#we can save them superstar

[angelofrainfrogs]

We Can Save Them, Superstar: Ch. 7

Fandoms: Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: Gregory’s on a mission to save everyone he can in the Pizzaplex—even those that have already left this mortal plane. With the sudden return of Vanessa, it seems some lingering questions may finally be answered. But of course, nothing is easy when it comes to William Afton and his convoluted plots. To accomplish his mission, Gregory will need to work with his new friends and family… and some old, startlingly familiar faces, too.

Chapter Summary: Bonnie finally gets to confront Vanessa and give her a piece of his mind. More progress is made finding the kids' items, and the group is one step closer to freeing them once and for all.

Rating: T

Read on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45578011/chapters/132772210

As Bonnie and Freddy entered, Vanessa's eyes simply widened. Rather than being surprised by his appearance, she seemed to start adding together more pieces of her missing memory.

“Bonnie…?” she questioned slowly, staring up at the animatronic. Her last memory of Bonnie was having him meet with Monty, only to order the gator to attack him. They would then leave him in the basement after dismantling him for parts, where he’d stay for who knows how long. The more she stared, the more she realized Bonnie was not at all happy with her.

“That’s right,” Bonnie confirmed with a nod, taking a step towards her. Thomas retreated to the far corner of the office, eyes wide, not willing to get in the middle of this at all.

“Bonnie…” Freddy warned, reaching out a half-hearted hand to stop him.

“You, ma’am, have done some horrendous things,” Bonnie continued, taking another step forward. “I didn’t know how I’d react to seeing you, honestly, but… you’re so pathetic, you’re not even worth wasting my voice box on.”

He turned away with nothing but ice in his deep red eyes.

All Vanessa could do was sit still and take it. Even though there was no physical attack, Bonnie’s words stung as if he’d gouged her face with deceptively sharp claws. Vanessa squeezed her fists, trying her best to ignore the throbbing headache coming on from the stress of it all.  

“I didn't do anything! If you're blaming me, then why don't you blame Monty for what happened?!” Vanessa shouted back, her cool demeanor breaking. “You don't think I feel guilty?! It's not like I wanted to do any of this! I didn't even remember it! Monty, Chica, and Roxy don't remember attacking Gregory either, so why not get angry with them? Is it because Gregory was already dead?!”

After the outburst, Vanessa lowered her head. She was frustrated, but she understood why they were angry. After all, she was still alive.

“How dare you speak of my friends like that?!” Freddy snapped, his flimsy resolve breaking. Bonnie quickly shuffled away—when Freddy was angry, no one was safe.

“Oh fuck,” Thomas muttered, scrambling to get his walkie-talkie. “Leon, get your ass over here now! The bear’s pissed and I need backup asap!”

Freddy stood to his full height, fists clenched at his sides as he towered over Vanessa. It was taking all of his willpower not to rip her to shreds—or at the very least, take a bite out of her now-bloodied face.

“Do you know how hard it was for me to resist exacting my own revenge the second I saw you in that hallway?” Freddy asked coldly. “It was because of Gregory that I didn’t, so consider yourself lucky—as you know, we animatronics are more than capable of tearing apart tiny humans like you.” His eyes narrowed even further. “I have vouched for you to the others this whole time, telling them you were not in your right mind—we all were in that stage at one point and we all hurt Gregory! But, like it or not, it was your body that sent out that virus and your hand held the knife—William’s influence be damned! So, unfortunately, you are the one to blame right now! Children are dead because of you!”

Vanessa watched as Freddy stepped closer, standing her ground... Somewhat. She certainly poked the sleeping bear, and now she'd possibly pay the price.

Was she scared? Absolutely. But she was too damn stubborn to back down now.

“Why are you blaming me when I was under control?!” she replied, furrowing her brows. "If you're going to just throw me under the bus and label me a heartless child murderer when I was out of it the entire time, then maybe you can go to William instead. Ask him to help you with the rest of the fucking ritual yourself and just off me or whatever!”

“Hey, hey!” Leon appeared at the door, clearly out of breath from how fast he was running. “What's going on?!”

“Oh, nothing. Just me being the super-evil child murdering bitch trying to form some scheming plan to kill more children, or whatever the fuck you think I'm doing,” Vanessa grumbled, slouching back in her chair.

“They’re gonna kill her!” Thomas exclaimed, pointing to Freddy and Bonnie. He wasn’t as concerned with this fact in itself as much as the timing of everything. “They’re gonna kill her before we can reverse the ritual and then we’re gonna have to find William—”

“We are not going to kill her,” Freddy snapped, glaring at the guard so hard he began to whimper. “I refuse to have any dealings with that… that bastard of a creature known as William until we are ready to kill him!”

“Oh god, Freddy cursed…,” Thomas muttered, raking his fingers down his face. “We’re all fucked now!”

Leon felt a bit lightheaded, in all honestly. He leaned into Thomas, watching the bear like a hawk. “If it gets to be too much, I'll grab his left arm and you grab the right.”

“And forgive us for being cautious,” Freddy continued, turning back to Vanessa and completely ignoring the other guards. “We still do not know how you were infected by William, so we cannot risk you falling under his control again. As I stated, I have tried to vouch for you—at least, the state you are in now.”

Freddy clenched his teeth, breathing a heavy sigh.

“I know you and ‘Vanny’ are not quite the same, but…” He gestured vaguely, his rage beginning to lose steam as he ranted. He was tired of arguing, tired of fighting, just… tired.

Vanessa stayed quiet until Freddy was finished, keeping her gaze to the floor. “...You know, I have to stick with this guilt for the rest of my life, too. I have to see the death of those children even when I close my eyes. I'm sure you wouldn't want to remember something like that in gruesome detail either. I'm sure none of you would want to remember anything so terrible. All of the blood and sounds... And the faces. The way you believe you could never do something so horrendous makes the situation worse.”

The former security guard let out a deep sigh, shaking her head. “I'm sure none of the animatronics affected want to remember vivid detail of attacking Gregory. It all goes back to the facts: of course you wouldn't do it now, but it still fucking happened. If I'm a monster, so are the rest of you.”

A deep growl issued from Freddy’s throat. It was low and dangerous, and at that moment the humans could see without a shadow of a doubt how these seemingly friendly robots could be nothing more than killing machines if pushed the wrong way. Thomas tensed despite his trembling, knowing he wouldn’t really stand a chance against Freddy but willing to try if he had to.

The bear took an aggressive step forward, raising one sharp-clawed paw—and then he halted, Vanessa’s final words sinking in.

“Freddy, if you’re not gonna do anything, then let me—”

“Stop,” Freddy commanded, thrusting out an arm to block Bonnie as he started forward. “Everyone, just… stop.” He grimaced, his gaze lowering to the floor. “As much as I hate to admit it… Vanessa has a point. Yes, Gregory was already dead when he was attacked by the animatronics, but—what if he was still alive?”

He let out a shaky breath, the reality of the situation hitting him like a brick. “None of us were in our rights minds the entire time—if not Vanny, what if one of us had killed him? What… W-What if I did?!” He took a step back, shaking his head. “Any child was in terrible danger from all of us… because of William.”

The room went silent for a moment, though Vanessa soon winced and shifted in discomfort. A faint, fresh line of red was beginning to show through her tattered shirt, the wound in her side having been reopened in all the recent shuffling.

“...I think Gregory remembers his death the way I do,” she mumbled between quiet wheezes, shutting her eyes. “Slow and horrific. Don't know about his other 'deaths,' but the way he looked at me when Vanny told the truth haunts me. Don't let the other children remember, because they can't and won't forget something so painful.”

“We weren’t planning on it,” Bonnie said through clenched teeth.

Freddy simply shook his head, pressing a hand to his mouth as he thought of Gregory’s tormented face upon sight of Vanessa. The poor boy was so strong to be able to get past something so horrendous. Vanessa was right—they could never put the other children through that kind of pain again.

“…Okay, everybody out!” Thomas suddenly announced, breaking the tense silence. He finally moved, shuffling the group towards the door as he grabbed a first-aid kit from where it hung on the wall. “If I’m supposed to be the ‘good cop,’ I’m gonna be the damn good cop—which means I can’t let her bleed out right now. And as satisfying and fucking terrifying as all that was to watch, I think you guys need a break…”

Freddy didn’t have the willpower to fight anymore that night—he was programmed to listen to staff including the night guard, and at this point he was more than happy to let Thomas shoo him and the others out the door. Once the others were out in the hallway, Thomas activated the animatronic-proof locks and turned to Vanessa with a sigh.

“You’re a moron, snapping at Freddy like that,” Thomas muttered, fishing around in the first-aid kit. He pulled out some sterile cloth and began to dab at Vanessa’s wound, curbing the damage before it got even worse.

Vanessa looked back at the guard and rolled her eyes. “You weren't there that night, so you have no fucking idea.”

“And boy am I glad for that!” Thomas snapped back at Vanessa, pressing some disinfectant against her side. He then lapsed into focused silence as he cleaned her wounds and

Out in the hall, Freddy heaved a sigh. “I am going back to my room, and I am not leaving for the rest of the night unless there is an emergency.”

Thomas was right—he did need a break, and this point Freddy trusted the guards to move Vanessa. Sun and Moon wouldn’t leave the daycare without prompting, so as long as the other animatronics stayed in Rockstar Row Freddy wasn’t worried about them attacking again.

“I’ll keep everyone in check for you,” Bonnie reassured, his expression softening back to its usual kindness. “Go hang out with Gregory. And I promise I’ll leave her alone while she’s in the bowling alley—you can trust me, Fredbear.”

“Thank you.” Freddy gave his own small smile and then headed back to his room. He didn’t usually sleep, but man did he feel like taking a nap after tonight.

Meanwhile, Monty had been working hard to get Gregory to take a nap. The kid was exhausted but had been resistant to sleep without Freddy tucking him in. Thankfully, after a bit of negotiating Gregory ended up falling fast asleep on the couch under the blankets Monty pulled over him.

Freddy slowly opened the door to his room, entering quietly when he saw that Gregory was out like a light. He waved at Monty and connected through their internal radio so as not to wake the boy.

“Thank you for watching him, Monty,” Freddy said telepathically, giving the gator an appreciative smile. “Things are settled for now. I am going to recharge and then I will stay with Gregory the rest of the night. You can meet up with the others—Bonnie will join you soon.”

Monty grinned, tail swishing as he moved to the door. “No problem, Fredbear! You know I love watchin’ that adorable lil’ squirt. See you later!” 

Once Monty left, Freddy stepped into the nearby recharge station and allowed his battery to fill up completely. He felt a lot better physically after that, but he knew his weariness wasn’t completely from loss of power this time.

He went back into the room and moved to Gregory’s side. The boy was completely out and Freddy was hesitant to wake him… but for once, it was Freddy who needed some comfort. Besides, he knew Gregory wouldn’t be upset if his dad woke him up, out of everyone.

Moving as gently as he could, Freddy eased Gregory into his lap with arms securely wrapped around his waist. Once settled, Freddy simply closed his eyes and rested, holding his son tight and reassuring himself that everything was going to work out in the end.

It had to.

“Freddy…?” the boy mumbled quietly, rubbing his eyes as the shuffling woke him. After confirming it was none other than his faithful guardian, Gregory was quick to nuzzle his cheek against Freddy’s chest. “Freddy, why were you gone so long?”

“Hello, superstar,” Freddy said with a soft smile. “The others and I had a lot to talk about. I am sorry I did not come back sooner. How was your time with Monty?”

“I had fun! We read a bunch and played some games!” Gregory explained, feeling his eyes fall shut. “And he helped me fall asleep but I wanted to wait for you...”

“Well, now that I am here you should rest more.” Freddy chuckled softly. “I promise I will wake you before opening hours so you can spend the entire day by my side.”

Gregory curled up once again, another long yawn leaving his lips. “...Tuck me in!”

Freddy did so, pulling the blankets up until only Gregory’s head was visible. Then he wrapped his arm around Gregory again, pulling him even closer as he murmured: “Goodnight, superstar; I love you very much.”

“Goodnight; I love you too, Dad!” the boy said as he nuzzled his cheek against Freddy's chest comfortably.

***

As promised, Freddy woke Gregory up a short while later when it was time to report to Parts & Service. The boy trailed along behind as all the animatronics made their way over, everyone meeting up and taking the stage lift elevator down together. Freddy, Monty, and Roxy got a lecture from the techs about damaging themselves after hours, but luckily their dents were minor enough to be popped back out without needing to take apart their suits. Additionally, Bonnie now joined the group for routine check-ups. Even though he wasn’t back in the band, he was allowed to entertain guests in his bowling alley so he got a once-over just like the others.

Freddy tried not to dwell on the situation with Vanessa as he went about his day. He felt like it was slightly easier to push this to the back of his mind than it had been yesterday, and wondered if it was because Gregory was by his side this time. The boy was certainly a good distraction.

Gregory enjoyed being with Freddy as he went about his routines, practically clinging onto the animatronic’s leg; he refused to let Freddy stray too far. As the day eventually came to a close, Gregory jumped up into Freddy's arms so he could be lifted up.

“Okay, can we go look for the last two items now?!” the boy asked curiously. 

“Soon, Gregory!” Freddy replied with a laugh, giving the boy a hug as he lifted him up. “I need to find out where the items are first, and then we can find them. How about you stay with Chica while I speak with Thomas and Leon, then I will come and get you to help search? You could even visit the children while you wait! I believe Bonnie said he was heading down to the basement as soon as closing hours began tonight.”

Freddy was determined to spend as little time with Vanessa as possible, so he planned to have her look at Robin and Katie's pictures at once. Also, he needed to make sure the other guards were alright, especially with how little sleep they'd been getting...

“Okay… I wanna go see the kids then!” Gregory insisted, resting his hands on Freddy's shoulders before twisting to hold his arms out for Chica. He hadn't seen the others in a while and honestly missed interacting with them.

The bird was quick to pull Gregory into a warm hug, smiling happily. “I'll take you there! I'm heading down anyways!”

“Thank you; I will join you shortly!” Freddy said, giving the pair a wave and then turning on his heel and heading towards Bonnie Bowl.

Meanwhile, Thomas was currently passed out in a corner of the tiny room where Leon and Vanessa were, an extra jacket he'd found wrapped around him like a blanket and snoring lightly. He’d tried to nap earlier in the day, but the muffled sounds of people in the bowling alley made him nervous enough to keep him awake. However, as the hours went on and the attraction became less crowded Thomas finally managed to calm himself enough to rest, and he’d gotten a solid few hours of sleep in at this point—though he could certainly use a lot more.

Leon remained awake while waiting on Thomas to get his rest. Leon had slept for quite some time during dayshift, so it was easy to let Thomas try and regain some of his stamina now. Upon hearing a knock on the door, Leon waited until Freddy's voice rang out before standing and moving to open it.

“Hey, Freddy; what's up?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest.

“How is everything?” Freddy asked, peering over Leon's shoulder. He saw Thomas sleeping in the corner while Vanessa sat against a different wall, looking dejected as usual but no worse for wear. After assessing the room, Freddy looked at Leon again. “I see Thomas was able to rest, at least—I hope you were as well?”

“Yeah, we all got some sleep. Nothing special happened,” he updated the bear, sparing a glance over his shoulder. “I'm fine, too—just drowsy, is all.”

“Good,” Freddy said, giving the guard a smile. “You both make sure to request some time off after this is all over, alright? You certainly deserve it!” He laughed at the craziness of the whole situation before glancing at Vanessa again. “As for the task at hand... I would like to show her the pictures of both Robin and Katie now so that I can search for their items at once.”

“Oh trust me, we already have,” Leon said with a chuckle, making his way over towards Vanessa. He gave her leg a light kick to wake her up, pulling out his phone and pulling up the pictures they needed. “Take a look at this.”

“Ugh... Robin—his, um...,” Vanessa mumbled, trying to make sense of her memory. “His glasses are in the lost and found by Bonnie Bowl.”

“Noted; that is right nearby,” Freddy said with a nod, watching Vanessa closely, though his attention was diverted as he caught Thomas shifting. The guard lifted his arms out of the jacket-blanket as he stretched and gave a huge yawn.

“Oh, man, what time is it...?” Thomas asked, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes. He jumped when he caught sight of the animatronic, though it was out of pure surprise instead of fear. “Oh—hey Freddy! Guess it's nightshift, huh?”

Leon rolled his eyes at Thomas, then pulled up the next picture and showed Vanessa. She squinted at the screen, before wincing and dropping her head. “For Katie, it’s… It's a gold necklace in a vent up at the catwalk in Gator Golf.”

“That is the last item we need,” Freddy said, a hint of wary excitement in his voice. This certainly wasn't over yet, but they'd soon be even closer to freeing those kids. Freddy shifted his gaze between Thomas and Leon, thinking aloud. “While I search, perhaps you can find out any other items the ritual requires, as well as how to actually reverse it?”

“Yeah, we can definitely do that,” Thomas agreed with a nod as he stood and stretched again. He gave Freddy a smile, the bags under his eyes a little lighter thanks to his long nap. “We've got this, okay? Don't stress so much—the last thing we need is for you to blow a fuse or something...”

“Sounds easy enough,” Leon said as he took a seat beside Thomas, then looked to the bear. “Yeah, don't stress yourself out Freddy.”

“I will be alright,” Freddy reassured, offering Thomas a smile as well, then turned to head out the door. He headed towards the lost and found near Bonnie Bowl, connecting to Monty through their internal radio as he walked.

“Monty, can you pick up Gregory and meet me at your golf course?” Freddy asked. “The last item is up in a vent by the catwalks—I think we may need both of your help to get it.”

“Yeah! I'm on it, boss!” Monty replied, the grin obvious in his voice. It wasn’t hard to track down Gregory, and soon the gator was picking him up from the basement and heading back up top. Instead of carrying Gregory in his arms and walking like a normal being, he instead held the ghost by his torso up over his head while charging for the golf course.

Freddy soon located Robin’s glasses in the lost and found, grimacing at the huge crack in one of the lenses. He wrapped the glasses up in a random shirt from the box of lost items and stowed it away in his chest cavity, not wanting to go out of his way to drop them off at the room since the golf course was right there.

As Freddy walked towards the nearest set of deactivated escalators to make his way down, he happened to glance over the railing towards the center of the main atrium. He noticed what appeared to be Monty running towards the golf course, holding something above his head.

…Or someone Freddy realized, his eyes widening as he rushed to the railing to watch, wondering what in the world Monty and Gregory were doing.

As the duo made it to the golf course proper, Monty  took a look around before calling out to the Glamrock bear. “Freddy?! You here?! Hmm…”

He paused, eyeing a small ball pit not too far from where they stood.

“Hey, squirt... Wanna get launched?” Monty asked, to which Gregory nodded fervently.  “Just don't miss, 'kay?”

Monty stepped all the way back before running at the ball pit with a laugh. Gregory held his arms out, bracing himself before finally being thrown up into the air over Monty's head. The boy let out a scream of excitement, going airborne for a good five seconds before landing in the plastic lake.

Freddy stepped out of the elevator just in time to see Gregory hit the surface of the "water." He didn’t see how the boy found his way in there, but based on Monty’s proud look Freddy had his suspicions.

“Hello, you two,” Freddy greeted as he walked up to Monty’s side, tilting his head curiously. “What are you playing? Certainly not golf..."

“Hey, Fredbear! We're playing Airplane, but Gregory just made an emergency landing!” Monty explained with a grin, watching Gregory struggle with climbing out of the ball pit.

“Freddy!” the boy chirped, holding his arms up over his head so Freddy could assist.

“Do not tell me you threw him, Monty…,” Freddy groaned, lifting Gregory out of the ball pit. The boy’s hair was sticking up wildly and Freddy did his best to smooth it out, although it seemed untamable right now.

Monty laughed, shaking his head. “I didn't throw him! He made an emergency landing!”

Freddy let out a soft sigh. Well, as long as Gregory was safe and having fun, he couldn’t really complain.

“I found Robin’s glasses,” the bear said, tapping his chest cavity. “They are in here. Now we only need Katie’s necklace, which is supposedly in a vent near the catwalks.” He glanced towards the ceiling. “I figured that you both might be able to locate it, since the catwalks are Monty’s domain and Gregory can fit in the vents if it is too far inside for Monty to reach?”

Gregory gasped, clapping his hands together loudly. “Easy-peasy!”

“Sure thing! I can go look for it now; I doubt Vanessa was able to get it too far in,” the gator offered, resting his hands on his hips. “I'll get Gregory when I find it!”

“That sounds like a plan!” Freddy agreed with a grin. “Gregory and I will be right here, so call down if you need us.”

Monty nodded before running off towards the direction of the catwalks. It didn’t take long for him to find an emergency ladder and take a leap, using his powerful legs to jump up and climb to the top of the catwalk.

“...It looks a lot cooler now when he isn't chasing me,” Gregory mentioned, before glancing up at Freddy with a smile. “Wanna throw me while we wait?”

Freddy looked from Gregory to the ball pit, then gave a resigned sigh.

“Oh, alright,” he relented, unable to resist Gregory’s smiling face for long.

After a few rounds of tossing the little ghost, Freddy glanced up to the catwalks. While Gregory made his way back out of the ball pit again, he called out: “How is it going, Monty?”

Monty let out a loud laugh, seeming to find the item behind a vent not too long after Freddy called out to him. “I found it! You can come up here with Gregory or I can bring him; your choice, Papa Bear!”

“You know I cannot get up there like you can—I have to take the long way around!” Freddy called back with a shake of his head. Then he had an idea, lifting Gregory into his arms as he said: “Meet me halfway—I will toss him up to you!”

Worst case, Monty would miss the catch and Gregory would fall right back into Freddy’s waiting arms. Best case, this would be an awesome trick that Gregory would get a kick out of, especially based on how he’d just been entertaining himself.

“Oh?! You're finally loosening up?! YEAHHHH!” The gator cackled as he hoped down onto a pole, just to make sure he'd catch Gregory. “How does that sound, squirt?!”

The boy threw his arms up in preparation for launch, giggling excitedly. “Fun!”

“Alright, get ready!” Freddy said, hoisting the boy over his head yet again. “Three… two… one!” Freddy threw the boy up to Monty with more force than before to counteract the gravity, quickly moving into position just in case he needed to catch him.

Gregory let out a louder scream, holding his arms out until Monty finally caught him.

“WOOO!” the gator cheered before jumping into the catwalk and safely setting Gregory down. “Hole in ONE!”

Freddy clapped at this display, soon stepping back to see the pair as best he could from his position on the ground. “Let me know when you have the necklace, superstar!”

“Okay!” Gregory said as he leaned over the rail to wave at Freddy. He soon followed Monty over to the vent, watching him unscrew the casing with his sharp nail. Once he managed to open it up, he gestured for Gregory to enter the vent. The boy smiled, immediately crawling in on his hands and knees.

“Oh, I see it!” Gregory announced, grimacing at the sight. The necklace was covered in blood and stringy hair, making him immediately crawl backwards out of the vent with the jewelry held between his fingertips. “I found it, Dad, but it's very gross...”

“Good job, Gregory—you can give it to Monty for now,” Freddy replied, his voice coming both through the watch and from down below. While he appreciated the fact that Gregory helped them find so many items, Freddy didn’t like that the boy had to interact with things so tainted with death. However this didn’t really matter anymore, as Freddy quickly let the others know.

“We have found all the children’s items!” the bear exclaimed. “We are so much closer to freeing them now!”

Gregory immediately handed Monty the necklace, which he clasped firmly between his claws. He lifted Gregory under the other arm before hopping off of the catwalk and down the ladder, half-sliding the rest of the way down.

“This kid is amazing!” said Monty as he handed Gregory back over to Freddy. The animatronic held the necklace up for Freddy to take, grinning happily. “What's the next step?!”

“He is indeed!” Freddy agreed, nuzzling his face against Gregory’s until the boy giggled. Then he shifted Gregory so he could deposit the necklace in his stomach hatch, before settling the boy back into a comfortable embrace.

“The next thing to do is for me to talk to the guards again,” Freddy informed Monty, already starting towards the exit. “They have been doing research on this ritual we need to reverse and will hopefully be able to tell me how to do this when we reconnect.”

Monty hopped with excitement, throwing his fists in the air. “We're almost there!"

“I can't wait!” Gregory exclaimed, kicking his legs eagerly. “Let's go, let's go!”

Freddy gave them a nod, carrying Gregory as they rode the elevator up to the main level and walked to Rockstar Row. Once in their room, Freddy handed the boy back to Monty so he could put the items in the toy box. Then he stood, giving the pair an eager smile.

“I will be back shortly!” Freddy said, ruffling Gregory’s hair and giving Monty a pat on the back as he passed them, soon exiting the room and rushing towards Bonnie Bowl yet again. He hoped the guards found what they were looking for.

Monty held onto Gregory as they watched Freddy depart, letting out a hum. “Let's go bother Roxy and talk about how cool I am!”

***

Masterlist of chapters on Tumblr here!

Please check out The Superstar Series on ao3 for all fics in this series: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2726401

[usomads]

Never Have I Ever // Jey Uso x Reader

Author's Note -> So I had this interesting little idea and figured I'd write it out for y'all... not sure how I feel about it yet but lmk if you like it 🤭 Oh! I have a masterlist now too, so you can check out some other stories I did recently :) happy reading!

Plot -> An innocent game leads to a new first, and new love.

Pairings -> Jey Uso x Fem!Reader (Y/N)

Warnings -> Drinking, Cursing, Hickies, Oral (Fem!Receiving), Unprotected P in V, Creampie, Not Proofread, MDNI

Word Count -> 3.3k

Game Night. The one night a month where you, Josh, Jon, Trin, Joe, and Galina could have a night to yourselves. No kids, no wrestling events to stress over, just drinks and quality time with your people. You met them through work, and although you were part of the production crew you ended up clicking with them right away. Whenever you all were inevitably on the road for shows, you traveled together, stayed at the same hotel, ventured the cities together, you had basically become part of the family.

Game Night originally started as a couples get-together for Jon, Trin, Joe, and Galina but seeing as you and Josh were always around they happily extended the invitation to you two, despite both of you being single.

You were close with everybody in the group, but yours and Josh’s relationship was by far closer than the relationships you had with the others. Josh was the first WWE superstar to greet you on your first day on the job, showing you around and helping you get acclimated to your new work environment. Within the span of a couple weeks he was inviting you to family events, and the rest is history.

After helping yourself to a mixed drink in Joe and Galina's kitchen, you made your way back to the living room where everyone was congregated as they were trying to figure out the next game to play. “Why don’t we spice it up?” Trin suggested, “how about a game of ‘Never Have I Ever’?”

“Jesus, Trin. What are we, high schoolers?” You chimed in, “Might as well get a bottle out and start spinning it too.”

“Oh c’mon, Y/N, live a little,” she teased, “Sounds to me like you’ve got some secretssss!”

“Ugh, fine, whatever. Start already, before you kill my buzz.” 

One by one everyone started taking turns going in a circle stating things they hadn’t done before; some sexual, some embarrassing, and some targeted to get certain players to put their fingers down. After a few rounds everyone in the group only had one finger remaining, and it was your turn. All you had to do was give one confession and everybody would be out of the game, making you the winner. You being as competitive as you were, you saved the best one for last. And you knew it would get everyone out. “Okay umm,” you paused dramatically even though you knew what you were going to say, “Never have I ever… received head.”

You smiled triumphantly as one by one, the group started putting down their fingers. Choruses of “Wowww, you had to go there,” “That’s so unfair,” and strings of curses came from everybody. Everybody except Josh.

“Nah, uce. That means nobody wins. Ma, the whole point of the game is to say somethin’ you haven’t done. You gotta put a finger down.”

“I know the rules, Josh,” you retorted, “I did say something I haven’t done. Which means I win.” “Wait, wait, wait. Girl, you’ve never had a man eat you out?” Trin asked shocked, her question making everyone realize what you had just said.

Josh interjects before you can respond, seemingly annoyed, “She has, Trin, she’s bullshittin’ rn. Because there ain’t no way-”

“There is a way, Josh, because it hasn’t happened. I’ve never had a man go down on me.”

Waves of shock cascaded across the room at your response. How could you go your entire adult life without getting your pussy eaten? It’s actually fairly easy,  just sleep with shitty dudes that don’t wanna reciprocate and there you have it. You’ve experimented a little bit within your sex life, but something as elementary as getting head was something you had yet to check off your bucket list? You can’t really blame everyone for being so surprised about it, shit you probably would be too if you were in their shoes. It seemed like with every second the group sat with this new revelation more and more questions were getting asked, almost an overwhelming amount.

“Okay okay chill, damn. Didn’t realize I was playing ‘truth or dare’ all of a sudden,” you joked before shifting to a more serious tone, “But yes, I’ve sucked dick before. Yes, I’ve been fingered. No, I’m not bullshitting. And yes, my taste in men is ass. Haven’t found a single one that wants to go down on me, yet they expect me to go down on them. Crazy I know, but it is what it is. Men ain’t shit apparently. Now there, did I cover everything?”

“So…,” Jon piped up, “What the fuck y’all be doin’ then? Just straight to pound town and that’s it? No warm up?”

“Pound town is crazyyyy,” you laughed, “But not exactly. Actually, I can break down every time I’ve ever had sex with somebody. It all follows the same steps: kiss on each other for a bit, take all our clothes off, I’ll suck his dick, we fuck, he cums, and then it’s over with.”

“Wait, girl, are you saying you’ve never cum during sex? If that’s what you’re saying honey, I’m sorry, but we gotta find you a fuckin’ man. No more of these boys that you’re messin’ with.” Galina asked.

“Oh, no, I have before. Just a handful of times though, most of the time I’ve gotta finish myself off after. Can’t really expect me to finish if you don’t warm me up a bit, you know?” You responded.

“Man, what the fuck is wrong with this generation? Giving your girl head should be a requirement, these boys you’re fuckin’ with are weird as fuck, Y/N, my girl’s right. We gotta find you a real man,” Joe stated.

“Oh, trust me, I agree with y’all. It’s why I just stopped having sex altogether; Imma have to finish myself off anyways, might as well not waste my time.”

“Y/N, babes, how fuckin’ long has it been since you’ve gotten dick?” Trin asked, anxiously waiting for your answer.

“Um…” Wow, you really had to think about it. “If I remember right, then around Christmas time…” “Oh, so less than a year then. For a second there I thought-”

“Of 2022,” you interrupted. Man, if earlier was chaotic, this new confession was fucking bedlam. Everyone seemed to be losing their minds, except Josh, who had stayed silent and kept his eyes locked on you throughout this entire exchange. 

“Alright, alright, yes I get it. It’s insane, I know. It is what it is, I guess. But as much as I’d love to continue sharing about my travesty of a sex life, I desperately need another drink. Anyone need anything from the kitchen?” Everyone started listing their drink of choice, and you were having a hard time keeping up with it all, until Josh spoke for the first time since your revelation.

“I’ll just come with you, seems like everybody needs something right now. You’re gonna need help carrying everyone’s shit.” You smiled at him, silently thanking him, but he didn’t say a word- he just followed closely behind you to the kitchen. You immediately went into bartender mode, making everyone’s drinks to bring back to the living room, but Josh stood still watching you from the entryway of the kitchen- still not talking.

“Hey, Josh, you mind helping me make a couple drinks real quick? I need some help over here,” you chuckled, but stopped when you noticed he wasn’t responding and turned to look at him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Huh?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about you not getting your needs met? You know I would’ve helped you out, ma,” Josh asked, closing the distance between you two.

You furrowed your brows in confusion, turning back to finish making everyone’s drinks. “Helped me? What does that even mean? Look, I really don’t wanna talk about this right now, so can we put this convo on the back burner until the night is over with? Good, now help me carry these drinks back to the living room, would you?” You sighed, grabbing a few cups before brushing past him to head back to the group- leaving Josh alone in the kitchen with his thoughts.

After a couple more games and a few more drinks, it was time for everyone to head out for the night. You rode to Joe’s house with Josh, who you hadn’t talked to since the conversation earlier in the kitchen. You were crashing there for the night, 1. Because you knew you’d have a drink too many and wouldn’t be able to drive, and 2. Because staying over at each others’ houses was a common occurrence nowadays. You both said your goodbyes to the group and headed back to his place. The car ride was silent, neither of you talking to the other and only the low hum of whatever songs were on Josh’s playlist. You stared out of the window the whole car ride, watching the blur of the city lights pass by and replaying you two’s conversation in your head over and over. What did he mean by, “I would’ve helped you out?” How would he have helped you?

You’re snapped out of your thoughts by the car pulling into Josh’s driveway and being put in park. Josh got out quickly, while you sat for a second to let out a deep breath you didn’t know you were holding. Well, here goes nothing.

You got inside and went to take your jacket and shoes off, barely getting yourself situated before Josh spoke.

“So, are you ready to talk about it now or are you just not gonna address it?” Sigh, here we go.

“What is there to address, huh? All I did was tell the truth, I haven’t had a guy go down on me before. I don’t really understand what the big deal is.”

“The big deal is that you should’ve told me about this a long time ago,” Josh replied, “If you had told me I could’ve done something about it.”

“Done something about it? How, Josh? What could you have possibly done about it? It doesn’t even matter and honestly, I don’t understand why you’re so worked up over it.”

“Oh, c’mon Y/N, don’t act stupid. You know damn well if I had known about it I would’ve offered to be your ‘first’.” Sorry, what? You blinked hard, trying to make sure you heard him correctly. “Shit, as far as I’m concerned, offer’s still on the table,” his voice lowered, making slow strides towards you and backing you into the door, “What kind of ‘best friend’ would I be if I didn’t make sure you were taken care of, hmm?”

You shivered at his words, feeling the lust that was oozing from his words engulf the space between the two of you. You’d be lying to yourself if you said you hadn’t imagined Josh like this before. Hell, he’s who you think about when you’re touching yourself at night. Sure, he was attractive, but lately you’d developed feelings for the man. You craved him in more ways than one, but never in a million years did you think you’d actually end up in this position- trapped between him and the door while he dragged his fingers along your sides, trailing further and further down…

“So, what’s it gonna be,” he paused, his hand finally reaching your core and rubbing you through your leggings you were wearing. He groaned, feeling your wetness that had soaked through now pooling on his fingers. “You gonna let me take care of you baby?” He leans in to whisper in your ear, “Imma eat this pussy in every room of the house mamas, make you cum in every one of ‘em too. All you gotta do is say the word.”

Your skin felt like it was on fire. The sultriness in his voice had you ready to completely give yourself to him. You had completely soaked through your leggings at this point, and were convinced if they weren’t so restricting you’d be dripping wet for him. You had a choice to make: let him take you right here and raise some question marks surrounding your friendship, or decline his offer and leave yourself hot and bothered? Lucky for you, your voice made the decision before your mind did.

“Please, Josh, please.”

That was all it took for him to smash his lips into yours; desperately but passionate, lovingly yet intense. Your tongues battled for dominance while the two of you hastily removed any article of clothing separating you, craving to feel the warmth of each others’ skin with nothing in the way. Both of you were now left in just your undergarments, relentlessly kissing each other like your lives depended on it. His lips made their way to your neck, leaving trails of hickies in their wake. You moaned his name and fisted his hair with each one he created, trembling with every graze of his teeth or lick of his tongue.

“You… have no idea… how long… I’ve wanted this,” he muttered in between each bruise he made. Your head was thrown back against the wooden door, relishing every moment.

“Me too,” you breathed out, and it was the truth. You had only recently come to terms with seeing him as more than your best friend, but deep down you knew your feelings had begun months prior. He was all you ever thought about, and here you were, melting underneath him as he ensured not a single inch of your body went untouched by his lips. 

His hands traveled to the back of your thighs and by pure instinct you jumped into his arms, holding you tightly as he carried you to your first stop: the kitchen. Josh laid you down on the island countertop, goosebumps erupting all over as the cold surface touched your skin. You arched your back for him to remove your bra, and once removed, he placed a trail of kisses starting from your breasts and moving down to your sternum, then your stomach, and finally your hips, where the band of your thong rested. Looking up at you, his teeth grazed the soft skin before latching onto the waistband of your thong, before sliding it down your legs. His hands slowly traveled up your calves and to your thighs, spreading them apart to give him a look at what he’s been craving since earlier this evening.

“Such a pretty pussy,” he hummed, “And all mine too. Look at how wet you are for me already, baby. Can’t believe you’ve been hiding her from me all this time, ma.” And with that he lowers his head and licks between your aching folds, your eyes widening and rolling to the back of your head the moment his mouth makes contact. He hungrily attacks your folds as your fingers weave themselves into his hair, pushing his face deeper into your pussy. The moans coming from your mouth are uncontrollable, repeating his name over and over as you fall further into oblivion. 

“Tastes so sweet, baby girl, could eat you for every meal.” His words vibrate through your core and your pussy flutters. You inadvertently buck your hips but his arm stops you, holding you down so you can take everything he’s giving you right now. His mouth wraps around your clit, paying special attention to the sensitive bud and you arch your back at the touch- feeling a familiar pressure building up in the pit of your stomach and quickly reaching its peak. “F-fuckk, Josh, feels so good. I’m gonna-”

“Let it out, princess. Show Daddy how good he makes you feel.”

Your orgasm rips through you, sending your body into a state you had never experienced before. You were writhing underneath him, holding onto his hair for dear life as your eyes roll into your skull and your back arches off the countertop. Strings of profanities and pants of his name cross your lips, lost in the flood of pleasure stemming from the hardest orgasm you’ve ever had. You finally begin to take control of your breathing again, attempting to slow it as your body gives out and lies limp on the marble, completely wiped out. Josh lifts his head to reveal himself, mouth and beard dripping in your wetness. He smiles softly at you, proud that he was the first to eat your pussy and proud that he was able to make you completely fall apart for him. He leans up to you and gives a soft kiss to your lips, before lifting your body from the countertop and carrying you once again. “Oh, baby, I’m not done with you yet. I said I was gonna eat you in every room of this house tonight, and you know I don’t break my promises.”

“Ohh f-fuckk! J-Josh, I- I can’t, I’m-”

“Yes you can, mamas, gimme another one. You can do it, princess.” You were now on your 5th orgasm of the night. Josh had kept his promise alright, making you cum in the kitchen, living room, his office, master bathroom, and now his bedroom. You’d think after that many times a man would be exhausted, but with every time he had made you cum he had gained more energy. It’s like making you cum was his food source, and it was driving him to keep going. Once again you came hard from his mouth and tongue, vision turning white and seeing stars as you hit your orgasm. You were for sure tired, but one thought kept you going: you wanted his cock. Bad. 

“B-baby,” you panted, still coming down from your last orgasm, “Please… I want you. Fuck me, please.”

“You just came on my face 5 times, and now you want my dick? Fuck baby, you sure you can take it?” “Fuckk yes, Josh, just please… I need it, baby. I can handle one more.”

Josh takes off his boxers and climbs on top of you, passionately kissing your lips as he pumps his cock and rubs his tip up and down your sensitive pussy, making you whimper into the kiss. “You’ve been so good for me tonight, baby girl. Imma take good care of you, I promise. You ready for me, baby?”

You nod, staring into his eyes as he slowly enters you. You cry out as his cock fully fills your pussy, already close to cumming again.

“Fuck, Y/N, so fuckin’ tight. Taking me so well,” he hisses, slowly thrusting inside of you. He wraps your legs around his waist and peppers kisses on your forehead, cheeks, nose, and lips, whispering praises to you as he slowly pumps in and out of you. Your pussy tightens around him, signaling you’re close, making him moan loudly in response. “Shitt, do that again, mamas. Squeeze my shit just like that, gonna make me fuck you full of my cum, baby.” You dig your nails into his shoulders and moan in response, “Is that what you want, baby girl? You want Daddy to fill you up ‘til you’re dripping my cum? Want me to cum deep, don’t you baby?”

“F-fuck… oh my god… please, Daddy. Want your cum in me so fuckin’ bad… s-shitt, Josh, I’m so-”

“Go ahead and soak this dick, pretty girl. I’m there too, baby. Cum for me.”Any energy you had saved was completely wiped out, coming undone again for him as he buried his face in your neck and pumped you full of his cum. Both of your moans echoed in his room, engulfing you two as you fell apart together. Josh collapses on the bed next to you, you both breathing heavily, and silent. Nothing needed to be said, as you nestled into his side and drifted to sleep with only one thought on your mind: Never have I ever… well now I have… and more. 

[austinsastrology8991]

> MC ASPECTS < How you renowned around town “You make your own reality. And once you’ve done it, apparently, everyone’s of the opinion it was all so fucking obvious.” - Logan - Fucking - ROy

!!parental advisory explicit!!

MC Aspecting Sun - “rome, I think you're a super talented superstar and I love you” - Shiv Roy : Its hard not to notice you, you got a poise of regality, and you work the public sphere with ease; you put yourself out there and you get a lot of attention from onlookers - and it makes you one of a kind. you are someone with dignity and maybe too much self respect for some, to give you the credit that you do deserve > because no one does it quite like you - high key a dominant force in any room you enter - wolf of wall street vibes and lets be honest you are not above having a party at the office... and paying hookers to make it more cool...... you do the most and its a vibe vibe MC Aspecting Moon - "They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had, and add some extra just for you" - Therapist in succession You know how to put people at ease, and your basically a professional therapist at this point. You can lighten up anyones mood or piss everyone off depending on how you feel. And this understanding of psychology really benefits you; because people want to treat you right, so you can give them some insight as to why they have a mental breakdown every 5 minutes (this generations daily cycle) your like a dog that lives in a hair-salon and everyone wanna get a cuddle from it/he/she/thing/you

MC Aspecting Mercury - “Information, Greg, it’s like a bottle of fine wine. You store it, you hoard it, you save it for a special occasion and then you smash someone’s face with it.” - Tom Wambsgams When you stfu people are wondering what your thinking. because somehow. someway. you've taken control of the conversation, and whatever you say is taken with heavier consideration then the average person. However that does not mean you get your way, it just means we listen to you the most - easily the most valuable insight comes from you guys, and your perceived as. a hustler. no wonder your careful with ur words because you dont really care about getting the right answer in the known, if that ultimately inteferes with your master plan you'll just stay quiet - because you know how to navigate the world with words, and your aware that ultimately the final word - the best word - is the deciding factor of what we do MC Aspecting Venus - "Here’s the thing about being rich, okay? It’s fucking great. It’s like being a superhero, only better. You get to do what you want — the authorities can’t really touch you. You get to wear a costume, but it’s designed by Armani and it doesn’t make you look like a prick." - Tom Wambsgams Beauty pageants. Everyone is interested in you, because your beautiful and your graceful, and you'd make a fine edition to the list of exes that everyone has. So besides the fact that your fuckable, you know how to charm people so easily and thats why you get so much attention, and its positive unless your insecure about how attractive you are.... which is a real thing... and id say just get that plastic surgery or stfu and find some real solutions. i mean has anyone ever tried to tell a beautiful person, that they beautiful.... its exhausting... and then they just look for someone else (more beautiful) to get that validation. its a death trap!!! dont fall for that bs... but damn yo fine ass better get used to being a fine ass or someone gonna commit a crime on yo ass MC Aspecting Mars - "I got a track record from founding one of the most exciting new media brands in the world. And what do you got? Track marks from shooting junk? Thanks for coming down. It was great to meet you." - Lawyrence Yee Unfuckwitable - you embody the underdog - and i mean an under dog thorugh and through; youll bark at anything that pisses yall offf, and thats why people watch they step around yall, no one wanna get bitten by da big dog with a small dog complex. but your fierce and people try their best to match your aggressive energy just to save face for themselves - meanwhile your just more pissed off that you always gotta show yo teeth to anyone you talk to lol. Your competitive and act like crackhead that knows karate. everyone is low key intimidated by ya, and you know it

MC Aspecting Jupiter - "Most things don't exist. the ford motor company hardly exists. It's just a time saving expression for a collection of financial interests." - Logan RoyEveryone likes you, and sometimes you don't even understand why, and thats just another reason to like you. You show a geniune uninterest in any boring mundane activities > and this lack of care for bullshit makes it so that when you do show an interest for something > you've somehow convinced everyone in the room that your enthusiasm defines whats enjoyable. and this discernment makes others believe that your the new budha for socio-economic observations . I respect it. and you did it without even realizing, like thats a feat initself, and you guys are 100 feet tall in everyone elses eyes because you got a name fo yo self MC aspecting Saturn - "the actual fact is we're persuading more and more shareholders everyday that we offer them just a slightly better chance for them to make a little bit more money on the dollar…and that's all that this is…." - Stewy Hosseini The boss is here and now everyone gotta actually do something productive. you guys have respect, and people know that if they don't come at you correctly, then you'll correct it for them, and no one wanna be daddied by the king kong daddy. Your life is defined by hardships and this is the most noticeable trait about yall, and it has molded you into a gus fring. A stone cold killer. You don't have to say much but the weight of your presence in itself, is so much pressure, that everyone wanna ask for more time, but no one wanna be scolded by yall so we just stfu and deal with it MC Aspecting Uranus - "Nothing is a line. Everything, everywhere is always moving. Forever. Get used to it." - Logan Roy Who is they? who are we? why can they get away with acting like a complete fucking retard? Well they don't 'get away with it' they just fucking do it. I mean the balls on ya'll is undeniable, but the audacity and the concept of why. well no one knows and I don't think you do either. But you literally change the game wherever you go, because you do ridiculous shit just to make fun of reality, and it really does expose how much of a cult we all live in; since we all about our own rituals of bullshit. I applaud the audacity but everyone gets nervous around your unpredictable nervous explosions - your like a charged creeper; youve been shocked by something and now you just have to explode and ruin everyones buildings

MC Aspecting Neptune - "Climate said I was going down. Climate said I should just step aside. I guess I'm a climate denier" - Logan Roy You're imagination personified. You somehow write your favourite stories into reality > and you do this so uncosnciosuly thst you've somehow convinced everyone its real. You don't care much for whats actually real, you'd rather manifest what you want to be real > no matter whats being thrown at you (and theres a lot) you have a uncanny ability to be a energy conduit > and transform that energy into what pleases you the most. And because of this you appear to be a mystic. and theres a tendency to be very calm, and if life throws too much shit at you > and you've ran outta favours, its adios to the world. and the long road of finding your purpose again awaits! MC Aspecting Pluto - "Would you like to hear my favourite passage from Shakespear? Take the fucking money." - Logan Roy You are daunting aren't you. people don't talk to you very much, at least not any normal self abiding citizen. you look like TMNT - you look neglected > look like you ate some radioactive poison > became this mutant thing > and was raised by a rat that could beat your ass... how'd that go? you look great! I would shake your hand but Im honestly afraid your gonna bite me. Look your life is intense and borderline traumatic, I get it. but this makes you so mesmerising > you can have the whole room in a trance with your dark aura, and people just hand you power like its nothing. You don't even care tho, and thats what makes you even more powerful lol > if anyone can handle the dark. its you > and a powerful 'rep' requires someone who doesn't fuck around. and you do not

highly highly recommend succession > all the quotes used are from dat show - and its a fkn masta piece

[no-passaran]

The story of Jesus Christ Superstar is the tragedy of its characters coming to realise that they have no power over their lives, fighting as much as they can against the role that history/God is forcing them to fulfil, but failing because they were doomed from the start.

Jesus in Gethsemane desperately asking God why should he be killed, how is that going to make anything better, only to realise that it doesn't matter what he believes or wants because it's already fixed ("why then am I scared to finish what I started? What you started, I didn't start it.") and there is nothing that can be done. Against his will, he will have to continue performing this role to its bitter end ("God, thy will is hard, but you hold every card. I will drink your cup of poison, nail me to your cross and break me, bleed me, beat me, kill me. Take me now, before I change my mind.")

Judas realises later, after he has already fulfilled his role in the story. This realization and regret leads him to commit suicide, being the only way out of a life that has already been fixed to make him the eternal villain ("you'll be remembered forever for this", "I shall be dragged through the slime and the mud")... even though this apparent choice of suicide was, following the same reasoning, also taken for him ("my God, I'm sick! I've been used! And you knew all the time. God! I'll never know why you chose me for your crime. Your foul, bloody crime. You have murdered me! Murdered me! Murdered me!"). Judas understands what he did, and he understands what he will be, forever. He understands that not only has he been Judas, he now knows what it means to be Judas: Jesus insulted him by telling him ("you liar, you Judas"). In the very end, he completely understands what it means to be a Judas, because of what he had done.

And Pilate is the last one to try by all means to escape his destiny. He's seen it in his dream, but he refuses to follow it. He refuses to sentence Christ, telling the crowd that he's a crazy man but that's not a crime, trying to convince them that it's against their best interest to ally with Rome, and begs Christ to let him help him get saved ("why do you not speak when I hold your life in my hands? How can you stay quiet? I don't believe you understand!") but of course, the post-Gethsemane Jesus already has accepted that they're doomed, and he's the one to tell Pilate ("you have nothing in your hands, any power you have comes to you from far beyond. Everything is fixed, and you can't change it."). The realization is dawning on Pilate as he desperately continues trying to cling to his ability to take meaningful choices, literally begging Christ to let him take that decision ("you're a fool Jesus Christ, how can I help you?") but with the crowd's shouts for crucifixion, and the crowd circling him and pushing him against the wall, he really does realize it: he has no choice; he will have to play his part in the story. And he knows how it will end, he knows what his role will mean, he also knows what it means to be Pilate ("then I saw thousands of millions crying for this man, and then I heard them mentioning my name and giving me the blame"). The only thing he can do is remove himself from it, but even then he is aware that that won't stop the already-fixed history ("I wash my hands from your demolition. Die if you want to, you innocent puppet").

After all, we saw it from the very first scene. Isn't this what the story's framing means? The overture shows the actors arriving to the filming set by bus and getting ready to play their role. And, at the end of the film, they pack and leave. They came here to recite a script that someone else wrote, to fulfil a story where everything is fixed, and they can't change it. That was what they were made for. Innocent puppets.

[eternalsa2z]

Savant 2 Fantasy Trophies

(This is a continuation of a previous post called Savant. Because what's better than one secret bimbo genius? Two of them...duh!)

I tried to be happy playing fantasy with my secret silly weapon. But somehow it didn't feel right. Maybe it was my competitive side. Maybe I felt I didn't deserve a bimbo savant like Kiki. Or maybe it was some secret curiosity about exactly how she thought about things. So I asked her to help me understand what goes on inside that bimbo brain of hers.

"Like...you sure you wanna learn from a ditzy doll like me?" she asked incredulously. Eyes wide. Shining with excitement. I nodded and she squealed and hugged me. "OMG yaaaaaay! I soooo wanted a fantasy friend. A bimbo bestie who just, like, gets me...ya know?"

So soon I was being coached by an absolute cutie. Trained to look, act, and talk like her. Because as Kiki says, "Like, to be good at fantasy you gotta BE a fantasy. Duh!" It didn't really make sense. But I'll admit that when we went to a Super Bowl party dressed up in identical outfits, I felt a connection. Even if I just had a breastplate and wig on...I couldn't help but smiling just a brightly as my bestie.

The training continued all summer. Kiki said I needed, like, a state of empty serenity. To clear my head of all my old thoughts. To just focus on picking out a cute outfit, like footballers select their cleats. Memorize how to get my makeup juuuuuust right, like a player putting on eyeblack. How to strut and sparkle and shine, just like a superstar fantasy stud. Or in my case...a superstar fantasy bimbo babe nicknamed Nally!

By the end of summer, things started to fit into place. Not just the thinkys. But, like, my body and stuff. Kiki was sooooo nice and saved some winnings from last year so I could get some lip filler, cute hair extensions, and real boobies!!! OMG we were, like, breasties now!

When draft time came and we showed up in these adorable 'lil outfits, it sooooo made sense. My costume was, like, my strategy! There was a cowboy hat cuz the Cowboys players were soooo sexy this year. Big high heels that were, like, hard to run in cuz running boys are less important to me. Oh and everything is red since, like, we watched that super good red team win the Superb Owl last year and they'll totes be hawt again!

I couldn't explain it. It was, like insti...instink...er, just felt right, ya know? Kiki was soooo supportive and even, like, finished my thoughts for me if I got too giggly or blank for too long. She's not just a great teacher...she's, like, a total awesum teammate to me. Oh and she even, like, started joking about 'Nally's Fantasy Lyfe' which turned into the cuuuutest team name for the year. NFL! Isn't Kiki is soooo clever?

By the end of the year, like, I was sooooo happy! Kiki and Nally, like, both won all our leagues. I was sooooo proud that I was a strong, independent bimbo who just needed another bimbo to show me what to do. I'm like a sav...savvy...er, secret smartie skirt just like Kiki now! Or at least a trophy doll just like my breastie.

Oh ya! Like, speaking of breasties, I'm suuuuuper proud of my boobies too! Kiki suggested I do 'TDs for titties' so like every time a player of mine scored, like, I'd add a CC of silly-cone too my chest. As you can see, like, I did GREAT this year. So great that Kiki and I both got all dolled up to celebrate!

We were also dressed all pretty and stuff cuz we went to a special Superb Owl party. Not to watch the game, of course. I can barely focus on anything but the short commercials anyways. But since, like, it was kinda boring to win soooo much, Kiki wanted to introduce us to another fantasy group. One filled with other fantasy bimbo smarties just like us!

The competition next year will be fierce but the prizes will be enorm...humung...er, like, as big as the fake titties the winner gets! Losing also isn't so bad. Like, you get to be 'lil lesbian pet of the winner alllll summer. A lit-er-all fantasy trophy IRL. Honestly, like, Nally is trying to find a way to trade all her best players to her breastie so they can be top and bottom. Like, being a bimbo doll is the least Nally can do to thank Kiki for, like, showing her how to be a fantasy savant too!

[ninyard]

Oh my, would you mind writing about the date or truth Kevin interview if you want ? I feel like you would nail it

This is literally so silly and not as dramatic as it could be but I was picturing it a little like this; Kevin, the interviewer, the researcher and his publicist/manager/agent or whatever have already had a conversation about which questions are totally off limits - they can’t ask about the perfect court, or Riko. They can’t ask about the Ravens, and a couple other things. They clear a few that are going to be bait questions - ones he’s not going to answer, but will allow them to ask for viewership and engagement’s sake.

It’s an interviewer Kevin clicks quite well with, not a completely obligatory interview on a long and exhausting press run, but a half-relief of a pit stop in between the other obligations. It’s for a late night talk show, of some sort, one that’s known for showing the funnier side of celebrities because the host is so good at their job. So the rehearsals go fine, the audience fill into their seats, and Kevin is backstage with hair and makeup.

“Did they tell you what’s in the glasses?” He asks, the makeup artist touching him up with some powder on his forehead.

His publicist shakes her head. “Only that they’re gross. How’s your stomach?”

Kevin knows it’s likely he’ll get sick if there’s anything texturally disgusting put in front of him - he can handle most of the typically gross foods, but anything liquidy and unexpectedly chunky and he’s done for.

He gets his time warnings from the different runners and then he’s off to the left of the stage, and the host is introducing him with far too much flattery like he’s a real superstar - “Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s give a warm welcome to the Son of Exy, Kevin Day!”

Kevin steps onto the stage with that shining bright smile and a hand in the air, eyes on the crowd as if he’s waving at anyone in particular. The crowd goes wild.

The initial nterview is mostly boring press stuff - how’s the season? Excited for the future? Heard you got signed back on to the National Team this year, how does that feel? How are the Foxes? Tell us what’s in store for you next.

Then the host introduces the game section, and he’s brought over to a round table with a lazy Susan in the centre and a number of covered dishes along the edge.

“Have you ever played our little game of Truth or Drink before? Because I don’t think you have.” The host smiles as they sit down across from him, cards of questions in their hands.

“If I say I have, does that mean I don’t have to do it?” He looks out towards the audience like they can save him, playing up to the cameras around him. The crowd laugh like he’s the funniest person they’ve ever witnessed. It helps that the floor manager encourages them from the stage floor.

“So here’s how it goes, we spin our little table here and you’ll end up with a drink or a snack in front of you,” The host explains. The audience know there’s more to it than that. “I’ll ask you a question, and you have a choice - you can answer that question, Kevin, or you can have whatever is on that plate in front of you. Got it?”

“Sounds easy to me,” Kevin nods and then purses his lips as if he doesn’t know what he’s signed up for. “Maybe too easy.”

“Definitely too easy,” The host agrees, and spins the table until a dish stops in front of Kevin. “So why don’t you lift up that cover there and tell us what’s in front of you?”

Kevin lifts the chrome covering - it’s a small shot glass of some thick white substance. It looks like mayonnaise, and then he lifts the identifying card to read it; It’s a shot glass full of pure mayo. Easy enough.

“Not a good start,” he holds up the card so the cameras can find it and frowns. “But something tells me it’s not the worst.”

“Who’s to say?” The crowd are prompted to laugh. “So, first question, we know that you were the person who made the decision to sign Neil Josten to the Foxes last year. Did you know who he was when you signed him?”

The crowd ooh at the question and Kevin feels his heart stutter for just a second. Were they supposed to mark Neil as a no-go topic? Did they forget? He laughs instead, and places the cover next to the shot glass.

“No, no, I didn’t.” He shakes his head, and shrugs his shoulders. “Unfortunately it didn’t come up on his background check.” He mocks pulling on his collar like the whole Neil situation is a yikes topic. The words leave his mouth through a false awkward smile and the audience eat it up with laughter and applause.

“Would you have signed him if you knew?” The host asks, and Kevin points a finger at them in mock warning.

“Isn’t that a second question?” The crowd love it. He knows how to work an interview, having fun with an audience that love even the simplest of jokes.

“Okay, okay, playing by the rules, I see,” The host turns the table until another covered dish lands in front of Kevin. “And our next dish is…”

Another shot glass. This time full of cold baked beans. Kevin grimaces as he inspects the glass. “I’m beginning to think this interview was a bad idea...” He laughs.

“Hey, no take backs!” The host flips their stack of cards to a question Kevin knows is one he’s not supposed to answer. Gross, he thinks, but it’s not the worst thing on the table - that, he’s sure of. “Our next question tonight, is one I’m personally interested in…” The host riles up the audiences curiosity. They point to his cheek. “Kevin, what’s the real meaning behind the Queen piece?”

It’s an obvious answer - everyone knows it’s because Riko was the so-called King of Exy, but saying that out loud would just confirm it, and it’d be the first time he’d have said it on record. People have been itching for him to confirm it since he’d had the number covered up, but he’d refused to, in order to avoid the stirring up of unnecessary drama. It was a 75% harmless question, but still good enough to get some speculation and buzz online about the show and Kevin’s interview.

“And if I say it’s my favourite chess piece, can we move on?” Kevin pokes fun at the question with half a grimace, half a smile. The host laughs and covers their face with the cards.

“No, no, we’re looking for the real reason Kevin,” They raise their eyebrows and use the cards to point at the glass in front of him. “Or you can always take a drink.”

Kevin pretends to hesitate before he holds his nose and knocks back half of the shot. The gag he can’t hold back isn’t quite pretend, but he covers his mouth to swallow, before shaking his head. “That’s… disgusting.”

“It’s protein?” The host offers.

“Not enough to be worth it.” He retorts, and the audience laughs again. He washes it down with the glass of water that had been left by his side. He shakes his head again before clearing his throat. “Next one, please.”

The same as before, a spin of the table, and suddenly Kevin is sat in front of some other gross concoction, and a supposedly online-drama inspired question is asked. It’s something he doesn’t mind answering, and so he does. The game moves forward; blended fish guts. The audience grimaces with him. There’s no way he’s drinking that. There’s absolutely no way.

“This is torture,” he holds back a retch and tries not to smell the wafting fishy odour from the awful looking drink. “I think you should be put in prison for this.”

“You wouldn’t be the first,” the host laughs. They line up their cards by tapping them on the table. “Okay, are you ready for this one?”

“Go easy on me,” Kevin turns away from the glass to stop himself from looking at it. “I won’t ever come back.”

“I don’t know…” They tease. “So instead of drinking that delicious drink, Kevin, why don’t you tell us how you really broke your hand?”

The question is out before anyone can stop it. Not that they would’ve been able to, anyway, but he could’ve sworn he’d put that on a list of do-not-asks. But maybe he had been stupid enough to believe that he’d been back in the public eye long enough after all that controversy that they wouldn’t care anymore. He let the crowd drink in the question as his careful-not-to-falter eyes caught his publicist standing off the side of the stage. He watches her turn to a crew member with pure rage on her face.

Kevin hides his head between his legs in an over-dramatic reaction, as the audience continue to go wild for much longer than necessary. He pretends to laugh as he catches his breath and considers if there is any possibly way out of this one. He could lie, maybe, but he doesn’t have anything on the tip of his tongue that would be good enough. It’s only likely to get him in far more trouble than it’s worth, anyway, if such a lie were to start spiralling.

“Fish guts?!” He swallows down his beating heart and exclaims. “That’s the question you ask when I have fish guts in front of me?!”

He’s certain he can see fear flash over the hosts face as they laugh. They know this is an off-limits question, even if they hadn’t been told.

“I’ll go easy on you,” they hold out their hands, and the crowd boo as they’re dying for the answer. “You don’t have to drink the whole thing. Or you can answer the question…” they push.

Kevin looks at the grey pink liquid. This wasn’t in his PR training. But not once does his million dollar smile fall from his lips, not once does his face give anything away. Smile, laugh, give the audience what they want. They love you. Remind them why.

He lifts the glass to smell it. A bad idea, in retrospect, as he’s retching before it’s barely an inch or two off the table. For a moment he half considers telling the truth, but that is never a serious option. He hopes the Moriyama’s can see his dedication, that these are the lines he’s willing to cross to keep their little secret.

“I miss when these shows were boring,” Kevin beats a hand on the table, and the crowd slows down, save for a few still pushing for him to answer the question. “They didn’t have this kind of thing on Larry King.”

He gets a laugh for that one. He tries to lift the glass once more and retches again. The host covers their face again to laugh, but Kevin can see the fear beneath branded card stock.

“Remind me never to come back here again,” The audience erupts as the glass reaches his lips, and as quick as its there, its in the trash bin that the production team has left beside him. He can’t help but vomit up a mixture baked beans, water, and whatever else sat in his stomach. Dedication and loyalty, he reminds himself, as he thinks of the clips that are going to surface online after this one.

The interviewer is quick to wrap up the segment, thanking a now pale Kevin for his appearance, and the call is made that the show is at commercials. On-Air and Mic-Live lights switch off, but Kevin doesn’t let his smile fall until he’s out of view of the crowd who applaud him off the stage well into the ads. He barely comprehends the words his publicist is saying to him as he is handed some flavoured carbonated drink. It doesn’t matter that it’s against his rules of things to drink, he chugs half of the bottle down anyway. It doesn’t do much anyway; He’s sure he’s going to be tasting fish for weeks.

Note, he thinks, pushing open the door for his private dressing room. There’s nobody there, and he heads straight to the toilet to retch again.

Add how I broke my hand to the list of things that interviewers are NOT allowed to ask about.

[onceuponaoneshotfanfic]

Just Do It

Request: Hi I don’t know if you’re still taking asks and I hate when people ask me stuff when my inbox is closed, but if you are could you please write a Roy Kent x reader with an age gap? That’s literally all I have and I know you touched on it it Superstar and I totally get it if you don’t have time/don’t want to! Love your writing so much and hope your time in Vegas is fun!

Roy Kent x Reader

0.9k words

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol, age gap (ages not mentioned, but reader is in their 20s, Roy is early 40s)

A/N: Thanks for the request! I hope you like it ❤️❤️ (also, Vegas was lots of fun, just way too hot for my taste!)

Roy sat in the corner of Ola’s watching you carefully as you chatted with some of the players. You’d been working at Nelson Road for a couple of months now, and he’d fallen hard and fast for you. Of course, people noticed. Rebecca found any reason she could to send you to the coaches’ office. Keeley asked him almost daily if he thought you looked pretty that particular day. Jamie kept leaving Viagra advertisements on his desk. Even Beard gave him a little nudge every time you walked by. It seemed like everyone at the Dog Track knew how he felt except, well, you.

“Watcha lookin’ at Coach?” Jamie stood over Roy, following the older man’s gaze. “Ohhh.”

Roy scowled. “Oh, what?” Roy knew what. He knew exactly what.

Jamie grinned. “Just ask her out already, lad. She’s not gonna say no, I swear.”

“And why is that?” Roy huffed, taking a long swig of his beer.

“Well for one, I bet she was raised to respect her elders.”

A low growl escaped from the depths of Roy’s lungs. “That’s why I’m not going to fucking ask her out. She’s what, like your age? No thanks. I don’t need all the jokes about being old enough to be her dad or asking her to move into a nursing home with me or whatever jokes you’ve been saving in a notebook.”

Jamie shrugged. “I actually write them in the notes app on my phone. Because I’m not an old man.”

“Yeah, you can fucking leave now,” Roy grumbled, giving Jamie a shove.

Before walking away, Jamie called over his shoulder, “Do what Nike says, Coach. Just do it!”

With a grunt, Roy returned to staring at you. His heartbeat stuttered when you looked up from your conversation with Dani to look his way. Something sparkled in your eyes when you caught him staring that made Roy’s throat go dry. It got worse when you got up and walked over to him, plopping your beer on his table, and dropping yourself into the chair across from him.

“How’s it going?” you asked cheerfully, offering him your best smile.

“Not bad,” he mumbled, tapping his own beer bottle. “Yourself?”

You shrugged. “Mostly okay.” There was something almost glum in your expression.

Roy wasn’t used to that; you almost always had a smile on your face. “Fuck’s wrong?”

There was a long moment of the two of you staring at each other, your mouth slightly open, as if you were trying to figure out what to say. Roy’s mind went rapid wondering what it was. Something about a boyfriend? Were you leaving Richmond? Did you know about Roy’s dumb little crush? Did you want him to leave you the fuck alone?

Finally, you let out a sigh. “Right. Um, so I’m going to ask you something, and you’re going to answer, and then we are going to pretend like this conversation never happened. Deal?”

“Depends on the question,” Roy answered, leaning forward.

Your head tilted back and forth, something Roy often saw you do when you were nervous or thinking hard about something. He thought it was fucking adorable, although now it made him nervous.

Your face was beet red as your fingernails scratched the label on your beer bottle. “I just… was wondering why you haven’t asked me out.”

Fuck. Maybe Jamie was right, maybe Roy was just one good scare away from having a fucking heart attack. His jaw slacked a little as he stared at you, not quite sure what to say. But seeing the fear that swam in the eyes he loved to see, he knew he needed to say something.

“What makes you think I was going to?” Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. The way your shoulders slumped told him that this was the absolute wrong thing to say.

“Oh. Shit.” Your eyes screwed shut. “I am so sorry. I completely misinterpreted things. I’m an absolute knob, thinking that you- and I-” When your eyes opened, Roy swore he saw tears. “Like I said, pretend this never happened.” You shot to your feet, a look of absolute humiliation frozen on your face.

Instinctively, Roy grabbed your wrist, gazing up at you, feeling like his stomach was twisting and untwisting over and over. “Too old,” he mumbled, feeling his own face go red now. “Aren’t I?”

To his surprise, you shrugged. “Dunno. I mean, sure, you’re older than me by a bit. But I don’t really care, if I’m being honest. I dunno, I thought that maybe there was… something.”

Roy licked his lips. Like Nike always said- just do it.

“There is,” he admitted. “At least, for me there is. Something there, I mean.” He ducked his head, ignoring the fact that he still held your wrist in his hand. “I fucking like you.”

A smile replaced your somber expression. “Oh really?” You resumed your seat, sliding your arm back so your hand was in his. “Tell me more.”

Roy glanced down at your hands, a small smirk creeping across his face. “How about I tell you somewhere my team isn’t watching us?” He nodded behind you, where Jamie and Dani and the others were staring at you two with great interest, beaming and holding their breaths.

You raised an eyebrow at Roy. “Roy Kent, are you asking if I want to get out of here?”

“Maybe,” he grunted. “I know a decent place to get a drink. What d’you say?”

Keeping hold of his hand, you stood up and nodded towards the door. “I say let’s do it.”

[sunkissedchld]

𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃

𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓

the piles go from top left to right. so, african violet is pile i, pastel lilac is pile ii, and so on and so forth.

take the time to close your eyes, breathe, and meditate on the PAC prompt, then open your eyes and let your guides lead you to the pile for you. i hope you enjoy, and please let me know if it resonates with you! my ask box is open [even to anonnies]).

𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐈

Shufflemancy:

"Deep" by Big Sean (feat. Lil Wayne)

"Black Cat Nero" by Ateez

"Everlasting Love" by Fifth Harmony

"Neighbors" by J. Cole

Signs:

"this is my last straw"; "i can't do this anymore"; "why do people think this about me?"; "what did i even do?"; "so much for that"; someone with light hair (ie. strawberry blonde, honey blonde, could be bleached recently); someone who is a social butterfly or around social butterflies usually; screen time; movies; tall (in height or in thoughts and beliefs); nurturer; green; you could be drawn to my profile picture and page because of the green

Reading:

the people choosing this pile are looking for hope during a time where they feel very anxious and possibly even lonely. you might feel as if you've been struggling and fighting for a long time and don't feel that you can go on any longer. although you feel this way, your harsh truth is that you have to keep going and fighting until the bitter end. no one else can help you complete this breakthrough and gain the self-confidence and skill that will be learned from this treacherous time. other people can't take on this burden for you - it has to be done by you.

you're meant to feel isolated right now because old bonds are being broken and disintegrated while new ones are being crafted. you likely feel like you're going through a bad luck period; you might feel disillusioned with life and disappointed. one way you can overcome this is by no longer looking back on the past and worrying about what would've or should've been. all of that has already been done and whatever has happened can't be taken back. now is the time to take actions towards a new future and seek your own truth for the present moment rather than dwelling on the past. that's when your luck will renew.

𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐈

Shufflemancy:

"Superstar" by Shinee

"Destruction" by Piri (feat. Kold-Blooded)

"Hold On" by H.E.R

"Out Of Control" by The Boyz

Signs:

"i wanna be free"; "don't take me for granted"; "i'm only hurting me"; "perfect control"; "he left us all behind"; "you promised"; air signs (gemini, libra, aquarius); relationship problems; "what happened to the plan we had"; monolingual; someone in the field of science and technology; astronomy; planter/green thumb; non-committal; someone is cheating; "whoopsie"; petite/small (could be thoughts or physical size)

Reading:

there's a lot of anger in the people that chose this pile. you might naturally be generous towards others and be the type of person to give your last when you have none. you gain a lot from being this generous and helpful towards others. one harsh truth you need to hear is that everyone isn't your friend, so stop continuing to be overly helpful when people have shown their intentions towards you. you're not obligated to save and help everyone you come across. stop following in the footsteps of tradition and allowing people to take your kindness for granted.

at this current point in time, someone is manipulating you because you're allowing them to. you know that they are because you've recently started feeling more upset than usual - that's because your inner and higher self know that you're downplaying your worth and allowing yourself to be walked all over. it's time to break the precedent you've set and create a new one. when you allow this anger to be heard and seen, people will recognize it and you will begin feeling at peace again. make the decision and follow through with actions to show your seriousness and relieve yourself of the anger you feel before it hardens and turns into greed and a lack of willingness to help others at any point.

𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐈𝐈

Shufflemancy:

"Bills, Bills, Bills" by Destiny's Child

"Mo Money (Interlude)" by J. Cole

"Who Says" by Selena Gomez

"You Don't Know Me" by Ariana Grande

Signs:

"i wouldn't wanna be anybody else"; "i'm sure you've got some things you'd like to change about yourself"; "you don't know where i've been"; "you think you know, but you have no idea"; "they don't understand"; someone is science and technology; someone planning on changing the future of society; someone with a heart for humanity; empath; self employment; seemingly no direction; spontaneity; "just winging it tbh"; 30s; medium or dark hair (ie. black, jet black, raven black)

Reading:

first, if you also felt drawn to pile i go read it first. pile i and you have similar topics in that both of you currently feel insecure and might even be feeling like you have imposter syndrome. you're thinking "am i even good enough to do what it is i'm being told to"? "why do people view me in this way when i'm nothing like that?". despite this, there's also a little voice in your head and/or heart that gives you hope and is giving you insight from afar even if you feel it's hard to interpret or understand. your harsh truth is that your anxiety and shortsightedness is what's holding you back from seeing the light. you need to have confidence in yourself because without it you will falter and never feel good enough. other people's compliments and encouragement will mean nothing until you give them to yourself.

this may come as a surprise to some of you - fame and recognition is in your future, but you know the idea of "you never know what's happening behind closed doors"? when you receive this limelight, you will never feel satisfied with what you're doing and your accomplishments until you praise yourself for what you've done. the most meaningful gifts and compliments must come from yourself or else all the others are just words and material things. you can't allow self-pity and depression allow you to not see yourself for the gem and unique person you are. you deserve to see the beauty in yourself. freeing yourself from needing others' compliments and instead giving them to yourself will free you from your current stress.

𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐈𝐕

Shufflemancy:

"No Scrubs" by TLC

"Blow The Whistle" by Too Short

"Run" by Otis Kane

"pride.is.the.devil" by J. Cole (feat. Lil Baby)

Signs:

"pride is the devil.. i think it got a hold on me"; "pride is the reason for the dichotomy"; "stop"; "i get breathless"; screen time/movies; work; social butterfly; little miss/mister perfect; "everything i touch turns to gold"; sexual frustration/release; not self employed; working for a big company; striving for recognition and overwhelming success; medium or dark hair (ie. brown, brunette, mousy brown); skillful; jack of all trades; (former) procrastinator; "one less problem"; "this is the come up"

Reading:

the people choosing this pile are hard workers willing to do anything in order to achieve their wants and dreams. you have a strong willpower and mind set that enables you to be successful often. you'll continue to work until you're on your last leg and suffering both mentally and physically. you don't allow others to help you even when you need it. your harsh truth is that you're so oblivious it hurts. you need to re-evaluate what you're doing and the track you're heading down as a result of your actions and instincts. you're leading yourself down a path where plans will get canceled either because of event issues or because of personal health issues. you know the saying "if you don't take a break your body will force you to take one"? that's the path you're currently working towards. this will eventually lead you to feelings of gloom and self-doubt. you'll think that this path isn't for you or your beliefs are wrong when in reality, you're just working too hard. you are on the right path, but even those following the correct way need breaks.

remember to look for and enjoy the little parts of life. if you're so focused on meeting the next goal/the next finish line, then you'll never appreciate it when you meet the one you were striving for last time. you'll always be on the search for the next best thing, and you'll end up never being satisfied which would be unfortunate because blessings and luck are intrinsically linked to you. do all things in moderation and change the current way you view your reaching of goals in order to have true satisfaction.

𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐕

Shufflemancy:

"Jealous" by Kehlani feat. Lexii Alijai

"Superstar" by Shinee

"My Name Is" by Eminem

"Attention" by Charlie Puth

Signs:

12:11; "i can't just invest in shit"; "i see right through it"; "if this is the way it is, don't even put me through it"; "you just want attention"; "i know that dress is karma, perfume regret"; sexual expriences/first time; intelligence; mystery; hidden enemies; hidden intentions; science and technology; computer science; tall (in height); skillful; high position; travel and adventure; air sign (libra, gemini, aquarius); "i suck at letting go"; age gap; "die a little bit"; "i wanna be prepared; just in case"; "come my way"

Reading:

so many many messages came out for this pile, so you could be the most confused about your current life situation, or you're being oblivious to signs being sent to you. you're naturally in tune with the divine feminine, your emotions, and your intuition. you're such an original with rich skill and the resources to succeed (even if you don't feel you do). new beginnings are at the tip of your future, and you're staring at them in awe, but the inner feelings you harbor towards prior experiences that have turned sour keeps them from reaching you like you expect. it's like you want revenge against those that have wronged you. by the way, if you were drawn to pile ii, please go read it! i feel that some people overlap between that pile and this one. your harsh truth aligns with theirs in that you can't let prior experiences sour your future.

as of now, your bitterness and craving for revenge is leading you to be lethargic and experience delays. you might even feel frustrated because, again, you can see new beginnings and blessings in sight but they're being kept away from you. they will continue to be out of reach until you allow karma to do its work on its own and not influence the outcome. this is going to be hard to understand, but you need to learn to forgive whoever hurt you; this doesn't mean you have to be friends with them or be totally enthusiastic when thinking about them, but you need to at least allow yourself to be indifferent towards them. like i said before, you need to allow karma and the universe to do the work of allowing them to reap what they've sown. you need to forgive in order to heal. after you do that, you will feel so secure and see the blessings you've been eyeing plop directly into your lap. a new found love and connection will likely present itself afterwards also.

this is your Tower moment in that you need to remove your prior foundation and buildings in order to create something grander and more fit for you rather than for others who have pressured or influenced you to do something different. this pettiness is not of you, so don't allow it to consume you. allow optimism and passion for something new to fill you and leave behind what brings about depression and anger. listen to your intuition and think over the dreams your guides have sent you. it's time for you to heal and go on new journeys rather than wallowing in despair.

𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐕𝐈

Shufflemancy:

"Dancing Like Butterfly Wings" by Ateez

"no tears left to cry (live)" by Ariana Grande

"No Friends In The Industry" by Drake

"make up (live)" by Ariana Grande

Signs:

"i wanna be in the gold of time"; "highlight of my life"; "i love it when we make up"; "it's a mood; it's a vibe"; 20s; quiet time; introvert; culinary arts; foodie; performing arts; artistic kid; earth sign (taurus, virgo, capricorn); narcissism; medium or dark hair (ie. black, brown); tan complexion; spring break; vacations/traveling; study abroad; ariana grande stan

Reading:

this pile has been feeling nostalgic recently. you miss your childhood, don't you? you miss the feelings of not being worried, of being free of adult responsibilities and stressors. you miss when your biggest worry was whether or not your friend would be at school so you two could play together. you might be in high school or college as of now and although you're experiencing some successes, something is missing. you feel as if you need to go through a rebirth phase; you need something or someone new and exciting to come in and give you a shock. you're daydreaming of this a ton to the point where it might even be messing up your study schedule or something of the sort. you could be separating from your childhood friends and that's also partially why you feel nostalgic.

your harsh truth is that a whole new community of people and friends are waiting on you and willing to give you the new and exciting life you're looking for, but you're avoiding or ignoring them. you might not even know them personally yet, but your daydreaming on old friendships keeps you from opening up to others. maybe your shyness gets the best of you? or you worry if old bad habits will pop up and ruin everything, but you need to slowly but surely put yourself out there. do everything in moderation and at your own pace. be willing to be uncomfortable in order to experience what you daydream about. create new foundations in order to become the next version of yourself.

[angelofrainfrogs]

We Can Save Them, Superstar: Ch. 6

Fandoms: Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: Gregory’s on a mission to save everyone he can in the Pizzaplex—even those that have already left this mortal plane. With the sudden return of Vanessa, it seems some lingering questions may finally be answered. But of course, nothing is easy when it comes to William Afton and his convoluted plots. To accomplish his mission, Gregory will need to work with his new friends and family… and some old, startlingly familiar faces, too.

Chapter Summary: Thanks to some quick research from one of the trusty night guards, the group is able to see what the mysterious Aftons look like—including William and his youngest child whose face seems to match Gregory’s with eerie familiarity.

Rating: T

Read on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45578011/chapters/124803319

Leon’s eyes snapped to the door at Freddy’s knock. His dark circles seemed more prominent now, although he was still alert. Somewhat.

“Oh, that's great,” he replied, standing and stretching his arms to the sky before unlocking the door. “What's up, Freddy?”

“Would you be able to look up some more pictures of the Aftons? Specifically the children, although a clear picture of William would be useful as well—I think it is best that the other animatronics also see what they look like to be on alert,” Freddy explained, then glanced at Vanessa.

On the way over he’d been thinking of where to put her so the others wouldn’t notice. Luckily, he’d come up with another potential solution to keep her out of the way.

“Where is Thomas?” Freddy asked, looking back at Leon. “The animatronics are all in Roxy’s room, so I can quickly run Vanessa over to stay with him while you commandeer another security office to use the computer.”

“Sure; he’s at the one closest to the daycare,” Leon replied, sitting heavily in a plastic chair with a scoff. “He's probably shitting himself over there, I don’t know—and I don't really care. I just wanna go home. I'm so sleepy...” As if to demonstrate, a tired yawn left his lips.

“Thank you for all your help,” Freddy said, smiling brightly at the guard. “I cannot begin to tell you how much we appreciate everything you have done so far!” He then shifted his gaze, staring into space for a few seconds before blinking back to the present. “There is a route to the security office that bypasses our rooms; I should be able to move Vanessa without issue. We will meet you in the next closest office. Please get there quickly and try to get a few minutes of rest.”

Freddy reached out to gently pat Leon’s shoulder, giving him another smile before turning to Vanessa, eyes narrowing into a glare. “As much as I am sure we mutually dislike this, I am going to have to carry you. If you do not want to attract the others' attention again, I suggest you remain quiet while we move.”

Vanessa sighed, nodding her head. “Just do what you have to do. I won't try anything.”

Freddy gazed at her for another moment, gearing himself up to actually touch the child murderer without tearing her apart. Then he nodded resolutely and lifted her up, throwing her over one shoulder and swiftly rushing out of the office. He kept a tight grip on Vanessa as he ran, not willing to risk her slipping and prompting another attack with her inevitable exclamation if she hit the floor. Within minutes, Freddy was tapping on the window to the security office.

“Oh HELL no—Moon, go awa—oh!” Thomas pressed a hand to his chest as he saw Freddy’s grinning face through the tiny window. He disengaged the locks and ushered the bear inside, eyes widening at the sight of Vanessa over his shoulder.

“Hi Thomas; I do not have time to talk right now, but may I leave Vanessa here while Leon shows the other animatronics something?” Freddy asked.

“Uh, yeah, sure—here.” Thomas pulled over a chair and Freddy dropped Vanessa heavily into it. Thomas stared down at her, looking slightly disappointed. “Well, I see you’re not dead…”

Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

“I will return in a bit,” Freddy reassured Thomas, and the two exchanged a wave before Freddy headed back towards Rockstar Row. Bonnie caught sight of Freddy through the window and grinned, setting Gregory on his shoulders as he entered the room once again.

“Alright, we are in the clear; let us go!” Freddy told the group, gesturing for them to follow him as he led the way to Leon’s current location.

Gregory happily played with Bonnie's ears as the group made their way towards Leon's location. Taking a look around, the boy giggled quietly. “I feel so tall!”

“I’d say you’re probablyyyy… what, 6’5ish up there, right Fredbear?” Bonnie asked, glancing up at Gregory with a grin before shifting his gaze to Freddy for confirmation.

“Yes, somewhere around that height—you must have quite the view!” the bear replied with a laugh, happy to see both of them having such a good time together.

It wasn't long until they reached the security room, to which Leon unlocked and opened the door with a small smile. “The computer definitely helped speed things up; I found a lot more stuff while I was in here.”

“Awesome!” Roxy cheered, clenching a fist. She then looked at Leon a bit sheepishly. “Hey, uh… sorry about earlier. You know we weren’t going for you, right?” She then flashed him a grin, hands on her hips. “You’re cool and totally on our good side!”

“Yeah, but you guys are also, like, a giant metal wolf and alligator that could crush my head like a grape,” the night guard replied dryly as he moved to take a seat at his chair. Pulling up a browser tab, Leon gestured for Freddy to take the lead. “All the stuff I found is in separate tabs. The first one is a family photo.”

Freddy shifted to stand in front of the computer, letting the others crowd around him. He scanned the image, recognizing the Aftons from the commercial he’d seen earlier.

“That is William.” Freddy pointed to the man in question and there was a collective shifting and light growling from the animatronics as they stared at the person who’d caused so much torment.

“He looks like an a—” Roxy cut herself off before cursing, quickly switching her wording. “A real pain in the butt…”

“That must be the one you're talking about; his kid!” Gregory leaned in as he saw the photo, soon pointing at the youngest boy. “…Nah, he doesn't look like me!” He waved a hand, refusing to see any similarities.

“No, that actually looks a lot like you, squirt; I had to readjust my eyes!” Monty chuckled, pulling down his shades to look between the photo and its 3D doppelgänger.

“His name is Evan,” Freddy informed the group, then indicated the other children. “And these are Elizabeth and Michael.”

He clicked to the next tab and the photo changed to one of William and another man standing together, an arm around each other’s shoulders. Both were grinning at the camera and the background, though out of focus, was clearly in one of the Pizzerias—likely an original judging from the picture quality. Looking closely, the group was just able to make out two golden animatronics on a stage behind the men.

“Whoa!” Roxy exclaimed. “Is that Freddy and Bonnie back there?! You guys look so old!”

Gregory leaned in to get a better look, eyes widening. “Wait, t-that's the thing! The thing he was in! Only it was all gross and zombified!”

“The thing?” Chica questioned, glancing from the innocuous picture to the agitated boy. “You mean… one of the animatronics?”

“He was in the thingy and he was ugly!” Gregory tried to explain, bouncing in frustration that he couldn’t articulate his thoughts properly. “Right, Freddy? You saw it, too!”

“The spring-lock suit,” the bear clarified with a grimace. “Apparently the original Freddy and Bonnie suits were designed to be both standard animatronics and worn by humans as a mascot costume. At least, that was the intent...”

“I’m guessing that second part didn’t work out so well?” Bonnie asked, looking to Leon for more input. He thought of a human trying to fit inside his current suit and winced—the older models certainly looked bigger and roomier, but even so Bonnie couldn’t imagine someone trying to squeeze themselves inside without dire consequences.

Leon nodded grimly. “From what I’m gathering here, apparently William passed inside the spring-lock suit and it sort of… bonded to him? Not sure how or why; not much comes up about his death. It just says he disappeared.”

“Hold me, please!” Gregory exclaimed, trying to scrabble down from Bonnie’s shoulders into his arms. He wasn't scared! He just wanted to be held in that moment.

“That sounds horrible; let’s just move on…” Chica took it upon herself to move to the next browser tab.

Bonnie quickly shifted Gregory into his arms, his mechanical heart melting a little as he looked at the next photo. “Aww, poor kid—wonder why he’s so upset…”

The image was of Michael and his brother, standing in the same restaurant but at a different angle than the previous image. The golden animatronics were still visible in the background, but the most noticeable thing was the fact that Evan looked like he was absolutely sobbing, tear streaks running down his face and his mouth open in a wail. Michael, on the other hand, had his arms crossed and wore a Foxy mask on the side of his head, sporting an absolutely shit-eating grin.

“Oh man, big bro looks like trouble,” Roxy commented, shaking her head. For reasons she couldn’t place, the picture just had a bad vibe to it… which Freddy seemed to pick up on as well.

Freddy turned his head to Leon slowly, wide-eyed as he asked: “…When was this taken?”

“One sec,” Leon replied, scrolling down to read the caption. “It just says '83. Oh—”

Leon snapped his gaze to Freddy, and the pair shared a pained look. Not catching this, Gregory hugged Bonnie's neck and examined the picture curiously. Alright, maybe there were some similarities...

“He looks so much like Gregory, it's adorable!” Monty snickered, taking a second to register the suddenly serious atmosphere that permeated the room. “Heh... Hm? What's goin’ on?”

“Nothing! Let us move on!” Freddy said quickly, not wanting to dwell on this picture any longer. He and Leon both knew what’d happened right after it was taken, and it was a topic they did not want to go over right now.

Freddy clicked to the next, again of William and the other man. They were standing outside a different restaurant, gripping each other’s shoulders as before, although this time their embrace seemed a little more… tense. Even through the film grain it was clear how tightly the other man’s fingers gripped William’s shoulder, bunching up the fabric in the process.

“...I don't wanna look anymore!” Gregory remarked, shutting his eyes tightly and laying his cheek against Bonnie's shoulder.

Those eyes. There was just something to inherently wrong with them, and Gregory couldn’t help but remember the way they stared at him when he was moving from monitor to monitor in the depths trying to save Freddy from corruption.

Chica frowned softly, gently petting the top of Gregory's head. “That must be Henry, correct?”

“Henry Emily, yes,” Freddy confirmed, glancing over his shoulder to check on Gregory, who was already being soothed by his robotic family. “My records indicate that Henry also had a child that died young—a daughter, I believe, though I do not know much more than that.”

Roxy let out a small gasp. “Oh no, do you think William also…?”

“He probably did and just wasn’t caught,” Bonnie murmured, keeping Gregory’s head lowered, and Roxy bared her teeth at the picture.

Again, Freddy turned to Leon. “I know your research has mostly been focused on the Aftons, but have you come across anything about Henry and his family at all? I have a feeling they are also quite intertwined in this whole saga…”

“I only have a few reports. Henry eventually opened up a new location after his daughter passed,” the guard explained. “From what it looks like, Henry was trying to separate the franchise from William after a while.”

“Could Henry have been a part of everything, too?” Chica questioned, although she wasn’t confident even as she said it.

Monty shrugged, getting a good look at the screen. “Dunno. They look like they hate each other in that picture!”

“They sure do,” Bonnie agreed, watching as Freddy clicked to the next image.

This one was just of the two youngest Aftons, again sitting at a table in one of the pizzerias and clearly enjoying some cake. Both kids had huge grins on their faces, which were also covered in frosting. In the very corner of the frame, it looked like a woman was coming over with a stack of extra napkins—likely their mother.

“Oh, they look so happy here…,” Freddy said softly, his chest aching for all they’d been through. He didn’t even know what happened to Elizabeth and Michael, but obviously it wasn’t good.

“Geez… I hope they're not, like, evil after what their dad put ‘em through,” Monty muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.  

“I wouldn't be surprised. I still think you guys should be careful; malevolent spirits are no game, especially William,” Leon mumbled as he spun in his chair, sighing quietly. “I'm honestly surprised none of the spirits in the endoskeleton have been revenge-seeking. Then again, the Afton kids have been dead for decades at this point… Plus, I doubt any of our kids actually relived their death like Gregory has, right?”

Bonnie shook his head quickly. “No. I don’t even know if the youngest ones understand the state they're in…”

“Well, there’s no need to remind them,” Roxy said with a grimace.

“As Leon said, compared to the older souls these children have not been captive for long,” Freddy chimed in. “Perhaps they would become more hostile the longer they stay… but luckily we are going to get them out well before that becomes a possibility.”

“Those poor babies,” Chica clasped her hands together, squeezing them tight.

Freddy clicked to the next image, which was another family picture of the Aftons—although this time, Evan was missing. The family was all smiling except for Michael, who looked utterly broken, but even so there was a haunted look in the other’s eyes. They stood outside a new restaurant, clearly decorated for a grand opening.

“Where’s Evan…?” Roxy murmured slowly. Bonnie and Freddy simply grimaced.

Chica looked over at them with wide eyes. “These pictures are very... unsettling.”

“Yeah, they are,” Leon mumbled, lightly shaking his head. “Try being the one researching all this stuff…”

Freddy clicked onto the final image, which was solely of Michael and his father, obviously taken much later than the others. William stood behind his son, fingers clenched tightly around Michael’s shoulders. It was clear that this hurt from the grimace on Michael’s face, although the teenager was trying to hide the pain with a shaky smile. William’s smile was much more prominent, however—and much more deranged.

“This must be one of the final photos of them,” Freddy said quietly, staring at the pair intently. “Goodness, Michael already looks so much like his father…”

“Poor kid,” Roxy said with a shake of her head, crossing her arms in front of her. “I’d hate to have a face like my psycho dad…”

Monty sighed, gently shaking his head. “That's pretty sad... And they're all stuck with William below the Pizzaplex?”

Chica thought to herself, sighing softly. “There has to be a way to get rid of William completely... Those poor kids have been there for who knows how long with him. They deserve to rest.”

“We appreciate you finding these for us, Leon,” Freddy told the guard, then stepped over to Chica to pat her back comfortingly. “We will free the children in the endoskeletons, then worry about the ones down below.”

“Think we have time to find one more item tonight?” Roxy asked, looking around the room.

“If we can get more information, yes,” Freddy agreed, then glanced at Leon. “Can you please ask Thomas to show Vanessa another picture?” He paused, looking at the animatronics. “If she can provide us with direction, I will take Gregory and Bonnie this time—what do you both say?”

“I’m up for it!” Bonnie agreed, then shifted Gregory so he could see his face. “Well, bud? Wanna search with me and Freddy?”

Gregory finally lifted his head, looking up at Bonnie with a small smile. “Mhm!”

Leon nodded as he grabbed the walkie and spoke into it, picking one of the remaining kids at random. “Thomas, can you show Vanessa Mia's photo and have her tell us where the next item is?”

“I wanna come help look, too!” Monty exclaimed, raising a hand.

“I’ll hang back with Chica,” Roxy said, putting her arm through the bird’s with a grin. “I think you guys have got it covered!”

“Hey, Leon?” Thomas’s voice crackled though the walkie-talkie again. “Vanessa says to look for a Bonnie plushie in the East Arcade; it’s wedged in the—which one?” Vanessa’s voice echoed faintly in the background. “Uh—the Fruity Maze game. Said you’re gonna need to open the back panel.”

“Thanks, Thomas.” Leon sunk down in his chair, looking to the bots exhaustedly. “You got all that?”

“Yes; I will let you know when we find it, as well as when we have a plan for Vanessa tomorrow,” Freddy said, glancing around the room. He certainly wasn’t about to figure out where to keep her with everyone standing there… He then turned back to Leon with a smile. “For now, perhaps you should try and get some rest while you wait?”

“Yeah, you seriously need some sleep,” Roxy commented, flashing him a grin as well. “I promise we won’t come banging on the door to scare the crap out of you!”

“That sounds very unconvincing,” Leon snipped, rolling his eyes before resting his arms on the desk and his head on top of them. “I'm gonna knock out now...”

“Have a good rest, Leon,” Freddy said as he ushered the others out of the room.

“Now we have to find a mini-you, which should be easy for me 'cause I found the real you!” Gregory remarked, lifting his head from Bonnie’s shoulder and grinning proudly at his logic. With the eerie slideshow over, he was already trying to get his spirits back up.

“Heck yeah, bud!” Bonnie exclaimed, returning Gregory to his shoulders. “You can really search from up there!”  

“Chica, let’s go to the beauty salon; I wanna see if I can do something about these dents before the techs get to me and give me another lecture!” Roxy said with a loud laugh, tugging Chica towards her raceway by the arm.

The group parted, on their own mission for the rest of the night. Gregory was kept entertained by stories of the animatronics’ adventures working the Pizzaplex, which was a good distraction from the bad memories threatening to well up. Eventually they reached the arcade, their laughter petering out as they crossed the threshold ready to start their mission.

“You wanna stay up there or search on the ground, bud?” Bonnie asked Gregory, bending down to make extra sure the boy was clear of the metal doorframe when they walked under it.

“Down, please!” Gregory replied, although his attention was already wandering to the games rather than their main objective.

Monty saluted before running off with a loud laugh in search of the plushie. If he thought of it like a race, it made the whole thing less depressing.

Bonnie set Gregory down, then watched as the boy immediately rushed off towards some of the arcade machines. “I'll watch Gregory, Fredbear; you go ahead and help Monty look.”

“Thank you,” Freddy replied, looking at Gregory for a moment longer before heading off in the direction Monty went. 

Gregory started looking, too—only for a few minutes, as he’d gotten distracted by a claw machine and immediately run over to jiggle the handle.

“Give me a sec, Gregory,” Bonnie said, bending down in front of the machine to examine the panel where coins were deposited. He stuck one sharp claw into the coin slot and wiggled it around for a few seconds until the machine came to life, lighting up and playing a jingle as it waited for someone to move the handle. Bonnie then stood, hands on his hips. “There; now you should be able to play as much as you want!”

Gregory gasped as the claw machine came to life, squealing with delight as he stood on tiptoe to see his options for prizes in a new light. “Thanks, Bonnie!”

The rabbit chuckled, watching Gregory try his best to get one of the toys. He knew the machines were rigged in favor of not letting the kids win, but he was rooting for the boy all the same.

On the other end of the arcade Monty and Freddy continued their search, eyes peeled for the infamous Fruity Maze game. It’d been a fan favorite ever since the early days of Fazbear Entertainment, and Freddy eventually spotted this arcade’s copy in a darkened corner. He quickly rushed over, carefully unlatching the back panel and indeed finding a Bonnie plushie shoved into a tiny space between the wires. As Freddy pulled the plushie out, his excited smile instantly slipped into a grimace.

This was the worst one they'd found so far, at least in terms of appearance. Dark red stains absolutely covered the doll, and Freddy was honestly surprised he'd been able to see any purple at all. One of the eyes was missing while the other was littered with scratch marks. However, the most disturbing thing was the slashes all over the doll, the most prominent being right through its stomach which caused a bunch of fluff to spill out. It almost looked like a defensive wound, as if the plushie was being held up in some effort to protect its owner.

A shiver passed through Freddy's body, thinking of Mia's fate. None of the children's deaths had been nice, but hers seemed particularly bad—perhaps she was one of the earlier children to go missing and Vanny hadn't refined her technique? That, or the murderer just really had it out for the poor kid...

“I... I found it,” Freddy whispered, unsure if anyone but Monty would be able to hear him.

Monty perked up at the bear’s announcement, sauntering over. “Dang, Freddy! You’ve got a better eye than me, that’s for—”

Before Monty could finish the rest of his sentence, he cut himself off at the gruesome sight of the toy.

“…Geez,” the gator muttered as he stared at the plushie, gently shaking his head. He knew there was no way Mia didn't fight back. “I don't know if we should show Bon what we found...”

“I think it is best not to,” Freddy said, quickly stowing the toy away in his chest compartment before the bunny could catch sight of it. He sighed heavily before meeting Monty's gaze. “This is all I can handle tonight; we will find Robin and Katie's items tomorrow. Let us get Gregory back to our rooms so that I can meet the guards and then recharge.”

As the bots made their way over, Gregory set his eyes on a random toy and clicked the button to lower the claw behind its glass case. The smile on Gregory’s face faded as it seemed like the toy was hooked, only for it to slip free just past the lip of the prize chute. He stared into the claw machine for a moment longer before turning to look at Bonnie. “Why'd it do that?”

“They're rigged, unfortunately—meaning they're meant for you not to win most of the time so you keep trying and the Pizzaplex makes more and more money!” the bunny admitted, not feeling the need to hide such things from Gregory. He shook his head, crossing his arms in front of him. “It's not nice at all, but it works, which is why they keep doing it...”

“That's not fair!” Gregory exclaimed, mirroring Bonnie’s stance. However, his anger was immediately quelled as he saw Monty and Freddy walking over. Without hesitation he rushed up to them, holding his arms up. “Ooh! Did you find it?! Did you?”

“We did,” Freddy confirmed, lifting Gregory up and giving the boy a tired smile. “Now, I think it is time to get you back to our room; I have one more task for tonight, and I have to admit that I am already exhausted.”

As they walked back to Rockstar Row, he noted that Bonnie was being uncharacteristically silent. He couldn't have seen the plushie though, so he must be thinking of something else... Sure enough, when the four finally made it into Freddy's room, Bonnie spoke up.

“Hey, Freddy... mind if I come with you? I have an idea of where we might be able to put Vanessa during the day,” the bunny said. Freddy froze in the middle of handing Gregory over to Monty, slowly turning to look at Bonnie. He really didn't want any other animatronics to see her based on what happened earlier, but...

“...Alright,” Freddy relented with a sigh. “You may come with me to meet up with Leon, at least. We can discuss more then.”

“I'll stay here with Gregory, then. See if I can put the lil’ rascal to bed,” Monty said, noting Gregory’s eyelids already beginning to droop.

“Thank you, Monty; I will be back soon, superstar!” Freddy said, bending to ruffle the boy's hair with a smile before leading Bonnie towards the security office. Freddy could sense the tension rising as they walked; he didn't know what the bunny had in mind but hoped it didn't involve anything drastic.

Eventually, they made it to the office and Freddy peered in the window, seeing Leon passed out on the desk where they'd left him. He felt bad for waking the guard up, but they needed him right now. Lightly tapping the glass, Freddy called out: “Leon? I am back with Bonnie; we need to talk with you again.”

Leon immediately shot his head up upon hearing the tapping, rubbing his eyes. Well, he certainly had a good nap while it lasted. He hesitated before slowly standing and walking over to the door to unlock it

“What's up?” he asked between a drawn out yawn, moving to sit at his desk once again.

“I know where we can keep Vanessa during the day,” Bonnie quickly said, looking between Freddy and Leon. “There's a little storage room in Bonnie Bowl—it's not in use right now, so staff shouldn't go near it, and it's in the back area so guests wouldn't come across it by accident. Plus, it's nowhere us animatronics would ever need to go, so there's no way the others would randomly find her either.”

Freddy listened to the explanation, his eyes widening as Bonnie talked. Once Bonnie was finished, Freddy was silent for a moment longer before murmuring: “Oh, that... that sounds perfect! We should move her now—”

“There's only one condition though,” Bonnie cut Freddy off, holding up a finger. Freddy couldn't help but notice the slightly dark gleam in his eyes, which made him uneasy as Bonnie clarified: “Since I'm gonna be the only animatronic who knows where she is besides Freddy... I want to see her first.”

Leon looked between the pair. He could sense how tense everything had suddenly become, and for obvious reasons. That was none of the night guard's business, though.

“What do you think, Freddy?” he asked with a simple incline of his head.

Freddy was silent for a long while. Bonnie was certainly nothing like Monty or Roxy when it came to aggression—in fact, he was one of the most docile animatronics in the Pizzaplex besides Chica and Freddy himself. Still, Freddy had a feeling that something was going to happen when he saw Vanessa... but he was too weary to fight with Bonnie right now.

“...Fine,” Freddy relented with a sigh. “But you must promise not to harm her—we still need her for a little longer.”

“No drastic harm—got it,” Bonnie agreed with a nod, a satisfied grin spreading across his face. He hopped slightly, eager to finally encounter the woman who'd caused so much torment and give her a piece of his mind. “Let's go!”

“Yeah, we have two more kids to go! Don't beat the memory out of her!” Leon called out after Bonnie and Freddy. In reality, he really hoped the bunny would be able to keep himself in check. Regardless, this was for his coworker to deal with; Leon had done his time. “I'll let Thomas know to be ready for you, Freddy.”

The bear gave Leon a wave of acknowledgment and then shut the door, leading Bonnie towards the office where others were. Thomas was prepared for their arrival, already waiting at the door when he saw them through the window. Vanessa was set up in the chair as usual, so Thomas slipped out into the hallway as the animatronics approached.

“Hey, Leon filled me in,” the guard said quietly. He glanced between the animatronics a bit worriedly. “Um, I’m surprised you’re here Bonnie…”

“Freddy said I could see Vanessa since we’re putting her in my bowling alley,” Bonnie responded, trying to peer around the doorframe. “So… let me see her. Please?”

Thomas looked to Freddy for direction, but when the bear simply nodded the guard retreated into the room and let the animatronics follow behind. Bonnie stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the old guard, catching her gaze when she glanced up to see who’d come to bother her this time.

“Hi Vanessa… remember me?”

***

Masterlist of chapters on Tumblr here!

Please check out The Superstar Series on ao3 for all fics in this series: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2726401

[magicfootballstuff]

Superstar (patri guijarro x reader)

Summary: Even big players get nervous before big finals. Patri is no exception to that.

———

You never fall asleep straight away the night before a big match and tonight is no different.

Football doesn’t get much bigger than tomorrow. Your first Champions League final in front of a sold out crowd, a chance to win the most prestigious trophy in club football.

You’re not nervous. At least not yet. Nor is it excitement that keeps you awake. More the anticipation of such a huge game. You’re going to have to be at your absolute best tomorrow, to play football like you’ve never played it before. 

With that thought, you’re just starting to wonder if maybe you are nervous after all, when your phone lights up on the nightstand beside your bed. You prop yourself up onto one elbow to peer at the screen and see an incoming call from a number saved in your contacts as nothing more than ‘❤️’, and you reach for the phone to answer.

“I can’t sleep,” your girlfriend says as soon as you pick up.

Rolling onto your back with your phone held up to your ear, you reply, “So you decided you’d wake me up too?”

“Your phone is always on silent. I knew you wouldn’t answer unless you were still awake too.”

Though there’s a hint of teasing in Patri’s voice, her tone is familiar and soothing, and you have no doubt that if you stayed on the line and just let Patri talk, you’d find that sleep isn’t so hard to succumb to after all.

“So, do you want to talk about what’s on your mind or do you want me to distract you?” you ask Patri.

“Depends what kind of distraction you’re offering,” Patri replies, her voice low enough to cause a stirring deep in your gut.

“Patricia,” you warn her, before the conversation can descend into complete filth.

“Sorry,” Patri apologises, her voice back to normal. “But I don’t think I’ve ever been nervous like this before a match. Excited-nervous, yes. But not scared-nervous.”

“What are you scared of?” you ask.

“I just keep replaying last year’s final over and over again. That feeling when the final whistle went, when we knew we’d lost, I don’t want to ever feel like that again.”

“Then don’t lose,” you say, as if it’s that simple.

“That’s easy for you to say. You’ve never played in a Champions League final before.”

“No, you’re right,” you admit.

This is your first season with Barcelona, having only signed for them last summer. But you know that the Champions League is all they strive for. They talk about it more than any individual match, more than winning the league. For them, winning the Champions League is the only option. To lose would be the ultimate failure.

You’ve heard them talk about last year’s final. The further the team has progressed through the competition this year, the more they talk about it, and the more you’ve come to realise how much that loss affected them mentally. Not just to lose, but to lose the way that they did, after being heralded as the favourites. You don’t know exactly what they felt that day when they didn’t win, but you hope you never find out.

“How did you feel when you lost last year?” you dare to ask, knowing that it’s a question that risks opening old wounds, but one that you think you need to ask.

“Like a failure,” Patri answers straight away. “Like I wasn’t good enough. Like I’d let everyone down - the team, my family, the fans.”

“And how did it feel the year before, when you beat Chelsea in the final?” you ask as a follow up.

“The best feeling in the world.” You can hear the smile in Patri’s voice as she recounts what you know to be the best day of her life. “I felt invincible. I felt so much love for this team, so proud to be culé.”

“The fact that you’re so scared of repeating last year is a good thing, no?” you ask.

“I guess so,” Patri hums.

“Because you can channel that pain into success tomorrow,” you continue. “It’s not that you didn’t fight to win last year, but now you have an extra reason to want to win.”

“I think if we lose tomorrow, it might break me,” Patri confesses. “I’m not sure I’ll ever recover.”

“You will,” you promise her. “You recovered from last year. Going through something like that makes you stronger. If we lose tomorrow, we come back fighting even harder next year. But I don’t think we’re going to lose. I don’t think you’re going to let that happen. We’re taking that trophy back to Barcelona, I can feel it.”

“I really hope you’re right.”

“I’m usually right,” you tease her, to lighten the conversation, and Patri jumps at the chance to change the subject.

“Come to my room,” Patri practically purrs down the phone.

It’s tempting. The worst thing about away games is having to sleep apart from your girlfriend, but everyone gets assigned their own rooms for a reason and out of all the couples on the team, you don’t want to be the ones who get told off for breaking the rules right before such a big game.

“I can’t,” you remind her. “You know I’ll get in trouble if I get caught.”

“Then don’t get caught,” Patri says in a mocking voice, and you wonder if she’s making fun of the way you told her to simply not lose tomorrow’s Champions League final. When you still hesitate, she tries to tempt you by adding, “You don’t win Champions League finals by playing safe.”

“You also don’t win Champions League finals by staying up all night before the match with your girlfriend instead of sleeping,” you counter.

Patri doesn’t say anything, but you hear some noises on the other end of the line, some rustling, some heavy breathing, followed by the distinctive sound of a door being closed.

“Patri?” you ask, worried that your girlfriend is in the process of doing something that will get you both in a lot of trouble. “Patri, what are you doing?” 

“Coming down to see you,” she whispers, confirming your theory, and you picture her creeping along the hallway of the floor above, sneaking past the rooms where your teammates and the Barcelona staff sleep. “What was your room number again?”

“Patri…” you groan.

“I’m already on my way. Don’t make me knock on every door until I find you. That would definitely get us in trouble.”

“It’d get you in trouble,” you point out, denying all accountability for your girlfriend’s misbehaviour. “I’m fast asleep in my bed.” You pause, then add, “In room 314.”

“Yes,” Patri hisses. “Thank you baby. See you in a second.”

She hangs up the phone, leaving you to expect her imminent arrival. You flick on one of the bedside lamps to bathe your hotel room in a soft orange glow, then peel back the covers to get out of bed. Your room is a bit of a mess but you gather the clothes strewn around and toss them into your open suitcase, then hang the damp towel that was on the floor over the back of a chair to dry.

No sooner have you finished making the room look semi-presentable, do you hear a couple of gentle taps on the door.

Your heart does a little flip in your chest as you open the door to see Patri standing out in the hallway in her pyjamas, a big grin on her face as she greets you.

“Hi,” she says.

“Come in,” you say, ushering her inside. “Quick, before anyone sees you.”

Patri steps past you and launches herself onto your bed, arms spread wide and face pressed into the pillow your own head was laying against just a couple of minutes ago.

“Please, make yourself at home,” you say sarcastically, as you close the door behind her.

Patri rolls over onto her back and tucks her legs under the covers, before tapping the vacant spot on the mattress beside her.

“Plenty of room for two,” she tells you, raising her eyebrows in an invitation.

You climb into bed beside her, flicking off the lamp to shroud the room in darkness again, and pulls the covers up over you as Patri nestles against your chest, her arm draped across your waist.

“How are you feeling?” you ask her, bringing one hand up to the back of her head and stroking your fingers through her hair.

“Better now,” she murmurs. “I always feel better when I’m with you.”

“Then it’s a good job I’ll be on the pitch with you tomorrow,” you joke, and Patri hums in agreement.

Maybe that’s why you’re not nervous. It could be naivety, not yet fully understanding the enormity of tomorrow’s task. But it’s also a comfort to know that you get to do it with Patri, to experience days like tomorrow with the most important person in your life. If you win, you get to celebrate together, and if you lose, you have each other to lean on for support.

“In all seriousness, you know I’ve always got you,” you promise Patri. “Whatever the outcome tomorrow, you’re always making me proud. You’ll always be my number one.”

Patri says nothing, her breathing steady and the weight of her warm body against yours the comfort that you needed when you were first trying to find sleep earlier in the night before Patri’s phone call.

“But I think you’re gonna do something special tomorrow,” you continue. “I can feel it. My superstar is going to show the world why she deserves to be called the best in the world.”

Patri would normally have one of two reactions to you hyping her up like this - either to preen and play up to your words, or to pretend to get shy and act like she isn’t worthy of your praise. But when she does neither, you glance down at her to look for the reason for her silence, and are met by the sight of your girlfriend fast asleep on your chest, eyes closed and a picture of peace on her face. 

You slowly stop playing with her hair, but press a tender kiss to the top of her head instead.

“Sweet dreams, my superstar. Tomorrow we win the Champions League.”

[inukag-archive]

Hi! I was wondering if you could recommend your favorite InuKag works. It can be about anything. ☺️

Hello, @heynikkiyousofine, long time no answer! When we received your ask, we'd had an few mod favourites grace the blog, so we put it on the back burner for a time. The time is now so we can introduce @kstewdeux; our newest member of the Fic Finder Team!

To answer this, we set ourselves a goal: pick 3 fics that have never been recommended. Each mod has listed theirs below, and we've included our previous lists at the end! Happy reading ♥

Important Note: Some of these fics are incomplete, despite being marked as such, and have not been updated in a very long time. We've marked incomplete fics with an asterisk (*) before the title for those who wish to avoid them.

KStew

Flat Line by Salvatore Shan SW (T)

When Inuyasha collapses in front of Kagome's house, its a race to find out what's wrong with him. As a hanyou, Kagome didn't think he could even get sick but is he enjoying being ill? Up until he's rushed to hospital, at least.

Gone Swimming by Quickening (X)

A peaceful woodland on the hottest day of the year. A shallow river flowing through the woods. A naked hanyou sleeping peacefully on the bank. An equally naked Kagome discovering him there. 'Nuf said.

Live and Let Die by doggieearlover (X)

InuYasha has been missing for five days. Kagome wants to search for him, but the others wish to sit and wait for his return. In desperation Kagome strikes off alone, in the middle of the night, in the attempt to find the hanyou. Will she be able to find him on her own, before it is too late?

Anisa

Kiss Me at Twilight by BlueMoon Goddess (M)

They were best friends since high school. But after the kiss they shared on New Year's Eve, feelings and desires he's never felt before come rushing in. Can he convince her that what they're feeling is real, that their meant to be more than just friends?

*Fade and Flare by Pinku (X)

Kagome, Japan's number one pop star, has fame, money, and a superstar boyfriend. All she wants is to be happy. All her overprotective manager Inuyasha wants, though, is her… How long can they last like this?

*Zero G by Torenza (M)

Kagome unwittingly falls into a deadly game as the victim of a conspiracy. The players are ruthless, and Kagome is way out of her depth, especially when the stakes are life and death.

Lost

*To Catch a Demon by Alaviles (M)

Kagome and Inuyasha were able to live in marital bliss. At least, that's what she thought. But Inuyasha has been feeling rather restless about his life. While yearning for an experience of a time now gone, chaos ensues, and he must learn to accept a reality he would never have dreamed up for himself. One he will never wish to give up again. (Ongoing)

In Our Pocket of the World (Series) by Emmyyasha (G-E)

Inuyasha and Kagome may be stuck together in Quarantine, but they don't need to leave their apartment to have an adventure together.

The Darkest of Nights by kiichandesu (T)

He isn't afraid of the dark, but the night of the new moon always finds him terrified. Until it doesn't.

Pixie

*Not How it's Done by @dyaz-stories (K+)

After a one-night stand, Kagome finds out she's pregnant. She chooses to keep the baby but discovers, nine months later, that the kid is a half-demon. When she runs into the father by chance, it feels important to them both to do their best to raise the kid together.

The Fae and the Contract by @cstorm86 (E)

Kagome's mother is very sick. After having lost her father years ago to illness, she is terrified of losing her mother too. There are tales of a fae in the great forest who can make deals and save others. Can the fae save her mother? She has to at least try.

*Nextlahualtin by @procrastinatorrexii & @moonkissedart (M)

Once, Kagome had believed her grandfather was just an eccentric. A priest who, after long days of ritual and spellwork and dealing with politics and problems and the complexities of the Great City, liked to amuse himself by telling outlandish stories about the gods. Once he is killed, in a brutal and baffling way, she is left with no choice but to hope that at least one of his wild tales was actually true.

Could there really be a god dwelling among them? And, if there is, what else might be out there, waiting in the shadows?

Mama

Inextricably Knotted by ssukidesu (M)

Kagome Higurashi was orphaned as a baby and raised by her cruel aunt until the age of ten, after which she went to school and learned the art of service and self-suppression. Now eighteen, Kagome takes a job as the governess of Shippo, the young ward of the great and mysterious Lord Inuyasha Taisho. But as Kagome gets to know her bemusing master, a ghost seems to haunt his estate, hinting that there is a long-lost secret hiding on the third floor.

your flesh is so nice, let me take a bite - by @doginabirdcage (E)

Kagome's taken a new job with the prolific Taisho law firm in Osaka to advance her budding career. Everything's going rather well until Toga's youngest son shows up for work.

Necessities by Bee_Tawon (M)

Inuyasha and Kagome have a chance encounter with some rogue bandits. Kagome learns what it means to survive in Sengoku Jidai.

Rudd

Slave to the Heart by LovingmyKitsune (M)

She never once imagined to find herself unhappy. However, a sudden upset throws this young at heart girl into a whirlpool of emotion and conflict. Complexities and truths are discovered and all she can do is hold on tight, hoping for a miracle. InuKag

It's Written in the Stars by ElmOak1991 (M)

Kagome paled when she realized they were gone. Days ago she had told Inuyasha that she was going home to stay. She couldn’t do it anymore. She couldn’t pretend to be okay with being second best in his heart. It hurt too much to know he loved Kikyo more. Now that her jewel shards were gone, she found herself falling to the floor with tears in her eyes. He didn’t even say goodbye before taking away her choice of returning. Her heart broke as she thought about all she had lost. The people who had become her family. Five years have passed since that day, and the memory still stung. She would never forgive him for taking her choice away. Never. However, moving on from her past is proving harder than she would have thought.

I'll Find a Way by Gabrielle015 (M)

Everyone he ever knew and loved thinks he's dead. Being an agent was never an easy feat, but being separated from his friends and the love of his life has taken a toll on him. Three long years after his 'death' Inuyasha is completing several missions in hopes to defeat Naraku and go home. Would Kagome still be waiting for him, or had she found someone else?

Previous Mod Lists:

Mod Comfort Fics

Mod Favorites

Mod’s Favorite Ongoing Fics (as of mid-2022)

Feel free to add your own recs in the comments or reblogs! Check our Masterlist of previous lists to see which topics we've covered.  After reviewing our submission guidelines, send us an ask (here).

[thankskenpenders]

Sonic Superstars!

Superstars is out! And guess what? It's good! It's a worthy new entry in the series, and I mostly like it. Mostly. Except for the handful of parts I don't. As usual, allow me to share my thoughts.

(For the record, I got the PS5 version of Superstars. I can't speak for how it plays on older hardware like the Switch, or how the weird Steam version that seems to make you log in with Epic runs. But I encountered zero performance issues, personally.)

General thoughts

The thing is, aside from two notable flaws I'll discuss in greater detail below, I can sum up my feelings on most of Superstars quickly. You see, it's... a Sonic game. This will either be a blessing or a curse depending on who you ask. It's not a bold new take on the series that'll blow you away, but they also didn't fuck it up. There's no catch this time! There's something refreshing about that straightforwardness, given how rare it is to get a regular-ass New Sonic Game from Sega. It's just a new classic-style game where you can play as Amy, set on a new island with all new zones, and Fang is in it! This might be damning with faint praise, but that's what it says on the tin, and they did a good job overall.

(It also has co-op. That's nice. I didn't play it in co-op.)

It plays exactly how it should. At no point did anything feel Wrong. The graphics might not have the absolute highest fidelity, but I think the character models look really nice, and the levels look appropriately good with vibrant color palettes. A couple zones like Sky Temple gave me Klonoa vibes, which I like. One zone is an absolutely incredible homage that I won't spoil. The story here is minimal (as expected), but there are a few good moments of telling the story through the gameplay, particularly one very cute sequence with Trip. I did find a couple stage gimmicks moderately annoying (Speed Jungle 2 and Press Factory 2, looking at you), but like... I could say the same thing about Mania, and also damn near every other Sonic game ever made. There's always That One Level. Superstars may not raise the series to new heights, but it generally executes well on the standard beats of the series. It's an easy recommendation for all fans of 2D Sonic.

Really, aside from the two big flaws (we'll get to them), this game's greatest crimes are simply not being quite as good as Mania, and also coming out the same week as the more creative and polished Super Mario Bros. Wonder. If we hadn't gotten Mania, I would easily be calling this my favorite 2D Sonic game since... what, the Advance trilogy 20 years ago? I like the Rush games, but if you asked me to replay one or the other, I might have a better time with Superstars. And, yes, it beats the hell out of Sonic 4. It's not even close. Anyone who says this game is exactly like Sonic 4 is just being a hater.

...I guess I would say that $60 is a bit steep for this, but you know it'll be on sale for a more appropriate $30-$40 in a few months. This isn't a Nintendo game we're talking about here.

Nice little tweaks

Superstars also features a number of welcome quality-of-life updates over Mania, bringing it more in line with the design ethos of modern platformers.

You have infinite lives! No more getting a game over on the final boss and having to redo the whole final zone - or, god forbid, the entire game

Time overs are gone! It'll warn you before you go over ten minutes, but I have no idea why because it doesn't kill you anymore

The game features a hub from which you can easily replay previous levels, rather than needing to beat the game or put in a cheat code to unlock the level select

This means you can easily go back and hunt for any special stage rings you missed. However, as a tradeoff, it seems like you can only get one Emerald per zone now, rather than being able to get Super Sonic by the end of the first or second zone

You can swap characters between levels! No more having to start a whole 'nother save file to play as Tails

And those characters even have optional little movement tutorial rooms available from the hub, which is great for new players who may not know about things like the Drop Dash

And, finally, checkpoints now feature arrows pointing in the direction you were supposed to be going, in case you forget upon respawning

Of course, while you might not be getting game overs, Superstars certainly compensated with some bosses that kicked my ass.

Bosses

Here's what I would consider notable flaw #1.

I have mixed feelings on the bosses in Superstars. I don't think many of them are poorly designed - in fact, a lot of them are good, and offer fun moments of spectacle. But for a 2D Sonic game, they're REALLY long and drawn out, and by the late game this was starting to get draining.

Bosses tend to be the type where you have to dodge their attack patterns for a while until you get the chance to hit them exactly once, MAYBE twice. A few bosses seem to have quicker options if you abuse your post-hit invulnerability or play as a character with a double jump, but many will either be completely invincible or run away to the background for long periods of time, making it impossible to damage them outside of the allotted windows. And even if it seems like you'll be able to get in a second hit, many bosses turn invincible and skip ahead to the next attack pattern as soon as they take the first hit. Again, most of these fights aren't BAD, but because of this behavior they sometimes take almost as long to beat as the entire levels preceding them. This didn't bother me much early in the game, but against the more challenging bosses towards the end that kept killing me several minutes into a long fight, it got tiring. The final boss of Story Mode probably took me like an hour.

While this certainly isn't an uncommon style of boss design, part of me suspects they did this for the sake of co-op players. For one, playing in co-op means that you don't necessarily have to start the entire fight over if one person dies, so I assume the length is less of an issue. But in particular, true classic-style Sonic bosses that you can just hit repeatedly with good timing would go down in a few seconds against a team of four players. Likewise, the swarm of clones from the "Avatar" Emerald power would probably obliterate every Genesis era boss with one button press. So I get why every boss needs all these invulnerability periods, but still. I at least wish they'd made some of those attack patterns shorter and given you more frequent opportunities to deal damage.

Emeralds and their powers

Speaking of the new Chaos Emerald powers: they're neat, I guess? They're fine. I didn't use them much. Actually, I kept forgetting I even had them - although the game will play a noise and show an icon in the corner of the screen to remind you any time you reach a spot where a specific power is useful. Avatar, the first power you get, is at least good for getting a couple free hits in on the trickier bosses. Yellow's ability to slow time is obviously good, but, again, I always forgot I even had it and made it through just fine without it. I was also pleased to realize that the swimming power is useful for the water levels and not just for climbing up waterfalls.

Oh, and the new grappling-based special stages kind of suck, but they're not the worst, and I'll at least give them credit for trying something new. (Motion Sickness Zone from Sonic 1 does return as a bonus minigame, but I only did it once lmao.)

Battle Mode

I haven't played Battle Mode. Couldn't tell you if it's good or not. It did, however, give us official designs for Metal Tails and Metal Amy after all these years, and also it let me make this:

...Okay, enough beating around the bush. Let's talk about the thing that REALLY drags down the experience.

The soundtrack...

(This lengthy section on the music will feature some light spoilers for things like zone names and themes.)

Now, don't get me wrong. There are some bangers in here that I've been listening to on loop. But this is one of the most inconsistent soundtracks I've ever heard, and I'm not sure I've ever played another game where the music has such a sharp dip in quality in the back half.

As anyone following this blog knows, prior to release I was a little obsessed with trying to gauge what the soundtrack would be like. "Jun Senoue" and "new Classic Sonic game" naturally evokes the memory of Sonic 4, but from the start we knew Tee Lopes was involved as well, and almost all of the music previewed before released leans more towards the sound of Sonic Mania than anything else. I was hopeful! I was excited! Jun deserved another chance at doing another classic Sonic OST, and Tee is one of my favorite game composers of all time between his Sonic material and other works like the TMNT: Shredder's Revenge OST. I frequently thought back to this Sonic 4 remix medley by Jun and Tee as a reminder that these two could really be the dream team, bringing out the best in each other's work.

Sure enough, the front half of the game is largely dominated by the Mania sound, whether it's a track by Tee himself or one by an in-house Sega artist that's compatible with his style. Pinball Carnival Act 1 by Rintaro Soma (an up-and-coming composer who wrote a bunch of the Cyber Space themes in Frontiers) takes obvious inspiration from Mania's Studiopolis Act 1, to the point that I was shocked when Sega posted the track and revealed it wasn't written by Tee. Act 2, however, forges more of its own sound by leaning into the act's spooky haunted carnival theme. And despite being the music lead, the only level theme that I know for sure was written by Senoue in the front half of the game (Bridge Island Act 1) was actually arranged by Tee Lopes to give it more of that Mania sound. Hell, the level clear jingle is literally just the one from Mania. A few level themes by other composers don't quite match that style, but they fit in well enough.

But there are early signs that this sound won't be consistent throughout the game. Our first warning of things to come is the boss music:

When early copies started floating around and the soundtrack leaked, many, many people hoped that this was merely a placeholder, like the literal Sonic 4 Episode II music used in the earliest previews of Speed Jungle, and that it'd get replaced with a day one patch. Oh, those poor, innocent fools...

Even if you don't mind the poor production with the returning Sonic 4 faux-Genesis sound, this is a very simplistic thirteen second snippet of music that then plays a second time in a higher key before it loops. This wouldn't be the end of the world if the bosses were as short as the ones in the Genesis games, of course, but they're not! This theme is used for a ton of lengthy fights throughout the game, including an EXTREMELY long and tedious autoscroller boss at the end of Golden Capital Act 2. Maybe I would've enjoyed the bosses in this game more if they were paired with some earworms that'd get me hyped up and sell how cool and exciting the fights are supposed to be, but grating songs like this just made the minutes spent fighting those bosses feel like an eternity.

Still, boss music (and menu music) aside, all of the level themes in the front half of the game ranged from decent to great, with the peak easily being the phenomenal Lagoon City Act 2 by Tee Lopes. And then... I got to the back half of the game. And the Mania style completely disappeared, replaced largely with the dreaded Sonic 4 sound. That isn't the style for EVERY song in the back half, but even the ones that try something different tend to be weaker than the material from the first six zones, with less engaging melodies and less intricate arrangement. Many sound straight up unfinished, leaning on extremely basic synth patches with no personality. And there isn't a single track from Tee in the back half. He just disappears from the project altogether.

What this means is that we go from this absolute banger by Tee Lopes in zone 6, which elevates what's otherwise a bog standard desert level to a thrilling adventure:

To... this, in zone 7:

It's EXTREMELY jarring!

The thing is, this is actually one of the better tracks in this style. I have to assume this is by Senoue, because you can totally hear a good Adventure or Heroes era Senoue track in there once you get past the crude synth replication of the Genesis era Sonic sound. Senoue is still a great composer, as you can hear clear as day with Bridge Island, but he's working with a restrictive sound palette that doesn't play to his strengths at all. If only he'd bust out that damn guitar, or at least pick some better synths.

(And no matter what people will tell you, no, this is not an accurate recreation of what the Genesis's YM2612 chip really sounded like, nor is it representative of what it CAN sound like at its best. Go back to the Streets of Rage 2 or Ristar soundtracks if you need a reminder.)

While I can at least see what the Press Factory tracks were aiming for, some other faux-FM synth tracks are just really bland. They don't have anything interesting going on, and they also don't seem particularly tailor made for the levels they accompany. They're just attempts to mimic what Sonic 1-3 sounded like on a very literal level. Take, for instance, the Golden Capital Act 1 theme, AKA "we've got Sky Sanctuary at home." While the better level themes in this game enhance the mood or even completely carry the vibes of a level, the weaker tracks can really suck all the air out of the room and make a level feel like more of a slog.

What kills me is that there are, in fact, a couple examples of how to do throwbacks to classic Sega FM synth music well on this very soundtrack! They're just not the Sonic 4 type tracks. I love the Frozen Base Act 2 theme, presumably composed by legendary Sega composer Hiroshi "HIRO" Kawaguchi, who's responsible for all-time classic arcade soundtracks like Fantasy Zone, Out Run, Hang-On, After Burner, and more, as well as the hacking and pinball themes from Frontiers. Maybe to an untrained ear this doesn't sound all that different, but it has a catchier tune, better instruments, and stronger production overall. I'm also a fan of the track for Sky Temple, which isn't perfect, but it blends a few Genesis-esque instruments like the Sonic 1+2 snare with other instruments for a richer sound. If the whole soundtrack sounded more like these examples, I'd definitely be complaining less.

I really just have to wonder... how did this happen? How did this end up being so inconsistent? Many fans on social media are jumping to the conclusion that Senoue is just extremely stubborn and refuses to ditch the style from Sonic 4. I can't deny this possibility, but some things just don't add up. The almost complete lack of "retro" style music in the promotional material. The fact that the style just suddenly shifts halfway through the game, then disappears for the final zone, as if that's not the note they want to end on. The complete lack of any tracks by Tee Lopes in the back half. The focus on the Mania-style tracks in the bonus "mini soundtrack." And most perplexing of all, the fact that three of the first tracks you hear in the game were Senoue compositions that were given extra attention with arrangements from Tee Lopes.

This is pure speculation on my part, but it almost seems like they straight up ran out of time.

Perhaps Jun wanted more of his tracks to get full arrangements from Tee, or for Tee to contribute more songs, but things were down to the wire and they chose to leave in some of the raw Sonic 4 style demos. The soundtrack being crunched out in a matter of months at the end of development would certainly explain why Speed Jungle had to be demoed without its music a mere four months ago. It'd also explain why a game that's only a few hours long needs NINETEEN composers listed in the credits. And also the fact that multiple zones just have completely different, unrelated music by different artists across their acts. Did they need multiple artists working on different acts simultaneously, completely independent from each other with no time to cross reference each others' work, due to extreme time constraints? I'd buy it.

Ah well. It's not the end of the world. I've heard worse Sonic music. But I'll always think of what could have been...

At least the final battle with Eggman at the end of Story Mode has a pretty kickass boss theme, which ALMOST makes up for how bad most of the preceding boss music is (and the fact that that very difficult fight doesn't have a checkpoint between phases and took me like an hour to beat lmao). It even seems like it might be written by longtime Phantasy Star Online composer and recurring Sonic contributor Hideaki Kobayashi. That's the guy who wrote NONAGRESSION!!!!!!!

The postgame

Speaking of beating Eggman! It turns out Superstars has a good deal of postgame content, as merely beating the last zone with all the Chaos Emeralds doesn't take you to the true final boss. In order to do that, you'll need to do something else.

Before we hit the big spoiler warning, I'm going to give any future players who are still reading a warning. If you value your sanity... don't force yourself to do all the postgame stuff. Don't make the mistakes I did. It's not worth it, and it may very well knock your personal score for the game down a couple points.

----------------------------------------------------------------

SPOILERS FOR THE STORY, UNLOCKABLES, AND THE POSTGAME BELOW THIS POINT

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED

----------------------------------------------------------------

The bonus scenario

Sonic Superstars has a big surprise in store for anyone who beats the main story. For the first time since... what, Silver? In 2006? We finally have a brand new playable character in a new Sonic platformer! (I wouldn't count the player avatar in Forces as a full-fledged New Character.) Yes, after the credits roll, you unlock Trip as the super-secret fifth playable character. I was really excited to see this. Trip is cute, even if her masked appearance from early in the game is perhaps a more unique design than a Sonic-ified lizard girl who can only vaguely look like a real sungazer lizard. She IS the first new Sonic character Ohshima has designed since the '90s, though, so she gets points for that - and she gets even more points for literally turning into a dragon when she goes Super. We love a girl who can turn into a dragon, don't we folks? And her playstyle is fun, too, with a double jump and the ability to roll along walls and ceilings.

But Trip isn't just playable. Like Knuckles before her, she gets an entire alternate story mode of her own, which somewhat remixes the level layouts, generally makes things more challenging, and swaps out Eggman for Egg Robo. I was so excited to see this! It really felt like the game had so much more in store for me than I'd anticipated.

...Then I spent probably around three hours attempting to beat the new final battle with Fang at the end of Trip's Story. And it made me regret doing Trip's Story at all.

Once you learn the patterns, a lot of them are actually piss easy. But the difficulty comes down to a few misguided factors:

The fight is LOOOONG. On a successful attempt the whole thing will probably take the average player about, like... seven or eight minutes? Maybe longer? This is where I really started to get pissed at the game for making me wait through these stupid attack patterns before I could attempt to hit the boss once.

The fight is divided between two phases, one with Fang in a vehicle and another with him in a giant robot, with no checkpoint between them. Dying to one of Fang's bullshit attacks on the second phase means having to redo the ~5 minute first phase all over again. And, worst of all...

Fang has multiple projectile attacks that are guaranteed instant kills, even if you have rings.

Also there's a stupid desperation headbutt attack that can really easily catch you off guard and kill you, but I only got that far in the fight once.

It's the instant kills that got me. If those fucking immobilizing net attacks just made you drop your rings, or you could at least wiggle out of them by mashing buttons (EDIT: apparently you CAN do this but you literally have to button mash so rapidly that it's a crapshoot whether or not you'll physically be able to do it), it would have been totally doable! Kinda fun, even! Slow, but pretty cool in terms of spectacle. But nope! Three hours! Three hours on this! This is, without a doubt, the hardest boss I have ever faced in any Sonic game, period, and one of the hardest bosses I've ever seen in ANY game. All because of one attack pattern where making a tiny mistake means starting over.

The glitches didn't help, either. Something about the way the circular boss arena was set up in both stories' final battles seems to make the floor intangible sometimes for non-player objects. Occasionally my dropped rings, enemies I was supposed to knock towards Fang, or one of Fang's insta-kill projectiles would just fall through the floor randomly. This definitely wasn't my main problem, but it helped drive home the idea that this fight just wasn't worth my time.

After three hours of attempts, I gave up. I just went and looked up the ending of Trip's story, as well as the contents of the Final Story, on YouTube. Turns out I made the right call, because boy, that true final boss looks like dogshit. It's just a very dull fight against a big generic cartoon dragon. Apparently this is the thing Eggman was looking for. It appears and is defeated with little fanfare. I think I liked it better when I assumed the scary dragon being foreshadowed was just Super Trip.

...Also, hey, what's up with The End being very conspicuously visible in the background of the last zone?? I know it's just a cheeky cameo, but, like... isn't it supposed to be sealed away in Cyber Space right now? Should I be taking this literally? Does this have lore implications? This is one hell of a way to remind people that the timeline's been reunified, I guess

Closing thoughts

I really hate to part ways with Superstars on a sour note like this, because like I said up top, I mostly enjoyed my time with it! It's really just a small handful of particularly frustrating bosses and the inconsistent soundtrack that drag it down. Other than that, it's solid as a rock. Maybe wait for sales if you're not dying to play it, but it's definitely worth playing for any Sonic fan. Just... skip the true ending. I would have stepped away MUCH happier with this game if I'd done that.

I wanna try to end this on a more positive note but I'm tired, so, uhhhh... look, you can unlock a Metal Nights skin for your Battle Mode bot!!

Anyway back to jamming to about half the soundtrack on loop while pretending the other half doesn't exist, and looking forward to the continued Fang Renaissance with his upcoming IDW miniseries

[co-sharkie]

My Girl–

Grayson Waller x F! Wrestler! Reader

Summary: Bron Breakker flirts with Grayson’s girlfriend.

This was a request from @there-goes-thefighter 💖

Bron Breakker made his impression on the WWE universe with his Smackdown debut and signing. He observed the competition beforehand. He saw many familiar faces, but one stood out--a beautiful woman who he saw in the ring multiple times.

He loved the way she executed her moves flawlessly and her crowd work was phenomenal. It was only a matter of time before he tried to talk to her. And luckily, he saw her backstage. She was occupied on her phone while sitting on a crate. Bron strut up to her, ready to shoot his shot.

You looked up from your phone and spotted a huge man making his way towards you. He leaned on the crate and you thanked your past self for making sure the wheels were locked. He had a flirtatious smirk on his face. "I don't think I got your name, beautiful."

You quickly recognized him as Bron Breakker, the newly signed superstar. He was a man you remember Grayson having a ton a issues with during his NXT time. Grayson complained non-stop the night Bron was signed. He stayed up all night telling you every single detail about the man and why he hated him.

"Did you not look at the roster before signing with Smackdown?" You innocently smiled after your attitude showed. Bron blinked, surprised with your sass. "My name is all over the women's division."

He tried to laugh off the embarrassment as he must have missed your name (he didn't look at the women's roster). "What I'm trying to say is that I didn't see you at my meet-and-greet." The superstars typically host a small gathering backstage at catering after someone new is signed. It gives them a good opportunity to meet the new person and exchange socials with them.

"Sorry, I was going to go, but I got busy." Grayson had refused to go to the meet-and-greet. He knew that they still had bad blood. You decided to leave the arena with your boyfriend, much to his relief.

"That's fine. How about I take you out for dinner tonight so we can officially meet?" Bron offered. You were going to give him another sassy remark in hopes that he would back off, but your knight in funky button-ups had other plans.

Grayson was taken aback by the sight of Bron so close to you. He stormed up to you two. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Grayson was fuming.

Bron quickly pushed himself off of the crate and made himself look bigger. "Getting something you could never." Bron's snarky remark made you snort. You stifle your laugh behind your hand. Thankfully, Bron didn't notice.

"What, a girlfriend? That's really funny, mate, because you're talking to mine!" Grayson picked you up from the crate and held you in his arms. "And trust me, she doesn't want someone with a brain the size of a walnut."

You waved goodbye to Bron over Grayson's shoulder. Bron stood in silence, totally stunned by the interaction. He was unaware Grayson had a girlfriend, or that he could even get one. He was disappointed that the beautiful girl he held interest in was taken by one of his old rivals, but maybe he could prove his worth in the ring.

Grayson didn't say anything until he was almost on the other side of backstage. He set you back on your feet. "What was he saying to you?" He was much more calm now that it was just you and him, but you could still hear his frustration.

"He just asked for my name and if I wanted dinner later. I had it under control, but thanks for coming to save me." You smiled and gave him a quick kiss. Grayson grumbled something you couldn't hear but it sounded somewhere along the lines of, 'who does he think he is'.

[icaruskey]

Hey @pillowspace I've been promising some whump and this is going to be the start of it.

I don't know how many parts it'll be, but I suspect I'll be able to post one snippet every day or two and finish it out by the end of the week.

I hope I do it justice. I've been hyping it up in my head a whole lot, especially since I'm writing more comfort for the clone au than here.

This is loop five. You're pretty sure of that. Sun is a little suspicious of you, the distance between you and the attendant growing ever wider as you prove to be more capable with the kids than him or Moon. It's not his fault, you want to explain, but you know that will only make things worse.

So you try to ignore instinct, let the children fall and need Sun, but he's the face of the daycare and he's needed all the time, so it becomes pain for pain's sake, and that of a child too! You can't stand it, and you know if he were in your shoes, if either of them were, they'd understand.

You still don't like the day they bring the generators in --- other humans with help from some of the animatronics, Freddy and Bonnie always eager to give their coworkers a helping hand. You don't like it because it means Moon won't be out anymore.

"Can we put some tape down? I'm worried the kids will trip over the cables." You stand at Sun's side, both of you watching the generators get placed. You with a furrowed brow, Sun with his rays retracted nearly entirely into his faceplate.

"That might be for the best." The strain in his voice is upsetting, and you reach to touch his arm in sympathy. It surprises him, and he slowly places a hand over yours. "Thank you for helping with the children. It's been... Difficult lately."

I know, you don't say. There's no movement from him, no wit or joke in his voice. Even his touch is limp.

"We're all set!" Freddy's voice is as full of life as Sun's is void of it. He walks over, the ground trembling ever so slightly with every step. "Everything going all right Sunny?"

Sun's grip on you tightens, painfully so with flesh trapped between metal. "Of course! Moon is just having some malfunctioning code, so we are putting him on pause until he gets better." The strain is audible, but Freddy is far too polite to bring it up.

"It's a shame," he says instead, clapping a paw on Sun's shoulder. "He's always good for a tune and a prank. Let us know if you need anything Sunny."

"Of course," Sun replies, but he's drowned out by Bonnie hop-jogging over to grab Freddy's arm.

"C'mon man. We got a set to practice with the girls. Chica's gonna murder us if we aren't on time."

"Ah right. See you Sun, Superstar." Freddy waves his goodbye, but you avoid looking at him. In a couple weeks, Freddy won't be the same. You wish you could warn them, but.

But instead, you watch as the two glamrocks leave, useless in comforting Sun, in saving Bonnie. Maybe if it wasn't for the fire... But you have to keep to your personal priorities right now, and you'd failed too many times already.

Sun signs, releasing you. "Let's get the daycare ready before the kids start showing up. Thank you for coming in early Starlight."

"It's not a problem Sun." You push as much love into your voice as possible. "If you get the art supplies and breakfast snacks ready, I can secure the electric cords."

"Oh of course. That's very smart." His rays remain retracted as he walks to the locked cabinets to prepare. You bum a roll of duct tape off a coworker and climb into the jungle gym, carefully taping the cables out of the way of little feet.

At least Sun brightened when the children started pouring in. You take over explaining the new naptime rules to the parents so he can fawn over the little ones, and the day passes quickly under the unforgiving glare of the lights.

You stay late to help clean, staking chairs out of the way to vacuum. Sun is humming as he pins the new drawings up, taking a few of the oldest ones down and stacking them neatly to the side.

"Will Moon get to come out after hours?" You ask, and Sun stops, arms full with little trays of crayons and markers. You notice there's a couple red hearts drawn on his cheek. Does he know about them?

"Oh, no. We aren't allowed to leave the daycare unless it's for maintenance, so he won't be coming out." Sun hands you the trays. "I'm going to take the old drawings up to our room. Can you finish things up down here?"

"Oh, yeah, of course." Even five loops in you're sticking your foot in your mouth. "Have a good night Sun."

"Thank you Starlight." He gathers the drawings, reaching up for the cord that he and Moon use to travel through the air. It descends and clips in place, and... He's gone.

It hurts to see him in pain like this. But, you will fix things this time. And Sun, very unintentionally, gave you the chance to do some after hours exploring.

✴️✴️✴️

Even better, it turns out the daycare's vacuum cleaner is broken, the always frayed cord finally snapped. Weird that you hadn't noticed this before, but then again, you have been busy every loop. You drag the vacuum out the side door to the manager 's office so it could be thrown out by someone with actual authority. It's quiet, the music playing to softly to muffle your footsteps or rattly old contraption dragging behind you. It shouldn't be easy to sneak up on you, and yet

"Who are you?" A woman's voice cuts through your thoughts, and you jump, giving an inarticulate yell and promptly tripping over yourself as you turn.

She's a security guard you realize, spotting the badge and pseudo-cop attire even as you're blinded by her flashlight. You squint and shield your eyes, clumsily getting back to your feet.

"I'm the daycare assistant." You fumble for your badge, clipped on the inside of your sweater to show. "I'm still cleaning up. Sun's having a bit of a stressful day and it's a lot slower without his help." You're over explaining but, ah well. You're still startled.

"You're not supposed to stay after hours." She checks her watch, and you can finally make out her face. She's pretty, young. Not exactly what you'd think of when you think overnight security guard. "It's late."

"I know." There's an edge of irritation slipping in, even as you gather the broken vacuum again. "I need to finish cleaning."

The guard watches you, and you're uncomfortably aware of her apparent lack of blinking, fiddling with the busted cord instead. "And the daycare attendant is refusing to help?"

"He's had a bad day," you say, openly defensive. "He deserves a break, so I'm taking care of things. It's fine. You can even watch if you want to make sure I'm not stealing anything."

She's still frowning at you, shaking her head. She holsters the flashlight, taking the vacuum from you. "You go on home. I'll make sure the daycare gets cleaned."

"But---" You grimace as her already disgruntled expression turns hostile. "Okay, all right. Can I at least get my stuff?"

She sighs but nods, dropping the vacuum. "Come on then. I need to escort you. Someone's been sneaking around in here after hours already."

Oh? "They have?" Could they have messed with Moon? "Why hasn't the day shift been informed?"

"Everyone important has."

You give up trying to talk, frustrated with her stoney silence. The daycare is lit like a beacon in the pizzeria, and when you enter you cut off to the side, digging your bag out of your cubby. You start to call up to Sun, but the guard is at your shoulder, still watching you in her unnerving way. You swallow instead, gesturing vaguely. "Well, that's it."

"Good. Let's go then." And she takes the lead, leaving you scrambling to catch up. There's no lingering or trying to take the long way around. She leads you directly to the atrium and even watches as you clock out.

"Well, thank you," you say, attempting one more smile. She's unmoved. "Um, have a good night?"

"In the future, if you can't get everything done by the end of your shift, telephone it into the security office," she says, escorting you to the nearest door.

"I will." And you're leaving, confused and frustrated. You turn around when the door locks behind you. The guard is already leaving, her ponytail bouncing with her long steps. Just in case, you try the door, but nope. It's locked.

"Fine then. I'll try again tomorrow," you tell the door, drawing a hand down your face. Hopefully she didn't bully Sun for trying to take a break. You've already decided you do not like her. But how have you missed her the past few loops? You're the only one who knows what's happening, so you should've run into her before. What's changed?

[blixabargelds]

can u summarize superstars main characters please ? new to this au and i am tuning in

hiii yes ofc it’s being written alternating between gale and johns pov, im writing gale’s which is why you see sm of that. my bestie elo is writing john’s and they’re internet shy which is why you don’t see that jgkgkj

gale is a lil shy, pretty quiet, joins the band after seeing one of their shows bc they need a new bassist and him n john are in love almost immediately lol. he cannot play bass. rosie teaches him :3 he’s got pretty intense anxieties around keeping the people he loves safe after his mom died when he was younger. he’s a bit of a demon in bed. he’s a really hard worker n gets good at bass pretty quick. he can’t write lyrics but he’s incredibly good at picking out patterns that sound good, working with song arrangements, approaches music like a lot of things as a formula to be worked out meticulously. he lives w john in johns apartment. he’s pretty dependent on him, bc he’s practically a runaway and has no money, which isn’t usually an issue but definitely becomes one at a few points. he finds it hard to open up but once he places his trust in someone he’ll come out his shell. rosie is kind of his best friend.

john’s the frontman/ singer/ shouter in there band. he’s very good at writing lyrics. can’t really play any instruments. he’s a kid from a broken care system, never knew his parents. has a shady criminal past with curt but he is a very sweet guy. he’s got the biggest heart out of all of them. walking disaster. uses humour to cover up a lot of hurt, and to keep a Lot of secrets. he’s absolutely head over heels for gale. can be incredibly bossy in band practise, and in bed (gale likes that). has a lot of self destructive habits, a lot of self worth issues. will do literally anything for the people he loves and i mean Anything, but will do almost nothing for himself. him and rosie dated when rosie was in college, which is mostly fine and sometimes pretty messy. we kind of accidentally reinvented richard hell with him.

curt is the drummer. he’s johns best friend from way back when, they’ve done some shady business together in the past. his dad was a criminal, a violent man, but someone curt weirdly looked up to in a lot of ways as a kid. he was strong n didn’t take any shit. curt def separated himself from his family when he got a little older though, realised his dad was running business thru some boots and braces types and curt didn’t want any part in that world. he’s fiercely loyal to his friends, honestly the best person you want on your side. frequently the voice of reason in the band. very cool headed. saves gales life at one point, has definitely saved john’s before. musically he’s an absolutely rabid drummer, like whiplash sticks bloody etc. he’s also a lil basic. or maybe just very straightforward. like his favourite band is black flag. nothing wrong with that but he does roll his eyes at rosie when rosie asks him if he’s heard the latest release from someone no one ever in the world has heard of.

rosie is the guitarist. rosie is. ahhh. insane. lol. he’s patrick bateman. he’s jesus christ. he is a musical genius, he’s got classical training, can play like 10 different instruments, he went to julliard. his parents are seriously upstanding citizens who wanted him to be a classical prodigy but their overbearing attitudes drove him toward punk and distancing himself from them. his mother is Nuts. rosie is endlessly kind and also cold inside, he’s the best friend you want and also the grim reaper. he’s sooo sexy. he does not call women back ever. he had a big breakdown in college. he’s like a lil cracked. but also outwardly so steady and so put together. i have to study him under a microscope. he will play the harp for 6 hours straight until his fingers bleed to avoid having one thought.

fun minor characters include; sandy (rosie’s ex who keeps cropping back up. rosie’s mom Loved her. she’s probably rich enough to not care about voting but she thinks trump is just hilarious), ulrich ([redacted]), Big Tom ([redacted]), and marge. sweet marge gale’s childhood sweetheart who’s always there for him even when they never really see each other anymore.

[pajamas-lipstick]

The last 4 episodes have been such a rollercoaster and full of so many great moments - comedic and beautiful and heartbreaking.

The thing i can't get over in both the original version of events around Sol's attack and the current one she's working to prevent is how damn brave Sun Jae is. In both scenarios he has an unrequited crush on someone who barely notices him and yet he fiercely and courageously not only saves Sol but is determined to bring the perpetrator to justice. His witness statement was so clear and just and calm - he was unflinching in the face of danger. We see this echoed in his statement to Sol that he's ok with getting hurt if he can protect her - he loves her yes, but he's also a fundamentally brave and heroic person, who trusts his heart - just as Sol is. As so many others have said, they are both reaching out through time, space and fate to rescue each other. Sol also trusts her heart and is similarly unflinching in her pursuit of a happy ending for Sun Jae, no matter what it costs her. I would bet on her too, if I were in Sun Jae's place. I believe our cute little bulldozer can do anything!

Going backwards, episode 8 was a blinder in so many ways - the meeting on the bridge after so many near misses the previous episode, the echoes from the beginning of their story, the umbrella! Then watching Sun Jae slowly morph from a cool, unruffled superstar to his sweet, awkward teen self the longer he was around Sol was just lovely. Her presence allowed him to be himself, truly.

I haven't even got to Im Sol's confession in the present - my goodness, what a breathtaking declaration of love. The acting from both was just gorgeous here - you could feel the release and relief of all that pain and longing. And after Sun Jae repeatedly made himself vulnerable it was time for her to do the same. I especially loved Kim Hye Yoon's startled reaction in the lift after actually telling him how she felt and Byeon Woo Seok's delirious, overwhelmed delight in his car after. And that kiss!! One for the ages and I love so much that she initiated it and crossed the last divide between them. I think I saw that was Woo Seok's suggestion when they were blocking the scene? which...makes me swoon even more, honestly (as if that was possible).

I love Detective Kim's doggedness in pursuit - he feels like a man who can get the bad guy. Indeed, all the 'adult' characters here are reassuring in the best ways and I agree with all the theories about a bit of magic around Halmeoni, too. Taesung was Ep 10's MVP for me and he's definitely got more of a role to play in changing fate. There's still six episodes to go after all (how on earth am i going to cope with the stress?!?!)

I am absolutely convinced it will be a happy ending. The lightness of touch and genuine laugh out loud moments every episode are setting the tone for a happy conclusion. Plus, there's no pre-determined feeling here (looking at you, Moon in the Day), rather the opposite. We are being shown over and over that a kind and unselfish heart can work miracles. They're not going through it for nothing, i just know it.