#this is all you're getting of it because my computer's on the fritz

[beloveddawn-blog]

I sighed heavily, ran my hand through my hair, then ran *both* hands down my face, just to make sure my meanings was understood. "Look, dude, I have had A Day and I just really, *really* want a chai latte. Can we just... Let it go and I can get a drink?"

He eyed me suspiciously, and I could hear the group of teenagers behind me immediately start whispering to their phones about a 'bully finally getting his comeuppance'. I can't entirely blame them, both him and I look like walking stereotypes, him even moreso now that he had an eyebrow peircing and long, sideswept bangs. He looks everything like a former emo band kid and NOTHING like a maurading black sorcerer who summoned ancient evils to wreak havoc on unsuspecting kingdoms.

(Four FUCKING times, thankyouverymuch!)

He looked over my shoulder at them, then back to me with some of his old cruelty in his eyes. "Say you're sorry for Epaphra." He cooed, clearly basking in the attention.

That hurt. Even knowing it was meant to, I couldn't help the slight flinch. Despite that I felt a fire flare in me that I'd thought had been thoroughly doused in the waters of sheer *age*... But it seemed I still couldn't let him win. Couldn't just walk away.

Years ago I'd have leapt over the counter and throttled him where he stood for daring to speak her name, but in this new world that would be even worse.

"I'm sorry about Eprapha." I replied, my voice breaking on her name. I felt my eyes well up, but was able to reign myself in enough to not actually cry.

He blinked at me, clearly caught truly off guard for the first time since I severed the Bering Land Bridge so long ago. He turned to the young lady next to him in the shops apron and said, "A chai latte for..." He trailed off then, looking at me expectantly.

"Morris." I replied as I almost collapsed against the counter. "I shortened it long ago."

He nodded and turned back to the girl. "For Morris. And make it an extra large."

"Thank you." I gasped, almost giddy with relief. I had my card in my hand but he waved me off.

"Sit down before you fall down." He snipped, turning his nose up and dismissing me.

'He's cute when he sulks.' I found myself thinking, then blinked. Though I wasn't unfamiliar with the *concept* of him being attractive, he used to used seduction all the time as a manipulation tactic, I'd never previously considered it in relation to *me*. Usually when I saw him he was laughing maniacally and covered in blood, neither of which are things I'm into. Dazed, I wandered off to do as he'd said.

I was expecting to hear the purple-haired girl call my name, but instead some ripped black jeans walked into my line of sight and a cup was unceremoniously thrust under my nose. "Here." He snipped before pulling out the chair across from me and throwing himself down. He had his own drink in hand, and promptly pulled out and started fiddling with a phone. I started at him bemusedly. His eyes occasionally flicked up to mine before snapping back down to his screen. Eventually I noticed the faint blush rising on his cheeks every time this happened.

It was cute.

"Thanks, Tethra. I really appreciate it." I replied, chuckling as his face went pink and his shoulders hunched. I picked up my drink and took a slow sip, savouring the flavour and the memories it brought back. Nothing else ever worked to soothe like this did.

"Why chai?" He asked, breaking the silence but still not looking up.

"It reminds me of my time in India." I admitted, knowing the knowledge held no power anymore. "I lived there for... A time, years ago. Back when they thought I was albino, not caucasian. I travelled from village to village, protecting people from predators and administering medicine to the ill. It was where I learned to meditate, and where I calmed my temper. Usually I make it myself, as I find the process soothing, but today I just really needed a sudden slice of calm."

His shoulders hunched even closer. "And then I brought up Eprapha." He replied, contrition seeping into his voice. "I'm sorry, Morrigu. I won't lie and say I didn't mean it, but I truly didn't think it through when I mentioned her. I haven't seen you since Antioch, and I guess habit just got the better of me."

"She was pregnant, did you know? She had her own mystic powers, and we hoped -*I* hoped- she would be able to carry to term." I replied, rather than addressing his apology.

"And then I exploded a mountain on her." He continued, voice wretched.

"And then you exploded a mountain on her." I agreed, my mind playing back that frantic last day, where everyone was trying to get beyond the range of Vesuvius before it blew. I had climbed the mountain, searching for my foe and hoping to stop the destruction, and my beloved Eprapha... "She organized a fairly large evacuation of the poorer sections, but miscarried due to the stress and bled out. The caravans she commandeered and led left her behind as she lay there."

"I am *so sorry* Morrigu. I never... Well, I never counted the bodies I left behind, just gloried that they weren't mine. If I'd known at the time I'd probably have been worse, but ... It's been a long time since then."

My eyebrows rose in surprise. Tethra had never shown any hint of remorse before in the long millenia I'd known him... But also he was correct that we have been living for a very long time. My priorities had also shifted. Perhaps this was true for him as well.

What *happened* to you?" I asked, needing to know the cause of his change of heart. He went bright pink, then sighed and dropped his face into one palm.

"This is so embarrassing." He muttered, then raised his head to face me straight on.

Tethra was many thing, but a coward had never been one of them.

"Okay, so, due to a hilarious and involved series of cultural misunderstandings I... Set a despotic shogun on fire for disrespect and accidentally became the guardian kami of an isolated prefecture in Japan. And they REALLY loved me and it was REALLY... Nice. They still obeyed and worshipped me, but they did it with smiles and glad hearts. And at first it freaked me out so I ritualistically sacrificed the town's hero to scare them all back into proper terror. Buuuuuut it turned out that not only was he abusing his wife and kids, he was raping his wife's young sister who lived with them. While harping on how generous he was for keeping such a morally lacking young slut around. She cried tears of joy when I killed him, and named her baby after me. Kōki, for light, hope, and good luck. And then I couldn't just *leave*, he needed me! So... I stayed. And they worshiped me. And they *loved* me. And it was nice. I'd grown out of wanting world dominion, and I couldn't destroy a world with Kōki in it, so I just stayed. For... I don't even know, centuries? Then Shiroyama happened and I just.... Couldn't stay." He fell silent then, lost in his green tea and memories.

"Couldn't stand the final fall of feudalism?" I sniped, unable to help myself. He looked at me strangely, clearly wondering what was going on in my head.

"No? I cared about industrialization, not feudalism. It's a stupid governmental system. I understand why it developed all over the world, but I have no loyalty to it."

"Not even when it paved the way for your rise to power?" I asked, needing to know...

He laughed then, so long and loud it caught everyone's attention. Suddenly I was the one blushing, and he was wiping tears from his eyes. "What exactly do you think my Tragic Backstory™ is, you total dunderhead?"

I frowned at him, not sure where this was going. "You rode in with kings, alike in all ways. You spoke like them and sported like them and fell to their depravities. Your hands were always as soft as any noble. It was clear to all what class you were born into."

He was laughing again. "Yeah, no." He replied, smirking at me and taking a sip of his tea. "Though I'm glad to know I had you all fooled. I was a prostitute's bastard child, and was sold into slavery before my fifth year. I was passed around from house to house, my temper and wit always making me unwelcome, before I was bought by a noble with plans to sacrifice me to a demon. Which he did, don't get me wrong, but it turns out I had more rage and hatred packed into my small frame than his entire coven had greed. So the demon offered me a deal: he would give me the power to wreak my revenge on all who opposed me, and I would be the mortal instrument of his sadistic will." He took another sip of his tea. "It was actually a mutually beneficial arrangement, for as long as it lasted. By the time our pact was broken, however, I was powerful and cruel in my own right, so I just carried on."

"What broke it?" I asked, fascinated despite myself. He raised his eyebrow at me, making a face like I was stupid.

It was a face I had seen a lot.

"You did." He explained to me slowly, as if I needed the extra time to understand. "You drowned him. Him, the whole middle east, most of the rest of Asia. You remember? That dude with the boat and the zoo."

"Noah." I supplied, smiling myself. He'd been a gullible sort, and had truly believed me an angel of his God. He had *listened*, though, and at the time I hadn't had the breathing room to worry about accuracy. Or blasphemy. I was rapidly running out of both time and options, and him saving his family and his animals had soothed me somewhat.

I thought back to all the calamities we had created, all the pain and hurt I had caused in the name of the needs of the many, and that he had strewn about casually and with glee. Unable to help myself, I asked, "What do you regret the most?"

"Immortality." He replied, quick and decisive. "At the time I thought it would be grand to live forever and never know fear again, but instead I sit here, exhausted down to my very molecules, still able to remember the face of the man who pinned me to the alter and raised his knife. It's been long enough that his whole civilization has been forgotten, but because of one impulsive demand at twenty /he/ never will be."

I sighed, knowing exactly what he meant. "I hear you. I'm pretty sure the goddess who 'blessed' me," I stressed the air quotes, rolling my eyes, "Expected my boon to be to stay by her side forever. But I was also young and stupid and there were pretty girls everywhere. I asked to be able to defend my people for all time, instead. A noble cause, but exhausting. And the bloodline has spread so far that basically everyone is 'my people'. I can't escape it."

"So what do you do?" He asked, eyes shining with a sympathy no other person could offer, for no other person could truly comprehend.

"Oh, I'm a firefighter." I replied lightly. "I'm immortal, so burning buildings are fairly whatever, you know? And it's a physically demanding career, so every few decades I 'move back home' for 'health reasons', then quietly 'get sick' and 'die'. I actually move to the mountains for a few years to live in isolation and just *breathe*, then I pick a new town and do it all over again."

He smiled at me then, something softer than I'd ever seen from him before. "That's very you." He said, and it was the first time that sentiment from him had ever sounded like a blessing.

You’re immortal, and have passed the ‘hero’ phase centuries ago. You enter a small coffee shop one day to find that it’s owned by your millennia-old arch-nemesis. You really, really just want a chai latte though.

[cloudwhisper23]

trick or treat! 🍬

Well, hello there! I hope you know what you got yourself into!

It was supposed to be her special day. That was what she'd heard all the time from her father as he asked what she wanted to to for her birthday. He reassured her that it was still going to be a special day even though he had to work. Even though their plans were completely ruined by the stupid Fazbear Entertainment Company.

Because somebody had destroyed all the animatronics. And he couldn't even be bothered to show his face. Had Gregory even been her friend to begin with? Cassie still wasn't sure as she sat idly, watching her father replace Roxy's faceplates.

They were lucky, he'd said cheerfully. The upgrades were so new the old parts were still around. It was tragic, what happened to Freddy though. They didn't have any extra parts to put him back together correctly, and that would require his head. So it would be a while before Freddy could even perform again. So the company brought in a replacement.

Cassie could admit that she enjoyed Mr. Hippo's stories a little bit. He was absent-minded but kind. He talked about anything and everything, and Cassie didn't even have to feel bad for tuning him out when her father exited the cylinder, Roxy close behind.

"Cassie!" Roxy exclaimed brightly. "I hope you've been having a wonderful birthday!"

Cassie giggled as Mr. Hippo exclaimed, "It's your birthday? Why, if I'd known that I would've gotten you a cake or something. I remember the last time I had cake..."

"It's been wonderful, Roxy." Cassie replied. Roxy swung Cassie up into her arms, much to Cassie's delight and her father's alarm.

Something clicked in Roxy's arm, and it buckled, dropping Cassie back to the floor. Her father was there in an instant, pushing her aside to guide Roxy back into the cylinder. "I told you we needed to double-check everything."

"Hmph," Roxy replied, sparing the chance to wink at Cassie amongst the scolding.

"Cassie!" a sharp whisper called out from one of the vents. Curious, Cassie wandered over. Mr. Hippo stayed put, completely lost in his story, as per usual.

She crouched down, peering through the vent. "Gregory?"

"There you are!" Gregory pushed the vent cover aside. "I wanted to wish you a happy birthday, but the Pizzaplex is closed."

"I wonder why that could be," Cassie replied sarcastically. "You broke all the animatronics, didn't you? You are the reason my party was cancelled."

"I wanted to come and apologize," Gregory replied sheepishly. "But that's not the only reason I'm here. Vanessa-"

"The security guard? You didn't tell me you knew her!" Cassie exclaimed.

"Shhhh!" Gregory glanced at the cylinder, but Cassie's father hadn't heard a word of their conversation. "Look, it's a long story, alright? I got locked in the Pizzaplex overnight and had to do some unpleasant stuff to get out."

"You're the reason Vanessa quit...." Cassie mused.

"Well, yes." Gregory had the grace to look embarrassed. "But we gotta make sure the new security guard is safe. I mean, this place is really suspicious, and with all those kids going missing, it's up to us to check the place out."

"We?" Cassie crossed her arms. "Gregory, I can't just-"

"It's not breaking the rules! You came here with an adult, so it's totally fine for you to be going all over the place, right?"

"I mean, I guess so, but-"

"Great! Let's go before that Hippo guy notices you're gone."

"Into the vents?" Cassie looked down at her friend doubtfully.

When Gregory nodded, all she could do was sigh and follow suit.

"What are we even looking for?" Cassie asked as Gregory tried unlocking the computer with yet another code.

"Evidence," Gregory replied. "Proof that this guy is who he says he is."

"And who does he say he is, Gregory? A security guard? I'm pretty sure that's covered. Mystery solved, we can go now."

"He says his name is Fritz Smith. But Vanessa says that guy was fired back in the '80s. So it's probably an alias."

"And you think his files are going to reveal his hobby of murdering children or something?"

"Don't tease me, Cass."

"I'm just saying-"

"Hey, what are you kids doing in there? Gregory?"

"Hi Mr. Walters," Gregory said, quickly hitting the security door button.

"Wha-"

"Gregory!" Cassie scolded, unlocking the door for her father.

"Are you feeling alright, kiddo?" Cassie's father raised an eyebrow, peering over Gregory's shoulder. "What are we up to?"

"None of your business," Gregory muttered as yet another attempt to unlock the computer failed.

"I'd say it is my business, considering you're trying to hack the account of someone I work for. What's this all about?"

"Gregory doesn't like the new night guard," Cassie supplied helpfully.

"I don't know if he's trustworthy. That's what I'm trying to find out."

"Well, you could try doing it in a way where I don't get fired-"

All three of them froze as the lights shut down. "Moon," Gregory whispered, sounding vaguely terrified. "I gotta go."

"Gregory?" Cassie asked, sounding confused, but her father caught her shoulders.

"Cass, you gotta pretend to be asleep," her father whispered, looking as nervous as Gregory had. "Moon's not- He can't be fixed. He won't let the technicians anywhere near him."

"What's wrong with him?" Cassie whispered.

"We don't know. But he's dangerous. And he's only safe when he thinks you're asleep. I don't know what Gregory is up to, but I need to make sure you're safe before I go after him, okay? Promise me that no matter what you hear, you'll stay here with your eyes closed?"

"I promise, but Dad-"

"I love you Cassie."

The screech of metal that followed was unlike anything Cassie had ever heard. Her father glanced around. "Close your eyes!"

Cassie curled up on the floor, squeezing her eyes shut as she hid under the security desk. "I'll be back as soon as I find your friend," he whispered.

So Cassie waited. And it was a long, painful wait. She knew Gregory could basically disappear when he wanted to, and this was definitely proof of that. She sometimes wondered if he had a radar for adults with the way he could just vanish when they saw him. But usually her father knew his way around Gregory's tricks.

When the power came back on, Cassie still didn't move for several minutes. She heard footsteps and the sound of the monitor turning back on, but her father had said to stay put no matter what.

Eventually though, she opened her eyes, peering out from beneath the desk. She had heard the clicking noises of an animatronic a few times, and a cold hand had touched her face once. But her father's voice didn't ring out, and neither did Gregory's.

"Dad?" Cassie called tentatively as she crawled out of her spot. She knew she wasn't supposed to come out until her father came back for her, but the lights were back on. Surely it was safe now. "Dad, did you find-"

She gasped as she spotted the bloody hat.

Jason Walters was just a man. His spine wasn't supposed to bend like that. Her father's green eyes were blank and empty, staring up at the ceiling. Something had torn into his throat as well, presumably the first thing to go. Almost like the animatronic knew she'd react if she could hear him scream.

"Dad...." Cassie covered her mouth with her hands as her vision swam.

He'd warned her that his job was dangerous before, but he always jokingly told her the night guards had it worse. Surely it couldn't get worse than this.

Heart sinking, Cassie wondered if Gregory had suffered a similar fate. No, he couldn't have. When the lights went out, it was like Gregory knew exactly what to do. And Cassie had delayed her father from going after him. Maybe he could've survived if he'd just followed Gregory immediately. Maybe he could've-

"Cassie?" Gregory's voice sounded staticky.

Dazed, Cassie turned to the monitors, which someone must've turned on. There weren't shoeprints, so maybe the visitor had been an animatronic of some kind. Cassie saw Gregory looking around anxiously as he tried to find her. "Cassie, can you hear me?"

She knew how to work the computer. Her father had asked her to send messages plenty of times before. "Gregory?" she breathed into the tiny microphone. "Gregory, are you okay?"

"Cassie? Where are you?"

"In the security office. Right where you left me-" Cassie couldn't force more words out. "I'm okay."

"I'll be right there. Just be safe, Cassie. The night guard is on shift, so we need to be careful now."

"Roger," Cassie replied numbly. She couldn't care less about the danger anymore. Gregory could survive on his own, which he'd proven over and over again. He wouldn't care less about her father, and he probably couldn't care less about her.

"Oh...." Gregory's face paled at the sight of her father, tossed like a broken doll in the corner, his bloody hat upside-down and across the room. "Wait, how are the cameras on? Do you just know your dad's password?"

"No. I don't know who turned them on."

"But you never left the room?"

"Dad said not to." Cassie was still looking at her father's corpse, feeling more and more empty by the second.

"Look at me. Cassie. Cassie, you gotta focus." Gregory tugged at her arm gently. "You can't keep... you're going to get nightmares."

"Moon," Cassie said blankly. "You both knew and neither of you said what he'd do to you if you got caught. He saw me. Neither of you considered that maybe this was something that could happen if he got his hands on me?"

"Cassie." Gregory was pleading now. "Did you see who turned the camera on?"

"No. My eyes were closed. Dad said to pretend to be asleep. So I did." Cassie turned to Gregory, tears streaming down her face. "Could I have stopped it? If I'd-"

"No, Cassie. But we need to have this conversation somewhere else, okay?" Gregory practically dragged her away from the sight of her dead father, running directly into the security guard entering the room.

Gregory yelped in fear, but the man had already caught his arm. "I presume you're the troublemaker that turned the lights off?" His voice rasped, and they couldn't see his face. "Come on, let's get you two away from this."

Zombie, Cassie thought blankly as the night guard guided her out of the room with a very angry Gregory. Maybe my father could do that too.

[eyndr-stories]

I Think I Smell A Rat (FNAF SB fanfic) C5 - Aw, Rats

In Summary:

Being a robotic repair rat who lives in the walls of the pizza-plex is a pretty great gig, all things considered! You fix the wires instead of chew them, and you get into tight spaces those silly humans can't reach and fix things up behind the scenes. You do your little tasks diligently, and all is well. That is, until one night when you realize all of your other repair rat friends have gone missing, and almost all of those animatronics outside the walls are acting strange... You aren't sure what it is that needs fixing, but by golly you'll fix it! You just might need a little help along the way...

Things To Know:

Not a lot of warnings for this one! There is some peril and danger, damage to robots, and damage to. Uh, whatever the heck Afton is at this point??

Reader insert! You're a little rat shaped robot a handful of inches long. Lots of borrower-related themes in here

Daycare attendant centered, though the other animatronics make brief appearances. You hang out with Sun in the first half of the story and Moon in the second half!

A little over 17000 words in total, just a lil guy! 5 chapters, they're all pretty short

I somehow managed not to swear once in the entire story, aw hell yeah! Wait-

Ao3 link: Here!

Start Here: Chapter 1

Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

C5 - Aw, Rats

     Without missing a beat, the rats rushed towards you and Moon in one massive wave.

     Moon made an alarmed noise and quickly jumped up onto the nearest table. It groaned and bent under his weight, but held. The rats immediately rushed for the table legs, trying to climb up.

     You quickly flashed your tail light at Moon. "I can't fix the virus with that bot in the way. Can you keep my friends distracted while I try to shut him down??"

     "I can try, but how are you going to get over there??"

     You paused, realizing there was only one timely option. You were not at all confidant that you could cross the whole room by yourself without getting lost. Hesitantly, you flashed a reply. "You'll have to throw me."

     Moon's face plate snapped down to face you fully. "Did I see that right??"

     "There's no time! Throw me now!"

     The rats had made it up the legs of the table and were scrambling towards Moon. Moon wound his arm back as he crouched, ready to jump.

     Moon threw you, and you went sailing through a dizzying blur of undefinable mess. You could hear the table cracking and collapsing, but you couldn't see where Moon had jumped to. A moment later you crashed, sliding across a surface your pathfinding desperately struggled to make sense of. You ignored the program entirely and forcefully focused on only what you could see.

     The computer console was to your left, and above you were the thick cords and bundles of wires stretching from it to the bot sitting to your right. The bot looked surprised to see you, but that surprise was quickly fading. He started to raise an arm, the limb shaking with effort. You had an up close view of the strange mangled combination of machinery and whatever that weird malleable looking purple stuff was.

     You moved, ignoring every warning in your mind telling you to stay put and ping for help because obviously you were malfunctioning, your pathfinder was on the fritz and you'd been experiencing the 'out of bounds' error for far too long now. You jumped up onto the wires overhead and gripped them carefully, scrambling across towards the bot.

     The bot made a grab at you, but you had plenty of experience at this point dodging grabby hands. You jumped over the hand, using the back of it to kick off and get you the rest of the way to the bot. the wires connected to the bot's back and the back of his head. You considered climbing the wires connecting to his head, but those looked too thin to hold you. You'd likely pull them loose and fall if you tried. And so you climbed to bot himself, finding that the leathery parts of the purple stuff provided decent purchase.

     Another hand swiped at you, but it couldn't get close enough. The bot didn't seem mobile enough to reach around to where you were on his back. He seemed to be able to reach above and below though, and he was clawing around blindly, trying to reach you.

     You heard another crash across the room, though you couldn't see what Moon was up to from your vantage point. You had to be quick. You needed to get up to the bot's head so you could shut him down, and fast.

     The bot started to shake from side to side, trying to throw you off. You slipped, and the bot cried out angrily as your claws tore little gashes through the purple stuff. You landed back on top of the wires connecting into the bot's back, trying to hold on to the metal casing the wires fed into for stability. The bot paused, then swiveled his head to look around at the ground.

     It hit you then that the bot couldn't feel you unless you were touching the purple stuff. He was looking to see if you'd fallen off, despite you still clinging to his casing. That meant you had a way up, but you had to be careful. The casing was a lot harder to climb, though it was grimy enough that it wasn't impossible.

     You climbed for all you were worth, going as fast as you dared. You made it up to back of the bot's head and paused. This hardware was unfamiliar, and there was an awful lot of unidentifiable purple stuff mixed in with it all. You reasoned your only goal was to shut the bot down, and so you got to work yanking out anything you could get your paws on.

     The bot howled and his whole body shook. He tried to grab at you, but you'd been lucky enough to damage something dealing with his spatial calibration, and he missed you. You knew he'd still be able to grab you eventually though, so you hurried, pulling and tearing and clipping wires between your teeth.

     You weren't sure which damaged wire it was that sent a horribly overwhelming shock of electricity crashing through you. You hadn't exactly been being careful not to let any wires touch the conductible parts of your casing. For a moment, you could almost physically feel something trying to pry at you. The feeling was strange- you knew you hadn't been grabbed, but you were seized with the sensation of something trying to grab a hold of you none the less.

     You suddenly received a warning ping about being off the main network, of all things. You were still in safe mode, having forgotten about it after setting it earlier when you and Sun had thought the virus was on the main network. You dismissed the ping. There was no time for any of that.

     You pressed through the aftermath of the shock and kept going, dismissing overcharge warnings and ignoring everything else. You disconnected piece after piece until finally, you pulled something that instantly caused the bot to crumple. You nearly lost your footing, but managed to grab hold of the wires connected to his head. He was silent and still.

     There was only a second to rejoice in your success. Moon yelled to you from across the room.

     "Any day now, little rat!!"

     You looked to see Moon had tipped over another table and was using it to try and sweep back the wave of rats still trying to carry out their task. The rats were disorganized and confused, but they were relentless none the less. You quickly turned back to your own task.

     Wasting no time, you scurried back down to the thicker wires and climbed back to the computer console. The casing was already opened, so the bot's wires could be plugged in. You hooked yourself up in no time and started interfacing with the console.

     Moon's situation grew more dire by the second as you flew through files, trying to format a new update file from the old one, this time without the virus. You were having a lot of trouble pulling out and deleting the virus itself. Meanwhile, the rats had finally swarmed over Moon's table. Moon looked around desperately, then eyed the door. He jumped up and pulled himself precariously atop the door, managing to balance on it. The door groaned and its old hinges immediately started to bend. The rats struggling to climb up on either side weren't helping matters either. The door began to bend, wood starting to splinter outwards from the hole Moon had torn when he'd ripped out the doorknob.

     Finally, you discarded the last of the virus from the files. You queued the virus-free update for upload and set it to the highest priority in the hopes that the rats and everyone else would download the new update immediately. Then there was nothing left you could do but wait, so you quickly disconnected and rushed around the side of the console to see how Moon was faring. The console whirred as it uploaded the folder to the main network, the progress bar inching towards full, pausing briefly at 98%.

     Moon yelled as the door finally collapsed under him, and he fell towards a massive heap of robotic rats.

     The console chimed as a message appeared on its screen- 'Upload Complete!'

     All at once, the rats stilled. This was great news for Moon, who was laying in a pile of rats who'd all been a moment away from pulling him apart piece by piece. The rats all slowly started to move again, shifting around and looking at each other. A few were flashing their tail lights at Moon.

     You quickly took yourself out of safe mode and opened up the communication channel you and all the other rats used. You were immediately overwhelmed by an onslaught of pings and messages from all of your friends, all confused and disoriented and struggling to get their pathfinding to work. You might have jumped for joy, if only you weren't so tired. You hadn't charged all night, and your battery was getting really low. You could tell you'd also sustained some minor damage from being tossed around and electrocuted.

     You worked on an explanation, trying to keep it brief. As soon as you sent it, you received hundreds more pings and messages, questions and exclamations from your confounded friends.

     Moon had managed to get to his feet and was carefully shuffling his way over to you. "You realize that if that had been any closer, all you rats would be stuck down here, right?" Moon grumbled.

     "I was going as fast as I could!" You practically fell into Moon's hand when he offered it out to you. "I'm glad you're okay."

     "Yeah… you too," Moon mumbled. He studied the rats shuffling around. "Alright you little pests, listen up!"

     The rats focused on Moon. You noted several messages asking who this rude bot was.

     "I'll lead you all back up into the building. Just follow me. Keep me in sight and stick together," Moon ordered.

     You had to assure everyone that Moon really did know the way out, and that he wasn’t actually as mean as he seemed. The rats all gathered together, circling around Moon. Moon carefully made his way to the door, and the rats slowly followed, bumping into each other but managing to follow Moon well enough.

     Moon made his way back through the old restaurant, an army of robot rats following close behind. You did your best to answer questions and assure your friends that Moon was trustworthy.

     It took many trips and a good deal of climbing up and down on Moon's part, but he managed to get every single rat up through the hole he'd made in the stage, and drop them off back in the main building, safe and sound. Your friends all scurried for the welcome sanctuary of the familiar walls, already pinging each other about tasks and repairs and discussing assigned charging shifts for the future.

     You sat with Moon on the stage, next to the hole leading down into what your map assured you was still an empty void.

     Moon peered down into the hole. "I'm thinking its probably a bad idea to just leave that guy sitting around down there."

     "What do you think we should do?" you asked.

     "Disassemble him, just to be safe. We don't want him somehow coming back to cause trouble again."

     "How are you going to do that?? I'm not even sure what he's made of, much less how to take it apart."

     Moon chuckled and tossed his metal hook from hand to hand. "Don't worry. I have a key."

     With that, he jumped back down into the hole one last time.

     You didn't have any complaints, honestly. Knowing what that bot had done to your friends, to Sun, to the other animatronics, and what he'd tried to do to Moon, you couldn't say you were all that upset to know he wouldn't be bothering anyone anymore.

     Once Moon had finished with his business and returned from the void, you had him put the hook back where he'd found it before making good on your promise to fix the lights for him so he could return to the daycare.

     The two of you stood at last in front of the daycare doors, ten minutes to spare until 6.

     "I can fix the lights in the daycare for you," you offered.

     Moon shook his head. "That's alright, I can control the daycare lights myself." He crouched down, holding you carefully in both hands. He didn't lower you to the ground just yet. "…So uh. Tonight sure has been… interesting."

     You nodded. "That's one word for it." You dismissed another low battery warning and focused on Moon. "Thank you for all your help, Moon. I couldn't have done it without you."

     "I know you couldn't have." Moon spun his face plate at you and chuckled. "You're very welcome. If you ever need my gracious assistance again, you know where to find me."

     "I really need to go recharge, but I'll be back soon. I promised Sun a game, once everything got settled."

     "Of course." Moon didn't move to lower you to the ground. He shuffled from side to side, his face plate turned away.

     "…I could play a game with you too when I get back, if you want?" you offered.

     Moon immediately nodded, then froze and looked away again. "Oh sure, whatever, I guess I could spare some time…"

     You would have laughed, if you could. You pat Moon's thumb with a paw. "You've grown fond of me! And to think a few hours ago you were threatening to pull my tail off."

     Moon huffed and unceremoniously dropped you on the ground. "Shoo now, tiny terror. Before I decide to pull your tail off after all."

     You scampered happily over to the wall port beside the daycare doors. You paused and glanced back at Moon. "…I've grown fond of you too."

     Moon tugged his cap down over his face and folded his arms with a huff. You scurried into the walls, leaving Moon behind for now.

     You hurried back to your nest at long last, eager not only to finally get some well earned rest, but also to return to your new friends Sun and Moon. You crawled into place on a charging pad sized just for you, next to a few of your other nest mates, all resting off the long night. As you settled into sleep mode, you wondered how many games you might be able to play before the daycare opened for the day. Maybe you could even invite some of your rat friends along, too.

     Your internal clock ticked over to 6 AM just as you powered down, and with it, the long night was finally put to rest.

~THE END~

[gumnut-logic]

Random writer asks:

I have a few actually 🙂 if you're happy to answer them...

1 I'm curious to know how much time you spend on writing

2 Have you ever decided to abandon a WIP for good?

3 Are you willing to read through and critique fics that others write? If so, do you enjoy doing that?

I hope these questions are ok. I'm keen to find out your answers 🙂

::hugs you lots::

I'm curious to know how much time you spend on writing.

Far too much time. I stuff most of my writing into the cracks. On a typical day I get up, get dressed, have breakfast, drive eldest child to school and then sit for a half an hour in the carpark and write (sometimes not write because I’m easy to distract). Then work until lunch. Scoff food and write a little more. At the moment these two writing sessions are usually Callisto.

When I finally get home at night and get through dinner, probably fall asleep on the couch for half an hour because I ate too much carb for dinner, I drag myself off said couch and go out to the computer. This is when I catch up with my blog, post a few things and do the evening writing – which lately has been where I write the ficlets.

If I have the weekend free or at least one day of it, I will sometimes schedule the day to be a good chunk of major fic writing, in my current case again, Callisto. Callisto is on a weekly update basis, so I need to write enough in a week to keep about a chapter ahead of the publishing schedule and hopefully not publish anything that needs major changes. Ficlets get published whenever.

The difference between this year and last year. Is that last year when I wrote in the morning and at lunch I would publish that writing, if I could, on that day. So you would get updates to big fics daily. But this doesn’t give me the flexibility to fix holes that appear in the plot. Hence this year’s attempt to slow down a little and get a little more sense into my fic. Seems to be going kinda okay so far. I dunno? Is Callisto working? :D

I work almost fulltime, run a very small business with a number of clients, am a mum with two neglected children and an equally neglected husband…who sometimes helps me with plotwork because he is wonderfully supportive :D

 Have you ever decided to abandon a WIP for good?

Yes. Me and WIPs have a historically difficult relationship. Technically, I am on the spectrum, but you wouldn’t know it by just looking at me – mostly because I’m an old fart. However, if I wasn’t as ancient as I am and was currently in school, the signs are all there and I would likely be diagnosed with a bunch of things associated with that. I’ve spent my life fighting my inability to finish things and I like to think that I have come a very long way in achieving what I have. I can keep my attention and passion on things much longer than I used to when I was younger and I have learnt to congratulate myself when I complete something rather than berate myself when I don’t.

The amount of anxiety induced by fretting over unfinished work can literally cripple my ability to produce anything. Something like this occurred at the beginning of this year where some may recall me desperately asking permission to drop all my WIPs so I could start Callisto.

My brain fritzes and I have come to the conclusion that some fic is better than none fic. I give what I can, and if a fic fizzles out, well, I have to put it down and start something new otherwise that will be the end of me writing anything. So yeah, there are some fics that I will likely never finish, but they are sacrifices for future fic that I might finish.

I have to give myself permission to do that.

But the WIPs are still there and I think of them more than I should. I may return, I don’t know.

 Are you willing to read through and critique fics that others write? If so, do you enjoy doing that?

I don’t generally beta fics anymore. I don’t have time – see schedule above. Any time spent on beta-ing is time I lose for writing or other tasks and I just don’t have enough of it.

Also, I am a bastard of a beta. I’m naturally incredibly pedantic and my red pen is savage. No one wants me to do a full beta on their fic, trust me. Not even my fic lives up to it.

I do readthroughs for a select few, however, and they read mine and assuage my negative voices. I do try to encourage writing and creating as much as I can.

As for whether I enjoy it…proofing is a necessary part of writing, however it is one of the less enjoyable and I am incredibly impatient. Last year, I posted bits that I didn’t even readthrough at all. I do not recommend this method. You got all the errors. But generally I do readthrough my work at least once. Callisto is getting multiple readthroughs for both proofing and plot monitoring so theoretically should be of a little better quality than the average one of mine.

But no, proofing is not my favourite task. And proofing other people’s work means I have to slow down my reading enough to pick up mistakes and I don’t get to enjoy the story as much. So yeah, would rather just inhale fic, curled up in bed and enjoy it. But we all need more eyeballs on our work, so we do this because it is needed.

Thank you so much for asking and I hope these answers were what you were looking for ::hugs::

Nutty

(nuts)

[jhelenoftrek]

Are you still taking imagines? If so... Imagine being in the mess hall while Janeway and Chakotay have an argument without realizing you're there 😁

Yes! Thank you, anon!  Thanks also to the ever helpful @mia-cooper for the argument idea.  Can’t they just get along?!

Gamma shift.  0230hours.  And your mother always swore thatnothing good ever happened after two AM.

You’d kill for ‘nothing good.’  Crud, you’d beg for ‘moderately interesting’at this point.

“Shit!” you exclaim, smacking your head on the sharp undersideof the kitchen counter.  You pull backand extricate yourself from the stainless steel cupboard where you have beencrouched for the last hour, give or take. You’re sore, tired, and your handsare coated in some kind of horrible smelling spice that Neelix must havedropped back here a year ago.  And now, your head is throbbing.

“Stupid piece of crap,” you mutter, knowing full well thatthere’s no one around to hear you.  IfNeelix didn’t need this burner to make breakfast in three hours there would benothing stopping you from shoving the entire appliance out the nearest airlock. But, he muttered something about wantingto fry Alberrien fish egg omelets in the morning and lord knows you don’t wantto deprive the day shift of thatbreakfast.  

You might finally be done, you have only to turn on the gasand hope that it won’t singe off your eyebrows again.  Wrench on the fitting, ‘lefty lucy,’, you recite in your head.  And then you hear the doors to the mess hallslide open.

‘I swear to God, ifthat’s Neelix coming to check up on me I’m gonna lose it,’ you think.

But no, the footsteps are too light.  Before long, a voice from across the roomsays, “Coffee, black,” and you know instantly who it is.  You frown, wondering why the captain would beup at this hour, and in the mess hall no less. Her replicator must be on the fritz again, you realize.  At least day shift can deal with thatone.  You’re just about to make yourpresence known – you’re trying to squeeze yourself out of the corner - when thedoor opens and closes again.  

“Kathryn.”

You freeze.

“We need to finish this conversation,” says a deep,masculine voice that can’t be more than a few steps inside the room.  It’s another one you’d know anywhere.  

“Our conversation is over,” comes her reply in a significantlyless than friendly tone.

There is a long pause and you consider, for just a second,outing yourself before this becomes awkward, but you realize that it alreadyis.  You also concede that this mightjust be the most exciting thing that’s ever happened on Gamma shift.  As such, you keep the wrench wrapped in yourarms and your mouth shut.

“Last time I checked, just because you walk out of the room doesn’tmean that the subject is actually closed.”

“Last time Ichecked, I was the one…”  You’re waiting for her to lay into him aboutbeing the one in charge around here when instead you hear a sigh.  “Oh, damn it. It’s too late at night for this, Chakotay.”

“Looks to me like you’re going to be up for a while yet,” hesays, as you hear his heavier footsteps approaching her location.  “Why not finish what we started?”

Someone sets a mug on a table not far from you and it makesa clunking sound.

“I just don’t think there’s much more to discuss.  You made it pretty clear a few minutes agothat you don’t trust me.”

‘A few minutes ago?’ you think. ‘Just how late do those businessdinners go?’

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s that I don’t trust Starfleet.”

“We’re one in the same.”

“No.  You’re not.”

You hear a deep sigh and a chair is pulled out not far fromthe counter that you’re perched precariously under.  Your legs are starting to go numb and you’dswear the wrench is magically gaining mass.

“You agreed to uphold Starfleet principles when you took theuniform,” she continues with forced calm.

“I did that for my crew.”

“And now?”

“And now, well.  Not alot has changed there in the last three years, has it?  We all still need to work together to gethome,” he reminds.

“Are you sure you wantto get home?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“It sounds like you’re not exactly sure.”

“Just because I’m in fear for my people –“

“Your people?” sheleans into the word as she interrupts.

“Yes.  At the end of theday, when we cross the boundary intoFederation space, and we’re orderedto the nearest penal colony, they become mypeople again.”  

You’re shocked at rising anger apparent in his voice as itbellows against the empty room.  You’venever heard Chakotay like this before and quite frankly it’s starting to scareyou, but you’re confident in Janeway’s ability to hold her own.  True to form, she continues on, matching his intensity.

“And you don’t think that I’m going to do everything in mypower, everything conceivable, to make sure that they’re, you’re, treated fairly and given special consideration based on the commitment you’ve made out here?”

“Of course you will, I know you will.  I’m just saying I can’t count on your weight beingenough in a court of law.  And if it’s not, I have to beready.”

“Now, see,” she says, and you can imagine that Janewayfinger waving right at him.  “That’s thepart that worries me.  What does it meanwhen you say, ‘ready’?  When, exactly, will you be becoming ‘ready’ to take matters into your own hands?   Am I going to have a fight on my hands? ”

Your legs are shaking now, and you’re starting to feel theheat in the room expand past just where they’re sitting.  You could cut the tension in the air with one of Neelix’s butcher knives.  A long pause and then you hear a very quiet, “No,”come from Chakotay.  “Please, believe mewhen I tell you I would never order the Maquis members of this crew to fight inany way.  I’d never condone that.”

“Former Maquis,” she corrects gently.

He lets out a heavy sigh. “Former Maquis.”

“Good.  Because whenthe time comes – and it will come, because we will be getting home – I can’t be second guessing our destinationin fear of a mutiny.  I can’t risk anyone over a botched escape attempt either.”

You hear a second chair be pulled out and now assume thatthey’re both sitting.  God, how you wishyou were sitting instead of still bent at the knees, perched on the achingballs of your feet.

“We’ve all been out here a long time,” he says, calmer now.  “We’re grasping at straws to get home and nowwe’re grasping for reasons not to get there.”

“It has been a long time,” she concedes.  “But not long enough.”

“No.  Not long enoughfor the crimes that the former Maquis committed - that I have committed - tobe forgotten.  The Federation wasactively hunting us, Kathryn.  They maystill be hunting my comrades and if that’s the case then the Val Jean creware not going to look a whole lot different in their eyes.”

“I forget that sometimes,” she admits.  

“You may not think about your original mission much anymore, but Istill do.”

“I guess… I’m sorry. I lose sight of that sometimes. It’s just so much pressure already, trying to keep everyone safe and –“

“I know.  I don’t wantto add to your burdens.”

“Your crew isn’t a burden.  Voyager wouldn’t stand achance without you.  Any of you.”  Another drawn out pause and then she beginsagain softly.  “That’s why this hasn’tcome up before…you didn’t want to upset me,” you hear the realization in her voice and then she ralliesdetermination and finishes, “I’ll make them see, Chakotay.  I promise you that.”

“I know you’ll try. And I know you’ll get the chance. Because you will get us home.”

“We will get ushome.”

“Yes.”

“Until then, let’s just agree to cross that bridge when wecome to it, okay?”

“And we’ll do it together?”

“Always.”

A heavy sigh leaves one of them.  Oh, what you wouldn’t give to be able to seethem right now.  But really, you’re justhoping that you’re not discovered.  Yourlegs are throbbing so violently now you feel as if they’re just going to giveout.

“It’s late,” he says finally.  “Can I walk you back to your quarters?”

“Yes.  Please,” shereplies softly.

You exhale carefully as they pass by, glad that they’re finallyleaving and you’re no longer in the role of an unwitting spy.  Two sets of footsteps draw fartherand farther away.  For a brief instant inthe dim light you catch their reflection in a large soup pot.  They’re arm in arm, sans uniform jackets, herhead resting gently on his shoulder.

Things are just as they should be, you realize.

Finally, you hear the door swish open as Chakotay calls, “Computer, lights out.”

It’s just you now, in the dark.  You and your wrench.  And the most interesting Gamma shift you’veever had.

[comicalsansa]

This right here has honestly been one of my biggest problems with the distance education because I live in a very poor state. Like, there are a lot of families in this state that can't afford things like heat and winter coats in the winter, they can't afford a freaking computer and internet. And large parts of my state are rural and the only way to get internet at all in some places is satellite, like unless you're with a particular provider you can't even use your cell phone as a hot spot because you have no signal (you have zero g and quite possible zero bars, even with Verizon). And I'm not sure if it's gotten better, but I know in the past, satellite connections have had the issue that they tend to go on the fritz during storms and even just rain (I worked at a restaurant once that used satellite for the card machine, every time we got storms or a heavy rain it would go down).

Like, if we're going to do this, then we need to ensure every student has access to a computer and a stable internet connection.

And that's not even getting into the second point brought up here about having an appropriate place to work. Like, obviously this fact needs to be fixed but a lot of kids live in abusive homes or with parents who have addiction problems. If your parents are on freaking meth, for example, you don't even have a safe space to exist (largely due to the fact that your house probably doubles as a meth lab) much less do homework and study.

Like, obviously we can't be sending the kids to school during a pandemic of this scale, but there is going to be an entire generation that is behind due to this shit because we simply do not have the infrastructure to support remote teaching. And that is so unfair to every single one of these kids (and their teachers, because jfc, it is so much harder and you know they have no support either). While I really hope there aren't any minors following this blog, my heart goes out to ya'll.

tbh we really need to have a conversation about digital poverty cos assuming all students have both their own laptop and a reliable wifi connection stinks of classism