking manner, soaking in the blueprints and designs for her longtime animatronic friend.

“Is it?” Henry said with a slightly embarrassed laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “Really, making another android isn’t going to be too hard—it’s really just a matter of retrofitting a model you’re not using, finessing the outer casing, then uploading the AI. Although, Freddy already proved that was a big success!”

“Puppet is going to love this,” Freddy praised, peering down at the drawing as well. Gregory was sure to get a kick out of this, and seeing as they needed to wake him up anyway Freddy reasoned this was the perfect opportunity. He gave the boy a light squeeze, speaking softly. “Wake up, superstar; we have something exciting to show you!”

With every step and jostle, Gregory didn't move an inch on his own. It was oddly adorable that Gregory only stirred at the sound of Freddy gently beckoning him back to the waking world. The little man rubbed his eyes, groaning that he’d fallen asleep so easily when he tried to fight it so badly. Barely remembering the last half an hour of their fun in the Pizzaplex, Gregory smacked the drool from his lips with a grumpy look on his face. 

“Huh? Wuzzat?” he muttered, glowing eyes blinking unfocused at the plans on the desk.

Charlie offered a smile, speaking a little louder to try and wake the boy further. “It's going to be Marionette's new model! She'll be able to talk to us now. Isn't that cool, Gregory?”

Charlie burned to know what he thought. Even though she technically designed the first Puppet, she felt bad with how many kids were scared off by one of her best friends. Hopefully this design didn't freak Gregory out too badly—ironically, she noticed how stand-offish he became around humans.

Tilting his head to the side, Gregory scanned the blue paper and accidentally murmured out loud: “It's Charlie, but cuter—”

Which Charlie was quick to react to. She pinched his cheek and shook his face, thoroughly waking him up now as she asked: “What?! What's that supposed to mean, you little twerp—”

Michael snorted, quick to snatch Gregory out of Freddy’s arms and save him from Charlie’s attack. Setting him down and taking on the role of human shield, Mike held out a palm for Gregory to high-five behind his back. “Nice one.”

“I’m glad she has your approval,” Henry said, crossing his arms and leaning casually against the workbench while he watched the interaction with a grin. “I haven’t even showed Mari yet, so you guys were the first opinions I got!”

“Mari?” Michael quirked up an eyebrow, and Henry nodded.

“Mm-hmm; I tried out the nickname last time she was down here and she seemed to like it—I thought it would suit the new look.”

Michael looked at the drawing again, then gave his own nod of approval. “Yeah, it does! She’s going to be really happy, Henry.”

Gregory snickered, sticking his tongue out at Charlie as his brother stepped in to save him from her onslaught. He peeked around Michael's back to glance back at the blueprint. “She was just supposed to be a security robot, right?”

Gregory was heavily attached to the Puppet. She and Charlie had protected him more than a few times. Though he always wondered if it was Charlie's selfless attitude that rubbed off on Mari, or if it was the never-ending protocol of a robot's design that kept them fervently fighting for him when they were bonded... Now, Gregory and the rest could finally pick her brain.

“Oh, she was the best!” Charlie answered for her father. Beaming at her one and only creation and contribution to the Fazbear Family line, she reminisced on the fun they had together. “I don't care if the other kids thought she was creepy! She kept the diner pretty safe. She could play a music box and give out prizes, and she was the first model that could think and react.”

Charlie was attached to the toy in more ways than one. It had become her comfort friend after Evan's passing. Those few months shutting everyone out and just hanging out with the Marionette had turned out to do her more harm than good in the end...

“That she was,” Henry confirmed, patting Charlie’s shoulder. “I think she turned out pretty damn well, all things considered. Oh, oops—pretend I didn’t curse, kiddo.” He flashed a grin at Gregory. “Next time Mari comes down here, I’ll get her approval. Then it’s just a few minor tweaks and we can start working! I’d love for you to help, Mike.”

“Of course!” Michael readily agreed, more surprised his uncle would consider the possibility of him not assisting with something like this. “Gregory can help with the transfer part, too—we’ve got to keep those skills up!”

Freddy listened to the conversation with a smile, glad to see Gregory included. He knew his son would jump at the chance to give more of his robot friends a body just like he’d done for Freddy.

Right—my son.

A slight frown crossed Freddy’s face as he recalled the looming topic at hand. Upon a lull in the conversation, the redhead cleared his throat. “There is another topic we need to discuss tonight before we leave. It involves the children, although I think Henry should be made aware of it as well. Superstar, can you please grab your friends and bring them over?”

Michael ran another hand through Gregory’s hair, though this touch was much softer and soothing. He’d seen the boy tense up at the mention of the pressing topic that, frankly, scared his entire family more than Gregory realized.

For all that Gregory had been preparing for, he felt a self-doubt for one single moment. That was before he felt Michael’s encouraging hand brush through his hair. The look he had been given by his family had bolstered his courage and Gregory gave them a silent but strong nod before running off into the darkness.

“I’ll be right back!” he promised, knowing he could find them even in the blackest shadows.

As his body and mind went through changes, Gregory knew he wasn’t normal anymore. His enhanced eyesight made it easier for him to make out shapes and faces in the dark. It was in one such corner where he found the majority of his spirit friends had gathered. They were hanging around outside the employee entrance in the back of the burned diner.

“Look who finally decided to wake up!” shouted a cheeky Elizabeth, nudging both Evan and Cassidy who resided on either side of her. It only mildly interrupted their game of pretend with the plushies where it looked as if the all the Fazbear characters they gathered had ganged up on the bunny in the middle…

“It’s about time!” Cassidy jeered, looking at Gregory with a short-lived sneer. “We need someone to play Bonnie. Wanna join?”

Gregory spared a laugh at the odd session of pretend. “Hard pass—I actually came to ask you all a favor. Where’s the others?” He stepped closer, looking around for Hannah and the other ghosts he was told had found their ways into their little group.

“Inside; gimme a sec!” Evan volunteered, hopping to his feet and running to the back door. Instead of actually opening it he simply stuck his head through the metal, calling out: “Hey, guys! Gregory’s here!”

Hannah was the first to emerge from the diner, phasing through the door and looking around. Spotting Gregory, her face lit up in a huge grin and she walked over to give him a quick hug. “Hi! I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Hannah—” he said, feeling an involuntary and goofy grin pull at his lips while trying to explain himself. “—I wanted to see you sooner. We had a lot of stuff to do and I couldn’t find you.”

That was when he caught Cassidy whispering into Evan’s ear. Paranoia briefly took hold of him, wondering if his friends could see what Gregory felt was obvious to everyone. But it was really just the old ghost warning Evan about the twins coming by to hoist Gregory from the ground by each arm.

“Hey, Smith, you forgot about us, too!” Quinn gripped, taking an index finger soaked in an odd ectoplasm from being in his mouth and shoving it roughly into Gregory’s ear canal—thoroughly embarrassing him as Gregory attempted to shake from their grasp.

“GROSS! Shit—I’m sorry guys! Kn-Knock it off!” the smaller boy griped, flailing harder with no avail as his face turned a bright red from the shame of still being bullied by the neighborhood goons.

“Stop that!” Hannah snapped, raising both hands and giving the twins an identical smack to the backs of their heads. “It’s not Gregory’s fault any of this happened—it was those psycho bunny furries. We’ve been over this, morons.”

Evan stood between Lizzie and Cassidy, wringing his hands nervously. He liked Hannah—she was sweet and friendly and in a vague sort of way reminded him of how Charlie was in their youth while they were all still alive.

Cain and Quinn, though? They made him anxious. While Hannah reminded him of his kind friend, the boys reminded him of his brother in the prime of his tormenting phase. The twins had quickly been curbed of any real desire to harass Evan after their first “prank” ended up with the boy nearly hyperventilating on the floor, crying as Cassidy lost her absolute mind. She’d only been prevented from beating the ever-loving shit out of them by Hannah and Liz literally holding her back—although they did allow her one solid punch each for them to really learn their lesson. Since then Cain and Quinn were wary of the company Evan kept, and while they didn’t actively go out of their way to avoid him they definitely made a point to only play nice lest his guard-friend attacked again… or worse, they somehow incurred his siblings' wrath.

“OW! Hannah, don’t hit so hard!” shouted Cain, rubbing the back of his head. Neither experienced pain after their deaths, unless it was a corrective smack from one of the other ghosts. As Gregory was dropped to his feet, he furiously rubbed the gross goop leaking from his ear.

“Serves you jerks right! I didn’t even do this to you…” He huffed, cursing himself mentally. They’d never help if he kept insulting them. With a grateful glance sent towards Hannah, Gregory’s head whipped around to hear Lizzie speak up.

“Guys—Gregory was about to ask us something,” she reminded the group, curiously invested in whatever adventure the kid had in store now. He thanked Liz with a curt nod.

“I need your help. It’s… real serious. Those jerks that made me live with them are looking for me.” Gregory spoke with a rare tightness to his voice. Looking back on the twins, their combined shit-eating grins fell into what Gregory assumed was genuine worry. They were annoying and mean, but not heartless.

“You mean Rita and Terry, right? Fuck, dude…” Quinn rubbed the back of his neck. He wouldn’t have picked on Gregory so hard just then if he’d known what was going on. They’d seen firsthand the shit Gregory went through at the hands of his foster parents, and their pranks were literal child’s play in comparison.

At Gregory’s nod of confirmation, Cain spoke up after his brother. “What can we do to help?”

Perking up, Gregory’s smile grew back into a recognizably evil smirk, one that Cassidy picked out right away—as the girl had slowly become the patron saint of mischief within their ranks. “Follow me, and we’ll make a plan together.”

Herding them together, Cassidy couldn’t wait to unleash terror onto Gregory’s old family. They began their short trek back to the workshop portion of the basement towards the only trustworthy adults the group knew.

***

“Alright, while it’s just us, fill me in,” Henry said once Gregory left the room, keeping an eye on the door he’d disappeared through. “What’s going on?”

Freddy let out a heavy sigh. “Gregory’s foster parents have come looking for him.”

There was a heavy pause, in which Henry seemed to be waiting for a follow-up. When Freddy remained quiet, the man scratched his beard, a deep crease between his eyebrows. “Wait, so… this kid you adopted actually has a family?! What the hell were you all thinking?!” 

Charlie’s brows flew up to her hairline, waving her arms to garner her father’s attention. “No! Well—yes? Kind of? They’re his foster family and he ran away from them almost a month ago, Dad. They just now decided they wanted to find him…”

She gulped, hoping her father would agree with their admittedly felonious idea of kidnapping Gregory. Clasping her hands together to appear meek, she implored to Henry's heart. “Please hear us out—we don’t trust the Smiths. When we first found Gregory, he was covered in cuts and bruises…” 

Henry crossed his arms, the epitome of paternal suspicion. “I’m certainly not one to judge questionable life choices, but this is kind of a big deal, guys.” 

“They’re neglecting him, Henry—and god knows what else,” Michael spoke up, gaze cold. “At first we thought the bruises were from him running around the Pizzaplex, but most of them were not fresh. Gregory’s been cagey when we try to ask about his home life, but his foster mom showed up looking for him the other day and he finally told us just how shitty they were. He’s just a paycheck to them.”

“We cannot let him go back to them,” Freddy insisted. “He will be terribly mistreated, and we fear for his safety.”

“Shit, guys…” Pulling off his glasses momentarily, Henry rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I get where you’re coming from, but you can’t just take a child.” 

“He’s going to die in that house,” Michael whispered, looking at Henry with hardened eyes. “I don’t care if he’s immortal or whatever now—if they already mistreated him so badly before he ran away, imagine what they’ll do when they finally get their hands on him again.”

There was another moment of silence, in which Henry replaced his glasses and looked between the three set expressions of his daughter, nephew, and creation-turned-genuine friend. Charlie seemed like she might drop to her knees and beg for help if her dad still said no, Michael had a dark edge behind those pale blue eyes, and Freddy… Henry let out an involuntary shiver. The normally serene man looked like he was about to march into that foster home himself and take matters into his own hands, which were clenched so tightly in a poor display of controlled rage the knuckles were white.

“Okay… okay,” Henry finally relented with a heavy sigh. He placed a firm, reassuring palm on Freddy’s shoulder as he told the group: “Fine. I can see how serious this situation is, and I’d be a heartless bastard to send the kid back to such a place… so before Freddy makes headlines for committing double homicide, tell me this plan of yours.”

“I would never—” Freddy began, though before he could proclaim his intent the gaggle of kids arrived in the doorway. He recognized all but two, yet another set of twins to add to their rag-tag band of lost souls. Freddy rightfully assumed these to be the other missing kids Charlie and Michael pulled from the depths of the Pizzaplex with Hannah.

Hannah herself initially brightened at the sight of more friendly faces, although when her gaze fell upon Freddy the expression slipped. She didn’t recognize this guy, though she could only presume him to be a friend. Still she leaned into Gregory, lightly tugging his arm. “Who’s the redhead in the sweater?” 

Gregory saw the unease on her face and decided to pat her shoulder, pointing at Freddy with a jut of his thumb.

“That's Freddy! Long story; he's my dad now,” he made sure to clarify, though it probably only led to more questions. Unaware of the tumultuous talk they all just had, he reintroduced the groups. “Okay so, now that we're all here, I have something to ask you guys...”

He separated himself to stand alone. He hoped to get everyone's attention easier this way. It started with a deep breath and eyes staring ahead like headlights to focus on how he wanted to explain this.

“I won't go home. Not back with my foster parents. I'd run away again and again until I'm eighteen or something happens to my legs.” Gregory spoke with a straight face, utterly serious. “If they find me, chances are something would happen to my legs. So I need everyone's help to get them away from me. Please...”

“...They hurt you?” Evan's small voice was the first one to break the silence. He wore an uncharacteristically blank expression, save for the little crease between his eyebrows.

“Badly,” Michael clarified, arms crossed as he leaned back against Henry's desk. It may have seemed like a casual pose, but it was really to keep him from bouncing his limbs in an anxious rhythm. Evan's gaze shifted between his brothers before he gave a resolute nod.

“I'm in,” he said, offering his twin a little smile. “I can do all the ghost stuff too, so just tell me what you need, Gregory.”

“Same here,” Hannah offered, raising a hand. She couldn't imagine anyone wanting to harm Gregory, let alone his supposed parents... It made her queasy to think about. “I wanna help, too.”

Freddy slipped a hand into Charlie's and squeezed, silently reassuring—and needing a bit of reassurance himself—that they were doing the right thing. He hated putting children up for such a task, but for now this really was the best thing they could think of that was both fast and effective. Who knew how much time they had before the Smiths called in some real authority to come poking around the Pizzaplex?

“Of course I'm in, obviously,” Lizzie added, shoving herself aside Evan in solidarity. Cassidy joined in wordlessly besides her friends, as any plan of revenge was something she could get behind. All that was left was the twins, both whom looked at each other with a resolute nod.

“We already said we’d help,” Cain replied, shrugging simultaneously with his brother.

“Yeah—” Quinn agreed, knowing they wouldn't have anything better to do. The Smiths deserved whatever was coming to them anyway. If they just treated Gregory right, the kid wouldn’t have tried to sneak away and then he and Cain would never have never followed him into the Pizzaplex. “—what's the plan, Smith?”

The planning phase was where Gregory drew a blank. “I-I was thinking of scaring them. You know? Like, maybe even make them think I died—then there’s no reason to keep looking for me, right?”

“Just scare them?” Cassidy asked. She’d begun doing that thing Gregory hated, where her face flattened and turned the slightest bit uncanny when she spoke, intentionally adding fear to any conversation she was having. “You're thinking small—let’s hurt them so they never come sniffing around here again.”

Gregory was unsure on how to feel about the suggestion, answering honestly as he crossed his arms.

“I'd be lying if I said I never thought of that. But... I...” He trailed off, unable to think of a reason why he shouldn't when they’d hurt him so much over the years.

“Hurting them is definitely going to bring on some unwanted attention,” Michael chimed in, trying not to be unnerved when seven sets of little eyes turned on him. When some of them started to glare he held up his palms, adding: “I'm not saying you can't rough them up a little if you need to, but you can't seriously injure them.”

“Michael's right,” Henry spoke up, surprising everyone with his apparent willingness to go along with their little scheme. “No grave harm or injury—that's not up for debate. As for how much you can scare them, well... we want to make sure they think Gregory’s beyond recovery, so however we can do that without also sending them running for police would be ideal.”

“Um... I'm not totally sure how we'd do that yet, but maybe I can pretend to be Gregory?” Evan suggested with a questioning tilt of his head. “I can look pretty scary if I want to—like Cassidy and the others.”

Michael tried to hide the involuntary wince as he thought about what that “scary” look would be. If it was like the twins, then that meant it would be a spitting image of the moment Evan was as good as dead after being pulled from the jaws of Golden Freddy. If Gregory's foster parents saw their son looking like that, Michael doubted they'd want to stick around...

Gregory rubbed his chin in thought, nodding to Evan. Time would tell if pretending he'd been horribly murdered would work out, though he doubted Terry and Rita would go to the police in Gregory's honor should they draw that conclusion.

“If you could pretend to be a dead me, then could the rest of you guys scare them out of the Pizzaplex?” Gregory asked, looking towards Hannah and the rest. “If they show their faces here and all.”

Raising an eyebrow, he wondered how someone like her could be scary. The twins were scary even without having to change their appearances, though for completely different reasons. Those two psychos would chase you down the street with lit roman candles aimed at you head just for looking at them weird. Hannah might be too sweet and docile for this operation. “Hannah quick—what’s the spookiest face you can make right now?”

All it took was a blink for Hannah's sweet face to change. The features underneath remained the same, though there was a sudden rush of dark, dripping blood that leaked out of the corner of her mouth, along with identical streams of red from her eyes, irises bloodshot and cold. Her throat turned dark and bruised, imprinted with the thin metallic fingers of the endoskeleton that choked the life out of her. It had shaken her for good measure, which added a crick in her neck that caused the expanding blood trails to drift slightly to the right.

“How's this?” she murmured in a voice gravely from torn vocal cords. Her stringy hair was still in a ponytail, though it now appeared greasy and unkempt. Coupled with her greyish pallor, she was most definitely dead.

“Fuck...,” Michael whispered so quietly only Henry standing right by his side could hear. His uncle was quick to slip an arm around Michael's shoulders and pull him close, looking to the ground with a pained expression. Seeing one of the ghost children like this brought back the feeling of dark hatred and regret deep in their souls for everything William had done that led to this moment.

When a warm droplet fell upon Gregory’s lip he knew the stress of seeing Hannah in turn had given him a nosebleed. Feeling the warm red trickle down his face, Gregory quickly wiped at his mouth and fervently nodded.

“Yep—that’ll definitely—oh man... Hannah, holy crap that's good,” he praised despite the shiver of terror racing up his spine.

If the scares from Cassidy and Evan taught him anything, it was that none of them were in any pain no matter how grotesque it looked. Knowing Freddy might freak out, Charlie had risen fast on her tiptoes to quickly shield his eyes before the image of Hannah broken and bloodied flooded his vision. Gregory came forward, unafraid after forcing himself to stare at her twisted neck and battered face he patted the side of her now damp feeling hair.

“Okay bring back normal Hannah, you're going to make my brother sick,” he laughed, trying to keep it light despite the content of their plan-making. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to feel uncomfortable because of the things he asked his ghost friends to do. 

Another blink and Hannah was back to her usual self, albeit with a tinge of red to her cheeks from Gregory's comment. Choosing not to address it right now, she glanced towards where Evan stood next to his sister, looking completely unfazed by her transformation. “Huh? He's fine!”

“Our other brother,” Evan clarified, jerking his chin to Michael's gaunt face.

“Oh. Uh... sorry,” Hannah grimaced, realizing that, ironically, the adults seemed more disturbed than the kids about this whole thing.

“It's fine, you're... you're all good,” Michael reassured with a shaky smile, disentangling himself from Henry. “That's definitely going to be perfect for what we're trying to do, though.”

Meanwhile, Freddy murmured his thanks to Charlie for saving him from such a horrific sight, squeezing her hand that was still clutched in his own. Focusing on the kids now that the traumatic image was past, Freddy told them: “This plan is starting to come together, I believe—Evan will be Gregory's doppelganger to convince the Smiths that he is deceased, and the others can be staged at certain points. That way, we can assure they only go where we want them to go.”

Cassidy raised her hand with a valid point to make.

“Okay, sure! We can scare them no problem. But what are you guys going to do?” Cassidy asked, resting a fist on her hip as she and using Evan's shoulder as a rest for her opposite elbow.

Removing her hands from Freddy's person, Charlie cleared her throat and garnered Cassidy's attention easily. “Either keeping Gregory safe somewhere, or helping out in the scaring! As long as one of us is following them, we can guide them through the Pizzaplex and back out again in no time.”

Gregory had a devious smile on his face. “I really can't thank you guys enough—”

When the twins ambushed Gregory, this time a little less roughly. Quinn's arm squeezed Gregory around his shoulder while Cain messed with his hair.

“Don't thank us yet!” Cain warned him, though he was grinning even as he said it.

“Yeah,” Quinn agreed, matching his brother’s expression. “The only ones allowed to wail on you should’ve been us, anyway...”

“Alright!” Michael clapped his hands, finally flashing the group a real grin. “Ideally they won't show their ugly faces around here again, but if they do then the plan is on.” He spared a glance at Charlie and Freddy. “We should fill Sam in—think he's had enough time to rest?”

“I hope that boy isn't overworking himself again,” Henry sighed, raising an eyebrow at Charlie for confirmation.

It was Michael that answered brightly. “Oh, he sure is—but I'm trying my best to force him to take naps here and there. He's not nearly as young and spry as the rest of us! Anyway, speaking of rest, we should head back to the hotel.”

It was no doubt that Sam was hit with another wave of insomnia, spurring on yet another restless night of work inside his office. Though it would be assumed he would love to see his family and friends before they headed off to their hotel room again. And if Gregory was promised that they would return tomorrow night for another round of fun, then he would easily part with his friends for now. Gregory was put down by the twins, awkwardly saying goodbye to his newest and unlikely allies before feeling Liz’s arms wrap around his chest from behind.

“Take care, Gregory! You can show Evan and I the rest of the Pizzaplex tomorrow!” she said with a wink, relinquishing him after a hearty squeeze.

While Cassidy wasn’t a touchy person even with people she was extremely close with, only seeming to latch to Evan from time to time, she bumped her fist to Gregory’s with an excited smile. It was Hannah’s turn now, and Gregory opened his arms to give the girl a short embrace goodbye.

“You can come hang out tomorrow too, you know… If you want to,” Gregory said, pulling back to scratch the back of his head.

“Sounds like fun!” Hannah replied, clasping her hands behind her and rolling back on her heels after Gregory pulled away. “See you soon, Gregory.”

“Bye!” Evan piped up next, popping out of existence and reappearing directly in front of Gregory, where he’d jump the boy in an embrace that nearly knocked him over. When he stepped back there was a hard light of determination in his eyes. No one messed with his family and got away with it unscathed. “We’re gonna get this taken care of, don’t worry.”

Henry had been saying his own goodbyes, grabbing Charlie in a tight hug and pressing a kiss to her head. He repeated the gesture with Michael, although he had to force the boy down in a bit of a headlock to reach his crown. To Freddy and Gregory he offered a firm squeeze without the added kiss. After a few last farewells, the group started making their way back to the surface.

“Let’s go, Romeo,” Michael murmured when Gregory lingered in the workshop doorway. Silver eyes snapped up to find Mike wearing a knowing smirk, though he’d been sure to speak soft enough the other kids wouldn’t hear as they broke away to start another round of tireless games. 

Gregory was thankful for Evan's assuring words. He was a lot like their older brother in the way he was considerate of others feelings—even if Michael hadn’t always acted that way, it appeared to be something that ran in the family. Then, Gregory was beckoned away by the very same man. With his eyes widening and a bright pink flush apparent still on his cheeks he shushed Michael as if he hadn't already spoken quietly. As he caught back up to his father and Charlie, Gregory waved goodbye to Mr. Emily. Then it was back to slipping his hand into someone else's for comfort once again—this time it happened to be Charlie's and she turned to look over her shoulder at Michael, then back down at Gregory. It was time to pick on their little brother again it seemed.

“So Hannah's pretty cool, huh?” She asked, trying to gauge a reaction from Gregory. Taken aback by her question, Gregory stuttered then quickly recovered to answer her.

“Huh? Uh... Yeah? Hannah's super cool. All of my friends are.” He cleared his throat, looking around for something to change the subject. “Can we get waffles when we go back home?”

Michael snorted, amused by his little brother’s horrible attempt to deflect. Even so he decided to go easy on Gregory for now because of his stressful situation—though not without slipping in one final quip.

“Waffles sounds good—and this isn’t over, kid,” Michael both threatened and promised. Though Gregory’s crush on a ghost girl was morbid and unfortunate, it was also kind of sweet. Reaching out, Michael aggressively ruffled the boy’s hair, much to his chagrin.

Before long they’d reached Sam’s office, where the CEO could be heard busily shuffling around inside. Michael knocked on the door with a frown, calling out: “That doesn’t sound like sleeping, Sam!”

At Sam's door, there sounded to be the banging and subsequent falling of metal onto a rubberized floor. Sam's office/workshop used to echo with the clattering of metallic parts until he coated his floor in liquid rubber. Having been thoroughly startled like a child caught playing video games late on a school night, he shouted back.

“Uh—just straightening up, Mikey!” Sam replied, attempting to straighten the endoskeleton he was working on and to shove it away in hiding. 

“I’m not your dad, Sam, relax!” Mike laughed, entertained as always by his childhood friend. Although he really did wish Sam would take better care of himself—Michael had only been partially joking with the comment about Sammy being legitimately old compared to the rest of them. When the door was opened a minute later the group stepped into a room that looked in quite a state of disarray. “Damn, Sammy, if this is ‘straightening up’ I’d hate to see it before the bomb hit…”

“Michael, leave him be,” Freddy chided gently, having a soft spot in his heart for Sam and his messy workshop. Like father, like son it seemed, for Henry’s wasn’t much better. Addressing his creator, Freddy offered a smile. “We have spoken with the other children and made a plan for dealing with the Smiths if they come around searching again, so you do not need to worry about that, Samuel.”

Sam couldn't say he blamed Mike for his reaction to his workspace. It seemed he was falling into his father's old habits of hoarding spare parts and broken things he’d promised to fix whenever he had the time.

“It's a pigsty, I know...,” Samuel said with a sort of defeated laugh, as if rhetorically asking, 'Well what can ya do?' He rose from his workbench and did some light stretching to relieve the ache he now felt in his joints. “I got a quick fifteen minutes of sleep in before the stress of this deadline woke me up again.”

This was his life now—the path he'd chosen when deciding to take up the family mantle. No wonder his dad needed Uncle William in the beginning. Doing it all by himself felt impossible some days... Though Samuel did physically relax when Freddy relayed that there was a plan put in place for Gregory's so called “parents.”

“Good—see? Told you that you're in good hands, kiddo,” Sam said to their shared responsibility, Gregory, before glancing to Mike. “If they come around, they'll likely want to talk to me. Can I trust to have my Security Guard slash Parts & Service manager around to help?”

He already knew his friend had his back. If Michael was more versed in the plan, he could take care of the Smiths should they show up again.

“Of course; I'll try and stick close by, but if you ever need me and I'm off on an adventure just give me a call,” Michael replied, patting the pocket where his phone rested. His mouth quirked up in a grin. “Luckily for you, this guard doesn't need nearly as much sleep as his boss.”

Freddy breathed out a relieved sigh, pressing a hand to his chest. Now that Sammy was on board with the plan to an extent, the ursine man realized he'd been holding in a lot more tension than initially anticipated. He leaned down to pick Gregory up, doubting his son would protest the affection as they shared a hug before Freddy rested the boy on his hip.

“Thank you again for all of this, Sam,” Freddy said, unable to fully express his gratitude. He wasn't just talking about the help with Gregory's foster parents, but for accepting their story and building the Pizzaplex in the first place. Without Sammy, this Freddy wouldn't exist. “We are indebted to you—truly.”

Samuel listened to them, leaning on his desk while trying to hide just how tired he really was before waving his hands meekly in front of his chest.

“No no, I-I'm just trying to make things right. No one's indebted to anyone here,” he protested in the most polite way possible.

The generosity of the Emilys really knew now boundaries; all of them would give up the shirts on their backs and the roofs over their heads if you asked nice enough. Sam saw that his security measures failed—many children's lives were ruined because of his negligence. If he could make their afterlives better along with Gregory's then maybe he could still manage to sleep at night.

If he found the time...

“Still... You work too hard...,” Charlie said, sounding worried for her brother. He wasn't a young man anymore, and the stress he was pushing himself for just didn't seem healthy to her.

“Charlotte,” Sam told her firmly, there was no arguing with him, he was simply too nice to want to draw that line in the sand. “You are a good sister, but I'm fine. Look at me!”

To which Charlie looked him up and down with wholly unconvinced expression.

“Well that's clearly bull, but I don't want to offend Freddy's sensibilities by arguing,” Michael joked, though there was an edge in the harsh pat he gave Sam's shoulder. “Just make sure you're taking care of yourself, alright?”

“Yes, I would be more than willing to assist where I can as well!” Freddy piped up, feeling a strange twinge of inadequacy. He'd been expected to do so much as the ursine leader of the Fazbear band, and yet now that he was human it seemed like his current existence had devolved into watching over others.

Not that he minded, of course—that'd been his favorite thing to do as an animatronic bear, to look after the children that came to see him. But he just knew he could be doing more...

“Freddy, you're amazing—trust me,” Michael assured, flashing him a grin. “None of us would be where we are right now without you, either. Give yourself a little more time to relax before jumping back in. And you—” He whirled around, pointing an accusing finger at Sam. “—better get some sleep, or I'm going to turn the lights off and sic Moon on you to drag you to the Daycare.”

…That actually didn’t sound too bad.

“Freddy,” Sam laughed, flashing his extended family a tired smile. “If you ever want a job, I could use a new stage director. You’ve got all the cues and controls programmed in your head already so I wouldn't have to train anyone.”

Actually, that would clear up his schedule even more. With the youthful and accusing face of Mike staring him down, Samuel stood and cracked his aching fingers.

“You're right. I'll go hit the hay. Maybe sleep until noon... Day shift should be able to handle the salvage project and get everyone's parts together,” he grumbled in thought. “I hate to send you off, but my manager thinks it's best to sleep before I keel over.”

He laughed, coming around to pat on Freddy's shoulder. Sam would say his goodbyes, and the moment his family was gone he'd exit his office and lock the door behind him. No one needed to see what he was working on in there, and he didn't need the opportunity for someone to come by and mess with his ongoing creations. Sam went down to the Daycare and slid into the ball pit, happy to see the lights were already off and waiting for him.

With Freddy ecstatic at the prospect of working at the Pizzaplex again, the family set off for the hotel in high spirits. There they would get a multitude of plates piled high with waffles and laugh the rest of the night away until they drifted off to sleep one by one, safe in each other's company.

***

Previous Chapter ~~ Next Chapter (Coming soon)

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[msfbgraves]

Daniel doesn't move. "I'm not going back, Pop." He ducks together. "I know what you're about to say. Think of us, your puppies, but Pop, I can't trust him, if I go back, he'll think this is fine, that he can -"

"Sh." 

"Papa, è importante! If I go back, he'll think he can hurt me. I've seen it everywhere. Not this week, but in a few months, a year - he'll think that's all he's risking, a few days alone, Madonna mia, I can't do that, Pop, please -"

LITERALLY STRUGGLE READING THIS BECAUSE MY FAVOURITE BABY BOY IS HURT SO BAD AND MY FAVOURITE EVIL SNAKE MAN DID THIS TO HIM AND I WANNA DIE  AKDJFHEIFB

He’s so scared and it hurts to read this. And what’s worse is that what Daniel says is so true too many times—do it once, why shouldn’t they do it again? Just wait a little while then [your spouse] is yours to take again…

I can’t imagine what it took for Daniel to let Terry touch him again, and to open up his body to him. 

I can't yet answer what it took for Daniel to let Terry touch him, but I can give you a sense of why he would even want be in the same room after all this:

Was there ever a good choice?

He's staring around his childhood bedroom, Daniel Silver, formerly LaRusso, thinking of the teenager he'd been, unburdened by any sense of purpose. Yes, he had to finish school, but that went for everyone, and whether it would have been in an Alpha/beta one or, as it turned out, as an omega, was all the same to him. He wanted a good time, didn't he, and he could make sure he had one, that's what he'd thought. Making grand plans, like his brother Michael, seemed like a headache and a half. People died so suddenly, so cheaply in his life, why bother? In fact, he remembers this sense of relief, of protection in it, omega life – something he felt he'd been seeking anyway, before he knew that's what he'd be.

Was that one thing too much to ask?

Pop, Nessa, Michael, Terry – they all demanded the world, and they got their piece of it, because of Daniel doing his duty. People had been big on that, at school even, duty, duty, duty, for the sacrfices others would make, for him, they'd all promised.

As far as he could see, nobody had sacrificed anything, nobody but him.

He'd fought, fought so hard, for a life with Kumiko, and people would laugh at him for it, and she, too, she never saw it. She'd had her dream, her solace, already.

And was he allowed to even need it, solace, for all he had been given, all his pups – look at his Gianni, asleep in his cot after crying with delight in his arms the whole afternoon. Oh, how good he'd smelled.

...like Terry.

Daniel didn't want to think about it, the sacrifice that was his marriage, not now, not ever, because that hurt – hurt still, even though the bitemark should have made it all OK, should have helped him sink into the naturalness of it all, the God ordained perfection of Alpha and omega. And he had, so why...

Why had Terry torn him out of that?

Why was he not good enough...?

Perhaps he could get that from him, get one little thing, one thing that was only his.

Why, Terry Silver?

...By all the saints, why?

[nightwingshero]

Whitney for the OC asks!

Thank you, lovely!

01. Full name: Whitney Angelica Young Seed. 02. Best friend: Rowan Palmer...formerly. They grew up together and used to be best friends. They were close up until it was revealed that Whitney was actually married to Joseph and was the Mother of Eden's Gate. After that...she really doesn't have one. I guess John is the only sibling she truly got along with, and then once Wren's married to John...I guess there is some sort of friendship that her and Wren develop. Its complicated. 03. Sexuality: Closeted bisexual 04. Favorite color: Gold or pale pink 05. Relationship status: Married to Joseph Seed 06. Ideal mate: A caring significant other that puts her first and will sweep her off her feet. Secretly digs the strong male vibe like from those romance novel covers. 07. Turn-ons: Power or someone in charge...or her being in charge...or her being dominated and told what to do...there's a lot to unpack there...also the whole "doing something we're not supposed to"....also a lot to unpack there...also someone that can honestly sweet talk her. 08. Favorite food: Apple pie 09. Crushes: Lowkey might have a thing for Sharky or Pratt, but will go to the deepest fiery pits of Hell before ever admitting it. But she's mostly devoted to Joseph. 10. Favorite music: Country or gospel. Classical as well...can't imagine her reaction when she is forced to listen to Wren or Jane's music... 11. Biggest fear: I think for Whitney, her biggest fear is to pretty much...be insignificant, in a way. I think she clings so hard to what Nancy wants her to be and what Joseph wants her to be, that she has this ongoing fear of being replaced and not being good enough, which is another reason her and Wren are so alike and yet so different. I think also that there is a fear deep down that all she will be good for is a trophy. Its part of why she dislikes Faith so much--Faith is a Herald...and Whitney isn't. She wants to be something more, she wants to have control and power, and she is afraid that she will be powerless and...not amount to anything her whole life. 12. Biggest fantasy: For Joseph to have her by his side as equals and have him solely devoted to her. To have a more normal, white picket fence marriage without having to constantly live their lives devoted to the Project. But she would never admit that. 13. Bad habits: I would say poisoning people would be a good one. Let's put that at the top of the list. I don't see her as someone that would do things like bite her nails (they're perfectly manicured) or anything. Maybe she over does it with the cooking when she's letting her emotions get in the way. Its kinda wasteful and there have been moments where some have wondered if Gluttony would be her sin...it is not. 14. Biggest regret: I think her biggest regret is constantly living her life the way Nancy wanted her to. And yes, that does include marrying Joseph. Like, don't get me wrong, they have their own twisted somewhat sweet at times type of love that just...I don't know, I guess it works for them until it doesn't. But I think Whitney feels like she should have taken her chance at freedom when she had it while going to college in Helena. She wants to be something more than a trophy religious cult wife. 15. Best kept secrets: the fact that she was the Mother of Eden's Gate the entire time of the Reaping and before that, and none of the resistance, including Wren and Rowan, had a fucking clue. Wanna know why the Seeds always seemed to find her so easily after doing shit? A lot of the time, it was because Whitney would tip them off. When shit got too dicey in the Henbane though, Joseph called her back to his Compound...but when that shit came out...not good. Another one would be all the people she's killed with just poisoning them. And nobody knows about it. 16. Last thought: "What should I wear to the next sermon? Is white too similar to Faith? Bless her heart Oh shoot, I wonder if my casserole is done, I need to check on that..." 17. Worst romantic experience: 18. Biggest insecurity: 19. Weapon of choice: 20. Role Model:

[gardenofdelete998]

From the diary of Lady Murasaki, author of The Tale of Genji, thought to be the first novel ever written:

Having no excellence within myself, I have passed my days without making any special impression on any one. Especially the fact that I have no man who will look out for my future makes me comfortless. I do not wish to bury myself in dreariness. Is it because of my worldly mind that I feel lonely? On moonlight nights in autumn, when I am hopelessly sad, I often go out on the balcony and gaze dreamily at the moon. It makes me think of days gone by. People say that it is dangerous to look at the moon in solitude, but something impels me, and sitting a little withdrawn I muse there. In the wind-cooled evening I play on the koto, though others may not care to hear it. I fear that my playing betrays the sorrow which becomes more intense, and I become disgusted with myself – so foolish and miserable am I.

My room is ugly, blackened by smoke. [...] A pair of big bookcases have in them all the books they can hold. In one of them are placed old poems and romances. They are the homes of worms which come frightening us when we turn the pages, so none ever wish to read them. [Editor: Perhaps her own writings, she speaks so slightingly of them.] As to the other cabinet, since the person who placed his own books there [Editor: Her husband who was a scholar in Chinese literature. He died in 1001. It is now 1008.] no hand has touched it. When I am bored to death I take out one or two of them; then my maids gather around me and say: "Your life will not be favoured with old age if you do such a thing! Why do you read Chinese? Formerly even the reading of sutras was not encouraged for women." They rebuke me in behind my back. [...]

Pretty and coy, shrinking from sight, unsociable, proud, fond of romance, vain and poetic, looking down upon others with a jealous eye – such is the opinion of those who do not know me, but after seeing me they say, "You are wonderfully gentle to meet with; I cannot identify you with that imagined one." I see that I have been slighted, hated, and looked down upon as an old gossip, and I must bear it, for it is my destiny to be solitary. The Queen said once, "You were ever mindful not to show your soul, but I have become more intimate with you than others."

[princeofgod-2021]

LIGHT OF LIFE 391

John 1:4

UNDERSTANDING PROPHETIC MANDATES 25: SOURCE OF PROPHECY

Amo 3:7 CERTAINLY, THE ALMIGHTY LORD DOESN'T DO ANYTHING UNLESS HE FIRST REVEALS HIS SECRET TO HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS. GW

Why is the SOURCE important after you have proven the CONTENT?

If you bought Mango, and you are sure [at a glance] that it is original Mango, are you commonly wary of who sells it to you, or what market you buy it from?

Yes!

Because they can inject poison into the Original Fruit.

Joh 9:29 We are certain that God gave his word to Moses: but AS FOR THIS MAN, WE HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE WHERE HE COMES FROM. BBE

Those were Pharisees: men who were supposed to be leaders of the Church, speaking to a common street man and rejecting Jesus [Himself] on grounds of OBSCURE ORIGIN.

Imagine the ONE, of whom all True PROPHECIES Testify, being rejected.

But the man’s answer is intriguing.

Joh 9:30 The man answered, "What a strange thing that is! YOU DO NOT KNOW WHERE HE COMES FROM, BUT HE CURED ME OF MY BLINDNESS! GNB

The man was indicating that a source may not be known but at least potent and sound result is obtained, hence the source must be viable, reliable and authentic.

If you didn’t know the source of the Mango you ate, at least you rest secured if it served you its basic goodness.

Someone else also questioned the Origin of Jesus.

Mat 11:2-3 Now, while John the Baptizer was in prison, he heard about what Christ was doing among the people, so he sent his disciples to ask him this question: “ARE YOU REALLY THE ONE PROPHESIED WOULD COME, OR SHOULD WE STILL WAIT FOR ANOTHER?” TPT

Quite a shock that the forerunner of Jesus himself should raise such an embarrassing question [in public] about his master.

Well, Jesus answered almost like the formerly blind man above.

Mat 11:4-6 Jesus answered them, “GO TELL JOHN WHAT YOU HEAR AND SEE: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them – and BLESSED IS ANYONE WHO TAKES NO OFFENSE AT ME!” NET

If the devil can move men to become offended and conflicted over the source of that which is authentic, what hope is there for such, of ever distinguishing what is right from wrong?

Jesus clearly points out again, that the potency of his work declares the authenticity of its Source.

Joh 14:11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. OR BELIEVE BECAUSE OF THE MIRACLES I HAVE DONE. ERV

Satan understands perfectly the impact that “source authentication” can do to people’s minds.

When God sent Moses and he doubted if the people would believe that God had sent him to them, God told him to perform some very unusual miracles.

Exo 4:1-2 "They will never believe me or listen to me!" Moses protested. "THEY WILL SAY, 'THE LORD DIDN'T APPEAR TO YOU.'" Then the LORD asked him, "What's that in your hand?" He answered, "A SHEPHERD'S STAFF." GW

Confirmation of Source is so important, that God had to systematically arrange three Miraculous signs, in specific order, to convince the people that Moses, the Prophet, was SENT from their God.

Exo 4:9 IF IN SPITE OF THESE TWO MIRACLES THEY STILL WILL NOT BELIEVE YOU, AND IF THEY REFUSE TO LISTEN TO WHAT YOU SAY, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the ground. The water will turn into blood." GNB

You need to understand the perspective here: “if they won’t believe you with the things you brought along with you: the staff and your hands-in-clothes, then use water from Nile River, where they have dwelt all their lives”.

Exo 4:30-31 and Aaron told them what the LORD had sent Moses to say. THEN MOSES WORKED THE MIRACLES FOR THE PEOPLE, AND EVERYONE BELIEVED. They bowed down and worshiped the LORD BECAUSE THEY KNEW THAT HE HAD SEEN THEIR SUFFERING AND WAS GOING TO HELP THEM. CEV

Why should “Source Authentication” be so important?

Because someone else could also come to them with false prophecy and “magic”, to give them impressions of being some special god(s).

Act 8:9-10 Now, there was a man who lived there who was STEEPED IN SORCERY. FOR SOME TIME HE HAD ASTOUNDED THE PEOPLE OF SAMARIA WITH HIS MAGIC, BOASTING TO BE SOMEONE GREAT. Everyone, from the least to the greatest among them, was DAZZLED BY HIS SORCERY, SAYING, “THIS MAN IS THE GREATEST WIZARD OF ALL! THE DIVINE POWER OF GOD WALKS AMONG US!” TPT

Next time, we will peruse why Prophecies have to be confirmed by Signs and Wonders sometimes, as I pray that God will profoundly prove Himself to you in all things, IN JESUS NAME.

Come back on Monday, for more of this insightful and enlightening Sub-Subtopic.

Keep Shinning!

Brother Prince

Friday, August 11, 2023

08055125517; 08023904307

[bilbobagginshome]

A Deadbeats’s Journal 26

A Jotaro Kujo x Blackfemreader fic 

Third person Narration.

Following the outburst, Emmanuel never spoke to her again. He never even attempted to make her life more difficult and instead remained neutral. He’d hand over assignments when given and would politely answer questions when instructed. Y/n may have struggled a bit more in class but as the days turned to weeks, immersion enabled her to have a greater grasp at the language, much greater than that when she worked at starfish. 

“Someone knows how to hold a grudge.” Patience remarks after they finish with removing the maize from the cob. Abdul had the bright idea to make birria tacos entirely from scratch and suddenly their formerly peaceful Saturday has turned into a learning session on how to make flour with your food processor (It's relatively easy).

“WHO?” Abdul says aloud as he switches the noisy processor once on.

“Y/N STUDENT!.” She responds back in similar volume.

“Just let him finish grinding before you decide on airing out my dirty laundry.” Y/n annoyingly mutters as the machine comes to a halt.

“He’s a 17 year old who everyone calls Manuel except Y/n. They had surprisingly gotten close until I mentioned that she shouldn’t be paying him for T.A. services.Y/n got mad, they had a fall out and he has refused to talk to her outside classroom etiquette”

“Whoa, why wouldn’t you pay the boy?”he says in shock whilst kneading the dough

“Patience said that they can use it to buy drugs and kickstart another cartel in the area.”Y/n says calmly

“I did not.I only said that they can buy drugs, you filled up the gaps with your whimsical, pessimistic imagination!” Patience retaliates, almost throwing the cob she held crashing to her premade maize seeds.

“You implied it” Y/n retaliates in annoyance.

“No I did not , Before you got all hot headed, I was to suggest an alternative solution” Patience mumbles.

“Which was?”

“Setting him up with a minor’s bank account to analyse his monthly transactions and notice an unusual fluctuation.”Patience knowingly advices

“Oh” 

“Yeah, ‘Oh’ now this argument with him is all on you” Patience rubs it in by pulling her tongue out mockingly.

Suddenly the phone rings and Y/n snatches it and runs to the balcony. Once their sliding windows are fastened, she responds with a slightly gleeful tone.

“Hi Jojo”

“Hi my love” He says tiredly.

“How have you been?”

“Tired , the ride from Zanzibar to Mocimboa was hectic. But I’m glad I made it in time, it's a quiet city yet beautiful in its old town architecture.”

“That’s wonderful. I hope you enjoy yourself there.”

“How can I enjoy myself when you are literally miles away? It takes so much willpower for me not to book a flight and see you.”he sadly admits and Y/n’s breath hitches.

“I thought you loved this Indiana Jones -esque adventure.” Y/n says lightheartedly.

“I did, before I realised how lonely I’d get. I can’t stand the emptiness I feel. I see people with their loved ones and think to myself that it would have been me if I didn’t attempt to run away. Would it have been bad to just stay where we were my love? We’d have been so happy.”Jotaro chokes out the last of his sentences. Y/n sits on the cold tiles, perplexed but most importantly pained. She’s never seen him so open to his thoughts, being blunt and exposing recently hurt scars are two different things and he exposed his bleeding flesh to her.

“I can always come to you, Say the word,I’ll be there.” Y/n assures after a short silence.

“No baby , you enjoy your days with your friends, I’m just down.” He calmly reassures despite his tone implying anything other than those bitter words he said out loud.

“Come over, even if it's just for five days, you can’t stay alone. Just come over, We didn’t mean we’d never see each other throughout the year. I’d have visited you were it not for the fact that I’m still relatively new.”Y/n insisted, pout stretching her downturn face even more.

“What about Patience and Abdul? I’d feel intrusive” He questions waringly

“If I have to put on noise cancelling ear muffs whenever they come home with someone,they can afford to give me some space with you. Besides we’re celibate, what’s the big deal?” Y/n questions with even more confusion.

“That’s not what… anyway it's fine. I’ll find my way to you soon.”He says in a slight sigh, mouth curling up to smile wider at her implication.

“Thank you! I can’t wait!” She cheers afterwards as he chuckles out , the tense atmosphere dissipating as Y/n exchanges a series of events , minus her abrupt resignation that leaves Jotaro chuckling at her exaggerated display of each occurrence between them 

“I need to sleep, Will you let me sleep?” Jotaro softly questions as another anecdote winds down.

“‘Oh I almost forgot about the time difference, Okay I’ll let you go, see you soon I hope?” Y/n replies, the ending notes of her sentence having a softer response.

“Very soon. I love you.”

“I love you too.” 

And she cuts the call. Mind euphoric with the possibility of seeing her boyfriend again. Suddenly she realises a thought and slams the door open and dashes back to the kitchen, the duo is almost done with the tortillas, meat already ready for consumption.

“So nice of you to finally join us once more, my liege. Your chefs have been hard at duty preparing a meal that only your royal mouth should access.”Patience mockingly states in an awful imitation of Victorian English, as soon as she steps to the kitchen.

“How wonderful ! Perhaps tonight I may let you see your families if all goes well.”Y/n responds unruffled.

“How kind of you!” Abdul inserts himself with another subpar attempt.

“Anyways , Jojo is coming.” Y/n says with a small smile as she reinserts herself in the conveyor belt of rolling , pan frying and sitting the tortillas.

“Really? When?” Patience asks in slight shock as she fails at rolling another tortilla in a perfect circle

“You both can’t stand even a month passing without seeing one another huh?” Abdul laughs out as he flips over one.

“He seems  a bit down and if I will be the cause of his happiness, so be it.”Y/n responds as she sticks out her tongue to him.

“You? cause of happiness? Weren’t we discussing Emmanuel just an hour ago?” Patience references in mock.

“Jotaro considers me his sunshine, everyone else’s opinion pales in comparison”She says haughtily.

“More like a black hole.” Abdul mumbles which ensues another bickering session and by the time that dials down, they sit down for dinner.

“Oh and by the way, Tomorrow I may be busy after work so y’all do what you need to do but don’t ask me what’s for dinner, I couldn’t care less.” He says as they sit down and switch on netflix, an unhealthy amount of birria tacos in every one’s plate

“Oh, what a surprise, who’s the lucky lady?” Patience questions , eyebrow raised at the surprising news.

“Why would you assume she’s a woman? Maybe I’d have involved myself with a mafioso and my parents sold me to them once every week to pay for their debt.” He responds calmly.

Y/n side eyes and responds,

“You’ve been giggling at your phone for the past few days. One minute you're upside down on the sofa , sprawled out laughing and the next minute you are attempting to walk the walls.” 

“Was it that obvious?” He mumbles with a slight chuckle of defeat.

“You’re acting like you didn’t want us questioning who she is for the past few days.”Patience retorts

“And why didn’t you” He responds

“I’m self centred” Y/n muses

“I couldn’t give less of a f-”

“Okay , since you guys are practically pulling my socks, I’ll tell you. She’s a data analyst like me and when I tell you she is the definition of a goddess, I don’t think you’ll believe me. And she’s also from Kenya. Her name is ..”

“Hold on , you came all the way to Brazil and somehow still found a kenyan. You really should look into diversifying your dating pool.” Patience interrupts and Y/n chuckles.

“Says the whore , anyway she’s Jane and prefers to go by Wanjiku.”He smiles absentmindedly in response.

“Look who is in looooveeee.” Y/n jests before adding

“But seriously I’m happy for you. I hope she’ll continue to make you as happy as you are”

“Thank you”

“Yeah congrats man . Seriously,” 

* * *

After excusing the class, she sits at her table before saying.

“Emmanuel please stay a minute after class” And the usual jeerings commence as they all quickly scatter off to the next class.After ensuring that no one was left except the both of them, she kindly requests him to be seated .

“Look, I’m sorry.”

“For what? Immediately assuming I’d have used the money for drug related reasons? Yeah, that's very easy to forgive.” He says as he slouches back on the chair. Y/n notices his slightly wounded hand, reddened and slightly swollen on the affected area.

“What happened to your hand?” 

“I was grilling some sausages and I burned myself on the grill.” 

“I’m sorry. But it looks like an infection might occur if a bandage isn't placed. Here , I think I have one.” She says as she rummages through her backpack filled with oddities like gum wrapper, an inkless biro pen and some newspaper wrapping and after some more shuffling comes across the only piece of elastoplast that is left.

“Its fine.”Emmanuel insists despite Y/n already unwrapping the bandage,

“Here, let me.” She insists and slowly takes his hand.

“Thank you , it was quite itchy.” He bashfully says after his hand is returned.

“No problem. I just wanted to help out, and I came up with a solution for our little issue. As long as you tell me where the money goes, you don’t have to show me any other proof other than your bank statement or even a small  business then I will be allowed to give you the promised amount.” She calmly says

He slightly scrunches his face and after mulling it over looks over at her and says.

“Are you busy?”

“No, I’m done for the day , why?”

“I’ll show you. Nothing beats tangible.”

And before she knows it they are already walking up the hill of the favela. Despite it being late afternoon, the sun is still bright enough to make her slightly sweat and by the time they get to a dilapidated shanti just at the beginning of his populated neighbourhood, Y/n is not only heavy breathing but also extremely thirsty,

Emmanuel pays little mind to her and instead walks into the shanti and opens up the windows. As she looks up she notices its transformation. Its rustic metallic sheets that hold faints of its old silver colour hold indoors a grill that sits half of the space. Emmanuel places plastic discoloured stools and a small wooden banner that simply reads “abrir” is placed on the door.

“Is this how you earn money?”She says as she sits on one of the stools as he begins preparing the ingredients for Cachorro Quente. He skillfully cuts up the onions and tomatoes and tells Y/n

“Prepare the sauce.”

“Wasn’t I supposed to be a guest?”

“If you want me to forgive you, prepare the sauce.”

And Y/n is directed to the jerrican to wash her hands. She is properly directed as he starts the fire with a combination of wood, charcoal and some leftover plastic and old newspaper before fanning it out.

He tests out the now hot grill with a slight pat on his palm and seemingly satisfied with the heat, places the marinated sausages on the grill. The aroma is absolutely mouthwatering and Y/n cannot help but consistently gaze on them which Emmanuel slightly laughs at.

Soon, people start flocking to the area, from young kids trying to bargain their way out of paying the full price to the regulars who take an immediate notice of the newcomer and question her presence. And after entertaining small talk they leave not without saying an English phrase in acknowledgement to her. One of them even says ‘Good evening baby’ to which she simply chuckles at.

When the sausage stock is done, he shooes away the crowd and takes his jerrican to begin washing the dishes.

“So, this is what you do every evening after school?”She asks

“Yep, it's the only way I can eat.”

“And your parents, what do they do?”

“Don’t know, I last saw them when I was 3.” He nonchalantly says whilst scrubbing the grill hard.

“Oh I’m sorry.”

“It's fine. But anyway you see why I need the extra income right? Money is always tight and as much as I can feed and shelter myself, it's always a game of fate.”He looks down at her as he stands upright.

“I'll give you a bit more than I promised.”

“Thank you, and here, for you and your teacher friend.” He says whilst quickly handing her two hotdogs that he had placed on the side.

“Thank you but you should keep it, I’ll be fine.”

“No, you helped me out, I appreciate it.” He says while scratching the back of his head whilst looking away

“Well thank you once again.Its getting late and I think Patience is waiting for me. I should go.”She says as she picks up her rucksack.

“Oh, okay, goodnight.”

“Goodnight!”

As the bloody sky transitions to its blinding darkness as she walks down the steep hills, she notices the splendour of the city beneath her, with its illuminating artificial lights and its stunning starlights.

* * *

“Good afternoon Ms Y/n, You seem to be in a jovial mood today.” Ramirez notices as he decides to walk into a softly humming Y/n who is momentarily distracted from her notes.

“I took your advice on how to handle my student and it's been working out great. Not only was he willing to show me a side of his life that I would have never been aware of but because of him, the classes are livelier.” She says with a smile.

“That’s great to hear, I’m glad I was of help.”

“Would you like to see my students? They may seem unruly but they are honestly what are making me enjoy my work.” She says as she excitedly pulls out her phone in enjoyment. Ramirez nods and walks over to her and she can immediately smell the dior sauvage on him. Slightly shaking her head in an attempt to diffuse how she enjoys his cologne , she shows the picture and immediately regrets it as he leans in even more to properly see them

“They seem like good kids.” He slightly whispers , very close to her ear and she braces her phone even tighter to expel the tingling zap that just coursed through her.

“They are,” She says and immediately locks her phone.

He leans back and goes back to his former position and after a slightly awkward silence where Y/n decides on simply going back to her books he says , unnaturally hoarse.

“Would you mind repaying the favour with a request of mine?”

“Sure, what is?” 

“My mom’s retirement party is coming up and I’d like to give her something that is very special. Can you help me get a gift for her?”

“Well, I’m not the most knowledgeable in gift giving but sure, I can help out.”

“How about today, after class?”

“I’m free between 4 and 7 so okay!” She says with a smile and they pause the conversation as the other students begin coming in.

Throughout the lesson Ramirez gives subtle glances at Y/n to the point that she has to look away or completely ignore them after the 10th closed lipped smile. Though more than uncomfortable, she felt confused, and questioned his behaviour. After class and a flirty “bye” from Britney they are once again alone.

“Y/n should we leave?” He asks

“Yep” She responds while rising up , carefully perusing the area for anything she might have forgotten

They soon walk into his car and for the second time Y/n is amazed with the interior of his Aston Martin with its white leather seats and its scent which engulfs her the moment she sits in the car.

“Seatbelt on?”He questions as he reverses.

“Yes, you drive like you're cast in fast and furious.”

“Actually the franchise encouraged me to get a sports car.”

“No surprise there.” She says and they both laugh. They soon step out of the car into the parking lot of one of the most luxurious malls in the area. Y/n slightly gasps at the golden carvings that are sculpted at the grecian pillars surrounding the building and says,

“I didn’t even know this place existed.”

“It's owned by the country club nearby, members only.” He shrugs as they walk to the building. The receptionist welcomes them in and after he removes his membership card , they are allowed to walk in and y/n basks in the complete opulence of the entire vicinity.

“I’m sure anything you get her from here would be pleasing to her.”

“As much as I do love my mother, she's as easy to please as a cat. I’ve been blundering over her birthday gift for three years.” He says as they window shop throughout the first floor. Y/n nods at this and takes up the challenge. Looking over the watches and the very expensive designer bags, nothing really clicks and after taking the second floor she is still unamused .

“Who knew luxury could be so..boring?” She says as she finishes scouring the second floor, feet aching over the rounds.

“I feel you. I think you’re tired. Would you like some dinner? It's the least I can do after all the walking I’ve forced you to endure.”

Y/n smiles though she feels too queasy to say yes. To her a coffee date is very friendly, Dinner is a tad too romantic. 

“Um, I don’t think..”

“Please, it shouldn’t mean anything more, just dinner.”He insists, leading them to the rooftop where the bar is illuminated by the clear glass roof windows right in the middle of the circular restaurant littered with shades of grey green and mustard yellow.

“Wow , this is stunning” She says

“So is that a yes?”

“Well, how can I say no after seeing this?” She responds whilst taking a picture of the whole establishment. They are led to a sitting right at the corner, though close enough to see the mixologist swivel and shake his way into beautiful looking cocktails and mocktails.

Y/n is redirected to looking into her menu and says,

“I can’t understand.”

“Consider it an impromptu quiz. What words do you recognise?” 

And after a few stutterings and looking into the words, she recognises a few ingredients that she assumes are not as bad and decides on taking that. Ramirez orders something completely unknown to her and says

“I think you’d like it , it has an unfamiliar taste but sits well after a few mouthfuls,”

She nods at that and a comfortable silence takes over. The murmurings of the restaurant are carried over by the soft jazzy instrumentals the live band plays and after Y/n informing Abdul and Patience that she might be later than expected she switches off her phone to notice Ramirez simply staring at her.

“What’s with that look?” She chuckles uncomfortably while fiddling with the napkin.

“Nothing. You know my mom would be really happy if I brought someone home instead?” He says as he looks keenly at her.

“I’m not the best matchmaker but I know a lot of good friends.” She says while looking away. He refuses to dignify her response, instead only giving a smile that showcases his ‘father’s smile’ that fits him very well.

Soon the food arrives and before Y/n can bite into the mouth watering delight on her plate, he motions for her to take a bite of his dish, a forkful of food hanging between them. She attempts to  grab the fork but he instead refuses to hand authority and once more gestures for her to take a bite. She slowly comes closer to the fork and bites the food and afterwards quickly sits straighter, hand obscuring the chewing of her mouth and  Ramirez says with a tinge of amusement coating his tone

“It's good, right?” And she nods in agreement but looks away.

He then attempts at feeding her again which this time she refuses completely, joking instead at how her’s is better.

Soon a call rings out from Y/n’s purse and after silently thanking God for removing her from that awkward situation , excuses herself to answer the call in the women’s restroom.

“Hi” She says excitedly once she notices the caller.

“Hi baby how are you?” Jotaro responds .

“I’m doing fine and you? How are you coping? Are you still coming over?”She questions in quick succession, not even a breath to be caught.

“Deep breaths honey. I think I’m doing better, maybe it was just a case of the blues. And I’m no longer coming.I got caught up with something so spectacular you wouldn’t even believe it.” He responds excitedly. She furrows her brows.

“Not coming? But , I miss you? I thought you were still buying the ticket?” 

“I’m sorry, I’ll make time, I promise.So what about you? How has your day been?” And Y/n goes on about the current situation she’s in and says,

“He has made it a bit awkward by feeding me a piece of his meal but aside from that we’ve …”

“Excuse me , what? Feeding you what?” Jotaro says in shock and a hint of irritation.

“Don’t worry I politely refused the next time he tried it.”

“You should have refused from the beginning. Anyway, I have to head back, I’ll tell you about my expeditions soon and  also, get home soon and safely okay?I Love you.”he says as backdrops of conversations keep happening.

“I love you too. We’ll talk later.” She says and cuts the call. She washes her hands and after a quick checkup on her makeup and face heads back to their seat.

At this point he’s done with the food and says

“You took quite a while, I instructed the waiter to heat it up for you and ordered dessert and some drinks in the meantime. I hope you don’t mind.” He says offhandedly.

She smiles and says,

“Oh I was chatting with my boyfriend. He insists I share every second of my day with him.” She says and graciously takes her reheated food.

“Is it a long distance relationship you two share?” He questions.

“Yep, he’s touring the coastal straits of Africa for a year. He’s a marine biologist.” She says proudly as she washes off her food with a glass of sweet mango juice.

“Interesting.And why didn’t you follow him?”

“I have a life of my own and he recognises that” She says  with a strained smile.

“Me personally , I wouldn’t have let you go so easily, in spite of the job.” He says in a slightly nonchalant tone that threatens to set her off.

She bites her tongue instead and refuses to say nothing . The bartender approaches and says

“Two cocktails for the couple?”

“No we’re not….”

“Yes please, thank you.” Ramirez talks over her as the bartender sets down the drinks . As he is about to walk away, Y/n says

“I’m sorry, but could you switch this for a mocktail? I don't drink alcohol as frequently.” She says with a smile and before the bartender takes it away Ramirez says

“Not even a little?”halting the bartender’s footsteps.

“No, I appreciate the gesture but I’m simply not a fan.” She responds and he walks away with her drink right as the dessert , a brownie with butterscotch ice cream comes by.

She takes a bite and is absolutely amazed with the fudginess of the brownie.

“Wow, this is the best brownie I’ve ever had.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He says as he takes a spoonful of his apple pie.

“I think I should be headed home soon. My friends have begun anxiously texting about my whereabouts.”She says as she finishes the absolute delight that is her second mocktail.

They begin small discussions about Y/n’s workplace and tensions slowly dissuade.By the time he’s winding down an anecdote Y/n is squealing in absolute joy.

“Oh what a shame, I really enjoyed this even though we literally got nothing we planned done.” He says as he flags down the waiter for the bill and she snorts at his comment . After paying and generously tipping the waiter, they head out and he insists on dropping her home which is surprisingly not far from the area.

They soon arrive and Y/n unbuckles her seatbelt.

“Thank you for dinner and the drinks. It was lovely.”

“I’d love to do it again.” He says slowly, inching up on her face. She smiles and attempts to walk out of the car and notices

“It's locked.”

“I’ll only open if you promise we can hang out again soon.”He says with a mischievous twinkle on his eye though this makes y/n a bit unsettled

“I don’t think teachers usually ask their students out.” She says.

“Then I’ll quit. Besides, it’s not like we are doing anything wrong.” He says leaning in once more, to the point that she can even smell a whiff of the Amarula he had been nursing the entire night.

“We’ll see” She says and opens the car door after the click id heard. She waves bye and after ensuring he has taken the first corner off her street, rushes to the gate next to where he dropped her.

She quickly greets the receptionist and takes the elevator to their floor.

She is greeted with Patience and Abdul slouching on the couch, Barbie, life in the dreamhouse playing in the background.

“Hey”

“Where have you been?” Patience says as they switch off the TV.

“Do I have a story to tell you two?!” She says and Abdul sits straighter immediately after the phrase is said.

I want to start uploading regularly again especially since I’m almost done with the fic. Like Crusader Sundays. Trigger warning to those affected by the fall of  Constantinople

                        prev   masterlist  next

[bonny-kookoo]

💜 AU Masterlist

Dreams amongst dreams; here you can find all the main Alternative-Universes that have become favorites amongst my readers. Thank you for your support, and for your help in making these worlds and characters feel alive.

🔞 means, the Story contains Smut, or other adult themes. Please remember that my content may include very heavy themes such as murder, mental health issues, or violence. Because of that, almost all of my content is not suitable for minors.

-> Good Girl [DDLG themes, Smut heavy, Slice-Of-Life]

-> Main Series: 🔞

Good Girl|Sweet Girl|Smart Girl|Brave Girl|Pretty Girl|Charming Girl|Enticing Girl|Bad Girl|Tempting Girl|Strong Girl

Drabbles:

Birthday Boy

Naughty photos

“I love nothing more than taking care of you.”

“Sometimes, it hurts.”

After a shower

When Y/N is napping

Warming up

“Will you still be there when I’ve got nothing left to give you?”

“Well if you’re the devil then I’ll gladly sell my soul to you.”

“I’m worried about you!”

On the way to meet parents

Sick Kook

Mind in the gutter

“Merry Christmas you filthy animal”

Dinner Flirting

Sleeping Problems

Asks:

Favorite thing about Y/N?

Daddy or caregiver?

Marriage?

Exes?

Good girl’s job?

Goodgirl is cute

Dog’s name?

How Lost Boy Tae met Tough Girl

Tattoos?

Flirting with Jungkook

Double date?

Thoughts on GG cursing?

Threesome with Tae?

Biggest fight?

Kinks?

You okay Namjoon?

Miri’s training

Favorite food?

Pretty hands

How to handle GG’s period days?

First pic with new camera

Other memorable birthday?

Dominate?

Favorite Feature of GG?

Proposing?

Favorite type of porn?

-----

-> Bunny Boy [Yandere-Theme, Crime & Violence, Smut, Angst]

-> Main Series: 🔞

Part 1|Part 2|Part 3

Shorts:

"How far would you go?"

"Hold your breath"

Angel

Drabbles:

Packed Love

“Please Jungkookie?”

“I lost it.”

“You were made for me.”

“It’s not fair.”

Angel costume

Dentist visit

Burglary

Amnesia

Recovery

“I don’t care if it hurts”

“You changed.”

Angels birthday

Seduce

Asks:

Febreeze next time

What if Angel had died?

Future family?

Tattoo on your Angel?

Pets?

Get a poodle.

If Angel got pregnant?

Ideal life?

If Angel wanted a child?

About the camera’s you installed

If Angel found out about the cameras

If Angel initiated intimacy?

Your job?

Thoughts on killing people?

First date with Angel?

Nicknames for your girl?

What was in the wine?

Who cooks?

Do you have friends?

Letting Angel meet friends?

Moving in together?

Different career path?

Home movies pt.1

Home movies pt.2

Nicknames for JK?

Would you kill Angel?

If Angel proposed?

Marriage?

Settling in?

Biggest Kinks?

Something you like- but Angel does not?

-> Alcoria (formerly known as 'Catch it') [Alien-AU, Smut, Fluff, Angst]

-> Main Series: 🔞

Catch It ; Hold It ; Alcoria: Best Kind of Warmth ; Alcoria: How to make a Miracle ; Alcoria: Take It All Away

Drabbles:

Fun in the rain

Jungkook trying to cook

“I want to learn it then; teach me.”

“I’ll always look out for you.”

Jungkook and periods

MC surprising kook for his Birthday

MC gets sick

"I think I've left the stove on-"

"I could break your neck right now."

MC imagining a pregnancy

MC being ready to throw hands

Cuddling

Possessive

Bath time

Safe Zone

Multiple children

"You're so strong!"

MC's birthday

Baby clothes

Tentacle action (smut)

"I wanna see them."

Valentines Day

Asks:

Ever tried anal?

Disney Movies?

Plug?

How big?

Namjoon and Jin's relationship?

How many kids?

Size difference

Pregnancy symptoms?

Does he know how human births work?

Babynames?

What would you do if someone tried to claim MC?

Twins?

Human habits

Elephants

Marriage?

Girl or Boy?

Influence the gender?

Alcorian traditions pt.1

Alcorian traditions pt.2

Pets?

More kids?

-> Bad Habits [Mental Health, Angst, Slife-Of-Life, Smut, Romance]

-> Main work: 🔞

Bad Habits ; Weak Spots

Shorts:

Future

Drabbles:

"Missed me?"

"One more." (smut)

Scolding

Best for him

"Love you lots."

"I'm glad you love me."

"I can just be me."

"Will you pay for those?"

"We just want to talk."

"We got time baby."

First time (smut)

Asks:

Hardest part of therapy?

How'd you meet?

Family & Childhood?

Ever hurt MC?

Heated floorboards or heated toilet seat?

How'd you meet pt.2

Clothes for kook?

Close to breaking up?

First time MC noticed JKs anger issues?

Proposing?

Clothing label?

Prevent you from hurting someone?

Hobbies?

Sick?

Mc's bad habits?

Work & Future?

How long?

Moment you thought MC was crazy?

Somebody else?

Cheating?

Pandemic?

Friends?

Things he'd do to cheer mc up?

Things mc does to cheer kook up?

Control?

Painting?

Hair?

Where does mc sell her clothes?

Tattoos?

Police?

Bad habit mc can't fix?

Emotionally constipated?

Pouting?

Hobbies pt.2

Nailpolish?

Diagnosis?

Sing to her?

Silent treatment?

Different from other girls?

-> Prey [Alien-AU, Angst, Smut, Mentions of crimes, Fluff]

-> Main work: 🔞

Prey

Drabbles:

oc is sick

too deep (smut)

clingy

scaring her

mc being jealous?

kook being jealous?

Aftercare (smut)

Asks:

What if mc got hurt?

First thoughts?

Trust?

height?

reasons why mc?

Lingerie?

Why licking?

How serious?

Kids?

[Yoongi] killed humans?

Marriage?

weird human quirks?

Your language?

Diet?

annoying habits of mc?

[Yoongi] what if he fell for a human?

period?

overhyped

does mc get bored?

Lifespan?

relationships?

Does mc cook?

Last updated: 11/02/21

[angelofrainfrogs]

Going Back: Ch. 7

~Coauthored by @zeitghest~

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

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

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

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

Rating: T

Read on Ao3

Down in Bonnie Bowl, the hare himself lined up a winning shot. The strike sailed straight and true down the lane, causing Bonnie to fist-pump the air when the pins fell aside.

“Righteous!” he exclaimed, ecstatic to play again after all this time away.

“Bon-Bon!” shouted Sam from the entry doors. “Come meet everyone!”

Looking over his shoulder, the lanky lagomorph sent a smile to the group of humans. They even had a kid with them this time!

An… Oddly familiar kid.

But a scan to the group from afar would indicate the only person he met prior besides Sam was Michael—descendant of his own original creator and a pretty solid mechanic.

“Hey, y’all!” the bunny called, springing towards the group with a happy-go-lucky stride. “You folks trying to play a few games with me?”

Freddy's face had fallen ever-so-slightly at Bonnie's lack of acknowledgement, though he was quick to cover up this speck of disappointment. Of course Bonnie wouldn't recognize him... he didn't exactly look like Freddy anymore.

“Hey, Bon; yeah, we're here to hang out for a bit!” Michael confirmed with a wave.

Whereas the other animatronics were aware that something had gone down over the weekend, Mike still wasn't entirely sure what Bonnie remembered. As Sammy said, they'd had to pull his AI from an old save file dated before recent events—around the time Bonnie had officially been declared “replaced” instead of just “missing.” Without any sort of context for why Freddy would make such a drastic change, there was no telling how easily Bonnie would process his friend's transformation.

“Let's do some introductions,” Michael continued. “Obviously you know me and Sam. This cute little monster is Gregory—” Here Mike would pinch the boy's cheek, much to his dismay, then move on to clap Charlie on the arm. “—and this is Charlie; she's an old, old friend of ours. And this, if you can believe it...”

Placing a hand on Freddy's back, he gently pushed the redhead forward a few steps. “This is your old pal, Freddy.”

“Hello again, Bonnie,” Freddy greeted, still wearing that huge, infectious grin. He'd never wanted to reach out and hug the rabbit as much as he did in this very moment, but felt he deserved a tad more explanation first. “Despite how this may look, I am in fact still a robot—my AI was transferred to this body for reasons that will take a bit too long to explain at the moment. However, it is still me! It is so good to see you, old friend.” 

Bonnie looked highly confused at the declaration that this random human was Freddy Fazbear. He certainly didn’t look like him… but when the guy spoke, Bonnie was very inclined to believe him. Oh, the urge to tackle his friend was far too real! One could see the excitement grow inside Bonnie before Freddy was scooped up and tossed gently in the air. Bonnie was quick to catch him in a hug, messing up Freddy’s hair with an oversized paw.

“Ol’ sport!” that twangy southern accent drawled, nuzzling the side of his face against Freddy’s affectionately. “You thought you could hide from me in that little people costume? Sooorry, Fredbear! You can’t get rid of this bunny so easily.” 

The others could only stand and witness the rabbit maul Freddy with affection. While Bonnie had an idea of how long he'd been decommissioned for, he had no frame of reference for why. All he was sure of was that he’d severely missed his animatronic pals—and the bear earned a selfishly tight hug as Bonnie swayed with his friend to and fro.

Only when the excitable rabbit finally eased up did Freddy reach up to playfully rub the top of Bonnie's head—a gesture which made his expressive ears flop every which way. Freddy's smile only widened, having almost forgotten how wonderful it was to see his best friend's smiling face not just on a poster or in his memory banks.

“I missed you so much, you silly rabbit,” the ursine man said, giving him one more squeeze. He then looked towards the ground briefly before meeting Bonnie's bright gaze. “Although, I will need to be set down one of these days, if you do not mind. You must meet the others!”

“So—you got a haircut, right?” Bonnie teased, gathering so far that Freddy’s new form had to be an animatronic of some type. Coming to stand beside Freddy was the small kid—Gregory, as the young Afton introduced. Bonnie squatted with a curious tilt of his head to be more on his level.

“Oh, and you’re Gregory!” he cooed, reaching for Gregory’s hand to shake heartily. “I am the one, the only, Bonnie Bunny!”

From his squat position the eccentric rabbit took Charlie’s hand as she too approached, crossing his arms over his chest to reach both her and Gregory at once. “Charlie! Such a neat name; I love it!”

Whatever prior hesitation Gregory and Charlie may have had, there was no doubt that Bonnie in his true form was nothing short of charming. Now that he and Freddy were together again, it was almost like watching the old TV show. Gregory could see the familiarity with how Bonnie acted to how he was in the original Fredbear and Friends.

“Another surprise for you, Bon-Bon—" Mike chimed in, garnering the rabbit's attention. "—you know how your scan of me kept registering weird? Like I said, it's not a malfunction; Freddy, Charlie, and I are all robots! Close your eyes, Gregory.”

When the boy did so, Michael reached up to pull back the flap of skin on his neck revealing his access port. He moved over so the astounded bunny could examine it closer before hiding it away again.

“Henry Emily created these bodies,” Freddy added, pointedly not including the timeframe for these technological marvels. Later he could sit down with Bonnie and explain all the sordid details. For now, he just wanted to focus on the happy reunion. “Over the years he moved on from creating animals and strove to make lifelike androids—this is the result! And would you like to know something amazing? The other day, I was able to eat a hamburger... without it clogging up all of my systems!”

Michael couldn't stop a snort from escaping at this proclamation. The way Freddy described consuming a burger was like he'd discovered the eighth wonder of the world. Although, to robotic AIs who never thought they'd get a chance to do such a thing, he reasoned the feeling was probably similar. He just hoped Bonnie didn't get jealous and want a body of his own anytime soon.

With fists resting over his hips, Bonnie popped up animatedly to stare at Freddy with intrigue and amazement. “Hold up—the Henry Emily? Goodness gracious, what I’d give to meet my creator! You’re lucky, Fredbear!”

He’d pay his kudos to Freddy, happy for him regardless of whether or not Bonnie would ever get his own human form. Though it would be nice, walking around like all the people do…

“Oh man… I want to eat a burger! How’d it taste? What’s tasting even like? Haha!” the jolly old rabbit inquired, laughing at the absurdity of Freddy’s new life. 

Gregory was sort of blindsided by how Bonnie moved. It was mesmerizing in the way Sun or Moon moved, every movement fluid like a nimble dancers. It was certainly more human than Roxy or Monty’s animation cycles. Then Gregory remembered that the same thing happened to Freddy when exposed to human souls… Gregory chose not to dwell on this as Bonnie came over and inspected the nearly undetectable slit in the back of Michael’s neck, looking at him and Charlie with awe.

“Well aren’t y’all a couple of technological marvels! That’s really something…,” he murmured.

“You know I would only do such a drastic thing as move bodies for a good reason,” Freddy said, his tone a bit softer than before as he placed a hand on Bonnie’s arm and squeezed. He too could sense the subtle changes in the bunny’s movement and emotional capacity.

Like Freddy, Bonnie was still clearly himself at his core—thank god William Afton’s murderous personality hadn’t rubbed off on him—but he just seemed… more. More expressive, more fluid, more alive.

“Yeah, so… I told Bonnie that a lot went down while he was out,” Michael piggybacked on Freddy’s comment with an exhausted grin. “I figured we’d let Freddy spill all the details later, but I’ll just tell you, Bon—your friend is quite literally one of the kindest souls we’ve ever met.”

Freddy chuckled softly, and if his cheeks reddened slightly with joyful embarrassment, who was to say? He lifted Gregory into his arms, setting the boy on his hip to face their latest animatronic companion.

“A detailed explanation will be provided in time, yes,” Freddy began, then pressed the briefest kiss to the top of Gregory’s head before looking up at Bonnie with the utmost pride a papa bear could muster. “But all you need to know for the moment is that Gregory is my boy, and I have taken on this form to care for him as best I can.” 

Gregory slung an arm around his dad, looking up to the bunny. Bonnie’s head was tilted as Freddy explained, and Gregory witnessed as he processed the information faster than a falling anvil.

Bonnie felt something weird. It was an odd emotion he’d never experienced before, or was designed to at all really. It was the sharp knife of what Bonnie could only assume to be... jealousy? As fast as that odd, stabbing metaphorical pain was, it left even faster. The emotion never registered on the animatronic’s face. But when sanity hit Bonnie he reminded himself that being jealous of a 12 year old was… Pretty silly.

Bonnie would quickly chalk this weird glitch to the suddenness of it all. Coming back online after so long with things being so different… This was probably a normal feeling to have in the current situation. 

“Shucks, Freddy—the little guy must mean a lot to you!” To Gregory’s relief and happiness, Bonnie reached out to pat Gregory’s head without any violent or weird intent. “Anyone who’s got Fred that wrapped around their finger is a friend of mine! And that means y’all are gonna visit me whenever you can, ya hear?”

He’d not take no for an answer; the family would be dropping by as often as they could.

“Of course!” Freddy replied, grinning from ear to ear. Now that Bonnie was back online and functional, it would be a monumental task to keep the pair away from each other. Looking to the rest of his companions, Freddy posed the question: “Well, since we are already here... how about a round of bowling?”

“Oh, you're on, Fazbear!” Michael exclaimed, glad for the chance to do something besides stand around talking. He'd been still and focused for most of the day with Bonnie's repairs, and while he was glad the rabbit was up and running again he was admittedly tired of staring at him. Looking too long at those red eyes reminded Michael of who used to be inside... which was a topic he didn't want to think about.

Besides, Bonnie—the real Bonnie—was the kind of guy you just loved to hang out with, and Michael wasn't going to give up that chance.

“Gregory, you and me are going to smoke your dad,” Michael said when Gregory was set on the floor, meeting the boy's gaze determinately. Whether they played individually or added up their scores in teams, Michael knew Gregory was the best “human” player they had. Putting up a bet against the bowling alley's namesake was a lost cause, but maybe they could beat Freddy with Gregory's new skills... 

Gregory stood separated from his father now, running to high-five Michael.

“We're totally smokin' them!” he agreed. Bonnie cracked his knuckles at that.

“Did you hear that, Fred? I think these fella’s don’t even know what they’re in for.” The duo were naturals at the game, and Bonnie’s winning streak began anew starting tonight. He’d make a show of stretching, as if working out his joints to limber himself up for their game. Sending a wink to Samuel, he told the man: “Boss, you’ll be on our team. Right?”

Sam chuckled nervously. He wasn’t the best at bowling, but with Freddy and Bonnie’s skill, he might be able to skate by with letting the two of them take the helm of the game.

“Sure! Why the heck not?” he agreed, somewhat bashful as the group made their way for the lanes.

“Excellent. They do not stand a chance,” Freddy said with a grin, mirroring Bonnie's attempts to stretch out his limbs. When they settled at the lanes Freddy turned his wide smile on the opposing team, wishing them a simple: “Good luck—you will certainly need it.”

“Oh—you've got sass now, Fredbear. Okay.” Michael sneered back, hands on his hips. “Don't get too ahead of yourselves... you might be surprised at our amazing skills.”

It didn't take long for the teams to devolve mostly into smack talk, all in jest as they continued to playfully poke fun at each other too much to finish a proper game. At one point it was less of a bowling competition and more of a demonstration for Sam, with both Charlie and Freddy instructing him on the proper way to hold his wrist, and with Bonnie telling Gregory the worst knock-knock jokes either he or Michael ever heard. The group would simply have to find out who the true bowling champions of the Pizzaplex were another time.

“Hey, Gregory—what do you say you and I take a field trip?” Michael asked, sidling closer as Bonnie was called over to judge Sammy's latest attempt at a strike. “As thrilling as Bonnie's jokes are, I think if I hear one more 'knock knock' come out of his mouth I'm going to knock myself out. Besides—” He grinned, raising a questioning eyebrow. “—I think it's time we give Evan and Lizzie a little tour of the Pizzaplex. How about it?”

Michael looked over at the quartet by the lane and let out a snort. “Or, I guess I should ask—do you think you can convince your dad to let you out of his sight for more than five minutes?"

Mike had charismatically convinced Gregory to split from the group with the promise of seeing his friends again—and Gregory did promise them he’d be back to hang out for longer tonight. Besides, he hadn't even seen the other kids in a few nights. Without much of a fight on his part, Gregory nodded and ran to Freddy’s side.

“Dad! Dad—” Gregory said, having to repeat himself. Normally Freddy was fairly attentive, but now that he was distracted by his best friend, it took two tries to get his father to glance at him.

“—Dad,” he said a third time, followed by the pressing question: “Michael and I wanna go see the others downstairs. That's cool, right?”

“The others?” Freddy repeated, looking to Michael as he stepped over.

“Yeah, I thought I could take Gregory down to see them,” Michael clarified. “It'll give you guys a chance to catch up too, while we're at it.”

“Well, I suppose that would be alright—I am sure they miss your company, superstar.” Freddy smiled down at his son, smoothing out his hair. With a little exclamation of pleasant surprise, Freddy patted his front pocket. “Now that we all have cell phones, it will be easy for us to keep in touch! Please call me when you are on the way back so we know when to expect you.”

“You got it, big guy.” Michael gave Freddy a salute, then called to the others. “Hey, Gregory and I are heading out for a little bit—see you guys later!”

“Don't do anything stupid!” Charlie laughed after them, watching her brother throw an easy gutter ball that nearly had her into stitches from the disappointed look on Sam's face.

Gregory would argue… except she kind of had a point. He and Mike found themselves in stupid scenarios all the time, though it seemed more or less that stupidity followed them rather than them seeking it out actively. With a roll of his eyes and a spring in his step, Gregory called to Charlie in a sarcastic manner that only further served to fuel her laughter. “Don't worry, we probably will anyway!”

“Take it easy, youngsters!” Bonnie waved, taking his place again by Freddy's side with unabashed interest as they caught up on life.

***

Now that the path to the basement was a familiar one, the trek downstairs seemed shorter each time. Before they knew it Michael and Gregory were at the door to Henry's workshop, which was cracked open invitingly. As a courtesy, Mike knocked before entering. “Uncle Henry? You in there?”

“Michael!” Henry's tone was surprised, and there was a hurried bit of shuffling papers and slamming drawers before the door was pulled fully open. The pair were greeted by Henry's smiling face and his hands moved to rest casually on his hips. “What brings you guys to the depths?”

“We're looking for Evan and Lizzie,” Michael explained, peering around the room suspiciously. For all he knew, they could be waiting to ambush him somewhere; he hadn't forgotten Liz's threat from the last time they'd seen each other. Upon finding no sign of plotting siblings, Michael turned his gaze back to Henry. “Any chance you've seen them?”

“Hmm... can't say that I have.” Henry gave a shrug, although from the mirthful light in his eyes it seemed like he knew more than he was letting on.

For a moment Gregory was worried. Where could they have possibly gone?

Little known to him that their friends were waiting to prank Michael so hard, he'd double-die of embarrassment. That's what Lizzie would proclaim anyway. After having Cassidy steal a fair amount of whipped cream from the bakery, Liz and Evan were sitting out of sight with the canisters at the ready.

“Oh man—come on, Mike. I think I know where they're at.” Gregory said knowingly, starting into the darkness of what Henry so lovingly referred to as the depths. “They're inside the dinner.”

“Alright, I'm following your lead” Michael replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. They walked even farther down towards the diner, which sat quiet and empty.

Well, at least it looked to be empty. The silent, shoulder-shaking laughter of the youngest Aftons would say otherwise. Evan and Lizzie hid just around the corner of the front doors, lying in wait for their prey to walk through. There was one sibling on either side, positioned for maximum pranking. Right on que Michael stepped past the entryway, not even getting a chance to call out before he was met with a sudden attack from both sides. He let out a rather high-pitched shriek and tried to cover his face, but unfortunately for him Evan was able to float and together with Lizzie they were able to completely cover their brother in sticky sweetness in no time flat.

“Aw, for—you got it in my hair, man!” Michael griped once the cans had been emptied and discarded on the floor. He wore a sour expression as he listened to surround-sound giggles, huffing a put-out: “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up...”

Even Gregory pointed and jeered. At first the ambush had shaken him due to the amount of times he’d been scared in the dark. Realizing the attack was on Michael for a change, he was able to see the smiling, happy faces of Elizabeth and Evan Afton proudly accosting their brother with four cans of aerosol dairy. With hands braced over his knees, Gregory was struggling to catch his breath as he laughed heartily with the little prank they played. This would serve Michael right for messing his hair up with all the noogies...

“Oh NO—your face, Michael!—” Liz tried to explain, wiping away a tear from the stress of laughing.

“His face?” Gregory asked, finally able to suck in a breath as he moved to help clean the whipped cream off Michael’s shirt. “His voice! Bro, tell me how you got your voice that high!”

Michael grumbled something unintelligible as he desperately tried to shake the whipped cream out of his hair. Even if he was annoyed, he had to admit they got him good.

“Even you, Evan?” Michael lamented when he felt tiny hands combing through the back of his head. There was only one of his siblings that could get that high, and sure enough Evan was floating just to the left of his face. Michael sighed dramatically, running a hand through his brown locks and grimacing when it came away full of dairy. “My own little brother, turning against me...”

“It's payback,” Evan responded simply, though payback for what would be something no one but him could answer. In response, Michael's forlorn expression flashed to a wicked grin and he suddenly shook his head like a wet dog, flinging whipped cream all over the diner floor and, more importantly, all of his siblings.

“So was that!” he responded, laughing at their shocked expressions.

The children had to raise their arms to block the barrage of foam flying through the air. It proved to be unhelpful as the kids were covered in the specs of froth in no time flat. Elizabeth growled, though no real anger was in her tone of voice when she said: “Quick! Do plan B!”

“What was plan B?!” Gregory asked, concerned and confused as he wasn't even told about this supposed back-up plan.

Crouched and poised for attack, Elizabeth told Gregory to: “Tackle him!”

What a betrayal, being attacked so ruthlessly by your own family members. As predicted, Gregory and Liz went for the legs as Evan had the highest vantage point to latch onto Michael and knock him off-balance.

Mike went down immediately, arms pin-wheeling for balance as he fell back onto the dusty floor. While Gregory and Lizzie tackled his legs, Evan went right for his chest, pushing against it with a round of uproarious laughter. As soon as Michael was down for the count Evan perched on top of him, grinning down at him with unbridled satisfaction.

The whole event ended up with the quartet in a messy pile on the floor, their fading laughter stilted as they tried to catch their breath. Eventually Michael turned his head to take stock of the aftermath, lifting up one of Lizzie’s strawberry-blonde curls and letting it fall back against her cheek with a gross splat! Michael snorted in amusement, satisfied his siblings got pulled into their own prank. “Serves you all right, thinking you can one-up me. Amateurs…”

Far before they’d gotten cruel, Michael’s pranks had been infamous in their little hometown. He could pull them off by himself just fine, though sometimes he’d rope Charlie or Sam into it… if they weren’t the intended victims. Evan and Lizzie picked up their skills through long-term exposure and osmosis of watching Michael work. 

After all this time, Mike still hadn't lost his edge. Still as rambunctious and cunning as he was when they were children, Liz would grimace as her perfectly coiffed curls saturated with heavy whipping cream. It reminded her of the breakfast in bed fiasco on Father's Day... Her and their mother spent hours cleaning the resulting mess out of their clothes and the entirety of the kitchen.

“Liz,” Gregory said, pulling her from the now bittersweet memory—and thankfully so. “Your prank sucked.” This earned him a handful of whipped cream smushed across his nose.

“Silence, dork,” Elizabeth chirped back. “Besides, it was Cassidy that gave Evan the idea...”

“Hey! You’re the one that was all excited to get Mikey back for the other day!” Evan deflected, then blew a raspberry at her when she rolled her eyes. 

“Alright… I hate being the grown up here and say it’s time to move on, but since clearly none of you are up for it I guess I have to,” Michael remarked, sitting up with a heavy sigh. Evan was shifted into his lap, upon which the ghost wrapped his arms around Michael’s torso and squeezed.

“Okaaaaay… Whatever you say, Mike,” Evan relented, gazing up at his brother with the most innocent eyes and smile as his tight hug forced some lukewarm whipped cream to completely soak through Michael’s shirt.

“Little shit!” the man gasped. As he pried his brother off, he couldn’t be too mad—Evan learned from the best, after all. Once free of clinging siblings, Michael looked down at himself with a grimace. “Okay, well, Gregory and I were going to bust you guys out of here and show you the Pizzaplex, but I think we need to take a detour to the Gift Shop first… and the bathroom.”

Evan might be able to “reset” his ghostly form and rid himself of dairy remnants, but the others needed to wash up and change before the stuff had a chance to fester. Gregory stiffened up at the mention of entering the public bathroom to wash up.

“Psh. I'm fine. I don't need to clean up.” He would brush it off, like being covered in diary wasn't going to be an issue after a half an hour when it starts to warm. Liz looked at him, a glimmer of amusement in her jeweled eyes.

“Oh yeah? You like smelling of curdled milk, then?” her posh tone inquired facetiously, earning her a sharp glare. He wanted her to let it be, yet something told Gregory that Liz wasn't the type to easily back down or take back the things she says.

“Yes,” Gregory stated firmly. “I love it. That's my favorite smell.” It was said so straight Liz might believe the lie, were it not so ridiculous.

Michael instantly realized his mistake, and mentally smacked himself for putting Gregory in an awkward position. Of course the kid would be terrified of public bathrooms after what happened last time he’d gone in one…

“You know what? Change of plans—we go to the Gift Shop, grab some new clothes, then head to the Daycare,” Michael said, getting to his feet and trying to brush off as much excess whipped cream as he could. Hopefully Henry wouldn’t mind the mess in the diner until Mike could come back and clean it up. “This stuff’s gnarly, but as long as we get it off soon I think it’d be fine if we don’t immediately take a sink shower. I guarantee Sun has a stockpile of stuff to clean up after the kids.”

“Oh, I think Puppet’s there! She’s got some new friends,” Evan piped up, following along behind as Mike started the walk back to the surface. With a quick full-body shake, Evan returned to his original dairy-free self. Not for the first time, he was glad he’d chosen to forgo his android in deference to his ghostly form. 

Gregory looked to Evan with controlled jealousy. Gregory hadn't been positive, but he was sure that night in the bathroom had killed him... Only he was forced to stay in this body, and not given an incorporeal form like Evan. It still tethered him to this world and the messes he created within in. Still, Gregory would count his blessings that his heart restarted eventually. Trading that for having a mess-free life wasn't the best idea anyway.

“Yup—” Gregory agreed. “—Sun and Ennard are becoming fast friends with her.”

Liz's smile grew tight. So that was where that petty amalgamation went to. She wasn't fine to hang out with, but the spooky Puppet and the creepy old Daycare attendant were?

“Reeeally now? You don't say,” Liz asked through grated teeth. After clapping her hands together in one enthusiastic motion, she forced a grin. “Let's go visit! We need to clean up anyway. Why not?”

Michael smirked at Lizzie’s tone. Any opportunity to keep the amalgamation away was just fine with him. On their way out they stopped by the workshop to let Henry know the Afton’s were going upstairs for a while. Henry was all for it, and Michael couldn’t help but notice his poorly-contained laughter at the state of them. Apparently the old ghost had more knowledge of the plan than he let on.

With an eye roll and a sarcastic, “Thanks for the heads up, Henry,” Michael ushered the kids up to the surface. The back passageways they emerged into weren’t of great interest, but when they reached the main atrium Evan and Lizzie stopped dead in their tracks. Evan floated up next to Michael’s shoulder, gazing in awe at the flashing neon lights and signs.

“Welcome to the Mega Pizzaplex,” Mike said with a grin, sweeping his arm in a grand gesture.

“Whoa…,” was all Evan could get out, deep brown eyes reflecting the rainbow of colors around him. 

Elizabeth was holding onto Evan's arm like a lifeline, her own eyes catching the neons. It was like a mall—but so much larger. All of the strip malls in the 80s were puny compared to the vision that Samuel had in mind. It was clear to Liz that despite all the time that had passed, sweet Sammy Emily was still very much a kid at heart. He knew what would captivate and amaze the masses to the point of returning again and again.

“No way...,” Liz chimed in softly. It wasn't long before she felt a tug, Gregory gently pulling the two kids forward and further into the atrium.

“Come oooon!” Gregory beckoned playfully. “There's so much to see! Let's go!”

Evan barely registered as he was moved, too entranced by the sheer size of this place and the loving nods to Sammy’s childhood. The heavy 80s theme created a weird dichotomy in Evan’s mind. He knew many, many years had passed since ‘83—though admittedly he’d stopped counting long ago—and being surrounded by such familiar colors and patterns brought him right back to the malls of his youth. Yet when he looked closer everything had a sort of sleek, technological feel to it like nothing the ghost had ever seen before.

“Hey, uh… what year is it anyway?” Evan asked, his voice small as if afraid of the answer.

“It’s 2023,” Michael replied with a soft, understanding smile. Evan’s jaw dropped, expecting the response but still not ready for it.

“Al… Almost 40 years…,” he whispered, expression twisting as he tried to process the information. He wasn’t necessarily upset about the lost time—at least, not too much—he was just shocked that things seemed to have both changed and remained the same. Although, he figured the Fazbear franchise was probably an exception to the passing of normal time. It always was. 

“It looks like Back to The Future in here,” Liz compared with wide eyes. Did Evan ever watch that movie? Probably not. She only remembered watching it once when Michael was finally in a better mood. She supposed it was for the best that things looked this way. Anything beyond her comprehension would only serve to throw Elizabeth into a panic. This place—these sounds... They tightened something in her chest, winding it up and strangling what she thought was her heart.

She missed so much. How could Dad do this to her?

She, Michael, and Evan should be old together. They should be experiencing this through the eyes of nostalgic adults—yet Liz only felt like she was truly coming home for the first time after a long, stressful road trip. That was the only way she could comprehend it, by comparing it to a movie that hardly fit the description of the retro-aesthetic technological marvels she saw around them.

Gregory weaved his hand into Liz's. She had a long stare that made Gregory uncomfortable with the road she appeared to be slipping down. Even then she nearly didn't notice the kind gesture until he squeezed her hand hard.

“Yeah—but Back to the Future doesn't have pizza slushees," he remarked, earning a disgusted look from Liz.

“Oh, that’s foul!” she gasped, seeming completely serious until a smile finally broke through to show her pearly white teeth. “Where can I get one?”

“The bowling alley, but that’s our last stop because all the boring adults are hanging out there with Charlie,” Michael informed them, completely ignoring the fact that technically he too was a boring adult. 

“There’s a bowling alley in here?!” Evan piped up, and it was Mike’s turn to grasp his hand and be his earthly tether. It seemed that the more excited he got, the higher he was apt to float.

“And a go-kart arena, and a mini golf course, and laser tag—not to mention a billion arcades,” Michael added with a grin. He took Lizzie’s other hand and pulled her along as well, not wanting them to get too distracted from their current destination. “Don’t worry, we’ll check everything out after we get cleaned up. You guys are going to be blown away with all the merch this place has!”

With that Michael managed to get his little group to the Gift Shop with only a few more pauses to point out interesting things. He released his sibling’s hands when they walked through the doorway, telling them: “Have at it! There’s changing rooms near the clothes. You might as well use whatever you’re wearing to squeeze what you can out of your hair—everything needs to be washed anyway…” 

It took a lot to get Liz and Evan to focus. Right now the two kids were all riled up and eager to see the playground that Samuel had concocted. He always said that when his dad finally let him work at the locations, he had big plans for the place. Lizzie never quite understood everything that Sam would rattle on about, but his passion for it made her listen intently every time he spoke of his dreams. It was one of the things to admire about the Emilys. They were quiet people from afar, but get them talking about something they loved and you could watch them go on for hours...

As Liz wandered around the shop, she found accessories and trinkets that caught her eye and pocketed them for later. She had only needed a shirt, as miraculously the skirt that Henry fitted this android with was otherwise pristine. Everything stayed true to the old merchandise that once sat by the crate full in their garage, though the quality was much better than the cheap things her father made as their first round of toys and shirts. It wasn't too long before Liz found a pink shirt. With the cutest Chica logo she’d ever seen, how could she refuse?

Gregory decided to go for a shirt he had seen earlier—a muscle tee that came tumbled and “worn” in appearance. When he reached for the garment, he was surprised to find another, similar hand attempting to tug it off the rack as well.

“Oh! Good choice!” Evan laughed when he realized who he was having a mini tug of war with. Evan didn't need the shirt, but that didn't mean he couldn't admire it. Maybe he could pick one up later—he still technically had an android if he ever got tired of floating around, and he'd certainly need a variety of outfits. It was like his own soul-powered dress-up doll. He released the fabric in deferment to Gregory, grinning widely. “This stuff's so rad! Not like what they sold before—this is like... the good stuff!”

Meanwhile, Michael had swiped a similar muscle tee off the adult size rack, along with a pair of dark wash jeans with iron-ons of all the Glamrock's grinning faces down one leg. Bonnie was noticeably absent, which wasn't unexpected, although now that he was friendly again Mike wondered if he could find a loose patch that he could add himself... For now though, he rushed into a changing room and preformed the fastest quick-change the world had ever seen, not wanting to take his eyes off his siblings for a second. He emerged in his new attire, using the back of his old shirt to soak up whipped cream remnants from his hair. Lizzie's shoes could be seen in the crack under the next changing room door, so Michael focused his attention on the lookalikes.

“Find anything good?” he asked, bumping Gregory with his hip as he sidled up next to them.

Gregory teetered with the bump, but laughed it off while gesturing to Evan. “We were going to grab the same shirt—apparently the stuff here is better than it used to be.”

With the changing rooms close by, Gregory quickly slipped into the one that Michael just came from.

“No, you don't even know—” Lizzie snorted from the stall next to him, remembering when their father nearly had a nervous breakdown to find a shipment of plushies with their faced printed on the butts of all the dolls. “—Evan, remember when Dad cried because of the butt-faces?”

“The butt-faces!” Evan and Michael exclaimed in unison. They glanced side-long at each other, then simultaneously burst into laughter.

“He was yelling at that guy for hours!” Evan reminisced through giggles, vividly recalling how he'd peeked into his father's office only to find William screaming into the phone, clearly having a major communication issue with the poor soul on the other end.

At that time, William's anger hadn't been scary—no more than a typical stressed-out father's wrath was apt to get. Will had caught Evan peering around the corner with wide, terrified eyes, and only then was he able to regain his composure. After telling the man in not so kind words that he didn't think they were getting anywhere and to expect a call from his business partner tomorrow, William had moved to Evan's side and taken him out for an apology ice cream for clearly freaking the kid out. This trip had been extra special in Evan's mind, for it was one of the rare times he actually got to spend some quality time with his dad without at least one other kid hanging off his other side.

“Evan? Hey, buddy?” Michael's voice broke through the ghost's reverie. Evan came to with a start only to realize everyone was staring at him, Gregory and Lizzie having long-since emerged from the dressing rooms. To his surprise, Evan felt cold tear streaks running down his face.

“O-Oh...,” he murmured, then gave a big sniffle and wiped his face. Why did even the happy memories make him cry? He shifted his gaze to the floor, the pallor of his pale cheeks darkening the smallest bit in embarrassment. “Sorry... I'm okay, I promise. Can... Can we go to the Daycare now?” 

It was so easy to be lost in the better memories, a time when things made sense and their dad had been more present. Gregory wouldn't push it, or even point out that Evan was crying—instead he slung his arm around Evan's shoulders with an encouraging grin.

“The Daycare is ridiculously fun. I don't even care if it's made for toddlers, it's like a giant playground!” he said, trying to hype Evan up now for what was likely going to be a fun time in Sun and Moon's little kingdom. “And you get to see how Puppet's doing!”

Where Gregory saw the Puppet as a guardian and friend, Liz had mixed feelings on the doll. It wasn't the Marionette's fault for not getting to Charlie in time, but for a while Lizzie resented the animatronic and wouldn't even visit the ticket counter anymore due to the secondhand shame and anger she felt when looking at it. Little did she know that if she’d just visited once, she would be visiting Charlie as well...

“Yeah! Let's go!” Evan urged, his mouth flipping into a little smile as he slipped an arm around Gregory's back, walking with his “twin” side-by-side.

Michael watched them for a moment, his face pinching with regret the second Evan's back was turned. Someday they'd sit down and have a long talk about things—about what happened in '83 and how Evan existed from then until now, unpacking decades of hurt and anger. However, at the moment they were headed to the Daycare, which was sure to perk up their spirits with its bright colors and even brighter attendant.

“We can't let those two out of our sights, Liz,” Michael murmured, slipping his hand into his sister's and gently tugging her along. “I bet they're already plotting something...”

It really was such a good feeling being able to hold hands with a family member you haven't seen in a while. It was so easy to fall back into old customs and rituals, too. Liz could almost hear their mother now, asking that Michael hold her sister's hand while they were out in public. When Mike asked why, their father would chime in to say that people would want to kidnap Elizabeth—but no one wanted to steal him. He either was too annoying or not cute enough. The joke now was supremely less funny than it was forty years ago, but the memory of being happy fueled Lizzie’s will to become happy again. So, in the spirit of celebrating how good things used to be, Liz swung their arms a little in their gait.

“I don't know—can’t say I trust new Evan,” Liz begun to scheme, thinking out loud as the boys in front seemed to get on like a house on fire while the actual dangerous combination plotted the twins’ downfall right behind their backs. “We need to strike preemptively.”

“Agreed,” Michael replied with a nod, then leaned down to whisper a suggestion in Liz's ear that had her nearly choking as she tried to hold back her laughter.

The group continued in their happy pairs, following Gregory's lead to the Daycare. The upstairs pick-up area greeted them with bright overhead lights, letting them know that Sun was currently out and about. Michael peered through the netting and caught sight of the Daycare attendant on the opposite end of the play area, seated on one of the foam blocks and gesturing wildly as he recounted stories of the little sunbeams placed under his care. Puppet and Ennard were lingering nearby, watching Sun attentively and seeming entranced by his over-exuberant way of speaking with his entire body to make up for his lack of facial expressions.

“Hey, Sun! You've got visitors!” Michael called, and Sun whipped his head in a 180 so fast it was a wonder his neck didn't snap. Mike glanced down at Lizzie, then made a split-second decision to lift her under the arms and swing her feet-first into the wide opening of the slide before she had a chance to protest.

“Be a good sis and chase Ennard away, will you?” he murmured, knowing she didn't need a bribe for such a fun opportunity. With that he gave her a little push, sending her plummeting into the darkness of the plastic tube.

“WAH!” Liz didn't expect to be thrown fast down slide. With gravity increasing her speed, Liz shot out of the tube at the other end squealing half from adrenaline and half from fun. Gosh, when was the last time she could say she'd gone down a slide right into a massive ball pit?

When she surfaced again, who else would she make direct eye contact with but the elusive Ennard themselves? Without warning, Ennard let out a high pitched and garbled shriek. Their voice positively pierced the sound barrier, its fear-soaked tone the interlude for Ennard’s escape. They flipped their body, turning all the way around to scale the wall and run for Sun's room for cover. It wholly confused both the Marionette and her newest friend. In fact, the odd-frequency Ennard emitted had her jump from her seat to cling to Sun as they watched them escape.

“Oh, that wasn't hard at all!” Liz would laugh to herself, regaining her composure and breath from the exhilaration. It wasn't long before Evan and Gregory fell in behind her. Evan would technically be the first to enter before Gregory, but the other boy was clinging to Evan's back so they could argue that they fell into the pit at the same time.

“I so made it first!” Evan exclaimed with a giddy laugh, disentangling himself from Gregory so he could wade through the ball pit, enjoying the satisfying click of the plastic.

“My goodness!” Sun exclaimed, his tone a mixture of surprise and concern as his head swiveled from the children in the ball pit, to his little room Ennard disappeared into, then to the wooden door as Michael pushed it open. “What just happened?! Our new friend's never acted like that before!”

“Oh, don't you know? Ennard's a total scaredy-cat,” Michael said with a nonchalant shrug, unable to resist the jab. Now that the amalgamation was temporarily out of the picture, he could actually enjoy some time without constant metallic breathing over his shoulder. Mike reached out for Puppet as he neared the Daycare attendant, allowing her to slither around his shoulders in greeting. “Anyway! Sun, I've got two new kids for you to play with—meet Lizzie and Evan.”

As always, Sun's attention was quickly pulled to the children in his Daycare. With a loud gasp, he pressed his palms against the sides of his face.

“Gregory, I didn't know you had a twin! What a cutie you are!” Long arms reached forward to scoop Evan up. They grasped him under the shoulders and began to lift, when suddenly—the boy was nowhere to be found. Sun stared at his empty hands, tilting his head in utter confusion. “Um... hmm. Where did you go, sunshine?”

“I... think you freaked him out,” Michael muttered, looking around as well. He should've warned Evan about Sun—or better yet, told the Daycare attendant that the kid probably wouldn't appreciate an animatronic going for his face, no matter how friendly they may be.

“I'm okay!” Evan's soft voice piped up from a completely different location, and everyone glanced down to see the little ghost fade into existence behind Mike, clinging to his leg as a shield against the touchy Sun. Despite his words, he stared at the animatronic with a wary expression.

“I'm sorry, little one—I didn't mean to scare you!” Sun apologized, deciding it best not to ask how the child had teleported at the moment. Instead he turned his attention to Lizzie, asking her tentatively: “Do you like being picked up?”

“If you try, she'll probably yell at you,” Evan added helpfully, still half-hidden behind his brother's leg, then let out a little giggle. “Or bite you. You never know with her.”

What was the point in even correcting Sun? Evan and Gregory were practically twins at this point. There was no denying it. To Gregory, it would be a little bit funny that Evan would choose to run away. He and Liz were far scarier than anything left in the Pizzeria, being actual honest ghosts.

Laughing, Gregory filed in to Michael's side, patting Evan's shoulder reassure the poor kid. It was amazing how ghosts still kept their self-preservation skills even when they had nothing left to preserve...

Elizabeth eyed the jester somewhat skeptically at first, though the rapport he had with her brother put her at ease. She would hold up her hand, symbolizing that she was willing to touch his palm in a high five as greeting for now.

“I think it might hurt my teeth if I bite him, Evan,” Liz giggled, happily touching her hand to the Sun's. “Gregory told us you love to play games!”

“Oh yes, yes!” Sun exclaimed, happy to receive positive affection from at least one of the new kids. His static grin seemed to widen as he stood up to full height, pressing long fingertips against his chest. “Games are my specialty, after all! Well, that and arts and crafts—but I love both of them equally! Do you all want to play a game?!”

“...Hide and seek?” Evan ventured, no longer cowering thanks to Gregory's reassurance. He was still a tiny bit wary simply due to the sheer size of this thing, but the attendant really did seem nothing but nice.

“Of course!” Sun agreed with a vigorous nod. “Hide and seek it is! Who wants to be the seeker first?”

“Doesn't matter to me, as long as Evan doesn't use those invisibility powers—or the teleporting,” Mike said, looking down at his brother with a raised eyebrow. “That would totally be cheating.”

“I won't!” Evan replied in a sing-song tone, hands clasped behind his back and staring at Michael with the innocent grin of an angel. Only Gregory could see the fingers crossed behind Evan's back as he made the promise.

Gregory was both equally impressed and thoroughly surprised at Evan's mischievous streak. All the Aftons had one, which meant that Gregory fit in perfectly with the rowdy bunch of kids. Gregory would keep this secret, as Evan may be kind enough to share some of that cheater’s magic with him later on.

Much to their surprise, the Puppet waved from the top of Michael's shoulders. After garnering their collective attention, she pointed to herself—since she happened to be the last one to be found last night, she would get her turn as seeker over tonight! Besides, the Puppet was very meticulous. She could find a razorblade in a grosser’s dozen of cupcakes.

“Oh no!” Liz laughed, knowing this fact to be true. “No way! You'll find us all so quickly, Puppet! I'll seek first.”

“Technically Puppet won last night,” Michael piped up with a shrug, lifting the Marionette up and down with the motion. “We were never able to find her hiding spot, so... she should seek first.”

“I can count down for her!” Sun offered with a little wave of his own. “Just give me ten extra seconds after I finish to find my own hiding spot, okay?” At the Puppet's agreeing nod, Sun clapped his hands together before reaching out to take her from Michael's shoulders. “Alright, everyone—to the count of thirty! One... two...”

And just like that, the game began. Michael didn't even have time to wish his siblings good luck before they shot off like rockets to various corners of the play area. Not wanting the mortification of being the first one found Mike did likewise, mentally grumbling at the fewer choices he had with his larger frame compared to that of the kids'. Hopefully he could find a good spot that even the Puppet would take a while to locate...

Those kids were faster than lightning. Gregory followed Evan; rules said they couldn’t hide in the same place. Carefully, Gregory would stack a large pile of those play cans that rested in towers around the Daycare. He did this as quickly as he could and with time to spare, locking himself inside a little prison of colorful stacking cans. He’d do his best to keep still, and hopefully Puppet wouldn’t notice the freshly made tower and decide to knock it down. Inside his tiny fortress, Gregory watched as Elizabeth made her way slowly and carefully into the ball pit. Her outfit was so colorful it might as well serve her as camouflage.

Lowering herself below the threshold of the pool side, Liz would slip under and wait patiently under the surface. She was happy to do so—this pit was a lot cleaner than the old Fazbear diner’s ball pit. Maybe it was awful to keep thinking of him, but Liz could almost hear her father telling her, “Sweet pea, no; it’s filthy in there. Go play elsewhere,” before being gently pulled from her excellent hiding spot.

But her father wasn’t here anymore, and wouldn’t be ever again…

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to be alone right now. So far, Elizabeth hadn’t had a moment to herself to process everything that'd happened just a few days ago. Quietly, Liz wrapped her arms around her legs and hugged, self-soothing as she remained by her lonesome for now.

Ten seconds after Sun stopped his counting, an eerie silence fell over the Daycare.

It was not something Liz had noticed, depersonalizing where she was in the moment. Gregory sure had, though. The Puppet moved so quietly there was no way to tell where she was unless crawling in plain sight. However, it was clear that she wanted to surprise them when Gregory caught her sneaking and scaling up the sides of the jungle gym. 

Michael managed to wedge himself in one of the plastic tubes at the last second. It was admittedly tight fit—he wasn’t nearly as flexible as Sun. Thank god he didn’t have a human body, or his back would certainly be sore tomorrow from being so twisted.

Meanwhile, Evan used the rare moment of not being watched to do a little exploring. He hadn’t explicitly been told that Sun’s room was off-limits… Besides, if anyone would be able to find him no matter where he roamed, it would be Puppet. Evan also had a second reason for his chosen hiding spot—he wanted to finally get a look at the mysterious Ennard that was obsessed with one of his siblings, yet terrified of the other.

He knew what Ennard and Liz had done to Michael. His sister told him the whole sordid truth during one of those dark, horrible nights they’d still been trapped in animatronic shells. Lizzie hadn’t wanted Evan near the unstable amalgamation, using its fear of her to shield her brother from its presence. And while he hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to Michael about that incident, it was understandably clear he hated Ennard, too.

Still… Evan was an Afton, notoriously curious despite his timid nature. He knew of Ennard’s help in stopping their father, and their willingness to protect not only Mike but Gregory and Charlie as well (even if it was only at Michael’s request). Plus, Puppet liked them! Surely they couldn’t be that bad, right?

The recent escape from Sun’s clutches gave Evan a little burst of confidence—just enough for him to float up to the little stage when no one was looking and peek into the room behind. The area warmly lit by string lights was quite organized and clean, though notably empty of animatronics. However, the faintest shuffling let Evan know Ennard was still around, likely keeping tabs on the Daycare situation. Steeling his nerve, Evan clenched his little fists by his sides and whispered: 

“Ennard? Hey, my siblings are gonna be SUPER mad if they know I’m here, but I wanted to say hi…”

***

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[imperatorium]

Ppffff- I love sister imperator and papa nihil because they are the epitome of the “(evil) divorced parents who still occasionally fuck” and the kids have to constantly deal with it and have to do the most long winded response when people ask them if they’re parents are together or not

wbu

See, so, okay. I know it's not uncommon for people to see them as hella divorced but still horny for it and my assumption is that this must make sense for anyone who has come in post-"Kiss The Go-Goat" music video. As someone who came in about a year before that, I had plenty of time to steep in the information we previously had, which was just that a) they're fucking so obviously in love with each other and b) there's some nebulous reason that they aren't formerly together, despite clearly (to me) wanting to be.

I think GoGoat gives nice context as to some shit that's happened between them, but besides that, we have seven other chapters of content and one music video (two, if you're me and headcanon-count "Cirice") showing the hopelessly romantic way they related to one another both in the past and (maybe more importantly) present.

Here's one of my things - despite the Church being a long-lived institution, the events in "Dance Macabre" show that Nihil seems to not have previously had any knowledge or involvement with it. Because I, II, and III are acknowledged as legitimate heirs to the Antipapacy, but Copia, the only one we know has - at least by Clergy standards - been brought in as a third-party is not acknowledged as a legitimate heir, I struggle to imagine that they were children of Nihil's from his previous life outside of the Church. As such, they must have been conceived after his induction into the Antipapacy.

Moreover, Copia is easily seen as the youngest of the Papas, given the other weird canon age/timestamps we've been given - Papa I being in his 70s (I still struggle with this one)/II & III being in their mid-50s circa 2013 and Copia being almost 100% obviously the baby Sister is pregnant with in 1969. So, I, II, & III would have been conceived/born between the events of "Dance Macabre" and GoGoat, but there's also in-character interviews TF has done as Special Ghoul, indicating that each of the other Papas all have different mothers. Maybe you can assume Sister is one of them, but to me that just doesn't track given the way she promotes and dotes on Copia, while putting the others down without much as a second thought.

(Admittedly, I colour a lot of how I see this with an Arthurian tint. Sister is so obviously Morgan Le Fay, Copia is so obviously Mordred to me.)

MY POINT IS, there's something else going on that's kept them apart besides just Nihil falling into rockstar adultery. His moments of rockstar weakness may have been a temporary nail in a coffin, but I have...other (admittedly kind of dark) ideas about how that all folds together. So I do believe there was a bit of a rift between them for a little while, but not an indefinite one.

So, yes. I've always been someone who is drawn to The Main Character's Parents (or Parental Generation) in like 75% of my fandoms, but this one's just like...extra got a hold on me. Over half a century of, at minimum, absolutely longing for each other. The power and legacy she gifted him with. The utter devotion and twitterpation radiating off of him every time they interact. The way she tries so hard to engage him even while she's at her weakest in the hospital. The way his face lights up when her bandages come off. Their little kiss at the NYC tour announcement for Prequelle. The way they look at each other at the end of "Dance Macabre". Her little handgrasp in his direction as she revels (pre-disaster) in watching him perform in "GoGoat". The sheer adoration. Forget Satan, they are each other's religion.