#i'm glad they acknowledged Charlie!

[c4ts4ndstuff]

my theory for the Santa Clause series, is it's going to end with Cal being the new Santa

[andreafmn]

Speak | Chapter 10

Word Count: 3.5K Story Description: Bella Swan was a disaster when Edward had left. Deciding she needed a little help, Charlie Swan receives with open arms his younger daughter (Y/N) Swan. She helps Bella during her depression and becomes inseparable from her long-lost friend Jacob. What she didn’t expect was falling for a hotheaded short-tempered silver wolf. Chapter: 10/? Warnings: emotional and mental abuse A/N: can't believe I finished this on schedule! the story everyone is obsessed with for some reason just got updated😂🤍 My content will always be free, but if you’re feeling particularly generous, you can leave a tip on any of my posts to support me and my love of writing or buy me a coffee TikTok • Instagram • Business | MASTERLIST If you’d like to be tagged in this or any other story: click here Make sure you have my notifications on so you know every time I post!  Taglists for Twilight get filled quick and Tumblr only lets me tag up to a certain point. Notifications are your best bet.

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Chapter 10

"Do you want to stay over tonight?" Jacob suddenly asked as the pair made their way to his truck. "It's already so late and I don't wanna make the drive back to Forks right now."

"Uh, sure, that sounds great," she said, trying to contain her excitement. A surge of happiness took over her as she witnessed Jake trying. He was trying to keep them together, at least that's what it looked like to her. "I'll just let dad know."

"Yeah, sure."

After she had settled on the center of the seat, Jacob helped his father into the truck, stepping out to say goodbye to his friends.

"I'll let you know that there won't be any funny business under my roof, (Y/N)," Billy smiled teasingly. "Though I am glad that Jacob is seemingly trying to turn over a new leaf this new year."

"I promise we'll do nothing but sleep, Billy," she chuckled. "And I also hope this is a new start for Jake and me. That everything that happened stays in the past and we can just give it our all in this relationship."

"If it is meant to be, (Y/N), the universe will find a way," he said as mystically as he always spoke. "You deserve happiness, my child."

"People keep saying that," she responded, her eyes growing far more interested in the skin of her fingers. "Does no one think that Jake can make me happy?"

"That's not what I'm saying, (Y/N)," he smiled, his hand falling on top of the one she was picking. "All I am saying is that if the love and happiness that you deserve is with Jacob, then the universe will allow it."

"And if not?"

"Then, your paths will always align."

"Then let's hope that what's written on the stars is in our favor." And as she said that she didn't know if she was wishing that to convince him or to convince herself.

The three of them rode back to the Black residence in a comfortable silence. The sounds of the woods and the whistling of the wind filled their quiet. She wondered what they said. If they whispered words of encouragement or if they taunted her downfall. She wanted to believe it was the former, because the latter would wreck her.

"Well, you two. I trust that you will behave yourselves since you're under my roof," Billy told them, eyeing the teenagers suspiciously. "And don't start getting used to these sleepovers. This is only because it's already two in the morning and we are all tired."

"Dad," Jacob grumbled. "Just go to bed already."

"Ooh, never thought I'd be shooed away in my own home," the man chuckled. "But I will leave you two. Not because you told me so, but because I am tired. Good night, kids."

"Night, dad."

"Good night, Billy."

Billy rolled away to his bedroom, turning in for the night. He left the couple standing in the living room, a heavy and tense air blowing between them. They had yet to acknowledge everything that had happened between them, much less finally putting it to rest.

"Uh, I'll get you some clothes and you can shower first if you want," Jacob mumbled as he walked into his room before coming out with a folded t-shirt and some sweatpants. "Might be a bit big on you, but it's better than nothing. There're extra towels under the sink."

"Sure," she smiled. "Thanks."

There was still remnant awkwardness between them as they tried to waltz around unspoken words. She locked herself in the bathroom, finally allowing herself to breathe. Fresh start is what she told herself. Over and over again she told herself that they were having a fresh start. As she showered and cleaned away Paul's touch and the thought of him, she had to believe it.

Jacob was who she had always wanted. The boy she had grown up with, the one she had never forgotten. Still, her mind wondered what would have happened if Paul had been the one she had met first. If he had been the boy that was in her mind for the almost sixteen years she had been alive. Maybe she would have been standing in his bathroom instead of Jake's. Maybe she would have been wearing his oversized t-shirt.

"Hey," Jacob called softly from the living room as she opened the bathroom door. "Come here."

(Y/N) walked down the hallway to where he was, a smile stretching on her face as she was met with what Jake had done while she showered.

He had pushed aside the wooden coffee table that lived between the sofas and placed in its stead plush blankets and pillows, a pair of hot chocolate mugs in front of the fireplace. His long, wet hair was plaited back, and he had changed into pajamas. And he was waiting for her.

"What's all this?" (Y/N) smiled.

"I think it's about time we put things to rest already, (Y/N)," he said, patting the pace in front of him. "I don't like fighting with you."

"I don't like it either," she sighed contentedly as she sank into the warmth of his body, his arms wrapping around her. "I like things when they're like this. When we're together and happy."

"I know, and I want it to be like this all the time. But it can't be when I hear you're running around with Paul," he reminded her. His tone was soft, but his words were as snipping as a snake's bite. "I just can't stand the guy and it's embarrassing when it happens in front of the town."

"Jake, I..."

"Don't worry, baby, that's all in the past. As long as you promise not to see him again, (Y/N). I don't want you to fall into his trap."

(Y/N) couldn't remain quiet for long. She knew it would only work to anger him. But how could she promise something she didn't want to do? Something that her gut told her was wrong. "Of course," she lied. "I promise. Paul is a thing from the past."

"That's what I like to hear," he smiled before he turned her head to kiss her. "We need to focus more on us. Focus on our relationship."

"I would love that," she beamed. "I want this to work, Jake. I want us to work."

"Then let's," he smirked.

Jake attached his mouth to her neck, nipping at a spot that took her breath away. His hand held her head back, gripping her jaw. He took in her scent, the warmth of her skin, the sounds from her mouth. All as he imagined...

"Stop, Jake," she said, her voice treading between a moan and a chuckle. "Your dad is literally down the hall."

"He's a heavy sleeper," he chuckled against her skin. "He'll never know."

"No, Jake." She separated from him; a playful grin splayed on her mouth as she turned to face him. "Not here. Not now."

"Ugh, fine," he groaned, falling on his back. "Then, I guess we'll just sleep."

"Yes," she mused, crawling over his body and planting a soft kiss on his lips. "But together."

Jacob wrapped his arms around her and chuckled, positioning both of them comfortably on a blanket and draping another over them. Her body curled into his, his arms wrapped around her waist as he spooned her.

"We'll have to talk about taking things to the next level," he said against her ear, his breath tickling her skin. "I think it might cement everything between us."

"And I think you need to take a breather, Jacob," she chuckled. "We just got to a good place. Let's take things as they go."

"Ugh, fine," he muttered jokingly. "Then, let's just go to sleep."

"Alright, Jake. Good night."

"Night, (Y/N)."

If every night after was like this one, maybe it was the universe's way of telling her that Jake was the one. Laying there, wrapped in his arms, she could let herself believe that the tides were changing. That at the end of the day, Jacob would choose her. Maybe, just maybe.

***

"I can't believe she went home with him," Paul groaned, punching a nearby tree. The way the bark splintered helped ease his anger for a second, but the burning pain inside his chest remained. "I don't know what else I can do to make her understand what a shitty guy he is."

"You know there is," Jared teased. "You could always tell her how you feel and why."

Paul's stoic stare was clear even in the darkness of the night. He knew Jared was right. The more he pursued her without telling her the reason why, the harder it would be to explain his behavior. "You know I can't, dude," he grumbled. "I don't wanna put her in the middle of all of this bull."

"It's not that bad, man," the boy offered. "Look at me and Kim. She knows and nothing has happened to her."

"Yeah, she also liked you before you were a shapeshifting freak," he joked. "And look at Emily. She's forever scarred because didn't have a grasp on what was happening."

"Come on, you know that was an exception, Paul. What happened to her was a very unfortunate accident. But an accident, nonetheless. There's really no reason for you to be running from (Y/N)."

"Look how much shit happened to Bella in so little time, Jared. And it all started when she found out the truth about the Cullens," Paul said. "I don't know what I would do if I made (Y/N) go through any of that because of what I am."

"So you're gonna continue brooding and make our lives miserable? Just tell her, man. Maybe she'll fall in love with you and turn that frown upside down."

Paul picked up a stick and threw it at Jared's head, laughing as the other boy tried to duck but failed to; the piece of wood bouncing off his forehead. "You'll have to put up with me for a lot longer then," he laughed, swallowing the sadness that threatened to overtake him. "I just don't think I have it in me to do that to her. She deserves to be safe and happy."

"Even if it's with Jacob?"

"Unfortunately, that decision is hers to make," he sighed. "I just wish she didn't have to get hurt in the process."

Jared remained quiet for a second. He stared as his pack brother paced before him, his mind too quiet aside for the sporadic image of (Y/N). But even if he didn't say it, he could feel Paul's sadness. He could feel the tug in his chest that called him to go to her. He had felt it too. Every time Kim had to go to a family dinner or visit family out of state, he felt like someone had taken his heart off his chest and sent it away.

But (Y/N) was so close. All he had to do was have one tough conversation and he could soften the grasp of the claws that covered his heart. "What are you so afraid of, Paul?" Jared finally said. "I know you say you don't want to hurt her and all that, but there's something else. Isn't there?"

Paul stared at his friend, wondering if he was that transparent. "I've never been a, uh, a relationship guy. Haven't had the best role models," he confessed. "I guess I think that if I let myself get close to her, I won't be able to handle when she inevitably goes. Because at the end of the day, everyone leaves."

"Not everyone, Paul. We're still here."

"Because you have to be," he shrugged. "If you had the chance to go, you would take it. And don't try denying it."

"Come on, man. You're my friend. More than that, you're my brother," Jared reassured. "But, sure, if I had the chance to leave the rez one day, I would take it. But that doesn't mean I would leave my friends behind. Much less, family."

"Jared, we wouldn't have even spoken to each other had it not been because of the shift. I'm not that delusional to think otherwise."

"Regardless of how or why it happened, life brought us together, Paul. And whether you like it or not, you're my brother now," the boy smiled, draping his arm over Paul's shoulders. "Now, you need to let that girl prove that she would stick by you as well. And it starts by having that difficult conversation you're so scared to have. She's desperate for a reason, dude. All you have to do is tell her."

"She's going to think I'm crazy, J. That I'm making up stories to get her away from Jake," Paul whined. "Why would she believe that there are shapeshifting wolves roaming around the reservation protecting humans from threats? And what if she goes to her sister with the story? Then Bella will know about vampires and shapeshifters, and it'll just add more shit on top of the mess we're dealing with."

"How about you stop overthinking yourself into the ground and finally grow some balls?" Jared teased. "Don't think of what might happen and live in the moment. I know last year's Paul would've had the courage to ask her out. Jacob or no Jacob."

"I technically already asked her out once, and it ended up with me, by myself, in the diner," he reminded his friend, red flooding his cheeks as he recalled the embarrassing moment. "This is not just about inviting the prettiest girl in school to the prom. This is about telling someone that everything they had believed is not real. It's telling her that it doesn't matter what she might have wanted, that something out in the universe decided that we are bonded for life. It's telling a girl like her that she's stuck with a guy like me."

"Man, I can't keep trying to convince you that you are a good guy," Jared sighed. "I'm not saying you're the gods' gift to mankind. Certainly not the you from a year ago. But you're not that guy anymore. You're not even the same guy from six months ago. So, it's time to pick yourself up and do what you have to do. Stop moping about this and do something."

***

(Y/N) woke up with warm arms wrapped around her and a pang in her chest she didn't understand. She was supposed to feel happy. She was supposed to wake up that New Year's Day with an overwhelming amount of joy and the sense that things were finally on the right path. Instead, there was an aching void in her heart that was trying to eat at her insides.

It was the same void that had started festering since that fateful night at the bonfire. The one that seemed to calm whenever the fluke was around. The one that called out his name and she had let go on deaf ears.

That pang filled her with guilt. As she lay in Jacob's arms, she felt guilty that her head was thinking of another guy. And it was a guy she barely knew. A boy that she had no business thinking about, much less dreaming about.

But she couldn't help it. She couldn't forget the softness of his hands against her skin, the brightness of his smile as he looked at her, the glimmer in his eyes when he listened to her. She couldn't get him out of her head.

And as if by divine intervention, the very constant thought appeared in Jacob's window. He knocked softly, motioning for her to go outside. (Y/N) couldn't believe he was there, much less that Jacob had yet to wake up. But what was harder to fathom was the fact that she was tiptoeing to the front door dragging a blanket with her.

"What are you doing here, Paul?" (Y/N) said as she closed the door behind her, wrapping the fabric tighter around her body. "If Jacob sees you here, he'll kill you."

"I thought I was supposed to be playing nice with him," he grinned teasingly. "What if I was here to extend a truce?"

"It wouldn't have mattered because he made me promise him that I wouldn't see you again," she whispered. "So, imagine what he will do if he sees you here right now."

"And did you?"

"What? Did I what?"

"Did you promise him, (Y/N)?" Paul asked sadly. "Is this your way of telling me that you're cutting ties with me?"

"No, of course not," she quickly replied. "I mean, I did promise him. But I never intended to keep it. I would just find a way to keep you two separate."

"So, what? I'd just be your dirty little secret?" he replied, anger clear in his tone. "Yeah, no, thanks. I'd rather take my chances with other friendships."

"What did you want me to say, Paul? Did you want me to tell my jealous boyfriend that I wanted to maintain a friendship with the one guy he seems to despise more than anything?" (Y/N) spoke through gritted teeth. "Would you have wanted me to tell Jake that I wanted to spend time with a guy he was close to dragging into the middle of town and beating the living daylights out of him? Sure, that would have ended great for me."

"Why would you wanna be with a guy like that, (Y/N)? If you're that afraid of his reaction over something as small as a friendship, what do you think will happen if something bigger happens?"

"He only reacts that way with you, and I don't get why," she sighed. "And I wanna be with him because I... because... because I..."

"Why, (Y/N)? Tell me!"

"Because I love him, Paul," she cried, shame cracking her voice. "I've been waiting for this chance for the better part of my life. I've been in love with him for as long as I've known what it was. And he wants me back, Paul. He wants me. And I'm not giving up at the first sign of hardship. So, if you really want to be my friend then you're gonna have to live with that."

"What if I don't?" Paul grumbled, his voice low and hurt. He got closer to her. So close she could feel how warm his body was, even through the blanket. "What if I can't stand around and watch as he mistreats you? Someone that loves you would never treat you like that."

"Don't make this harder than it already is, Paul," she whispered, warm tears falling down her cheeks. "For some reason I want you in my life. But I won't screw up what I just started with Jacob for a friend."

"I just don't wanna see you like this," he said, wiping away the tears with the pad of his thumbs. "You deserve to be happy, but not when it has rules and regulations like this. You should be allowed to still be yourself when you're in a relationship."

"Paul..."

"Listen, (Y/N)," he sighed. "I can't tell you what to do, nor would I want to. But I can't just watch in the sidelines as he treats you like shit when you deserve someone that will worship the ground you walk on."

"What are you saying, Paul?" (Y/N) croaked. "Are you saying you won't be my friend if I stay with Jacob?"

"(Y/N), I'm saying that I won't keep quiet if he keeps mistreating you."

"He doesn't," she said, but she knew it wasn't convincing. She didn't even believe it herself. "He just... he's just passionate, I guess."

"Then can you promise me something?" Paul sighed, his eyes glossing with tears. "If he ever –and I mean ever—gets physical with you, even as much as lifts his hand at you, you will tell me. The second it happens, you call me."

"I don't think it'll come to that," she forced a smile. "He would never put his hands on me."

"Just, please, (Y/N). Promise me and don't lie to me."

"Alright," she said, looking straight into the brown of his eyes. "I promise, Paul."

"I'll make sure you're always safe," he promised. His hand had not fallen from her face, his thumb caressing over her cheekbone. "No one is going to hurt you, (Y/N)."

(Y/N) had no idea why, but she believed every word he said. So, she promised. And, unlike with Jacob, she intended to keep it.

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[dragon-ashes1485]

TROP s2 ep8

Wow. OK I...am mostly not coherent at the moment so I will be doing character breakdowns because SHIT A BRICK there is so much to unpack.

Durin:

I want to start by saying how fantastic that opening was?! Durin bidding goodbye to Disa as he went to confront his father was so good. Owain portrayed the look of a son in this episode, someone who truly admires his father and wants the best for him, but he also portrayed a king, a dwarf that desires the best for his people with all his heart. I am disappointed we didn't get an Elrond & Durin reunion but his dad had just died so...fair I guess.

I really enjoyed the dwarf storyline, especially watching them descend into greed, especially Durin III, who let me say had an absolutely metal exit. The story of them arm-wrestling when Durin was a child really shows that he feels put under by his Father, only for Durin III to admit in his final minutes that Durin was always strong, and that he would need to be strong. I loved that part, the dialogue made me very sad.

A moment to appreciate this scene please!

The end of the story in season 2 for the dwarves feels like we might see more of them in possible season 3? I really hope so. I liked that Durin was ready to offer aid to the Elves, it's clear how awful he felt that Eregion fell in part because he could not send his army until it was too late.

Aside: DISA LIVES SO I LIVE ALSO.

Also: baby Balrog, anyone? I love how that firey bastard looked. They made it look like it had been plucked straight from the depths of hell itself.

I really hope the Dwarven storyline is a key focus in season 3, especially if it means getting the three amigos (or the two amigos and their tag-along elf) back together.

The Stranger:

It has been revealed! He has his beautiful staff! I love that it was taken from the ruins of the Stoor tree, kind of continuing the storyline of beauty coming from peril that seems to follow Gandalf around in the finales of the last two seasons. I very much enjoyed the little scene with Tom Bombadil. I'd heard them singing in the soundtrack and was very pleased to see it.

I'm including the Harfoots in this section, too, as they weren't in it much. Poppy's story of what Saddoc told her after she lost her family was so heartfelt and very Tolkein, I think that was my favourite bit of the Harfoot storyline this episode. For Nori...is it cruel for me to say that her ending of the journey with the Stranger felt a bit...sudden? I enjoyed her storyline and then she simply walks away from him. While I appreciate that she's doing her own thing, it feels like we were given such a character who was kind of swept away a little? I don't know, I liked parts of it but some felt like an untouched cup of tea, lukewarm and slightly disappointing. I might be alone in this but who knows! I only hope her story isn't left there.

Elendil: (and others)

Oh Elendil, thank you for acknowledging the existence of your other son, Anarion! Also he has Narsil now!! *happy noises* oh Miriel letting him go, sacrificing herself for him once more. This poor woman, please treat her and Elendil nicely next season? Pretty please? Eärien redeemed herself very slightly, I'm glad Kemem wasn't in Numenor when she snuck her father from the chaos. That scene reminds me of all the religious toil that took place during the Tudors, with the Reformation of the church, it all felt very alike. Anyway, I really enjoyed the little we saw of Numenor and hope there's more shown next season. It felt a little disappointing screen-time wise, so maybe s3 can give us a little more!

Alright then. Celebrimbor:

The amount of pain he endures to protect the rings was horrifying to see. I honestly thought they wouldn't show his torture at the hands of Sauron, nor the famous Celebrimbanner. But honestly? Good for you, not shying away from his tragedy of a death, giving him the honour he deserves. Also Charles Edwards? Brilliant work with Charlie Vickers. The writers really went for likening his time spent with Annatar to domestic violence. "Look what you have done to yourself" and all the talk in ep7 about how it was actually Celebrimbor's fault. The torture was horrifying, please feel for me as I had to watch it twice to find the screenshots. I will miss Celebrimbor's character but I am glad the writers gave him the true ending, evidenced the true tragedy of his death.

The shot of the forge is so upsetting. It was once a place of craft and happiness for Celebrimbor, all of Eregion was, but then it was the place of his torture and death.

Isildur:

Not much to say about him to be honest as it felt rather overshadowed by the Estrid romance that, if I'm honest, hasn't really interested me. Like, at all. The moment with Theo was sweet though, as was his acknowledgement of what he had become since his mother's death. I hope we find put what happens to Theo at some point, and that he might reunite with Arondir.

People who can get fucked:

Kemen. Little shit wanting to harm the trees, starve the settlers and this bitch threatened to kill Berek so he deserves nothing more than death. I'm getting angry just typing this so I will say no more.

Adar:

For a sec I was like, why is he so smooth. Then it all went to shit. I still want to know who he is! He was such a good villain but his death was inevitable. He had become too enamoured with killing Sauron, and his children suffered for it. I liked that his death mirrored when he killed Sauron, even the angle was spot on. It saddened me that Glûg was the one who did it, but not wholly unsurprising. His last words were awful and made me feel terribly sorry for him.As a side note, Glûg's death was sad, he had killed his father, found a new master and suffered a cruel death as a result. Also well done effects/makeup team for the transition back into Adar's scars.

Galadriel:

Flipping heck, the whole fight sequence with Sauron made me kick my feet. The part where he shapeshifted was so cool to watch! Also the fight was so dance-like, it was mesmerising. I am enjoying her character becoming wiser in this season, not even tempted this time by Sauron's offers. But she's still the warrior determined to vanquish him, literally crawling across the ground to defeat him. Oh the way I squirmed when Morgoth's stupid crown stabbed her so deeply.

SHE DID AN ELROND. SHE JUMPED. FORESHADOWING *CHEFS KISS*

Just saying, she looked fabulous in the cottage-core dress she wore in Imladris. I really hope the writers continue to make her the wise Galadriel we know in the third age, and also that she gets to fight in battle, of course.

I have so many hopes for her character in s3. Very proud of her not going back to Sauron, that bitch is abusive.

Sauron: dickhead. He killed Celebrimbor. Absolute kettle.

Gil-Galad:

He was great, I liked his joke about Galadriel. They might have redeemed his character a bit, in the last two episodes so I hope we see some more of that!

I love him fully about to rip off an orcs head because it made Elrond sad an dishonoured Celebrimbors work.

Elrond:

Best til last? I just have more to say about his character and also the parallels making my heart sing, so expect many crappy quality snapshots.

Firstly, I'd like to point out how much I loved that he was the one to save Galadriel. He has rejected the Elven rings (with rightful caution) but not enough to leave his friend to perish. He jumped off of a cliff to save his friends from the ring, and then when Galadriel mirrors his actions to stop Sauron getting them, he saves her. He is constantly looking after those he loves, rings or no rings.

This moment here made me sad. Elrond, fresh from the blood on the battlefield, trying to preserve the purity of Celebrimbor's legacy. He even addresses the orcs as they prefer, trying desperately to preserve anything of his friend, who he knows has fallen with Eregion. And they make him watch the burning, as though he was watching the last memory of Celebrimbor dwindle.

I swear, if he and Durin do not reunite in s3 and fix this look on Elrond's face, I will be disappointed. I need the comedy of those two again, help me recover from this season.

PARALELL OF S2 EP1 WHEN GALADRIEL PICKS UP THE RING. Oh I love me a cheeky parallel.

Please praise the cinematographers. They seem to give all the fancy shots to Elrond which is quite funny.

"We barely had the strength to flee" oh my heart fucking broke. Why do they do this to this guy? Let the poor elf retire in Imladris in peace. (Also, imladris?! Yay!) Thank you to the writers and Elrond for finally acknowledging the physical and mental toll of war. It's literally the reason Imladris becomes what it will be, because Elrond saw war and lived it, lived WITH it all his life. Let him retire please.

THIS IS WHAT I MEAN. PRAISE THE CINEMATOGRAPHERS. The look into the camera, the decision he has to make, chefs kiss.

I don't know what to expect to happen with his character next season, but I very much hope it involves Durin. His character arcs over the last 2 seasons have been insane, that's why he's so easy to ramble about, the characterisation and acting of him is phenomenal. Please be kind with them all, Amazon.

Lastly: ARONDIR AND VOROHIL LIVE. Please let Camnir be in Lindon, untouched, making maps and drinking tea.

Overall I really enjoyed the episode. Some of the Harfoots bits as I've said were a little odd but overall a great episode. Loved the parallels in this, the gorgeous shots, representing the mental toll from torture and war and also having the bravery to show that kind of thing on screen! I hope dearly that season 3 will only be better and continue to flesh out these character we love so much.

[crystalkitty1220]

tags cont.

I’m planning on making an incorrect summary of ibvs and this was one of the first ideas i had

THIS REMINDS ME OF THE TIME I WAS BORED IN CLASS AND WASTED LIKE TWENTY PAGES OF MY NOTEBOOK BY SCRIPTING A "IBVS IN A NUTSHELL" THING

tags are just me being nostalgic

[thewritingofspencerrose]

Adoption?

general masterlist | Freefall: A Series

inspired by Ollie's rookie debut and him attaching himself to Charles for that race weekend

"I want to adopt him."

"Mon amour, we can't just adopt an 18 year old who's father is actively in the garage," Charles tries to explain, although I will officially take none of that.

"Ollie!" The poor kid jumps upon hearing my voice, not expecting to be acknowledged during this little downtime. He smiles, though, regardless of the scare, and makes his way over to Carlo, Charles, and me.

"Hi Ms.Earnhardt," Oh he's adorable.

But it doesn't stop me from crossing my arms, standing with a pose of disappointment. "Ollie, we've talked about this last season. You don't need to call me Ms.Earnhardt, Lynnleigh or Lynn is good enough."

He's blushing now, brightly nodding along. "Right, yes, Lynnleigh. And hi Charles, Carlos, glad to see you're out of the hospital!"

Oh he's so sweet.

"Ollie, can I ask you a question?"

"Mon amour, no-"

Charles gets no time to finish his thought, because I know it'll just be him trying to stop me. "Can Charlie and I adopt you?"

And here comes the look of shock on the two men and the boy's face.

"Can you- what?" Ollie isn't the only person to pause, Carlos' thick brows raising in question while the Ferrari crew around us slow, giving me the look of an animal in a zoo.

Peculiar and entertaining.

"Can Charlie and I adopt you?" I repeat, smiling brightly as Charles pulls me under his arm, shaking his head as his hand clamps down over my mouth.

"I'm sorry about her, it's the American in her."

Ollie just laughs awkwardly at his dismissal, "Uh, I mean I do have parents."

Moments like these, I curse Charlie's strength because it genuinely does make removing his hand from my mouth more difficult, no matter how much I adore his strong arms wrapped around me.

But I manage, his arm dropping to rest around my waist and link with his other hand on my hip.

"Ollie," I start, making sure my voice is soft and mellow. "I don't mean for us to legally adopt you, kiddo. I mean like, can we be your paddock parents?"

"So- you don't want to adopt me adopt me, just like, actually no, I'm still confused. What's happening?"

"In exchange for one hug every race, I will bring you snacks and keep you entertained if you get bored. And Charlie will mentor you."

"When did I offer this?" Charles's question is whispered in my ear, not out of refusal but instead of confusion.

He gets a kiss in return, no answer, and just nods, accepting this consolation.

Glancing back to Ollie, he looks excited and my heart jumps.

"So I get to keep my parents and have an extra pair for race weekends?" Oh this is so going where I want it to.

"Exactly!" I exclaim, tapping Charles's chest and getting an oomph. "See! He gets it!"

"Yes, yes, mon ange excité (my excitable angel), I can see he is understanding your crazy." Cue another tap to his stupidly toned chest.

"Ignore Charles, he doesn't get it," I dismiss, the young boy chuckling brightly, curls bouncing as he nods.

"I think I'd enjoy this," The teen agrees, putting his hand out to shake my own while Carlos guffaws at what he's seeing. "You're got yourself a deal!"

I can't help the cheer the slips out as I shake his hand, quickly turning around to look up to Charles. "Charlie, we've acquired our first grid kid!"

Kissing my lips, he can't help the smile that takes over seeing how happy this makes not only me, but the rookie who had been vibrating with nerves over his rookie debut. "Would you look at that."

It's then that Ollie's father walks by, the teen seeing him and getting even more joyful.

He's pulling us into a group hug before I can even process what's happening before running away, following his father.

"Dad! I have new paddock parents!"

"Vous êtes adorable (you're adorable)."

"I don't know what you're saying, but I love you too."

[changingplumbob]

Foster Household: Chapter 9, Part 13

CW: Mental Health Struggles - Guide to content warnings

As soon as school was over Carson sped to the art room where Ariadne had been for the afternoon.

Ariadne: YES!

Scarlett: I knew it

Roger: Hey Carson

Ariadne and Scarlett broke apart and Ariadne turned to him beaming.

Ariadne: All set to go?

Carson: Yep, just need my date?

Ariadne stood giggling and went to follow him out of the room. Looking back Scarlett mouthed for her to text her afterwards and Ariadne nodded.

The pair walked through the centre of town catching up on the day and their classes. When they got to the shop snow began to fall and Carson began to laugh.

Ariadne: What’s so funny

Carson: I guess I'm just wondering if this is our first or second date. I'm a bit nervous

Ariadne: Hey don’t be nervous

She took his hands and Carson felt himself flush.

Ariadne: We’re just going to chat like we’ve done dozens of times via text. It’s in person sure but that’s great, I’m really glad you asked me. How about we say it's our second date, would that make it easier? Less worry?

Carson nodded and smiled.

The pair sat down and talked. Ariadne told Carson more about her life growing up. Since her parents left it was just her and her grandmother. Then of course her grandmother got arrested and she got put in the foster system. She’d bounced around many places but after meeting Alexander and James it felt like she had a place to belong again.

Ariadne: I keep wanting to say, thanks dad, but I’m worried James would have a heart attack

Carson: I’m sure they’d love to hear how you feel

Ariadne: Maybe. I’m worried they’ll just think I’m conning them like my grandmother did to... well... everybody

Carson: We’re more than our family right? We’re individuals

Ariadne: That’s true, we’re us

The afternoon sped along and before Carson knew it it was time to catch the ferry home.

Carson: See you tomorrow. I might be a bit in my head before the exams but-

Ariadne: Take me home at the end of the day then? We can chat when you’re not trying to remember ten dozen answers

Carson: Sounds perfect

Charlie: Don’t be so worried dad, he’s probably just on a date

Harvey: Isn’t he young for a date

Samir: I dated Reece when he was 15

Harvey: Yeah and then you- *eyes widen* oh... Kayleigh and I need to give him the woohoo talk

Charlie: Calm down dad. From the conversation this morning he’s clearly not there yet

Samir: We didn��t woohoo while he was here sir

Harvey: Sure you didn’t

Charlie: Dad, go fish or something. We’ll text when he’s back so you know he's alive

A little after 8 Carson made it back and headed straight for the fridge. Looking around for somewhere to eat he decided the safest bet was Samir, he was bound not to ask him probing questions. As he walked in the lounge Samir nodded his acknowledgement but didn’t stop eating, perfect. Siting on the couch he noticed for the first time how quickly Samir really ate, he’d finished half his plate before Carson had more than a couple of bites.

Reece came in just as he was finishing.

Reece: Hey loser, did you get lucky or what

Carson: *scoffs* None of your business moron, I’m going to my room

As he left and the sounds of guitar floated from his room Samir looked accusingly at Reece.

Reece: What?

Samir: *growls* You said you’d be on good behaviour

Reece: Now now, if I was well behaved all the time there would be no need for your special brand of discipline *kisses cheek* I’ll be a good boy tomorrow. Are you doing okay away from home lover? If you're too stressed we can-

Samir: If you’re with me, I'm more than okay

The next day was bright and sunny! The guests would be heading home while Carson was at school.

Kayleigh: I’m thinking best man, maid of honour, and four others in the wedding party

Samir: Shh, he could hear. Carson, change topics, please

Carson could see Samir was uncomfortable with whatever his mum was saying so figured why not?

Carson: Burgers for breakfast?

Samir: Reece made them

Carson: He’s awake this early?

Kayleigh: We’re taking a family picture before your ferry, you bet I’ve told him he has to be awake by now

*phone beeps*

Carson: Oh it’s a text, sorry

Charlie: How’d your date go then

Carson: Fine I think

Kayleigh: So she’s your girlfriend now? My youngest baby in a relationship?

Carson: I don’t know, is she? Is that how it works?

Charlie: If you’re not sure you should talk about it. You may not want to but trust me, she will. Don’t be an arse who strings her along okay?

Family photo!

Top row left to right: Samir Hadji, Reece Foster, Kayleigh Foster, Harvey Foster, Kaori Nishidake, Charlie Nishidake

Bottom row: Keira Romero, Carson Foster, Marta Romero

And of course we couldn’t say bye for now to guests Reece and Samir without them autonomously kissing like there’s no tomorrow.

Previous ... Next

[spopsalt]

You know,I really love vivzies shows like hazbin hotel and helluva boss. She has a lot of ideas that she wants to present to the big screen and I get her. But the difference,she doesn't know how to make a toxic relationship that is stolitz acknowledge heck romantic relationships in hazbin and helluva for goodness sakes. Like Millie and moxxie are a sweet couple but they have no depth in them heck we don't see how they get together or well how should I say this,make them compatible. Stolitz is just,look at least make stolas try to make amends and make him not pitiable viz(also,I'm waiting for you to literally give credit to paranoid dj in the description video of your so called stolas song which paranoid dj literally is the one who wrote back in 2021 dude). For vaggie x charlie,Viv please please make them have personality heck give vaggie and charlie some personality and more dynamics in the couple,no wonder people ship charlie x alastor from the pilot(no offense to the charlie x vaggie shippers,you guys are good). For me,I have a lot of ideas in forms of headcanons to present in to fandoms,but unlike Viv,I am just a maker of ideas and I let people have those ideas so that they can share it to the world and I love their interpretation of those ideas that are made from me but at the same time,I love how they shape those ideas.

Well even though I dislike the shows, I'm glad you enjoy them! But I agree, she doesn't really know how to write relationships, a lot of them are either boring at best, and toxic at worst, it just sucks.

[fanfiction--anon]

Cabin Visit

Summary: Catcf!Vox pays a long overdue visit to his Alastor. The others are there for moral support.

A/N: Welcome back @hazbinhazbinhazbinreblog we missed you. Glad to see you're doing well. Here's a treat. This is based off of the scene in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) where Charlie and Willy Wonka meet Wonka's father. I know officially it's just supposed to be Catcf Vox and Charlie visiting Alastor according to the plot, but the plot demanded I write the AU Crossovers version and so this is what my brain came up with.

Warnings: None, I think.

Catcf Vox leads the party through the grove of trees. “Just a little further, I promise. His house is here.”

Highschool Alastor stumbles through a spiderweb and freaks out before trying to swat the sticky threads away to no avail. “Are you absolutely sure about that, Mr. Factory Tour? It feels like we're lost.” His Vox calms him down by grabbing him by the shoulders before moving to wipe off the silver residue.

Vox shakes his head. “No. I'm sure. He sent me a letter once, and I sent Vark to keep him company, remember? This is, without a doubt, where he lives.” Not for the first time, he wonders why he let the kids and the Charlies talk him into visiting his husband once the tour was concluded.

He bats away a rather large mosquito buzzing around his screen, and it flies straight into a tree and splatters on impact.

The kids cringe and quickly follow after their parents, or in the Highschoolers’ case, between Radio Guard Alastor and the parental couples.

“Hey,” Highschool Vox says, “what's your Alastor like? You mention him a lot but that was because you wanted to show off your radio room on the tour.”

Vox thinks for a second, about all the times Alastor then smiles. “He was—is my biggest supporter. Even when he was sad about me spending so much time working, he always made sure to check up on me and see if I needed any food or help with building my company. I felt like I had to work hard to make sure that all of Alastor's work as my first supporter wouldn't go to waste. I didn't want my company to fail because I felt like it would let him down.” He frowns as he recalls the long hours he spent in his office or overseeing workers in the late 60s, and seeing Alastor and Vark sparingly. It feels odd that all of that happened about sixty years ago. "I did end up owning the largest ever factory in Hell, but at the cost of my husband."

"That's kind of depressing now that you're saying it out loud," Domestic Vox mutters. "You really couldn't just call him?"

"I hadn't talked to him in weeks remember? I didn't understand why he left at the time and once I realized why he did it would have been awkward to send him a letter asking going like 'Hey Al, I'm sorry for neglecting you for weeks and then not contacting you for another month minus that time where I sent over Vark to keep you company but would you like to come back?' and making things worse between us," Catcf Vox retorts.

"Excuses, excuses," Domestic Alastor sings to him as he pulls his Charlie up before she trips on a tree root. "You two are even worse than Canon and Radio Guard when it comes to communication!"

The two couples from the mentioned universes shift awkwardly at his words.

"Fuck off," Catcf Vox says without any real heat. "We're going to visit him now, aren't we?"

“We had better be close,” Canon Vox grouses, breaking the silence. “I'm getting mud all over my shoes. Your husband is crazy for deciding to live here. Why didn't he divorce you as soon as possible?”

“Shut it Canon,” Catcf Vox snaps. “I don't want to hear anything from the one who can't even get his Alastor to acknowledge him as a past friend—" Canon Alastor flashes a smug grin. "—and we've arrived anyway so stop complaining.”

And as if on cue, the clearing where his Alastor's cabin is comes into view.

“Woah!” Highschool Vox gasps. “It's better looking than I thought it would be.”

“This is just like the movie,” Highschool Alastor mutters at the same time.

It's a nice cabin, if Vox is being honest. The way it's built suggests that it's meant to withstand the test of time and weather. There's even a shed nearby that he guesses is meant to store or cure Alastor's sinner meat. Vox can sense that the bayou’s shore isn't too far off; just close enough that Alastor doesn't have to exert himself when walking there. The only thing missing is Alastor himself. Vox can't feel his radio signal anywhere. He doesn't know when he stopped feeling it. Maybe their connection burnt out when his husband left. But Vox remembers exactly how it felt like. He hopes Alastor isn't hurt or at the mercy of someone else. He looks at the front door.

Catcf Charlie steps up beside him. “You're gonna knock, right? What are you waiting for?”

Vox stares at the cabin, and all the false bravado he's been collecting throughout the trip suddenly melts away and ice runs through his circuits.

He can't do this.

“Actually I think we've got the wrong house,” he manages to wheeze out. “We should probably leave—”

Catcf Charlie catches him by the shoulder as he turns and gives him a smile. “Nice try Mr. Vox, but you're not getting out of this one.” She turns him back around and pushes him towards the door. You're going to be there next to me when I knock on the door and your husband opens it."

She pulls him along with surprising strength and Vox fidgets as she knocks thrice and backs off, leaving him to his own devices as loud barking comes from inside the cabin.

Alastor is about to take a sip of coffee when he hears three knocks on the door. He jumps, having grown used to not expecting visitors at all with only the silence of the bayou and noise from the animals for company. Even Rosie prefers staying within the territory of Cannibal Town or Vox’s factory and only comes to see how he's doing every few months. But her visits are scheduled in advance, and she's never come without notifying him first.

So for this break in routine to be happening, it means there's either an emergency in the more populated regions of Hell, his husband's factory is having a crisis, or someone else other than Rosie is visiting him.

Alastor can say with confidence that there's no emergency in Hell. An hour earlier his shadows returned from surveillance and it's just the usual violence and degeneracy of Hell's citizens happening.

He can also strike his husband's factory being in crisis. Despite what others think, he does keep up with the news about his estranged husband. He can thank his shadow for that, always flitting about within the darkness of his husband's empire. Shadow also makes it a goal to bring back newspapers and other memorabilia whenever Alastor has the desire to see his husband's face, even if it's only on paper.

That only leaves the third option. A stranger at the door.

Alastor has no cameras in his cabin. All he has are the shadows and windows.

He doesn't know who's at the door.

Decades ago he'd turned off his radio waves because he had no use for them. Not when the only other demon who could use them stopped doing so for weeks at a time until they eventually got used to living separately with no communication. Alastor had taken it even further and moved here since he couldn't stand the big empty house with only Husk and Niffty for company. Now he's wondering whether his decision to live “off-the-grid” was a good idea considering how uneasy he feels at the thought of opening the door to what could be a stranger.

Vark, however, shows no such reservations. He leaps up from his position on the rug and bounds up to the door, scratching it and barking loudly and glancing back at him with pleading eyes.

“Vark,” Alastor calls, “calm down. What's gotten into you?”

Vark turns to him, eyes wide and pleading. He does his best impression of puppy dog eyes, and much to Alastor's chagrin, they're extremely effective, just as they were decades ago. He sighs and sets his mug down. He really can't deny his little shark anything.

As he rises from his seat something pings at the back of his mind. Like an old signal, finally breaking through a barrier.

Alastor sucks in a breath through his teeth. Hesitantly, he lets a sliver of static loose.

It zips through the air and immediately curls around a familiar signal that's not his and senses several similar signals within the same space before fizzling out.

Alastor frowns. “That can't be right.” he'd given up on keeping contact with his estranged husband decades ago. There's no reason for him to come all the way down to the bayou just to visit Alastor.

And yet…

Alastor hums to himself, then shakes his head. It's a pipe dream. Just because a part of him wants his husband to be there with him and Vark doesn't mean it will happen.

He grits his teeth.

Years of crying himself to sleep and hugging Vark for comfort have already come and gone. He shouldn't keep feeling sad. It's not logical.

But the feelings of the heart rarely follow the rules of logic.

Vark continues pawing at the door and Alastor chuckles morosely.

“Alright, alright. I'm coming.”

As soon as the door is opened just a smidge, Vark shoots forward and out into the yard.

There's a loud yelp, a shriek of fear, several yells of surprise, and then laughter.

Alastor freezes. That sounds like…

He pushes open the door to see what's going on, and his heart stops beating.

It's not the crowd of demons gathered around in a circle that grabs his attention, no matter how many of them have familiar looks.

It's not the pair of teenagers that are very clearly human instead of citizens of Hell that catch his eye either.

It's not even the fact that some of those guests look like the princess of Hell.

All his attention is focused on something else.

Because there, sitting on his front yard at the bottom of his porch stairs with Vark laying on top of him, is a figure he’s only seen in pictures and newspapers for the past sixty years.

Alastor knows that figure. He'll recognize that demon anywhere. That bright orange vest and green plaid pants, paired with a striped blue tie and topped with a garish magenta blazer.

He looks exactly like he did when Alastor had departed for the cabin in the 60s. He even has his little hat and the microphone staff Alastor had left behind for him.

None of them are looking at him.

His husband is distracted with Vark, and none of the others sense him because, well, his radio waves are off.

It feels surreal, almost like a dream.

But Alastor desperately wants this to be true. He needs to confirm that this is true.

So, making his decision, Alastor takes a step forward, his heeled shoes clacking loudly on the wooden porch.

The sound attracts everyone’s attention to him, but Alastor only has eyes for one other.

The TV demon on the ground stares up at him in surprise with wide eyes, mirroring Vark’s happy look as the shark-dog wiggles in his lap.

Softly, because he fears that if he speaks any louder he'll wake up to find out this was just a dream, Alastor asks, “Vox? Is that you?”

Taglist: @hazbinhazbinhazbinreblog

[netflixonyourcouch]

So much has been made of the Halsey response

Thank you Halsey, first and foremost, for an amazing album. I don't want that point to get lost by discussing what is admittedly the NOISE surrounding this album.

The main culprits: Pitchfork and Fantano. The long and short of it, for those who are unaware: both Pitchfork and Fantano cruelly and unfairly attacked Halsey's intentions, accusing her of essentially milking their illness for the album and exhibiting "main character syndrome" or some shit. There is no way around it, these were personal attacks, and designed to shock and make a statement against her instead of engage with the project in good faith.

So many people have come out on both sides to either support Halsey or defend Pitchfork/Fantano's right to criticism.

Let me tell you something. You white-washed, hipster ass, elitist ass motherfuckers who think indie music is so superior to pop music (and liking Charli's BRAT doesn't count, you bandwagon bitches) need to get a life. All of you. You're NOT the smartest in the room, you're not smarter than Halsey fans, you're not more cultured, more correct, or even more logical. You pride yourselves on that because you've already made up your mind about pop music and refuse to bend, and I'm here to tear down that smug sense of superiority.

You fucking chumps have the gall to say, "What? People aren't allowed to criticize music anymore" Blah blah blah. Stop going to one end of the extreme every fucking time someone wants to put your bullshit "criticism" in its place. You all sound like fucking Republicans lmfao, ignorant as fuck. Republicans cry about "free speech being cancelled" because they can't say racist shit anymore. Yall cry about criticism being "dead" because you can't openly denigrate pop stars anymore.

You can't say ignorant, close-minded, sexist, rockist bullshit and act like nobody is allowed to call it out. Genuine criticism ISN'T THE ISSUE. Petty, personal and short-sighted attacks on Halsey's character IS THE ISSUE. Until you stop at the stop sign and ACKNOWLEDGE THIS FACT, I don't wanna hear anything else about defending the "right to criticize." Present criticism in good faith and then we'll talk.

I can talk about this shit BECAUSE I'VE BEEN THERE. I used to run in the same little cliques as yall. I'm so glad I'm no longer like you fucking pricks anymore because you are all insufferable people. I feel frankly embarrassed that I was ever that pretentious and condescending and I pray that all of you wake up and understand the error of your ways. THERE IS STILL TIME, the irony is that your refusal to keep an open mind about pop music means that you're NOT the so-called "music experts" that you think you are. If you were true music experts you'd be experts about ALL MUSIC not just white people with guitars. Again, CHARLI DOESN'T COUNT. CARLY RAE JEPSEN DOESN'T COUNT, YOU SOUND LIKE THE WHITE PEOPLE THAT SAY THAT SAY THEY CAN'T BE RACIST BECAUSE THEY HAVE 2 BLACK FRIENDS. It's the joke about being US sports teams calling themselves "World Champions" when they are only playing in an American league. You're not an expert on "music" while simultaneously ACTIVELY IGNORING A BIG CHUNK OF MUSIC.

You're also attempting to outsmart all the backlash by saying "Just because Halsey talks about their sickness doesn't make it a great album!!!" Let me address that claim and then I'm done with your faux-intellectual fucks, who again I'd like to remind, are not as smart as yall think. Some of you cobbled a few more brain cells together, I'll give you that, and think that this is the ultimate "gotcha" but it's not. Let's start with the elephant in the room: 1. Many of you who are saying all this shit against Halsey HAVEN'T EVEN HEARD THE ALBUM YET. So until you listen to it, I'm not even entertaining any of your fucking arguments because it's coming from a place of literal ignorance. You don't even know what the album sounds like!! 2. If you DID listen to it, it's a strong chance you didn't digest it. NO I'm not saying it's this ultra challenging piece of work that's difficult to understand, I'm instead arguing you skimmed it, didn't listen closely enough or went in with a strong bias to where you're not even in the position to hear its greatness.

Yes, it's a technically right statement that simply talking about a deep or emotional topic doesn't automatically make a work of art great. The reason why that doesn't apply here is that she DID make a great album. I like her last album more but there's no denying that this is right behind it, and in some parts even better. Not every song is my favorite, but there's no way around it, there are some PHENOMENAL songs on here: I Believe in Magic, The Arsonist, The End, Dog Years, Ego, Darwinism, and Lonely is the Muse are all better than your standard indie singer-songwriter stuff.

Finally, I've seen this over and over again: People like to overapply the rules to artists they don't like. I've seen it with Taylor too, who I admittedly don't like, but people tend to be super uncharitable toward her too. You'd NEVER disparage Sufjan for talking about his struggles with Guillain-Barre or try to say, "Just because he talks about Guillain-Barre doesn't make it a great album!" It simply wouldn't happen. So stop this rules-for-thee-but-not-for-me hypocrisy bullshit and try to get a fucking clue, please.

In short. I won't sit silently anymore as people in the indie community try to self-assure themselves that Halsey fans are the crazy ones for calling out cheap, personal attacks under the guise of "criticism." Yes, I'm sure you all are assuring yourselves that "stan twitter" is the problem and "people can't criticize music anymore" but I need all of you to wake up and get a clue, THERE IS STILL TIME, if you love music try actually opening your mind for a change and LOVE MUSIC instead of parading around your indie music bias as if it's the only correct take there can be. Try to get some more pop music in your diet before you criticize pop music. I wouldn't expect someone who likes two hip-hop artists to give good constructive criticism on hip-hop any more than I'd be able to give good constructive criticism on a jazz album just because I like Thundercat and Flying Lotus.

This was long-winded and aggressive but I'm sorry, I'm tired of pretending it's okay that hipster motherfuckers do this shit. I can't do it anymore.

[chaifootsteps]

Hey! I've been following your blog for probably about a month now (after your post about Alastor fingering Charlie with the precision of an air traffic controller had me fucking crying), and I wanted to pick your brain more about how your perception of Viv's work has developed over time? I'm a massive fan of HH & HB, though I find myself often grappling with the wish that the series proper had kept what feel like important elements from the pilot--mainly, Alastor's design, VA, and some of that bubbly/relaxed energy he led with at the start.

I imagine the info I've seen you share about Viv's interactions with her fans/castmates has colored your opinions on that quite a bit, and it's honestly been hard to accept that behavior being a reality to any extent because of how much joy Hazbin in particular has given me.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this!

Thanks for the follow! Glad you liked the fic!

It's...conflicting, loving these characters and the pilot as much as I do while knowing full well just how toxic, even downright evil a person Viv is. Knowing just why the pilot was so magical helps -- that it wasn't Viv who made it that way, that it was Ken and Dave's writing and the passion of the pilot cast and crew, that Viv apparently knows this and is pretty sore about it -- but there will always be a sense of grief at what could have been.

Even if it had all been Viv, I think it's okay to acknowledge that sometimes bad people make fun, even beautiful things. They always have. It's okay to derive joy from that.

[krystal-kade]

What's your opinion on the hazbin hotel songs?

(I've heard a few and i think they're okay..)

I'm so glad you asked bc I have some OPINIONS

(I'm not gonna talk about the pilot, just the episodes)

I've watched the first four episodes and they're better than I expected, but my expectations were on the floor

The first song is "Happy Day in Hell" from "Overture." Although this song/plotpoint should have been WAY later in the series, I like it. It feels like "Inside of Every Demon is a Rainbow" from the pilot, however both songs are on my playlist. It's a good song that serves as a recap of the pilot, showing Charlie's personality, motives, and her relationship with Vaggie (a little). It's a nice song with little substance, and feels like a Disney Princess' "i dream of something more" song. 7/10

In the same episode, we get "Hell is forever" sung by Adam. THE Adam. The first man Adam. Charlie meets with the Angels (just Adam and Lute, a girlboss exterminator who I think is in love with Adam?) and discusses her plan to redeem sinners. Adam laughs her off, singing "Hell is Forever," trying to convince Charlie that sinners can't change. Adam is such a dickbag that it's hard to like any part of this scene. He is really disrespectful towards women, grossly sexual, swears more than most characters in the show, and talks about being the "original dick." It wasn't unbearable, but it's probably the most forgettable song so far. 2/10

Next is "Stayed Gone" from the episode "Radio Killed the Video Star." It feels like a rap battle. It's a competitive song between Alastor and Vox that takes place over the radio and on TV respectively. A basic rundown is that Vox is kind of horny and down bad for Alastor, won't admit it. Vox is really pissed that Alastor came back (he was gone for 7 years) and is basically going on TV to shit on him. However, before he left, Vox had asked Alastor to join the Vees, (an influential group of overlords with names that start with 'V'; it's giving middle school popular girls) and Alastor refused. Vox is mad that Alastor didn't join, which leads Alastor to drop the iconic line "I said no and now he's pissy, that's the tea." This is probably one of my favorite songs in HH. It's catchy and unproblematic (which seems to be difficult for Viv). 8/10

"It starts with Sorry" is a song Charlie sings to Sir Pentious, telling him she'll accept him into the hotel if he owns up to his mistakes. It's an okay and forgettable song, but it's super ironic. A song about acknowledging you've hurt people, apologizing, and becoming a better person? In Vivienne fucking Medrano's show? Absolutely hilarious to listen to, if you go at it with a different perspective. Viv should take her own advice. 3/10

The episode "Scrambled Eggs" is based more around women (shocker, it wasn't written by Viv or Adam). The first song in this episode is "Respectless." It's sung by Velvette, one of the Vees, and Carmilla Carmine, an overlord. Velvette brings a decapitated angel head to an overlord meeting, and announces that angels CAN be killed, contrary to their previous belief. Velvette suggests they fight back against the angels and the exterminations, while Carmilla is adamant against it. The song's fine, but I especially love Velvette's lines. She has an English accent (Essex? I think?) and basically says "I'm not just a bitch. I'm THE bitch" and I love her for it. 5/10

Right after that, we find out that Carmilla killed the angel, which would have been shocking, but we only knew her for like, 5 minutes. The meeting's over, and it's just her and a few others. She says that she killed the angel to protect her daughters, and that going to war would endanger them again (basically "going to war endangers the people we started killing for"). She sings "Whatever it Takes" about protecting those she loves? I think, the song wasn't good enough to pay attention. This song's got a side-by-side with Vaggie, who's singing about wanting to protect Charlie. It's a sweet and nice song, but was just kinda mid. There's also a problem with Vaggie's singing, in which her voice is deep and monotonous, but her singing is light and high-pitched. 4/10

Oh boy. The next episode. "Masquerade." The first song is "Poison," sung by Angel Dust. It was released early, and got lots of hype and controversy. Similar to "Addict," it's a song where Angel talks about his struggles with addiction and his sexual abuse at the hands of his pimp, Valentino. Both of these songs are also on my playlist. It's catchy and fun to listen to, while also tackling deeper topics. Angel feels like his sexual abuse is his fault, and although he absolutely hates it, he feels like he has no choice but to stay. The song on its own? 9/10. Then the episode came out. The song shows Angel dancing and singing this song while graphic images flash behind him. Images of his rape and sexual assault. This episode had ZERO trigger warnings. The creators of this song were Viv and Raph (I can't find his last name right now). We can only speculate for Viv, but Raph 100% has a Rape kink. He ships Angel x Valentino, posts cosplay and art shipping them, publicly sexually harassed (asked for the nudes of?) a 15 year old, and essentially has admitted he finds rape and SA hot. He also lied about being an SA victim. Neither Viv nor Raph are SA victims. This song is just to fuel their rape kinks. Viv and Raph have yet to apologize for sexualizing SA, and have since doubled down on why this is "good representation." Truly disgusting, I have no choice but to say 0/10

"Loser, Baby" is similar to "Poison" in the sense that's it's fine until you REALLY think about it. In this song, Husk tells Angel that he used to be an overlord, but lost his power to Alastor. He says that he understands how Angel feels, since both their souls belong to overlords. The song is supposed to portray a "you're not alone, I understand what you're going through" message, but instead feels victim blame-y, with Husk kinda telling Angel that he should just try to ignore and move past it because everyone struggles. 6/10 song, 0/10 message

The songs were kinda disappointing, especially the last two. Fuck Vivienne Medrano

[whitelotusherald]

By this point it's a cliche but I still say it: It would've been amazing to see Heartstopper as a teen. Shows and stories like this are important af. It may be "just" a slice of life story, but damn, it hits SO hard.

Just a few thoughts.

Charlie's whole eating disorder arc is handled wonderfully. As someone struggling with depression for ages, it felt so good to see a story where a mental disorder does not magically disappear just because people care about you. Or just because you attend therapy. You will actively need to keep fighting and it can be exhausting sometimes but when you have a good time, it feels worth it. (When you're in the downward spiral, though, it always seems like you won't ever have a good time, but that's your demons' lie. It's just extremely hard to recognize and acknowledge. I should remind myself of this more often huh.)

Don't get me started on Charlie's self-harm. Been there, done that; if anybody starts to randomly fancy long-sleeved clothes or sweaters when it's a hundred degrees outside, be a bit concerned about them.

The queer rep A-Z is marvellous. Seems a bit overkill (bit like Nate Stevenson's "assume everyone's queer unless stated otherwise" mentality lol) but in today's world it's cool to see not "only" gay guys and sapphic girls and "regular" trans people but bisexuals and aces and nonbinary folks too. And nobody is just a token queer character there to represent, everybody brings their own insights and adds to the story.

Exploring who you are... Wow. Loved how some characters just... Seem super confident about themselves and then there are people like Nick or Darcy or Imogen, who need time to get things sorted out, or even experiment with the whole sexuality or identity thing. (And it was so important that they stressed how you still shouldn't do it at the expense of others, like in Imogen's case.)

Elle's interview. Yeah, there's a time and place for discussing trans rights or views or ideas but you should know when to ask these questions. (This is regardless of the fact that this was an interview that should've covered Elle's art. That only made it worse.) This interview was like a punch in the gut as Elle seemed to have arrived at a more or less safe place and yet, life is never that easy. Still, it's not fair to always have to be prepared for blockheaded, bigoted debates even when you just want to live your life. (Reminded me a bit of Love, Simon - straight people don't have to deal with coming out. In this case, cis people don't have to deal with gender and identity questions all the time. It's not fair. As if being trans is like being a constant representative of the whole trans community and nothing more.)

Aroace rep!!! Though I found Isaac a bit too much sometimes (NOBODY will devour this many books lol) this rep is amazing, and him not wanting to give a lesson on labels was hilarious. Tori is terrific, too, I'm glad, though, they kept her dialogue with Charlie out from S3 - it wouldn't have worked in the ferris wheel scene as well as in the comic.

I think that's all for now? I find both the comic and the Netflix series a great comfort show. Sure, make me think how I could've handled a few things better if they were around when I was a teen, but, well, I'm like 20yrs late with that lol

And on a sidenote, the comic is back from hiatus as well, I'm really looking forward to how Alice will end the story.

[ghost-doodles]

Alastor's deal

okay so I had my initial thoughts about Alastor's deal way back with episode 5 but I didn't say much because I wanted to wait it out for the series finally and boy am I glad I did.

so here are my thoughts both past and present on Alastor's deal since we now have a shit ton of information

initially like most of the fandom I thought that Alastor had something to do with Lilith especially given husk's comment and the 7 year gap however I didn't quite think he made a deal for his soul. Given the fact it seemed like he had strength already and is a smart character I just figured maybe he didn't actually deal his soul away but was working for Lilith somewhat freely, I say somewhat because that woman is powerful

however, we now have episodes 7 and 8

first I want to nose dive into Alastor's deal with Charlie

Since the pilot Alastor has wanted a deal with Charlie and it's been very clear that he has had alternative reasons for being at the hotel. While I do think he has grown "fond" of the hotel and its participants it evident that isn't why he is there. Now that we actually have the contents of his deal with Charlie I think it really shows he is there for his own gain of freedom. While owning Charlies soul would be quite a feat I think Alastor knew that would be to much to ask for but he's also smart enough to get what he needs, which is a favor

A favor for what, that we don't quite know yet but a favor, that frankly has no limitations, with the princess of hell is one fuckin score. it also seem that he is locked within the bounds of another deal and what's interesting is his look during the making of his and Charlies deal

the main thought floating around is that this is his true self and what his deal has done to him. I've seen two theories popping around that either the string on his mouth is either meant to keep him quiet or is meant to keep him smiling. Honestly I think it's both. Given his lack of comment on his own deal and his cleverness with speaking it would make sense for whoever made the deal to try to keep him quiet. Also given how Alastor speaks about smiling I wouldn't be shocked if even before his deal smiling bastard with the same beliefs on smiling. The little shit has a tendency to piss people off so I also wouldn't be shocked if someone didn't purposefully make it so he couldn't stop smiling as a way to fuck with him.

anyway whatever deal he is locked in is seems quite restraining and strong. strong enough to make him fight for the hotel in order to get that favor from Charlie. While I love the idea of found family I don't think it was his fondness of his friends who made him fight

lets analyze his portion of the song shall we

the portion of the finally song "'Great Alastor Altruist died for his friends'" was put into quotes and followed by "sorry to disappoint but thats not where this ends" which wasn't in quotes. I think this part of the song is suggesting others may think Alastor died protecting his friends but is having Alastor correct that notion and reveal that isn't the case. or at least not fully (for those who like the fond familyness of the hotel I do think he cares for the others but ultimately its his freedom he cares more about)

the nexts lines are "I'm hungry for freedom like never before" obviously the first part is fairly straight forward as it means Alastor wants out of whatever deal he has made. But this part has me split on whether it's involved with the 7 years missing and how. On one hand I think this ties into those 7 years as he badly wants people to question what happened then, as seen in ep.3 with the over lords. I think this is his way of trying to get help or at least someone to understand. But given how he reacted to husk making a comment about his deal if it happened during the 7 years I doubt he would want people snooping as it seems he doesn't want to acknowledge his own leash.

the next part of the song is "the constraints of my deal surely have a back door". Whatever this deal he made he wants out of it so badly he's lookin for whatever loop hole he can. Frankly this line along with the final lines, "Once I figure out how to unclip my wings, Guess who will be pulling all the strings" makes be question what he got in return for whatever he gave.

Whatever he gave it is something thats got him controlled enough to feel like he has clipped wings. Sure it could be his soul, and just given the series so far it seems like the most plausible answer, but he doesn't quite have the same restraints others who signed their soul away do. While clearly trapped he is still practically doing as he pleases, as far as we know, so I dont quite have a clue as to what he could've given. My only other half thought is that he maybe gave up parts of his power but that still doesn't quite work.

But what really has me is what did he get in return. that final line suggest that once he's out of his deal he will be this all powerful being able to control the game. His arrival to hell also supports him by himself having mass power. So clearly he doesn't seem to be lacking in the power category as it seems like his overall goals are for total control. And if he didn't have power to start with then he wouldn't be tryin to get out of a deal that gives him power. Maybe someone healed him, but given my thoughts above who could've possibly wounded him that much. Sure Adam damn near killed him but adam's on a different power scale as he went toe to toe with lucifer for a bit, plus Alastor recovers from that. And sure Vox claims to have beat Alastor but both Alastor and Valentino counter claim this and tbh I just doubt Vox could destroy Alastor so well.

the last line clearly shows Alastor wants to be in control of everything so his deal just baffles me as it doesn't seem to be helping him at all

also with the current Lilith in heaven thing this might just be but I'm to sure its her he made his deal with anymore

this is quite the interesting little mystery that I am so excited to get to see more of when the next season comes out.

[latteandjacks]

Ah masquerade, honestly not my favorite FAVORITE episode, my favorite episode is Scrambled eggs and Welcome to heaven, but Masquerade is a close one specially because it hits hard

On of my favorites parts was Husk's reaction to the shark demon trying to drug Angel Yeah of course any reasonable person would get mad and call them out but Husk is a BARTENDER like that shit was PERSONAL, I think that's one of the worse, most offensive and most gross shit a bartender can see

Another one; Charlie jumping right away to tell Husk and Vaggie to NOT force Angel back into the hotel AND preparing a lesson about boundaries As someone who had to go through friends not understanding my abusive situation and actually making it worse for me sometimes by attempting to help, it was SO relieving to see Charlie acknowledging what she did She's the princess of hell but we know she, realistically, wouldn't have obliterated Valentino, if she actually did anything to hurt him, he would've made things even WORSE for Angel, and then, she saw the way Valentino treated him and there's no way she ignored the black eye, it's easy to tell what happened, she got him hurt I'm glad how the showed it, in some peoples eyes he should've let her help no matter what but in the eyes of an abused person? The entire time she's in the studio you're begging her to STOP and leave before the fiasco

Oh! There's also Vaggie not getting upset at Angel right away but asking Husk what he did to upset him in the first place, and got him to go check on him, she may see him as an asshole but it was nice to see she didn't totally blame him

Tirth favorite thing, I NOTICED IT AFTER THE SECOND TIME, ANGEL ACTUALLY FAKES HIS VOICE, I thought it was me but no, his accent definitely gets stronger when he's breaking, his voice sounds different And MAN does that hit hard, whenever I speak to my parents I pitch my voice by intuition, when my voice is naturally low

Losers, baby is a comfort song, it feels healing actually, is often believed that the only right way to comfort someone is constant praising and reassurance when, sometimes you just need someone to acknowledge your problems and how you fucked things up, even if you don't want to hear it This is like the Helluva boss MMMM episode, neither Ozzie or Blitz tell Fizz he's perfect, but tell him he's good enough and that trying to reach perfection is impossible, not what he wanted to hear but what he needed the most Husk acknowledges Angel's pain and makes an effort to let him know he's not alone and that, if he lets people enter on his life, things could get better

And definilty the top one on favorites Alastor wasn't in this episode ow yissss

[taradiddled]

So I finally decided to read through the whole of ‘From Adam to Ada’ and I have to say two things (inhales then exhales) your writing made me want to at times rip my own heart out to stop the heartache that I went through while reading the first ten chapters.

And I absolutely fucking love you for it!!!!

because when we FINALLY get to see those two express their love for another it just feels so FUCKING WORTH IT!!!!!!

Second, regarding Lilith and Charlie, this is just me trying to take my vengeance out on Lilith but I really, really, really, really hope that Charlie to learns what Lilith not only did to Cain, but all the other crap she’s pulled on others, especially her father. also a teeny tiny part of me really wants Lilith to get her absolute shit recked by Ada if she ever came back, just spitballing don’t want to cross any lines

anyways first and foremost I love love love love this fanfic finally and see why so many are obsessed with it!!!

Oh uh. WOW. This really cheered my day, I hope you know that. I was just chilling at work, waiting on customers, and decided to check my tumblr and I saw the notif for this. This was a really nice Good Morning for me!

I'm glad you love the story. Sorry for the heartache you felt alongside Ada, but I'm glad you found the pay-off for all that slow-burning to be well worth it. I had to make sure Ada and Lucifer came together as organically as they could with all their bullshit between them, but also acknowledging that they are two people who need to get their shit straight if they're going to become better people. I also wanted to be able to believe that they should be together, because now that they are together, I want their romance to be as much of shmaltz as possible.

Charlie will eventually find out, but currently, with Ada's contingencies, it works better for Charlie to be the one who finds out herself what Lilith did. Whether Lucifer tells Charlie or not, or Charlie finds Lilith ledgers...remains to be seen.

But Lilith is currently with Eve, right now, and Cain. So, I won't tell you what is going on over there with "The Eve of the End of Times", but, Lilith is going to be eating plenty of crow over there. But she's also getting her own shot at redemption, though her road is going to be much harder, as she's at The End of Times. What that is exactly...you'll eventually find out.

[fazafras-pizza]

"That night"? What exactly happened in "That night"?

PUPPET: Let's talk about the dumbest thing we ever did.

FREDBEAR: Buckle up, everybody. We were stupid.

PUPPET: I'm so glad we're closed for maintenance today

———————————————————————————————

Words: 4121 CW: Mention of dead/murdered children, blood

Close to midnight. The customers were well gone by then. Whoever was the night guard was settled in for the evening back in the security room, probably. It was the right time for Charlotte (or Charlie, as they preferred the right people to use) to kick off the lid of their box and go find Evan. Henry and Erica had done everything they could to make the pizzareia's animatronics approachable and lifelike, but to Charlotte, nothing beat talking to a real person (even if that person was also trapped in a machine.)

They headed down the empty restaurant halls, feet tapping quieter than would be expected from a robot across the black and white checkered tiles. Maybe it was the ballet shoes that did it—being on pointe with every step surely had to make them seem lighter than the heavy steps of the flat footed mascots. Also, being half their heights didn't hurt.

"Evening," they said to the security guard as they passed the office, though was too busy studying the new drawings up on the walls to look at him. Yet, when Charlotte wasn't greeted back even with the usual grunt of acknowledgement they would get, they glanced in. No one was at the desk.

Charlotte stuck their head in and check around in case the guard was trying to do something stupid like scare them. But, there was no sign of him besides the desk lamp on and shining down on the desktop. The cameras weren't even pulled up on the computer.

Odd, but maybe he had just gone to the restroom. The computer could've gone into sleep mode and shut off. It wasn't anything Charlotte felt like investigating further, at least not with Evan. Besides, they heard someone down the hall shuffle around the corner, so he was probably coming back soon. The back door was that way, so he might've stepped out to smoke like some tended to do.

So Charlotte shrugged it off and headed onwards down the hall, passing by the archway into the main showroom. The stage sat empty, only a few security lights shining down on the abandoned stage. Someone probably forgot to shut off 'Roaming' mode again. Not the first time and far from the last time. Though, typically, one of them would've found Charlotte by now to say hi. Or maybe they were pulled back into Parts & Service. The restaurant was closed tomorrow for regular maintenance, anyway, so it would've been a good time for it. Besides, the pizzeria was weirdly quiet for them to be roaming, so they were probably shut off totally in the back.

Charlotte reached Parts & Service where Evan tended to hang out around closing. Charlotte couldn't figure out why he convinced Erica to let him stay at any of the restaurants. If they could have their way, Charlotte would be miles away from any of them, but Evan liked to go around and visit—usually it was only to wherever Charlotte was.

Charlotte, as the Puppet, was kind of a traveling attraction. The Puppet would be put at a restaurant for a while (usually wherever was newest) and billed as a limited time special for parties. It worked a treat for business, and the trade off was that no one had to know it was because Charlotte kept threating the company that they'd expose everything that they swept under the rug if the higher ups kept them at any one restaurant for too long. It wasn't said outright, but it was definitely implied whenever the board came to visit.

(Erica, who wished she could do much of the same but was trapped under the weight of the NDA she signed when Evan got murdered, would fight it to try and keep Charlotte somewhere for as long as possible in hopes they'd break and burn the company to the ground. Unfortunately, the other higher ups never let that happen, and Charlotte always thought it was because Erica wanted to trap them at one for good out of spite.)

But Evan's visiting was his idea and insistence. None of the higher ups, even Erica, was a fan of it. Fredbear wasn't a character that got used anymore, and if someone saw him out and about, there could be problems. (Erica didn't like it because she'd rather have her son at home with her and didn't like the idea of taking him back to the franchise that killed him. Yet, as Charlotte would argue, she didn't have a problem keeping in the house with the brother that murdered him, so go figure.)

"It's obnoxiously quiet tonight," Charlotte said as they pushed through the swinging doors into the parts & Service room. The room beyond was dark, though that wasn't a surprise. Evan usually liked to hang out in the dark since, being a ghost, things looked different to him. He could see just fine in the dark.

There was no reply.

"Evan?" Charlotte asked, staring into the darkness. Their eyes were still adjusting to the dark after walking down the fluorescent lit halls of the restaurant, so the vague shapes of Parts & Service were still trying to form. Charlotte sighed and stepped inside, the doors swinging shut behind them. They crossed their arms and watched the wobbly lines of tables, shelves, wrenches, and parts form around them. "I think we're a little old to be playing hide and seek."

The lines wiggled their way to outline the room like an inverted sketch being drawn before Charlotte, finally doodling out Evan against the back wall.

"Awful hiding place, by the way," Charlotte mused. There was still not response. Evan didn't even move. Charlotte groaned and hung their head back. Someone put him in suit mode. Of course. The maintenance guys could be idiots sometimes.

The springlocks in the suit let out a ker-clunk! as Evan exerted enough power back over the Fredbear body to force them to set, but...something was off about the sound. It didn't have the same mechanical snap to them. They sounded more forced, like there was something pushing back against them as they pushed out of place.

Charlotte turned their head back down to Evan and eyed him as he jerked to life, movement awkward as he regain control of himself.

"Are you good?" Charlotte asked as he stood up, having to steady himself against the tool cabinet besides him.

"Uh..." Evan started, voice shaky, "...no?"

Charlotte watched him. "...Why? Did something happen?"

"No- nobody's outside, right?"

"No? I don't know where the guard is. I didn't see him-"

"I don't think he's here tonight."

Charlotte cocked their head. "What?"

"Can- can you just check no one's outside?"

Charlotte frowned, but obeyed and stuck their head out the doors, scanning the hallway.

"Nobody's out there," they said.

"Great, cool, wonderful..." Evan said, then added, quietly, "...oh no."

"Is everything okay?"

"Absolutely not. Can you step outside? I'll be...right after you. I just..." Evan circled his finger in the air, trying to collect his thoughts, "...just give me a minute.

Charlotte rolled their eyes and exited from Parts & Service. "Whatever."

They stood under the flickering fluorescents, arms crossed and tapping their foot as they stared up at the drawings and posters up on the walls hiding the bits of flaking yellow paint underneath.

The doors eventually opened behind Charlotte and they turned around, eyes going as wide as they could in their robot body.

Evan stood there, gripping the edges of the door like his afterlife depended on it. His eyes were unfocused and his mouth as pursed as it could be. Draining from the seams of his mechanical body was...what Charlotte was really hoping was a new kind of red oil.

(They knew it wasn't.)

"Holy—" they whispered.

"Yes, I am aware," Evan interrupted.

"That is—"

"Blood! It's blood. It's a lot of blood."

Charlotte continued to stare, awestruck. "Where is it...from?"

"Inside...me?"

"Why is there blood in you?"

Evan stared at them, unmoving besides the slightest twitch in his head and eyes. Charlotte cocked their head.

"Evan...?" they asked.

"Sorry—arguing with a child," Evan replied, shaking his head.

Charlotte blinked. "Wait- wait...you...?"

Evan watched them, then realized what their silence was implying and let go of the doors to put his hands up and step out of the doorway in disbelief.

"No I didn't do this! Are you seriously thinking that, Charlie?" he questioned.

"I'm sorry! You said there was a kid and your family's got a history!"

"Yeah! I'm aware of the history! I'm very aware of the history!"

Charlotte stood in silence again as they thought it all over and put the pieces together—again in the wrong order.

"Wait—did Michael do this?!" they asked.

"What?!" Evan replied, then shook his head. "No! Why would he do this?!"

"Michael goes to jail and wears black trenchcoats—he could've done this!"

"No he didn't and no he couldn't!"

"He shoved you in an animatronic once!"

"That was different! Clearly my dad did this one!"

"Why didn't you lead with that?!"

"You didn't let me!" Evan waved his hands. "And—going back to your first implication—how could I have killed a kid and shoved them inside me?"

"The kid's inside you?!"

"Where do you think the blood came from, Charlie?!"

"I thought it was just on you!"

"No!"

The two stared at each other, shock of it all palpable in the air.

"What the frick do we do now?" Charlotte asked.

Evan threw his hands up. When he spoke, it was as much a panicked question as a suggestion. "Call Michael?"

"Why would we call Michael?!"

"I'm not gonna put my mom through this! She can't handle it—that's why we should call my brother."

"She's seen a dead kid before—she'll be fine."

Evan paused for a moment. "Charlie, I hate to tell you this—"

"What?"

"—it's not just one."

Charlotte stared at him.

"Evan, how many—?"

"There's four more."

The silence lingered between them. Charlotte watched Evan's head twitch again as he no doubt argued with the new ghost occupying his brain.

"Let's call Michael," Charlotte finally agreed. Evan nodded.

After a struggle of trying to remember Michael's number and not just the house phone, the two were sat at the security office desk and listening to the phone Evan held up to his ear ring. Charlotte sat in their own rolly chair besides him, spinning mindlessly to try and distract themself from noticing all the blood still oozing out of the Fredbear body onto the chair under Evan.

The echo of the ringing rang through the silent office, interrupted only by occasional stutters from the air vent fan as it struggled to push air through the building.

Evan sighed. "He might be asleep- hey, Michael!"

"Mm...Evan?" a clearly not totally awake Michael mumbled on the other end of the line. "What's wrong?"

"Great question," Evan replied, "you should come down to the restaurant."

"Evan. It's after midnight—"

"You should come down to the restaurant."

"You know I'm on house arrest. I can't just—"

"Michael," Evan interrupted, voice firmer this time, "you need to come to the restaurant."

A pause, then a sigh from Michael. "Fine. I'll be there in fifteen."

"Thank you! And sorry—it's gonna be bad!" Evan replied and hung up. He turned to Charlotte who stopped spinning in their chair. "He'll be here soon."

"Joy," Charlotte said.

———————————

Evan and Charlotte waited just beyond the archway of lights into the main event space of the restaurant, eyes glued to the glass front doors as Michael approached. Despite the darkness of the night outside, he still managed to be a black spot on it, the only light on him being from the interior ones flooding out and the cigarette he took one last drag from before tossing it to the sidewalk and crushing it with his foot. He pulled a ring of keys from the pocket of his black trenchcoat that hung over his hunched shoulders and unlocked the door before stepping inside, long dark hair sticking to his face from the drizzle of rain outside.

"You better have a good reason for this," Michael grumbled as he walked into the restaurant towards them, hands deep in his coat pockets, "I could get in a lot of trouble leaving the house when I'm not supposed to."

"Well...I think this is a great reason," Evan started, own hands steepled in preparation for delivering the bad news to Michael (since the lights were kept a bit too dim in the main room after hours for Michael to see the issue right away.)

Michael stepped up to them with his brow furrowed as he watched his brother. As his eyes adjusted, he blinked and looked over the animatronic body Evan possessed, expression turning to annoyance as he began to notice the stains on the body.

"Really? A maintenance issue? That's what you called me for?" Michael questioned and glared over at Charlotte. "Is he serious, Chuck?"

"Don't call me that," Charlotte said.

"So..." Evan started, catching Michael's attention again, but he found himself unable to finish his thought aloud. In the time he took to try and formulate his words, Michael studied him again.

"That's..." he began and held up a hand, "...Evan, tell me that's oil on you."

"Nope."

Michael hesitated, then his hand began to shake. His face grew pale quickly and he took a step back, no longer able to look at Evan. Evan, meanwhile, put his hands up and out like the classic entertainment machine he was.

"Dad was here!" he said.

Michael held his hand to his mouth before running off, no doubt to vomit. Charlotte and Evan watched him sprint off before Charlotte turned back to Evan.

"We should've called your mom," they said.

"We should've called my mom," Evan agreed.

———————————

Evan called Erica, Erica called the police.

And as Evan, Charlotte, and Michael sat in the security office waiting for everyone to arrive, Charlotte spoke up.

"They're all in the animatronics, right, Evan?" they asked, staring straight ahead blankly at the wall outside the office.

"Yep," Evan replied, doing the same.

"Hm."

"What?"

"You know the police are going to take them all into evidence, right?" Charlotte asked.

The three continued to stare blankly ahead. Michael, who had stayed as pale as when he ran off, stopped bouncing his leg out of stress suddenly and lifted his head from his hands.

So the three ran back to Parts & Service (though Michael couldn't bear to enter the room.)

The thinking was as follows: if the children who were murdered and stuffed into the machines were already possessing them, having them awaken as the machines in a police evidence locker would be bad. The kids wouldn't know what was going on, and the police would probably start shooting the suddenly alive robots, and that could be bad news. Plus if they didn't awaken "in time", the animatronics could be destroyed when the case was over, and if it wasn't done right, there could be an even bigger problem.

Thankfully, Charlotte and Evan had both been transported to new animatronic bodies before and knew the main motor—vital to the function of all the Fazbear Entertainment animatronics—was what souls latched onto. Not so thankfully, Evan and Charlotte didn't have a lot of time.

The work was, admittedly, haphazard. They were already knowingly tampering with evidence, though, so they didn't try to hide it, cracking the animatronics like bloody pinatas (at least, that's what it felt like.)

Charlotte gagged at the sight of the viscera within. "I really wish—"

"We don't have time to wish—just move!" Evan shouted and launched a screwdriver at them. Charlotte just barely dodged out of the way as it smacked against the wall behind them.

"I know, sorry!" Charlotte shouted back as they snatched it up from the ground and started undoing screws as quick as they could get their panicked hands to go.

In the midst of the two's record disassembling, Michael returned from the kitchen he had run off to and shoved only his arm through the door he refused to open any further. In his hand hung an empty potato sack.

"Here!" he called from the other side. Charlotte ran over with the motor they freed under one arm and grabbed it from him. Michael whipped his hand back out from the door, followed quickly by a "Oh gosh— you got blood on my hand!"

"Yeah, Michael—we're kind of coated in it right now!" Charlotte snapped as they shoved the motor into the sack before running back over to Evan for him to shove the motors he freed into it, too. Charlotte stared down into the bag, seeing the bottom begin to soak up blood—but more immediately, all the blood coating their arms.

"I should've wore gloves," Charlotte whispered, then looked back up to Evan who was staring back at them.

"Are we done? Do we go?" Evan asked. Charlotte, though, continued to stare, specifically at the blood that had dried against the felt of his animatronic body. "What? What's wrong?"

"They're gonna take you, too," they admitted.

Evan blinked.

Michael paced outside the Parts & Service room, repeatedly wiping his hand down over and over with a rag he stole from the cleaning closet, feeling like the blood was still staining his skin. His heart pounded and his fingers shook, everything overwhelming him to the point he felt like the shadows themselves were starting to come alive around him to mock him.

"Are you guys almost done?!" he shouted to the door moments before Charlotte burst out of them, potato sack slung over their shoulder like a gory Grinch. Michael watched Charlotte who stayed poised and staring at him from the doorway. "Where's Evan?"

Charlotte stared at him for another moment.

"In the bag?" they admitted. Michael swallowed.

"Great!" he lied.

And of course, with great timing, a quick and determined set of footsteps reached the far end of the hallway and caught their attentions before they could bolt. Michael knew the pattern of that tread well, and was not surprised when Erica rounded the corner. She, too, stopped in her tracks at the sight of them.

"What—?" she started.

Michael and Charlotte bolted.

When they reached Michael's car and in the midst of him struggling to get the keys in the ignition as Charlotte held the bag up and away from the floor and seats so the blood didn't soak into the fabric and incriminate him, Erica got a call through to his phone.

"What are you two doing?!" she snapped, clearly trying to hide her voice from the cops that had swarmed into the building moments after her.

"We're trying to save Evan and the other kids!" Michael told her, finally getting the keys in and turned, but the engine fought back and refused to turn over. He slammed a fist against the dashboard as Charlotte finish the rest of his thought for him.

"The police will shoot them if we don't!" they said.

"What are you talking about?!" Erica asked.

The car finally started and Charlotte slammed a hand down on the phone to try and hang it up. "Sorry—we gotta go!"

As soon as Charlotte disconnected the call, Michael slammed on the gas and they peeled out of the parking lot.

———————————

Charlotte gave an unending set of heavy and fervent knocks on a door they knew very well. It only took a couple dozen before their father eventually opened the door.

Henry Emily did not look great. He hadn't for years. Exhaustion plagued every ounce of his being from the bags under his eyes to the beard that grew more prominent each day to the hunch in his shoulders from the weight of what the name of Fazbear Entertainment had done to him. The pajamas he wore had probably been on from the night before if not more, and if he had seen the sun recently, it wasn't on purpose.

"Told you he'd be up," Charlotte told Michael who stood a few few behind them, clearly ashamed of having to bother Henry so late at night as he couldn't even look him in the eyes. Charlotte, however, turned back to their father. "Hi, dad."

Henry watched Charlotte. "...hi, Charlie."

"There's extra animatronics at the facility, right?"

Henry's eyes lingered on the bag slung over Charlotte's shoulder, because apparently they had thought it was a great idea to not leave it in the car. A single drop of blood dripped down onto the sidewalk.

"...yes," he said.

Charlotte held their free hand out to him. "Keycard, please."

Henry sighed, reached over to the coatrack next to him, and tugged the keycard out of his coat pocket. As soon as he held it out to Charlotte, they snatched it from his hand and sprinted back to the car.

"Thank you! Goodbye I love you and don't tell the police we were here!" Charlotte called over their shoulder.

Michael and Henry both stared at Charlotte as they ripped the car door open and shoved themself inside it. Despite himself, Michael turned back to Henry, who had not left the doorway.

"Uh..." he started, feeling the anxiety of the night catching up to him tenfold under the tired gaze of Henry, "...thank you, Mr. Emily."

Charlotte honked the car horn. "Let's go, Michael!"

Michael obeyed and ran back to the car. Henry watched them leave, then shut his door again.

———————————

It was surprisingly not difficult to get the engineers at the robotics facility to install the bloody motors into the spare animatronics. Maybe it was the fact Michael was Erica's son or maybe it was that Charlotte threatened everyone they came across to "do it or else." What was the "or else"? Charlotte probably didn't even know themself, but they sure made it believable that "or else" was an option.

In the midst of installing the motors, Erica arrived to cart Michael off back to the house (he was, again, on house arrest, so this was bound to get him in trouble even if he was trying to help. Erica at least agreed that she wouldn't report it to the probation officer this time.) Otherwise, she didn't have much to say to anyone there: the paleness in her face said it all for her. All she did say was to Charlotte, and it was simply one thing.

"Thanks for protecting Evan," she said. Charlotte gave her a thumbs up.

And in time, the motors were all put in place. Charlotte was with Evan when he finally got control of his new Fredbear body. He shot up from the table and blinked, glancing around the room before his eyes landed on Charlotte. Charlotte stared back.

"One or two guests?" they asked.

Evan paused before replying. "Two."

"How's that gonna work in one body?"

"We'll figure it out."

Evan stared down at his animatronic body and a grimace crossed his face.

"Yeah, it's out of date," Charlotte said before he could speak, "I'll see if dad can whip you up a newer one."

"It's...fine," he replied.

Voices crept in from another room down the hall. Semi metallic like their own and clearly perplexed.

"I think..." Charlotte started, "...everyone else is 'waking up.'"

Evan frowned as they both stared out the open door of the maintenance room they occupied down the hall. Eventually, he sighed and slipped off the table, standing himself tall with his hands on his hips. Charlotte stepped up next to him.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," Charlotte replied.

Evan nodded, a subtle twitch again in his head as if the other ghost in him gave a response, too, then they headed down the hall. With a falsified confidence they had been missing the rest of the night, Evan and Charlotte presented themselves to the four animatronics stood around the room trying to figure out what was going on. Older models, of course, of Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. They turned to the two that had stepped in, each displaying different levels of apprehension and curiosity. Evan noticed specifically how Chica clutched the cupcake in her hands for comfort.

Yet even in that act, Evan knew it wasn't because she was a scared child—it was because she didn't remember being put into storage as an animatronic. And no matter what he or Charlotte did, it wasn't them that could make them realize what they really were.

"Good evening, everybody!" Evan greeted as warmly as he could. The joy in it, even if forced, made Charlotte stand up straighter and smile, too, knowing that, sometimes, the company branding does help. "You've been in storage for a while—we've got a lot to catch you up on."