#im terrified of marionettes

[gothghostiie]

Idk if I’ve mentioned it before but honestly a fantasy that’s haunted me for a while is being called a puppet and I feel like Albert would totally do that. He’d tie you up in intricate shibari rope work and make sure you only move when he lets you and whisper in your ear how you’re such a pretty little puppet and he’s going to make you dance for him and hhhhhhhhhhh

I’m completely deranged

BESTIIIEEE being called puppet is literally one of my favourite things

al tying you up in the prettiest shibari making you completely immobile and finally when ur hung from the ceiling and he sits there with the ropes in his hands, making you move while grinning at you devilishly <3

also him making you bounce on his cock like that while telling you you're his favourite puppet :>

[strifesolution]

im kinda sad the first public game of botc doesnt have a fun name, because poisoned peril / marionette madness / vengeful vigormortis / librarians and lunatics / harpy havoc are all SOOOOOO fun. even the trial episode has the alliteration of a terrifying test

maybe something like suspicious spy??

[kanekoii]

I know your busy so please do my request last for other people! Can I request Pom, Elira Selen, and Maria x reader where they watch a horror movie and despite not having any facial expression, reader is playing with their hands or desperately clinging onto their arm tho whole time?

lyra’s notes -> random fun fact about me you’ll probably never need to know: i adore horror movies and my fav movie of all time is arguably one of the most famous horror movies ever

pairings -> pomu rainpuff, elira pendora, selen tatsuki, maria marionette x gn! reader

genre -> scenario

song -> mary on a cross (slowed + reverb) - ghost

warnings -> i changed selen and maria’s to be at like a halloween event IM SORRY (think knotts scary farm sorry if y’all don’t know what that is google it)

POMU RAINPUFF ->

she’d tease you on the way she figured you were trying to look tough for her despite being clearly scared. in a way, it’s enduring, but she won’t tell you that! she’s not scared at all, so she doesn’t have to hide it, but the idea of you being terrified and trying to hide it is adorable to her and she’d end up trying to scare you on purpose just to get a reaction out of you. pomu is sorry, it’s just adorable to see you clinging to her as if your life depended on it. all wrapped in fluffy blankets trying to keep a straight face while clinging desperately onto her arm, it was just adorable!

ELIRA PENDORA ->

she wouldn’t acknowledge it, trying to let you live the lie that you could watch this movie without getting scared. she even got scared watching during some parts, so there’s no shame, but she’ll let you do you. it’s very enduring and cute in a way, that you were trying so hard do stay strong. but at any point if you couldn’t handle it, please tell her! she won’t tease you and she’ll find something less scary to watch! she knows it can be fun to get a little spooked sometimes, but it’s not fun if you’re utterly horrified.

SELEN TATSUKI ->

she won’t get scared very easily. she’ll be urging you along the theme park that had been taken over by scare actors and oh-so many haunted mazes. selen will just be teasing you and trying to get a rise out of you. you’re not a coward right? so you can handle going in front of her right? my god she will never let you forget how tightly you’d be holding onto her hand despite trying to keep an unfazed expression. eventually she’d decide to just lead you herself so you didn’t get too scared, cuz it’s fun to hear your scared screams but she’d feel bad if she let you get too scared.

MARIA MARIONETTE ->

she’ll probably be just as scared as you, except she shows it openly. she’d encourage you to drop your unfazed facade and have as much fun as she was having despite being scared. cutie actually made it work too, and both of you had lost your voices by the time you got into the car on the way home. the night was full of screams and giggles, and maria would go on to say that this was one of the most fun nights ever because she got you to express your fear for the first time <3

[bastardgoblinwolf]

alright. so five nights at freddys huh. the story begins with these two guys called henry emily and william afton. theyre both pretty good at making robots so they decide to start a chuck e cheese type restaurant together called fredbears family diner. henry is the one who wears the fredbear suit and william wears a rabbit suit called springbonnie (<- WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER). they also both have kids! william has three (michael elizabeth and the one who doesnt get a name. hes just called crying child) and henry has one or two depending on if youre looking at the books or the games (charlie is the one who he always has & sammy is charlies twin brother who sometimes does not exist).

crying child is terrified of williams robots. michael likes to wear a fox mask and scare crying child sometimes. one of these times is on his brothers birthday party where he has an idea to pull an epic prank on crying child and put his head in one of the robots heads!

now. funny thing. i said before that henry and william make robots but i also said that they wear costumes. the robots actually Are the costumes. they decided to invent a little thing called springlocks to hold back all the robot bits so that you could climb into the suit and wear it as a costume. which sounds like a good idea until you think about it for literally five seconds. the springlocks have a tendency to just ummm stop working occasionally. while youre wearing the suit. which you know. kills you. the springlocks ESPECIALLY like to stop working when you get water on them!!! or move around too much!!!

and crying child is. well. crying. and trying to get down out of the fucking robot head. which is full of springlocks. im sure you can see how this one ends

long story short crying child fucking dies. because duh of course he does we are talking about the dead kids video games. this kind of fucks everybody up because you know. its a dead kid. william especially goes kind of bonkers and starts trying to. bring him back i guess is the goal? (they will try to tell you that he says he is going to 'put him back together' at the end of fnaf 4. this is not true do not listen to them.)

so william does what any normal grieving father would do and kills henrys daughter charlie!! awesome!! now charlie has her own little security robot called the marionette that henry built for her to keep her safe. and this security robot was not able to get to her in time to save her from william but it Was able to get to her eventually. and it just kind of lies on top of her? its much more emotional in the games. anyways.

charlies ghost is now trapped inside of the marionette through weird magicky stuff called remnant. all you need to know about remnant is that its basically your soul or whatever. its how the ghosts in this game stay inside their assorted vessels. and when a robot has a ghost inside of it it will obviously start acting weird because There Is A Ghost In There.

william notices this and is like Hm. maybe when people die they can take over other vessels. and he starts making this shiny new line of robots that are literally specifically made to capture and kill children inside of them. he also resorts to the acoustic version of this which is literally just luring kids to the back of his restaurant and killing them and stuffing their bodies into the suits of some other robots hes made. he kills not 1 not 2 not 3 but FOUR FUCKING KIDS this way. and the cops never think to look in the robot suits. this leads to the restaurant being closed down. fucking obviously

the issue with these new child killing robots is that william also still has two surviving children one of whom (elizabeth) is the exact age of the children the robots are designed to trap and kill. she also is very infatuated with one of the robots (circus baby). i cant see how this will end badly at all

elizabeth decides to sneak away on the opening day of this new restaurant with the new robots to see circus baby. and circus baby erm. im sure you can guess. william afton now has not one but two dead kids!!!!!!!!!

so now the new restaurant ALSO has to close down because a whole kid went missing there which is ermm a bad look for william because 4 kids went missing at his last location and 2 died. the robots from this place end up being rented out to people during the day and they often have to be fixed up at night. who fixes them up you ask? ohohohoho

remember michael. the guy who killed his little brother by accident. hes just kind of been hanging out plagued by guilt this whole time. so his dad sends him off down to circus babys restaurant turned rental to go be the animatronic fixer upper and also help his sister i guess?? (i mean 'sends him off down' quite literally btw. this place is underground. for some inexplicable reason.)

this quite obviously does not end well for mike. on his 5th night there he is lured into the scooping room (room with a giant scooper in it made to remove the animatronic exoskeleton from all the wiry bits inside. allegedly) and well. he gets scooped. so that this thing called ennard (amalgamation of every one of the funtime animatronics ie funtime freddy funtime foxy ballora and circus baby) can live inside of him as a normal guy out in the world and not have to be stuck in this fucking underground bunker forever. because they are sentient. because of the dead kids inside of them

anyways it seems that ennard forgot that human bodies rot when they dont have guts inside them to keep them running. michaels body decays over a few days until he is almost completely rotted at which point ennard launches itself out of his mouth and goes to hide in the sewers.

but TURNS OUT. the scooper is actually not for removing animatronic exoskeletons you silly goose. scooper is actually spelled SCUP. which stands for scalable creation of ulterior presence. its a fucking remnant injector that had a bit of remnant left on the end when it scooped all of mikes guts out. so now mike is in zombie limbo. awesome

also around this time william is like Damn i should probably not be leaving the bodies of those kids i killed in those robots. i better go disassemble those. so he goes to the og restaurant and disassembles the robots. the spirits inside of the robots then gang up on him and chase him into an old back room because well they dont like him very much. he decides to hide in his old spring bonnie suit?? which is an insane thing to do given how fragile the springlocks are??? so he gets fucking springlocked. obviously. that back room is then locked up and sealed by someone (probably henry remember him) and williams body gets to rot in the spring bonnie suit haha i bet he wont come back haha

michael in his zombie limbo is like hmm my dad killing all those kids is pretty fucked up and i feel bad about my brother dying. im gonna go free some dead kid souls. at which point he somehow gets a job at MULTIPLE OF HIS DADS RESTAURANTS DESPITE BEING A LITERAL ROTTING CORPSE. he then gets fired for tampering with the animatronics and for smelling bad at each of them

at this point there is an inexplicable 30 year timeskip. no idea what all of the characters were doing that whole time. anyways this new attraction opens up called fazbear frights based on all the missing kids and stuff that happened at williams restaurants. and michael is like i am going to go get that job for uhh. reasons

so he works there as the security guard for like at least 2 days when they open up that sealed room william was in and find the suit. they do not however notice the literal rotting corpse inside it (which somehow did not skeletonize despite being in a very wet very warm room this whole time???) and this thing (now called springtrap. get it. because william was trapped inside it. and its got spring locks.) starts just fucking going after michael for whatever reason. after 5 (6 maybe?? but i think 5) more nights michael burns down the place. you would think this would kill william once and for all. haha. hahahaha

but michael still has work to do i.e freeing the missing kids from the robots so he finds this job posting for a brand new freddys type location which is actually an elaborately constructed labyrinth designed to trap all of the still around animatronics (which is now scrap baby [who seperated from ennard for Reasons], molten freddy [formerly ennard], lefty [who has the marionette trapped inside of it] and scraptrap. who is still alive Somehow and has an absolutely dogshit design all of a sudden)

once you trap all your robots in there henry comes on over the loudspeaker and gives a big climactic genuinely moving speech about how everything that happened can now finally be left behind and these kids souls can heal and william can rot in hell forever and then he sets the building on fire, resolving the story once and for all

and then scott cawthon made 2 (soon to be 3) more games that i cant be bothered to learn anything about so i have no idea the plot for any of them. hope this was coherent and also sorry it took me 1 billion years to send this <3

fucking christ these games are a lot. thanks for the overview oh my god i have become enlightened

also. my brothers been asking me more questions including 'who's inside golden freddy' 'who's inside springtrap' (i told him that one) 'who's inside william afton' (?huh) 'who is people afton?' (he meant peepaw afton apparently 💀)

baby's first fandom i guess

[youvegotmailpdf]

teeth beg for something tender to sink into ✩ a bucky/nat fic

The grin that spreads over her face is tempered when Madame B steps forward and dislocates her elbow. “Pride,” she sneers into Natalia’s ear over the crack of the bone, while Soldat watches expressionlessly—his right hand tenses almost imperceptibly— “will get you nowhere. You are to do as you are asked, and that is that. Unnecessary showing off will get you eliminated, do you understand?”   

Cowed and obedient, Natalia says, “Yes, Madame,” but all she can think is Made you look, bastard. She made him look, and now it’s like he can’t tear his eyes away. 

(natasha’s had many an origin story: in 2005 it starts with a shotgun wedding, in the 1950s it’s with a metal-armed soldier and a side of communism. you know how it goes.)

[dq-avenquire]

the bloomingdale arc always got me especially emotional for whatever reason. i think its because there’s like. close to no happiness to be found in it, relative to the other stories, yknow? like most of them have a bittersweet “we’ve lost things but look at what we’ve gained” but bloomingdale just...doesn’t. the only thing you gain is a boat which like don’t get me wrong. the boat is sick i love the music but. emotionally? im still so bothered sometimes like. marion bloome is a lonely, neglected child. i know that after you clear that section of the game it’s clear that she was/is loved by people who aren’t just after her money, but that doesn’t change that statement. she’s an orphan in a house too big for her to grow into unguided and alone. she has a nanny, sure, but by the time we enter town it’s clearly been a bit since they’ve spent time together. the servants genuinely respect and care for her, but they’re servants, and clearly attached enough to the hierarchy to be intent on keeping up that role, even if they’re willing to do it out of love rather than pay. the dollmaker, kind and skilled as he is, can’t be there for her always. he can try to fill the void with the doll, but even that feels like a sad sort of metaphor. like. when you’re a kid with no real power and people who will do almost anything you ask and more money than you can understand it all just feels empty. none of it feels like it has real consequence and that sort of vacancy makes it all like a game. make believe. marion feels the doll is both as empty as her as it is the only thing with any real feeling because it is a mirror of her. personally i like to think that’s also why marionette is shown more to be spoiled and bratty - mirroring the inner child that is upset and hurt, yknow? conversely, marion feels super emotionally mature - which means she ABSOLUTELY knew that people came to “befriend” her out of greed and nothing more. but what else are you meant to do when you’re lonely? it’s the only resource she has. none of this has even touched on the fact that marion died alone. those last few words? that last wish she made? everything in her heart told her that she was going to die alone. if the fygg hadn't landed in her hands, she would have died alone, and her body would've rotted away til she was found - and i refuse to believe that would've happened quickly, given that i doubt marionette would've understood everything fast enough to bury her quickly, and apparently no one noticed that. her last moments in the world are spent rushing greetings and goodbyes and explanations to a friend she never gets to spend time together with for real. i just!! man im so upset on this fictional childs behalf. and it doesnt even really get better, yknow? her wish is such a sad thing like. i wish for you to be happy. i wish for you to find friends and family in the way i lost and will never be able to get back. i wish for you to find purpose. i wish for you to learn things i will never grow up to see. i wish for you to be happy. i wish for you to keep playing. i wish for you to keep playing. and it doesn't even really come true. marionette tries, sure, but she doesn't really...get it? and you can't blame her! she's the wonky creation made by otherworldly power that never should have touched her in the first place, and being human is such a difficult thing even for those born as one. but she tries anyway, even if she's hurt, even if she learnt to love seconds before learning to lose, even if she's navigating grief without a guide. and she makes friends, and learns just as she's told, but it's all...off. the people she "befriends" are more interested in her wallet than the child in front of them, and the things she learns are distorted. and then you come along, and as far as she's concerned you've come to take her like marion was taken, and it's no wonder she's terrified of you. and then she's kidnapped, and that's somehow better. it's all part of the game, right? she hasn't read the rules, so how is she meant to know? and then, when the tyrantula throws her against the ground of course she doesn't understand. of course it hurts her, even if she doesn't know why or in what way. (how ironic that a spider would be the one to cut the puppet's strings) (you save her, sure, but it doesn’t feel like it’s enough, not to me) she goes home. her world stays small. she doesn’t make friends, unless we count you. she visits the grave. she gets to say goodbye. she gets to be hurt, and see her friend one more time. and then...that's just it. that's it. she's just a doll. it's not like zere rocks - there will be no one coming to visit her, who will finally understand, and pay their respects. it's not like jona, who looks forward and makes her own future. there is no reuniting in the stars. there's just you, in an empty mansion kept alive by servants who will never know that the person they serve died long, long ago, that it's far too late to say goodbye to any version of her. just a forgotten dollshouse in the back of town, with marionette silent and unmoving on the floor, right back where she started. there's just you, the player. you get to keep playing, at least.

[astronomical-bagel]

I want to know about the mushrooms tell me more about mushrooms

AGFHGJN YESSSSSSSSSS I WILL SHOW YOU MY TOP 5 FAVORITE MUSHROOMS. FEATURING: LOTS OF EXCLAMATION MARKS AND ABOUT 957 WAYS TO MISSPELLL MUSHROOM!! THIS IS ALSO VERY LONG. SORRY. IM NOT ACTUALLY SORRY THIS WAS SOOOO MUCH FUN.

Okay okay okay first of with the most popular one: you know amanita muscaria? the fly agaric or whatever? the one that is THE mushroom? this one?

its like. SUPER deadly. itll give you a high, but it also comes with thinhs like involontary muscle spasms, general stomche problems, amnisea, and can even put you in a coma! and also it will Just Kill you. i like that such a loved and well-known mushroom is actually one of the most deadly. idk exactly why i liek that abt it its just like. not a lot of people realize. even though its so popular.

and the NEXT one is the devil's tooth fungus! it has a lot of names but thats the one im going to call it rn. It does this funkt little things called gluttation, which as far as i know is just the mushroom pushing out excess water. but the COOL thing about it s that hte moisture is thick and sticky due to an anticollagen (helps things not clot) that is a DARK RED. this mushroom is literally so metal it literally looks like its bleeding.

unfortunality it does set off my trypophobia so i cant really look at it for long. but its FUCKING COOL. i also like it EVEN more because, color-wise, its the exact opposite of amanita muscaria! And i like it EVEN MORE because while the amanita is like. thought to be the cutsey mushroom and all that but is SUPER FUCKING DANGEROUS, the Devils Tooth LOOKS all scary and halloween-y but is actually pretty harmless! I mean, it tastes bad and kinda stinks too, but its like. (and youll have to excuse me for anthropomorphizing mushrooms) its like a PERFECT narrative foil to amanita!!! AJGNGGH GOES INSANE!!

the next mushroom, and youll probably recognize this one, is the inky cap mushroom!! this mushroom is another SUPER popular one-- or, at least, its popular in 1. mushroom circles and 2. goth cottagecore circles. my perspective might be a little skewed LMAO. anyways this is also called the "shaggy cap" mcuhroom because when its young it has a pretty white cap with little ruffles on it!! buT! when it gets older! it starts to look like its liquifying, and it starts dripping black "ink"

ISNT IT SOOOO COOL??? this mushroom is my favorite-- at least in terms of aesthics (though devils tooth has GOT to be like. my second favorite bc that is too cool) This muchroom is actually edible! Tje website has it written down as a "nutty, mushroomlike taste" which. tells me absoltuley nothing. But also, and i just found this out 2 minutes ago, appearently you cant drink alcohol for 3 days after eating this!! the effects can go from a stomache ache to a heart attack, dependign on how much of either youve consumed. because of this, its also called 'tippler's bane", which i think is hilarious.

The next mushroom is the ZOMBIE FUNGUS. I was first introduced to this fungus via a nature documentary. it gave me nightmares for weeks and started at LEAST 2 debilitating phobias, but also at least 2 special interests so. i guess?? it evens out?? anyways i LOVE this fungus even though it still terrifies me to this day. This mushroom is called the zombie fungus for good reason: when ants digest it, it takes over the muscle system gradually over the course of a few days, and walks the ant over to a leaf for it to bite onto (exactly 25 cm off the ground, apparently) and then the ant flowers, making another hub of fungus to infect other ants and start the cycle anew. But i need to be absolutley clear here. this ant is still like. alive. its brain is active, but its muscles are moving without its permission. it has literally described by scientists that the fungus was controlling the ant "as a puppeteer controls as a marionette doll". this thing is both corruption and the web. the ant is STILL IN THERE. and one!! how the FUCK is the fungus smart enought to do that?????? What the shit??? How does the fungus tell the ant to move its legs???? hoe does it tell it whre to go??? how is the fungus in the ant communicating with the original fungus?? this mushroom is so scary to me in so many ways but one of the most proniment is that it almost??? seems to be ??? sentient???? i dont know. idk. but i do know is that its SCARY AS FUCKK. im not including a picture of this because i cant stand ants and also. the image of bugs with mushrooms squeezing past their exoskeletons and shooting out of their head is kind of. terrifying.

the last mushroom of the day is called the bitter oyster mushroom! this one is SOOOO cool!!! its special gimmick is BIOLUMINESCENCE, BABEY!!!!!!

ive been obsessed with biolumiencnce for FOREVER, because 1. its fucking cool. who wouldnt be obsessed honestly, and 2. Avatar (2009)!! theres not much more to say on why i like it honestly. its glow in in the dark. its automatically awseome. this mushroom in the daytime is a nice creamy orange color, and grows in shelves along trees and logs! not every strain is bioluminecent, in fact the biolumicent strain specidically does not live on the pacific coast :((((( but ill get to see it one day. one day....

anyways THANK YOU SO MUCH for inviting me to ramble, and ummmm congradulations if you read all of that LMAO. This was a lot of fun and resolidified the fact that I LOVE MUSHROOMS SO MUCH. ok thank you byeee

[ru-bwee]

SAYING GOODBYE TO MY PERSONA. mafuyu gets a bad grade in school and is terrified about telling her mother. eventually she finds out about the skipped mock exams, and the bad grade. fight occurs! in the fight mafumom tries taking her phone and IT LANDS IN MAFUYUS FISHTANK. she has no way to talk to nightcord. a bit after The confrontation happens. im not sure what happens inbetween but mafuyu says about her true feelings, how its always been painful. how she can't feel. and its the 2nd time since the beginning of the game we see her start crying. mafumom tries to emotionally manipulate, it nearly works until miku starts singing. its glitchy but the loids use her phone to sing to her and give advice. KAITO says not to be fooled, everything races mafuyus mind And then flashback. "its okay to run away mafuyu" "not for anyone but yourself." mafuyu runs out the door not letting her mother finish, she runs to kanades house. its pouring outside. KAITO comes to kanade and says "go outside" no context. kanade finds mafuyu and she just breaks down in kanade arms. absolutely a mess. she told her mother what she felt but it didnt go right. and CLIFFHANGER. Also there roomates now .

everything about this event is important so more analysis! the card show her finally breaking free of the strings. the marionette mask breaks, her crying cutting the strings. the rest of niigo in there trained cards are protecting the apple gem. kanade hugging it, mizuki gently letting it into there embrace, and ena reaching out for it. and then theres engeki. the song follows the events of the story, from the home to mafuyus escape. one of the most impactful songs of the game btw.

world link happens too, new place in sekai. a lake of mafuyus feelings and. Haha.. Ha.. she pulls out an apple. also i love world link its awesome

ok i think thats it You survived good job (also my current layout is the saying goodbye to my persona cards if ur curious)

did i hear someone wants to hear about pjsk lore (violetly shakes you)

(grabs popcorn) go on

[batz-zzz]

please explain fnaf lore to me i want to know i dont care if it's bad

OKKKK FASTEN UR SEATBELTS ( @cottagecorexboy tagging u bc bc u told me i could spam u w fnaf lore <3<3) HERES MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE FNAF LORE!

tw for like. kidnapping. and murder. lots of murder. and gore. also spoiler warning obviously

IM GONNA TRY TO MAKE THIS AS COHERENT AS POSSIBLE!!! ALSO FAIR WARNING A LOT OF THIS SOUNDS LIKE COMPLETE NONESENSE BC THATS WHAT IT IS!!! THIS LORE IS FUCKING STUPID! i love it tho <3

fnaf timeline:

fredbears family diner

fnaf 4 (1983)

sister location ( somewhere between '83 and '87)

fnaf 2 (1987)

fnaf 1 (likely 1993)

fnaf 3 (around 2023)

freddy fazbears pizza sim

fnaf help wanted

fnaf security breach (approx 2024-2029)

ok so all this shit started with a diner which was opened by william afton and henry emily in 1967. it was called *ahem* fredbear family diner!!!! and featured the brown bear mascot!! neither henry nor william had money at the time to hire someone, (also they were both busy studying; henry studying comminucation and business admin while william studied engineering) so the mascot suit was normally worn by henry during working hours

3 or 4 years go by and fredbear family diner starts to pick up more business! to help it grow, william designed bonnie, the yellow rabbit mascot to go along with freddy! how cute! after they got a bit more successful snd earned some more money, william designed the first 2 springlock suits, bonnie and freddy <3 so now the lineup we have are the freddy animatronic, the freddy and bonnie springlock suits that double as a suit an animatronic, and a marionette puppet that kept an eye on the children and rewarded them when they won arcade games

explanation of how springlock suits are operated (fnaf 3)

also! outside of work, good ol willy met a lady!! who is unnamed. n e ways! they got married and had 3 kids! the oldest son (michael❤️), daughter (elizabeth) and another son (not officially named, but widely recognized as evan/crying child)

OK NOW ONTO EVENTS THAT HAPPENED IN THE ACTUAL GAMES. LOL. HAHA. HAHAHA.

ok! um. ok. so. cut to evans birthday one year. 1983 to be exact. he has his party in fredbears family diner! great right? WRONG. evan was terrified of the animatronics. and his older brother michael and his friends decide its a good idea to SCARE EVAN by SHOVING HIS HEAD INSIDE OF ANIMATRONIC FREDBEARS MOUTH. take a guess how that turned out :)

basically evan gets his head CHOMPED! but he doesnt die there! in fnaf 4, u play as evan, recovering in the hospital after the bite trying to survive the nightmarish versions of the animatronics he was so afraid of. but he dies on the last night. lol rip evan

one afton down

william afton, distraught over his sons death vows to "put him back together" as seen in this screencap from the ending of fnaf 4! (william is,, talking to evan through a fredbear plush that has cameras in it,,,,, but we'll get into that later lol or not)

anyways,,, mr afton decides to take the phrase "put you back together" very seriously and uh. starts doing research on an element called remnant which is basically. large amounts of human agony condensed into a metal??? that can. help souls to possess inanimate objects. this is only mentioned in the books and i think its kinda wacky tbh. some people speculate that he did this research to gain his own immortality which is totally valid but i like to see it like this bc it helps fit the story together anyways we'll get back to that. maybe

moving on

after evans death, business wasnt exactly booming,,,. so! henry and william decide to sell all rights to the diner/animatronics to a bigger company that turns it into...... *drumroll* ......... freddy fazbears pizza!!!!!! (and the overarching fazbear entertainment). freddy fazbears pizza finally opened later in 1983 with a lineup of the man himself, freddy fazbear, bonnie, chica the chicken and foxy the pirate

also another springlock failure happens that isnt really touched upon, but after said failure, the springlock suits are deemed "too dangerous" to be used in performances! and they r stored in the back storage room!

one day, during a birthday party at the new and improved freddy fazbears pizza, a child was MURDERED! outside of the building, unable to get in and ask for help. the child then went on to possess the puppet, as it followed her outside and was there as she died, unable to help her. guess who murdered her lol! YEP! MR WILLY AFTON! he was tried in court but never found guilty due to...... lack! of! evidence!

um alsoo like,,, william kills more kids lol. he got into the storage on the old springlock bonnie costume and and lures 5 children to the back rooms and murders them!!!!!! and then in an attempt to save the children, the puppet stuffed each corpse inside rhe 4 core animatronics + golden freddy. this caused the childrens spirits to inhabit each suit lol (golden freddy now having 2 spirits possessing it; evan and the new child called cassidy) anyways since the bodies were hidden in the suits, detectives never found them and william afton was never caught. freddy fazbears pizza closed down after many complaints about the foul odor and mucus oozing out from the animatronics and after outsiders found out about the missing childrens incident

anyways! mr william afton is up to bigger and better things! in order to like capture more kids in a cool way he creates circus babys pizza world!! a smaller pizza place under the control of afton robotics featuring improved animatronics like circus baby! funtime foxy and freddy, bonbon and ballora! mr creep afton created each animatronic to capture children! each one has specific,,, abilities and design choices. for example, all of them are much taller than they should be, circus baby being 7.5 feet and the rest being over 6ft. funtime foxy has abilities like

parental voice sync and replay??? mhm. and same with funtime freddy

voice mimic/luring? storage tank?

yea,, thats a child. in the storage tank

however uhh circus babys pizza world closes on the first day bc. um. circus baby. eats. elizabeth (williams daughter). yeah..... william tells her to stay away from baby bc shes dangerous but she didnt listen!!! so she got herself snatched up and her soul went on to possess circus baby. lol. heres a clip! the actual death is at 2:35

second afton down! and both killed by williams own inventions! how poetic. anyways after circus babys pizza world closes, willy boy opens an underground facility titled 'circus babys rentals and entertainment' for the purpose of rentibg out his child kidnapping animatronics to different parties and events <3 cute!

anyways!! time for the events of the third game in the timeline and 5th game overall, sister location! michael, our beloved eldest afton son travels to circus babys rental and entertainment at the request of his father to "put [elibabeth and unnamed wife] back together" which he does! but he gets his skeleton innards scooped out in the process. lol.

yea so turns out, baby, ballora, funtime freddy and funtime foxy dont wanna be trapped in the rental facility, being forced to kidnap and murder children anymore! valid! so, in order to hide amongst other humans, they scoop put their own endoskeletons, fuse them together to form ennard, and use michaels body as a flesh suit :)

scooping room cutscene

and they succeed! for a while. after a while of being a flesh suit for a big robot thing, michaels body starts to decay! as bodies do. so, ennard decides to. leave. the body. bc its no longer habitable! leaving michael (whos still alive for some reason) as a rotted, skeleton-less corpse person!

and at the very end of the game, michael has another cutscene where he's kinda talking to william? but not rly bc william isnt there. hes talking to himself but to his dad. here loamso

cutscene at the end of the games true ending

ANYWAYS!!!!!! A NEW FREDDY FAZBEARS PIZZA LOCATION OPENED UP IN 1987!!!!!!!! with new and improved "safer" animatronics! consisting of toy freddy, toy chica, toy bonnie and mangle! this is the setting of fnaf 2, the 3rd game in the timeline! where, instead of michael afton, you play as jeremy fitzgerald! also, william comes back and murders 5 more kids in the new location!

also, the infamous bite of 87 happens here! and the victim is *drumroll* 🥁🥁🥁🥁 YOU! JEREMY FITZGERALD!!!!!! u get ur frontal lobe bitten off by the mangle animatronic! anyways, new location closes the same year, toy animatronics are SCRAPPED! and william afton was arrested, but there was no evidence proving that he was the murderer again

OKAYYY!!!!! FREDDY FAZBEARS PIZZA REOPENS (again) BUT THIS TIME, IN THE OLD LOCATION THAT THE FIRST MISSING CHILDRENS INCIDENT TOOK PLACE IN! ITS KINDA OLD AND BROKEN DOWN LOL! william afton tries to disassemble the haunted animatronics bc yk. theyrw obviously out for revenge on him. but accidentally releases their spirits into the living world. in a bout of fear, he runs to his old safe room (thats hidden from security cameras) and hides in his old springlock bonnie suit! hahaha! hes safe! except hes not. since the building is old and broken down, there is a water leak from the ceiling! and yall know what water does to the springlock suits!!!!

cutscene from the game

fanimation of the springlock failure (gore warning)

but he survives bc ofc he did. and hes left in that backroom until 2033 :) no one came to find him, because that backrooms have been sealed off and employees were told not to go back there or mention them to anyone outside the company!

slay!

anyways, the year is now 2003 and this is when fnaf 1 happens! at the end of the gamey freddy fazbears pizza closes for the final time </3

but fear not! 30 years later in 2033, a haunted attraction called fazbears fright is preparing to open in the same building! crazy how that happens. anyways, the managers of fazbears fright found william afton (now known as springtrap) in the back rooms and somehow doesnt realize that he is a decaying corpse inside a rabbit suit so! they use him as their only animatronic prop since the ogs have all been scrapped! this is where fnaf 3 starts- you play as security guard michael afton again, where hes finally found his father. the game ends with michael burning fazbears fright to the ground with springtrap still inside <3 slay

anyways, moving on,,,, after all the tragedy thats happened at freddy locations, fazbear entertainment hires a game developer to make a bunch of games meant to make light of all the deaths (this is the fnaf game devs self insert basically). to complete their coverup story, they hire a bigger company to make a vr game!! in fnaf vr: help wanted, u play as a game tester pretty much. however, the game was taking a while to develop, so fazbear entertainment sent a bunch of circuit boards to be scanned into computers in order to make the game faster

however!!!!!!!!! and heres the funny part: a virus known as glitchtrap (which is basically william afton... as a computer virus...) gets scanned into the games code! and after a while, glitchtrap successfully infiltrates the mind of one of the other game testers named vanessa, who becomes his unwilling successor known as 'vanny'. in help wanted, u have to help test the game while finding vanessas prerecorded tapes which have glitchtrap saved onto them. after finding all the tapes,,,, u accidentally set him free lol...... yea.

ANYWAYS NEXT GAME! FNAF 6, FREDDYS PIZZERIA SIMULATOR! this game was meant to tie up any loose ends left in the story, which it absolutely did. u (again) play as michael afton, who is tasked with salvaging old animatronics and keep them in the building. this is so at the end, old pal HENRY EMILY!!!! can make his badass comeback and burn down the building with everyone inside (including springtrap whos still alive not surprisingly) and it has the coolest ending cutscene imo

and after that, the extra game ultimate custom night is released, in which u play as william afton, trapped in hell- a neverending loop of trying to survive the very spirits u murdered. it was a really good ending to the story

but of course. it doesnt end there. because WERE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE GOOD THINGS IN THIS FANDOM APPARENTLY. sigh. no. after this game comes the most recent, fnaf security breach! in which u play as gregory! our dearest beloved homeless kid whos trapped inside the mega pizzaplex and enlists in the help of freddy fazbear to help get u out! in the true ending of this game, u and freddy travel below the pizzaplex to..... THE LOCATION FROM FNAF 6???!?!?!??? yea. they built the mega pizzaplex on top of the charred up building. and guess whos still alive???????? william afton. but he looks BUSTED and DUSTED to all hell

.... yea..... this is peepaw willy.........

anyways! um. in the final battle u set him on fire.... again... but this time guess who shows up!!!! molten freddy! who is basically ennard but without circus baby. anyways molten freddy snatches up peepaw willy and kills him im pretty sure, while gregory and freddy make their great escape

AND THAT BRINGS US UP TO SPEED! I WILL NOT BE GETTING INTO THE BOOKS BC I LIKE TO PRETEND THEY DONT EXIST ❤

[inskz]

lucky charm - lee minho

pairing - lee minho x reader

genre - college!au, best friends to lovers, very cliche fluff (lucky girl starring lindsey lohan kinda vibes???)

words - 4k

note - this is just a cute little drabble i wrote while im still waiting for my covid test results to come back so that i can leave my room and see the sun again 🤪 pls be careful everybody take care of your health 💚 enjoy!!!

- - - - -

“You must be kidding me,” you sigh when you see Minho’s hand has turned into a fist, his rock crushing miserably your scissors. Once again, you lost at rock, paper, scissors. And once again, you’re the one that is going to wash your best friend’s dishes that have piled up in is tiny kitchen sink throughout the week.

“Fuck that. This is so unfair,” you grumble, throwing the dishtowel in Minho’s stupid yet perfectly chiseled face.

You make a beeline for his bed, which is actually only a few steps away from the kitchen. Being a broke college student definitely doesn’t allow him to rent a spacious studio, let alone a two-room apartment. You throw yourself headfirst onto his uncomfortable mattress, whose springs always poke your back at night.

“Life is so unfair,” your friend mocks you, dragging out every vowel of his sentence dramatically.

No doubt, you would be strangling him at that very moment if you weren’t so busy playing dead, hoping he would forget about your pitiful existence.

But there is no way mister Lee Minho would miss out on an opportunity to have his gross plates cleaned by someone else. Grabbing onto your ankle, he drags you out of bed until you plop down on the dirty carpeted floor (Minho has the unfortunate tendency to procrastinate vacuuming too). At this point, you are fake crying, throwing a literal tantrum, like a 6 years old child would.

“Life is unfair!” you yell, your feet kicking in the air in pure anger.

At least it is to you. You can’t remember the last time you’ve been lucky. The only instance you got remotely close to it was when you found a four-leaf clover last summer. Well, only if you disregard the fact you stepped into dog poop  on your way to picking it. Oh and that you were wearing brand new white Converse. 

On the other hand, it seems like the boy has the whole crew of the Olympus gods on his side. Not one day goes by without his guardian angel manifesting its presence. 

Minho has always been the lucky type. The type to get an extra nugget in his box of 10. To find 20 dollars bills on the ground. To win every single Instagram giveaway he participates to (and lord knows how much he likes participating to them). 

But how can you be mad at him when he always happily shares his food with you, invites you to the restaurant without you even asking, and gives you his prizes, pretending he doesn’t need them? You don’t believe him when he says he see no use in a panda onesie or a waterproof bluetooth speaker. Deep down, you know it’s his way to silently love you. 

But well, you can still blame him for occasionally taking advantage of your misfortune to make you do his dreaded house chores, just like right now. 

Everyone thinks you are a bizarre duo. Even you can’t fathom how in hell you two became best friends, considering how awfully your first encounter went three years ago. 

On orientation day, he asked you for the time, probably because his phone was dead (or maybe because he was dying to talk to you?)

Without hesitation, you lifted and rotated your wrist so that you could see your watch. Little did you remember; you never actually owned a watch and you were holding a fancy 7 dollars iced coffee, which, of course, did not have a lid on because plastic is bad for the environment (duh). 

Minho couldn’t help but burst out in hysterical laughter when the whole drink spilled on your jeans. For your defense, you didn’t sleep at all the night before  since you were terrified of being alone in your new dorm room the first few days (weird stuff happens all the time in dorms, okay?). If he had asked you for your name, you probably wouldn’t even have been able to tell him. 

But Minho thought you were the funniest person on campus, and he really needed a clown like you to entertain him throughout his endless college semesters. That’s what he told you anyways. Not that he thought you were the cutest human being he had ever seen. 

Why would he when you are the literal definition of a mess: always having toothpaste stains on your sweater, bags under your eyes, messy hair, tripping and falling, missing buses, breaking things, losing stuff. 

Most of the time, you just forget your keys and Minho lets you crash at his place since he hasn’t got any roommate and he isn’t used to sleeping alone, especially without his cats. It surely isn’t because he loves waking up next to a very groggy but adorable you every single morning, no.  

Minho manages to bring you back to the countertop despite your reluctance. Positioned behind you, his arms trapping your body to make sure you can’t run away from your duties, he dips your hands into the soapy water, and you can’t help but squirm at the touch of an unknown substance sticking to a plate that has probably been soaking here for a week. You despise doing the dishes and your friend knows it.

You hear him giggle in your ear while he is playing with your arms like you are some type of marionette, making you to take the sponge and squeeze dish soap onto it. 

You’ve never been the kind to like proximity nor seemed to be Minho, but for some reason, you always end up glued to each other. You hate public displays of attention and pet names a little less when it comes from him. Or maybe you don’t hate it at all and actually crave it every single minute that goes by.

Before he has the time to come up with the Machiavellian idea to soak your pajamas in dirty water (because you know he would inevitably have at some point), you yank his hands off of you and start scrubbing angrily the dirty cups. 

Minho stays behind you anyways, observing your every move, his chin propped up on your shoulder like a curious little bird. To be honest, his presence is kind of getting overwhelming. But whatever, it’s not like his slightest touch makes your heart warm up in comfort or that he smells like fresh linen drying out on the porch of a cottage house on a sunny Sunday morning or anything. 

“You missed a spot. Here” he murmurs teasingly, his lips almost touching your earlobe, while he points at the handle of his hideous ‘world’s greatest dad’ mug Jisung gifted him last christmas. 

You know he has noticed the way you shivered violently at the feeling of his breath tickling your skin because he starts snickering loudly. 

“I swear to god if you don’t shut up and go seat on the couch, I’ll slap you so hard with this spatula you’ll regret you were even born,” you say, turning around suddenly to menace him with the plastic utensil. 

Of course, he isn’t afraid one bit. Right now, you really wish you could make the smug, but oh so attractive, look on his face disappear. 

“Alright, ma’am” he laughs, holding up his hands in surrender. “I’ll let you do your thing”. He lets himself fall onto his dingy couch. 

You can hear him humming one of his favorite songs above the sound of the water running. It would probably be getting on your nerves if his voice wasn’t so pretty.  

“Chan’s sick, so we’re not going to the gym tomorrow night. Do you wanna eat tacos? El Huero has even better deals than usual” he asks you, scrolling mindlessly through his phone. 

“Aren’t the deals supposed to be on Tuesdays?” You frown and scrub a little harder the frying pan Minho has burnt the night before while trying to make chocolate chips pancakes for diner, because why eat savory food when you can have dessert for every meal, right? It is one of the few advantages of living without your parents you both truly enjoy. 

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Tomorrow,” he yawns, probably exhausted after what you put him through last night. You forced him to catch up on the entire season of Love Island because you desperately needed someone to bitch with, and what better partner than Lee Minho.  

You take a quick glance at him and see him stretching himself across the cushions like a cat. You always thought there was something feline about his features. While you’re drying the mugs with the dishtowel, your mind wanders uncontrollably, thinking about his piercing eyes, his delicate nose, the corners of his lips that curl up a little… 

All of the sudden, your hands freeze. Minho is too immersed in TikToks to notice the stupor on your face. “Wait. Today is… Monday?” you stutter. 

Alarmed by the sound of your voice, his eyes finally leave his phone’s screen to look up at you. “Yeah” he repeats slowly as if you are the dumbest person he has ever encountered. 

And you truly are. You are pretty sure your heart has stopped beating. Minho’s “world’s greatest dad” mug you’re holding slips between your fingers and comes crashing on the floor with a deafening sound. The pieces are now scattered all around you, making you unable to make out what’s written on it anymore. Not a big loss, if you ask. 

“Y/N, you know that’s my favorite mug!” he exclaims, leaping up from the couch. “I’m sure you did it on purpose,” he mutters while he’s trying to collect the small fragments, in vain. 

But you’re too shocked at this very moment to pay attention to the glare your friend is giving you. To be honest, Minho has only two moods: glaring at you or teasing you.  

“My interview,” you finally manage to say, and Minho’s eyes go wide as he realizes the critical situation you’re in. 

You check the time on the microwave: 10:45. In 30 minutes, you’re supposed to be on the other side of town, being interrogated by boring businessmen that are going to decide whether or not you’ll be accepted for a paid internship in one of the most reputable music label of the country. Basically, decide whether you’ll live a happy and fulfilling life, working in the sector you’ve always dreamed of or end up miserable with a boring office job and a massive college debt. 

“Holy shit,” Minho whispers. You can see a wave of panic washing across his face for a split second, but, as always, he manages to find his composure back immediately. 

He has never been the kind to lose his cool, except to scold you when you forget the names of his cats and their respective coats’ color (which you unfortunately often did forget). 

“What are you doing? Get dressed!” He tells you when he sees you’re still standing there dumbfounded in the kitchen, like the famous Robert Pattinson meme, wearing an oversize Kermit the frog shirt with a dozen holes in it and his favorite Adidas sweatpants you always stole from him.

“No, it’s too late. I can’t make it,” you mutter, your breath short. You’re paralyzed, as if there is a 20lbs rock sitting at the bottom of your stomach, pinning you to the ground. 

This isn’t bad luck, you think. This is karma. This is what you get for skipping classes to watch telereality shows in your bed with your best friend and not even realizing it isn’t the weekend anymore.

“Miss me with that bullshit.” He runs to his closet and rummages through his drawers, throwing every piece of clothing that’s on his way to find an appropriate outfit that would fit you. 

“You’re gonna go do this interview even if I have to drag you all the way there.” He pushes you into his bathroom since you still haven’t moved an inch. 

You manage to brush your teeth and your hair, fighting through the nauseous feeling that is building up in your tummy. 

When you come back to the living room, Minho has found dress pants and a sweater that might not look utterly ridiculous on you. He lets you change in a corner, while he runs around the room collecting all your essentials. 

“You’re coming?” you ask him when you see he is already wearing his puffer jacket.  

“You really think I’m gonna let you go all by yourself when you’re literally not even able to put your shoes on properly”. You are, indeed, struggling with your laces, as if your fingers are suddenly made out of butter. 

Minho ties them up for you and you literally feel like he’s your babysitter. You know you’re gonna hear about this for months – what are you saying- years! But all you can think about at the moment though, is the fact that sneakers are definitely not appropriate for an interview. 

He throws your warmest coat at you, grab his keys, and by some type of miracle, you’re both out to the door in less than 10 minutes. 

You try to call the elevator, but Minho grabs your arm and leads you to the staircase. His hand never leaving yours, he runs down the stairs and you have no choice but to follow him as fast as you can. 

You can’t count how many times you missed a step and fell at this particularly slippery spot, between the 5th and the 4th floor, but weirdly enough, it doesn’t happen today. 

When you finally reach the ground floor, you exit the complex and Minho hops on his old and rusty bike that he had attached to nearest tree the night before.

“There’s no way I’m riding behind you on this death machine,” you laugh nervously. The memory of that one time Minho convinced you to seat into his bicycle basket (as if you could even realistically fit in it) and you both fell seconds after he started to pedal is coming back to your mind.

Sure, it was after a long night of drinking, you were both tipsy and it was the only way to get you home since you had spent all your uber money at the bar, but still! You’re pretty sure the bruise on your butt hasn’t disappeared to this day.  

“Hurry up,” Minho groans, ignoring your complaint. You unwillingly seat on his flimsy pannier rack and wrap your arms around his torso. 

You haven’t even left, yet you’re already holding onto his puffer jacket for dear life. A giggle escapes your friend’s mouth (which you think is very inappropriate in such a desperate situation) before he lifts his feet off the ground and starts pedaling. 

You try to ignore the loud squeaking of the bicycle drive by shutting your eyes tighter and rehearsing your introduction you have prepared over and over in your head. No matter how hard you are trying, you can’t remember what you are supposed to say just after your age (which, as you can imagine, isn’t really far into your monologue). 

By the way the wind is lashing your face, you can tell Minho has picked up the speed. His breathing is getting louder, his heartbeat faster and you can’t help but think you’re probably way too heavy for him to bike you around like that. Maybe he shouldn’t skip his gym sessions with Chan so often. Or maybe you shouldn’t have eaten the leftover pancakes for breakfast after all.

You find the courage to open your eyelids and are pleased to see you’re already halfway there, probably because every single one of the traffic lights you encounter is green, and your friend is going surprisingly fast. Is luck finally starting to smile upon you? 

Your mad race comes to a halt when you reach the address of your interview. You hop off the bike and so does Minho who, by the way, is a panting mess. He’s barely able to catch his breath, strands of hair sticking to his sweaty forehead, but he’s beaming at you when he realizes you’re just on time. 

“Go” he gasps, pushing you in the direction of the building’s hall. 

You walk up to the glass door but as your hands are about to push it, you pull a 180. Your friend sighs loudly, already knowing what’s coming next. 

“Wait. No. I can’t do this. I’m not prepared” you tell him frantically. “I’m freaking out. I think I’m gonna pass out.” You are now walking in circles, mumbling incoherently. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.” 

Your heart is racing in your chest and your hands are getting clammy at the simple thought of failure. But guess what? You can’t fail if you don’t even try! One more good reason to just go back to bed and forget about your sad life for a good 8 hours, right? 

“Y/N, you’re the most talented person I know, you’re gonna do just fine” Minho catches you in his arm to stop your endless pacing. You would probably think this gesture is endearing if it wasn’t just meant to make sure you couldn’t run for your life.  

“No, I’m not. What if I throw up in front of everybody like that one time during the Romeo and Juliet musical?” You look up at him and his face is only inches away from yours. You’re sure you would be swooning at how beautiful he looks if you weren’t so terrified at this very moment.

“You were nine,” your best friend says, and you swear you have never heard him speak to you in such a sweet tone before. His voice is like honey and lavander but it doesn’t soothe you like it should. 

You manage to break free from his embrace to crouch down, in an attempt to slow down your breathing. If only you had data left, you could be watching those short relaxing videos on your phone. They always work. But no, you had to spent it all on online games, just one week into the month. You really are beyond help.  

“Y/N I know you’re scared, but if you miss out on this opportunity, you’re gonna regret it for the rest of your life.” Minho is lowering himself so that you can hear him, even though you’re curled up in a ball. 

“And I’m warning you, I won’t want to hear you complain about it,” he adds, this whole situation obviously starting to get on his nerves. 

If you were him, you would have probably left a long time ago. But this isn’t your best friend’s way of behaving. You know he would never abandon you no matter how annoying you could be (and you could be very annoying sometimes). After all, he is always the one holding your hair while you puke in the toilets when you had a couple too many drinks.

It takes all your willpower to stand up but there is no other way, you have to do it. You can hear the time ticking dangerously in your mind, as if your brain had turned into a clock.

“You’re right. Slap me,” you say, looking at him straight in the eyes, dead serious. 

“Wha -“

“Slap some sense into me. They do that in movies when people are panicking. It’s like throwing a bucket of cold water in someone’s face. But clearly we don’t have a bucket and we don’t have cold wa- “ you start blabbering. 

“What the fuck are you talking about? I’m not gonna slap you!” Your friend isn’t usually that horrified at the thought of beating your ass. In fact, he has felt the desire to rip your head off more than once, especially when you’d steal all the duvet at night, but at this moment he is just scared you might have actually lost your mind.  

“Just fucking do it Minho!” you scream, your hands clenching the front of his grey hoodie he always looks so divine in. 

Minho has never obeyed you, and this is not the day he is going to start. 

He puts both of his hands on the sides of your face and crashes his lips onto yours. 

You would be lying if you said you have never imagined the day your best friend would kiss you. It happens pretty much every single time you look at his cute pout a little too long. But one thing is certain, it isn’t like you pictured it to be at all.

You were convinced your heart would go so wild it would burst out of your chest and your head would spin so furiously you’d lose your balance. You thought your stomach would fill with butterflies to the brim and your whole body would be on fire.

But none of that is happening. On the contrary, every single muscle in your body relaxes under his touch. The way his soft mouth presses gently against yours makes you calmer, almost at peace amongst all this turmoil. 

Minho is kissing all your tension and stress away and you catch yourself letting a sigh of relief escape your parted lips.

As if you have kissed him already hundreds of times in your past life, Minho feels like home. He’s a safe haven you can always take refuge in during troubled times. Ever since the day you met, he has never left your side.

When he breaks away from the kiss, you notice your breath isn’t so ragged and your mind isn’t so foggy anymore. You’re serene. His cold hands are still cupping your face, slightly squishing your cheeks, and you feel like an idiot sandwich for asking him to slap you seconds before.

“That can work too, I guess…” you mutter.  

“You’re okay?” he asks, staring at you with the softest eyes you’ve ever seen.

You just nod, unable to say one more word, and sprint to the entrance, not wanting to make your interviewers wait any longer than they already have.

“Good luck!” You hear him yell just before the door closes behind you and you can’t help but grin from ear to ear.

- - - - - 

Thirty minutes later, you finally step out of the fancy lobby to find a very bored Minho leaning against a tree, patiently waiting for you.

“You’re still here?”

“Of course, I am,” he says, his mouth full of croissant. He gives you a large iced coffee he probably went buying to kill time. Your lips unconsciously curl up into a smile when you notice it comes from the same chain that the one you spilled on your lap on the day you first met him. 

“How did it go?” he asks you, sticking his buttery pastry into your mouth so that you can take a bite.

“Way better than I thought” you answer, right after you swallowed. You hate the way flakes would always get stuck between your teeth. But Minho is always there to warn you about it before anyone else notices, and even pick them for you if you can’t manage to, which, when you think about it, is kind of gross. 

There are two things the boy knows about you: you’re the greatest pessimist on earth and you’d rather die than admit you were wrong (especially if it meant he was right). So for you to even say it wasn’t that bad, means it went phenomenal. 

“I don’t want to say ‘I told you so’ but I told you so.” He smiles so wide you can barely see his eyes anymore. You have to look away, otherwise you know you might become instantly blinded by love.

“Maybe I could use some more of your luck” you mumble, staring at your shoes and kicking the red leaves that were surrounding your feet on this sunny autumn morning. 

“Really? And what makes you think I’ll share it with you,” he teases you, leaning forward to incite you to look at him in the eyes. 

“That.”

Your hand finds the back of his neck and pulls him in, in order to close the space that is still left between your mouths.

At first, Minho stiffens, taken aback by your bold move. But soon enough, he caves into your touch. He kisses you back fervently, like he means it. 

His fingers entagle in your hair, his arm wraps around your waist and his chest presses against your body. You’re melting in his embrace, submerged by a wave of bliss which he alone seems to know the recipe. 

It feels new, yet so familiar. Like it was supposed to happen, like it was written in the stars. 

He tastes like croissant and Americano. Like fortune and fate. 

And you can’t help but think you’re the luckiest person on earth.

Who cares about winning the lottery when Lee Minho is your lucky charm? 

[bigsnzstanacct]

King’s New Allergy Part 4

This is wildly overwritten but at least I’m writing...? Here is the link to the other chapters of this story lmao. Of course it is also on le blue forum. After this chapter there is one more to conclude the story (which is already partially written!) and then there’s a chance I’ll eventually write an aggressively porn-y epilogue. okay byeeeeeeee!

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My nose. My damned nose. By all the gods old and new, my insatiable, insufferable, intolerable, insistent, itchy, tickly, twitching, torurous nose!

“So the… th-thehhhh… the harvest in the W-weehhhhh… Western… -sniff-”

I was fighting.  I was fighting as hard as I’d ever fought anything. Harder. But to do battle against a swordsman, a sorceror, a monster, a ghost… that was child’s play. For that I had tools and training. Years of training in weapons and fighting. For this meeting too: years of training in diplomacy, in leadership. But none of that training involved a struggle to the death against your own damned nose!

“In the W-wehhhh… weeeeeeehhHHHH…”

Through narrowing eyes, I saw their faces: full of disapproval, fear, hands itching to clap to their ears, legs twitching to hide under the table, as though I really were a storm unto myself, and in taking cover, they might be spared the worst. Perhaps if I simply allowed the sneeze to come, it might not be so monstrous but… I could not. I could not bring myself to succumb so easily, to give in, to be weak. I chanced putting a finger beneath my nose. It was a desperate failsafe that had served at least a few times, but in truth I could never resist for long. I could no more resist these violent eruptions than the sky, overcharged with energy, could resist the lightning arcing across the sky, or the terrible roar of the thunder in response.

“Oh gods… I’m sahhhh.. s-ssaahhhhhh… s-sorreeehhhhhHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRSSSSCCCHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! AnothhheeEERRRYYYYYYYYAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! hehhhh… hh-hehhhhhh… HUUUH! HHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

They came, thick, fast and violent. Each one felt like it took all my strength, as though I couldn’t help but through the full weight of my body—no, the full weight of the castle herself into each sneeze. And then, for a moment…

Bliss.

No itch, no tickle, no torture. As terrible as they were, as much as they terrorized my meeting, my castle, my citizens, my countryside… there was a guilty, fiendish part of me that felt such magnificent release and relief with each great roar that was loosed from my mouth and nose. Drained, too, of course. Exhausted as though I’d climbed a mountain after practically each sneeze, let alone a whole terrible fit of them like I’d done. But also, utterly and simply delighted.

And then I opened my eyes and the embarrassment flooded in, and then, barely a split-second later, the tiny, teasing, barely-perceptible blossom of the itch that presaged another sneeze. The urge to sneeze again was following closer and closer on the glorious feeling of release and relief. When this all started I could go half the day without a sneezing fit. Then hours. Now barely minutes. But perhaps if I didn’t think about it, if I just barrelled through and ignored the tickle… maybe it would leave me alone.

“My apologies again, gentlemen.” I said, and quickly, before anyone could comment upon my nose: “Now, the Western harvest is among the best we’ve had in some years, which means our levy at the current rate should be -sniff!-” the itch already was worming its way up. But I could hold out still. I could ignore it.

“At the current rate should be more than sufficient to provide for capitol needs, y-yes Minister?”

The Minister of the Exchequer tried to discreetly rub at his ears, but it was obvious what he was doing, trying to clear his head from my sneezing long enough to focus on what I was saying. I couldn’t bear it.

“Yes! It will be sufficient, I don’t need you to check my arithmetic. You may repohhh… re-re…” I gave a hard sniff, and allowed myself  a quick rub at the underside of my nose with the heel of my palm. It was an embarrassing, almost childish gesture but I was far beyond caring about small embarrassments. I had much, much larger mortifications to be concerned with.

“Youmayreportbackifneedsbe!” I barrelled out, knowing the tickle was already roused, and at any moment could turn the act of speech into feat as tricky as any in my storied questing career.

“What is the next item on the ahhh… hahhh…” my eyes swam, unfocused for a moment. Hands crept up towards ears, dread lining in every face of the council. I could feel my knights tensing behind me, as though bracing for an explosion, hoping not to be knocked off their feet. The sneeze wasn’t even ready, it would play with me for several more moment yet. It reminded me of nothing more than sparring with the quartermaster as a boy: putting up a valiant fight, certain I was on the edge of victory… only to find he was only playing a game with me. He would always win.

“The next agenda item!” I said, slamming a fist down on the table. I wasn’t angry with the council, and I hope they knew that, but. It was all so damned frustrating… I couldn’t speak without terrifying my council, not with my words but with the threat of my nose. Of all the mortifying.

“Well my lord, we have not admitted petitioners in over three weeks, owing to your condition. I was informed the Royal Physician as well as the, ah, King’s Right Hand will be pursuing some possibilities for treatment, but the peo---”

“Damn the conditiiIiiiHHHHHH… HHIIIHHHHHH!!” May noses and sneezes be damned by all the gods old and new! The urge was already prickling in my nose, fanning its way towards inevitability, as though to mock me for cursing it. By all the gods, I should be able to see my people, to hear their complaints and all because of my god’s damned lack of control, I couldn’t even do that… I felt furious as a boy, looking up at the quartermaster teary-eyed with rage at losing, at humiliation. And here I was again, losing. And to a thrice damned tickle in my thrice damned nose…!

My nose, on which the whole room hyperfocused, as intent upon it as I’d ever been on any foe on the battlefield. Every twitch garnered a flinch, every skipped breath a skipped heartbeat. My damned sneezes could be heard throughout the entire castle, throughout the entire town. I was just waiting for someone to announce they’d heard me sneeze at the furthest edges of the regions, echoing off the Black Mountains or the White Cliffs, resounding across oceans…

With all that, being so close to my sneeze must have been a form of auditory torture. And I couldn’t put my advisors through that. Not any longer. And not with the vague but unmistakable sense I felt that what was beginning to well up in me would be a fit to rival any I’d suffered since I came down with this accursed, irreparable allergy, this implacable need that seemed to be unmoved by any force physical or magical, on earth or in the realms above. I was going to sneeze, and the fit would leave me exhausted and the whole castle ringing, I knew. But the urge itself was small now, my winds gathering strength for the one man hurricane they would turn me into. What a curse, to make of a king a slave to his own body. I was disgusted with myself. And yet, I could no more stop the force building within me than I could will the rising sun to set or still the flowing tide.

This council meeting was accomplishing nothing. And dammit, I needed to sneeze.

Abruptly, I pushed back from the chair. Everyone rose with me. “Ladies and gentlemen, you must excuse me, I’m a-afraid… oh I…” I was doing my best to keep up a kingly facade but already I was faltering before the effort of damming back the torrent of sneezes that seemed to be pressing up against each other, jockeying for position, each demanding to be the first to erupt out of me. “oh gods, I have to sneeze. It’s going to be a terrible fit and I… Iahhhhhh… I m-muuhhhhh… I must r-repair to my… my chahhhhHHHHH… hAHHHHHHHHHHHH… w-with m-mehhhh…!”

I ordered my retinue to follow me, but I’m sure a number of them did so quite reluctantly, and frankly I couldn’t blame them. What I felt coming seemed like a sneeze to beat all sneezes, an itch to beat all itches, nothing which could soothed, calmed, or controlled by a little finger under the nose, a few rough rubs. I’d asked my former manservant more than once about his… powers. How he felt all the hidden powers of the earth welling up through him, the connection to the secret side of everything, how he could make it shimmer and dance. I felt the same sense  of something beyond myself intruding upon me, but it was not under my control. I was beneath its thumb, dancing like a marionette on a string in miserable abasement to, of all things, a tickle in my nose.

“Someone… someone please… huhhhh… p-put your f-finger… under…”

It was pathetic. At least I’d managed to get well out of the way of the council chambers before I succumbed. I’d only embarrassed myself like this once or twice before, but if this went on much longer, I’d have to appoint a knight to do this for me full time, to press and pinch and wrangle my nose in a way my own hands could no longer suffice. Perhaps that way I could at least forestall the sneezes long enough to do any of the duties of a king.

But for now, my only goal was fighting off the absolutely monstrous fit I felt brewing for a few more moments, until I could at least reach my chamber. At least then I could succumb in private, although such succumbing was never private. Before the curse even, I blushed to think a vigorous sneeze might echo through the castle, and I never could dam them back. But under the curse now… all of the castle, all of the city heard my every falter. The sound of my failure resounding back at me from every brick in the kingdom.

The Captain of the Guard slid a thick finger under my nose, and ever so imperceptibly the urge diminished. He pushed upward, hard. And all I could do was blink at him in acknowledgement. At this point a single word would send it all crashing down.

“Knights dismissed! I will escort the King further.” I heard his voice ringing out, and I was as grateful as I’d ever been for him. At least the knights would be spared the very worst. The captain alone would be with me to the eruptive end.

“Not much further now, sire. Please, hold out!” And there was an uncertainty or even... a fear in his voice. It wasn't as if I'd never heard such fear from the Captain of the Guard before. We had quested together, season after season. But this tone of voice ought to be reserved for a onrushing army or a sleeping dragon. Surely there was no reason to steel himself so before my nose?

“T-t-traahhHHHH… tr-trying…” I choked out, scrunching my nose as aggressively as I could, as though if my nostrils recoiled from the irritation, I might dodge the sneeze—no, sneezes—altogether.

And suddenly, unimaginably, the urge… exploded.

It was as if I had never needed to sneeze before in my life. Tears sprang to my eyes, and the simmering flame of the urge became a wild forest fire. Helplessly, I jerked away from the Captain, scrubbing desperately at my nose even as the heavy breaths ripped themselves from me…

“HHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHH… HUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…”

“My King, not yet!” the Captain insisted. Not to be deterred, he came up behind me and tried to guide me, but I was surrendered to the sneeze, overpowered by the urge, defeated by the invisible twinging need. He was practically pushing me as the sneeze swelled and swelled.

“HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH… UUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…”

It swelled more and MORE, feeling more ferocious than any of my previous sneezes. I felt like a volcano on the precipice of eruption, as though my winds were swirling and turning and twisting and braiding their way towards tornadic devastation, as though I were not only a a lightning strike but indeed a whole storm set loose to wreak havoc across the land.

“Nearly there, nearly there, please sire you musn't give in…”

But it was too late.

“AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSCHHHHHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” I exploded, and it was as though… some sort of… power erupted from me, from my mouth and nose from… from everywhere. The sneezes had always been incredibly loud but now tapestries on the wall flapped, armor rattled, it sounded as though something fell but I couldn’t tell because before I could so much as think, the next sneeze was already erupting: “HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO-AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHUUUHHHH!!!! AARRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! HehHHHHHHH… HEEEEEYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTSSSCCCHHHHHHHHHEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! YYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTSSSSSSSSSSSSCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW!!!”

On and on and on the sneezes came, more and more violent, “volume” not even describing what I felt bursting from me. Somewhere, dimly, I heard the sounds of something falling over, and yet still the steady pressure of the Captain at my back, finally…

“Sir, your chamber… We must not let them see you!”

Whether I was able to exert some minimal effort even subdued by my sneeze attack, or whether the Captain just shoved me, somehow I stumbled into the chamber, still sneezing relentlessly, barely heard the door slam behind me, helpless to the urge. My whole world narrowed to my nose, and it was as though some block within me surrendered and the sneezes roared out of me, louder and more violent than ever before again and again and again…

I could not tell how long it had been when the fit finally ended. I felt… amazing. Warm and sated. Entirely itch-free, as though I’d never need to sneeze again in my life. Practically glowing. Maybe that was it? Maybe that monster of a fit had at last blown the insufferable urge away for good? But the moment of euphoria lasted barely an instant. I heard a… squeak? and I opened my eyes to find… him. The sorcerer. His robes and hair disheveled, and then, the room… The bed was without sheets. The mattress ripped, feathers piled against the stone wall, piled up with the rugs, half my clothes, my pillows, my chairs…

“Wh-what… what did I… what did I do?” I asked, panting and mortified.

He stood, mortified, as red as I’d seen him in years. His mouth agape. “I—I… I—I have to go!” He exclaimed, and rushed from the room.

Had I hurt him? Scared him? Surely he of all the denizens of the castle had no reason to fear… anyone. But as I cast my eyes across the disheveled, half-wrecked room, I began to see what he saw. Nothing to fear. But something to pity. An out-of-control freak. Certainly no King.

And even then, with a trickle of fear running down my spine… I began to feel the urge to sneeze again, sputtering back to life. I sat on my bed, feeling the weakened timbers sputter and creak with my weight, head in hands.

“By all the gods…”

[lucarioisinthevoid]

Hey guys! how many alternate universes have you met, did you meet any that were different you's? im new here if you cant tell,

Hello! And probably immediately goodbye, because you probably vanished since I haven’t updated in ages! I am so sorry, I’m growing more and more quiet by the day and school is tough on me right now especially, among other stuff (though I am okay, so no fret, I apologize to people whom I have neglected. I’m so absolutely terrible at holding contacts well and anyone is free and welcome to remind me more often to be present, because I need it) Anyhow, that’s that- Confused, the Marionette squinted at the asker. “What do you mean, how many alternative universes- what- what are you implying?” Shortly he shook his head, as an uneasy pain stung through his mind. “Wait- is that why the guy- that small dude with the weird helmet- he seemed to know me- do you mean something like that?” Phone Guy frowned too. “… or, uh- did you mean different location? There was this one place with that terrifying bear. I think it was run by a guy named Nathan? He was a polite fella, I hope he didn’t uh- hah- uh- I mean, that he’s… doing well. Uh. That.” Slowly Henry shook his head. “… what a sad display.” Coldly he inspected the Anon, clearly not pleased with the question. “If you must know, they have seen little. But I on the other hand have seen quite a bit and hated everything I saw. Frankly, there is nothing that did NOT happen. However, actual interactions between us and others of our… position… has not happened too often. Unless you wish to count a certain graveyardshift among them, however, we are so utterly different to them, that even those that align, like the Jeremys, are completely unrecognizable.” Softly he sighed. “The multiverse is a disgusting, cruel, and ridiculous place and you would fare well to stay away from it. There is a place where most of it is preserved for people to see and shudder at. I can only advise you to stay away as far as you can, because the place is not healthy nor safe for basically anyone. To shorten it: basically everything you can imagine has happened, in multiple iterations. Most of them had been intertwined with that other world, however, it could apply to us just as well. Every location, every dynamic, every concept, it has been thought about. But I am the only one who knows, which must be one of the crueler pranks that it pulled on me. However, in a way it is a blessing in disguise… I would rather not have to remember and be forced to speak about these horrors beyond human comprehension and further. Of course- I will not say it as a pure curse. I have met the most fascinating Henry and William and had a pleasant cup of tea with them. Yet still, the multiverse is a roll with a loaded dice and I would not recommend it.”

[mrspockomakeitso]

When i was younger i was terrified of marionette dolls. So, naturally, i read every single Goosebumps book dealing with marionette dolls in an attempt to allay my fears trough exposure.

Long story short, im even more terrified of marionette dolls than i was when i was five.

[seraphinial]

Rating the Entites based on their Aesthetics

The Beholding: 4/10, Cyberpunk dystopia, constant surveillance, would be better if it didn't hit so close to home, ok, not great

The Buried: 3/10, dirt, claustrophobia, choking, not much to play with, i Do Not Vibe

The Corruption: 5/10, bugs, crawlies, disease, mold, i like it, there's a lot of interplay to be had with mild and beauty, I Vibe

The Dark: 0/10 bro I can't see SHIT in here

The Desolation: 10/10 FIRE! trans people can should must and will commit arson, how can i not love it

The End: 8/10 we love a goth bitch, we love bones and crows and bad omens, fuck yeah

The Extinction: 6/10 only so high because of the visceral pit in my stomach reading the warning on that nuclear dump site

The Flesh: 3/10 Meat, Meat adjacents, Body Horror, yuck

The Hunt: 8/10 forests and snarls and quickly drawn breaths and fangs and fur im vibrating absolutely

The Lonely: 4/10 you've heard of clinical depression, well, now get ready for Super Depression, but I'm a sucker for the washed out look, so it's ok

The Slaughter: 7/10, Mama Mia Fight Scenes, must i say more?

The Spiral: 10/10 colors and fractals and never ending hotel hallways? Count me IN

The Stranger: 6/10 creepy robots and marionettes and clowns and uncanny build a solid aesthetic

The Vast: 100/10 Clouds? The Ocean?? The SKY??? SPACE???? FUCK ME UP!!!

The Web: 7/10 webs and spiders are intricate and lovely, even if im terrified of them!

[official-michael-afton]

So like im sitting here eating an early din din and just writing down what people have put for preferred characters to draw so far(applications are still open! Just getting a main idea since i doubt many more will apply before saturday and this can also give me like a head start on planning assigning pages) and things ive learned:

There are many bonnie stans

no one specifically asked for lamar or clay :(

many, MANY people want dave

dave does not show up in many pages

send help

that being said, I stan the person who sent “Please do not make me draw the dave-” what a legend

one person sent michael and i hope they meant michael brooks because my afton baby isnt in the novels :(

had to remind myself a few times that Sammy is a fnaf character who shows up in the graphic novel, NOT sammy lawrence batim

@ anyone who said springtrap, marionette, etc... i dont know how to break the news to them... i dont have the heart...

I also stan who put “The page where Dave/William gets punched”

Charlie shows up in MANY pages(about 146 if i counted right) so if youre one of the 32 who mentioned charlie specifically... dont worry. youll get charlie XD

*scatter trying not to fanboy seeing some of his fav blogs applying*

when 2 ppl write “i love you” .////. i love u too my friends aaaaaa

the person who wrote “I am  b  re ad     of  the  b re ad  bea r” i just hope you know i both respect you and am terrified of you

[hollymartinswrites]

Chapters: 7/? Fandom: IT - Stephen King, IT (Movies - Muschietti) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh Characters: Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier, Ben Hanscom, Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough, Mike Hanlon, Original Child Character(s) Additional Tags: Fix-It, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-IT Chapter Two (2019), Domestic, Light Angst, Family Feels, Childhood Trauma, Adoption, Kid Fic, Adopted Children, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Marriage, Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier Are Parents, Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Minor Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends, Catholicism, Richie Tozier Has Issues, Extended Tozier Family, Medical Examinations, Stephen King References

Summary:

Eddie and Richie embark on the most terrifying experience of all—parenthood. Or, the author desperately needed a domestic, family fix-it for Richie and Eddie and it turned into a much longer, angstier exploration than I expected.

Chapter VII: Eddie struggles while he and Richie search for answers about their daughter. But perhaps there's light in the darkness.

“This is crazy,” Eddie muttered, straightening and walking away from the desk. “Absolutely fucking crazy.”

“Eds, come on,” Richie implored him, turning away from the open laptop screen where Mike’s face gazed up at him. “This is interesting stuff.”

“Interesting but bullshit.”

“You don’t know that,” Richie insisted.

“No, but I do know our daughter isn’t a fucking science experiment,” Eddie declared, whirling around, his hands waving wildly. “This is real life, not that show on Netflix.”

Richie sighed as Mike hurriedly said, “I’m not saying Tess is that, I’m just saying, we have evidence of children with...with…”

“Powers?” Eddie provided, raising an eyebrow. “Like fucking Superman or something? Come the fuck on.”

“Charlie McGee claimed to start exhibiting pyrokinetic abilities as a toddler,” Mike said, flipping through a stack of papers. “It’s all right here in that Rolling Stone article from 1980.”

“And in the same article, it’s explained that her parents were mentally ill drug addicts and that the ‘explosion’ she caused with her mind was from an anti-government terrorist attack, Mike,” Eddie continued. “It says it right there in the link you sent us. Besides, even if this is true, our daughter isn’t exactly setting things on fire with her mind.”

“No, but I did find something that sounds an awful lot like what Tess is doing,” Mike continued.

“She’s doing nothing but being a kid,” Eddie said, exasperated. He looked at Richie. “I’m done with this. You want to stay up all night talking conspiracy theories and thinking our daughter is something out of The X-Files, go ahead, but I’m not listening to anymore of this.”

“Why not?” Richie begged. “How is any of this any crazier than what we went through?”

Eddie closed his eyes and sighed, a prickling of fear spreading through his body. It had to be crazy, it had to be, because if it wasn’t, then Pennywise wasn’t the worst of what this universe was capable of.

“Here,” Mike said suddenly, “I’m sending you some more links.”

A new email appeared in Richie’s inbox and he quickly opened it, clicking the first link. It was an article from an academic journal.

“The fuck’s this?” Richie mumbled, trying to make sense of the scholarly jargon in the first paragraph.

“There’s a girl out there, well, a teenager, and she has exhibited a lot of the same things Tess has done,” Mike explained. “She’s been studied by several different universities and they all admit, no one has given such accurate results in multiple tests.”

“Tests in what?” Richie asked.

“ESP, telepathy, clairvoyance, even astral projection,” Mike said, sounding terribly excited. “And she’s not the only one. She claims there are others like her out there.”

“That’s it,” Eddie groaned, rubbing at his eyes, “I’m going to bed. You and Mike have fun. I’ll handle the Tooth Fairy tonight since you’re so busy.”

Richie waved his hand distractedly as he squinted at the screen, clearly engrossed with the article. Eddie rolled his eyes, said good night to Mike, and walked out of their home office. He glanced at his watch. It was near midnight. He hadn’t stayed up this late on purpose in a long fucking time.

Quietly, he inched into Lydia’s room and reached into his pocket for his wallet. She was fast asleep, starfished on her bed, and Eddie allowed himself a relieved smile. He glanced at her nightstand, on which sat a piece of paper with the words FOR THE TOOTH FAIRY written on it in crayon with an arrow pointing to said tooth. Eddie was once again grateful he had had the forethought years ago to insist that the Tooth Fairy was too busy to go digging under pillows all night. Quickly, he slipped the dollar bill in the tooth’s place and, just a quickly, crept out of her room and down the hall.

He passed the office, and could hear Richie and Mike talking behind the closed door. His shoulders drooped, and he fought the desire to walk in there and demand Richie stop freaking himself out and come to bed. But Eddie had the sneaking suspicion Richie needed this, even if it was all bullshit.

And it had to be. It was bad enough they lived in a world where an ageless entity from space could terrorize children, erase their memories, and know their deepest fears. Eddie had to draw the line somewhere. Superheroes, magic, whatever, didn’t exist. His daughter was just that; his daughter. A little girl...with just an odd ability that had to have a somewhat rational explanation.

He opened his hand and gazed down at the tooth in his palm. He sighed, went to their closet, and found the leather travel bag. He unzipped it, took out the tiny jar, unscrewed the top and placed the tooth in it. He returned the jar and bag back to the closet. He still found it a somewhat creepy practice to keep their daughter’s baby teeth but Richie had insisted it was totally normal (“Besides, she can make a necklace out of them when she gets older, Eds!”).

Eddie closed the closet door and turned towards the bed. It looked terribly inviting. He was about halfway to collapsing in it when the door creaked open, and a little face peeked through.

“Tess?” he said softly. He headed to the door and opened it fully. “What are you doing up, sweetheart? It’s the middle of the night.”

“Daddy,” she whispered, her voice thin.

“What is it?” he asked, crouching down. “Did you have a bad dream?”

Her mouth fell open, and for a split second, Eddie thought she was about to vomit. Instead, she slumped, as if she was a marionette whose strings had just been cut. She remained standing, but her eyes dimmed and her body appeared boneless.

“Tess? Tess, answer me,” Eddie said firmly, gripping her little arms as cold fear gripped his heart. “Tess, sweetheart, look at me. Answer me.”

A great shuddering gasp escaped her and this time, her legs gave out fully. He gathered her into his arms and stood, repeating her name desperately.

“Daddy,” she repeated, slurring slightly and her head lolling, “Papa’s...get ‘im.”

“Tess, baby, just breathe with me and keep your eyes open, okay?” Eddie hurried to the office and kicked open the door. Richie jumped and immediately paled when he saw Tess languid in his arms.

“Oh, God, Tess, Tess,” he gasped, rushing up to his husband and daughter. “Tess, look at me, please, kiddo.” “Get your car keys, and wake Lydia, we’re taking her back to the hospital,” Eddie said, shifting her in his arms.

Tess turned her bleary gaze to Richie. She reached out for him.

“Papa,” she mumbled.

“I’m right here, baby,” Richie said, his voice thick, taking her little face in his shaking hands.

“You…” she shuddered, blinked, and all at once, was their daughter again, her eyes clear and her voice strong. She burst into tears. “You almost flew away!” she wailed, as she all but launched herself out of Eddie’s arms and threw her own around Richie’s neck. Both men stumbled.

“Tess, I…” Richie looked at Eddie over her head, his own eyes wide and frightened. “I’m right here. It’s okay, kiddo, I’m right here. Are you alright? Does your head hurt or something?”

“Don’t fly away,” she begged through tears.

“Hold her,” Eddie said and maneuvered her into Richie’s arms. “I’m starting the car. We’re going to the hospital.”

“What was that?” Richie demanded over Tess’s sobs. “Another seizure?”

“I don’t know what it was,” Eddie said. “But I’m not waiting for another one.”

Pennywise couldn’t have been all-knowing, Eddie realized, because if It had, It would’ve shown Eddie and Richie this—their daughter sedated and lying, helpless and vulnerable, on the table before the yawning mouth of an MRI machine. This was worse than the leper or Paul Bunyan’s grinning razor-sharp teeth; worse than losing your childhood memories—because now, now they were really fucking helpless.

“It’ll take about ten days before we get the results back,” the neurologist explained. “And she’ll definitely be feeling the effects of the sedation afterwards. She should spend the next twenty-four hours resting.”

“Neither of us are working today,” Eddie muttered, clutching the shitty, cold coffee a nurse had given him earlier. He glanced back at Richie, but he was clearly lost inside his own head and not listening. He was sitting in a seat against the wall as they waited for the procedure to finish. Lydia—poor, patient Lydia who had been woken up in the middle of the night and thrilled by the sight of a dollar bill on her night stand, only to be told to put on her shoes, they were going to the hospital—was curled up, asleep in his lap, his jacket around her protectively.

Eddie sighed and rubbed at his forehead. The MRI technician smiled sympathetically at him.

“I know it seems to take forever,” he said, “but we’re nearly done.”

Eddie nodded. He was familiar with the process, having gone through it when the migraines became too much. Myra had insisted on second and third opinions. Eddie clenched his eyes shut and shook his head. The idea of Tess waking up after an MRI only to have Myra, or worse, his mother, waiting for her turned his stomach.

“How can she sleep through all that banging?” Richie muttered suddenly. Eddie remembered that Richie had never even seen an MRI machine until now.

“It’s loud, I know,” the technician said gently, “but between the earplugs and sedation, she doesn’t notice a thing.”

If he had said that to make them feel better, it only did the opposite. Eddie stood and stepped towards Richie, brushing his husband’s hair off his forehead.

“You need a haircut,” he muttered.

Richie glanced up and somehow, smiled.

“That’s the least of what I need right now,” he sighed.

Eddie leaned down and kissed the top of his head, uncaring that the technician was less than three feet away. Richie smiled again and for a moment, Eddie thought that if he could keep Richie smiling, then maybe they could get through this.

Recovery rooms had always been Eddie’s least favorite part of a hospital. He hated the waiting, the fact that you were trapped with other patients, that you had virtually no privacy. But now, he especially hated that they were surrounded by other children and their families, all nervous and on-edge.

Tess was one of the lucky ones. She hadn’t gone through surgery, but the doctor still wanted her to sufficiently recoup from the sedation before she went home. Richie and Eddie were miserable.

Eddie sighed and shifted Lydia, still sleeping, in his arms. Richie had needed a break and also desperately wanted to hold Tess’s hand as she slept. Eddie remembered how despondent he had been when he had woken up after surgery in Derry, only to discover he was the one patient in the recovery room without any visitors waiting for him. It was only later that he discovered the doctors had not allowed a single Loser in, seeing as they were not family and not listed as an emergency contact. Luckily, Mike knew one of the nurses, and when Eddie was transferred back to his own room, they were all there, beaming at him—except for Richie,who still looked terrified, as if certain he was gazing at a mirage.

“She looks so tiny,” Richie suddenly whispered.

Eddie blinked and turned his gaze to his youngest daughter, her little chest rising and falling steadily. He nodded.

“Even tinier than when we first got her,” he agreed.

“She was underweight,” Richie continued, his thumb running over her little hand. “Remember how light she was?”

Eddie nodded again and rested his cheek on the top of Lydia’s head. He closed his eyes and immediately saw Tess in their doorway, hours earlier. He sighed.

“She looked like you,” he whispered. Richie turned towards him, confusion on his face. “During her seizure tonight. She looked like you when you were caught…” he lowered his voice, “when you were in the deadlights.”

Richie swallowed.

“Maybe that’s what she saw,” he replied quietly.

“The deadlights?”

“No, me,” Richie said, reaching with his other hand to stroke Tess’s hair. “She said, don’t fly away. Maybe she saw me in the deadlights, too.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Eddie noticed movement. He glanced over, and spotted a nurse hovering across the room, who quickly looked away. Eddie frowned. He doubted the nurse could overhear them, but he felt nervousness form in the pit of his stomach. Perhaps he was a fan of Richie’s, but surely no nurse would dare approach him in a recovery room, right?

“Eddie, that girl Mike told us about,” Richie whispered, his eyes wide, “I think you should read what he sent.”

“Rich, not now, please.”

“It sounds like...like this is real. She’s seeings things from before she was born. How is that possible?”

Eddie spotted the nurse again, who was making quite a show of reading a chart a few beds away. Eddie frowned.

“Can we at least wait for the MRI results before we jump to conclusions?” he begged.

Richie followed his gaze and spotted the hovering nurse, too. He swallowed and looked back down at their sleeping daughter.

“Alright, Eds,” he sighed. “Whatever you say.”

The next ten days went by in a blur of family visits and constant check-ins from the Losers. Apparently when a small child gets her brain scanned, it’s all hands on deck. Richie’s parents and sister babysat, brought food, and distracted the girls while Eddie and Richie walked around in a daze, waiting for the results that could potentially change their lives.

Mike Facetimed everyday, never bringing up any of his research, but simply listening. Bill, stuck in Europe with limited wifi on a movie shoot, sent goofy videos and uplifting emails when he could. Bev called multiple times a day and Ben fucking flew in, because he was just that sort of kind-hearted bastard.

“Bev can’t get away from work until Sunday,” he explained gently. The results were due to come in on Friday. “She wanted to be here.”

“It’s fine,” Richie said, faking a smile. “You guys are acting like this is a wedding. We’re just getting a bunch of paperwork telling us what the fuck is going on in our daughter’s brain. No big deal.”

Ben offered one of his patented You’re making jokes about being sad and that’s sad faces and Richie just shrugged.

“We’re glad you’re here,” Eddie admitted softly. “Besides, Lydia’s thrilled.”

“That’s true,” Richie said, “Lyds loves you, Ben. I think she wants you and Bev to adopt her.”

Ben laughed gently and ran a hand through his hair.

“Tess still needs to warm up to me,” he said.

“Tess still needs to warm up to me,” Richie shot back.

Eddie rolled his eyes.

“She adores you, Rich,” he said, brewing another pot of coffee. “She even lets you read to her now.”

“Yeah, Berenstain Bears, not Dr. Seuss,” Richie muttered. “I hate the fucking Berenstain Bears.”

Ben laughed and squeezed Richie’s shoulder affectionately.

“Having kids seems a lot more complicated than I thought,” he admitted.

“Trust me, man, you have no idea,” Richie said, scrubbing his hand over his face.

Friday came in a blink. Ben and Richie’s sister Sarah watched the girls while Richie and Eddie went to get the results. They drove together in tense silence, waited in the waiting room silently, and when they were finally called into the office, still said very little.

Later, Eddie would realize that for something that caused such overwhelming anxiety for so long, it was all very anticlimactic. The results showed nothing in Tess’s brain. Once again, the doctor insisted there was no physical reason for her apparent seizures. It was good news...right?

As they walked out, stunned and exhausted, both men were lost in their own thoughts. Eddie felt weak with relief but he still couldn’t get the image of his daughter in that MRI machine. Time to make another appointment with his therapist, he figured.

By the time he reached the door, he suddenly realized Richie was not beside him. He turned around and spotted Richie down the hall, hurrying after him.

“Where were you?” Eddie asked tiredly.

“Nowhere, nothing,” Richie said quickly. “Let’s go home.”

“Rich?”

“I wanna see the girls,” Richie continued, rushing through the doors.

Eddie sighed and shook his head, following his husband.

“But that’s good news!” Ben exclaimed when they got home. “Isn’t it?”

“It is,” Eddie said, running a hand through his hair. “I mean, she has nothing physically wrong in her brain so thank God. But we still don’t have clear answers.”

Sarah frowned and shook her head.

“There has to be one,” she insisted. “Did they talk about medication or anything?”

“A bit,” Eddie sighed. “I just...something about it feels wrong. I can’t explain it.”

“What does Richie think?” Ben asked.

“I...I don’t know,” Eddie admitted.

“Where is Richie?” Sarah asked, suddenly looking around her. She peeked into the living room where Lydia was playing with the Wii. “Lyds, did you see where your dad went?”

“I think he’s in Tess’s room,” she answered. “Aunt Sarah, it’s your turn to play. You promised.”

“I know but—”

“Please,” Lydia begged, putting on her best puppy dog eyes.

Sarah sighed but smiled affectionately. “Duty calls,” she said, and walked into the living room.

“I should go check on Richie,” Eddie said tiredly.

“Sure,” Ben said before placing his arm on Eddie’s shoulder. “Listen, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, but is there something else going on? Like, you and Richie don’t seem...yourselves.”

Eddie tried to offer a smile but Ben saw right through it. He looked genuinely concerned and Eddie had to admit, it was nice to have someone else worry, too.

“It’s fine, we’re just...figuring this out,” he admitted softly. “I’ll be right back.”

He walked down the hall and knocked on Tess’s half-opened door. He peeked in. Richie was sitting on her bed with Tess on his knee, speaking quietly to her.

“You two okay?” he asked.

“Eds, come here,” Richie said quickly. “And close the door.”

Eddie did so with a sense of unease. He stepped towards the bed and gazed down at his husband and daughter expectantly. Richie turned back to Tess.

“Now, kiddo, tell Daddy what you told me,” he said gently. “Just the same.”

“Okay,” Tess said, shrugging as she looked up at Eddie. “‘Member when I fell down?”

Eddie huffed a laugh.

“Yes, I definitely remember that, sweetheart,” he said.

“Well,” Tess began, fiddling with the hem of her shirt, “I fell because Papa fell and it hurted.”

“Papa fell?”

She nodded vigorously.

“Yep, he was flying,” she said. She turned back to Richie. “How come you don’t fly at home?”

Richie shook his head.

“Because I can’t really fly,” he admitted.

“But you did in the cave.”

“I wasn’t flying,” Richie explained gently. “I was floating.”

A wave of nausea rolled in Eddie’s stomach.

“Richie, stop this,” he insisted.

“Wait, listen, go on, Tess. Tell Daddy the rest.”

“Daddy saved you,” she said, shrugging. “And then Daddy got hurted. And you was sad but now it’s okay.”

“Yes, it’s all okay now,” Richie agreed, kissing her on her forehead. “Why did Daddy float?”

“‘Cause of the light. Aunt Bev saw it, too,” she answered nonchalantly. “Can I have a snack?”

“Of course you can,” Richie said happily, hugging her tightly before placing her on her feet. “Go on, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Ben are in the kitchen.”

She rushed out. Richie and Eddie stared at one another.

“You can’t deny it, Eds,” Richie said, his voice oddly light. “She sees our past. I don’t know how or why, but she does.”

Eddie swallowed and suddenly realized his hands were shaking. He closed them into fists.

“It?” he whispered.

Richie shook his head.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “This is something else. Like something you’re born with.”

“Richie…”

“And earlier, at the hospital, a nurse stopped me,” he said, standing and reaching into his pocket. “He was in the recovery room with us last week. I saw him looking over at us and I thought he was just being a dick but he heard us. He stopped me on our way out today and gave me this.”

He pulled a crumpled piece of paper out and handed it to Eddie. Eddie looked down at an unfamiliar name.

“What’s this supposed to be?” he asked.

“He said he used to work with this guy, he has what Tess has,” Richie said excitedly.

“For fuck’s sake,” Eddie sighed. “This could just be a crazy person. That nurse could be a crazy person.”

“His name is in one of the articles Mike sent us,” Richie insisted. “About that girl.”

“And? What are we supposed to do about it?”

“We can reach out to them.”

“No fucking way,” Eddie said, raisng his voice in shock. “You wanna read articles or look up theories on the Internet, fucking fine, but there is no way we are opening ourselves to some fucking lunatics. Especially when it comes to our daughter.”

“I’m not saying we introduce Tess to them, I’m saying we ask some questions.”

“Absolutely not,” Eddie hissed.

“So what do you want to do?” Richie asked angrily. “Wait around until this happens again? Throw some meds at her and hope for the best?”

Eddie threw his hands up and turned away.

“This is crazy, Rich, totally fucking crazy,” he gasped.

“Eds—”

A knock at the door. Ben stuck his head in.

“You guys want lunch or something?” Ben asked gently. “Tess and Lyds are hungry.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Richie said, taking a deep breath. “We’ll be right there.”

He nodded, gave a penetrating look at his two friends, and left. Richie stood and gazed down at Eddie, his eyes soft. He took Eddie’s face in his hands, caressing his cheekbones with this thumbs.

“We need to figure this out,” he whispered, “and I can’t do it alone.”

Eddie sighed, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded. He didn’t see Richie smile but he felt it in his kiss.

Life went back to normal—or as normal as it ever was in the Tozier household. Bev still offered to fly out but there wasn’t any point, so after thanking him profusely and offering to visit soon, Richie and Eddie sent Ben back home to his wife. He looked oddly reluctant to leave, but he hugged his two friends tightly and told them he loved them before his flight. Eddie caught Richie blinking rapidly before turning away.

Sarah still visited often, along with Richie’s mother, but they had their own responsibilities, too. And, as far as the medical world as concerned, Tess was physically fine.

Soon, they had less than a week until the new school year, and the Tozier family was busy. Last minute supplies had to be bought, schedules finalized, Tess reassured constantly about the safety and fun of preschool, and teachers informed about her seizures. The preschool took the information well, and assured them that they had plenty of experience with children with epilepsy. Richie and Eddie considered explaining that Tess did not have that, but let it go. Perhaps it was easier to pretend she had an ordinary diagnosis.

Lydia and Tess’s first days started together and, in an effort to make the preschool drop off as easy and meltdown-free as possible, Richie volunteered to take Tess alone. She’d still freak out but it wouldn’t be as violent if Eddie was there, they figured. Eddie agreed reluctantly. He hated the idea of his daughter breaking down at the front steps of the preschool, but he hated the idea of missing her first day even more.

“I’ll film everything,” Richie promised. “It’s only for half a day, anyway.”

Eddie nodded and finished packing her snacks and blanket. Lydia was practically vibrating with excitement, showing off her back to school outfits and re-organizing her Batman backpack. She was, both men had to admit, better at distracting and empowering Tess than they were. She spent their last day of summer vacation going on and on about the excitement of school, of how much fun she has with her friends and the nice teachers, and when Tess starts kindergarten next year, she’ll just love it.

Tess listened carefully and asked many questions. Lydia, always a fan of being in charge and all-knowing, was in her element. Eddie smiled and felt his heart twist as he watched his two daughters. Perhaps everything will be okay, he thought hopefully.

That night, he and Richie helped the girls wash up, change into their pjs, lay out their first day clothes, and climb into bed. Lydia needed very little encouragement and simply kissed them both good night before asking for her copy of Ramona Quimby, Age 8, and promising not to stay up late reading. They left her room, content in the knowledge that Lydia was quite fearless and adept at rolling with the punches.

In their younger daughter’s room, Richie tucked Tess into her bed, her night light on and her eyes heavy. Eddie brushed her hair from her face and she smiled sleepily.

“You’re going to have a great day tomorrow,” he said gently.

“Yeah, you’re going to have so much fun,” Richie agreed. “I can’t wait to hear all about it.”

Tess yawned.

“Yep,” she said, “a good day.”

“And you’re so smart and brave,” Richie continued. “You’re gonna blow everyone away tomorrow.”

“I know,” Tess replied, rubbing at her eye with the back of her hand. “‘M not scared. ‘M not scared of anything anymore.”

“Good,” Eddie said, impressed. Lydia should become a motivational speaker, he thought briefly. “You have nothing to be afraid of.”

“Nope,” Tess replied. “The nice girl showed me.”

Unease, like a blanket, fell over Richie and Eddie. They glanced at one another, both frozen. Richie licked his lips and swallowed before asking, “What girl?”

“The girl who visited me,” she yawned. “She showed me lots.”

“What did she show you?” Eddie whispered, terrified of the answer.

“Magic,” Tess replied, closing her eyes. “She says I’m magic, too.”

“Tess…”

She smiled as her breathing slowly evened out, and they knew she was falling asleep.

“She says I shine like her,” Tess whispered.