#i fear the fandom is tiny tho

[theoutlawfaleena]

my niche historical interests and intriguing movie watching habits have led me to add another masked meow meow to my library

i fear i've rlly gone off the deep end this time besties

[imagionationstation]

Whats your opinion of the Rise community’s impression of 2012 splinter? For me I think he’s a very nice guy just unprepared like bro just got shoved four children

Uh this was random

I just want to make a note of something:

I’ve spent so long trying to come up with a response to this because I can think of some people who are pretty deep in the RISE fandom who are like “2012Splints ain’t that bad tho”. So addressing the entire fandom is actually more difficult than it sounds concerning Splinter.

So instead of addressing the entire community, which would put many people in boxes that they don’t fit in, I’m going to use this Ask to make a statement about the whole Rise VS 2012 debate.

So my firm opinion that I will give is this:

You cannot forgive Rise Splinter without forgiving 2012 Splinter.

And for the 2012 Fandom:

You cannot understand 2012 Splinter without understanding Rise.

You cannot say that you honestly grasp the extent of one trauma/depression without acknowledging the existence of the other. Both Splinters have similar building blocks of trauma (forcefully separated from someone who they love dearly, forced to fight for their lives for who knows how many weeks/months, forced to live/adapt to a body that’s not their own, and forced care for helpless mutant children on top of it all) but their ways of dealing with it are different ONLY because of their different upbringings.

Their traumas are the same but their history is different. (No, you can’t use the ‘well one is a struggling immigrant and the other isn’t’, because Yoshi literally grew up in Japan. He only moved to New York because that’s what Shen wanted. So he has more connection to his origins than Lou has. But that really is beside the point.)

Anyone can have the argument that they feel that one Splinter is the ‘lesser evil’ in this scenario. There are some pretty good debates for both sides, but you cannot claim to have any sort of proof that one Splinter loves his sons more than the other.

You can’t. It’s ignorant and untrue. And I stand by that.

After all, they both kept and raised four mutant children.

And I know that’s a pretty obvious piece of lore, but I don’t think most people truly realize just how monumental that is.

It’s hard enough to raise one child, and harder still two, but four mutant infants? All on your own while trying to manage a new body with no outside help of any kind- and dealing with the fact that their entire infant hood would be a guessing game of do I have any idea if this would hurt/kill the turtle side of them? Not to mention the patience it would take raising children with super strength and amazing abilities that most parents don’t have to deal with?

Four children- all with different mental capacities, all with the different dreams and desires, all the different wants and hates, all the different fears and struggles and tantrums, and you have to learn how to understand and raise all of those personalities (because toddlers absolutely have MASSIVE personalities) all at once.

All of the variables that came into raising them, all those reasons that would make life beyond difficult, all the temptation not to, and these men pilled with trauma and grief still looked at the tiny freaks of nature and went: Yeah. Yeah, I’ll be their dad.

Just like there are many different love languages, there are also many different ways of showing your love. RISE Splinter did it in the big ways while often neglecting the small, and 2012 Splinter did it in the small ways well often neglecting the big.

One man does not have worse trauma than the other.

One man does not have more love for his children.

You will never be able to convince me that you truly understand what 2012 has gone through but still hate him, if you cannot acknowledge that there might be a reason for you to hate Rise too.

If you cannot comprehend understanding/forgiving 2012 then I really don’t think you truly understand/forgive Rise either.

So, yeah. That’s my hot take, ig.

[majkuindelululand]

Let Me Tell You a Story

Chapter 1. When everything go wrong

Once upon a time, back when dinosaurs were still cool and Harry Potter wasn’t considered boomer stuff (because no one even knew what that word meant), in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere — like extra nowhere — somewhere in Eastern Europe (ugh, yes, in POLAND), there lived a girl.

This girl hated her town with every fiber of her being, so she spent hours of her life on Play-By-Forum roleplays or writing cringey fanfics about a super obscure cartoon called Huntik. And when she wasn’t tapping away at her keyboard for that, she was tapping away on chat forums for Asian culture nerds — all while trying to be a proper little metalhead who despised pop music and anything that wasn’t Japanese by name or nature.

The girl was cute. The girl was me. And I had a dark, terrible secret.

See… when my parents weren’t home — when there was no chance anyone would catch me and blackmail me for life — I would listen to… ugh. It’s bad, I know. I listened to… SHINee.

Yeah. It got into my bones. Taemin — whose name I didn’t even want to learn at first — was too sweet, their music was so sugary, and Sherlock? That song did weird things to my stomach. Don’t judge me. I was 14.

And ever since then, once a year, during summer break, I’d go back and binge SHINee’s discography. Just because. It was my weird little safe space. And honestly? Perfect music for dancing around my room like a feral raccoon on Red Bull.

But then something went wrong. Something always goes wrong.

Fast forward — I was living on my own, with my tiny daughter. I had my own apartment, could listen to any kind of embarrassing crap I wanted with zero fear of getting blackmailed by my family. So I let YouTube run wild. “Auto-play, baby. Go nuts.” While I… probably pretended I actually wanted to finish my education degree.

At the time, I was back into writing fanfiction — now for The Mortal Instruments fandom. Full-on queer, chaotic content. But hey, let people enjoy things, right? I was loosely pulling Magnus Bane inspiration from Taemin’s fashion and body language… when something new popped up on screen.

At first, I ignored it. I was busy. But then… Not Today started playing — the choreography version.

Wait. Something was not okay.

That rapper’s voice? Why is there so much rage in it? What’s up with this song? Why is my foot tapping to it? It’s clearly Korean. But it’s not SHINee?! WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

So I looked at the screen. And oh, boy.

That was a mistake.

Chapter 2: Discovering “Who the hell is THAT guy?!”

So yeah. As you might guess, I looked at the screen — and who was there? Park Jimin.

I know, I know. It’s common to start a BTS obsession with him. But you know what still cracks me up all these years later? I could barely stand his existence on screen.

Don’t even ask me why — I have no clue. I just… didn’t get him.

See, I like to think I have a decent read on people. I love breaking down their surface-level stereotypes and playing around with building personality profiles in my head. And usually — terrifyingly often — I’m right. Even if it’s shallow.

After watching a single music video, I already had a rough, extremely superficial idea of the group dynamics in BTS… without knowing a single name. And that’s when I made a decision: That bunny-like, adorable boy? He’s probably a spoiled brat. Yeah, he’s cute or whatever, but even if he danced the lambada on my heart, I would PRETEND I DON’T SEE IT. I would stand firm. He’s not getting my attention. Let him suffer for being that attractive.

RM as the leader? I pretty much guessed that right away. Also, I immediately developed an unholy affection for Hoseok — no idea how, but it was instant. But Jimin? Reminder: I still didn’t know any of their names at this point. xD

Jimin… kind of scared me a little. Do you ever get that feeling when you see a group full of insanely talented people, but one of them just makes something feel off? That was Jimin for me.

At first, I thought it was just “not my type,” you know? The one closest to my type was RM — and that’s if I squinted and took off my glasses. Vocally, my taste leans toward Taehyung.

So what was it? What made me break my own golden rule and actually google their names, even though I didn’t like the feeling Jimin gave me?

Chapter 3: How “that pink one” became “Park f*cking Jimin”

So I started digging. Like, seriously digging. As deep and as often as I could — trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with this weird dude.

And that’s exactly how I got doomed.

I very quickly learned that loving Jimin wasn’t really a choice for me. It was… fate.

Now don’t get me wrong — it’s not like he matched my music taste or anything. Because he didn’t. At least not yet. I hadn’t heard his solo work. And once I did, well — I disappeared into the void and there was nothing left to salvage. Let’s be honest.

But Jimin? Jimin was beautifully dual.

The first fun fact I found about him? He’s clumsy. Like, that’s what the internet tells you right away.

Me? I’m me. I wasn’t interested in basic compilation videos. I wanted to dig deeper.

Why is this good dancer supposedly unable to sit still in a chair? So yeah. I started watching unedited content. Raw footage.

My English — which, at the time, was somewhere between “I might tell you where I live if you put a gun to my head” and “what even is a verb tense?” — suddenly improved FAST. I had no choice. Most sources in my language were just fanfics (and ugh, mostly Taekook — badly written ones too, which explains my later internal war of “NO, MAJKU, YOU’RE NOT WRITING JIKOO— oh sh*t.”)

Anyway. I didn’t like Taekook. Not because I couldn’t feel the gay vibe from JK. Oh, I did. That man reeked of it from the start — so much that I wanted to avoid him in case he contaminated the others.

Tae? Loved him (okay, that faded). He gave me “pretentious younger art student brother” energy. (I’m JK’s age, so sorry, Tae.) My original theory — one I still stand by every time I revisit early content — is that if he had any queer-curious phase, it was aimed at Jimin.

And to be honest? For absolutely irrational, delulu reasons, I believe every single BTS member had their queer-curious moment — and it was about Jimin.

Anyway. When I exhausted all the free unedited stuff, I went full goblin mode and dove into the fandom void.

And you know what? Maybe I’m immature. Maybe I’m blind. Maybe I’m just a fool. But even in completely fanservice-free moments… the way Jikook was Jikook gave me goosebumps.

At that point, I didn’t even fully understand shipping culture. I’d spent my whole life judging it and thinking people should mind their business when it comes to real humans, not fictional ones.

But the thing is… You couldn’t ignore it.

And I realized that if I wanted to understand Park Jimin — not just as an idol but as a person — I also had to dive into that. For many reasons.

First of all… WTF. From the very beginning of BTS, that man has been hilariously focused on the maknae. Second? The moments when Jimin seemed the most relaxed? When he was messing around with maknae line. And JK was always there.

So yeah. To understand Jimin, I had to understand the rest of the members. Figure out how they influenced him. And run them through my usual filter of “Majku doesn’t like people in general, so prove yourselves.”

And that? That was the moment I was done for.

Good music and something different in BTS caught my attention — but something extraordinary in Jimin and the way he connected to the others made me fall in love with the whole group.

Honestly, maybe I just got lucky that I didn’t fall straight into Taekook territory. In the early stages of my obsession, I avoided shipping content like the plague. Later on, I found out that some of the channels I’d been watching for “neutral insight” were actually anti-shippers or (gasp) Taekook-biased.

Even then — I STILL didn’t feel Taekook. Not even if you paid me.

So yeah. That’s my story of falling headfirst into the BTS rabbit hole.

Some clarifications:

I like all of them. I really do. Even if Tae sometimes drives me insane and I aggressively pretend not to see how cute JK is — I like all of them.

Yes, I guess you could say I ship Jikook. But not because I want to. It’s just… knowing Jimin, I literally cannot ignore the existence of Jikook. It feels impossible. Illogical. That man spent WAY too much time telling us something was there for me to just look away.

On the other hand… Actually, no. There is no other hand.

[smoshsfavoritepizzaplace]

They probably get deterred from doing any couples content or being too affectionate with each other because of the backlash tbh.

We know they enjoy their privacy and all, but with that to one side, there are a bunch of "fake fans" who like to gatekeep, police, and harass those within the Smosh fandom and out.

They will flock to either of their socials, especially Court's and comment the same jargon from a past vid a million times like...

"Poop - Poop"

-

"I ❤️ you, pls don't explode!"

But as soon as something happens they don't approve of...

BAM!

There is unfortunately some toxic Shourtney shippers out there that ruin it for the rest of us and give it a bad name.

I bet if people like this didn't act like their parents and as if they knew better than the actual couple, I bet we could see some couples content in the future.

🖖✌️

Yeah, I agree 100%. Like you said, they value their privacy, but I bet they’d be a lot more open if it weren’t for those types of fans. In Court’s recent q&a, didn’t they say they wouldn’t do a house tour because of the fear of people being creepy about it? I’m sure they’d love to do one, but unfortunately that’s a worry to think about. So yeah, there’s some fans that definitely ruin it for the rest of us sadly :/ I wish they didn’t need to think about those things tho. It would be so much better if they could just be themselves without walking on egg shells. Again, they are already more private people, especially about their relationship, but I’m sure there’s a part of them that wish they could share a tiny bit more

[doggrowth]

fandom asks!

3. a character that fandom has helped you appreciate

7. your favorite tropes to read/write/draw

16. a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

23. the fandom you're curious about because of a mutual

Hello Caitie! Thank you for sending questions <3

3. I was like a lot of people who didn’t love Jayce. I liked him in the way that I was rooting for him and thought he had a good heart. But his actions in season 1 are meant to be frustrating to watch. And in season 2, his arc is a bit strange to follow and understand (surprisingly I wasn’t too shocked when he killed Viktor). But now I LOVE him. I think he’s great and complex and sweet.

7. For tropes, I mean... you reblogged this earlier and I couldn't say it any better myself:

I gobble up forced proximity/stuck in a closet too. And I'm a sucker for people who give Viktor pets in art or fics. Specifically cats, because obviously, but also reptiles are sooo Viktor coded.

16. So all Arcane characters have these three little spots of white in their eyes - in my limited-to-nonexistent art knowledge, this is reflection of light I think?

I noticed this after intensely staring at @viktors-sternomastoid's gif sets that these white parts in Viktor's eyes "shake" or "tremble" a lot. Like so much. Just go look at their tag for eyes if you wanna see more than the few examples I can cram into this post here.

(please tell me y'all see what I'm talking about - like the white reflection bits in his eyes are shaking, separate from how the rest of his eyes move, right? I'm not insane?)

My instincts tell me that this effect is applied to communicate that a character is emotional. Their eyes welling with tears or whatever. But it happens so much with Viktor, I was thinking like is Viktor just always on the verge of tears? Or is this just a him thing? Does this "shake" happen with all of the characters?

Yes, it does happen with all the characters. Specifically in moments they feel emotional.

Because these gifs aren't focused on just their eyes, it's a teeny bit harder to see it here. But it's definitely there, I think:

I saved these gifs awhile ago but I'm like 99% sure they're from @arcanegifs

So this is something in Arcane's "language" that communicates strong emotions, whether that be the character is crying or amazed or whatever. It happens with all the characters. But not as much as Viktor, I don't think.

What is my point? Idk. Mostly that the animation department is cracked with these tiny details. And I want to appreciate them in their entirety :D But also to talk about how deeply he experiences his emotions. If this is how Arcane communicates sadness, rage, passion, grief, fear, etc. then, to me, that makes scenes where this visual language is used even deeper. It is communicating that he's feeling a lot, even if he's not saying it.

I hope all of that makes sense.

23. Ahhhh I suppose BG3 is in the back of my mind because of @hivemuthur but also there's just SO many Arcane fans that are/were into BG3. Idk if I'll ever check it out tho because I am not a big Gamer. But it looks nerdy and I bet I'd like it!

Thanks again for the ask, Caitie. Sorry it took so long!

Ask game

[bobbydagen24]

Harshly Honest opinion but the Creek Hate from the Fandom is unfair.

I'm going to address all the Reasons why Creek is Hated by the Fandom so Buckle up. ( ps I'm not looking for a fight so if you wanna Respectfully Debate my points I'm all ears but if your gonna act condescending or Rude about the points then your just gonna be ignored )

first off about him selling out the village

well if you examine the movie you can see it was written in such a way where his literal only choices were to do what he did or die Horribly

and how he was put into a worse situation overall than any of the other Trolls were based on what he was put through and how immediate the Danger was to him

Really no one else in the film was put in as bad a situation as he was so no one can Really Judge him since everyone else was always given the option of sitting tight and Hoping to be Rescued but Creek never was.

what ruins his Role as a supposed villain is him being plucked out of the cage and separated from everyone else early on.

as if he had say attracted Gristle and Chef's attention from when he was in the cage and approached them offering to sell out the village for his own life then I'd find that a tad easier to judge

because he still had the choice of sitting tight and waiting to be rescued with his friends but he chose to have a lack of faith in the

people he claimed to care about and instead tried to take an easier way out by Harming others even tho he had other choices.

but him being taken from the cage early on through no fault of his own and literally not agreeing until he was on the verge of being eaten alive

and then being stuffed in a tiny locket on his own with no air holes for hours on end which is basically torture I mean the poor guy was Begging for Help and Mercy when Gristle showed him to Bridget during their Date.

it just makes it hard for me to blame him tbh like even when he's reunited with a captured Poppy I don't really think he had the same option they all did.

because had he gone back on the deal I kinda Doubt Chef would have stuck him back in the cage with the others and instead likely would have just killed him in anger then and there.

so I don't think it can even be claimed that he could have gone back on the deal and still survived the movie by standing by his friends

in that moment and thus being Rescued by Bridget along with the Rest of them later on.

the problem with the movie's writing is that in order to make Creek a surprise Twist villain they unintentionally made him a bigger victim than any of the other Trolls who were captured by the Bergens.

by taking away any other choices he had in the situation that didn't Result in immediate death whereas everyone else who was captured in the film weren't put in as Hopeless a situation as he was.

its all just very iffy writing and Honestly it kinda Baffles me how the writers find villains like Barb and Crimp and Veneer to be deserving of sympathy

despite doing bad things of their own free will but hate Creek with a passion and say he deserves brutal death for giving in to very Human fear after a day from Hell with literally no other Good options.

like to anyone who Judges his actions all I have to say is what other option did he have that still would have allowed him to live in the end?

and if you can Honestly answer that without saying "" but he should have just died so the rest of the village can live ""

then I'll admit Defeat but if you are just going to say that quote above then I'll point out your literally doing the same thing your criticising him for

your Deciding other people's lives are worth more than someone else's Despite them being on equal Ground since they were all innocent people

and Deciding someone should have to die so someone else can live the problem is the fandom looks at this like its simple and black and white when it Really isn't

its a variation of the Trolley problem which is a complex question that people have thought about for years now Trolls is just a kids film at the end of the day so I don't expect it to go into this topic in Depth

but it should have been written Differently so either Creek's motives were Different or his situation wasn't so Devoid of other options for him

since literally all of his friends were given the luxury of waiting to see if they were Rescued but Creek wasn't

or it should have been changed so he got a last minute Redemption and Happy ending like maybe when Chef made that last attempt to kill Branch and Poppy During the climax

Creek finally plucks up the courage to stand up to her and Jumps out the waist bag onto her face Distracting her for long enough for the Rest of the snack pack to trip her up and send her off in the cooker like in the finished film.

and in the end Poppy and Branch and Creek share a look that means he isn't necessarily still friends with Poppy but they appreciate the situation was pretty Hopeless and he did try to Help them in the end.

but having him share a comeuppance with his captor is Honestly kinda Bizaar

Creek isn't the one to blame for the attempted Genocide Chef is mainly and also Gristle Jr

yes he was manipulated by Chef but he still had more free will in his part in the Genocide than the literal Hostage did

yet the movie lets him off the Hook in the end but sends Creek off with his captor acting more like he was her willing Henchmen than her victim.

its like if a world war 2 film Redeemed Hitler in the end and gave him a Happy ending but a prisoner in one of his camps who betrayed a Group of his own people

because they threatened to send him to the Gas chamber if he didn't is Treated like an irredeemable scumbag and is killed off.

its just insane from a writing perspective tbh.

another point is I've heard some people say he's meant to Represent Toxic positivity and frankly I don't understand that angle?

he was no more toxically posotive than the rest of the village he along with everyone else refused to believe the party could be dangerous for them

which makes him a bit ignorant but it was the environment he was Raised in he's no more or less Guilty of this Behaviour than the Rest of Pop Village

and if people are referring to his later actions then how is that toxic positivity? being scared after being held captive alone in inhumane conditions and threatened to be gruesomely murdered is toxic positivity?

I genuinely don't understand this idea?

also he's Hated on for his attitude towards Branch and yeah that is Jerky but 1. that doesn't make him an irredeemable villain Deserving of Torture and Death like a lot of fans claim

and 2. almost all of the snack pack act this way Towards Branch that isn't unique to Creek yet he's the only one Hated on for this Behaviour?

the twins literally tell Branch to his face he always ruins everything which I find to be much more insulting than what Creek said to him

Cooper literally called him a party pooper and tried to Deter Poppy from inviting him to the party which tbf Creek also Did

at best Biggie was somewhat sympathetic towards Branch but even that came across as patronising pity more than anything that wasn't Really taking his concerns seriously

so yeah the fandom making out like Creek was the sole bane of Branch's existence prior to the first movie is unfair tbh

most of the snack pack behaved this way Towards Branch because they were Raised in a toxically posotive environment and had seen Branch

be involved in no Doubt countless false alarms over the years warning them about the Bergens and he'd probably behaved bitter and antagonistic towards them in the past

like he did at the start of the first film so some of them Developed a Dislike of him which is kinda understandable in some ways.

point is this isn't unique to Creek he's no more Toxically posotive than the Rest of the village and he wasn't any worse to Branch than the others were

the only Difference is he wasn't around to Hear Branch's backstory which Gave the Gang more context on why he acted the way he did.

in short the Hate towards him is kinda Unreasonable tbh he was placed in a much more Dire situation than any other Troll in the movie in that he was much closer to death with literally no Hope of escape

not to mention the whole being stuffed in the tiny locket with no air holes or light which is literally just torture.

the whole thing that Ruins it is the writing choice to have him plucked from the cage early on and nearly eaten then and there as that puts him in a situation that no other Troll in the film was actually put in

even when Branch was nearly forced fed to Gristle at the end he still had other people around him which means he knew he could be saved and low and behold he was.

but Removing Creek from the cage and trying to eat him then and there with literally no other Hope of escape other than Doing what he did creates an unfair lose lose situation for him Really.

and sacrificing yourself for others may be noble but it is not something anyone has any Right to expect from someone else

unless they chose a job to protect the public like a cop or a firefighter which Creek wasn't he was just an ordinary civilian.

and to the people who say they Hate him for his attitude Towards Poppy when she was in the cage well I have nothing to say to that except well

it doesn't make your attitude of saying he Deserves Gruesome death any more Right

its Victim Blaming in the most covered up kid friendly form its the Trolls movie equivalent

of saying a local person Deserved to get Horribly Beat up and killed by a Group of guys simply because they acted like a bit of a smug Jerk in a pub or a nightclub.

someone's attitude does not change the circumstances of the situation a Victim can act as smug and Jerky as they like it does not change the fact that they are a Victim.

also he only acts smug in literally 2 scenes post Betrayal so the fact the fandom focuses on that

and not all of the scenes of him being portrayed as a terrified victim before Hand is kinda Blatant picking and choosing lets be Honest

its the opposite of what the fandom does with Bro zone ignoring how they actually act for most of the movie and Hyper focusing on the two scenes of them actually acting like Decent people.

anyway that concludes my lecture lol if you've made it this far here's your Reward a cute Seal meme picture 😂😂

its sooooooooooooo cute 😭😭😭😭

[hikarry]

What do you mean Spencer missed Hallowen? Sacrilege!

Lil guy over here was actually wearing his best Crowley skin at a party until 3am with his dear brother - whom dressed as a demon himself, which I did not miss the joke on, mind you - some old and new friends and an angel of my own

Oh yeah, I managed to do it. Not exactly the angel I had planned to go with, but an angel nonetheless and, I'm happy to announce, we were not the only angelic&demonic lil pair at the party, or the only bloody Crowley and Aziraphale!

Now, I won't share any pictures my Aziraphale and I took together because the only 2 I have have a bit of a problem: the first one was taken by the worst photographer on the planet (my Aziraphale. She might be a dear, but Jesus Christ-), the second one is not for public eye, but we do have planned on meeting again and probably doing a little Christmas inspired photoshoot, so hopefully the actual photographic proof there works out better

Mind you, I'm a stubborn idiot. We walked to the club and yours truly might or might not almost have broken his nose, being literally saved at least twice by the angel that partnered up with me for the night, pulling me away from stray street lamps, because I refused to take off my shades for "My eyes are not cannot compliant because my contact lenses were delayed in transit and didnt arrive yet" reasons, so i could barely see a meter in front of my own nose.

Long Halloween party story short:

- My Aziraphale got hit on by one of my friends because apparently I inspire no fear on these God forsaken people

- I quickly figured out Crowley does not wear that ridiculous lil tie for style, but for "Being Dragged Around By The Angel Like a Bloody Dog" reasons

- I did end up finding 4 other Crowleys (a gorgeous one escaping the cliché the 4 other copies fell into and actually choosing Eden Crowley and, my man, all the kudos to her. Not only were her wings absolutely gorgeous, but they MOVED) and we absolutely ganged up together for most of the night

- I learned that one should never try and recreate the Apology Dance while wearing slippery shoes on a floor sticky with alcohol, at risk of breaking a bloody leg (not me. Did give me a good laugh, tho)

- A really cool guy with a Tenth Doctor costume joined the Crowley gang at some point and kept paying for free beers for the rest of us which <3 I will never forget you, random fellow David Tennant fan whose name I don't recall

- Most songs were, as predicted, spooky themed, Brazilian funk or portuguese romantic/folk, which can be fun, don't mind me, but they did play Under Pressure almost at the end of the night and the 3 remaining Crowleys - yours truly included - may or may not have completely butchered the song, trying to "sing" (I would call it yell, if we are being realistic) as loudly as we could and jumping through the whole "Can we give ourselves one more chance?" segment of the song as my Aziraphale and the girlfriend of one of the other Crowleys (wearing that really gorgeous Wednesday Addams black dress she wears for a party in the TVshow, ya know the one) very heavily pretended they didn't know us, but hey: brotherhood amongst demons and what not. If Queen starts playing and one Crowley starts yelling and jumping, the other Crowleys shall yell and jump. It's the law

- Dunnot! I repeat: DUNNOT! Try to pin a taller Aziraphale against a wall when you are a Tiny Crowley because you will end up embarrassing yourself

All this to say: Good Omens fans are terrifying. We are literally everywhere, and we are all equally bloody sick. Yet, my fellow crazies keep being some of the coolest people I've ever met in my life. I swear, this fandom is the gift that keeps on giving, and I lowkey own my wildest night in 23 years to this silly fandom

Alas, pics? I got some silly selfies i took while getting ready and sent to some of my fellow degenerates

And, as proof of the lighting at the party being absolutely shit:

You cannot imagine how much I enhance the brightness on that damn photo and it was the only one I bothered taking for obvious reasons (yes, at that point my blazer and tie were being carried around by my Aziraphale because they were annoying the fuck out of me and I'm an arsehole that doesn't like to carry shit on his hands and my angel was a sweetheart)

Alas, I said I would do it and I did it

Happy belated Halloween, sweethearts

[timeislikemusic]

name. kip!

pronouns. any.

preferred comms. IMs first, but I’ll offer my Discord if we vibe well.

name of muse. Qiao Ling, Xia Fei, Vein, Liu Xiao… been staring at Li Tianchen lately, but I’m not sold yet. Just trying as many characters for my hyperfixation as I can!

experience in RP. I don’t remember the exact date I started, but I only got serious in mid-2018. I’ve been writing ever since. Moved to Discord 2-3 years later and still participate in groups there.

best experiences. I’ve been in so many fandoms and done so many different AUs, it’s hard to pick which is my favorite! Outside of servers, I’ve most loved rambling with friends in DMs. Low-stakes brainrotting about tiny what-ifs is my ideal pastime. Love being able to send fanart to someone and talk for a couple hours about wherever it takes us.

pet peeves / dealbreakers. COPYCATS AND HEADCANON THIEVES SOUND TERRIFYING SO UM? New fear unlocked. My biggest ick is entitlement from others towards me, my time, and/or my muses… I have one too many horror stories of people pushing me for replies, godmodding my interactions, or throwing creepy fits when I express lost interest in a ship or character.

muse preference (angst, fluff + smut). I don’t always enjoy fluff if it leans toward cracky territory… so I can be selective. Hmu with hurt/comfort, angst, and all sorts of complex debacles. Not sure about accepting smutty interactions yet, since I’d have to rework my rules and give folks time to filter out a tag first, but I was considering it. Finally, fight rps (as in, pure combat) are not my cup of tea.

plots or memes. Memes are super new to me (as is Tumblr as a whole)! I… still don’t know which I like more. I’m used to plotting longer interactions, but if memes are as low-pressure as I’m beginning to think, maybe I need to start asking for more or sending more out? I worry about annoying folks tho, so I heavily lean on OOC convos to gauge interest.

are you like your muse. I’m not assertive enough to parallel QL, and I sure as hell hope I’m not like LX (I say while lovingly petting his hat). I’d say I’m most like XF, then? Except… even before I got into Link Click, I would joke about my friends’ characters being tasty/yummy and how much I wanted to just. stick them in my mouth and violently chew. I thought it was cute aggression. Maybe it was actually untapped Vein muse LOL

tagged by : @hourdive ty, this was very fun!! tagging : @repeatingdeath ...? Everyone else I know has done something like this before or was previously tagged, I think, so I hope you haven't yet;;; otherwise I look silly, um. glances around

[purrpletiger]

Do you have any canon facts about Fresh? You seem like you know about him a lot so I wanted to ask :')

Sure! If you'd like to know something specific you can ask, but here's some commonly misunderstood aspects of his character.

He doesn't kill his hosts. He leaves them in a weakened state when he's done with them but their soul can recover over time. it's possible for them to get possessed by him again.

He talks using his host. He doesn't have his own voice and as a parasite separate from a host he can't talk, so his voice will only sound like his host's with a different tone. Though it's totally possible but not confirmed that he has a way of mentally talking to his host, it is confirmed that he can hear his host mentally. (He can hear his host in their mind so maybe they can hear him?)

Fresh isn't a disease, a virus, or an infection. He's a heckin parasite, he can only possess one person at a time. He has to physically go into a body and control it. His host's personality doesn't change him at all unless he's trying to pretend to be them, because he has full control. The host can fight his control to do things but this is incredibly painful and can damage their soul significantly more.

Fresh can't feel most things. Fresh lacks most emotions, he can't form emotional connections to people at all. The only things he can feel is fear, a tiny hint of sadism(Meaning seeing people in pain or distress brings him joy), and rarely anger over things he doesn't understand. The fear of death is a natural instinct, as a living creature he wants to survive and continue to live. His joy in suffering of others is a learned feeling, because his entire existence is causing pain, over time his mind has formed a connection, other's pain = his gain, his gain = his survival, him surviving = him feeling content. (His sadism is a very small and muted happiness, it'd be barely amusement to someone with a full range of emotions, but to him it's everything because it's the only way he feels good) The anger over things he doesn't understand was only canonically triggered by one thing, and it was someone sacrificing their life to save someone else. He was so angry someone would do that, because everything he knows is survival, and throwing your own life away is infuriatingly stupid to him, it's too different from his core understanding of life (this only happens when he starts to unlock more emotions like companionship tho).

Fresh is an asexually reproducing parasite. He has no idea of romance, sex, or even the complexities of gender. He doesn't understand love, or any of that. He's physically incapable of basically anything sexual. He does asexually create other parasites tho, he can do this intentionally as seen during Freshmageddon, where he spent three days making more parasites. He will do some things seen as romantic, like kissing, because he doesn't understand the romantic connection and finds the reactions people have funny

Fresh feels everything physical his host body feels. I see stuff in the fandom all the time where Fresh possesses a host and gets them severely injured but doesn't care… This is the opposite of accurate. Fresh can feel everything his host feels physically, but to a lesser extent… and I'd think pain/injury freaks him out because it'd remind him of his fear of death. I don't think he can feel damage inflicted to their soul though, because otherwise possessing people and damaging their soul over time would really suck!

Sometime I'll make a Fresh doc exploring all the aspects of his character with all the source posts from CQ to back it up :]

[aversiteespabilas]

Do you know how I can get out of an artistic block? I've been like this for two months

Oh boy, I've been there too, I get you. I don't have a definitive solution for this, but I think the nature of art block can be very different for different people at different times, so a good first step would be to try and do some introspection on what exactly you're feeling whenever you think of doing art. However, here are some things that tend to work for me:

Take this time of inactivity to really look at and enjoy other people's art. Sometimes your artistic journey will just include breaks, and that's okay. It doesn't mean you aren't learning, though. If you really enjoy someone else's work, take this time to study it, make sense of it, try to discover what exactly you enjoy so much about it and why. Maybe think of ways you could emulate that yourself. I often find that the coolest looking art starts with the simplest shapes. Try to imagine which tiny little steps the artist could have taken to achieve that look. This gets my art cogs turning every time.

When I'm feeling frustrated about my own ability, feeling like I'm not good enough, sometimes I'll just make a point of drawing something that's complete garbage. Like the ugliest scribbles ever. Go "I'm gonna draw something SO HIDEOUS". I do that until I start to just have fun with the act of scribbling itself, not the result. If you feel comfortable and happy holding your pen, you're on the right track. You don't need to do anything else. You don't need to show it to anyone, you don't need to post it, you don't even need to keep it. It's just your time of Hold Pen, and you've been doing art. Congratulations!

Sometimes I get this feeling that there's a particular piece I'm scared of doing, normally because I feel it's too difficult or I don't have the "required skill level" to do it, even though the ideas are overflowing and my mind's eye is working full speed and my fingers are itching to create; the worst part of it is when this fear gets me to freeze up, like I just can't do anything. Well, I've recently found the secret for this one, and it's not pretty. You just gotta do it. Seriously, if you think it's fear or insecurity holding yourself back, then you just really need to grab yourself by the collar, slam yourself on the desk and get yourself working. It's gonna feel awful at first, it's gonna feel like a task, maybe even boring, and like what you're doing is pointless, but by then you'll be doing it. That's the truth of self care, most of the time it involves doing things you reeeeaaally don't feel like doing. If the alternative to doing art is just sitting there feeling sorry for yourself, then remember: the time will pass anyways, might as well just do it.

This one may not always work, but if it's a broad motivation/excitement issue, I often find that making art gifts for my friends/loved ones helps a lot. First, it's a gift, it's free and unprompted, so there's no real pressure for it to be a masterpiece or anything. Second, you're setting a clear objective for yourself that you can get excited about, and third, you're sure to get a validation boost from it! In my experience, collaborating with a friend on a larger art project has kept my motivation cycle going strong. Run from the lonely artist archetype, it's your biggest enemy. Art likes friends!

Otherwise, there are various ways you could try and hype yourself up. I am a very calculating person so I get really motivated when things are planned and organized in lists. Since I started noting down my ideas in a To Draw list, I always have something to do, I'm never out of exciting ideas and art block very rarely rears its ugly head. For some people it may be the opposite tho! I know for a fact many people find lists and schedules to be draining for their creativity, so find out what would make you most excited! Maybe trying new brushes or materials is your jam! Maybe your current hyperfixation or fandom can offer motivation. You need your art process to work for you, not against you, but in order to do that, you need to understand what exactly is it that makes your brain most excited. It's self-discovery baybee!

I hope some of these work for you! At the very least, it can't hurt to try. Good luck, soldier!

[fitilechka]

yeah alright.. get ready guys!! >:D

so, i'm gonna infodump yall with my ocs. idk what i wanna do with them in the future but something will surely be because hey, i want the fandom !! /hj

…none of them has proper lore yet though… ermm, let's just get started.

the first one to tell about will be yonome!! what's up with the name you ask. ehhh i dunno i was just trying to look for the options in lots of languages together with my friend and we decided to name them as «eye of the night» in japanese. cool right?!?! they use any prns btw :333

more info: they're a child of darkness. what they like to convince people of is that darkness is not something scary and evil at all. rather, it's calm, harmless, and observant!! and they observe too. they study human behaviour, emotions and such, as well as medicine, as they consider it the most interesting science of the human world. they take other people's fear of them for granted, and react to it calmly. also they'll never attack unless harmed!! (a tiny bit of words from me, they're my absolute fav so far!! ><)

more chars under the cut

who's the next one? oh it's timerizer. what's up with the name now? well i just mixed up two words — time and mesmerizer! (NO, IT IS NOT A REFERENCE, THE IDEA POPPED UP IN MY HEAD MONTHS BEFORE THE SONG!!! 😭)

he/him prns for this guy, also he's annoying af but i won't be surprised if someone actually likes him-

more info: this aristocratic, high-minded idiot is a perfectionist and believes that the passage of time creates too much chaos, so he wants to stop it once and for all. he has a pendulum with which he's able to hypnotise people, but the result of his hypnosis is that the creature stops in time. 😨😨 (it's easy to fix btw)

and he doesn't see any costs in his plan. :)) if time in the world were to stop, he, as the only one left in consciousness, would go insane-

note from me, i liked the design i did but definitely not the character himself. who knows tho!!…

the third one!! the absolute cutie!! nix!!! the first character to have an age (which is 11 years), also the history of the name is quite simple, nix is the word for snow in latin!! any prns for her, i'll mostly be using she/her :]

more info (there's not much about her for now): she's a gullible, kind and talkative child. may seem a little fragile, but she's quite capable of standing up for herself. easily freezes, causing her to wear warm clothes all the time. she also loves camping and hiking!! her trust often makes her easily believe a lot of things though- and not the most important info but still cool, she loves watching cartoons and reading books :3

what am i gonna say? oh well… she's mentally stable ✓✓

the last one, darkness!! she/it pronouns. i don't have many information about her at the moment, sadly or not :(((

the only thing known about her is…… yonome is her creation. :DDD well maybe just maybe she's also just as calm as them, i'll see about that.. :))

…you're welcome to say your honest opinion about all of them. idc. and as i mentioned before, i'm yet to think of ways to use them all. they're all tied to a single unnamed universe, and uh- forgot what i wanted to say, meh.

[katyspersonal]

A teeny tiny question from yours truly... What's with the Micholash fascination. I mean this with zero disrespect, but aren't Laurence and Willem right there in the exact same category as that man? (@izunias-meme-hole)

WELL YOU SAY THAT, but actually I've already been agreeing with you fdshfdhsf I started in this fandom as a Micolash simp, but over time I branched out! He is genuinely so, so interesting... But now, instead of simping in traditional sense, I bounce between wanting to devour him (but with his soul being still alive so I can sense his struggle, fear and eventual dread <3) OR wanting him to torture and then sacrifice me while describing me his twisted vision of the world. xd I write essays on the depth and horror of his character out of genuine respect like you'd have to a brilliant headmaster!

AND THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE WE DO HAVE SLUTTY LAURENCE AND THICC WILLEM WHO LIKE NO WONDER THAT MEN KEEP SACRIFICING THEMSELVES TO FURTHER LAURENCE'S AMBITIONS THEY SEE HIS ASS AND PHYSICALLY CAN'T SAY NO AND ALSO NO WONDER THERE ARE ONLY LIKE 2 KNOWN BRILLIANT BYRGENWERTH SCHOLARS IN HISTORY BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE GOT SHIT GRADES GETTING CONSTANTLY DISTRACTED DROOLING FOR WILLEM AND HOPING HE WOULD PUT NOT JUST EYES INSIDE THEM 👀

(By @fantomette22 ( x ))

dfyufu sdfhhggfdss It's fine it's fine tho XD Micolash is a very cunning cult leader that tricked everyone into thinking he is unrivaled prize like no other Soulsborne sexyman, but fandom's eyes are yet to open..... just you wait....

[jimmyandthegiraffes]

Fic Writing Review 2023 🌈

Thank you sm @itwoodbeprefect for the tag!!!

I hardly published anything this year so if u wanna skip to 'projects for 2024' that's gonna be the most interesting bit >.<

Words and Fics (on ao3) 📚

words posted: 714 💀 but many more words were written, just not posted lol fics posted: 1 first fic/last fic 😅: King of the Eyesores - Doctor Who (1963)

Ships and Fandoms ⚓

Doctor Who - no ships really but KotE is Mike Yates-centric.

Top 5 Fics by Kudos 🏆

It's KotE again lol which is at 6 kudos. Of all time, tho:

After the Hour(glass) - Night at the Museum (Jedtavius)

Less Than Ideal Circumstances - The Man from UNCLE (TV) (Napollya)

When They Sleep - The Man from UNCLE (TV)

Dismiss Your Fears - Back to the Future

After All, I'm Only Sleeping - Doctor Who (1963)

Top 5 Favorite Fics 💖

KotE......... I do actually rly enjoy KotE I think it has potential in terms of where it's going. But since I only posted one fic in 2023, I'll do my top 5 of fics I've ever posted. Apart from the first one this is in no particular order

tickertape - The A-Team (TV) it's my baby it's all I thought about for months of my life, it's like an iceberg (i.e. most of it is in my WIP doc, and only a tiny fraction is published so far), it got me thru a difficult time, it's an exploration of mental illness and complicated messy relationships expressed in epic format (i.e. it's probably gonna be novel length when it's done)

Bullet Number Six - Starsky & Hutch (TV) it received criticism for being obscure and hard to follow bc it switches pov briefly halfway thru but idc i love it anyway

I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues - The A-Team (TV) it was my first A-Team fic and I still think for a beginner it nailed some p realistic in-character dialogue and addressed an undertone I wished I'd seen addressed in the ep it's a coda to.

When They Sleep - The Man from UNCLE (TV) it's kind of riddled with certain mannerisms of my slightly older writing which I personally find a bit annoying and have worked to iron out for the sake of elegance over the years. but I still think it's a cool little exploration of all my sleep headcanons for the pair of them in one place

King of the Eyesores - Doctor Who (1963) see it made it to the list after all! I kinda like it more for its potential than for what it is right now butttttt who cares.

special mention to Unbereft (Starsky & Hutch) which I really really like but I wrote it in one frenzied sitting and only remembered after I'd posted it that it was very like someone else's fic I'd read several years previously. I don't think it's too much like to be taken down and I've since mentioned the writer of the other fic (it was dawnwind, hello!) in the notes. that's the only reason unbereft isn't in my top 5 because I'm otherwise really proud of how well it's written. Not to tootle on my own trumpet.

Fandom fic events

none RIP but maybe this year!!

Projects for 2024

Okay here we goooooooooooo

priority 1 is to finish the unfinished works that I've already half posted: King of the Eyesores, Every Line A Comedy, OUTATIME, The Windhover, tickertape, The Hanoi Bank Job and Other Misadventures, 38 Hours. Bolded are my top priorities.

other works that I'm writing but which haven't seen the light of day at all yet:

Dear Mike - an epistolary between Jo Grant and Mike Yates following her marriage to Cliff Jones.

The Lark/Behind That Locked Door (working titles) - a 30-chapter 2/Jamie fic about season 6B in which Jamie suffers permanent memory problems after the War Games. It explores grief, social ostracism, feeling abandoned, undirected anger, guilt, and acceptance that healing sometimes is a process that is never complete. I've been working on it since about 2016 lol but I'm lazy I just need to press on.

hell valley au - as yet untitled lol. In which the Hell Valley!Marty (who is never seen in BTTF2 as he is in Switzerland) and Hell Valley!Doc (who has been institutionalized) break out of their respective situations and go on the run together. But there's a problem - they had to leave Einstein behind, and when they get information that Einie is to be used for a dogfight, they make the risky decision to go back to Hill Valley to rescue him. However, going back to the place they just escaped by the skin of their teeth also brings them face to face with the last person they expect to meet.

a changed man (working title) - a Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) fic from Jeannie's pov. mostly it's about their picnic excursions but it's also about Jeannie wishing Marty wasn't such an elephant in the room

mfu/rahd xover (untitled) - the first chapter of this is almost ready to go tbh. it's what it says on the tin lol, Napoleon and Illya go to London and get help from a rather eccentric private detective who has uncanny powers of solving impossible cases but also they think is probably clinically insane

to see him happy - VERY weird rahd fic. it's smut but its also about grief. might never post it because several of my family members have access to my tumblr and therefore my ao3 lol they dont need to see that

the winter of '62 - a study of jeff and marty's life when they lived together in a grotty bedsit and couldnt afford to put the heating on

star wars (untitled) - set during ROTJ, han pov. han's lost a lot of time and now everyone is one step ahead of him which isn't a sensation he's used to

skyrissian - what it says on the tin lol

the older gen (untitled) - jeeves fic about bertie's aunts and uncles and parents as they were as they variously grew up, got married, had children, died (or didn't), fell prey to alcoholism or insanity or petty crime, went to war, prospered (or didn't)... This is pretty unlikely to be finished this year tbh as it's very detailed but I can dream

a couple of long form fics about starsky & hutch and mfu respectively (the s&h one is set post sweet revenge, the mfu one takes place at various moments throughout the show)

x-files series - canon compliant until paperclip and then gradually diverges into how i think the show should have gone lol. another biggie

and a handful of tintin fics that im protective of and might never post but we'll see - one where tintin and chang go on holiday in london after picaros, one where the gang encounters rajaijah one last time (featuring a letter from didi, chang making a very daring crossing at the songolese border, and tintin taking about ten years to chop up a clove of garlic), and one where tintin gets shitfaced at an embassy ball and accidentally starts an Incident. haddock looks on, appalled.

i knoooooooooooooooowww this is a lot but i'm not realistically hoping to finish it all this year but it's nice to have lots of things to play around with lol.

unfortunately i have the eternal problem of not ever knowing which of my mutuals write fic and which of those havent already been tagged but imma tag @theteaisaddictive and genuinely if u see this and u write fic ur tagged i want to knowwwwwwwwwwwww <333

[ansbobcar]

Darts (OrKa scenario)

Orter x fem oc (my oc Rinka) my friend helped make the shipname :D

Feel free to imagine it as a x fem reader tho if you want. (Gotta encourage y'all to write more)

Anyways I'm too lazy to write it properly I got inspired by too many manhwa scenes and that one kdrama called Nevertheless well the ost mvs atleast so here you go:

_ _ _

Rinka and Orter are at Joe's again but instead of opting to do the monthly endurance drinking game that he won 24/25 times. He suggests a different game.

"Darts?" - Yeah. (fyi idk how darts work so this is like not accuratteeee)

The gist of it is that whoever hits the lower target has to drink a shot and that after x number of rounds, whoever has the higher score winsss and gets a favour from the loser. And if you've read the fandom wiki - Orter is god at darts.

Oh yeah and this is without magic too so Rinka's garbage at it. "How do you do this without magic?"

"Let me show you."

They're both pretty comfortable with each other (I mean they're like fake dating dating out of convenience) and too concentrated on the game to really take a moment and consider how close they were with each other. Like the sides of their heads were practically beside each other with his arms guiding hers. They both don't notice it even when she gets her first tiny win (the dart actually hit the thing) in an ocean of fails.

I'm telling you they're oblivious to the fact they ACTUALLY like each other romantically. Nobody even points it count because THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THAT THEY'RE IN LOVE. (It's genuinely stupidly effective that Kaldo, someone who knows Rinka really well, can't spot the half-lie.)

Rinka's like tipsy at this point (they played like a bunch of rounds) but thinks she can keep going with the drinking.

So Orter wins obviously but he doesn't utilise the favour straight away like she did. (Not yet published EP 7 moment)

He's saving it for when it's necessary to use because she's pretty accepting when she trusts that person to doing stuff.

They head back to his office and like: the two heavy drinkers were now officially drunk.

Orter's open about his feelings/thoughts he sounds more like a flirt/clingy lmao while Rinka's shy (her usual persona is more like a cool older sister type, so her being shy/hesitant which is more in line with her as a teen is like partial truth.)

So mannerism switch from the typical OrKa interaction.

Orter brushes out some loose strands from her face (hairstyle is now down and free) and she's like not used to the feeling of being the center of attention still.

"Don't be startled when I say shouldn't hide yourself. You're pretty" She's taken aback by this (yeah bro has never stated she was pretty, it's a big deal). "Not even a thank you? You're too humble for your own good."

"You're starting to sound like Ryoh."

"How so?"

Lists their similarities until he's like right at her face and she's like super conscious of him. Bro's eyes feel like they're looking right through her which wells up more fear in her than expected.

But it's still calming.

They get interrupted by a phone call by Renatus that a super important corpse went missing.

_ _ _

Extra thought/crack interaction:

Drunk Rinka: Oh god what the hell is he doing up in my face? Does he know... he shouldn't know how would he know AAAAAAAAAAAA

Meanwhile, Drunk Orter: I WANNA KEEP HERRRRR! SHE'S PRETTTTTYYYYY AND FUN!!! I LIKE HER AROUND!!

[angelofrainfrogs]

Spend the Night: Ch. 33

~Coauthored by @zeitghest~

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

Description: The familiar melody of Grandfather’s Clock chimes through the echoing halls of the Pizzaplex…

Charlie wakes up in her Puppet’s vessel yet again with one goal in mind: to stop William Afton’s reign of terror for good. She enlists the help of Glamrock Freddy, the emphatic leader of the newest iteration of the Fazbear Band. But there seems to be more to this bear than meets the eye—and the same goes for the mysteriously familiar kid the duo find tinkering with animatronics down in Parts & Service.

With some help from friends new and old, Charlie’s journey into the bowels of the Pizzaplex will unravel mysteries none of them ever expected. 

Rating: T

Read on Ao3

When you're forced to live in a mask for the rest of your years You pick up a thing or two about bone-chilling fear And we just wanna share with you everything we learned All the pain and suffering, tenfold in return We're not gonna lie to you, this is gonna hurt 'Cause now it's your turn

~We Know What Scares You by Tryhardninja, Halocene~

To Henry and Charlie's mild surprise, Evan's hand shot into the air. He'd stopped crying now, tear-streaked face wiped clean by the caring hands—and now-damp shirt—of his older sister. He moved away from her now, taking the sledgehammer that Cassidy had stored nearby and dragging it over to the arcade console. It seemed like it would be too heavy for his tiny frame, but with his android strength combined with the flash of defiant hunger in his eyes at finally getting revenge for all his family and friends' torment, Evan hoisted the weapon up like it was nothing but air.

With a sickening crack of breaking glass and machinery, the Midnight Motorist display screen was destroyed in one hit. Sparks flew out of the console, spitting angrily as if William's very soul was frothing at the mouth with unbridled rage that finally his plans of resurrection were foiled for good.

“Nice job, Evan!” Michael cheered, and Evan absolutely beamed at his older brother's praise.

“Thanks, Mikey!” he replied, then looked to the group with a questioning tilt of his sweet, innocent head. “Who's next?!”

Gregory had gaped in surprise at Evan's strength in his fresh new android body. After rising to his feet, Gregory would cheer him on alongside the others. Charlie came forth, hesitant as Cassidy made a move towards the game—only to drop in an ostentatious bow.

“No, please, I insist you go first,” Cassidy said, much to Charlie's surprise. Maybe all those years of hanging out with Evan’s softer personality had finally rubbed off on her. After Charlie thanked her, Cassidy would make it known to the whole room: “But I called next, got it?”

There was a smile on Charlie’s face, ancient tears dried as she carefully picked the sledgehammer from Evan's hands. Charlie motioned for Evan to back up, using the space around her to wind up a swing. She swept the legs out from under the tabletop game, the already busted glass breaking completely out of the case now.

“WOO! Take that, you old fuck!” Charlie shrieked with pure elation, though quickly apologized as she remembered the company of Freddy and her own dad. Cassidy rushed to her side, staring at the now smoldering machine.

“Oh man... That's like—did we hit a lithium battery or something?” Cassidy giggled, not worried for their health with obvious reasons. However, the idea of William exploding was playing in her mind on a loop that couldn't help but make her snicker.

“Looks like it,” Henry piped up, arms crossed over his chest and a satisfied smirk on his face. He let out a laugh of his own as all eyes turned to him. “Now, under normal circumstances I'd never condone this, so don't you kids start getting any ideas...” He raised a stern eyebrow, though the absolute shit-eating grin underneath it counteracted whatever seriousness he was trying to go for. “But I think, after all the fucking bullshit you've been though, I can selectively not hear any curses that might come out of your mouths for the next five minutes while you smash that thing to smithereens. What do you think, Freddy?”

Henry looked over at the bear, who was wearing a wide smile of his own. With demure tilt of his head, Freddy added in a tone of fake surprise: “Oh, will you look at that—my profanity filter seems to be temporarily turned off as well. What a coincidence!”

“I knew you were always the best one, Fazbear!” Henry said, jovially patting him on the back. There was a collective swell in the room as the kids started to process the temporary power they'd been given, and Mike couldn't help but let out a snort.

“Uncle Henry, you have no idea what you've just done...,” he commented, a delirious chuckle threatening to spill out of his mouth at any given second.

Gregory gasped, standing from his crouched position by the computer on the floor. Excitedly making his way towards the Midnight motorist game, he began stomping the more brittle pieces, snapping plastic casing away from the smoldering remains.

“Take this you dumb piece of shit!” Gregory laughed before feeling Cassidy's hand on his shoulder.

“Woah! Woah! Save some for me! Smashing him was my idea!” Cassidy whined slightly, though she wasn't really all that upset, laughing at the way Gregory chose to curse. For once, the two managed to get along as Gregory pulled her closer. Together they kicked at the remains before its damaged motherboard began to spark.

Far off and standing by Michael, Elizabeth watched with crossed arms. She didn't need to join in. She spent so long being angry, Liz felt the very notion tire her soul out. Though she would never forgive her father, she didn't want to expunge the energy needed it took to continuously hate him forever.

“God damn!” Liz mentioned, watching as Gregory stomped unperturbed by the slowly growing electrical fire. “Don't burn yourself, Gregory! Hahaha—” Liz couldn’t help but laugh at the kid’s eagerness to destroy what remained of their father.

“Watch your feet, superstar!” Freddy called, a flash of concern crossing his face as the little flame sparked and fizzled. Looking to at the oldest adult in the room, he said to Henry: “I do not think we should let that grow much larger...”

“Don't worry,” Henry reassured, hands on his hips as he watched the kids have their dark fun. “Between Michael and me, we're experts on fires by now.” After a glance up at Freddy showed this comment only made the bear more concerned, Henry chuckled and jerked a thumb towards a desk, underneath which a plethora of bright red fire extinguishers sat waiting for this very moment. “Ennard snagged some extinguishers before things went down tonight—we've got it covered, Freddy.”

Standing behind his siblings, Mike leaned forward and draped his arms around their shoulders to pull them into a tight hug. Unable to stand his giddiness he then pressed a quick kiss to each of their cheeks, laughing heartily as the pair instantly started wiping away his nonexistent spit.

“EW, Mike—that's gross!” Evan shrieked, which only caused Michael to laugh even louder.

“Yeah, yeah, suck it up!” he replied, refusing to release them even as the pair struggled. Though, based on how lightly they pushed against his arms, he could tell they didn't really want him to let go anyway.

“Gross, Michael,” Liz remarked, worming her way under his arm to give him the tightest squeeze. The odds of all of this having eventually worked out better for the bulk of them made Liz happier than berating her deadbeat dad ever could.

For one brief moment she looked to Evan, happy to see that being inside a new robot hadn't been giving him too much anxiety off the bat. From what Cassidy told him, he cried for the first two years of being stuck together… That didn't even include the time that Evan was alone.

As a small fire broke out Gregory fell back to avoid being burned, only to be caught by Charlie who's quick thinking made Liz laugh.

“Freddy warned you!” she called, and Gregory waved a hand dismissively her way.

“I'm hardly burned! Hey, uh... How do you use a fire extinguisher anyway?” he asked curiously while Cassidy left to fetch it.

“Uh... You use the hose? Duh,” the ghost replied, as if it were that simple.

“Let me help,” Henry said, retrieving his own extinguisher. Together he and Cassidy worked to control the flame, allowing it just enough spark to catch on the next piece of shattered equipment and reduce it to smoldering ash before quenching this particular section of fire. They didn't want to risk leaving anything salvageable at the end of all this.

Evan had been too distracted by the quick shift in bodies and subsequent well-deserved torture of his father to really register the android he was currently in. However, as things began to calm down his enhanced senses started coming into play—he could feel the warmth on his back as Michael held him close, the fabric of Lizzie's clothing as she pulled him into the family group hug, the vague remnants of dried tears on his cheeks... It was wonderful to be able to feel again, but something about this whole thing was beginning to tug at Evan's nerves.

After dislodging himself from his siblings—which was quite the feat—he wandered over to Charlie. She and Gregory were watching Henry, Cassidy, and Freddy work, the bear having joined in to assist with flame control. Tugging on the sleeve of the kind spirit who'd watched over him all this time, Evan quietly asked: “Hey, Charlie? Thanks for getting me out of Fredbear, but, um... a-am I stuck in this body now?”

Charlie had given him a quizzical look. She then relaxed, figuring Evan would be more uncomfortable in spectral form. This was totally fine in her book—goodness knows the boy deserved to be out of a robot for the rest of eternity if he wanted. He’d given the android a test run and Charlie knew Henry wouldn’t be offended if he kept it as backup from now on.

“Not if you don’t want to!” Charlie made that clear. She reached for Evan’s head, chuckling a little to herself as she took back her Gift. “Always feels wrong doing this. But if you’re fine with being a ghost…”

It didn’t take long. The separation was nearly instant as Evan’s robotic body shut its eyes, falling like a ragdoll to the ground. It was an odd sight as Charlie guided his spirit back onto the floor as well.

“Yeah! Who needs those stuffy robot bodies?” Cassidy remarked, then looked between the four people who outnumbered those without androids. “Uh… No offense to you guys! It’s probably weird being cooped up like that again.”

“Thanks, Charlie!” Evan sighed in relief, shaking out all his limbs. Just like Cassidy proclaimed, the thought of being trapped up in another robot wasn’t something Evan wanted to entertain if he could help it. This ghost form was light and free, and while there were benefits to having a body Evan much preferred the ability to go wherever and whenever he wanted without the restriction of solidity. Honestly, he’d been kind of jealous watching Cassidy warp through walls the past few days…

Once satisfied that he’d stretched out a good amount of 40-odd years of stiffness, Evan moved to stand in front of Gregory with a spring in his step. Holding out a hand, he grinned and said:

“Hi for real, twin from the future!” He giggled at his own little joke. “See, I said you looked just like me!”

By this point the Midnight Motorist game was nothing but a black spot of lightly smoking ash and extinguisher debris. Setting the red canister on the floor, Henry gently picked up the discarded android and carried it away to its cabinet until Evan was ready to try it out again.

Gregory glanced at Evan, staring him up and down as he finally took stock of his appearance. As with the others, he’d been so caught up in ensuring William’s demise he hadn’t gotten a chance to process everything else that’d come out of this crazy night.

“What the fuck?!” Gregory would laugh, grasping onto Evan’s hand before using it as leverage to raise himself back to his feet. Gregory, when given free range of speech without repercussion, seemed to have a little sailor mouth not unlike Michael’s. “Dude—you weren’t kidding!”

To Gregory, everyone’s reactions made so much sense now. He thought they may have been misremembering the way Evan looked after so long, but even now he could see how the poor kid’s own father mistook Gregory for his own…

“Am I looking in a mirror, or what?” he remarked, a wide grin spreading across his face. Cassidy discarded the extinguisher, quickly swiveling her gaze between the boys.

“Oh look—it’s Evan and Evan’s clone,” she teased, making Gregory roll his eyes.

“Double-trouble,” Michael muttered with a smirk, ruffling their hair aggressively and cackling at the identical cries of annoyance and vain attempts to push him away.

“Mike, you realize one of these days they’re going to team up against you, right?” Henry warned, settling next to his daughter and putting an arm around her shoulders. Knowing Henry’s claim was a very real possibility, Michael was quick to release his brothers and take a few steps back, palms raised in supplication.

“Hey, no hard feelings, right?” he asked, though his twitching grin detracted from his sincerity. He would surely bother his siblings whenever he got the chance—but never again would there be malice behind any of his actions.

Evan rolled his eyes and shoved Michael’s hip, the man making a dramatic show of being pushed off-balance that caused Evan to snicker. Freddy watched this display with a soft smile, intrigued to see how everyone got along when the looming threat of an immortal murderer was well and truly gone. The relief in the air was palpable, and despite the terror and uncertainty of the past few nights, Freddy was glad he’d been able to be there for those who needed him.

Speaking of time passing…

“Oh—it is nearly 5:15 am,” Freddy spoke up, blinking rapidly as he checked his internal clock. “If we would like to get out of the Pizzaplex before dayshift, we should start moving… There are still a few things we must do.”

Lizzie laughed at them. It was so easy to see Gregory becoming close to their family already. Good thing, because that Remnant wasn’t going away anytime soon. She bumped Michael with her hip when Evan pushed him closer to her. “You could barely handle two younger siblings. How on Earth are you going to manage three?” 

Charlie had been hugging onto her dad, surreptitiously wiping a small stream of tears off on his ethereal shirt. At Freddy’s watchful observation Charlie shifted to hold Henry by the shoulders and meet his gaze. “I’m going to find Sammy, Dad. Apparently he owns this whole building.”

“Does he now?” Henry let out a soft chuckle. “Well, well… make sure all that power hasn’t gone to your brother's head, will you?”

To Gregory, Freddy alerting them was like his dad telling him to wrap up hanging out with his friends. Without even thinking, Gregory pulled Evan in for a quick hug.

“We’re gonna hang out again soon, okay?” He spoke with a determination in his voice. Cassidy quickly piled into the hug, and Lizzie was soon to follow—though the sheer instability of their unbalanced embrace had the group of kids falling over into a giggling pile on the dirty ground.

“We’re gonna hang out tons!” Evan confirmed after the laughter died down. He stood, helping Cassidy to her feet. “I want to see what this new place is like—Cassidy says it’s so different from all the other restaurants!”

“I think you all will have a great deal of fun in the Pizzaplex,” Freddy said, and Evan turned to stare up at him. After a second’s hesitation, he wrapped his arms around the bear’s leg to give him a brief squeeze before stepping back.

“Thanks for helping, Freddy,” Evan muttered quietly, falling back to Lizzie’s side. He wasn’t afraid of this particular Glamrock model in the slightest, but his lingering nerves towards any large animatronics still caused him to revert to shyness.

“There is no need to thank me; I am glad I could be there for my friends, no matter how new they may be,” Freddy responded kindly, then offered a hand for Gregory to take. “Shall we go?”

“We’ll be back soon,” Michael reassured, patting Cassidy on the shoulder before giving his siblings a final hug, then moving onto Henry.

With a battle they long dreaded finally coming to a satisfying end and a happy farewell, the Faz-gang hurried for the surface. As they traveled out into the darkness, Charlie walked behind Gregory. She was shaking her hands over his shaggy—albeit greasy—hair, squealing in praise: “You did so well back there, Gregory! Isn't he such a cool kid, guys?”

It'd been a long time since she felt this good; that she didn't have to worry so much.

“Shut up; you were so badass!” Gregory laughed. “The way you kicked the charging pod door closed was priceless!”

“Aw, shucks.” She feigned humility, then jabbed an elbow into Mike’s side. “And you two? Dude, you guys were ruthless.”

“I would say that our ruse worked perfectly,” Freddy commented, causing the group to grin up at him.

As they neared one of the staircases that would take them up to a higher level, there was a sudden movement in one of the dark corners. The group stilled, watching the huge, lurching shape come towards them, and for a horrible moment wondered if they'd somehow gotten it wrong—was William still roaming the Pizzaplex, having miraculously escaped the data transfer?

However, as Ennard stepped underneath a hanging lightbulb everyone relaxed. Well, three out of four in the group, at least.

“For fuck's sake, Ennard!” Michael groaned, raking a hand over his face. Then he paused, realizing something that needed to be addressed before they left. “Oh—actually, you know what? I have something to tell you.”

Of course Ennard was completely fixed on Mike, all eyes staring unblinkingly at his face. At this point it didn't even phase the android, who simply met the demented clown's gaze with a serious one of his own, arms crossed in front of his chest. “Now listen—the four of us are going to leave the Pizzaplex soon, and you need to stay here. We're coming back, so don't... come looking for me, or anything. Just stay down here out of sight and listen to Henry—got it?”

Michael hated subjecting his uncle to Ennard's attention in his stead, but at least he wasn't scared for the ghost's well-being... and he was sure that the second he set foot inside the Pizzaplex again, Ennard would be waiting eagerly in the nearest vent for a glimpse of his “friend.”

Much to everyone's stunned, silent gazes, it was almost a relief to see Ennard okay. They did a good job at keeping a close watch on them as per Michael’s instruction, up until the very end where they’d had their own part to play in the ruse. Where Gregory figured that Ennard would obey, they instead rubbed their arm bashfully.

“STAY..? B... BUT WE HELPED.” Ennard had worked hard. Being trapped here again meant no freedom. No freedom meant they couldn't go with Michael or the rest. They were trapped. Trapped like back at Circus Baby's Rentals.

No. This couldn't be happening again.

“WE DON'T UNDERSTAND...” Their voice sounded somewhat betrayed, the garbled tone harder to comprehend when feeling this intense emotion.

“You helped a great deal,” Freddy stepped in, deciding it best to take over before Michael went back to sulking. He'd hate for the man to lose his good mood so soon, and Freddy also knew how to use a bit more tact when speak to Ennard at this point. Smiling gratefully, the bear continued:

“We thank you for everything you have done, Ennard. It is not that we do not want you to come with us—” There was a grumble from Michael, which quickly turned into a yelp as Charlie's bony elbow jabbed into his side. Unfazed, Freddy went on. “It is just that there are a few things we need to sort out before we can bring anyone else along—not just you.”

Freddy left unspoken the fact that Ennard would scare the living daylights out of most people they came across, as this was a given. Instead he chose to focus on the positive, hoping that giving Ennard something to look forward to would make them accept staying behind a little easier.

“As Michael said, we will return soon—we promise we will not abandon any of you. Perhaps when we come back I can introduce you to some of the other animatronics, if they are functional again. You may be able to visit them during the night shift and make some more friends.” He hummed, tilting his head in thought. “Hmm... yes, I can already think of at least one you may get along with rather well. It will just take a bit more time, alright?”

Ennard tilted their head with interest, now looking at the situation in a new light. They approached the group, slow and hopeful that their friends wouldn’t be alarmed at the proximity.

“WE AGREE...,” they replied, sounding somewhat melancholy as they went to pass them in the hallway. They slunk around with eyes that wandered and flicked back to Michael every now and then. “YOU'LL BE BACK.”

It wasn't a lie, as far as Ennard could tell. After Charlie dislodged her elbow from between the faux flesh on Michael's ribs, she waved at the amalgamation.

“We'll see you soon, buddy! Take it easy think of all the awesome robot friends you’re going to make soon,” she encouraged, to which Ennard would give her a thumbs up—making sure to graze a wire or two over Michael's shoulders and they squeezed on by him.

“HAVE FUN... PLEASE COME BACK AND SEE US SOON...”

Gregory waved too, feeling a little bad for Ennard. But they were just way too conspicuous to take into the public eye. They needed to focus on the little quartet making it through alright by themselves for now. There still wasn't a good, concrete plan put into place for how exactly to do that.

Michael brushed Ennard away, but in a surprisingly non-aggressive manner. As much as it pained him to admit, Ennard had helped them and kept their word of watching over Gregory. As if reading the kid's mind, once they were climbing the stairs and fully out of Ennard's sight, Michael spoke up hesitantly.

“So, uh... what exactly are we going to do when we get out? Because I don't know about you guys, but I don't have any money. Or ID. Or... anything.”

He used to have those things, but they'd been burned to a crisp along with his original body in the diner fire. The only one who could have anything remotely close to things they'd need was Gregory, although they'd established already that he had no money—and any form of ID would be useless because he was only twelve and it would link him to the foster care system that may or may not have noticed his disappearance by now. Mike desperately hoped that Gregory was one of the unfortunate kids to have fallen through the cracks—a horrible thing to happen for anyone but the immortal boy who'd been adopted by an animatronic bear and two android siblings.

“—Cool.” Gregory smirked. “We're off the grid.”

He probably didn't even consider the fact they needed all of those things to do anything.

“All we need to do is get jobs! That'll be easy,” Gregory convinced himself. Once they all had money, then they could live somewhere. “Besides, if we need a place to sleep, there's this old van from like... The 70's or something in a junkyard around here. It's got a smelly water bed in the back and it's pretty comfy—”

Charlie winced. How long had this kid been on the run for?

“No—one, you're too young to work.” Charlie burst Gregory's bubble. “Second, we're not going to sleep in a decrepit old van... Unless we don't have a better option.”

It was at that moment that Freddy realized his knowledge of the outside world might be a bit... lacking, to say the least. He knew that people needed jobs to make money, which was obviously used to obtain everything. He’d been designed as a mascot for a Mega Corporation after all and was used to people spending exorbitant amounts of money for the smallest things.

But... how would they get to that point? He hadn't even considered needing identification. His adoptive children might be able to finagle their way into obtaining something, but what about Freddy? He was literally created as a bear, for goodness sake—how would that translate to a human identity? He didn't even know how old he was supposed to be in this new body he would soon take over, let alone what last name he should take on since Fazbear was clearly out of the question.

“We'll figure something out,” Michael said determinately. “Worst case, maybe I can throw around the Afton name a little—or better yet, the Emily one.” He raised an eyebrow at Charlie. “Your brother's still alive, and Fazbear Entertainment is famous; maybe we can find a cheap hotel close by and convince them we have a room booked under Sammy's name? I'm sure we can raid the registers around here for cash, too! Well, unless they clean them out at the end of the day...”

He trailed off, scratching the back of his head, and that's when he remembered the wound he'd sustained earlier. His nails came away coppery with dried blood, making Michael wince.

“Ah, crap... Hey, Gregory, would you mind fixing something in my systems before we move Freddy over to his android? Something got out of whack when I had an, um... incident with you know who earlier.”

“Crap, what’d you do?” Gregory asked. It was his turn to be concerned. The trail of dried blood leading from a crack at the crown of Mike’s skull made Gregory cringe at the sight.

“Dude, you need to stop getting so messed up,” Gregory chided. He tried to look everywhere else but the wound on his head. He’d have to suck up whatever repulsion he had from the sight of it later when they had access to tools. “That jerk really hit your head… Piece of—”

Gregory bit his lip to stop himself from cursing. Charlie gave Michael a sympathetic look, but agreed with him nevertheless.

“I’m going to go find Sammy after we make sure your head isn’t messed up… Well, more messed up than usual.” Charlie corrected herself, teasing him gently as they approached Rockstar Row. “Who knows—maybe Sam can help us out! He probably wouldn’t mind; after all we’re family!”

“I'm fine,” Michael said with a roll of his eyes. “I got an alert saying a gyroscope was out of whack, but other than the wound itself I'm pretty sure that's the only thing wrong.”

“I am sorry we could not help you at the time,” Freddy murmured, frowning at the blood smears. Michael shook his head with a smile.

“You guys had a job to do. And hey, now we have at least a little plan!” He shoved his hands in his pockets, subconsciously looking for danger as they approached Freddy's door. “We'll fix up my head, find Sammy if he's around, then get you in your new body.”

“Alright,” Freddy relented, not feeling the need to press the matter. He decided to knock on the door, remembering that Vanessa and Hannah were still inside, and was mildly surprised it was opened by the ghost. “Oh! Hello, Hannah; how are you?”

“I'm fine!” she said, peering around Freddy's leg to see the others, her eyes widening at the sight of everyone covered in grime and soot. “Whoa, you guys are so dirty... what did you do?!”

Before anyone could give Hannah a rational answer, Gregory hopped into the front of the group—probably being the filthiest of them all. His apparent grime dusted off of him in small clouds with each movement.

“We put an old man inside a video game and smashed it! It was intense!” he said with all the excitement of a child who’d just finally been told he could have a puppy. He moved inside of Freddy’s room all with the intention of telling Hannah every detail he could remember from the final fight with William Afton.

Charlie shared a look with Freddy and Michael, figuring they could afford to let Gregory relax and unwind with his new friend for a few minutes.

“Ness? You still here?” she called out, wondering if she had already decided to head on out before dayshift showed up.

“Yeah, I’m here.” Vanessa’s exhausted and worry-ridden voice came from the direction of the couch. She stood in front of it, having jumped up at the knock on the door, hand relaxing from where it’d been poised on her walkie to alert the others of an intruder. Hesitantly, she asked: “So is it… done?”

“It’s done,” Michael confirmed, watching Gregory excitedly explain the details to an astounded-looking Hannah. Turning back to Vanessa, he offered her a smile. “He can’t hurt anyone ever again.”

“Oh thank fuck,” Vanessa breathed out in a rush, pressing a hand to her heart. She took a second to process the fact that she was indeed free of the mind control she’d been under for far too long, then glanced at Hannah. “We’ve just stayed here—she played the arcade game for a bit but then she got bored and we’ve just been… talking. She’s a sweet kid.” Her voice caught on the last word, and Vanessa cleared her throat.

For Hannah’s part, the little girl was now 100% confident that the entity who’d kidnapped her and the woman who’d been watching over her for the past hour or so were not the same by any means. She couldn’t find it in her to blame Vanessa for her death, whose genuine remorse was palpable in every apologetic word and guilty expression.

“Perhaps after she and Gregory have a few more minutes together, Cassidy can take Hannah down with the others?” Freddy suggested softly, looking to Charlie. He had a feeling Cassidy might not appreciate another random summons, but the other option was for one of their quartet to trek down to be basement again to show Hannah the way, which they simply didn’t have time for.

Charlie watched as the young ghost acclimated well to her new existence. With Gregory telling her the colorful details of their daring battle with her killer, Charlie could feel her heart clench. Then Freddy’s words pulled her from the thoughtful stupor.

“Oh yeah; good thinking. I’ll call her soon.” Now Cassidy was in a better mood, Charlie reasoned the girl would be glad to make a new friend. Honestly, she was more worried about Vanessa.

“Are you going to be alright, though?” Charlie asked genuinely. After all, Vanessa never had a choice to be involved in all this, just like the rest of them. “It… It’s okay if you’re not fine, y’know?

After all, the majority of them were by all means not fine. Though Charlie knew they all had each other to get by… That raised the question if Vanessa had anyone who worried about her the way their Faz-family cared.

Vanessa gave a short, humorless laugh. “Not really, but… I’ll get better eventually—I hope. It’s just… so raw right now.”

The guard grimaced, looking to the floor.

“I still don’t remember everything, but I know enough to confidently say that William fucked up my entire life. I… I want the parents of those kids down there to know what happened. Not the details, of course, but at the very least they deserve finality that their children aren’t coming back.” She swallowed heavily, the air suddenly thick with the weight of William’s crimes against the innocent. “I’ll… I mean, I want you to know that I’m not going to say anything you don’t want me too. Honestly, I don’t think anyone would believe me… but I’ll wait until you all get things settled before speaking out.”

“Thanks, Vanessa,” Michael responded softly. He met her gaze, offering a small, sympathetic smile. “I promise we’ll do everything we still can for those kids. Who knows—maybe more of them are still hanging around like Hannah, waiting for Charlie to give them a second chance.”

“…You really think so?” Vanessa asked hesitantly, looking over towards the little girl. She was so lively and animated listening to Gregory’s tale, it was hard to believe she was actually a ghost who’d been killed in such a brutal, unceremonious way barely a week prior.

Charlie had been thinking on this topic since leaving the basement. Even with all of the safety features that Sammy kept inside this facility, there was still the aftermath of a “tragic accident” at a Freddy's location. Every single building that had to do with this IP turned into a murder scene. Like the very name was cursed. She always wondered if Evan's death had triggered it—just an unfortunate chain of events that led to the latest killing spree leaving nine kids dead and one brainwashing victim traumatized.

And one boy left permanently scarred as well, given an experimental drug that clouded his eyes stark silver...

For Charlie, it was easier not to think about. It's what the franchise had been doing for years after all. She'd have to bring up coming clean about everything to Sam with they finally met again. Charlie had been in a somewhat nervous mood since this realization—and Vanessa mentioning it just now made her chew on the corner of her finger in thought.

“—I want to do my best to help them. And... I don't know how we're going to do this. It might bankrupt Sam and we’ve got to be super careful not to incriminate him, but we have to tell the police something,” Charlie remarked, knowing the families must miss these kids be worried sick not knowing where their children disappeared to. Of course, it all felt too personal; too close to home for Charlie to take lightly.

“...Look,” Michael began with a heavy sigh. “Not that I'm condoning keeping this from the public, because this damn franchise has been hiding things for way too long... But let's just give it at least one more day, okay? We can find Sammy and get his opinion on the whole thing, and we'll figure out where to go from there.” He glanced at Vanessa with a raised eyebrow. “You're going to get a lot of heat for this, you know, regardless of how we spin it.”

“I know,” she agreed with an expression of acceptance. “I'm ready for whatever the consequences are. I might not’ve actually done the deed, but I'm still responsible for all those missing kids.”

There was another pregnant pause, before Vanessa's shoulders slumped with exhaustion. “Alright, if there's nothing else you need, I think I'm going to go home. Can you tell Hannah goodbye for me? I... don't think I can face her again. Not tonight.”

“We will,” Freddy reassured, giving Vanessa a smile. “Please try and get some rest.”

“I'll do my best; you all do the same.” Vanessa spared one more glance at the kids, who were still involved in their own world. Then, with a half-hearted wave she slipped out of Freddy's room and made her way for the main exit.

Once the door closed, Freddy walked into the back area to grab a toolkit used for quick, basic repairs so the group wouldn't have to go to Parts & Service to get Michael fixed up. As he did so Mike took a seat on the couch, calling over to his brother with a little smirk: “Hey, Gregory, any chance you could help me sometime in the next century? Charlie's going to get Cassidy to take Hannah down to the others.”

Gregory’s face was red. He had completely forgotten about Mike's busted skull in his grand recounting of events.

“Crap—sorry, Mike! I’ll come look at your head!” he replied without trouble. Gregory’s pale eyes flicked back to the girl and he promised with a subdued smile: “I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I’ll come visit you guys as often as I can.”

He didn’t want to seem too eager to hang out with her. As Charlie came beside them, she touched Hannah’s shoulder.

“Hey! Did you have a fun time chilling in Freddy’s room?” she decided to ask, attempting to gauge the ghost’s mood before meeting with Cassidy. Despite their differences Charlie personally came to love Cassidy as a close friend, though was fully aware that Cas could be a bit much upon first meeting her.

“Oh, uh... yeah!” Hannah replied, frowning a little at the whiplash of her conversation with Gregory being cut short only to start a new one with Charlie. She also realized that Vanessa was gone, and while Hannah was a little peeved the woman hadn't even said goodbye, she couldn't really blame her—Vanessa looked ready to fall right off the couch from exhaustion towards the end. Tilting her head, Hannah asked: “So... what now?”

“You can stick around if you want—we’re going to be leaving for a little while. But I have a few friends your age that would love to hang out with you. My dad’s around here too, and he’ll take really good care of you!” Vaguely, Charlie wondered how long Henry planned to linger. Then again, some people can’t choose when they pass on. Charlie did what she could to twist the threads of fate, but sometimes they snapped before she could get a firm handle.

While the girls conversed Freddy joined Mike and Gregory at the couch, handing over the toolkit so the boy could work. Despite all the blood matted in Michael's hair, the wound itself thankfully wasn't too intense—a bit of poking around on Gregory's part should do the trick to get him back to rights again.

Gregory had to access a switch he found between a flap of fake skin on the back of Michael’s head, just under his hairline. It almost made Gregory pass out when the back of his brother’s head flipped forward to reveal the intricate endoskeleton underneath.

“Fuck—” He gasped, covering his mouth before rasping out an apology to his dad. “—Sorry I… I mean just look at that.”

How could he be blamed? Gregory didn’t think it was going to open up in such a way, and though he was aware Michael’s body was robotic there was a stark difference between accessing the inner workings of the Glamrocks versus a humanoid vessel. Regardless, Gregory spotted the problem right away.

“Oh, the housing for the gyroscope is loose. Easy—Dad, can you pass me a hex wrench?” he asked, holding out his tiny palm.

***

At the main entrance to the Mega Pizzaplex stood a very distraught CEO, feeling a stress headache coming on as the day staff lead explained the current status of his once-beautiful building. The sheer state of the damages was going to cost him dearly. Just when sales began to peak, he had to renovate the place again?

“Sophie…,” he murmured lowly, interrupting the girl. “Where is Vanessa?”

He sounded one part mortified and two parts silently infuriated. The normally calm man watched Sophie clam up, floundering in her speech.

“Uh—I… I’m sorry—I really don’t know. She’s kinda been avoiding me. No one could get a hold of you over the weekend either, Boss…,” Sophie explained meekly.

Mr. Emily wiped his hand roughly down his face in frustration, knowing it was partially his fault for not guiding them but unable to admit it while he was this upset. “—Fuck it. I’ll call her. She can’t just not explain any of this!”

As Vanessa's hand reached the push-bar of the main entrance doors, she was mortified to see none other than Sammy Emily, the CEO of Fazbear Entertainment marching in her direction. Her eyes widened in utter terror and she backed up, wondering if she'd be able to dart into a closet and hide until he passed by. Unfortunately, it was too late—upon catching sight of her, Sam let out a surprised exclamation and picked up his pace, soon bursting into the lobby with fire in his eyes.

“Oh shi—um, hello, Mr. Emily! I-I didn't expect to see you for another few days!” Vanessa greeted with a weak smile, crumbling into herself. God, she was so fired...

Mr. Emily held out his arms in a matter of fact gesture as if to say, ‘Yet here I am anyway.’

“Hm—the meeting went well!” he said through grating teeth. Samuel could feel another grey hair coming in on the back of his head. “Now, if my new stockholders decide to come by, they can see how majorly they fucked up.” He smiled, but there was no joy in his eyes. “Yep. They’ll say: ‘wow I sure do regret investing in this dump.’ Vanessa—what the hell happened?!”

Ness opened her mouth to speak, then promptly shut it again. She had no clue what to say. No excuse she had could truly make Mr. Emily understand what went down. Well, if she was going to be fired anyway, there was no point in lingering—Vanessa was fucking exhausted.

“Honestly, Mr. Emily?” she began, moving around him towards the front door. “Some major shit went down this weekend; that's really all I can tell you. I'd suggest you visit Freddy's room—they'll be able to explain much better than I ever could. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take a long. Fucking. Nap.”

Before Sammy had a chance to respond Vanessa turned and rushed out the front doors, keeping her head down and ignoring Sophie's frantic call. She didn't stop until she'd reached her car, which she jumped inside and sped off in towards home. She'd come back to the Pizzaplex eventually to help tie up some loose ends, but the sheer glee Ness felt seeing the place fading away in her rearview mirror was indescribable.

Mr. Emily couldn't believe what he heard from the supposed head of security who’d just—what? He wasn't entirely sure what happened just now. Had Vanessa quit, or simply taken an abrupt leave of absence for who knows how long?

He left Sophie behind to investigate on his own terms, taking it slow as he inspected the rogue points of damage around the Pizzaplex. Even from the state of the lobby, it was clear they couldn't open this place tomorrow. Mondays weren't particularly busy in the morning, but the place sure attracted kids after school was out. Besides, how was Sam supposed to run a business with only one working Glamrock?!

If Freddy had even been fixed after that gnarly stage malfunction, that is…

***

“There's more kids here?!” Hannah somehow managed to sound both excited and mildly upset at the same time. Vanessa hadn't gone into much detail about everything that'd happened, but she'd mentioned there were many more victims of this William guy before Hannah. However, the ghost girl hadn't expected to see anyone but Charlie so soon, if ever. Trying not to think about how or why the other kids were around, she gave Charlie a small smile. “Yeah, I'd like to stay with them! Especially if you guys are gonna leave; I don't want to hang out here by myself...”

It didn’t take long to summon Cassidy, and Charlie was glad to see her in a good mood and just as excited to meet Hannah. She laughed at the state of Michael's head when first appearing inside Freddy's bedroom, but ignored him fast enough to greet the new girl. She was surprised that Charlie was still giving out Gifts, but was amiable enough thanks to recent events to help the newly deceased girl acclimate.

“You've already met Gregory—but have you met his twin yet?” Cassidy asked, already playing along with the joke. Hearing this, Gregory smirked as he finished up the repair and worked to close Michael's casing back into place.

“He's got a twin?!” Hannah asked with a surprised gasp, looking from Cassidy to Gregory and back again. “That's so cool!”

Hannah liked this new girl already. Cassidy's confident aura was something Hannah naturally drifted towards. That's probably why she'd already gotten along so well with Gregory, too.

“Let's go!” she exclaimed, grasping Cassidy's hand without hesitation and eagerly swinging her arm back and forth. Hannah was also very glad for the chance to make new friends—it would distract her from thinking about other things. Before Cassidy could whisk her away, Hannah waved to the group.

“Bye; I'll see you guys soon! And thanks, Charlie.” She released Cassidy's hand for a just a moment to squeeze Charlie around the waist, then returned to her new friend's side, locking their fingers back together. “Okay, now I'm ready for real.”

“Hey—you're going to love this. Watch what we can do,” Cassidy prompted, taking a firm hold of her new friend's hand whilst waving goodbye to the others as she and Hannah began to slowly sink through the floor.

And not a moment too soon, as someone's shadow fell over the door.

***

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[m1ckeyb3rry]

OMG stay safe and I hope ur power comes back soon!!!

No fr opposite extremes of the spectrum LOL and LMAOAOAOA MADDIE??? I SEE HER CONTENT ALL THE TIME HAHAHAHA she’s so hilarious she’s in the bllk TRENCHES (her idea of going to make bllk themed yogurt was kinda funny and interesting tho ngl) I saw her “hear me out” video and I unfortunately lost my ears so um! I almost lost it laughing though when she got baited by a fake panel and was telling op to sleep with one eye open LMAOOO

NOO IMAGINE SHIDOU’S STRAIGHT IN THE WOMB??? Would be filing for harassment because HUH like fr between bros it’s just a weird little bro lingo communication thing but um

The canon content of some of them (Otoya and imamura) getting so desperate they go to Chigiri has me wilding like???? Bro get a grip SHSGSHS also the fact that they actually put jokes like that in canon

It’s so funny to me though none of my absolute favs are on the Ubers team but I like their team dynamic the most??? Like they’re fr the only team with like..communication skills and functioning member interrelations I love the Ubers family

Also WHAT IS IT REALLY?? I mean I guess I shouldn’t be surprised because Barou is ripped (I always find it funny that him and Kunigami who are both from Akita are like the two buffest dudes minus Tokimitsu maybe but he’s missing the aura LMAO) and Isagi is typically described as mediocre normal so

Oh yeah…the “I can fix them mentality”…lol…no I get what you mean that they make a womanizer version of them and revert them back to original and that somehow works better to them because their non-womanizing self actually exists but TOJI OF BLLK STOP THATS SO REAL it’s over when we get the cops and robbers and rock hard lines (speaking of I wonder how much of Shidou’s lines they’ll censor…? Because I’m of my friends there’s a couple that aren’t as in tune to the anime/shounen dude language and sometimes questionable phrases so im lowk stressing but er)

LMAO yeah it’s so confusing I lowk just go by the normal like…year convention? Like if you’re born in April you’re older than someone born in November if it’s said you’re in the same school year but I have no idea if that’s right…

Babysitter Karasu so true the only one he can talk to normally is Loki but even Loki wouldn’t intervene much I feel LMAO Karasu carrying PXG in more than one setting (Shidou is def the irresponsible older brother who probs puts you in a headlock to ruffle your hair and hypes you up to do things regardless of how safe it is LMAO)

No literally how epinagi and the LN released like days after we discussed it like?? Maybe now’s the time to sneak in all of our tabieitaken ideas and manifest them into reality LMFAO it’s time for us to wait for the next LN announcement if Otoya and Karasu show up you KNOW it’s real

I lost my mind like rich boy Karasu with two dogs and a cheating dad??? Then he said sike and I fr felt like Hiori in that moment like wdym you made that up??? I feel like that gives us a bit of crumbs (like one tiny morsel) of more of the Karasu respect agenda like he was on his (hypothetical) mom’s side on that one!! But anyways I could see Karasu being a rich boy…

HAHAH SAME WAVELENGTH FRR o7

He def thinks birds of prey are the coolest fs…just a teenage boy with a bird nerd side

-Karasu anon

THANK YOUUU we are at my cousin’s house atm so luckily chilling 🤞🏻 still no power at my place unfortunately 😭💔 but hopefully tomorrow!!

YES MADDIE omg i see her all of the time she’s so funny like truly the face of the bllk fandom 😭 omg no because lowkey i think lorenzo is cute in like the way a rlly hideous dog is?? he’s not attractive to me at all but i feel such strong pity for him and his ugliness that i find him oddly adorable 😦 idk he seems relaxed too his dynamic w barou is hilarious…but i agree i fear i cannot hear her out this time

no because the unholy trinity of shidou + aiku + karasu and the bullshit they say would lowkey be my final straw DKSKSJ “here comes the dopamine” + “i’m going to put you on a leash” + “it’s so lewd how you got into that tight opening” all in one match…i’m joining chigiri in the witness protection program atp HAHAHA

the ubers are the only team that feels like a team HAHA like mc is a soap opera atm, bm is straight up war constantly, pxg is a bunch of dumbasses + karasu, and barcha is bachira otoya and some randoms 😭 and YES it’s almost the same length it’s crazy!! part of it too is barou is super tall and isagi is short for bllk (still way taller than me though 💔) and probably also the angle it was drawn at might’ve exacerbated it a bit but either way 👹 barou is the epitome of scary dog privileges bro you could go anywhere if you had that man w you 😩 also kunigami HELP that one panel of him squatting in the gym during bm why are his legs ENORMOUS?? he takes jacked to another level and it doesn’t help that he’s generally shown next to chigiri who’s on the slender side for bllk

exactly!! like it doesn’t feel as odd to show isagi or nagi being sweet and eventually treating a girl well even if you originally make them mean whereas otoya or aiku have 0 evidence proving that they are even fixable in the first place so people just steer clear HAHAH (not me though…me and otoya are locked in 🥱 going to write him in ways the world has never seen before). BUT NO AIKU IS SO TOJI CODED IDEK WHYYYY their voices are lowkey similar too…honestly i hope they don’t censor shidou because him being a freak is so integral to his character LMAOAOA although i’m only saying that because i know p much no one who watches bllk irl 😔💔

karasu and shidou being older than loki is so funny to me 😭 they’re better than me fr…if some french guy a year younger than me came and started bossing me around i’d throw a fit!! PLS karasu is the kind of person who’d yell at you if you do smth remotely dangerous whereas shidou would tell you to do a flip while you’re at it 😟 but at least you will always have a fan in shidou LMAOO no matter what he will be your biggest supporter (for better or worse)

THE NEXT LIGHT NOVELS BETTER BE SHIDOU KARASU AND OTOYA i need to know what kind of weird ass past shidou had that made him turn out like this…although i feel like they might not just because atm we know next to nothing abt him and maybe they want to keep him mysterious and have his backstory be like a big reveal?? if not shidou i’d be happy w like nanase or smth (perhaps aiku??).

NO LITERALLY i was like wait he’s rich…and has dogs…and supports his mother…MARRIAGE 🤩🤩🤩🤩 and then i was so betrayed when he revealed he was fucking around for no reason 😒 okay lowkey though i know that man has to be somewhat well off because why else would he be so into index funds and stock management and whatnot like that is the most upper class bullshit i can think of HAHAHAH him canonically being a finance bro is so heartbreaking 😰 karasu pls you’re better than this 🤧 jkjk he’s just trying to ensure he keeps the bag secured no matter what i have to respect it

okay wait this isn’t related to anything you said but i was reminded of this panel while scrolling tik tok and felt like i had to share

nothing to elaborate on here LMAOO just like…he’s so majestic fr (although why is he standing like that LMAOAOA)