#jules being annoying on main

[tirednapentity]

Messy doodle because I am unwell about them rn

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Top 5 movies set in the present and top 5 period films :)

Hi!!! I got this ask and forgot every movie I have ever loved (and will probably remember them all as soon as I hit post). It also reminded me painfully of how inadequate my cinephile culture is; there are so many classics that I'm almost certain I will love if I watch them and that would deserve the spotlight so much!

So let's make these lists about interesting movies that I think are good as movies, and not think much if they are truly The BestTM. I'm also omitting Austen and other adaptations I already talk too much about.

"Contemporary films" (set in the present is a complicated concept. I'm picking them as "the narrative happens sometime contemporary to the movie's original release date"):

5. Music & Lyrics (2007):

This is technically a romantic comedy, but its strength relies on its love for music, its humor about the music industry, and a take on 80s nostalgia that is neither surrendered idealization nor complete mockery. It's one of the few movies where I actually like Hugh Grant, and the score is so well done! My one gripe really is that I think the movie would have been so much better if the leads have remained platonic? Sometimes I like to pretend they did.

4. Dead Man Walking (1995):

This is one of those serious, controversial movies professors pick for university discussions, in this case, the one about the death penalty. The movie tries (and I believe succeeds) to address without "solving" or dismissing the relationship between our horror at heinous crimes, justice for the victims and their pain, and the value of all human lives. Susan Sarandon is as always majestic in this one.

3. National Treasure (2004):

Tumblr loves National Treasure, but I love it specifically because to me it somehow captures the thrill, the exotic mystery (without gross Orientalization!) AND the nonsense of a classic Jules Verne novel -and Verne was one of the staples of my childhood- in a way that no Verne movie adaptation I have ever watched manages to capture.

2. State of Play (2009):

This one is mostly an excuse to cheat, because while the movie is a very solid political thriller (you know, one of those "you might enjoy even if you are not a fan of the genre), the original British TV series it is adapting is better. And both have great casts (Russell Crowe is probably more solid than Cal Macaffrey on the same role, but David Morrissey does a much better job than Ben Affleck. So, it goes both ways, you see).

Hot Fuzz (2007):

I have heard this one being called "the most intelligent stupid comedy ever made", and honestly, fitting description. I have joked before about this being my comfort movie and how funny that is because it is the gory story of a police officer being kicked out of his beloved job and sent into a town where everyone mocks and gaslights him and then the back end of the movie is a non-stop action sequence... but, listen, it is funny, it is, somehow, heart warming, you can tell everyone is having a ball, the editing is amazing, the pacing is just right, so many set ups and they all pay off, the story is satisfying, the characters -specially the main lead- are likeable, and their arcs also satisfying.

Period films:

5. Oscar (1991):

This is a very silly comedy set in the 30s, adapted from a play and you can tell, but it is a riot, and in my opinion one of the best Stallone roles ever. It makes me wish he had done more comedies in this style. It also has the always charming Marisa Tomei and the always welcome Tim Curry.

4. The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995)

Another instance of a movie where Hugh Grant does not annoy me, it's basically what says in the tin and the right kind of thing if you enjoy the typical British period drama of beautiful landscape, small town shenanigans and restrained romance.

3. The Mask of Zorro (1998):

Much of what I said about National Treasure applies here, except that it is not at all silly, and it has many moments of great pathos besides being a really good adventure/superhero movie.

2. To Walk Invisible (2016):

This is a biopic of the Brontë sisters, just covering their peak years of authorial activity, to trace a portrait of their personalities and life situation. While my knowledge of Bronteana is not super extensive, from the little I have read of them in general, plus Elizabeth Gaskell's The Life of Charlotte Brontë, I feel like this was carefully and lovingly done, without heavy editorializing or overdramatization (I'm staring at you, Emily (2022)), or pitting the sisters against each other. There's a scene of Emily reciting her poetry to Anne in the moors that just got me in the feels.

Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World (2003)

There are few genres I'm as disinterested in as war epics, and few movies I love as much as I love Master and Commander.

It was harmed by coming out the same year as The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, but it is, and what I'm going to say will sound blasphemous to some, the better movie of the two. It is a war epic, and a slice of life film. It's the story of a friendship between two very different men and the tensions their personalities and job at sea bring. The cast is top notch, down to child actors. Some of the production details are insane. They made rope specifically for this film because the way modern rope is turned doesn't fit well with old rigging techniques. The cast spent many days together at sea learning the basics of how to manage the ship and work in their ranks and the way sailors and officers would relate to each other. The immersion this all creates is also insane. The sound design was marvelous as well, and the score truly inspired (I want to kiss the person who picked Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis as one of the main features of a 2000s movie adapting a 20th century novel about the Napoleonic Wars, the same way 19th-20th century Ralph Vaughan Williams picked up a tune by a 16th century composer to do his thing, to establish this thematic connection between past and present and the ways we look at and make History).

If you watch only one movie on this list, watch this one. It's worth it.

Ask me my top5/top10 anything!

[wildflowercryptid]

Hope its okay if I ask about your versions of Florian and Juliana, thanks ^ _ ^

- Are they siblings?

- What are both their personalities?

- Were they actually raised in Paldea? The MC's in the game are implied to originally be from Galar so I was just wondering that

- Which storylines from the game are each the of them the main character of?

I'm so sorry if I've missed out an info sheet on them hhhhghg

Thank u again!

oh, it’s more than okay to ask about them! i actually really like talking about my interpretations of the pokémon characters, but i just struggle to articulate my ideas a lot of the time. or forget to share them. i’ve been meaning to drop lore for these two so i’ll do that now!

( putting the answers under a cut because i kinda ended up rambling. oops. )

are they siblings?

yes, they are! juliana is the older of the two, but they’re actually super close in age ( with jules not even being a year older than florian. ) because of that, they’re pretty close and sometimes get mistaken for twins. they still bicker and annoy each other like any other typical sibling relationship, but they respect each other a lot and consider each other their greatest confidant. their relationship kinda ends up paralleling carmine and kieran’s own dynamic as siblings, with juliana and florian seeing each other as equals while the same can’t really be said for carmine and kieran.

what are both of their personalities?

while they’re both pretty level-headed, juliana is definitely the more outgoing and confident of the two. florian is more of the reserved type, someone who typically keeps to himself and would much rather wait in the wings than be center stage, ( too bad he’s basically the major protagonist of the story. ) they’re both fairly friendly, but he struggles connecting with others more when compared to his sister. essentially, they’re kinda like a dialed-back version of mabel and dipper pines. florian generally is a very sweet and open-hearted kid who tries to see the best in others, which often leads to his kindness being taken advantage of and getting pushed around easily, ( i.e. carmine convincing him to keep the secret about ogerpon from kieran. ) because of that, juliana is a little protective of him and isn’t afraid to step in when he struggles to stand up for himself. and while she does like to be seen as reliable, that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t encourage florian to be more confident and advocate for himself more. he does end up growing more of a backbone during the timeskip, which makes her very proud. meanwhile, juliana is a lot more outspoken and doesn’t hold back when things need to be called out. she’s still just as compassionate as her brother and is extremely reliable, along with having a very strong moral compass. she definitely fills the cool, reliable older sister role pretty well.

were they actually raised in paldea?

they grew up in galar like what’s implied in canon, but the details are a little different. they’re actually paldean on their mother’s side, who was originally from cabo poco herself. their family decided to move from wyndon back to her hometown after their father lost his job at one of macro cosmos’s now defunct finance subsidiaries. luckily, he was able to land a new desk job in medali and now larry’s his boss. ( the two get along well, they talk about their kids during lunch breaks. )

which storylines from the game are each of them the main character of?

juliana takes on the victory road and starfell street storylines while florian tackles the path of legends and filling out the pokédex, with both of them coming together for the way home. initially, i conceptualized them as co-protagonists and they still kinda are… but florian has definitely taken on the role as primary protagonist with how much shit keeps on just happening to him. i would expand the specifics of how the path of legends plays out for florian and how his friendship with arven develops, but i’ve already rambled enough so i’ll try to talk about that in another post.

hope this answers all your questions and sorry if it's a little long, i've just gotten attached to these kids and have a lot to say about them.

if you have any other questions ( about the paldea kids or mjverse in general, ) please feel free to ask them! it might take me a sec to reply, but i'll try my best!

[grapebritain]

(to note, i haven't watched all of psych yet )

Like how i was speaking about in my last post, Shawn isn't just 'comfy in his sexuality' i don't think anyway. To me , it seems a lot more than that. Again, i could be projecting but I've seen a LOT of other people agree with the idea that Shawn spencer isn't 100 percent straight and i think ik why.

I think it's fine if straight guys make gay jokes ofc. ik i am technically bi myself, i do make a lot of gay jokes towards my friends and things and it is in no way romantically charged. Thing is, Shawn doesn't JUST make jokes in the show. sometimes he's 100 percent serious. To the viewer, the scene may be a joke, but the in world situation he isn't joking.

The main example i can think of is that one scene where Gus calls out the fact Shawn had a romantically charged dream about a fireman for example. Although it is, again a joke to us the viewer to giggle a little, you can see that Shawn starts getting very annoyed and serious about it , indicating that this dream he has was very likely a real thing that happened he didn't want Gus talking about everywhere which is just one of many questionable things i think that makes many viewers suspicious.

Also , bc i love me some Shassie, whenever Jules is romantically interested in someone else, Shawn starts acting a little bit flirtatious again towards Lassiter, like the episode where Gus is trapped in the bank he seems fairly glued to him most of the time when he can be.

I have nothing wrong at all with straight guys being comfy with their sexuality at all, but the way Shawn acts....idk there is something off with it that screams something else below the surface. I do think he likely has a female preference , bc obvs he is only ever seen dating women , but i don't think that makes him straight bc of it.

also just wanna add a final note that, i actually like how psych doesn't make sexuality the forefront of someone's personality for the most part, like Lassiter is pansexual but it isn't like....his ONLY trait, so i don't think i'd want the show 'more gay' or whatever. i just think it would be nice if they could confirm or smth that Shawn could be bi.

[eundiarys]

# THE WAY I LOVED YOU — short teaser

⊹ pairing — choi yeonjun x fem! reader.

⊹ warnings — mentions of getting injured/broken leg, not proofread sorry your girl is lazy

⊹ extended summary — not being to get over your highschool ex even after he broke your heart is horrible. it’s understandable though, especially since he was your first everything. but yn has decided that it’s time to get out of her shell and date again! lucky for her, there’s a perfect candidate for that as her company’s president son is head heels for her. but what if it doesn’t work? what if she still longs for the way he loved her? and what happens if he feels the same?

⊹ genre — fluff, angst, crack, socmed, non idol! au, academic rivals, enemies to lovers, highschool au (flashback), opposites attract, second chance romance, exes to lovers, etc.

SENIOR YEAR OF HIGHSCHOOL — 2018.

you walk back and forth infront of the room as you hesitated to enter. of course, with beomgyu just staring and quietly judging.

you were currently In front of yeonjun's hospital room, clutching the chocolates and a flower and feeling slightly guilty and unsure of your purpose for being here.

oh right, you “accidentally” kicked the ball too hard that it somehow got to choi yeonjun — and now he has a broken leg.

“gyu, can’t i do this tomorrow?”

“you said that yesterday. and the day before. and you also said the same thing the day before yesterday!”

“pretty please?”

“nope. that won’t work on me! now go!” beomgyu gives you a gentle nudge before shutting the door.

fine. i’ll go in. it’s my fault anyway….

in all honesty, do you feel bad? yes.

but do you regret it doing it? absolutely not. he’s just an arrogant competitive asshole!

after hesitating, you finally knocked on the damn door.

you thought yeonjun was the one who responded with the barely audible "you can come in!", so you entered.

“yeonjun? it’s yn!" as you set your presents on the side table, you shout softly.

“oh? yn?” a sweet voice responded. when you turned around, you see yeonjun who is glaring at you like crazy, next to mrs. choi, who was smiling at you warmly.

you had a small conversation with mrs choi, but after about 10 minutes she excused herself and said she had to meet a friend.

leaving you alone, with the devil.

you sat down beside him.

you’re quite enjoying this silence. you don’t think he is though.

“so… i heard jeon si-ah confessed to you.” you finally broke the silence between you too.

i mean, you’re the one visiting him in his hospital room anyway. He doesn’t have to say anything, and you were the one who wanted to come without him asking. so you should totally be the conversation starter!

“is that the main reason you came to see me? If yes, please get out. I liked it better when you were not talking.” he answered, making it visibly clear that he’s annoyed.

“don’t think like that.. it’s because i feel bad for kicking the ball too hard and somehow it ended right on your leg!”

“you sure that wasn’t just on purpose…?”

“100% sure. now, will you answer my question?”

“you didn’t even ask me a question.”

“come on, don’t be stupid! What do you think about Si-ah?”

he stayed silent for awhile. “she’s pretty, i guess.”

“you guess? bro, what else do you want? she’s rich and so are you, she’s pretty, has such a charming personality and —”

“she’s not you.”

you kept quiet. “what?”

“she isn’t you.”

NAVIGATE HERE! ‧₊˚ masterlist — next

© eundiarys 2023

jules notes 📝 LOL what do we think ???? feedbacks are VERY appreciated!!! enemies to lovers yeonjun HEKAKDHKAJA 😫😫 edit : did i forget someone why does the taglist look diffrent

taglist one ( open ) — @zuyairus @ddenoudepression @sserafimez @ox1-lovesick @reverbtunes @vernonweb @flwoie @ja4hyvn @xiaoderrrr @galaxyhalloes @j4y-lvr @taegyuul @trsrina @fairyytyunn @r7yu @taekwondoes @nshimura @pleasetellmenow @soobin-chois @jinsquishes @sakuzleaves @bomugf @ox1-lovesick @eulris @bunnystrm @haknom @txtbrainrot @bluebearybeom @cherriegyu @snowfalltxt @boba-beom @ihrtjun @hyeinszn

[mzannthropy]

“It’s really disgusting that Doss’ crazy adventures should have turned out like this. It makes one feel that there is no use in behaving properly."

I kinda see Olive's point here... oh dear, am I gonna be controversial again?

So, the way I see this book is that the real villain is not any person, but the clan's customs and traditions. I think all the members perform to some extent, but I don't think they're really bad people as a whole (I maintain that Uncle James is an abuser and Mrs Frederick ofc is an emotional manipulator with her silent treatment, though she's not a Stirling by birth, the rest are mostly boring or pompous or annoying, but nothing terrible). And I think Olive also performs, maybe more than the others, playing the role of the golden daughter, the perfect girl. The only other time we get Olive's POV, aside from this letter, is in the chapter when Barney is getting gas from Uncle Wellington while Olive's in the car. We learn that her fiance worries over insanity running in the family, and then she has an idea:

Wouldn’t it be splendid if she could induce the prodigal daughter to return?

She doesn't care about Valancy, she just wants to score points the the clan. Olive has followed all the rules correctly--yet Valancy, who has shamelessly broken them, gets to bag a Redfern heir and thus gains respect of the clan.

Natalie Lue talks a lot about performing and people pleasing on her Baggage Reclaim podcast and blog (which she doesn't update anymore, but there's plenty of material to read/listen to), I have previously shared an episode where she talked about the dark side of people pleasing--meaning that if you people please all your life, one day you're just gonna snap. It's essentially what happened with Valancy.

“I’ve been trying to please other people all my life and failed,” she said. “After this I shall please myself.

It's like that meme "are you tired of being nice, don't you just want to go apeshit?" I hope Olive and Cecil will be happy together, but it would also be interesting to see Olive, too, go apeshit.

Also, I have just remembered Clarissa Mao from the TV series The Expanse. She also did her best to be the perfect daughter of Jules-Pierre Mao (the Big Bad of the show), who favoured her rebellious younger sister Julie. One day it becomes too much and she goes berserk, trying to kill the main hero of the show. I really liked her character, though I never finished the show (maybe I'll go back to it).

[kibellah]

jules!!! 😈💗💖💗

i would absolutely love to learn about your bg3 oc & the choices they made throughout the story 💗🔥💗

idk too much about fallen hero but your character sounds so fucking epic 🥹

NAOMI 🫶💞💞🫶💞🫶

aahhh THANK YOUUUU <3 she is live laugh and loving her way through life!

🫴🏻 but let’s explore my beloved durge, florence 😈

she’s a red draconic sorcerer (everyone say thank you daddy bhaal for the magic)! her main party is shadowheart, astarion, and lae’zel.  florence and astarion were both guzzling down tadpoles the whole game, and shadowheart even joined in on the fun a little

 with her memory loss situation, she chalks it up to being cursed. so she decides good deeds = memory comes back. so she does all the "good" decisions in act 1, saving the grove, siding w the myconids, etc

she also sleeps with lae’zel and then at the party, she sleeps with astarion after he propositions her (she makes him say please first tho don’t worry). sex and romance weren’t really on her priority list, but she figures it doesn't hurt to have some people on her side in case she murders someone else LMAO

act 2 she's bit pissed that the curse hasn't been lifted yet but maybe murdering alfira in cold blood was a setback on the good deeds list, so gotta press on! 

when sceleritas visits her again in act 2 and tells her to kill isobel, florence is like wtffff. But then eureka💡. this must be the defining moment for her curse. she just has to not kill isobel and lift the shadow curse, then her own curse will be lifted

astarion and her make the deal with raphael to kill yurgir and so then astarion and her become official. so love wins (for now)

When shadowheart spares aylin and lae'zel turns against vlaakith, she’s like wow going against your god is so brave and awesome <- not going to get any kind of lesson from that

so act 3, and the bhaalspawn revelation, florence kinda goes into a tailspin but she did NOT see that coming at all. so she decides to avoid thinking about it and talking about it. She allies with gortash, blows up raphael with the runepowder bomb in the house of hope(rip)

ascends astarion bc well. powerful bf + killing 7k people at once? obviously bhaal would be proud (i like to think bhaal started playing i bet on losing dogs here and began to ponder why his spawn were all so fucking moronic) so astarion ascends and florence reluctantly agrees to become his spawn. bc it does sound kinda cool….but then he tells her to get on her knees and she breaks up with him (she can excuse sacrificing 7k people but she draws the line at getting on her knees). i hc they continue to have a weird on and off again thing that annoys everyone else at camp

she embraces bhaal bc she doesn't have much else going on and also she's terrified to say no. rip jaheria and minsc <3

and of course at the defining moment at the netherbrain, she realizes that she can't go through with this killing everyone business😭😭so she destroys the brain. at the docks, she takes her own life so she doesn't have to deal with bhaal's punishment

fly high florence🕊️ astarion will be exploiting your memory for centuries i'm sure

[monsterrae1]

20 Questions for fic Writers!

Thanks for the tag! @exhuastedpigeon

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

62!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

702,474 💀

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Buddie and sterek atm; but i have an outline for an andreil fic I promised to April and a Jo/Jules fic I also need to figure out for her

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Till now I always got by on my own (I never really cared until I met you)

You’re not my homeland anymore (so, what I defending now)

You’re on your own kid (you always have been)

Mark me like a bloodstain

Suddenly thunder and everything’s changed

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I just think it’s nice to give thanks back to people who read my fics 🖤

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I would say “I should go and find myself (before I ruin someone else)” because while the main Buck/Eddie had a happy ending, other Eddie was left all alone.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Mm probably “break my heart (or bring it back to life)”? Idk it’s the one that came to mind

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really? Mostly annoying comments here and there but I wouldn’t say hate

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yeah, I’m pretty meh with my smut, nothing too exciting. Except for the monsterfucking 😌

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Nope!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah! My very first buddie fic got translated to Russian, and currently Till now is being translated to French.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet, but April and I keep talking about collabing.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Sterek, the brainrot is just as strong as it was 10 years ago 😂

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

My stucky gifted AU 🪦

16. What are your writing strengths?

Emotional scenes I think? Bringing emotions to the page

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Fucking dialogue

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

If it makes sense for the characters, sure why not

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Jonas brothers 😂

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

You can’t make me choose (it’s till now)

Tagging if they wanna do this @adiazhalloween @loserdiaz @hoodie-buck @buddierights @prettyboybuckley @rogerzsteven @heartshapedvows @eddiebabygirldiaz @housewifebuck @elvensorceress @the-likesofus @spaceprincessem @spotsandsocks @shortsighted-owl @hippolotamus @disasterbuckdiaz @mysteriouslyyounggalaxy @jesuisici33 @folk-fae @underwater-ninja-13 @honestlydarkprincess @bigfootsmom @giddyupbuck and whoever else wants to do this!

[lostfirefly]

You’ve Got the Same Dream as Me (Ch.8)

Hello, kiddos! The idea for this fanfic came to me from a dream (again) I had about a month ago. Тhe main characters were T. Cruise & H.Cavill (don't ask me why), but with a light hand they have been replaced. The main action of the dream took place somewhere in the sands. Аlthough this fanfic will feature Sir Crocodile and our beloved Buggy, the action shifts to the desert. No marines, ships etc. The devil fruit's abilities are preserved. Catch the Mummy and Indiana Jones vibes :) Different titles and names from the original source material will be used to emphasise the general OP's vibe.

Since English is not my native language, errors may occur. As always, feel free to share your thoughts :) 

And thank you to my dear @yujo-nishimura and @laurasoretta for believing in me :)

Description: Catherine, a librarian who is searching for the trail of her sister who went missing on an expedition. Notes in books and diaries lead her to Cairo. There she finds a retailer from an artifact shop who, in exchange for selling her a map and equipment, insists that Catherine take her along. They get into a little (or maybe a big) adventure.. 

Warnings: Catherine is still angry about the phrase Buggy said in Ch. 7 (he's a vulnerable idiot). That's why she can be a little annoying. F words. Croco x OC are two assholes. Adventures and fun are still here. Buggy x OC, Sir Crocodile x OC. Hope you enjoy it!

Words: 3262 (omg!)

The title is taken from «You've Got the Same Dream as Me» (Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinelli) (One Piece, Netflix)

Taglist: @gingernut1314

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

• Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

"Oh, hi, sister!"

"Oh, hi, sister? Jules, are you fucking kidding me? You’ve been missing for almost two months, I come looking for you, and all you can say is, "oh, hi, sister"? Catherine could hardly contain her anger and slowly approached Jules. "What are you doing here? And why are you with the beehive?"

"Well, after breaking up with Pete, I decided to go on an expedition to clear my head.. There I met a man with a funny haircut in the shape of a three. He offered me an interesting case and good money. And this nice man is his boss", brown-haired girl said with a smile. 

"Oh, God! Could you please shut up?" Rika said with annoyance. She walked up to Jules and pushed her towards Catherine. "Welcome to the team of misfits."

"Heeey", Jules squealed.

"All right, ladies and the clown. Enough of this chit-chat and all this drama. Now you put your brains together, if you have them, read your maps, your diaries, and tell us where we're going next." 

Crocodile approached Rika. 

"You've done a great job, my love. Look and learn, clown, what kind of woman you should choose", Crocodile said with a sneer and kissed Rika again eagerly.

"Thank you! But I want to remind you that you hurt me at that old man's house," Rika returned the kiss. 

"It's still ew", Catherine said with disgust.

"Oh, fuck! You've tired me out this week," Rika stopped kissing Crocodile, approached Catherine and grabbed her shoulder. "You know how many times I wanted to punch you in your pretty face, so you'd finally shut up. Now be a good girl, go back to your loser's place and do what you've just been told."

"And when did you have time to contact Crocodile, Rika?" Buggy asked, taking Catherine’s hand and leading her behind him.

"About a month ago, why? Do you feel bad about me not being with you or something? No, thanks. I found the real man."

"Hell, please, no. Just curious. I don't understand why you need me."

"Oh, are you trying to sneak out, my clown boy? Well, somebody had to get us in here. Crocodile doesn’t know the exact way, and you've been here before, albeit from the other side, and you have our box. Plus, I knew you'd fall for the treasure and, obviously, the girl. So. Sorry, buddy."

"Will someone tell me what's going on here?" suddenly asked Jules and glanced at Buggy, "and who are you?"

"They are," Catherine pointed at Crocodile and Rika, "two bastards. And that brown-haired bitch I met at the airport. She gave me a flight ticket. And he..."

"What do you mean, she gave you the ticket?" Buggy interrupted Catherine and looked at her in surprise. "Did you just take the fucking ticket out of that girl's hand? Did you really think a random stranger would just give it to you?"

"Well...," she looked at him with round eyes and shrugged.

"God, you're even dumber than I am," he rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Oh, yeah! And this is coming from the 'I don't need a plan' person," Catherine mocked Buggy, standing behind his back.

"That's enough!" Crocodile stepped closer to them. "Listen, clown. Please tell your girl and her sister to tell us where we need to go. Otherwise…"

He grabbed Jules with his hook.

"Okay, okay!" Catherine said, "I'll do what you want. Just don't touch her". 

"Catherine, don't!" Buggy hissed.

"I’m not gonna let some guy with the hook hurt my sister or you," - she said in a whisper and blushed slightly. "Come on, Jules. Let's take a look at the map". 

"Good girls. Laura, honey, stand next to that fucking clown. He's got powers and he could easily make a run for it," Crocodile sat on the floor and lit a cigar. 

"As you wish, boss."

Catherine and Jules sat on the cold rocks, shining flashlights on the map and diary entries. A light breeze walked through the space. They spent a long time going over the pages with their hands.

"Look," Catherine pointed to the coordinates in the diary. "We were here, here, and here. I think we're here now, right? The map’s drawn the path."

"First of all, I'm shocked at what's happening. What's going on? Second of all, what do you mean, the map's drawn a path? And third," Jules smiled wryly, "who's that guy with the red nose?"

"Fuck! I'm begging you, let's first get out of this fucking cave or wherever we are now. This is all your fault. If you hadn't disappeared, I wouldn't have come here and I'd be sitting at home with coffee right now, and everything would be fine." 

"Hey, I apologize for interrupting your family drama, but did you find anything?" Buggy squatted down next to them.

"Not yet. Why are you asking? Oh, you're worried you're gonna miss out on the treasure now? And then you can't get a girl for one night at the bar?" Catherine mumbled, turning the pages.

"Why are you so mad?" he asked in surprise.

"I'm not... I don't care about you and your late-sex life, actually. You could go out and fuck every girl in town in one night."

"Oh, wow, right to the heart!" he exclaimed in a mocking tone, but he changed it quickly. "Hey, listen. About what I said.. I want to ap--"

"How much longer are you going to suffer bullshit?" Crocodile asked with annoyance. "Any news?"

"Don't yell at me, the beehive! No upd.. Uh, wait. Buggy, hold the flashlight, please", Catherine ran her hand over the sheets and mumbled something to herself. "Hey, the hook man. Do you have the book with you?"

"Of course. Laura, give it to her," Crocodile said with a low voice.

Laura went to the bag, pulled out the book and handed it to Catherine. 

"Thank you, bitch," Catherine barked.

Reconciling the entries in the book and in her diary, Catherine continued to mutter something to herself and surveyed the space. She ran the fingers of one hand over the pages, the other hand drawing some shapes in the air. 

"What is she doing?" Jules asked Buggy with a whisper.

"I have no idea, I thought you knew. She’s your sister."

Rika and Crocodile watched Catherine's strange movements intently. 

"I got it!" - Catherine jumped up abruptly, grabbing the book and diaries and walked quickly forward. "Jules, look at the map. Are there any changes now?"

"I see nothing," Jules said, looking closely at the map. 

"Honey, you'd better tell us where to go next," Crocodile walked over to Catherine and took her firmly by the neck.

"Hey, let her go," Buggy walked over to Crocodile.

"Or what? All right, I can't cut you. But I can cut her. I can cut her sister. Or kill. You're not in a very good position right now, clown. So, save your heroics for some petty squabbling amongst lowlifes like you."

"You can threaten me as much as you want, I don't give a shit about it. But if you lay one finger or your hook on either of them…"

"Then what? Are you gonna kill me?" at that moment, Crocodile's hand began to turn to sand.

"Stop! Please!" Catherine took Buggy's hand and gave him a hard look. "It's okay. I’m fine. Anyway, the beehive, I have bad news for you. The map is useless now until we get out of here. It only points the way in daylight and, as I understand it, in direct sunlight. So, we'll follow the path where the road is drawn now, and if there's nothing further, we'll go blind."

Rika came over to Jules and looked at the map.

"I hate to break it to you, my love, but that bitch is right. So far, the path's partially drawn. I don't know why the fucking thing didn't draw it all the way through. You're not so stupid, are you, Catherine?"

Catherine rolled her eyes and started packing.

"What was that? His hand turned to sand. And what does that big man mean when he said he can't cut that guy?" she asked with horror in her voice.

"Ah, it's a side effect of the devil fruit," Catherine waved her hand, "I'll tell you later."

⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥫⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭⥭

They walked along the winding rocky paths for over an hour, lighting the way with torches. The wind continued to blow through the cave, bringing smells of damp and rot. 

"God, I don't want to die in a cave and lie here like some pharaoh", Jules muttered to herself, shifting her feet heavily, "And at first that man with the hook seemed so nice."

"Bastards always seem nice at first. Don't they, Buggy?" Catherine cast a glance at the clown and adjusted her bag.

"If you have a problem with me, cotton candy, just say so," he said in a surprisingly calm tone.

"I don't have a problem with you, and I don't want to talk to you," she snapped.

Jules looked at them questioningly. 

"But you keep doing it, Cathie-pie", he said with a slight irony in his voice. "One minute you're mad at me, and the next..."

"Shut up, please, I hate you," she interrupted him with a quiet growl. "Shit, if you knew how much you piss me off, silly clown, I'd.... Ouch!"

Catherine didn't realize she'd hit a stone wall. 

"What the hell?" she touched the space in front of her. 

"Are you okay?" Buggy put his hand on her back.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine... But..."

"What happened?" Crocodile's voice came from behind her. "Where are we?"

"I don't know...," Catherine shone the torch on the wall. "We couldn't have lost our way. We could have taken a wrong turn… in theory... There are a million paths."

"We could have taken a wrong turn, huh? Are you kidding me?" Rika took two big steps and grabbed Catherine's arm. "I swear to God, I'll rip your head off if you take us down the wrong path."

"Get your crocodile hands off me!" Catherine tried to throw off Rika’s hand. "We're in a bloody ancient cave in the middle of Egypt. You think there's only one way in a cave like this? I’m really sorry that it's not lit up like a fucking highway. Just give me a minute. Jules, the map!"

Rika let go of Сatherine's hand and continued to stand by her side.

"That's why I love you, baby. For your temper," Crocodile walked over to Rika and put his arm around her waist. 

"It’s still ew, by the way," Catherine snorted and stared at the map. "Jules, the diary! Buggy, please, hold the torch. One more riddle is written here..."

Check the wall, and touch the floor, 

It can help to open the door. 

You'll be helped by a pillar of fire.

Just take it up a notch higher.

"And what does it mean?" Crocodile asked. 

"Well, you're supposed to be the smartest guy here, so think about it", Catherine said mockingly.

"I'm sick of you!" Crocodile hissed. "Laura, I think our redheaded smarty-pants is a little out of touch. Maybe a gun would help. Will you please point that pretty thing at her little sister?" 

Laura took out a gun, cocked the slide and put it to Jules' temple. 

"You’re truly a piece of shit," Catherine whispered. "If the four of you want to get to the treasure, shooting somewhere in the dungeon is not recommended. You'll turn to sand and escape, the clown will fall to pieces and escape too, and the four of us will be crushed by something heavy. No offense, but that's not how I pictured my demise."

"Very funny, yes," Crocodile grinned. "Now go to your blue-haired friend and open the door."

"Check the wall, and touch the floor.. a pillar of fire. Jules, Buggy, obviously, we need to check the walls and floor with the torch or the flashlight, there must be some clues there," Catherine said this with undisguised admiration. 

"I think you're beginning to like this whole treasure hunting thing," Buggy said with a grin.

"No, I just want to go home and be away from you," Catherine tried to sound serious. 

With the torch, Jules and Buggy lit every millimetre of the wall. Catherine sat on her knees and ran her hands over the floor. 

“You know, Crocodile, I know you're kind of mafia, but maybe you could help. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner you can get your gold”, Catherine said, probing the stone tiles in the darkness. “Check those rocks you're standing on, please.”

Crocodile snorted. Rika nodded her head slightly and they began to check the floor beneath them. 

"There are some drawings here," Rika said.

"Yeah, and there are some on the wall, too," Jules mumbled. 

Catherine sat down on the stone floor, Crocodile sat next to her. They both stared at the book. Rika and Buggy watched them both warily.

"Look, the hook, you see, one of the slabs in the book is marked with a sign. That's how the ancient Egyptians labelled something like a button, if I'm not mistaken."

"Buttons? To what?" Crocodile looked at Catherine questioningly.

"I don't know. Maybe it's your treasure behind the door, maybe it's sarcophagi with mummies or a bunch of man-eating scarabs. But you see, there's a drawing here. It's a diagram. We have to click on the pictures on the wall and the floor in the right order, I guess... But we need to find some kind of lever that activates it all."

"And if we press in the wrong order, then what?" Crocodile asked in a quiet voice.  

"Well, then we have a good chance of turning into mummies, and in a few hundred years local kids will be scared with scary stories about us." Catherine said, barely containing a nervous laugh. "Yes, I've always dreamed of dying next to the sandman and the clown."

Crocodile stood up and offered Catherine his hand. 

"Thanks, I guess," she said with surprise in her voice. "Okay, guys, we need to find a lever, a big button or something..."

Catherine and Crocodile continued to look at the book and diary while Laura, Rika, Buggy and Jules were exanimating the walls and floor. 

"People, there's another sign here," Laura said, lighting an obscure symbol with her torch.

"Wait, that's...," Catherine sat down next to her, "it's Seth's sign."

"How is Seth?" Crocodile asked.

"God, сome on! You're in Egypt. It's an Egyptian god."

"Then what do these symbols mean?" Jules' voice came from the wall. 

Catherine approached her. 

"Jules, sister, hold the book. Buggy, hold the torch and the diary," she began to run her hands over the wall and the pages again, muttering something to herself. 

"Anything?" Rika asked, coming up behind her. 

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, don't distract me," Catherine waved her hand away. "Guys, I get it. Look, these aren't just symbols. It's a puzzle. But not just a puzzle, a puzzle of myth. And a note that says "Beware of Seth".

"What myth?" Buggy asked in surprise.

"Osiris and Isis," Catherine said affirmatively.

"And what's it about?" Laura asked and Rika said together.

"Come on! Seth killed Osiris, Isis' husband, chopped him up and hid him in different places. Buggy, by the way, if you bother me, I'll do the same to you," she said with a slight smile.

"I'm sorry, what?" he raised his eyebrows. 

"Isis went in search of her husband's parts. The symbols on the wall and floor match the ones in the book. And if you look in the diary, you'll know in what order to press the buttons." 

"But what does this have to do with Seth?" Laura asked. "You know, I don't know much about all these Egyptian myths, but it seems to me that if something is mentioned in the text, you should take it into account." 

"Seth is the god of storms and deserts, that doesn't make sense," Jules said.

"But he was also considered the god of deception," Catherine whispered. "We need to press these slabs in reverse order. We have to find the lever and then start this infernal mythological machine." 

"There's something like a wheel in here, but to be honest, I don't really want to touch it," Jules said with excitement in her voice, pointing to a small object. 

Crocodile and Buggy approached the wheel. Turning it a few times they both looked round.

"And now what?" Crocodile asked.

Catherine looked at the book and started pointing with her hand. 

"Now we have to press the slabs in reverse order, that's what Laura, you over here, Jules, you over here, Rika, you on that slab, you two stand over there at those two slabs closer together. Just in case there's a door, of course."

She sat down on the ground, put the book next to her, and started rambling again. 

-Feet.. Arms... Body... Arms... Legs. Okay, first brown-haired bitch Rika. Then Jules. No, no, no, no.. first Laura. Then Rika. Then Jules. Then beehive. Then Buggy."

In that order, everyone pressed the slabs. 

"And what? Nothing happens. Are you sure you got it right?" Buggy asked with a distinct annoyance in his voice. 

"I-I.. I don't know, I hope so."

"If you decided to trick us...," Rika moved with a quick step towards Catherine.

Suddenly they heard a strange noise and the floor started to wobble. 

"Please tell me it was you who ran so hard," Catherine said with fear in her voice, getting up from the floor. "Oh-oh, that's not good." 

Slowly the walls began to fall down. The floor began to move more and more. 

"What's with the door?" Rika shouted.

"It won't open," Jules hit the wall with her hand. 

"Oh-oh, that's too bad!" Catherine looked around, dazed with shock. 

"Are you sure you read it right?" shouted Crocodile.

"Do you really have to ask that now?" Catherine yelled back. 

The heavy stone door began to open slowly. Crocodile and Buggy tried to pull it to move it, but to no avail.

"Yes! Yes! It's opening!! Hurry!" Jules took Laura's hand, and they slipped through the narrow passage.

"Catherine, hurry!" Rika grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the door. 

The floor began to slowly collapse. From the bottom of the cave came the muffled sounds of stone hitting stone. Catherine noticed the book that had been left on the floor.

"The book!" she broke free of Rika's grip and ran to get it. 

"Rika!" Crocodile turned into sand and picked Rika up. 

"Oh, Catherine, this was a bad idea. That's the dumbest idea ever," she muttered to herself as she watched the floor fall down in bigger and bigger chunks. 

Suddenly, she felt someone pick her up and book.

"You will be the death of me, cotton candy!" Buggy's flying torso threw her on his shoulder and carried her to the door. 

"Damn you and your chop chop abilities," she said, exhaling as she watched the remnants of the floor fall into the abyss of the cave. 

As soon as everyone was behind the door, it closed. 

"Is everyone alive?" Rika asked, lighting a torch from the wall.

"I think so," Laura and Jules squeaked in unison somewhere. 

Buggy lowered Catherine to the ground and put his body back on his feet. She looked around.

"Well. I have two bits of news. One, we're all alive. The second is that the way back is cut off".

[cannibalindsm]

Hi to the 3 Kurt Stachler fans that exist I wrote an extremely unprofessional “essay” (word-vomit) on him and his character and am finally posting it for all to see.

Read it HERE!!! Under the cut

Kurt Stachler is an extremely important yet extremely underutilized character in Kaze to Ki no Uta. His main purpose in the series is to be the comedic relief, as Kazeki is a very serious and heartbreaking manga. There's no harm in having a character used for comedic relief, but with Kurt's writing, and the importance he has in the series, having him solely be the "funny guy" causes him to fall short, as Keiko never expands upon him as a character and keeps him as comedy even after he plays one of the single most pivotal roles. The other minor characters, such as Carl, Pascale, Rosemarine and even Jules all get mini-arcs expanding upon their characters and motivations, the exceptions being Kurt and Nekka, and while both characters had their potential, I will be focusing on Kurt. Part of me believes that Kurt was boiled down to such a 1-dimensional is due to his size. Kurt is drawn to be a bit bigger than the other characters, who are all drawn in your typical thin anime body type. Even then, Kurt's body type fluctuates as the series goes on to make him look thinner than originally intended. The main reason I think this way is due to:

The Funny Fat Friend Trope.

The Fat Best Friend trope is a (annoying) common trope in media where the main character, in this case Serge, has a friend who is not conventionally skinny that only exists for the sole reason to be funny for the main character. They are a sidekick and oftentimes not fleshed out. Kurt 100% fits into this trope, but breaks away from it in certain scenes when he becomes relevant to the plot. However, when he is relevant, he is drawn thinner in certain scenes.

As I said before, there is nothing wrong with having a character written in to be comedic relief. Nor do I believe that the "fat funny friend" trope is bad in every piece of media , for example in certain medias that focus on satirical comedy where EVERY character is a stereotype can utilize this trope to where it doesn't come off as hurtful, the main difference there being that in these comedies - as mentioned before - EVERY character is based off something trope-y, no one is singled out. Kaze to Ki no Uta is NOT a comedy, and that's where the series falls short with handling Kurt. Having characters that are the comedic relief AND have issues is not impossible to write and having a funny person have issues doesn't make them less funny, but instead, makes them more human.

But what ARE some of Kurt's "issues" if any? He's impulsive and easily irritable, he struggles with jealousy (he is even called out for it at one point) and seemingly has some sort of issue with attachment and abandonment. There are all of these character points that are brushed off to the side or are treated as some sort of joke due to the fact Kurt HAS to be "the funny one." There's no chance for him to be explored on a deeper level because of the preconceived notion that the funny guys can't have struggles. Normally, this would not be a huge issue, as he IS a side character, but as mentioned before, Carl and Pascale are fleshed out and explored on a deeper level. Pascale is a wonderful example how a character can be funny and have deep-rooted flaws and issues, yet Kurt remains the one who "can't have issues."

Aside from his issues, Kurt has his personality strengths as well, which are ALSO under-explored due to the aforementioned FFF trope. Kurt is a very determined person when it comes to maintaining friendships, he's not one to leave someone alone. Even after he had his fight with Serge, he came back to check on him after learning he was hurt despite being upset with him. He's protective and is someone who doesn't go back on promises he's made (said by himself) Hell, being funny in times of struggle can ALSO be one of his strengths, IF it was balanced out with the rest of his writing.

In this section I will be expanding upon WHY Kurt plays an important role in the series and without him, some of the most important events could not have been possible.

In the beginning of the series Kurt holds disdain toward Gilbert but loves spending time with Serge, which is conflicting for him. His friend is important to him, but his homophobic ass does NOT like Gilbert, but as mentioned before, Kurt isn't the type of person to drop someone over him not liking someone else. He stays friends with Serge and in turn, begins warming up to Gilbert, and is even implied to have a small crush on him (see Kurt 119). BUT EVEN BEFORE THAT, even WITH his hatred of Gilbert, he was never one to go out of his way to attack Gilbert. During the scene where Jack (NOT Jack Dren, different Jack) is trying to force Gilbert to stick his hand in the fire, Kurt is one of the people who is AGAINST Jack bullying him. No, Kurt doesn't like Gilbert, but he doesn't want him to get hurt at the hands of others either. **Keep in mind that at this point in the series, Kurt had NO IDEA why Gilbert acted the way he did. He only knew that Gilbert seduced lots of people.

The ONE TIME where Kurt attacks Gilbert is during the Arles arc when Serge says he's going to leave to go back to Gilbert. Kurt gets upset and claim that Serge is "crazy about that dirty f-ggot!" Which results in the two physically fighting and Kurt walking off with Nekka out of anger.

THIS SCENE IS VERY INTERESTING!!!

In this time, nothing between Serge and Gilbert had been made official. Serge still wasn't even sure how he felt about Gilbert until AFTER Kurt suggested him being in love with Gilbert, which I assume was a joke made by Kurt (literally the 1880s equivalent of calling your friends gay as a joke). To Kurt, Serge is just simply friends with both him AND Gilbert. Serge had agreed to go to Arles with them, Gilbert was invited but declined. To Kurt, this was time to spend with a new friend and this wouldn't have changed much if Gilbert was there or not, either way, they were hanging out together. After Serge said he was going to leave Arles to find Gilbert, Kurt takes this as Serge playing favorites. Gilbert HAD the option to go with them, but he CHOSE not to, and now Serge was choosing Gilbert over the people he already agreed to spend time with. Kurt had already been established as a bit jealous, and this hurt him!!! The reason Kurt even called Gilbert a "dirty f-ggot" was him lashing out due to his own jealousy and hurt feelings, no it's not something to condone, but at the same time he's a 14 year old who believes that one of his friends just indirectly said Gilbert was more worth Serge's time, that hurts!! Kurt had NO IDEA Serge's feelings towards Gilbert, if Kurt was given the context and DID know about his feelings, I truly believe the Arles fight would not have happened at all.

After the fight in Arles there's a brief scene where Kurt and Serge glare at each other before walking away, where you can see that Kurt is eating one singular apple. Dude please eat something more, but other than that, this scene isn't relevant. I just want him to eat a Happy Meal or something.

At one point, during the time Kurt and Serge aren't talking, Serge ends up getting hurt and is bedridden for a bit. In this time, even while Kurt is supposedly mad at him, he takes his time Serge to make sure he's okay. He's NOT that petty and still sees Serge as a friend even after he was hurt.

After the Arles Fight, Kurt isn't relevant for a while, but he is shown to have warmed up to Gilbert. His disdain is shown less and less and he's seen more with the friend group where Gilbert IS included. He makes jokes and spends time with his friends and this time Gilbert is included in the antics. Gilbert isn't 100% sold on spending time with everyone, so these scenes are brief but it's important to note that Kurt and Gilbert's relationship is NOT as rocky as before, AND his relationship with Serge is back to normal. They're friends again!!

It's volume 11 where Kurt gains relevance again. Gilbert is beginning to spend more time with the group and the rest of the group is also trying to make him feel more included. Overall, their friendship goes from disdain to good friends very smoothly and naturally while also being something happy!! Which. Lord knows Gilbert needs some happiness.

BUT THEN THERE’S ADAM.

The entire deal with Adam in a nutshell is that he wants to hurt Serge, Gilbert uses his body to prevent this from happening. At first this entire ordeal is a secret, then somehow Serge learns the reality of the situation and want to do whatever he can to stop this. The plan is for the pair to run away somewhere away from Adam and Lacomblade for good. Adam hate club.

NO ONE is happy about Adam and in this arc. NO ONE. Though when Kurt learns that Serge wants his help with running away, he's hesitant because Gilbert is used to running away without being punished, but if Kurt was found out, he WOULD be punished, and he wasn't interested in that. That is, until, Serge explains WHY they want to run away and Kurt ends up changing his mind. He loves his friends and hates seeing them hurt, he wants this to escape even if it means he wasn't going to see them again.

THE FIRST PART OF THE PLAN, Kurt comes up with the idea that he'll take Serge's place during roll call in the morning so that Serge can go get phase 1 of the runaway complete (i forgot what it was, but oh well this is about kurt). According to Kurt and Serge, they have similar voices, he could say "here" for Serge behind the door so it appeared as if he was present, THIS ALSO MEANS Kurt was taking the fall at his own attendance expense. This SMALL detail is just another subtle way of showing how deeply Kurt cares for his friends and the lengths he's willing to go for them.

After phase 1, there's a break in the plan where we get MORE HAPPY CONTENT!!! A lot of the Kurt moments are very slice-of-lifey. He mentions missing Serge's stories and jokingly fights with Pascale. Everyone celebrates Gilbert's birthday and Kurt even gets him a frog as a gift since Gilbert mentioned liking animals. It's very cutesy and fun and is a nice way to show the friendship dynamic between the side characters.

Now, during the entire Escape Plan Arc, Kurt acts as a self proclaimed "bodyguard" to Serge and Gilbert whenever he's around. He makes it a point to stay with them as long as he can so that, if something happens, he'll be there. When Serge gets his arm hurt by Adam and is then subsequently insulted, Kurt is FUCKING PISSED and his first thought is to immediately to physically fight the guy (he doesn't but i digress). The Adam Arc is where Kazeki REALLY shows how much he loves his friends and how much he's willing to do to protect them, even if his protectiveness is shown in a comedic way (see Kurt 222). There's even a point where he's "put in charge" of Gilbert, bringing him to class, making sure he's okay, things like that.

THE SECOND PART OF THE PLAN. The actual escape plan route needs to be scoped out and Kurt volunteers to do this. He does this by literally going through the fucking sewer to find places that will be out of sight from the watchful eye of Rosemarine. Holy shit the dedication.

Remember how he was put in charge of Gilbert? Yeah. Well, he forgets his Bible in his room at one point and has to go back and get it, and in those moments where Kurt was gone, Adam got to Gilbert again. Which FIRST OF ALL, I'm killing Adam. BUT SECOND OF ALL, this shows how much of a threat this little shit was being. Adam was still willing to be gross with Serge around, but he never got close when Kurt was around. Kurt was ready to KILL.

Speaking of kill, he really IS willing to do so after he learns what happened with Adam while he was gone getting his Bible (see Kurt 237). He's absolutely PISSED OFF. I think this is a big moment as it shows just how much Kurts feelings have changed towards Gilbert. He went from someone who held disdain towards Gilbert but ultimately remained a disapproving bystander when he was being mistreated, to a friend who was willing to threaten anyone who hurt not just Gilbert, but ANY of his friends, even if that means putting himself at risk.

He's not JUST the guy willing to beat people up. He shows kindness through other ways, he makes tea, he continuously checks up on Serge and Gilbert, he plays games with them, he's both parts angry at what's happening while keeping a gentle composure around the victims of the situation.

THE THIRD PART OF THE PLAN. The carriage. Perhaps the single most important thing needed for Serge and Gilbert's escape, and who's behind it all? Kurt. He scopes out specific people that might have connections to carriage agencies and talks to them in secret, which is very risky. Any of these people he was talking to could rat Kurt out at any moment, and one of them actually DOES rat him out to Rosemarine, but LUCKILY AT THIS POINT, Rosemarine had HIS OWN change of heart and decided to keep the news for himself. That aside, they get the carriage delivered, Kurt fucking SUCCEEDED!!!!

And finally, THE FOURTH PART OF THE PLAN. The actual escape. During the escape, Rosemarine shows up to give Gilbert and Serge some money for Paris, of course, no one aside from Serge knows this. EVERYONE that was in on the plan assumes that the whole thing is a bust due to Rosemarine interfering. It's at this point Nekka pulls back on the plan and exits stage left, which upsets Kurt a lot since him and Nekka are good friends-in fact, this is the first time Nekka and Kurt willingly separated from one another-but he is also good friends with Serge and Gilbert. To Kurt, he thinks Nekka is being a coward, ESPECIALLY since he knew everything about Adam, but he let's Nekka go anyway. Pascale offers to take the fall, but Kurt refuses, saying he's not going anywhere and if Pascale is getting in trouble, he's getting in trouble too. They don't end up getting in trouble since Rosemarine was on their side, but on the chance that he wasn't, Kurt was still willing to stand firm in his position and actions in the escape plan.

This is the last we see of Kurt for the rest of the series aside from in Serge's flashbacks, and I think, while his last scene is a bit silly (See Kurt 262) it's impactful, and his last moment is him stating that he's not one to go back on promises he's made. His growth from a bystander to a good friend who's willing to risk his own safety for someone he used to call an enemy is something beautiful yet since it's Kurt, it's still treated as a joke. Every single event I described above was treated as a joke or something silly. Kurt is not allowed to be helpful in a meaningful way, that's Serge's job. He's not allowed to give advice in a serious manner, that's Pascale's job. He's not allowed to have conflicting emotions about not being able to see Serge ever again, that's Carl's job. He's not allowed to be upset about anything at all, because he's written as the comedic relief. Even when he supplied Serge and Gilbert with their sole means of transportation, it's treated as a joke, because above all, that's how Kurt is written. He is not written to be someone meaningful, he's written to be a one-dimensional joke.

Kurt's potential as the comedic relief AND a meaningful friend was wasted, he had the chance to be a fleshed out character, just like Carl, Pascale, Rosemarine, or any of the other characters were, but because of the trope he fits into, that potential to be a great character disappears and he falls back into the box Keiko designed for him in the first place as the Funny Fat Friend.

AFTER THOUGHTS I COULDN’T FIT IN:

-The way the Arles fight scene parallels with the Nekka-Kurt separation is so. Head in hands.

Kurt chose to separate himself from Serge after he chose Gilbert over him

Nekka chose to separate from Kurt after he chose Gilbert over backing out with him. Im SICK!!!

-All Kurt’s mentioned that I put in parentheses will be posted in a reblogged version of this post when I have access to my Kurt Folder

[itschlorosis]

okay i need to talk about this

i’ve been obsessed with silo for the last year, i read all the books (literally finish the third and last about 3 weeks ago)

even after i read wool, i thought the first season was good, it was a bit different from the book (mostly by giving sims so much importance when he’s barely mentioned in the books but whatever). overall, the characters were good, the pacing was good, yeah it was good.

but season 2 ? i don’t understand why they’ve made so many changes while Wool is, to my opinion, very easy to turn into a tv show. they have just completely gone elsewhere with almost everything ??

okay, now i’m gonna spoil the books

changing solo backstory into him being the head of IT’s shadow is so fucking stupid. the main element of his character is that he was a CHILD, a literal CHILD that didn’t understand anything that was happening and he kept being naive even into adulthood because he is STILL a child ! if you read the second book, we know that he has been outside of IT. he went to fish, to the farms and he even found a cat. so i don’t understand why they made it as if he was secluded, couldn’t even go to the stairs even if he wanted to !

also, i guess they want to introduce the children by making it seems like jules is being watched, but again, they are just kids. if i remember well, they don’t go that far from their farm and they only hurt solo because they were staying close to their “house”. im really scared about how they are going to introduce them.

now, i need to talk about lucas. three episodes in and where the hell is he ? i don’t remember judge meadow at all so im guessing they were not that important in the book. lucas not being bernard’s shadow, and so not being locked down to learn, also changes so many things in his development (but im pretty sure he’s not coming back in s2) and in jules’s development. like, shit, they development an entire relationship over the calls they pass to each other ??? that’s not meaningless.

not gonna talk about the rebellion, also remembered it being way quicker in the book. when are they gonna go up and team up with furniture ? when is IT going down to kill them ? shirley being annoying and dumb is starting to make me really mad, because she is not in the books.

wow, i had a lot to say right ? i’m just really mad.

fuck you apple tv.

[tirednapentity]

the mp100 anime is really good and I'm enjoying it however nothing is going to top manga mob just straight up calling teru homophobic during their fight

[bodytalkbaby]

Ok but imagine early strokes, if they were already glued by the hip as young adults, imagine as teenagers, them hanging out at each other's houses just doing what stupid teenagers do but it's ok because they were together so it doesn't matter how stupid what they were doing was

right. RIGHT. i always think about the strokes as pre albert and post albert. so let’s talk about pre albert first. (this will all be rooted in rpf, so take none of this seriously). i’m just gonna ramble here because i’m more and have too many thoughts:

julian is back from boarding school. he still has a drinking problem that was not solved by boarding school in switzerland or wherever it was (nice one, john), he also hates school. i can only imagine how annoyed he must’ve felt living in new york again knowing that his family just sent him away. i can’t remember if nikolai went to the same high school as him BUT ANYWAY, he’s still friends with nikolai, and they both now have these little twerps named nick and fab following them around. their age differences are not big at ALL but i remember being a freshman, and thinking it was so cool that all my friends were juniors and seniors, so i can imagine that’s how fab felt. nick definitely did not gaf 😭 i feel like he probably said shit like, “you guys are so stupid, why do i hang out with you.” and they’re all like “wait. no why do you hang out with us???”… he doesn’t want to say that it’s bc they’re the people he cares most about and he loves them.

jules and nick have stated a few times that the high school they went to was weird. and when i tried to investigate a while back, there was this reddit thread that said the school was sketchy. i still have no idea what anyone means by this, but im sure they all bonded over being in a weird ass high school. that part of your life is already SO WEIRD, so i can’t imagine having a sucky school experience would help either. BUT THEY HAD EACH OTHER!!!! i wish i could’ve been a fly on the wall during one of their lunch breaks.

like just imagine… you have a quiet nikolai, a depressed & edgy julian who’s probably at peak I Hate My Dad, and then there’s baby nick would got into trouble and took nothing seriously, and then puppy dog fab would PRETENDED TO PLAY THE DRUMS TO BE FRIENDS WITH THEM. i’m sure they had other friends but i think their main group was just fab+nick and then jules+nikolai coming in to form a group together. they had the friendship group where if they were all over at fab’s, jules+nikolai would end up going home, and nick would sleep over at fab’s. they were just four gremlins who kind of new how to play instruments that terrorized nyc. the thought of them sneaking drinks into their houses, or someone’s mom coming in the room after they obviously just got back from smoking and they’re trying so hard not to cough. fab’s mom being so excited to hear about his friends and being shocked when she finally meets them but fab doesn’t care because he’s so unashamed of his love for them.

i think it also got a tad bit better for them once they began to graduate. i wanna say they were all in different classes but idk and im too lazy to fact check rn. also am i wrong in saying that jules never graduated??? well i couldn’t imagine that being a great time with his parents, but he had his friends and his lovely step father.

okay now for ALBERT. OOOH this just gets me. they’re all graduated, they’ve settled as much as a late teens/early 20s kids can settle. it’s obvious that they’re going to be friends for a long time, they’re a constant in each other’s life. they form a band and they’re getting serious about it but they still pretty much all of day jobs or they’re taking classes in college. life is okay but they’re missing something. and then here comes young and dumb, albert hammond jr.

he’s away from his parents, across the country, living in fucking nyc. he’s in college and he plays guitar and who does he see right when he moves to new york, that fucking guy from boarding school. that cool guy from boarding school who didn’t take shit from anybody, and drank like a sailor, and actually talked to him and invited him into his room. and hung out with him because they were some of the few americans there. and here he fucking was. next thing he knows, they’re living together and he’s in julian’s band. AUGH.

i love this little era of pre strokes because they’re so young but they’re even more lawless than before, but now they have rent due, and real jobs, and relationships. whenever i think about The Timeline, this is always where i imagine casamond starting. ALWAYS. julian’s been friends with the same people for YEARS. he’s free in a way but also stuck in all the same places he was in highschool. he wants to start a real band, in comes albert. albert, who he immediately reconnects with and they become even closer than they were before. he’s almost like an escape. he’s a fresh voice and listener. julian can rant to him, and he won’t get the same ideas spewed back in his face. i’m not sure how to really explain it but they’re just so domestic in this era. UGH I LOVE IT

[nellie-elizabeth]

Grey's Anatomy: If Walls Could Talk (21x01)

Wow, I hate Catherine Fox so much! Kind of an uneven premiere in terms of the things I care about.

Cons:

Honestly there's kind of a cognitive dissonance to how much Catherine sucks as a character, and her marriage to Richard. How exactly is he managing to thread the line with all of his friends who his wife just fired? It's bizarre and it's irritating. She's so entitled and such a bully and she's so unambiguously wrong in this situation that it's hard to see the complexity of the situation. And I hate Jackson being on his mom's side here, against Meredith! No no no! I didn't hate the Meredith and Catherine scene about her health, but I just keep coming back to Catherine literally being the Big Business Baddie who is restricting access to life-saving knowledge. Yuck!

Lucas Adams is still the most uninteresting intern by a large measure, and I hate that so much of our time is wasted on his angst. When he shows up at the end to Simone's door and declares that he's not going to Chicago, I'm thinking... boooo. I wish you'd go, and I wish Yasuda would stay instead. She's a better character in every way.

I am not a fan of the setup for Richard's arc this season. Him lacking confidence about surgery, and Winston trying to encourage him? Honestly, it's just like... let this dude retire! It sounds like he really shouldn't be working anymore in any case! I liked that moment of him mentoring Winston at the end, but please just get him out of the OR post haste.

I did a full-body cringe when Link used a Harry Potter reference to try and cheer Levi up. Like first of all, let's not invoke Rowling for any reason ever at this point? But also it was just very patronizing and it felt like Levi shouldn't be so moved by such basic advice.

Jo and Link having a baby is still a big yuck for me, I will never support this pairing. And what with me not liking Lucas and Simone, and my utter lack of interest in Kwan's amnesia ex-fiancé, I'm kind of 0 for 3 on the main romances going on here.

Pros:

Except! Jules and Yasuda coming in with the steel chair! I was so happy that they actually went there with those two characters. They were tiptoeing around each other, and then they shared a lovely kiss against the lockers! I'm especially bummed that Mika isn't long for this show, but I hope we get some fun romance vibes here in the meantime. I honestly don't mind Jules/Kwan as a pairing, I think it's that Harry Shum Jr. has good chemistry with most scene partners I've seen him with. (Except on Shadowhunters where him and the guy he was in the romance with had like... negative one million chemistry lol sorry). But back to the girls - I hope we get some fun stuff with them for a while, even if it's ultimately doomed not to last for long. That cute little smile after the kiss was so precious.

Sydney Heron coming back onto the show is kind of a hoot. She's so fucking annoying, but like... in a way that makes me smile? I don't know. I love her as a common adversary for all these dark and troubled souls, and as a contrast to Bailey as a leader. I'd love to see the interns prove their loyalties to Bailey in the end!

Probably my highlight this week was with Bailey and Ben, honestly! It was so nice to see him back and playing supportive hubby, I'm thrilled that Bailey is going to fight for her job, and I love that the episode opens with her dreaming about slapping Catherine in the face. I mean, honestly. I get why you'd have the urge. I loved seeing her trying to make the best of things in the clinic, but really snapping into focus to help save the woman stuck in the wall. The moment when Sydney burst in and stole the interns back away from Bailey was hard to watch!

I continue to not give a shit about Jo and Link as a romantic pair, but Jo and Levi's friendship is still the cutest! Why is it that the relationships that are the most interesting and compelling on my screen in this premiere are also the ones I know will go away soon, due to actors leaving the show? Levi's joke about Jo needing to tell Link about the baby because he didn't want to raise this kid with her was so funny! Also, I do love that he got some confidence back, even if I hated Link's pep talk. Our last glimpse of him in the episode is going to talk to a random dude at the bar who was giving him a look. Get it, Schmitt!

I actually really liked Meredith in this episode. Probably in part because Nick was nowhere to be seen, and we all know he's the boringest character ever to exist. Her stubbornness is such a defining character trait, but I do think that overall she comes across as the reasonable one, here! Yes, she broke rules, but her cause is good and it turns out that she's right about what she's been saying this whole time. I love that she showed up to talk to Catherine out of respect for Jackson. That was a nice little moment, I love it when the veterans of this show stick with one another.

So, yeah. Lots of stuff that intrigues me, and lots of stuff that already bores me. Simone is too good of a character to be dragged down by Lucas's nonsense! And Link, c'mon buddy, you used to be a favorite of mine. Please stop being annoying.

7/10

[hufflepuffhabs]

Barça Players as Harry Potter Characters

Sooo I seem to have too much time on my hands (or rather o much proficiency in procrastination) and simultanly too much opinions on this. Do let me know any other opinions, some are literally not based on anything. And obvs no hate to any!

Xavi - Remus Lupin

Was already here in his youth and was very popular then. Now he is back to teach the next generation of wizards.

Marc-André ter Stegen - Minerva McGonagall

A true hero! Also he is kinda cate-like. This is one of my favorites, so congrats!

Iñaki Peña - Neville Longbottom

Loveable guy, but does not get the chance to prove himself until later on.

Héctor Bellerín - Luna Lovegood

They are kinda there for the magic, but they also care about other stuff. People may find them a bit strange, but in truth they have their priorities set. Very magical vibe in general.

Ronald Araujo - Ginny Weasley

This is one is ambitious in every aspect of life. Talented, but also a bit weird.

Andreas Christensen - Viktor Krum

Both come from the north. And they have a very ambivalent vibe, like probably a good guy, but the facade is kind harsh.

Marcos Alonso - Bill Weasley

One of the older Weasley siblings. Not such a trouble maker as some of the others, but still part of the gang.

Jordi Alba - Rubeus Hagrid

Just a cuddly guy with a sweet personality, but can get fiesty if need be.

Jules Kounde - Lee Jordan

They have the same hair. Plus he seems like someone who would be a Gryffindor.

Eric García - Hermione Granger

Smartest person in the group, does not care about others opinion and is willing to risk it all for their closed-ones (including cursing and threatening). Also nearly died once. We love this one!

Sergio Busquets - Sirius Black

Part of the old popular group. Leader for the young ones, but in difference to Remus, he is more the cool uncle than the responsible one. Also can be kind annoying in a good way.

Pedri - Harry Potter

Do I have to say more? He is the magician, people put all pressure on him. And the hair is kinda similar sometimes. Also grew up differently than most (one being from the Canary islands, the other, well being from under the stairs). Both very family-oriented.

Franck Kessie - Garrick Ollivander

This has absolutely no logical, only vibes.

Sergi Roberto - Charlie Weasley

The Weasley family is just everywhere. So this one had to be included. Is not talked about much, but still liked by most.

Frenkie de Jong - Fleur Delacour

The have so much in common: Very blond hair, very cute accent, same initials. Good at what they do, but kinda slept-on.

Gavi - Hedwig

Ok, I know this is very random. But hear me out: Hedwig is cute, Gavi is cute; Hedwig is protective of her people, Gavi is protective of his people; Hedwig is small, Gavi is small; enough said.

Ousmané Dembélé - Ron Weasley

Sorta part of the main cast, but not the superstar. Also sometimes a bit problematic.

Robert Lewandowski - James Potter

An older, very good guy. He seems cool, but we do not know as much about him. Superstar, but not future.

Ansu Fati - George Weasley

The first of the Weasley twins. Very funny, very loveable. Loves the others and is happy to be a part of this.

Ferran Torres - Fred Weasley

The other Weasley twin. Also funny, and sorta more the centre of attention, whether on purpose or not. I love this one, but he faces more adversity than necessary.

Raphinha - Oliver Wood

Good at sports. Looks good. But not really that memorable.

[cartoonus-maximus]

Notes and Observations on FNAF TFTP Vol 3: Somniphobia

So… Volume 3. It sure is a volume. Regrettably, I was bored through most of it. Like, I enjoyed it more than I did Volume 2, but that's an extremely low bar. I thought the Epilogue was the best part of the whole volume, tbh.

These are my notes and observations made while listening to the audiobook, which I borrowed from my local library. Fair warning: there will be spoilers. If you want the whole experience for yourself, you should skip this and go read/listen to the book yourself first.

I like the cover art, though. It's simple but fun. Just the way I like my silly children's horror books from Scholastic.

Note to any Moon fans who just happen to be here: he only shows up at the very end of the first story. He doesn't say anything. In fact he mainly just stands there and stares weirdly at the protagonist. However, he and the protag end up walking off together to "seek out adventures," so there's that. Do with that information what you will.

We also get a surprise appearance of Ballora in one of these stories! Which I found to be a very pleasant surprise and one of the highlights of this volume.

Here are my observations on the other books from this series, if you are interested.

That's enough intro. Let's get into it.

"Somniphobia"

Somniphobia -- the fear of sleep. Generally caused by bad experiences with nightmares, sleep paralysis, or other bad experiences had while sleeping.

The story opens at a yard sale, where an older married couple are scoping out the yard sale that their neighbors are putting on. They discuss the reason behind the yard sale, and tell us that their neighbor's son has mysteriously fallen into a coma, and because of this the neighbors are selling off a lot of their possessions in order to pay medical bills. One of the items being sold by the family is a toy that belonged to their son -- a snowglobe-like toy with a Daycare Attendant Moon figure inside. The implication is that this Moon globe is the reason for why this boy has mysteriously fallen into a coma.

We then transfer our attention over to our actual main character, a high school boy named Sam Barker. Sam and his friends are eating lunch and talking about weird fears that they each have, from cliffs to clowns to amusement park rides. Sam apparently has a long, extensive list of fears, so much so that his friends roll their eyes and make fun of him. (And no, none of the fears listed at this point will be important later. Wasted foreshadow potential.)

Later that evening, Sam and his friends go to a party at a classmate's house. He's too socially awkward to really engage much with the other party goers, so he mostly just… hangs out.

He ends up talking with Lydia, a girl he's had study group with before, and she flirts with him before trying to get him to try an alcoholic drink with him. Sam refuses the drink, talking about how unsafe and unhealthy alcohol is. When Lydia tries talking about how she wants to try cliff diving, Sam starts telling her what the statistic likelihood is of her being injured or dying from that hobby. Obviously uncomfortable, the girl politely ends the conversation and leaves.

Sam's friends all harangue him about being such a wet blanket. One boy, Jules, tries to force Sam to drink the alcohol (to lighten up!), and Sam has a panic attack. Sam goes home alone, and his friends, feeling bad about sending him into a spiral, leave shortly thereafter. Jules argues that he was "just joking" and didn't do anything wrong, but the other three boys in the friend group tell him off. (Well, at least these kids don't universally suck.)

Some time later, one of the members of the friend group, Raad, decides to spend his birthday at the Pizzaplex. (Because it's soooo common for high school seniors to spend hours at a Chuck E. Cheese place, I guess????) The whole group goes with him.

(The audiobook narrator mispronounces "Fazer-blast." Not important to the story, just mildly annoying.)

At the Pizzaplex, Glamrock Freddy and Roxanne Wolf walk around the building, interacting with visiting children. Sam wonders if they're human employees in costume or if they're the real animatronics. (Pretty sure those are the animatronics, pal.)

Despite wanting to hang out and have a good time with his friends, Sam feels overstimulated. He thinks of the Pizzaplex as "constant sensory overload." He thinks everything is too loud, surrounded by the noises of the arcade games, animatronic performers, music being pumped over loud speakers, and the general chatter of the patrons around him, and he can't escape the smells of pizza, popcorn, and cotton candy.

Raad takes them to an arcade room of the Pizzaplex. He says he wants to win a "Moondrop Dream Sphere," which is apparently a top prize in the Pizzaplex arcade. He explains that the thing -- a little ball with a figure of the Moon Daycare Attendant in it -- lights up and is supposed to 'help you slip into a hypnotic state and focus better on things.' The toy "is supposed to take things from your subconscious and bring it more clearly into view." He says he thinks it could be helpful for studying, as he is failing physics and is willing to take any help he can get. (That's… so weird.)

The DA character is called "Moondrop the Jester" in this story.

The boys apparently come here often, and already have 790 tickets saved up. Since the Moondrop Dream Sphere costs 1,000 tickets, the boys are determined to earn them all today. They manage it, earning 1,001 tickets and earning their new toy. Thrilled with their winnings, the boys return back to Raad's house to try the thing out.

When Raad pauses to greet his pet dog, Sam immediately launches into a story about a man who had his face eaten off by his own dog. Raad does not enjoy the anecdote, or the implication that his own dog might do that. (Oh my god, Sam! Ya gotta install a mouth filter, buddy. Some thoughts need to stay in your head.)

(Sam gives me autistic vibes. Don't know if that's intentional or important or neither. And given the fate of the *last* character to give me autistic vibes, I'm a little wary at this point.)

The instructions on the toy advise only using it for 10 minutes a day. Setting a timer, the boys take the snow globe/jester toy out, along with their school notebooks, and prepare a "hypno-study session."

Once the Dream Sphere is turned on, the boys are sucked into some sort of shared, lucid dream experience, where they're all sharing knowledge and memories from their textbooks. They walk around the Egyptian pyramids out of Jules' history notes, while also reading and memorizing physics facts. When the ten minutes are up, the Dream Sphere powers itself down, and the boys return to themselves.

Raad lets Sam borrow the Dream Sphere, and he takes it home with him. Sam uses it to study the next day, and it leaves him feeling so good and happy and energetic afterward, that he cleans up the apartment he and his mother live in and even cooks dinner for his mother.

The following day, Sam decides to use the Dream Sphere again, this time deciding to use it for 15 minutes, blatantly ignoring the instructions that came with it. (A strange thing for the "everything is dangerous and you could die, actually" guy to do.)

"Sam heard rock music blaring from his mom's bedroom. Mom was painting again." Lol. Anyone walking in on me doing art.

"… like a human computer downloading a file." … Interesting way to phrase that.

After staying in the Dream Sphere for 15 minutes, Sam finds himself reliving a memory from his own childhood, a memory of playing in the park with his late father. Something "blue and gray" shifts in the corner of his vision. (Hello, Moon!)

Over the next few days, Sam uses the Dream Sphere more and more, using it to re-experience the time he spent with his dad. He uses the sphere for longer than the instructions suggested each time. Every once in awhile, he thinks he sees a hat with a bell or something blue out of the corner of his eye, but it's always gone when he turns to look.

Sam's mom grows concerned about the toy when Sam mentions that it's supposed to put him in a suggestive state. She jokes that he's going to come out of it "clucking like a chicken" one of these days, but she also genuinely expresses concern about it, commenting that something like that can't be terribly healthy. Sam ignores her concerns, but also doesn't tell her the truth about his usage of the toy - that he's reliving the memories of his dad.

One night, Sam struggles to sleep, feeling keyed up and anxious. He only calms down once he takes the Dream Sphere in his hands.

The next day, Sam has "a bad case of brain fog" and is irritable and unfocused. He spaces out so badly at one point that he doesn't even realize a class is over, and ends up snapping at Lydia, his not-girlfriend, and picks fights with his friends. (This story is extremely obviously a metaphor for drug addictions.)

After being unfocused and irritable all day at school, Sam goes home and uses the Dream Sphere again. He finally relaxes, and feels like he belongs in the "lucid, dreamlike" world of the Dream Sphere.

The Sphere no longer makes him feel happy and energetic, like it did the first few times. Now it makes him feel relaxed and tired. When he looks in the mirror, he almost doesn't recognize himself: he looks paler than usual, with deep bags under his eyes, and has his fists clenched as if in preparation for a fight.

"He tried to smile, but it didn't look natural. He gave up on trying to look happy, and went out to meet his mother." (Paraphrased, but roughly what the text says at one point.)

Sam forgets a commitment he made to help a friend with something, and then blows off his mother when she reminds him to do his chores. She points out that he hasn't done his chores or worn clean clothes in days, even though he's usually so good about those things. She zeroes in on the Dream Sphere, the only thing new in his life that she knows about and something that she knows he's weirdly defensive about, and she tells him to give it back to Raad. They get in a fight about it.

"Are you doing something that you are not supposed to be doing?" (It's okay, Mrs. Barker, you can ask if he's using drugs. These books are rated for middle schoolers and up, you're allowed to reference drug use in this manner.)

Mad at his mother for her "wild accusation," Sam retreats to his room, where he uses the Dream Sphere again.

He has strange dreams that night and doesn't sleep very well. He feels bad enough the next morning that he tells his mother he thinks he needs to stay home from school, and, after checking him over and thinking he seems genuinely sick, his mother agrees.

Sam and his mother have a talk, both apologizing for the fight last night. They talk about Sam's late father and how they both miss him. (Weird to see a healthy family relationship in these books.)

Sam spends a long time with the Dream Sphere that day, reliving memories of his dad. He has a realization that his dad would probably be disappointed in some of Sam's recent choices.

Sam and the Dream Sphere go through all of his memories of his father, finally reaching the day his father dies in a motorcycle accident while Sam is still a young child. Sam doesn't want to relive the memory, and he forces himself out of the lucid state and shuts off the Dream Sphere.

Even with the Sphere shut off, Sam is still trapped in the memory, reliving his dad's death. He tries shutting the Sphere off again, and this time it works. Terrified of this experience, Sam finally snaps out of love with the Dream Sphere, and decides that he needs to return it to Raad immediately.

Catching sight of his reflection in a mirror, Sam sees that blood vessels have burst in his eyes, and he's bleeding in them.

Sam goes to Raad's house, only to find no one home but the dog, Brutus. To his surprise, the front door is unlocked, allowing him to walk directly into the house. No one is home. He calls Raad's cell phone, and Raad answers, saying that he and the other guys just got out of school; when Sam tells him the door was unlocked, Raad gets frustrated with himself for leaving it unlocked. Raad says that he and the other guys are heading back to his place after school, so if Sam wants to just wait around for them they should be there in about 25 minutes. Sam agrees.

Back with the other boys, Raad tells the others that it's Jules' turn with the Dream Sphere next. Jules, fully knowing that Sam is waiting for them at Raad's house, decides they should make Sam wait, and cajoles the other guys into coming with him to the Pizzaplex to try out a new arcade game. (Because obviously we can't have them being good friends or showing up to help their friend in any way. That would be too inconvenient.)

While waiting for them, Sam considers the Dream Sphere one last time. Against his better judgement, he decides to use it again. He doesn't even bother setting a timer this time.

This time, Sam lucid dreams a perfect world. He asks Lydia to go to prom with him. She readily agrees, seeming pleased that he specifically asked her. During the dream, he gets a phone call from his dad, who is still alive and tells him that his mom just sold her first painting, and the family is going out to celebrate. Sam can't remember ever feeling this happy before, and is thankful that the Moondrop toy gave him such a good dream this time.

He comes across the Moondrop Dream Sphere. He finds this strange, since he's never seen it as part of the dream before.

He also starts to hear sounds trickle in from the real world, and he realizes how long he's been in this dream world. He also realizes that he never actually plugged the Dream Sphere in anywhere when he arrived at Raad's house (it's an electrical device, so it shouldn't work unless it's plugged in), and that it just magically turned on by itself when he willed it to.

(… Really? We're doing this? Ugh, fine.) While Sam is trapped in the dream world, he can feel his face being eaten off by Raad's dog.

Moondrop the Jester appears in this dream world (yes, the full-size Daycare Attendant) and watches Sam while Sam writhes in pain. Shortly, the pain subsides, presumably telling us that Sam's body has died. No longer in pain, Sam no longer cares about that sort of thing, and purposefully turns his back on reality, choosing to follow the Daycare Attendant deeper into the dream world, "eager to see what new adventures they could create together."

.

.

I don't understand the ending. The story was set up for Sam to fall into a coma due to overuse of the Dream Sphere, likely due to drowning in the dream world, but instead he gets his face eaten off by a dog and (presumably) dies on his friend's couch? Why? What was the point of the opening scene then, if not to foreshadow the ending? What the point of introducing Sam being having him talk at length about how he can't swim and how he's afraid of water? Does the art of foreshadow mean nothing anymore?

And this may come as a surprise to (-checks author credits on wikia-) Kelly Parra, but dogs don't just randomly eats people's faces off while they're asleep! DX That's a dumb ending to the story!

I do like the idea of Sam essentially walking off into the sunset with the Daycare Attendant, though. That part of the ending amuses me greatly. (And I can think of several people I've seen online who wish they could walk off into the sunset with the DA, lol.)

Sam in this story be like: "Friendship ended with reality. Now Moondrop is my new best friend."

"Pressure"

(-tries to restrain self from humming "Under Pressure"- -fails miserably-)

This story centers around a group of high schoolers by names of Luca, Nolan, Maddy, and Asher. Luca is our protagonist, and, like any good FNAF book protagonist, Luca isn't particularly fond of his friend group. Also like any good FNAF teen group (or really just teens in any horror media, actually) these kids are all incredibly annoying and unlikeable as characters.

The group originally formed a friend group because the three boys -- Luca, Nolan, and Asher -- play together on the school football team and enjoy the same horror movies, and Maddy, one of the school cheerleaders, is both Nolan's girlfriend and Luca's childhood friend and crush. (There's an unnecessary amount of drama regarding Luca's feelings about Maddy.)

The teens are visiting "Urban Legend Role-players Auditorium," a section of the Mega Pizzaplex where customers can dress in costumes provided by Fazbear's and participate in a LARP game with other costumed customers. The game is specifically to act out the "rumors and ghost stories that had become associated with the Fazbear Entertainment brand over the years."

While other kids fight over costumes of the animatronic characters, Luca wants to play the night guard, citing that he wants to "play the hero."

Even though the murders are brushed off as fictitious, Luca believes they really happened. This makes him a bit of a conspiracy theorist. His friends think his beliefs and interest in the whole thing is weird, and Luca hates having to defend himself against them.

(Wow. Assuming the child murder *actually* happened in the past, Fazbear's really just looooovvvves making light of it, don't they? And, if the murders never happened, if it's all just rumors and hearsay and fictitious stories, Fazbear's is still really invested to using these stories are part of their brand. Because nothing says family fun like ritualistic child murder and deadly haunting, amirite?)

The kids look at different play scripts for roleplay games they could choose from. They gravitate toward one called "Green-Eared Killer," a short rp script about three teenagers who break into the Fazbear Frights haunted house and get stalked by Springtrap, with the kids having to try escaping before getting killed by Springtrap. (… I just had a flashback to an rp thread I wrote with a friend ages ago, with a very similar plot line.)

Despite wanting to play the night guard in a different scenario (and despite believing that the murders really happened and people really died), Luca gets bullied into playing Springtrap for the game. He's not into it, but the other three really want to play the teen victims in this slasher set-up.

(…. Luca. My good dude. If a girl calls your eyes "platinum magic," you should *absolutely* ask her for a second date.)

The Springtrap costume is extremely ugly, realistic, and smells terrible. It also feels gross and crusty.

Luca doesn't want to play a killer, even if it's fake, because one of his childhood friends really was kidnapped and found dead weeks later. Luca had thought of his friend like a little brother, and it hurt and horrified him that something so awful could happen to someone he knew. He still had nightmares about it. His friends don't know about this, and just harass him until he agrees to play Springtrap for them.

(If these kids don't shut up soon, I'm going to start stabbing them myself.)

On the way to the game room, Luca (in full Springtrap costume) passes by some younger girls who are playing. One of the girls is dressed as Foxy and is mock-lunging at the others, and they all seem to be enjoying their game, which Luca finds cute. He then notices an adult male employee also watching the girls, the grown man watching them too closely and smiling to himself about it. The man is very clearly a creeper, and it disgusts Luca. Luca starts to go confront the man, only to get distracted by some little boys running past him. Looking back at the man, Luca sees that the man has turned his attention to the boys, the same creepy, too-interested-for-comfort smile on his face. Luca decides to go confront the creep, but gets distracted by one of his friends calling to him. When he turns back, the man is gone.

(This creeper's description makes me think of Pinkypill's design for William Afton, since he's described as pale and thin and gaunt and having blue-eyes.) (Yes, I'm aware that Afton literally has silver eyes in those books, but it's specified that his eyes used to be blue, so I'm counting him as 'blue-eyed.')

(Also this scene is very reminiscent of the "Go Go Go, Foxy" minigame from FNAF2, with the imagery of Foxy playing with a bunch of children while a creepy, smiling guy stands nearby.)

The kids enter the game room they'll be using. The room, or rather set of rooms, has been designed to resemble something like the Fazbear's Fright horror attraction. Wall decor includes both old Freddy's memorabilia, children's drawings, and sets of fake knives (for some reason). One section of the rp stage shows what looks like children's birthday party that was abandoned midway through, with paper plates and party hats strewn across the table and floor. There are also other animatronics in this set-up - a Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica on a central stage, and a Foxy in Pirate's Cove. These animatronics are more like statues than anything else, but have some mobility, as they can move their arms up and down.

As Springtrap, Luca starts the game in a "safe room." He also has a prop knife.

(I love how there are no knives ever in any of the games, brandished by any character for any reason, but in every single book featuring a killer in a rabbit suit they are *always* portrayed with knives. And of course, Lillard's iconic knife usage in the movie. But the games get a total of 0 (zero) knives, and at this point, I just find it comical.)

The kids start their game. As Luca starts to stalk his friends, he feels something inside his costume "gauge his arm." Other parts of the costume start to poke and prod him at various points. Irritated, Luca can't wait to get out of this costume.

At one point, he hears Balloon Boy voice lines play over an intercom, the same way it plays in FNAF3; Luca recognizes this game as a VR game.

SpringLuca and Maddy both get jump scared by Foxy, who almost brings his hook down on both of them. Luca jumps, and something inside the Springtrap costume clamps shut around his leg, puncturing him. Luca cries out in pain, but his friends think he's just playing the character and trying to scare them, so they run away like they're supposed to. Luca can feel his leg bleeding, and he tries and fails to get his friends' attention.

As the game progresses, Luca gets stabbed by more and more parts of the costume. His friends all find places to hide and Luca feels like he's alone in the rooms. He tries to take the costume off, but can't figure out how to. He only gets punctured more for his efforts, and ends up bleeding and in a lot of pain.

Luca grabs Maddy, trying to alert her to his injuries. As he does, metal parts of the costume clamp around his head, pressing against his skull and into his scalp and even pressing into his mouth, and several small hooks attaching the costume head to his own flesh. He almost falls to the ground screaming in pain.

A series of snaps sounds throughout the costume, and Luca feels himself getting pierced in several places. He howls in pain, and, for the first time in awhile, his friends all pause, staring at him. Maddy, Nolan, and Asher, thinking Luca is just playing and getting into character, pretend to be scared and all scramble away in mock fright. They laugh gleefully and run away while Luca suffers.

Luca considers just sitting down somewhere near the exit door and waiting for his friends to get bored. But he's been bleeding pretty heavily inside the costume from his injuries, and feeling woozy from the pain and blood-loss, so he decides his best course of action is to continue trying to get his friends' attention. (Because that's been working so well for him. -rolls eyes- )

(Shouldn't there be employees nearby? Like, this roleplay set-up is essentially an escape room for kids, so shouldn't there be a Fazbear employee nearby, just for safety? Couldn't Luca try to get the attention of an employee?)

"A row of pizza ovens… dark and empty…" (Well I should *hope* they're empty! Last time I saw a pizza oven in Fazbear's Fright, there was a whole man in it!)

Okay, and now we have a brief convo about mob mentality. (Well, group think, but y'know. Same difference. And I recognize that this story is trying really hard to be a warning about the dangers of peer pressure, but it's not doing a good job about it, and this whole convo feels very hamfisted.)

Luca gets separated from his friends so much, he can't find them anymore. Feeling too weak and woozy to continue looking for them, he collapses, curling up in the corner of one of the fake storage rooms.

Asher, Nolan, and Maddy leave the game, deciding it's over. They barely even notice that Luca isn't with them. Literally leaving their friend behind, they decide to go get a pizza. (I'm only slightly exaggerating when I say that I think each of these kids should have gotten stabbed in the leg with a big knife. Ugh, they're the worst.)

After taking a rest, Luca manages to get back up. His shoes are now soaked in his own blood. While Luca is wondering if his friends are still around, he notices prop costumes moving nearby, as though someone had brushed past them. He hears a door open and slam shut somewhere nearby, following by many small footsteps and children's voices. Luca realizes that this group of kids are taking their own turn at the "Green-Eared Killer" game. He then realizes that that means his friends have abandoned him.

"He would [wait for the kids to leave] before approaching the exit door, pounding on it until someone opened it. Or until he died. Whichever came first."

While waiting for the kids to move on, Luca ducks into a dark corner where they won't see him. From this new vantage point, Luca is able to see that creepy man from earlier has entered the game room, and is putting on a Springtrap costume himself.

"… the pervert in the rabbit suit." Idk why, I just thought this line was funny.

Even in severe pain and believing that he's actually dying, Luca makes up his mind to tackle the creep before he hurts anyone.

When he hears one of the kids screaming, Luca begins to fear the worst. He follows the sounds to where the terrified little girl is trying to escape the grasp of the creepy man. Having enough of this guy, Luca tackles the man, putting him in a choke hold.

(And it's made very clear that this isn't a misunderstanding or anything -- this man definitely has bad intentions for these kids. We're not told what those intentions are exactly, but clearly it's nothing good. The kids don't even seem to know him, and the little girl he grabs actually bites him to get away, something children usually only do with people they don't like or strangers.)

Luca dies while strangling this man, ensuring that they both die together. Luca's last thoughts are about how this, his final act, is the first time in a long time that's done something for himself, of his own accord, because he felt it was the right thing to do.

.

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I have a few observations about parts of this story:

First, I need to say that the vibes of that ending scene made me think of this scenario from skeletoninthemelonland. Just, Luca embodying his new rabbit form so completely, while also deciding that he's going to take control of his body back, and using his last bit of control to take down a man who is an obvious threat… Made me think of the fan concept of Spring Bonnie not being happy with Afton using it to harm children.

Second, I find it interesting that the general public knows the story of the Fazbear murders and hauntings, but the facts around them are so murky that anyone who believes they really happened is labeled "a conspiracy theorist." Outside of the Fazbear higher-ups, no one knows for sure if the murders happened or not, or how much truth is attached to the stories, if any. I just find that interesting.

And thirdly, let's talk about Fazbear's business tactics. Whether the murders really happened or not doesn't matter -- Fazbear's is capitalizing off of the stories. Which is just… so gross and weird. Because whether the stories are true or not, this company, which markets itself to children and families with children, is attaching stories of child abductions and murders to its brand, and attaching it so openly that children are encouraged to act out these stories on the building's premises. Can you imagine going to Disneyland and they openly talk about some of the shadier goings-on in their industry, and were encouraging small children to act it out? Wouldn't that be weird and make you feel gross?

So yeah, just further confirmation that Fazbear's is a godawful company and is nothing but harmful to its customers and employees alike. What else is new?

"Cleithrophobia"

Cleithrophobia -- the fear of being trapped, or locked in a small space.

There are stained glass windows in the Pizzaplex. We are again told that the Pizzaplex is shaped like a giant pizza - circular, with wedge-shaped sections for different activities.

We open on a group of teens who are visiting the Pizzaplex together for the first time, and are exploring all the different activities they can try out. They pass by the roleplay section (as seen in "Pressure"), the climbing tubes (as seen in "HAPPS"), a Chica-themed Tilt-a-whirl, a broken down AR booth (as seen in "Under Construction"), a dining room, a carousel (as depicted in the "Help Wanted 2" game), an arcade, the laser tag arena. They also spot the theater, and remark that there is a "little kids play area under [the theater]."

The kids have acquired a map of the building, and are pouring over it to see if they missed any attractions during their initial walk-around. Eric points that the index lists a "Ballora's Fitness and Flex" section, but that it's not depicted anywhere on the map images. Deciding to ignore it, the kids get in line to ride the indoor roller coaster.

The story then flashes back to "Five Months Earlier," refocusing on our new protag, a man named Grady, who is a technician who works at the newly built Pizzaplex. Grady is doing rounds through the building, checking each of the individual attractions before opening. While everything is dark and turned off, he thinks the building feels a bit like an empty circus tent.

Grady is part of a team of three technicians. The team are working under orders to stay together at all times, but, when the other two knock off early, Grady chooses to stay behind to get some extra work in; they're behind schedule, and Grady would rather do the work now than come in to do on the weekend.

The computer system of the Pizzaplex has recently been installed, but something is wrong with it. It was storing data just fine at first, but the system glitched for some reason and lost all the data at once. Because of this, a lot of the technical aspects and programming around the Pizzaplex is having to be re-coded again.

A use of the word "phenom" that feels very forced. (I don't know, that word's just weird to me. I've literally never heard it before in my life until FNAF started using it.)

Grady goes to work on "Ballora's Fitness and Flex." This attraction in the basement of the Pizzaplex, and features vertical climbing tubes that run up and down the walls, allowing kids to climb up and slide down them. There are ladders to reach the openings of the tubes. The tubes are narrow and strangely shaped, with the shape of them meant to encourage the climbers to slightly contort their bodies -- not enough to hurt, but enough to encourage a level of flexibility. (This sounds like a dumb idea, but okay.) (Also this is just real life Chutes and Ladders / Snakes and Ladders.)

Because of a traumatic experience with a babysitter (who locked him in a closet for several hours instead of actually babysitting, an experience that caused child!Grady to injure himself, become dehydrated, and eventually pass out from lack of air), Grady has a severe fear of tight spaces.

Unfortunately for him, he's the only one of the technicians who can fit into the climbing tubes in Ballora's Fitness, so it's his job to enter them and check to make sure they're safe. (Which I have to say, is extremely dumb. They're plastic, see-through tubes. They either work or they don't. It's not like they're connected to the computer system.) He's also going to check on Ballora and make sure she's functioning, as the animatronic ballerina is present in this section of the Pizzaplex; to get to her, he's still going to have to go through the tubes. (Why does he have to go through the tubes, though? I don't understand any part of this set up.)

Almost as soon as Grady starts climbing, Ballora pops up through the floor on a platform sticking out from the wall. She turns to look at him (wow! Open eyed Ballora!) and greets him cheerfully. This version of Ballora is just her upper body (so torso, arms, and head) and is attached to a mechanism that moves her throughout the attraction. Her hair is styled in a bun and comb like a flamenco dancer. She also usually sings in short verses in lieu of regular speech.

"'I encourage you to slide on in,' Ballora started singing again. 'That's the best way to begin.'" (*opens mouth* ... *closes mouth* No, I can't. It's too easy.)

Grady doesn't like Ballora's singing; he thinks she sounds sinister.

Ballora assures Grady that she's here to make sure he doesn't get stuck in a tube. Soon enough, Grady does get stuck, and Ballora, mounted on the mechanical arm, enters the tube to pull him out. She pulls him too hard though, and it nearly wrenches his arms from their sockets. She pulls him all the way through the tube, cheerfully unaware of the injury she's causing to Grady, and drops him off on one of the wall platforms.

"Please, can I help? I want to help." (Big fan of this take on Ballora's character.)

As much as Ballora wants to help, she either wasn't programmed properly or has some sort of glitch in her system (possibly from the system-wide computer crash). The next time Grady needs her help, she grabs him too hard and ends up crushing his hands and shattering his finger bones. Further "help" from her ends up breaking other bones in his body, including those in his arms and legs. Unable to hold his hands properly anymore, Ballora tries to grab another part of Grady's body, leading to her accidentally stabbing one of her fingers through his eye, and then breaking his nose.

Grady's coworkers Ronan and Tate return, as they carpool together and Ronan forgot his house keys at the Pizzaplex. While they're here, they realize that Grady is doing the check-up on Ballora's tonight, so they decide to check in on him.

(Unrelated to the story, but I am madly, desperately in love with Ronan. I need this fictional side-character man carnally.)

Ronan and Tate check on Grady. They come face to face with the mangled remains of Grady, still in a tube. His body is broken in many places, and he's been stretched to "nearly twice" as tall as he normally is. Ronan nearly throws up, while Tate looks closer at Grady, eventually determining that Grady is blinking and therefore still alive.

(I know Tate is just supposed to be an annoying self-centered loser prick, but I think it's weird that he knows just a *little* too much about the legal workings at Fazbear's and is a *little* too comfortable around a mangled body. His knowledge and behaviors are super suspicious, and for no reason.)

After some inspection of what's left of Grady, the two men think their coworker has mere minutes left. Tate believes it's worthless to call for help, as he doesn't think Grady would survive the rescue. Unknown to either of them, Grady is still alive and slightly lucid, able to hear their voices but not understand most of their words.

In the end, the two men leave, abandoning their coworker to his fate. In his dying moments, Grady is still being pulled and tugged on by Ballora, who is trying very hard to help him get unstuck.

As Ballora continues to drag his near-lifeless body around, she keeps repeating "You are stuck. Let me help you. I want to help you. You are stuck. I want to help you." She seems to be glitched out, and is either unaware that her charge is injured or knowing that he's injured and being unable to do anything about it.

.

.

I didn't have many notes to take for this story. Not much happens in it -- just a game of IRL Chutes and Ladders gone terribly wrong. That doesn't mean I don't have a few thoughts about it, though.

I like the inclusion of Ballora. I'm intrigued by the idea of Ballora being in the Pizzaplex somewhere, but she's been locked away, closed off from everything else.

I also liked the segment of the unrelated teenagers checking out all the attractions that the Pizzaplex has to offer. The segment gives us a clearer idea of what the Pizzaplex looks like in these books, and revisits some areas we've already seen (like the AR booth and the climbing tubes) while also showing us a few areas we haven't seen yet. Makes me wonder if we're going to a get story later down the line that focuses on the theater area.

The story mentions there being a weird glitch in the computer system at the Pizzaplex, telling us that the whole system -- including security systems, the arcade machines, the lights, and even the animatronics, since everything is connected to a single system -- all crashed and now behaving strangely, and the technicians are basically having to go through everything piece by piece and reprogram everything. Makes you wonder if this crash was random, or if it was directly caused by something… Like, for example, someone hacking into the system that shouldn't have been there (like Patient 46) or an AI entering the system (like the Mimic) or a virus being uploaded to the system (like Glitchtrap). Food for thought.

This story focuses really hard on Grady's trauma and its origins, when it absolutely doesn't need to. The most it needs to say is that Grady was locked in a small closet for several hours by his babysitter. But instead, we spend quite awhile reliving Grady's memory with him, as his babysitter and her boyfriend trick him into the closet, and Grady screams and cries for over an hour, only for help to nearly arrive too late. The story spends more time on this, Grady's original childhood trauma, than it does on his slow death by Ballora's attempts to help. I don't know if that's important or anything (and I only say this because it's not the first time we've seen a terrified child locked in a closet by a cruel teenager in this franchise), or if the writer/s simply focused on the wrong section of the story.

And again, suspicious Tate is suspicious. I don't know he's meant to stand out as a suspicious character or not, but… there's a weird amount of attention put on him. Grady thinking Tate looks uncannily like his original abuser, with similar facial features, similar mannerisms, and the same cocky smirk. It's made clear that Tate isn't interesting in doing his job well, but that he also know entirely too many specifics about the Fazbear's employee rules -- the same rules that he pretends not to know or care about when Grady asks him directly about them. He's shown to be oddly calm about Grady's predicament, so much so that he's described as "gawking at [Grady's remains] like he was looking at an exhibit at a zoo," and he's even the one to decide to just leave Grady to his fate.

(I also think Tate gives off Michael Afton energy, but maybe that's just me.) (Or maybe I'm getting wires crossed and thinking of Michael Tait. Who can say?)

(If you don't know who Michael Tait is already, all you need to know about him is he's a Christian performer who would definitely be on Scott's radar. All I'm really saying here is, if the character Tate is meant to be some sort of parallel for Michael, the real person Michael Tait may have inspired Scott or one of his team members to choose the name "Tate." Again, I'm just spitballing here, and it may not mean anything.)

Epilogue:

Lucia and her friends listen in fear to the monster's footsteps. The teens have locked themselves in a small store room, and they can hear the thing (the Mimic) stalking around outside, searching for them.

The teens decide to split up to look for possible exits. Team 1 is Hope and Nick, Team 2 is Adrian and Jase, Team 3 is Lucia and Kelly, and Team 4 is Joel and Wade. The teams are chosen largely based on which kids are already friends and work well together, with the exception of Lucia and Kelly, who don't know each other that well yet but don't dislike each other.

Jase is an artist and has a good memory, and draws them a map of the Pizzaplex and basement based on their earlier exploration of it. They divvy up all the rooms and areas in the Pizzaplex, each team being given a list of areas to search. (Pretty standard "teens in a horror story" explanations.) Once their stalker vanishes, the kids make it back upstairs, where they begin searching.

(I don't understand what they're looking for. I thought they were looking for a way out, but now Lucia and Kelly are searching the bathrooms, so I no longer know what they're doing.)

Wade and Joel search the employee lounge. They get scared out by a scraping sound coming from inside the vents in the walls. (I wish they had gotten jumped by a Mini Music Man. That would at least be funny.)

Nick and Hope search the backstage area of the theater. Hope feels like she's being watched. Nick opens a costume wardrobe, only to get grabbed by something and pulled inside. He's returned a moment later, but is now missing an arm. Metal arms reach out of the wardrobe to grab Nick again, this time twisting his head clean off his body. The metal creature steps into full view, and we get a description of it from Hope's point of view, telling us that it's definitely the Mimic as seen in the "Ruin" DLC. Hope runs away from the Mimic, surviving this initial encounter.

Meanwhile, Kelly and Lucia are now best friends. (Or they're flirting. Unclear.) They're interrupted by Hope running past them, screaming in terror. The two girls follow her, and are soon joined by the two pairs of boys. The rest of the teens try to get words out of her, but Hope is sobbing and shaking too hard to answer them, only wailing when they ask where Nick is.

The kids duck into the Parts and Service room and lock themselves into it, hoping to find a safe location or impromptu weapons they could use to defend themself.

Lucia describes the Parts and Service room as "looking like a beauty parlor for robots." She says there are three metal chairs in it that have clamps on the armrests, somehow looking like both salon chairs and torture devices. (Oh, like the Shreddy Fazchair from the movie, perhaps? Or maybe something akin to Roxanne's salon?) There are also several empty exoskeletons of Fazbear characters littering the room, though done of them resembling characters we've ever seen before -- there are dogs, and a cat, and another, undescribed character wearing green overalls.

Hope is finally able to tell the others what happened to Nick. When she finishes her story, one of the exoskeletons moves behind her, apparently not as empty as previously thought.

Wearing the suit of a dog character, the Mimic grabs Hope by the arms, tearing both her arms off in seconds. While the other kids scream, the Mimic turns Hope around, tearing off her legs, and then her head.

All at once and in a panic, the kids run to the door, too freaked out to open it at first. They finally get it open and run for their lives, the Mimic following slowly after them.

(It's weird that the Mimic tears off her legs. It wasn't programmed to do that.)

(But good… The epilogues are really getting interesting now. Love that for us.)