#but this is a real conversation William and Henry had
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chloesimaginationthings · 6 months ago
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Can’t spell “Five nights at Freddy’s” without GAY
(Based off @/flashcs5 post)
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gulnarsultan · 3 months ago
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can u write something about yan!king henry VIII being obsessed with reader and reader taking advantage of it (manipulates him and stuff and him very willing to do it)?? a longer fic pls 😫😫
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》 Scenario《
A King's obsession. If you asked others, most would find this situation scary, frightening and dangerous. In a way, they were right. After all, if you didn't play your cards right, you risked losing your beautiful head. But you were a smart, ambitious and cunning young lady. You were really talented at seizing opportunities and strategy.
King Henry had met you at a ball and fell in love. He was married to Catherine of Argaon, but his marriage was unhappy. He couldn't have the male heirs he desired. And before the ball, his wife had had another miscarriage. Your conversation with the King soon resulted in you becoming the Royal Mistress. You had your own room in the palace, a bunch of maids of honor and servants working at your service. It wouldn't be a lie to say that you had everything you wanted.
You were using the King's obsession for your own benefit. And you weren't even bothered by it. After all, why would you run away from a blessing that was given to you? You had become pregnant in a short time. The King adored you during your pregnancy. You were pampered by the King and treated like a Queen. You did not hesitate to take advantage of all the opportunities provided to you. You had caused the King to completely distance himself from his wife in grief.
The best doctors and midwives were in the room during the birth. Contrary to tradition, Henry was by your side, holding your hand and supporting you. In no time, the room was filled with the cries of a healthy baby. Henry was shedding tears of joy. He did not hesitate to give his firstborn son Henry his own name. Moreover, he gave his son the surname Fitzroy. You were very proud to be given this surname. Following the birth of your firstborn son Henry Fritzroy, you had children named Edward, Richard, Elinor, William, Cecily and Grace. Unlike the daughter born to his first wife, the King was a good father to your daughters. Your children were treated like real Princes and Princesses. After a while, Henry legitimized your children. Your firstborn son was now officially the next in line to the throne of England.
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drinkinboilingcoffee · 5 months ago
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Useless headcanons for the characters in no real order whatsoever:
-The Aftons have a cat named Beatrice and the Emilys have a golden retriever named Felix. As an adult Michael had a ferret named Noodle. -Mike has a bad habit of scratching his palms when he’s stressed. This became a pretty big issue post scoop when he had claw-y hands and more fragile skin, and he sometimes rips his hands right open during nightshifts. -Evan has schizophrenia (his Fredbear doll has a speaker in it, the others are auditory hallucinations). -Charlie is lactose intolerant and can’t eat ice cream, which is inconvenient when Elizabeth keeps trying to give her coupons for it for her birthday. -William has unusually sharp teeth due to a genetic mutation. Michael and Elizabeth both inherited it. -Henry has gotten burned in the workshop so many times that he can’t really feel his hands get burnt anymore. -Charlie had a twin that she absorbed in the womb (sorry Sammy). Henry dropped this information in casual conversation when she was like 7 and she has been horrified ever since. -Post-scoop Michael uses crutches to help get around. -William is legally blind after the springlocks but still drives. Out of spite. -William is like 5’5” and Clara was almost 6 feet tall, and Michael inherited her genes, so William just watched his son slowly tower over him more and more over the years. -Elizabeth held onto Evan’s doll after he died, and Michael took it after she died. Elizabeth used it as a blunt weapon a few times. -Michael holds random items in his chest cavity post-scoop (he could fit a whole ass person in there if he wanted). -Michael definitely posted The Immortal And The Restless fic and fanart once social media was invented. He hates Twilight so much. -Henry never learned how to text. -Jeremy has memory lapses and seizures post-bite. Every time someone asks about the scar he tells a different story. -Mike (as a zombie) accidentally bit one of Jeremy’s fingers off once. Can’t elaborate. -Zombies are Michael’s least favorite supernatural creature, he’s so pissed he ended up as one. -Undead Mike acts kind of animalistic sometimes. Like he is very much a continuation of “every non-human character has to purr”. Also bites people. -Elizabeth used to bring stray cats home and most of them had like the bubonic plague.
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carajilloplz · 6 months ago
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i. cowboy like me ₊˚⊹⋆ billy the kid
warnings: none really lol, just 1870s bs and low-key flirting
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The lace fan in your hand and the spring breeze did little to soothe the flush caused by the early afternoon sunshine, making a light blush crawl up to your cheeks and small beads of sweat pool at the nape of your neck. It was pleasant to be out on the terrace of your friend’s townhouse, basking in the pleasure of not having to fuss over much before the season starts, but the imminent peril of your debut kept your mind elsewhere from the untouched tea and pastries laid out before you.
“Ada, do you suppose your brother’s guest will be handsome?” mused Josie, slumped over her chair turning to look at Ada
“Josie! Hush, don’t say things like that, I’d never be interested in someone who’s my brother’s age.”
“I’m just saying that if he’s going to be staying in your house, eating your food, and disturbing your peace he might as well be nice-looking”
“Perhaps Josie has a point, Ada.” you reasoned “Do you really know who this man is?”
“I barely just learned this morning that my brother’s coming back to New York, give me a break girls.”
“What I do know is that his friend’s a cowboy at his father’s ranch in colorado and that he’s looking for a change of scenery for a while, so my brother’s bringing him up here.”
A cowboy? You’d seen what they’re like on your trips to Texas— rough, rugged, almost uncouth, but there was something that intrigued you about a man that could ride in the ranges all day and never get tired of the landscape’s expanse. You saw a bit of yourself in that. A cowboy’s the furthest you’d expect to have in new york, especially attending the events of the social season.
“Just cross your fingers it doesn’t turn into a shitshow, Ada”
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The rattle of the carriage’s wheels on the cobblestone streets did nothing to help the unease in Billy’s stomach as they headed to Ash’s house in a side of New York drastically unlike the one he used to be familiar with. Is this really a good idea?
"Billy, while the people here can be greay gossips, they probably won’t think too deeply. As long as you keep a low profile and not cause any trouble, you should be fine. In due time you can return south," reassured Ash
“I couldn’t be more grateful Ash, really. It’s just going to be real hard to lie about everything.”
The carriage came to a sudden stop infront of a tall brownstone that matched all the ones next to it, creating a cookie-cutter row of houses that ran down the street until the eye could see. Finely dressed people walked down the sidewalks, conversing or walking their dogs, seeing and being seen under the spring sun. Billy stepped out of the carriage with Ash, giving a grateful nod to the driver and going up the steps behind his host. The door was opened by a maid inside, who greeted Ash with a smile, and as he and Billy walked in there was a rumble heard on the stairs as three young girls stormed down and an older woman walked behind them.
“Ash!” exclaimed one of the girls, her face lighting up as she rushed to greet him, followed by the older woman billy assumed was his mother. The other two girls stayed on the staircase, offering ash a polite greeting and peering curiously at Billy. You particularly, wearing a soft cornflower blue dress with your hair pinned up caught his eye, but he knew it was rude to stare so he quickly bright his gaze back to his host.
“Everyone, this is my friend William Henry from Colorado. Billy this is my mother Helena, my sister Ada and her friends”
“Pleasure to meet you ladies, and thank you Mrs. Upson for allowin’ me to stay in your house for some time. I hope it’s not too much of a bother.” As he said this, Billy finally had the chance to take a look at you, his stomach flipping but now for a good reason. His gaze lingered momentarily, trying to piece together the intrigue you caused -- you were beautiful, undoubtedly so but there was lightness and grace about you that captivated him. You smiled softly and nodded as a greeting, and he couldn’t help but notice the lightly flustered blush of your cheeks or the small hairs fallen from your updo that framed your face and neck.
Mrs. Upson snapped him back to reality. “It is absolutely no trouble, Mr. Henry. Hattie will see to your belongings, but for now you can join the girls and I for tea if you’d like.”
Everybody moved to the terrace once more, Ash being whisked away by Ada to catch up, leaving Billy to sit with Mrs Upson, Josephine, and you.
When Billy had stepped through the front door of the Upson’s house, your breath left you for a moment. He was very much a cowboy, slightly rugged and stoic but a gentle demeanor about the way he carried himself that brought your breath back to your lungs. He towered over you just the right amount and his shoulders, which he carried with a humble confidence, were (weirdly) attractively wide. Josie was also right about something— Ash’s guest was absolutely handsome.
“So your father is a rancher, Billy?” Asks Josephine, sitting next to you and nudging you slightly, making you pay attention to the cowboy sitting before you. Josie’s bluntness made you blush, elbowing her and shooting her a warning glance. “I apologize, if you don’t mind us calling you Billy.”
“I don’t mind that at all, I quite prefer it actually.” He swallowed before continuing, a strain in his face that piqued your curiosity. “And yes, my father owns a few ranches along the Arkansas river.”
“How wonderful, must be a beautiful sight.” you mention absentmindedly, picturing the mountains and the rolling hills that you imagine as his home. A small smile breaking his face snaps you back into the moment and it makes your stomach warm and cracks a smile out of you too.
“It is, really. Y’all should visit sometime, it’s beautiful around this time of year.”
“That’s quite a nice idea, William we would love to see your father’s ranches.” remarked Mrs. Upson, “I know you must be tired from your travels, but will you be joining us at the soiree tonight?”
“I’d love to Mrs Upson, what’s the occasion?”
“The girl’s debut this season! It’s just something small with some family friends before the ball tomorrow.”
Billy was visibly confused, “Debut?”
“It’s a ball where the girls get paraded around in white dresses like cattle so they can get married off” interjects Ash, joining them. “Frankly it’s degrading, but it’s tradition.”
Your stomach churned. Degrading is the perfect word to describe it. You were not looking forward to the next few months of insipid suitors and the prospect of a proposal. It’s not like you were completely opposed to a proposal, but this culling process was not the way you wanted to approach it. Yet, as Ash said, it’s tradition.
“Sounds…grueling” Billy admits.
“Absolutely. The balls are quite fun though.” says Josie.
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Later that night, the Upson household was bustling with people laughing, drinks pouring, and conversation buzzing with excitement about the upcoming season. Poor billy looked like a fish out of water, dressed in one of Ash’s suits that he was visibly unnaccustomed to using. You looked at the interactions from afar, Billy charming but clearly feeling uncomfortable, as you could see with the tension in his sharp jaw. Josie, a little bit tipsy, comes up to you and leans in with a giggle.
“Have you noticed he’s been staring at you all night?” she whispers.
A blush creeps onto your cheeks and you try to hold back a smile “And what would make you say such a wild thing, josie? Is it the champagne?”
Josie placed her hand on her chest in fake offense “Gah! You offend me darling”
“What’d she do now, Jo?” Ada, also a few drinks in accuses cheekily.
“She doesn’t believe that she is the most stunning girl in the room and that Mr Cowboy here has been stealing a few glances.”
“Oh Josie is right, you’ve been the only one he’s looked at.”
You noticed that he had excused himself from the conversation across the room and headed to the drinks table where the three of you were located, a soft smile greeting you and making your heart flutter. You realized then and there that it was impossible to get tired of his deep, kind blue eyes.
“How’s the night treating you, Billy?” asks Josie. Billy lets out a small laugh and glances at you and Ada.
“She needs to start findin’ her way home don’t she?”
Josie scowls, and you and Ada are laughing at your friend’s cheeky behavior “Gosh, you’re no fun! I’m just getting started, Billy boy.”
“Oh she is, Billy. She always has a few too many glasses of champagne but she’s great fun” you say with a smile. You both meet eyes for a moment and you drop it after a second, a bashful blush painting your cheeks.
“All three of y’all seem like great fun, champagne or not. I’m lookin’ forward to my stay here.” he admits. Billy gives you a smile too, picking the eye contact back up and going to say something before Ada interrupts.
“We should cheers to that then!” she says, serving each one a glass of champagne and handing it to them. “To Billy’s fruitful stay in New York!”
You all clink your glasses together and you down yours mostly in a few sips.
“Josie, you should go play some music!” squeals Ada, grabbing Josie, who is also downing her glass and pulls her towards the piano at the other side of the room.
You and billy share a laugh at the antics of your friends, and you go to serve some more champagne for the two of you. The bubbly buzz of the champagne was getting to your head a little and you faltered a few drops onto your dress.
As you served some into Billy’s glass, you couldn’t stop yourself from commenting—“Your accent slips out a little more when you’re drinkin’ Billy.” you noticed. It was cute though, your time in Texas had made you fond of a southern drawl.
“Does it really? You’ve kinda got one too.” he points out with a laugh, looking down at you through half-lidded eyes.
“Do I? It’s probably the champagne, I apologize.” you laugh, a light smile covered by a laced hand spreads on your face and you look up at him. “I haven’t been down south in forever, I thought it’d gone away”
“You’ve been?” he asks furrowing his brow in question and developing a curious smile. He quickly dismissed the thought of how much he loved the way your eyes looked from below him. “Didn’t take you for a southern girl.”
You let out a shy laugh and looked down, “I am, grew up in Texas and moved here with my mother and sister when I was eleven. My father’s still down there. He’s got an oil field in the Panhandle and takes care of a few ranches in the prairie near Dallas.”
Billy nodded, slightly surprised but still, extremely curious and amused by your personal history. He’d wondered whether he’d seen the same prairies as you had growing up, fallen in love with the same nature.
“Well darlin’ I’m quite surprised,” his stomach churned at his lie— “My father’s ranches run along Colorado but I’ve been to Texas quite a few times and I can’t wait to go back.”
“Me neither,” you confess, staring wistfully at your cup. “My father comes up every once in a while but I haven’t been since I was fifteen.”
“I’d happily take you in as a guest if it’ll take that downhearted look off your face.” he said softly, taking your chin in his hand and bringing you to look at him with the most tender gesture, giving you the most comforting smile. All of this made your heart flip and your chest tighten the lightest bit in fear. You’d had one or two callers before that had caught your heart, but whatever Billy did to you was different. Speaking to him felt familiar and the slightly calloused feel of his hand on you was a commiserative connection back to the wild girl you had once been. Being in New York tamed you, but he had a look that took you right back home.
You couldn’t. With a polite smile, you leaned out of his touch after a few moments and tried to will the blush off your cheeks.
“I’d much like that Mr. Henry, I appreciate the invitation.” He nonned curtly in response, a little confused at your sudden distance. “I should catch up with my friends. Enjoy your evening.”
You walked away, your heart almost beating out of your ribcage as you made a beeline to your friends. Looking around discreetly to see if anyone had noticed your interaction with billy, you caught the curious eye of your sister and her fiance, giving them a dismissive stare and catching up to josie and ada, who were sitting at the piano.
The rest of the night you stuck to your friends, the drinks pouring and the conversation flowing through the bustle of people in the salon. As you stepped through the balcony doors to take a breath, remembering the feeling of billy’s touch and the way he made you feel, your sister followed you through. It was pathetic how he had affected you so much with a single touch.
Your sister, accompanied by her fiance Theo, stared at you teasingly.
“And what was that with Ash's friend?” She asks, “I know you have a thing for cowboys.”
With a rush of blood to your face once more, you dismissed her with a gesture of your hand.
“Stop it Clemmie, you know that stupid crush was forever ago, and there is nothing going on with Mr. Henry.”
“He looks awfully familiar, somehow.” Theo comments. “Feels like I’ve seen him before”
“Theo, my love, you know I adore you but just because we went back home last summer doesn’t mean you know everyone in the South.” Your sister says, giving her fiance a teasing tap on his cheek. “Well, from what i’ve heard through the grapevine he is truly an uncut gem so I say go for it”
You blush, impossibly even more, at her comment. “Shut it Clemmie, my debut is tomorrow and I cannot have you putting stupid things in my head.”
“But he’s quite darling isn’t he?”
Hesitating, you sighed, staring wistfully at the man inside, speaking with Ash and somehow stirring your heart from afar, “I won’t deny that.”
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a/n: HEY GUYS WELCOME so happy to be putting this out omg i've been working on this for forever i hope you enjoy :) part 2 is in the works but in the meantime if you have any ideas for any tom characters lmk jijiji i am very much taking requests (and look at my masterlist so you can see who else i write for !!)
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mayhemchicken-varneyposting · 3 months ago
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Varney the Vampire, Chapter 11: Finally, Some Good Fucking Common Sense
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Henry sits Charles down and tells him everything that's happened in the narrative so far. Charles is incredulous, but Henry points out that most of the events had multiple witnesses, lending them some credibility. He then tells Charles that, given the circumstances, Charles is free to break off his engagement with Flora without dishonor, rather than stay and become entangled in all this vampire business. Charles says that would be a real dick move on his part, and promises to stay and support the family. Henry points out that, if the legends about vampires are true, then Flora is now doomed to become one herself after death, but even this is not enough to dissuade Charles.
Charles points out that there may yet be a non-supernatural explanation for everything that has happened, though he doesn't have any ideas as to what that might be. He asks to stay at the house for a while, and converse freely with everyone involved in the vampire situation, both of which Henry agrees to.
Charles then has another idea: if the vampire legends are true, then a vampire is a tangible being, which can be caught and destroyed. Thus, Charles reasons, they ought to try to catch the vampire. Henry worries that such an endeavor would be more difficult than Charles makes it out to be, but finds Charles' level-headedness and determination encouraging in the midst of his now chaotic life. Charles requests to stay in the room with the creepy portrait, thinking that the vampire may have a preference for that room. Henry thinks this is crazy, but agrees to this request as well, and Charles retires to bed in the creepy portrait room.
What a fucking breath of fresh air this chapter is. After multiple chapters of cartoon characters with cartoon viewpoints bumbling around cartoonishly, it's such a relief to have someone react to the situation with a genuinely rational perspective.
The chapter opens with five paragraphs of exposition about Charles' feelings, most of which is unnecessary. To sum up: Charles is confused and upset, and would almost have found it less painful if Flora had just cheated on him or something, rather than withdrawing from him out of love.
But now he was to hear all. Henry had promised to tell him, and as he looked into his pale, but handsomely intellectual face, he half dreaded the disclosure he yet panted to hear.
"pale, but handsomely intellectual" is such a funny description. Now is not the time to be a little gay about your best friend, Charles.
Henry gets right to the point. Just kidding, this is Varney the Vampire, he spends about half a page stalling for time. Charles' initial reaction to being told Flora is breaking up with him because of vampires is "are all of you out of your goddamn minds", but after hearing Henry's account of events, he is a little more convinced; not to the point of belief, but at least to the point of acknowledging something Fucking Weird is going on.
Henry brings up, for the first time, the idea that vampirism is contagious, and that a vampire's victim will themself become a vampire upon death. This, as well as the idea that a vampire can be killed by staking it, are both aspects of vampire folklore which are not mentioned in this story's main source of vampire lore, John William Polidori's The Vampyre. What is interesting to me is not the fact that Rymer borrowed these ideas from folklore, but that nothing else from vampire folklore seems to have permeated Rymer's awareness. Varney needs no invitation to enter buildings, cannot be warded off by any means such as garlic, and doesn't even show an aversion to holy symbols; nor does he show any indication of being able to shapeshift. Not only that, but Rymer seems to think vampire myths originated from Scandinavia. (Yes, I know draugar exist, but he doesn't seem to be drawing inspiration from those, either.) The idea that a vampire's victims are doomed to become vampires by default is the source of much fearmongering in Varney the Vampire, although by the lore eventually settled on by the story this turns out to be untrue.
Charles is greatly upset by all this, and begins to seriously consider that the Bannerworth family may be all insane; however, he sticks to his guns regarding his love and devotion to Flora. In an attempt to reassure Henry, he tells him there may yet be a human, rather than supernatural, explanation for what has happened. I do wish one of these characters would venture at least a partial theory as to what's going on, rather than just saying "I have no idea", but I do appreciate Charles bringing up explicitly the idea that the vampire attack might be the result of human mischief. Not even Chillingworth has managed to be that concrete.
But Charles goes a step further, coming up with a sensible and concrete plan: vampire or not, something has been visiting the house, and if they catch it, they can find out what it is. A vampire is a revived corpse according to folklore, and should therefore be tangible, which means that unlike, say, a ghost, it can be caught and killed. Henry, who has seen the vampire firsthand, is a little more doubtful of this plan:
"Oh, Charles! you know not the feeling of horror that will come across you when you do. You have no idea of how the warm blood will seem to curdle in your veins, and how you will be paralysed in every limb."
Charles is pretty convinced that his love for Flora will allow him to overcome supernaturally induced vampire terror, which is rather less reasonable, but he's 21 and in love so I'll give him a pass. He then drops what may be the most sensible stance on vampires of anybody in this whole book:
"My dear friend, I always make it a rule to take things at their worst, and then I cannot be disappointed. I am content to reason upon this matter as if the fact of the existence of a vampyre were thoroughly established, and then to think upon what is best to be done about it."
"You are right."
"If it should turn out then that there is an error in the fact, well and good—we are all the better off; but if otherwise, we are prepared, and armed at all points."
Charles is sensible, but also reckless; immediately after this, he asks to stay in the creepy portrait room while he's staying with the Bannerworths, on the logic that the vampire seems likely to return to that room. Personally, if I thought there was any chance I was dealing with an actual vampire, I would take a lot more precautions. Rig up some traps perhaps, and have other people on standby as backup. Alas, every character in this book is nearly incapable of making solid plans.
Next: A busy night for Charles
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fandomwritingbit · 10 months ago
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You like him.
Henry Emily x (f)reader (employee)
Synop: You start to develop a crush on your overly nice and professional boss and can't tell if he feels the same way. So you have to ask.
Warnings: bad language, inappropriate relationship (boss/employee) William being a twat, Henry being lovely. Reader is outspoken and sarky.
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A/n: I had/still have no idea where this is going, it's just a little thought I had, that I think I'm keep going with. Hope it's okay.
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William wouldn’t be surprised by this. William wouldn’t be thanking god for sending you his way, he’d be thanking himself. William is entitled to this kind of thing after all, but Henry just isn’t.
He can’t seem to understand why you’d ever want him. He’s twice your age, he’s quiet and boring and you’re so not. You’re funny, probably one of the funniest people he’s ever met, always cracking jokes and sliding snide comments about customers his way, somehow able to switch between the bubbly customer service personality and your real sarcastic self, faster than the snap of fingers.
A small smile is alway on his face when you’re around. Making him grin to himself as he listens to you repeating an order back to yourself at the kiosk, “Three pepsi max, one normal pepsi. A fucking jug of mineral water. Two peroni, one with lime because they have no taste. Cordial: one blackcurrant, one orange… God,  want me to wax your car for you too? Help you file tax returns? Knobheads.” He chuckles, immediately losing count of the cash he was sorting as soon as you started talking. 
You smirk at him, that cheeky, utterly charming smirk that saved just for colleagues. “Sorry. They just couldn’t wait for me to get my notepad, nah they needed drinks right fucking now.” You punctuate your swearing by hitting the tab button on the till, the drawer opening with a loud clunk.
“Well it's been nearly 10 seconds since they sat down. You should know better.” He replies equally as sarcastically, his heavy brow raising and moving his glasses slightly. He was never the type to make fun of customers, especially while on the floor, but he can’t help but joke along with you, it’s just irresistible. 
“Yeah, we should have remembered their order from last time and all. Very unprofessional.” You continue, now moving to grab a handful of menus for a table that was coming in through the door, your face set straight until they walk towards you and suddenly you’re wearing a bright service smile. “Hey there. Have we got a reservation today?” 
~
You’re chatty with all your coworkers, trying to make the shifts somewhat fun just so they go that bit quicker, but you save a little extra camaraderie for your boss, Mr Emily. You can’t help it. His quiet and sensible personality just makes you want to make him laugh, humanise him a bit. At first he was so professional that he’d flush at your comments, thinking you were being serious but it soon became a wink-wink nudge-nudge situation. It amuses you how hard he has to try to be pissy, he’s just too nice. Kind and calm always, very much unlike his co-owner.
Yeah… you like him.   
Well, fancy him more like. And you’re not ashamed or embarrassed by it, he’s a handsome man, but you worry that you’ll never really have a shot, because it’s inappropriate afterall. At least the joking and flirting is fun. 
~
The two owners of the diner walk towards the back together, well, as close together as possible what with William’s stride that always seems to leave Henry a step and a half behind. He was so used to having a conversation with William’s shoulder that it didn’t really bother him anymore. 
“It was a great night last night.” The man in the lead says, an avaricious grin on his face. Great doesn’t cover the absolute beauty of the accounts that he’d been going over all morning. 
“Home or work?” Henry asks, completely lost to what William was even talking about. 
He glances back, clearly amused, “Never home, Henry.” He’s only half joking, William is the only person who could put someone off a married family life, likening it to jail, which out of the two of them Will certainly knew more about. 
“My mistake.” He shakes his head, knowing that his disapproval just tickled William more. “What, we did well then, last night?” He asks, continuing to push for context. 
William stops walking right before the door to the staff rest area, forcing Henry to halt too whilst the  other brings his head down to get closer to his eye-line. “Well doesn’t touch the sweet bit of turnover we did, had me hard as a rock doing the books earlier.” He snickers, god, annoying Henry just never gets old to him. 
Henry winces, he’d forgotten how gross William could be when he was in a good mood. He settles on just dryly saying “Nice.” not wanting to give his partner the reaction he was hoping for. 
Still sniggering, William pushes the door open and holds it behind him for Henry. You’re in the staff area, standing in front of your locker as you quickly change your shirt, the toilet was occupied and you’re already late, so exhibitionism it had to be. The shirt is halfway over your head when the door opens, you glance at who's coming in but don’t react, just continuing the action you’re in the middle of. 
“Speaking of.” William grins, nudging Henry in an immature way to really hammer that inappropriate comment home. Inappropriate should be his middle name because as he walks past to head towards his office, he wolf-whistles at you, the crisp sound making you turn. You just laugh, you’ve been here long enough now to know your bosses well and you know that he’s just kidding around. Well, mostly. 
“I’ll be a second.” Henry says to William as he goes to enter his office and he waves him off in response. 
He gives you some space, turning away until he can no longer hear the sound of fabric rustling, confirming to him that you’ve finished getting changed. 
You’re smiling the whole time you finish the action, it’s sweet of him to look away. “You alright?” You ask your boss, brushing down your trousers , now fully ready to slay some service. 
He smiles back at you a little shy, mentally reprimanding himself for the heat on his face at seeing you changing. It’s nothing, other people do it, but other people turn around… he’s glad you didn’t but the flush to his cheeks makes him feel like a silly little kid. “Yeah, not too bad. You?” 
“Keeping on, you know.” You reply, “You want to talk to me?” You then ask, a tone to your voice that mockingly says ‘what have I done, now?’. 
He grins, “I uh just wanted to say that if you ever need to change - and the bathroom is busy - you can use my office. Provided I’m not in there, of course!” You giggle, you can’t help it, that fact that he’s this flustered is as amusing as it is nice. 
God, sometimes he hates himself. “I just wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable. You know-” He claws back his nerves, nodding towards William’s now closed office door. 
You understand what he’s getting at, “Oh. Your man doesn’t make me uncomfortable. If anything it’s a bit of a boost for me before I get on the floor.” You’re joking, he knows you are, but it still gives him a pang of jealousy, as much as he decides to suppress it. “But that’s really nice of you to offer, I appreciate it.” 
“It’s alright. Feel free to.”
You’re not sure why, but the impulse to try something flickers in your mind. To try your luck, see how he would react to you being more forward. You assume he knows that you like him, but maybe he doubts it, so why not be a little more obvious. “It does pose the question…” He looks at you, the look on your face is a little bit sly, your eyes narrowed in observation. “What if I came in to change and you were in your office?” 
The question hangs in the air for a few moments before awkwardness obligates him to respond, he chuckles, again finding his face hot. “Well, uh. That would be up to you.” The second he says that he panics, you’re evidently amused but that doesn’t prevent the instant embarrassment. “- That sounded creepy. I didn’t mean it like that-”
You giggle, leaning a little closer to him, “It’s alright, I was leading you there. Don’t worry.” Your eyes soften then and realisation almost makes him flinch, you’re flirting, like really flirting, with him. 
“But you wouldn’t mind?” You ask coyly, still grinning for all of england. 
His expression is a little uncertain and he clears his throat, resisting the urge to pluck at his watch. “No- no, not at all.” 
“Good to know.” 
~
The surprise at that is still evident on his face when he finally gets around to going to William to see if these books are really so good they're arousing.
And to be frank they were, there was a huge spike in intake, even for a Saturday night and the tips were so good Henry wishes he was in so he could be included in the tip pool.
"We must have been fully booked, this is great." There's a hint of disbelief as he reads the individual tabs, it's a cheap restaurant, their demographic is families, but these tabs are closer to a proper establishment.
"Pretty much. A lot of walk-ins too." There's a smugness to William's delivery, like he was the main reason for such a good turnover. "Wasn't just that though."
"Oh?" Henry's brows are raised, unsure where this is going.
"Yeah, foxy lass out there worked some magic. I caught her briefing the others on upselling." Henry locks eyes with Will and can't contain the smile that takes over his face. "That one deserves a promotion."
"Yeah, absolutely. Head server, maybe even supervisor." This was unexpected, he knew you were competent but this says more than that, he's proud of you.
"I told her I'd give her my share of tips, you know, a little reward." He's laughing as he speaks, "And she goes," William put his hands on his hips in some kind of mimicry of your attitude, it's ridiculous enough that Henry is laughing before he even knows the joke. "There's no such thing as free money, what are you trying to pay for?" 
He can picture you saying that, your eyes glinting with mischief, grinning at your own comment. It's that suggestive sarcasm you've mastered perfectly, different to the plain suggestive you were just minutes ago. Though both manage to leave him speechless.
Henry listens half-minded as William prattles on, gloating about something or other, he’s too wrapped up in thought to care really. He’ll have to do something nice for you, as a reward for rallying the troops. But it’s likely more for himself than you, and that doesn’t pass him by.
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madsmilfelsen · 11 months ago
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Hello! I'm really curious, what books/authors would you recommend to someone who's new to writing horror?
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Hi! Here is what I have on hand (minus my loaned out copies of my favorite book ever Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones and Never Whistle At Night: an indigenous anthology of dark fiction which made me cry on an airplane and made the person next to me very uncomfortable, like she was just trying to build a cart at banana republic, apologies to seat 17B)
God’s Cruel Joke Lit Mag because I’m in them and will be in issue 4, too :) published either mid-January or February 2024– @labyrinthphanlivingafacade is in issue 3 with a great short story that I won’t spoil ***right now the magazines are available to purchase in physical copies but I was told all issues will be free to download as pdfs pretty soon!
Severance by Ling Ma (body horror but not in the way you think, the real horror is repetition and loneliness)
Wilder Girls by Rory Power (body horror)
The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis (adjacent the horror genre but a hell of a read)
ANYTHING BY STEPHAN GRAHAM JONES ANYTHING
We Have Always Lived in a Castle by Shirely Jackson (I read this for the first time last spring boy howdy, I also included The Lottery for its suspense)
Dean Koontz because my husband suggested it for the list— this was just the first title I grabbed, I think he said Patrician Crowell too but I was busy looking for Mongrels
A Good and Happy Child by Justin Evans (I didn’t finish this because depression set in shortly after I started but the first chapter plays with second pov which I really liked, I’m determined to read it this year)
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (I really enjoyed HBO’s adaptation)
The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey (likely the only zombie stories that made me weep uncontrollably)
Girls & Sex by Peggy Orenstein (non-fiction: explores modern young women navigating sexuality and because I have a thing for loss of autonomy— it’s been a few years since I read it but there is discussion of sexual assault, but I appreciate the expanse of her research and even included a conversation with someone who is asexual)
Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James (got a chill just typing this out— the audio book is exquisite)
You’ll notice some nonfiction because, as a historian undergrad, nothing scares me more than man. The battles of Leningrad and Stalingrad are particularly stomach churning. America’s Reconstruction Era is full of acted out malice and under taught in my opinion.
An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
The 900 Days, The Siege of Leningrad by Harrison E. Salisbury
Enemy at the Gates by William Craig
(On the other side of WW2 I have a book of the experiences of German solider’s left over from a paper I wrote on the inadequacy of Nazi uniforms and how it expedited their failure in Russia, Frontsoldaten by Stephen G. Fritz)
Stony the Road by Henry Louis Gates, Jr (one of my favorite authors, try finding “How Reconstruction Still Shapes American Racism” Time Magazine, April 2, 2019, I used it as a source for a paper on the history of voting rights)
Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers— folk tales of Canadians, Lumberjacks & Indians by Richard M. Dorson (published around 1952 but content collected from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the 40’s)
Raven Tells Stories: An Anthology of Alaskan Native Writing (I’m Alutiiq and the museum on Kodiak has a lot of stories recorded under Alutiiq Museum Podcast— my kids and I listen on Spotify)
I think the genre of horror is really mastering tension and playing on peoples fears which is why I included old school folk stories (An Underground Education had a great write up on the Grimm Brothers and the original fairy tales from around the world such as the Chinese and Egyptian Cinderella, as well as several different sections of funny tales, torture techniques, absolute weirdos etc etc) in this vein of thought The Uses of Enchanment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim could prove to be useful
If you’re writing a character with Bad Parents— Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents and Toxic Parents (it has a longer subtitle but I don’t see my copy anywhere) might be able to help you shape character traits
I reached out to @littleredwritingcat who has a mind plentiful in sources who recommended
The Gathering Dark: an anthology of folk horror (I will be picking this one up asap)
Toll by Cherie Priest (southern gothic)
Anything by Jennifer MacMahon
The Elementals by Michael McDowell
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dee-in-the-box · 9 months ago
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hey. so uh, while writing something down for a fic, i discovered This lovely conversation between Dave and Henry before (what I presume to be) Dee's murder. it's from a cutscene in the second game i'm pretty sure:
~~~
Dave: It’s a real shame that your springlocks aren’t able to compete with the robots over at Freddy Fazbender’s, Henry…Wouldn’t it be possible to try and go for something more…organic?
Henry: Oh, but that’s exactly the plan, William. Metal has a life-force and breathes, just as we do. It’s the future, Willy. Flesh merged with steel. Steel merged with flesh.
Dave: I don’t get what you mean, Henry…Why exactly did we lure those kids off?! Why did we stuff them into the robots? How does any of this make ‘em more lifelike? I just don’t understand why we’re doing this…
Henry: Give it time, William. One day, you will know the Joy of Creation.
(footsteps)
Henry: Willy…I need you to follow me into the back.
Dave: Why’s that, Henry?
Henry: There’s a third one back there that I didn’t tell you about…
Dave: Henry! Both of our robots are already…full…Why the Hell would you snag a third kid?!
Henry: This is the last one for now, William. I promise. Just follow me, will you? I need a hand.
Dave: Henry…Why can’t you just do it yourself?
Henry: She keeps struggling.
~~~
so uh. lot to unpack here:
at some point prior to this, Henry had abducted Dee and took her "into the back" (Saferoom, most likely)
Dave expresses confusion about the kids they've been killing, and about why they've been doing this. seems to track pretty well with what i've seen in other parts of the lore. Pre-Mind Fuckery, Dave was, at the very least, hesitant about what they were doing, and was likely either a) manipulated into thinking it was okay, b) pressured into doing it by Henry, or c) both.
this also aligns with Dave telling Dee that he was never okay with her murder and had tried to talk Henry out of doing it.
considering how things are worded here, it sounds like Dave's involvement in this whole thing might've potentially been to hold her down/keep her still/restrain her. Henry keeps reiterating that he "needs a hand" and says that Dee is struggling a lot, and it sounds like he would've been fine killing her by himself if she wasn't struggling as much. he basically only brought Dave in to get some help with keeping her still so that he can kill her easier.
^ this also goes with what Dee said about her "not going down easy the first time, either." that girl fought 'til her dying breath and you can't convince me otherwise. she did Not make it easy for them. Good For Her
so, all in all, Jesus Fucking Christ
so yeah, just thought i'd tell y'all about this. because Wow. i never see people talking about this one, so might as well do it myself.
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springlock-suits · 1 year ago
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Um. *twirls my hair* For this day I wanted to draw Funtime Foxy and or Ballora as real/showbiz inspired animatronics but then I realized I didn't. Want to. And might not have the time to depending on how the inspiration hits and if I'm going to add Baby to be a proper ladies night. So. I wrote a fic one-shot 👉👈
Bear in mind, I am an artist first. And failed English class on multiple occasions. So have fun with this I guess
Fnaf-tober | Day 4: Ladies Night
Fnaf-tober by miiilowo
Content: Willry if you squint, mostly in the form of Henry's thoughts. Gender.
This is about 1000 words, so one of my more lengthy fics, if not the new record holder
-----
Henry reread the design notes in front of him again. He scratched his beard a bit in concentration. The ginger man was currently looking over William's work on some circus themed animatronics, they were only concepts right now, silly little doodles made by a man who happened to enjoy the aesthetic clowns and the like. However... he couldn't help but notice a small, inconcensistent detail. Had William made a mistake? Maybe he should call him to make sure he's reading this right.
No... he can't do that.
Henry sighed and took a sip of the tea on his desk, perfectly sweet, though unfortunately has long since become room temperature. Henry huffed a laugh as he took another sip, William always called Henry's tea "hummingbird nectar". Always scrunching his nose in that cute way of his when he saw Henry drinking a cup of a sugary concoction. Henry shook his head, focus, what was he doing again? He looked back down, right, William's notes. Calling him. Can't do that. Henry sighed again, William had taken a break from work this week to take care of his kids while Bella was away on a camping trip with her girl friends. William would be back for work this Friday, and correcting a detail on some concept work truly wasn't that important. Especially since the "funtimes" won't see the light of days for years, if ever.
Henry nibbled on his pen, and looked up at the time. 1pm. Would William be busy? Michael was at school, but little Evan and Elizabeth were home. Maybe they were taking an after lunch nap at this very moment and William was just as bored as he was and wanted to talk about his animatronics some more. Henry rapidly tapped his pen on the desk, thinking. Charlotte was still at school. His little Button had mentioned recently that she wanted to see Uncle Will and her siblings again. He remembered how he tried once to explain to her that William is not her uncle, and even if he was his children wouldn't be considered her siblings, she just puffed up and crossed her arms, stating that she obviously knew that, but she had adopted them, so they're family now. William had laughed and ruffled her hair, saying he couldn't argue with that logic, and Charlie had absolutely beamed at that. Henry smiled at the memory.
He shook his head, getting distracted again, what was he...? Henry jolts up when he remembers. Right, of course, Charlie wanted a play date. He should call William to ask him about it. And if the conversation happens to steer towards other things, well, that'd be convenient, just some light chatter between friends. Henry holds the phone to his ear, having quickly dialed the number.
Ringing...
"Hello?" comes the sweet sound of William's voice. Henry realizes that he's been silent on the phone to the point of becoming uncomfortable. "William! I ah, hope I'm not being a bother right now- I was just uh wondering if you were free at some point this week. And your kids. For a play date. Charlotte wants a playdate." Henry quickly rambles out, embarrassed. William chuckles on the other end of the line, and Henry hears the faint whispering of Elizabeth, excited at the thought of playdate. "You're not bothering me Henry, Evan just went to bed, and Lizzie here is practicing her makeup skills on me. Of course they can have a playdate later, how does after school sound? Or after Charlie finishes with her homework I suppose."
Henry doesn't even take a moment to think, "Yes yes that's perfect, my little Button will be excited to hear the news." Henry paused. "Practicing her makeup skill on you?" William chuckled, and Elizabeth seemingly shoved her face right in front of the phone as she now loudly spoke. "I'm making Daddy pretty! We're having uh,, um,,, a." The toddler struggled to remember a word. "A LADIES NIGHT!!" she shouted triumphantly, proud of herself. William quietly told her not to be so loud, as she might wake Evan or hurt poor Uncle Henry's ears. Henry hummed. "You and William and having a ladies night Lizzie?" Elizabeth nodded, and then gave a quick "Yeah!" when she remembered Henry couldn't see her. "Me and Daddy are having a ladies night, because we're the only ones in the house right now other than Evan and Evan is sleeping." She shushed the phone for emphasis. "And we're both ladies so we're having a ladies night!"
"I see," replied Henry, not seeing. "That reminds me of something actually, could you hand the phone back to your father, dear?" Elizabeth nods and William gently takes the offered phone from her, and watches as she quickly becomes distracted with rummaging in her mother's makeup kit again. William smiles as he puts the phone back up to his ear. "Was there something else you needed Henry?"
Henry quickly shuffles through William's notes again. "Oh yes, um, I was just looking through your notes and wondering about... the funtime fox character? It looks like you switch between using he or she for. uh... the fox.".William hums, "Did I? I suppose I didn't notice." he chuckles. Henry nods, "Right then, so I was just wondering what you meant to use for the character, so I can correct it." William smiles, "There's no need for that Henry, he and she both sound correct to me for the fox. He is above all else a performer after all, I imagine she simply finds it easier to use whatever fits best at the moment, and whatever fits best for the performance." Henry paused for a moment. "Like... your Springbonnie?" William beamed, "Yes yes like Springbonnie! Though not exactly, Springbonnie entirely doesn't care for such things." William paused, "Say I've been thinking of a new funtime character too! A fox like the other one, their name is Lolbit... "
Henry smiled as he listened to William ramble on about his latest idea, he ended the call quite some time later when Charlotte excitedly bounced up to him after getting off the school bus, talking about how she finished her homework while on the bus and proudly displaying her work. She was, as expected, very excited to visit Uncle Will's house when he told her about the playdate.
When they arrived. Henry couldn't help but notice that William had yet to wash off the makeup his daughter had put on him.
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transman-badass · 1 year ago
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A Pharaoh Syndicate Investigations short story
William Armitage, son of librarian Henry Armitage, talks to his friend, private detective Josiah Smith, and learns disturbing information about Arkham's residents, and resident mob boss
Note: contains (my attempt at) period typical sexism and ignorance/non-malicious misgendering.
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William Armitage walked up to the edge of the crowd, and stopped. The old house needed to be torn down years ago, before he left Arkham. Now anxious police fluttered in and out of its doors, mumbling to each other, looking over their shoulders. A journalist begged for answers, but the officers didn’t even meet his eyes. All around him, he felt it, that one name on the tip of everyone’s tongue, but no one dared speak it.
Hell of a thing to come across on your morning walk.
“It's bad,” his friend Smith said later that day. “The Syndicate doesn’t play around. Anyone who offends O’Tipp gets the same treatment.” The dark haired man shook his head. “You shouldn’t have come back.”
Smith was probably right. But there weren’t many other places to go. He’d lost his job, and Miskatonic offered him a position at his father’s side. How could he say no? What other alternatives did he have? His wife, his little twins, they needed what only he could provide. They’d all already lost so much in these darkening days… William was grateful to not have to walk the streets with sandwich board signs, like so many he saw in the bigger cities, and even here.
William leaned forward. The library offered the only sanctuary for this kind of conversation in the entire city. They sat here, in the quiet after hours, and no one would hear a word of it.
“So it was him? The Harbinger?”
Smith shook his head. “The Harbinger?” He snorted. “He’s just a story. This is pure human cruelty, and there’s nothing worse than it.” The man looked towards the floor. “O’Tipp is a monster of the finest kind. He rules this city - he owns it. Don’t think even the men in Washington can stop him now.”
Something softened, saddened, around Smith’s eyes. “In Chicago and New York, you know, they have limits. But O’Tipp - even the women aren’t safe from him.”
Cold horror gripped him. Straightening in his seat, William leaned forward. “What do you mean?”
“We had two girls working at the agency, before O’Tipp shut us down.” Smith didn’t seem to see Willain anymore. “Sisters, I always thought. They lived in the old Witch House, before O’Tipp bought that, too.” He sighed, long and aching. “The older one… Always a queer thing, she was. Couldn’t tell her apart from the men. Don’t think most of us even knew she wasn’t one. I don’t even remember, how I learned otherwise. Keller was a coward, didn’t have the guts to…”
He shook his head. William did too, for different reasons. A woman detective? In Arkham? Arkham had always been a strange place, but even this turn seemed unbelievable. And yet, damn, she sounded like his kind of woman. In his younger, more adventurous days, he wouldn’t have thought twice of making a wife of her, no matter his father’s disapproval.
“Keller gave her soft jobs," Smith said, "but she was… Well, she wanted bigger changes than are possible. She wanted to go after O’Tipp.”
“Dear god,” William mumbled. Something icy gripped him, his hands clenched.
“Keller said no, but she…” Smith shook his head. “Damned woman. None of us even knew until O’Tipp walked into the office, with that hideous smile of his.”
“Knew what?”
“The girls had been doing their own personal investigation into the Syndicate.”
William drew in a sharp breath.
“They’d been doing - I don’t even know, what they’d been doing, but they’d done worse than anger O’Tipp. They’d impressed him. He wanted to hire them as his own employees!”
“Is he mad?” William said, louder than he’d wanted. “What could he possibly want with them?”
“The young girl, Sadie Goode - she was our secretary,” Smith said, pain in his words. “Real good at her job, too. Sweetheart of a girl, in her flour sack dresses… The woman you see with O’Tipp in the papers - that’s not his wife. That’s her.”
He didn’t want to ask this, but something compelled him. “What about the older woman - what did you say her name was?”
“She called herself Lazarus Core,” Smith said. “I don’t know who she really was. When O’Tipp showed up, she fought back.” He paused, looked at the ground again. “O’Tipp had his men drag her into his car, and I never saw her again. Not on the street, not in the papers. Like she never existed at all.”
In the hours that passed, even after they went their separate ways, William couldn’t stop thinking about it. About her. That false name lingered in his mind, hypnotic, seductive. Lazarus Core. Lazarus Core.
Who were you, Lazarus Core? He wondered. Why did you turn yourself into a man? Why did you pursue O’Tipp all on your own? Are you still alive?
William almost hoped she wasn’t. If she were still alive, she was no doubt in some unspeakable position, something too horrific to linger on. And his father, he might have said she deserved it… but he might not. William had no plans of sharing this horrible story with him. The world was already cruel enough, he needn’t share painful gossip that would only hurt his father’s good soul.
But he could not, and would not, forget it himself.
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the-ferocious-kittyrose · 1 year ago
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Could you give us your William Head cannons please and thank you?
Also what's your Williams and on gay rights
Buckle up and get ready for the shit circus, because I’m about to go into EXCRUCIATING detail
He was born to Elizabeth (Beth or Betty) and Jonathan (John) Afton.
John was a WW2 vet. He had lost his leg in the war and suffered from severe PTSD. He was never cruel to young William, but he was an emotionally distant alcoholic, which mad connecting with him difficult.
William was much closer with Betty. She was an elementary school teacher with a love of books, poetry, and sewing. She would read little William bedtime stories every night, and made most of his clothes by hand. But tragically, she struggled with severe mental issues. Sudden intense depressive episodes, hallucinations, and paranoia. Due to improper treatment, she would end up taking her own life when William was still around ten. He was the one to find her body.
John decided that he wasn’t fit to take care of William on his own, so he told him to pack his things because he’d be going to stay with his Aunt Margret in America (Virginia) for a while. “For a while,” turned out to be, “forever,” because soon after he was dropped off, his father stopped responding to his letters, and he never came back for him.
Decades later, William got a letter saying that his father had died, and inside was a letter he had wrote to William on his deathbed. William had convinced himself that his father had died years ago, so he wouldn’t have to face the abandonment, and the reality that he had actually been alive the whole time enraged him so much that he threw his father’s letter in the fireplace before reading it. He immediately regretted it and tried to take it out, but it was already too burned to read.
Aunt Margret’s husband, Uncle James, was an aggressive “man’s man,” who was determined to toughen little William up. He didn’t approve of William’s interest in anything that wasn’t perceived as masculine, and constantly berated William for not being, “man,” enough. He made William go hunting with him, which William hated because of all the dirt, bugs, and boredom. The only part he liked was when he got so skin and gut the animals. He found it satisfying and fascinating. It got to a point where he would secretly cut himself, just because he enjoyed looking at the blood and layers of skin and tissue.
He met Henry while in college. They bonded over a shared interest in music and cartoons. They had similarly tragic backstories and gravitated towards each other naturally. William got VERY attached to Henry. Henry was his first real friend and became his only source of emotional validation and fulfillment.
William has always been a very jealous and deeply insecure person. He loved Henry and he hated when other people people would, “steal,” Henry’s attention from him. He was also Jealous of Henry himself. Henry always did better in school, despite William trying harder. And, despite being introverted and rather awkward, Henry was better at making friends and being liked. Like, genuinely liked. William loved attention and being social. He tried so hard to fit in with people. He was great at making people laugh and he could hold a conversation just fine, but forming genuine bonds with people, he just couldn’t pull it off.
He got married mostly out of societal obligation. He liked his wife. Laura had been a waitress at “Fredbear’s Family Diner” and she and William only dated for about a month before getting married. A small ceremony held in the diner. She was sweet and pretty, everything a wife was supposed to be. It’s just that he never really wanted a wife. He realized early on that he had to sort of, “fake it till you make it,” when it came to romantic or sexual relationships with women. The idea of faking it for years wasn’t very appealing, but he recognized that it was something he had to do to be accepted by his peers.
Laura hadn’t really wanted kids, at least not so soon, but William insisted. He insisted that that was just what they were supposed to do. When Mike was born William proudly showed him off to his peers and basked in the glory and praise he got as a new father, but he didn’t do much of the dirty work when it came to raising a baby. That was Laura’s job.
Laura couldn’t stand being a stay at home mom, and William’s emotional neglect/abuse wasn’t helping. Soon after Evan was born, she had an affair and ended up leaving the state with her new partner, leaving little Mike crying in the driveway. She tried to write to the boys after, but William always intercepted the letters before they could see them. He thought it would be better if they just forgot about her and her betrayal.
William really wanted Evan to like him. Evan was extremely shy and timid, hardly ever speaking to anyone, including William. William was upset by this, so he made a Fredbear plush with a speaker so he could talk to Evan, without him getting scared. He was also personally offended that Evan found his animatronics creepy.
William knew that Mike bullied Evan, but he was ignorant to how bad it actually was. He just assumed that boys would be boys and that this was just something brothers did. Eventually Evan would toughen up and grow out of the crying thing and everything would be fine.
After Evan Died, William knew Evan was possessing Fredbear. Instead of setting him free, William kept the broken bloody animatronic in his basement. He tried to keep him happy, unable to accept that he failed as a father. Evan was sad, so he surrounded the animatronic with toys and sweets. Evan, was cold, so he draped Evan’s baby blanket over the animatronic’s chest. Evan was lonely, so he killed children and stuffed them into the suits so Evan could finally have the birthday party that was ruined for him.
(There’s obviously more, but this is already way too long lol sorry)
(As for his opinion on gay rights, I’d say, he doesn’t like being told he can’t do something, and he couldn’t care less who other people sleep with, so he’s definitely for it, though he doesn’t really care all that much. On the other hand, he finds it strange that people would choose to come out of the closet and face prejudice rather than just stay closeted and repress their feelings in order to be accepted.)
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fazgoo-connoiseur-1987 · 6 months ago
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Hi, howdy. Author of that real recent Clay/William/Henry fic over AO3, but I had a general characterization note you might want to play with that's important to me. So Clay is relatively easily strung along and happy to go with how Henry jerks him around at his own discretion, yeah? Well William sees this and blah blah Henry's thoughts on people are like the word of God so clearly this must be a constant, right? But no. While Clay is generally more receptive and like- an engaged partner in their homoerotic like escapades, he cannot really bend or remold him. Which reinforces this internalized schism that Henry's hands CREATE, that they are divine things that give while Bill's hands are plauged by the old sting of boyish clumsiness and only TAKE, that despite his best efforts he cannot make like Henry, like God, and can only revel and/or wallow in desecrating divine creation. It's not like that outside of Bill's dehumanized "I found God in a Utah truck stop restroom" glasses obviously. If anything, by not just rolling over to Bill's weird little pulls for power in their professional or unspecified queer little fling relationships, Clay is trying to humanize Bill and treat him as an equal. Shame they are narratively barred from having a genuine conversation about their feelings or wants. Yaaaaaayyyy
Oh this is really really good. Bill being just... so in his own head about Henry and his ability to mould things and the severe, life-ruining jealousy this causes within him. Bill being unable to string Clay along in the same way Henry can is great (I also love the idea that Clay is oblivious to all of this, he's just stuck in the middle of whatever the fuck Bill and Henry have going on). I think, like you said, he knows Bill needs a little more care, just not exactly why. I do love it I love them.
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grandmaster-anne · 2 years ago
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A royally good start
Horse & Hound | Published 20 June 2021
WHEN The Queen’s childhood governess Marion Crawford first met a young Princess Elizabeth, she found “a small figure with a mop of curls sat up in bed”, who had tied the cords of her dressing gown to the knobs of the bed and was busy driving her team.
‘‘Do you usually drive in bed?” Marion remembered asking, in her 1950 book The Little Princesses, to which the princess replied: “I mostly go once or twice round the park before I go to sleep. It exercises my horses.”
The 30-odd toy horses that she had, each standing a foot high on wheels, had a strict stable routine; their grooming basket stood at the end of a long line of them, first at No. 145 Piccadilly, and later in the corridors of Buckingham Palace. Each night they had their saddles removed, and were attentively fed and watered. And after her and Princess Margaret’s annual trip to Olympia Horse Show with their parents, the toy horses would be put through several weeks of intensive training. On other occasions Princess Elizabeth would harness her nanny with a pair of red reins to set off on a fictional delivery round.
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“I would be patted, given my nosebag, and jerked to a standstill, while Lilibet delivered imaginary groceries, and held long and intimate conversations with her make-believe customers,” wrote Marion. “Sometimes she would whisper to me, ‘Crawfie, you must pretend to be impatient. Paw the ground a bit.’ So, I would paw.”
And at Royal Lodge, in Windsor Great Park, where weekends were spent, two lifesized rocking horses were put outside the then Duke of York’s study, so he could hear his daughters riding while he worked.
WHEN Princess Elizabeth’s grandfather King George V gave her the diminutive Shetland Peggy when she was four years old, it was her first real taste of life in the saddle - and a place for her to channel the attentiveness she’d shown her toys. A photo from the 2014 exhibition Royal Childhood at the Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace shows her proudly leading her younger sister aboard Peggy, with the bowler-hat clad groom Mr Henry Owen, who taught her to ride, in attendance.
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“[Princess Elizabeth] liked me to come and watch her [riding lessons with Mr Owen],” wrote Marion. “Her first canter was a great day. I used to walk with the dogs, and it was pretty to hear her bell-like voice through the trees talking to Owen about burs, galls and girths.”
For all the stereotyping of Shetlands being comically naughty, they have continued to be the royal family’s choice of breed for a child’s debut in the saddle. It was Queen Victoria’s fondness for the breed that helped raise their profile in the 19th century, according to Anne, Countess De La Warr, president of the Shetland Pony Stud Book Society.
“It made them popular with other Victorian mothers,” she says. “They’re particularly good as a first pony, but also as what I call a family pony; if you have a trap or a cart, you can all go on family picnics with them. I have one friend whose pony is said to know his way to the pub.”
Flora and Alma, two Shetlands who were presented to Queen Victoria by King Victor Emmanuel of Italy, proved particularly popular with her grandchildren, and it’s a trend that Anne continues to see today.
“Grandmothers can have them in the field and when a child comes to visit, you can hoik them out and put a saddle on. They’re amazingly easy,” she says.
If it weren’t for the grand surroundings, BBC footage from 1992 of The Queen with Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie riding Smokey at Balmoral could be any idyllic scene of a grandmother with her grandchildren.
As Anne explains, the best Shetlands tend to come via word of mouth and the royal family is no exception in following that ethos on the hunt for the perfect pony. Prince William learnt to ride on the pint-sized Smokey aged four; Llanerch Topaz, another that the future king was pictured on as a child taught the Princess Royal’s children to ride and it was reported that Zara Tindall provided a Shetland for Prince George to kick-start his riding.
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WHILE these early rides are the grand sum of some royal family members’ foray into equestrianism, for others it is just the start. Aged two, Princess Anne was bundled aboard Fum, and although her memories of the Shetland are vague, the experience paved the way for a series of more memorable ponies that would lay the foundations for her Olympic eventing career.
Holidays as a child were spent at Sandringham, Windsor and Balmoral. Each offered a different terrain for Princess Anne to tackle on horseback, usually accompanied by her mother and older brother, and assisted by the groom, Frank Hatcher, who helped the children catch the ponies and brush them, and reminded them to pick out their feet.
“The miles of stubble fields around Sandringham were pure luxury by today’s standards of relatively restricted hacking,” she remembered in her 1991 equestrian autobiography Riding Through My Life, reminiscing about the “rides” which had been cleared for Queen Alexandra to be able to ride through the woods and all over the estate without getting her hat knocked off.
“The best ‘fun’ riding was at Balmoral: riverside paths, woodland paths, hill paths and the golf course. It was all right if you rode on the rough, but you were definitely not popular if you got ‘carted’ away with across the fairways.” As for a young Princess Elizabeth, who won a driving class at the 1944 Royal Windsor Horse Show with her Norwegian pony Hans, Princess Anne’s initially modest competitive career started from Windsor, where most of her riding happened at weekends (although not on Sundays, which was the grooms’ day off).
She was a member of the Garth Hunt branch of the Pony Club - although she can count the number of rallies she went to on one hand.
“They were memorable for persuading me that gymkhana games were not my forte. The pony I had at the time was a 13.2hh called Bandit, who was charming and reliable in every way except that he refused to repeat himself. By that I mean that he would take part in one bending race, but tried very hard not to take part in the next,” Princess Anne wrote in her autobiography.
It was this same pony that knocked a young Prince Charles’s confidence when it came to jumping. On clearing one round the grey was known to “indulge in his well-known imitation of a horse rampant if asked to face up to round two,” remembered Princess Anne. Discovering hunting helped renew the Prince’s interest in jumping, and being introduced to polo by his father at the age of 13 was a world away from the tedious early lessons inflicted on him and his sister with Miss Sybil Smith at Holyport.
Princess Anne remembered: “Being put on a small, fat, white cob, on the end of a leading rein, one each side of a large, fat, white cob, ridden by Miss Smith, and being led, very sedately, around a cinder circle was not our idea of riding!”
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Even with the abundant privilege, being royal couldn’t negate the calamities that accompany getting to grips with ponies. On holiday at Glamis Castle, the childhood home of the Queen Mother, a favourite expedition for Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret was to take the pony down to Glamis Station to watch the Aberdeen Fish Express go through.
“The pony was temperamental about trains, and the station master very kindly let us shut him up in the waiting room,” remembered governess Marion Crawford. “Unfortunately, one day when, as usual, we did this, the stationmaster had forgotten to warn us that he had put all his best chrysanthemums ready for the flower show in there. The pony ate the lot.”
A tumble came for Princess Anne when riding her bay 14.2hh Watersmeet High Jinks in from the field while leading another, and making an unplanned dismount on some hard cobbles. “Not for the first time he looked genuinely surprised at the antics of his erstwhile rider,” she wrote.
An earlier mount, Kirby Cane Greensleeves, left a lasting imprint on the Princess after the Welsh pony trod on her toe. “In that endearing way that ponies have, the more I shouted, the more I pushed and the more desperate I became, the harder she leaned,” she wrote.
And while the royal ponies might have nestled alongside horses reserved for pulling golden state carriages when they were stabled at Windsor Castle, it was often a refreshingly low-key existence. At Windsor, the ponies lived a distance from the Mews, so the children would take the tack down in the car, tack them up in the field and take them out from there.
“These were pretty rough, scruffy little objects,” remembered Princess Anne.
What was drummed into the children however by The Queen was that whatever went wrong, it was never the ponies’ fault. Along with Zara’s Pony Club grounding, this was a mantra that Princess Anne instilled in her own children, and one that seems likely to exist for the next generation.
“There is no doubt that the level of involvement required in equestrian sport teaches young people a great deal about life, especially that ‘life’ is not fair,” wrote Princess Anne. “Horses are no respecters of reputation or ego and certainly not of wealth, making them a challenge to everybody, whether looking after or riding them.”
Pictures by AFP via Getty Images, Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
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tenebraevesper · 1 year ago
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Five Nights at Freddy's: Salvaged, Night 24: The Big Bad Wolf
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''Your blood's curdling and heart skips a beat, the nightmare awaits in the shadows. And I could swear I just heard a shriek, is there something I don't know? Cameras show you it's nearly the end, leave remaining hope for salvation. Your screams and struggles will not suspend, the torment and pain are the only redemption.''
– This Game Cannot Be Beaten by Sayonara Maxwell, Cover by Mia & Rissy (Five Nights at Freddy's 2)
xXxXxXx
The figure in the darkness observed Sam, his eyes glowing brightly. He tilted his head, having stood there for a while, as if unsure whether to approach her or not. Finally, he got closer, crouching next to her. Sam seemed to be deep asleep, unaware of his presence.
Springtrap sighed, simply glad that she didn't have any nightmares. He was worried about her, considering what she went through this night and the past days. After they went back home, he asked her whether she was feeling troubled about anything, but she simply shrugged it off. She looked rather content, with Springtrap feeling disturbed about her behavior. After all, it wasn't the first time she had faked a smile.
He put the blanket that Sam shook off, causing it to fall on the floor, back on her and gently stroke her hair, wondering whether she knew, despite being asleep, that he was here, watching over her. He then stood up and left, sneaking back into his room and waiting in silence, as he feared that Emma might've heard him. Even if she was tolerant of his presence, he didn't want to risk her wrath. He had wondered whether they should tell Emma what they had experienced, but decided to leave this decision to Sam.
He leaned against the door, thinking about the night and what Sam told him. Somehow, he was reliving his memories in the form of hallucinations, the whole time unsure about how or why that happened… and now, Sam could see them too. He didn't fully understand what was going on or what those hallucinations were, but he had a few theories, the main focus being his conversation with Henry.
Even though there was no way to prove it nor was it confirmed, he did believe that the person he was talking to was indeed Henry. His old partner had returned for a brief time to have a conversation with him in order to assess the situation, probably curious about William's current interests and plans. So far, it didn't seem that Henry felt that it was necessary to return, probably wanting William to figure things out on his own.
Honestly, Henry, it wouldn't hurt if you returned once more.
Springtrap thought back to his other hallucinations, which he figured to be a mix of memories and reality that had been twisted to fit those memories. So far, he knew that those hallucinations were partially manipulated by that vengeful spirit, but his own mind played a key part in the manifestation of those hallucinations. Whenever he felt desperate, frightened, anxious or concerned, he would see the static appearing in front of his eyes, knowing that another hallucination would follow soon. How bad the hallucination would be depended on his own state of mind.
Still, how is it possible for Sam to see any of it?
It had to be due to her experience with the remnant, there was no other way to explain it. Not only did she start to hear the spirit of the child, but she could also see what he saw during those hallucinations. Still, the problem here was that those hallucination's weren't supposed to be real. They were supposed to be only in his head.
Why is this all so complicated?
He shook his head, feeling frustrated. What he experienced couldn't even be called hallucinations, but were rather memories. That kid was able to twist them the way they wanted, using his own fears against him and during that period, he was unaware of what was really going on around him. This made him quite dangerous for anyone nearby, as he would act out on those memories. Basically, he would lose himself, lose his sense of reality, and wouldn't wake up until something happened or Sam called him.
That was what he had feared the most, that he would lose himself and lash out at Sam, not knowing what he was actually doing. Or even worse, he was well aware of what he was doing, and he wanted to carry on with his plans, not caring about the people around him. Springtrap felt chills going down his spine as he thought about the latter.
I can't let that happen.
Then, there was the way those nightmarish hallucinations had presented themselves. One of them involved him being aware of his surroundings, but getting cornered by shadow-like children. Those children weren't spirits, but the way they approached him was still unnerving. If Springtrap had to find a way to describe them, the only word that came to his mind was ''demonic''. He thought about it, then went to the bed where he left some of Sam's books and took the urban legend scrapbook she had made. As he opened a specific page, he was greeted with an image of several Black-Eyed Children, with Sam's notes being written next to it.
That's what they were reminding me of. Still, those entities I saw were shadow-like creatures taking the shape of children.
That thought didn't comfort him. However, it did make him realize how little he had investigated the supernatural part of his current situation. Despite what he had discovered, he always researched the scientific aspect of attaching a soul to an animatronic, never thinking about the supernatural aspect of his experiments. Now, he was forced to face what he had been ignoring for too long.
Even if I don't sleep, I still have nightmares.
The desire to contact Henry returned, now stronger. William was quite sure that Henry knew something about his current situation and probably had some answers. Still, he had no idea how talk to his old partner.
Springtrap sighed as he sat down on the couch. After what he had been through, he felt a little paranoid about how quiet the night was. He dreaded the moment that kid appeared again and continued torturing him.
Calm down. You can't allow yourself to have another mental breakdown.
He was determined to not let himself get affected by his paranoia and fear. Honestly, all he wanted was something he had decided since he became friends with Sam; he wanted to keep her happy. He was willing to do anything to ensure that she'd keep on smiling, even if it resulted in his own demise. He didn't care what would happen to him, as Sam was more important.
His ears drooped, his eyes glowing in a soft purple. He felt quite crestfallen.
Henry, I just want her to be happy. I hoped that you, out of all people, would understand that desire.
xXx
The next morning, Springtrap was sitting at the kitchen table, his head leaned against it, glancing from Sam, who was eating breakfast, to Emma, who was reading something on her phone. Sam was quiet, looking rather absent-minded. It didn't help that at one point she missed the bowl of cereal, looking quite flustered when she attempted to eat out of an empty spoon. She glanced at Springtrap, who clearly had noticed it, but he didn't chuckle as she expected that he would. Instead, he looked worried. She gave him a tired look and resumed with her breakfast. Emma glanced at the two, looking rather suspicious.
''Okay, what did you two do this time?'' she asked them, with Springtrap and Sam looking back at her, then glancing at each other, not really willing to talk. ''Why are you so quiet?''
''Nothing different from the usual had happened,'' Sam replied.
''Right,'' Springtrap added. Emma frowned, not buying it.
''I see,'' she muttered. ''So, do you need the car today?''
''No,'' Sam replied in a rather indifferent tone, having finished with her breakfast and placing the bowl in the dishwasher. ''I don't need it.''
She then went upstairs, with Emma having an expression that was a mix of surprise and confusion. Springtrap was also surprised, albeit it was more because of Sam's indifference. He stood up, about to follow her, when he was stopped by Emma.
''Say, Afton, do you have any idea why she doesn't need the car? I mean, she begged me yesterday to borrow it,'' Emma asked.
''I don't know,'' Springtrap replied. Emma rose an eyebrow, crossing her arms.
''Is it because you both have no idea what you'll do today or because Sam didn't tell you what she's planning to do today?'' she asked. Springtrap stared at her for a moment.
''Both.''
He actually didn't really think about what Sam planned for today, as he had other things on mind. Emma gave him a curious look, seemingly showing pity for him, but Springtrap didn't believe that that was the case. After all, why should she feel sorry for him?
''I know that you both are hiding something from me. You two seemed to have quite a rough night, especially you Afton,'' Emma said. Springtrap shrugged, giving her a look of guilt. ''What happened?''
''I hoped that I'd cheer Sam up by bringing her to Freddy's, and it worked for a while, but then I ended up suffering from another hallucination, and now she's worried about me. She didn't say anything, but there's now denying that she isn't thinking about what occurred the past night,'' Springtrap explained.
''So, that's why you two look so downcast today,'' Emma said. ''Although, wouldn't Sam usually talk to you when she's worried about something?''
''She did, and she seemed to be in good spirits when we went back home, but I still felt that there was something bothering her. She just had that kind of expression where she seemed to be faking how she felt. I guess she didn't want me to get worried,'' Springtrap explained. He noticed the look of concern on Emma's expression. ''Emma, was Sam always like this?''
''Unfortunately, yes,'' Emma replied. ''Sam has a tendency to convince herself that whatever problem she's dealing with isn't important enough to be worth sharing. She would just bottle up her emotions because she doesn't want to hurt other people's feelings.''
''That's something I have noticed,'' Springtrap said.
''I have tried to talk to her about it, but she would just pretend that the conversation helped her and that she felt better even thought it was clear that it didn't. She would just shut herself into her room and refuse to come out. I even heard her crying after one of those conversations,'' Emma said, looking anxious. ''Honestly, I'm really glad that she actually does go out and is genuinely happy for once, but I'm afraid that she might relapse and become depressed again.''
''I'm not going to let that happen,'' Springtrap replied.
''I have no doubt about that,'' Emma said, with Springtrap feeling confident. Despite being at odds, they both could agree on the fact that they both just wanted Sam to be happy.
The two suddenly heard steps, with Sam coming down and giving Springtrap an annoyed look. The latter looked startled when she grabbed his hand.
''Hey, what are you waiting for? Com'n!'' she said, pulling him upstairs. She then glanced at Emma. ''Bye, Mum!''
''Bye, sweetie,'' Emma replied, a small smile on her expression, waving a little.
As he followed Sam upstairs, Springtrap glanced at Emma, who shrugged. She seemed to have decided to let him deal with this issue, with Springtrap feeling glad about it. He wanted to talk to Sam about what happened, hoping to figure out what was wrong. Not to mention, while he did appreciate Sam trusting him, he feared that she would keep on trusting him even after he hurt her and he needed to find a way to get her to think more about the consequences of her decisions.
Once they entered her room, Sam turned her laptop towards Springtrap, pointing at an article she had found online.
''Look at this,'' she said. Springtrap glanced at the article, reading it. He frowned when he realized what the content was about.
''So, Ricky's has finally decided to upgrade their security in order to avoid more accidents,'' he said. ''I guess that means that they finally found someone to act as the night guard. It took them long enough.''
''Honestly, I think we should go to Ricky's regardless,'' Sam said. ''I mean, we should see whether there's anything that Connor had done with the animatronics.''
''So, that's what you wanted to do today,'' Springtrap said. ''But, how are you planning to do that? We cannot exactly go at night since they have a night guard now.''
''Well, I have an idea, but you're not going to like it,'' Sam said, looking a little flustered. Springtrap frowned. He knew her well enough to know that the look she gave him meant bad news. He sighed.
''What is it?'' he asked.
''Considering how Connor is interested in me, I thought that maybe I could act as a bait,'' Sam said.
''No, absolutely not!'' Springtrap replied sternly. ''You saw what happened to that girl! Do you really think I want to see you being dismembered by that lunatic?!''
''I know, but I don't think that Connor would want to murder me,'' Sam replied. ''I think he was more curious about my interest in the animatronics and probably wanted to know what was up with that.''
''Maybe, but didn't you provoke him the last time you were there? After all, we had already established that, if someone tells him what he doesn't want to hear, they'll get murdered,'' Springtrap pointed out. ''Honestly, I don't want you anywhere near him.''
''May I remind you that we won't figure anything out unless we confront Connor directly?'' Sam replied. ''All we have now are speculations and theories.''
''Then let me be the one to confront him. He cannot hurt me,'' Springtrap told her.
''No, I don't want you to confront Connor yet,'' Sam replied firmly.
''Sam, I'm pretty sure that he is aware of my existence…'' Springtrap said, only to get interrupted by her.
''I know that, but I doubt that he knows who you really are,'' Sam said. ''For now, I still want to act as if I don't know anything about what is going on. I want to know what he is planning to do.''
''Fine, but I will keep an eye on you,'' Springtrap said, still reluctant about this whole idea. ''If Connor tries to hurt you, rest assured, he's done for.''
''Okay,'' Sam said, knowing well that, even if Springtrap said that he wasn't going to murder anyone anymore, this promise didn't involve people who'd hurt her. She then grinned mischievously. ''You know, it is a bit ironical that the animatronics wanted to protect other children, yet failed, killing innocent people instead. However, their murderer has the same desire, but for different reasons, and is actually more successful than them.''
''I am aware of the irony,'' Springtrap muttered, looking slightly exasperated. ''But, I don't think that I'm more successful than them. I mean, I got you almost killed on multiple occasions.''
''I know, but…''
''Sam, the way you reacted last night… It was completely foolish of you to just blindly trust me,'' Springtrap cut her off. ''You should've tried to get away from me.''
''Would that have really changed anything? If I had fought back, would you really have let me go?'' Sam asked, with Springtrap looking flustered. He lowered his head.
''I-I don't know.'' He shook his head. ''But, still, you cannot always trust me.''
''Then, what else am I supposed to do?!'' Sam rose her voice suddenly, yelling at him. She then kept her mouth shut. ''I'm sorry, I didn't mean that…''
''It doesn't matter. There's nothing you have to apologize for,'' Springtrap replied.
''Honestly, I don't want to lose you as my friend,'' Sam admitted. She sat down on her bed, with Springtrap sitting next to her.
''Is that why you insist so much on trusting and forgiving me for my mistakes?'' Springtrap asked. Sam nodded. Springtrap thought back to her behavior from the previous night, as well as his conversation with Emma. He frowned. ''Still, you shouldn't be putting yourself in harm's way.''
''Well, you sneaked up on me,'' Sam pointed out.
''I meant that you should've left the moment you saw me behaving weirdly,'' Springtrap said dryly.
''I simply couldn't...'' Sam muttered, a look of guilt on her expression. It seemed that she wanted to add something, but she kept quiet. She then took a deep breath, continuing in a normal tone, ''Anyways, about Ricky's…''
''Sam, please stop with that,'' Springtrap cut her off, with Sam giving him a confused look. ''I know that there's something you wanted to tell me. Hell, even last night, when we went back home, you acted as if nothing important happened. When I asked you about it, you just smiled and told me that everything was fine. However, I know that there was something bothering you. Not to mention the way you reacted when I told you what my hallucination was about…''
''Well, it doesn't matter anymore. Besides, I told you my opinion on that,'' Sam replied, her tone a little colder than she intended. She noticed Springtrap's questioning expression, then lowered her head.
''Sam, what's wrong? Why are you like this? I mean, this isn't the first time you tried to hide how you felt from me and, according to Emma, this kind of behavior used to be much worse,'' Springtrap said. ''Bottling up your emotions isn't healthy for you and neither is pretending that the issues you're dealing with aren't important.''
''I don't know,'' Sam said in a quiet tone, her eyes tearing. ''I don't like bothering people and I don't want to be a burden, but in this case I really want to do something to improve myself. However, somehow, it ends like this…''
''Why do you even think that you're a burden?'' Springtrap asked.
''It's… It's because…'' Sam took a deep breath, feeling as if she was choking on something. A tear flew down her cheek. ''I-It's…''
''Sam…'' Springtrap felt guilty for making her cry. He wanted to comfort her, but suddenly shook her head, wiping her tears away.
''You know how I snapped at that kid?'' she said, her voice still shaky. ''Don't you think that it kind of felt as if they were bullying you?''
''I'd rather call it a punishment,'' Springtrap replied in a bitter tone.
''You're getting punished and taunted for no reason!'' Sam snapped. There was a look of horror on her expression, as obviously she didn't want to yell at him. ''I'm sorry…''
''You took it personal, didn't you?'' Springtrap asked as he slowly realized what this was about. After all, wasn't he talking to a victim of bullying? Sam nodded. ''Why didn't you tell me anything?''
''I figured that I'd be better if I just ignored everything,'' Sam replied. ''However, being told that 'you're worthless and selfish' over and over again will end up affecting you after some time.''
''Sam, I understand, but you shouldn't keep those things to yourself,'' Springtrap said. ''You should've told me everything rather than just pretending that things were fine.''
''Well, you were in a worse state than I was,'' Sam pointed out.
''I know, and it's getting really annoying that my mental state is being prioritized over your own,'' Springtrap replied. ''Besides, anyone who calls you worthless or selfish is a bloody idiot. You're an amazing person.''
''Yeah,'' Sam muttered in a bitter tone. ''I'm also amazingly reckless, throwing caution out the window.''
''I didn't mean that,'' Springtrap told her, a little alarmed.
''Then, being a mess describes me better,'' Sam said, cutting Springtrap off when he attempted to protest. ''I don't want neither you nor Mum to deal with my issues as I want to prove to myself that I can handle them, which also causes me to bottle up my feelings. Not only that, but I also don't want to burden people with my problems, as I fear that I'm just overthinking things. I had pretty much ghosted all my former friends because of all that bullying, having to deal with loneliness for months. Honestly, when we became friends, I was really happy and, as you said, I pretty much continued to forgive you all of your mistakes because I didn't want to lose you. What happened last night, with me trusting you despite the fact that you were close to killing me, I think it's because I reached my breaking point. I simply refuse to let go of you, logic and sanity be damned. I don't care what I have to do to keep you here, I will.''
Springtrap was shocked. He wasn't aware that her mental and emotional state deteriorated so much, to the point of obsession. He thought that his own desire to stay here was already bad enough.
There is a reason why I keep coming back, and now I have a reason to stay.
Maybe to someone this would sound quite sweet and comforting, but he knew that that thought had a more sinister meaning. He refused to leave even though he knew that he could kill her if he lost himself again, after all. This whole relationship was incredibly unhealthy, but none of them wanted to address the issue. For Sam, it was because she didn't want to be lonely anymore. For Springtrap, it was because he didn't want to tell her to not get too attached to him, as he might be forced to leave eventually, which would only worsen her current state of mind.
''You aren't the only one who feels like this. After all, didn't I refuse to leave despite fearing for your safety?'' Springtrap told her, with Sam giving her an exhausted look, a mix of guilt and misery on her expression. ''I think we need a different approach to this.''
''What do you mean?'' Sam asked, a little confused.
''It is more than obvious than something is wrong and we had pretty much established what it is,'' Springtrap explained. ''So, what is it that you want from me? What would make you feel happy without having to constantly suffer through waves of depression, fear and anxiety?''
''I just want you to stay,'' Sam admitted. ''That's all.''
''I'm staying, but I will try to find a way to make sure you won't have to suffer because of that,'' Springtrap said. ''However, in return, I want you to be more honest with me. I want to to stop pretending that your issues aren't important. I'm here to help you deal with them, just as you want to help me deal with my issues. I have no problem whatsoever with listening to whatever is bothering you, even if you think it is insignificant. Understood?''
''Yeah, I did,'' Sam replied, taking a deep breath. It was strange, but she did feel a little lighter. She then gave him a genuine mischievous smile. ''So, does this still mean that you're willing to keep an eye on me while I go confront Connor?''
''Do I have a choice at this point?'' Springtrap asked sarcastically. Still, he was glad that she was back to her cheerful self. He wanted to make things easier for her and was determined to improve their relationship, making it as less stressful as possible for both of them.
Sam hugged him, burying her head into his chest and relaxing. Springtrap gently stroked her head in a calming manner, just as happy as she was. However, he knew that there was still one more issue he needed to deal with, one that had nothing to do with Connor.
xXx
It was crowded as usual at Ricky's, although for Sam, the place could've been devoid of people and it wouldn't make a difference to her. She was looking at the animatronics, having already noticed that Ricky was gone. She knew that, the moment Connor sees her, he'll probably approach her. However, he was nowhere in sight.
How do you miss the Big Bad Wolf? Come to think about it, where's Springtrap?
Apparently, telling her that he would keep an eye on her didn't mean that he would also stay in her line of vision. Sam shrugged and decided to wander around a bit, thinking about her and Springtrap's conversation from earlier. She felt quite awkward after having told him how she felt, but was glad that he wanted to improve their current situation. They both had acknowledged that they made some kind of mistake and that they both needed to make some changes. All in all, she was relieved that she decided to tell him how she felt.
Well, you spent a lot of time with toxic people who made you feel like an outcast. Is it really that surprising that you would have trouble figuring out how functioning in a normal friendship? Besides, isn't the first step to self-healing admitting that there is actually a problem?
While she did feel confident, there was still that voice in her head. It was the voice of fear, asking her what would happen if she didn't manage to improve. What would happen if she failed?
Those kinds of thoughts caused me trouble in the first place. Instead of fearing failure, I should just use whatever I have learned from my mistakes to do something constructive with my life. Although, searching for a guy who is a threat to me isn't really constructive…
She sighed, knowing well this wasn't her first, nor will it be her last stupid idea.
xXx
Springtrap kept an eye on Sam, who was looking around for Connor, staying close to the stage. She looked a little lost, sighing and then resumed her search with a more confident expression. Sometimes, he had to wonder just where she found the willpower to continue with her life, no matter how miserable she felt.
''Hey, Mr. Bunny!''
Springtrap was startled when he heard someone addressing him and turned to the person, only to realize it were those twins he had met a while ago. He was a little surprised about how happy they were to see him.
''Hello,'' he said, crouching down. ''How are you doing?''
''We were actually searching for you all over the place,'' Kathy said.
''We even asked people whether they knew where you are, but nobody had any idea what we were talking about,'' Kyle added.
Springtrap felt a little sorry for them, as he didn't expect that the two would get interested so much in the bunny animatronic who helped them a while ago. He knew that he couldn't really tell them the truth, but looking at their eager expressions, he got an idea.
''I apologize for the absence, but there is a reason why you haven't seen me here,'' Springtrap told the two. ''Can you keep a secret?''
Kathy and Kyle's eyes lit up and they looked quite excited about the idea of being trusted with an important secret. They nodded.
''Yeah, sure!''
''What is it?''
''The reason why you won't see me here is because I'm not a member of Ricky's, but I come from a place named Freddy Fazbear's Pizza,'' Springtrap told them, with the two looking confused. ''It's a restaurant similar to Ricky's, but it isn't open yet.''
''Why are you here then?'' Kathy asked.
''Because I'm helping out a friend,'' Springtrap replied. He then grinned. ''Say, would you be interested in visiting Freddy's once it opens?''
''Sure!'' Kyle said.
''It sounds interesting,'' Kathy added. ''When is it going to open?''
''I'm not sure, but as much as I know, it is supposed to open this summer,'' Springtrap told them.
''Okay, we'll ask our parents,'' Kathy said. ''You're going to be there, right?''
''I probably will,'' Springtrap replied. To be honest, there was something he planned to do at Freddy's once the place opened again. ''You should go now, I still have something to do, okay?''
He stood up, watching the twins nodding and leaving, then glanced at where Sam was. He frowned, his eyes flaring purple when he saw that it wasn't the wolf animatronic who had approached her, but the man who used to wear it.
xXx
Sam had noticed Ricky coming towards her, but she tried to ignore him, feigning interest in the other animatronics that were on the stage. However, she felt that there was something strange about Ricky. She glanced back at the animatronic, noticing how mechanical his steps were. She realized that there wasn't an actor inside the costume.
Sam looked frantically around, realizing that she now had no idea where exactly Connor was. She figured that the best thing to do would be to get Springtrap and leave, but just as she tried to get away, she saw a man wearing an uniform and an ear piece suddenly approaching her. Nobody really payed attention to him as they were more interested in Ricky, who continued to entertain the crowd. Sam realized that she had got herself cornered in this small area next to the stage.
''Oh, hello,'' Connor greeted her, with Sam looking startled. ''Is there anything you need?''
''Eh, no. I was just looking at the animatronics,'' Sam replied.
''They're incredible, aren't they?'' Connor said.
''Well, I have my own favorites…'' Sam said. As much as she was aware of, Connor didn't know that she knew that he was Ricky's actor.
''Oh, really? Well, my favorite is Ricky,'' Connor told her. ''You see, I'm the technician responsible for them.''
''Is it hard to maintain an animatronic?'' Sam asked, trying to make some small talk.
''For me, it isn't, but what does frustrate me is that there aren't more people who appreciate them,'' Connor replied.
''Well, I do appreciate them,'' Sam said, with Connor giving her a curious look.
''The only problem is that you are more interested in those animatronics from Freddy's,'' he said, frowning and stepping closer. Sam backed away, staring at him in surprise. Connor smiled. ''I forgot to add that I'm also Ricky. I assume you didn't expect me to approach you without my costume.''
''No…'' Sam muttered, backing away when Connor took another step towards her. Connor then looked away from her, glancing at the crowd, as if searching for someone.
''Say, have you seen a strange bunny animatronic?'' he asked, looking back at her.
''The only bunny animatronic I know about is Bonnie,'' Sam replied, shrugging and trying to keep calm. She smiled awkwardly. ''But, Freddy's hasn't opened yet so… maybe it's the Bunny Man?''
Connor glared at her, with Sam giving him a nervous look.
''I doubt that,'' Connor replied. ''Anyways, since you're interested in the animatronics, maybe you'd want me to show you how they function.''
''Well, I…'' Sam's eyes widened as he stepped towards her again. Connor then glanced back at the crowd, grinning this time and turning back to her.
''You know, you shouldn't roam through this place at night, as bad things could happen. Those animatronics don't like intruders,'' he said. Sam stared at him in horror. ''As I said, I know the animatronics very well and I do notice when a part goes missing.''
''I have no idea what you're talking about,'' Sam replied, frowning.
''Don't worry, I won't tell anyone as long as you tell me what you know about this golden-green bunny animatronic,'' Connor told her. ''After all, he's watching you.''
''Leave me alone!'' Sam yelled at him, pushing him away as she ran past him. She did briefly turn back to him, noticing Connor looking at her with a smile on his expression. She shuddered, quickly leaving.
Connor looked back at where he saw the bunny animatronic, noticing that he was gone again. However, the murderous glare the animatronic was giving him was enough for him to confirm that the girl he was talking to was quite important to him.
xXx
''Sam, are you okay? Did he hurt you?''
Springtrap had found Sam outside in the back alley, with her shaking and looking freaked out. He had quickly approached her, noticing the look of relief on her expression as she saw him.
''No, he didn't hurt me, but…'' Sam replied, then shook her head. ''Let's just get away from here.''
''What happened?'' Springtrap asked as he followed her. He felt a mix of anger and worry, torn between going back to deal with Connor and staying with Sam.
''He knows,'' Sam said, with Springtrap giving her a stunned look. ''He is aware that we were at Ricky's and took that device from Raven. I don't think that he knows that we were also at the factory, but I do believe he'll eventually figure that out as well. Also, he asked me about you.''
''What did you tell him?'' Springtrap asked.
''I pretended I didn't know anything, but that didn't convince him,'' Sam replied, shuddering. ''He wasn't there to hurt me. He just wanted to confirm what he had already suspected. I was such an idiot! We shouldn't have went there.''
She felt Springtrap's hand on her shoulder, turning to him and noticing the comforting look on his expression.
''Sam, don't blame yourself for what had happened,'' he told her. ''I believe that he would've found out about this sooner or later. No matter what you did, you couldn't prevent it.''
''Still, you were right. This was a stupid idea,'' Sam said, lowering her head. She gave him a questioning look when he crouched down, grinning at her.
''Actually, I don't think it was,'' Springtrap replied. ''After all, wasn't the point of this trying to find out more about what he knows? You may have unintentionally gave him a few answers, but we also got some information.''
''Now that I think about it, you're right,'' Sam said. ''But, I don't think I will go back there, be it after hours or not.''
''That's a smart decision,'' Springtrap replied, then frowned. ''Although, I wouldn't mind going after him when no one's around.''
''Let's just go home,'' Sam told him, shaking her head. ''I have enough of Ricky's and their resident Big Bad Wolf.''
''If you say so…'' Springtrap stood up, following her. ''Speaking of the Big Bad Wolf, I assume you see yourself as Red Riding Hood then. So, what does that make me, the Hunter?''
''No, you're just another Wolf,'' Sam replied, with Springtrap giving her a confused look. ''Although, you're more trustworthy.''
''I guess you're right,'' Springtrap said, then frowned.
Although, this doesn't really make me a better person, does it?
Links:
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#Five Nights at Freddy's: The Untold Story (Masterlist)
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ask-the-virtual-council · 2 years ago
Note
Henry was the better dad and better business partner: discuss
And discuss we shall!
I constantly have these people in my head, so I know how to open this case ;3
But also, I'd like to note that I do not fault Henry for the less serious parts of this, but i must add them for the sake of consistency and context.
Now to begin:
As a father?
I'd say yes, but that's on a slim margin.
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Not only did he neglect his living son to build a robotic version of his dead daughter, but he also forgot that children need more than a glorified nanny camera to stay safe, leaving his daughter alone with children who were entirely unconcerned when they refused to open the door for another child.
He literally took the same route as William rather than hiring a sitter for the night. Maybe entrusting her to someone else?
I don't even think William would have been a bad choice for a babysitter, considering that he'd be expected to keep her safe or he'd be outright arrested for being the only one responsible for her at the moment, therefore keeping him from killing her.
Even if William hadn't killed her that night, Charlie would have likely died anyway due to the pouring rain and cold. Which Henry could have predicted and prevented better than how he actually handled it.
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And if we're going to take Robo-Charlie into the conversation, is it any indication that he wasn't the best when he actually hit the replica of his daughter that he knows is sentient and who believes that she is the real Charlie?
I'm not going to assume that he's outright beating anyone, especially when I don't assume it for William despite his more dubious actions, but I will say that he does not have his emotions under countrol.
He's unstable, a burnout who cannot pry himself from his work even when trying to parent, and pushes past all the tragedies for at least another few years as he remains business partners with the post-arrest William.
And it takes him how long to go out and get revenge again? While he actually knows where his undead partner's corpse is?!
First he sends Mike, whom he likely knows has already been through the Scooping Room, but then further neglects to finish the job himself until he's had this elaborate sideshow and dramatic speech.
And then when he captures his daughter in a larger suit to later free her soul, he makes the suit shock her?!
I'm no animatronic expert here, but I highly doubt that this was fully necessary and was at best a risky and possibly even useless way of keeping her in there.
And he acts like he's some kind of hero after all that?!
He is on thin ice for me, and he is wearing stone boots.
But as a business partner?
Even less so.
It's outright stated that Henry was the reclusive and tortured artist of the partnership and that William was the one who made it a business.
Is that really being a good partner?
Maybe, since he's also providing the framework for many of the animatronics, but that's only one side of the business, and even if they have a system where they can specialise in their own thing, both must interact with all aspects of the business at least a little bit.
We know that William was already an avid animatronic designer and likely just as or even more talented than Henry, but there's little indication that Henry ever tried to be part of the other side of the business on a regular basis.
This man may be better than a manipulative and cold-hearted murderer, but is that really a hard line to cross?
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glitchafton · 2 years ago
Conversation
Vanessa: Sir you actually built the Nightmare animatronics?
William: Which ones?
Vanessa: The ones with the excess of teeth. The head skin of Nightmare Foxy is in one of the back rooms after they decided it would be to scary to have Rockstar Row.
William: Built is a strong term, they were just skins that were fitted over existing animatronics I designed to spend a week trying to kill Michael.
Vanessa: As one does...
William: If he wanted to live, he had to earn it.
Vanessa: I'm shocked you didn't just stab him, it would be a lot less effort.
William: I tried, even once during a fight we'd gotten into when he was maybe nineteen, I found myself holding back from anything that would kill him.
William: And he had a dreadful habit of not dying like he was supposed to.
Vanessa: Sir. I just wanted to know where the Nightmare Foxy head came from.
William: I destroyed the ones I used on Michael so there was no chance he'd find them and prove they were real so it's probably just a replica. He sketched them all the time and is probably what's being used as reference.
Vanessa: Okay so you don't know where the one in the basement might have come from then?
William: Not a clue. Probably a prototype from when Faz Ent was trying to lean into the horror part of the old reputation that never went anywhere.
Vanessa: Based off of sketches from your son who you gaslight after attempting to murder.
William: I can only assume, where they got the sketch book is beyond me.
Vanessa: He cold have sold it to Faz Ent. From the sounds of it, he wouldn't have a lot of options job wise.
Vanessa: Or if you ever brought him with you to Henry's after all of that, forgot it and Sam found it and decided he wasn't going to be sending plagiarism lawsuits any time soon.
William: They aren't his designs to sue for, even if it turns out he's still legally alive.
Vanessa: How hard do you think it would be to track him down? I have questions.
William: I only know that because I've tried, he's elusive. But wouldn't have to sell sketchbooks for rent, he has large amounts of shares in Afton Robotics and modern Faz Ent somehow.
Vanessa: Nepo-zombie should be the most insane thing in a conversation and yet, that seems normal, I'm happy for him.
William: I feel like I've made the case against Michael enough times.
Vanessa: Sir, I've done and will continue to do everything you ever ask me to. I'm your loyal silly rabbit, however, every time you talk about Michael, there's no one who isn't you that would think any of that was okay.
Vanessa: I almost had a moment where I wanted to call my father and say "Bill you piece of shit, I still hate you and can't wait for the day where I get to piss on your grave, but at least when you nearly killed me those times it was an accident."
Vanessa: I don't because if I open contact I'll have to deal with him begging for money I don't have until I change my number again.
William: You're father's name is Bill?
Vanessa: Unfortunately yes, I try not to think too deeply about it. Or him, ever.
Vanessa: Don't laugh I didn't chose his name...
Vanessa: Moon Moment should be done so I need to get back to work, I'm gonna ask around about the Foxy head while we've still got enough people who might know around to ask.
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