#with the stakes slowly amping up

[blametheeditor]

When In Rome

Prequel

What's better than borrowers? Having a shrunken human to show the ropes.

Content warnings: Cursing. Trapping someone against their will.

Is this incredibly self indulgent? Yes, yes it is.

_______________________________________

Eggs wasn’t even doing anything. All he was doing was lying on the floor in the office, waiting for their resident borrowers to appear from the walls. You know, the standard beginning to a Saturday night technically really early Sunday morning. 

And then poof, the desk suddenly towered over him like a building, the ceiling so high above his head it seemed like there should be clouds moving over it, and the security door was big enough to let someone the size of a skyscraper casually stroll through. 

The mechanic stays frozen for a good moment, still lying on his stomach, staring at the small mouse hole that’s sitting in front of him. The same one that’s supposed to be no bigger than his palm and hard to spot when he’s standing up. That one that he now has to look up at as it stands as tall as a grand doorway. 

Oh he is definitely going inside there to explore.

And only to explore, thank you. There’s no blinding terror slowly crawling through his veins at the thought of someone walking into the office while he’s lying on the ground only a few inches tall, no sir not at all! What do you take him for, someone who can’t handle suddenly getting shrunken down to the size of a borrower? Psh, as if. 

That being said, Eggs doesn’t waste any time gawking at his new surroundings, quickly standing up before darting over toward the mouse hole. Because if there was anything Fritz and Caleb made clear, it’s the fact just how dangerous it is standing on the floor where humans who are unaware of certain tiny Eggs Benedict won’t be watching where they step. 

And now he’s imagining a giant shoe crushing him… 

Focus, he needs to focus. And besides, the only people inside the restaurant right now are certified trusted borrower handlers. Everyone should be watching where they step. He’ll be fine. 

Or, at least he’s 85% sure he’ll be fine. Because the moment he looks inside the mouse hole, the one he’s watched Fritz and Caleb use to enter and exit the walls, he is greeted with nothing but pure darkness. And the two borrowers are not known to carry around miniature flashlights and headlamps. 

Eggs looks back at the office. Decides he will not be greeting a giant no matter what certifications they possess, because if the wheeling chair towers over him that much, then he can imagine just how big everyone is now in comparison. Like hell he’s letting Mike get his hands on a shrunken Eggs, literally. 

With that, he takes three steps into the walls before stopping, blinking rapidly in the hopes his eyes will adjust. After a minute of staring into the void, he doesn’t see anything even begin to take shape. No wooden beams, or wall insulation, or even his hand currently sitting two inches in front of his face. 

Which is lame. He’s wanted to know what it’s like traveling through the walls ever since he met their resident borrowers! How can he do that if he can’t see! 

Welp, time for plan B. 

“Fritz!” Eggs yells into the darkness, cupping his hands around his mouth for maximum volume. “Caleb! I summon you!” 

Silence. And he thought they were friends. 

“Fritz! Ca-!” 

The youngest borrower’s name becomes a shriek when a hand suddenly taps his shoulder. He’s not proud to admit it, but he jumps as high as Jeremy does before whirling around. Sighs in relief when the sliver of light shining through the mouse hole hits Fritz’s face. 

��Eggs?” the teenager breathes. 

Said mechanic straightens his shirt before clearing his throat. “I forgot you’re tiny ninjas.” 

Fritz stares at him. What, does he have something on his face? “You’re our size.” 

Right! The whole suddenly tiny thing. “That I am! Cool, right?” 

“How?” Fritz murmurs, more concerned than enthusiastic. 

“Humans aren’t supposed to shrink, are they?” Caleb softly pipes up, the kid stepping into the light so he isn’t a disembodied voice that could’ve been a tiny Funtime Freddy who was put inside the walls strictly to mess with him. 

“No, humans aren’t supposed to,” Eggs grins. “I was just waiting for you guys and then poof, tiny town!” 

“Poof?” Fritz repeats. 

“Poof,” the mechanic confirms as he accentuates the word with jazz hands. 

The two borrowers share a look before looking back at him to openly stare. Then Eggs finds himself staring back because holy shit he can actually see them now. 

Not that he couldn’t before! Like he knows Fritz has red hair and he’s the taller one, and Caleb has brown hair and he’s the shorter one, but he never realized the older of the two has freckles, or that the bear the younger constantly carries around is supposed to be a gold color. The most he notices when he holds them in his hands are how dusty they are. 

He also notices the overwhelming need to squeeze and shake them as cuteness aggression threatens to take control. But it hasn’t happened yet. 

“So,” Eggs smiles as he claps his hands together, wincing when it echos and makes both borrowers jump. “Since I am now borrower size, can I finally take you up on that offer for a house tour?” 

Caleb immediately brightens at the question while Fritz only looks more concerned. “We can finally show you our bags!” 

“And your hook,” Eggs agrees with the youngest. “Don’t forget about your promise on showing me how you climb up counters.” 

“And yours on teaching us on how thimbles are supposed to be used,” Caleb grins. 

“Guys,” Fritz quietly interrupts. “I think we should let everyone else know before we do anything else.” 

Eggs’ want to avoid encountering giants at all costs is crushed when even Caleb straightens up at the suggestion. “We should let them know.” 

“I mean should we?” Eggs asks. “I’m with you guys! We don’t need them when they can’t join the house tour.” 

“But we don’t know how you shrunk,” Fritz murmurs, and suddenly Eggs is being hit with the full potency of the teenager’s puppy eyes. If they were hard to fight against before, now it’s impossible to. Scott and David are lucky they’re too small to be seen properly. “And we don’t know when you’ll grow back or if you will.” 

“It’s also really dangerous when humans don’t know there’s a borrower around,” Caleb pipes up. 

Good points, good points. However, the minute they tell giants capable of crushing him with their shoe, he guaranteed won’t be allowed out of their sight. They’ll also want to pick him up before either trapping him inside a pocket so he can’t get into trouble, or thoroughly inspecting him because he managed to accomplish the impossible. 

Look, he trusts his coworkers as much as the next guy, and all of them a certified borrower handlers who know how to properly hold someone smaller than their finger without breaking something. But you can not tell him that Mike won’t immediately demand to check him over for injuries, or that James won’t do doctor things, or that Jeremy won’t ask to hold him and then Eggs can’t say no. 

And technically he can’t say no to any of them. Not when it would literally be impossible to make them listen to him. 

Suddenly, Caleb grabs his hand before gently tugging on it to earn Eggs’ attention. “We’ll tell them you’re small, and then we’ll give you a house tour.” 

The mechanic takes a deep breath, flashing a grin. “Well then what are we waiting for!” 

With the proclamation he is more or less ready to face someone a hundred times his size, Caleb turns away from the mouse hole and proceeds to lead Eggs into the suffocating darkness in which he’s confident he will never see light ever again. 

He gives walking through a walls a solid 5/10. Great for delaying the inevitable meeting of a giant, but way too dark to truly enjoy the sights it has to offer. 

“Holy shit it’s dark in here,” Eggs comments, his grip on Caleb’s hand tightening out of fear he’ll lose his guide. His free hand blinding searches for a wall to at least give him a sense of where he is. “How do you guys not constantly run into things?” 

Instead of finding a wooden beam, Eggs’ hand gets grabbed. And that earns a shrill shriek as whatever the hell it was quickly recoils away. 

“Sorry!” Fritz’s hushed voice frantically apologizes, allowing Eggs’ heart to settle at the realization it was the teenager and not some random entity that’s come to steal his soul. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!” 

“It’s fine,” the mechanic wheezes, hand on his heart trying it’s hardest to burst through his chest. When he finally manages to get his breathing under control, he then waves his hand out to try and locate Fritz. This time he only jumps when it’s grabbed again. “I was not expecting that.” 

There’s a moment of silence as a breeze ruffles his hair. "You can’t see that?” 

“What, see what?” Eggs asks. “Describe it to me.” 

“I was waving my hand in front of your face,” and hey, even though it’s dark, he can still sense the smirk on Fritz’s face! 

“Uh, no. It is pitch black in here, I can’t see anything.” 

“Really?” Caleb’s disembodied voice asks, confirming the other hand Eggs holds is still the youngest borrower. Or is it... “Humans can’t see in the dark?” 

“Borrowers can?” Eggs fires back. 

“Yes,” the two say in unison, both sounding amused as all hell about this discovery. 

The only person who apparently can’t see in the dark huffs. “Well no need to brag about it.” 

“No bragging,” Fritz replies as Caleb tugs on Egg’s hand to continue their journey through the walls, this time with all three of them linked together. Honestly he feels a lot better knowing where both borrowers are, especially with the only footsteps he can hear being his own. “Just stating the facts.” 

“How do humans walk in the dark?” Caleb asks, effectively distracting Eggs from the clearly superior tone coming from Fritz. He is definitely going to make sure the borrower doesn’t turn into a mini David, but for now he turns his attention in the vague direction of Caleb. 

“Lots of lights. Like street lamps for outside, and hallway lights for inside, and flashlights so we can carry light with us if those aren’t working.” 

Fritz responds by shivering. “I’m glad the lights here aren’t super bright.” 

“And that they all turn off at night,” Caleb agrees. 

Eggs stares into the darkness as it dawns on him why they hate light. Remembers all the times they’ve just appeared from the shadows after realizing it was one of the few humans they trusted who walked into the kitchen or office. Might have completely forgotten about the fact they have to hide from everyone else, so used to the two happily waving up at them to say hi. 

Honestly, he can’t say he blames them, not when people like David exist. And thank fuck the business man had more important things to do tonight then mingle with the commoners. 

Oh shit! “So you guys don’t use any light?” 

“Not inside the walls, but we do keep a fire going at home,” Fritz says instead of crushing Eggs’ dreams of actually getting to see the borrower’s house. He’d still take the tour even if it was in complete darkness and he’s only told about what’s in front of him, but this makes it way better. 

Suddenly they’re stopping. And then the ground starts to tremble. 

“What the fuck is that?” Eggs demands, his head whipping around in the attempt to find anything that could be making the ground shake. It’s not continuous, either. No, it starts and stops rhythmically. Almost like- 

Holy shit those are footsteps. 

“I’m pretty sure that’s James,” Fritz says. 

“I think so too,” Caleb agrees before gently tugging on Eggs’ hand for attention. “Would it be okay if we told James first?” 

James. Partner in crimes James. Doctor James. Giant James. 

Between all of his coworkers, James might actually be the best option. Because Mike will guarantee pick him up to make sure he didn’t manage to break any bones, and Jeremy will be impossible to say no to no matter what is asked. Scott would be a death sentence. Which leaves James as the winner by default, and Eggs either getting thoroughly inspected or immediately being pocketed. 

...on second thought maybe he would prefer Mike. 

“Sure,” Eggs forcibly smiles. He is doing a terrible job of hiding his nerves if both Caleb and Fritz squeezing his hands in reassurance gives any indication. “Just, uh, question. How do you know it’s not, say, Mike?” 

“Mike’s footsteps are a lot slower.” 

“Though it might be Scott, sometimes it’s hard to tell him and James apart.” 

Eggs’ eyes grow wide. “What are my footsteps like?” 

“Very bouncy,” Fritz says, and he can hear a smile in the teenager’s voice. “We can always tell when you’re walking down the hall.” 

“Hey!” 

“It’s a good thing,” Caleb giggles, distracting him as Fritz lets go of his hand. “It means we don’t hesitate to always find the nearest exit to say hi.” 

And doesn’t that just make him all warm and fuzzy inside. Especially with how genuinely scary it was to feel the ground shake like there’s an earthquake. 

Eggs’ want to pull Caleb into a hug is hindered as something is suddenly shoved into his free hand before he’s essentially slapped as his eyes are hurriedly covered. Too chaotic for even him to keep track of, Eggs decides to hold what feels like a fabric something close as he shuts his eyes to avoid them getting poked out by a finger. Flinches when light not blocked by what he assumes to be Caleb’s hand hits his eyelids. 

“Dude, nice save,” Eggs praises, genuinely appreciative of Caleb’s quick thinking. He’ll take getting slapped around over getting flash banged any day. He does not want to know how long it would’ve taken for his eyes to recover if he got hit with a face full of light after being in complete darkness for several minutes. “I owe you one.” 

“Owe me one what?” Caleb asks as he carefully takes his hand away. Even though Eggs’ eyes are closed, he can’t help flinching from just how bright is it. Imagine if they just trapped customers in pure darkness for a good five minutes before they come into the restaurant, then no one will ever complain how dim it is. 

“Anything you want,” Eggs grins. Takes a moment to gather his courage before gently, gently opening his eyes, blinking rapidly against the burning sensation of his retinas catching on fire. But hey, he can at last make out a dark blob he assumes to be Fritz looking out of the walls! “You’ve got a life debt over me. Those are sacred and you use them as leverage over whoever owes you.” 

Now that Eggs can see, he realizes a few things, that being Fritz is apparently holding a piece of plaster aside so he look out into the hallways, and that the thing he was handed was none other than Fredbear as its soulless eyes stare directly into his soul. And Eggs’ eyes are watering from the pain, not from Caleb trusting him with his single most valuable thing in his possession all in the name of ensuring the human under their care didn’t go blind after being a borrower for less than thirty minutes. 

He’s quick to hand the plush bear back over, Caleb beaming as he accepts it. “Now you’ve got two life debts for letting me use him for emotional support.” 

The kid giggles softly before abruptly cutting himself off as a deep thump echoes through the hallway, and now Eggs wants nothing more than for Fritz to seal them away in darkness again. 

Instead, the teenager slips out of the walls through the crack, turning to hold the plaster away as he gestures for them to follow. “It’s James, he’ll start walking this way any minute.” 

There’s no stopping a bit of terror creeping through him. But this is James. Someone who always watches where he steps whenever he’s at this restaurant. Someone Fritz and Caleb trust wholeheartedly despite the man being a doctor. He’ll be fine, he’ll be fine! 

Taking a deep breath, Eggs steps toward the crack. Gives Caleb a smile as he lets the kid’s hand go so he can carefully shuffle his way out of the walls. Groans when the light attempts to blind him all over again once he’s completely out of the darkness. 

The moment he can open his eyes again is the moment his lungs stop working. Because even though the office had loomed over him, it did nothing to prepare him for the hallway. The same one he walked through thirty minutes ago just like James had, and now it stretches for miles. The opening to the main room looks blurry from this distance like it’s a mountain rather than a simple doorway. 

Eggs then looks down to find the checker floor pattern starring back at him. Except this time he stands with both feet on a single black tile instead of having to balance on one foot so his shoe doesn’t touch any of the other squares. 

Fuck he’s tiny. 

Movement to his right catches his eye, making him focus on the office- 

“Are you fucking with me!” Eggs blurts out, unable to help himself. Unable to decide if he should be angry, or in awe. “The office is right there! Weren’t we walking for a solid five minutes!” 

He whirls on Fritz and Caleb wearing sheepish yet thoroughly amused looks, neither of them surprised that the doorway into the office is literally twenty feet away. “Welcome to being borrower size.” 

“How do you guys get anywhere!” the mechanic exclaims. “You always just appear, and yet-!” 

Eggs’ rant is cut off as the ground jumps, then jumps again. He turns back to the office, backing away slowly as a shadow moves, getting bigger until a tennis shoe steps into the hallway. The very same that Scott constantly bitches about because it’s not proper dress code and that he’s tapped with his own converse to try to annoy James. 

It’s now the size of a bus. And it causes the floor to shake. And then another matching one suddenly joins it as they carry something big into the hallway. 

Eggs looks up, up, up as he tries to find James’ face. The only issue is that the man doesn’t stop walking, those catastrophic shoes stepping toward them as he exits the office. So as Eggs is forced to lean back to try and see the giant in his entirety, the ground seems to explode, leaving him falling onto his back with a suppressed scream from losing his balance. 

At least lying down he can finally see James properly. Watches as brown eyes miles above him glance toward the wall. Stares as a smile spreads across the towering being’s face as the shoes stop instead of continuing on. 

“Hey guys,” the man rumbles like a fucking storm cloud. “Decided you didn’t want to join Eggs-?” 

Eggs sees the moment James realizes there’s something wrong with what he’s looking at, admittedly fascinated as the monumental expression slowly shifts into one of confusion before bursting into one of recognition and alarm. 

Before he can say, do, or think anything, James is kneeling down way too quickly for someone of his size to be. A giant should be slow and need a minute to do something as simple as turning. But this one makes Eggs’ clothes rustle strictly from the speed of its movements. It also makes everything shake again as a knee hits the ground. 

“Eggs?” sounds like a god is about to smite him. And then a hand is reaching out to grab him. 

Fight or flight instincts finally kick in, and Eggs scrambles to his feet with the sole intention to run, only to find himself stopped by a hand on his arm. 

At first he is genuinely confused until he looks up to see Caleb watching him worriedly, having completely forgotten about the borrower. Both borrowers, Fritz skidding to a stop in front of them with both hands held out. 

“James wait!” 

Rather than grabbing the teenager instead, the hand big enough to grab all of them straight up stops before sheepishly pulling away to reveal James looking properly chastened. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have tried to grab. I was just...” 

James wears a defeated look as he fails to find the right word, opting to simply sit and wait for what they have to say. And that single handedly makes all of Eggs previous terror wash away at the realization that despite being a literal giant, it’s the ones smaller than a finger with all of the power. 

He’s still not letting anyone pick him up, though! 

“Surprised, bewildered, letting your inner kaiju come out?” Eggs suggests. 

It’s weird seeing James’ fascination and worry attempting to battle each other on a billboard sized face. “Sometimes the Godzilla in me just can’t be contained.” 

A tugging on his sleeve has Eggs looking down at Caleb’s questioning look. “What’s a kaiju?” 

“And a Godzilla?” Fritz joins in as he glances between everyone. 

James and Eggs share a look. “How have we not shown them any movies?” 

“Think Scott would give us permission to bring a DVD player in?” 

“We don’t need permission,” Eggs waves before grinning down at Caleb. “We’ll show you what a kaiju is next week, deal?” 

The kid nods. “Deal.” 

James clears his throat, the giant earning all of their attention. “As for this week, how did you manage to break every law in biology and physics?” 

“Hey, they broke every scientific law way before me, so why can’t I join them?” Eggs demands. 

James stares at him. “You have no idea how you shrunk.” 

The mechanic shakes his head. “Nope! Waiting for Fritz and Caleb one minute, and then poof, tiny town.” 

The borrowers look up at James for an explanation. Because how they understand it, doctors know everything when it comes to the human body, which means out of everyone it should be James who can tell them what ‘poof’ means. 

This day, however, they’ve managed to stump the doctor as he openly gawks at Eggs. And then the hand is back, except this time it’s a closed fist with a single pointing finger. 

Because it’s clearly not going to grab him, and it’s moving slow enough he could easily run away from it, Fritz doesn’t command the giant to stop and neither does Eggs, admittedly curious about what James is planning. 

Honestly, he should’ve known what was going to happen, but his own fascination over the fact it’s a giant hand left him blindsided as he’s gently poked. Well, it felt gentle, but there was enough force to make Eggs stumble back. “Hey!” 

“This is real,” James confirms. “You somehow managed to shrink yourself.” 

“And I’ll do it again!” Eggs proclaims before turning back toward where he’s pretty sure the entrance back into the walls is. “But now that we have that out of the way, Fritz, Caleb, and I have a house tour to get to, so see you later!” 

“Not so fast,” the giant murmurs, the single poking finger suddenly turning into two as they pinch the back of his shirt, effectively stopping Eggs in his tracks. Strictly from the fact he’s literally trapped and no other reason. “I think it would be a good idea to let me look you over to make sure there aren’t any adverse side effects for suddenly being two inches tall.” 

Eggs crosses his arms to hide his shivers. “What if I don’t think it’s a good idea?” 

“Should we actually be worried about that?” Fritz asks, genuine fear in his voice. 

Eggs shoots a glare up at James, gesturing toward the teenager in the silent statement of ‘look what you did’. 

“It’s always a good sign when someone is talking and moving around normally. However, there could be possible strain on your body and therefore you might need to take it easy.” James fixes Eggs with a pointed look. “It would also be wise for us to inform Cawthon and the others.” 

The mechanic starts the impossible task of escaping from a giant, twisting around to try and yank his shirt away from the fingertips, digging his heels into the ground. “You can’t make me!” 

“What’s wrong with telling the others?” Caleb innocently asks. 

That manages to pause Eggs’ half dramatic half serious escape attempt, glancing up to meet James’ knowing look hovering over him like the moon. 

Then the doctor smirks. “Oh, he just doesn’t want to bruise his ego.” 

The mechanic’s jaw drops. “Excuse-!” 

He shrieks as the fingers suddenly let go, leaving him falling to the floor in a heap. “No, no, I completely understand. I mean, having to tell them you have no idea how you shrunk? That this mastermind of a prank wasn’t something you orchestrated? Your pride wouldn’t be able to handle such a blow.” 

“I’m not Harrison,” Eggs snaps as he quickly stands up in order to kick the fingers. “My pride doesn’t bruise that easily!” 

“Could’ve fooled me,” James shrugs. 

The mechanic points an angry finger up at the giant. “Alright, that’s it, you’re taking us to Scott and that’s final!” 

Without another word, the fingers turn into an offered hand waiting for him to step on. 

...well shit, now he has to. 

Before he can even think about stepping up onto a fingerprint, Fritz is walking over James’ middle finger. “Need any help up?” 

“Nah, I’ve got it,” Eggs grins as he quickly joins the teenager. 

He notices two things the moment he steps onto the hand. One, balancing on someone’s finger is not as easy as it looks, and pinwheeling his arms does nothing to save him from tumbling forward with a yell. Two, he hadn’t realized how cold it was until James’ warmth washes over him as he lays on his back in the giant’s palm, too scared to move or else he’ll fall again. 

Along with James hovering above fighting to keep the amusement off his face, both Fritz and Caleb lean into his line of sight with worried expressions. “Are you okay, Eggs?” 

The mechanic huffs. “Show offs.” 

“Here,” Fritz grins as he offers a hand, helping Eggs up until he’s standing. Even with help though, his knees buckle as the uneven surface dips from his weight, forcing him to sit back down and contemplate pulling Fritz down to join him. “It’s really hard to balance at first, but you get used to it.” 

“It’s easiest with James,” Caleb adds, which earns the doctor a narrowed look. 

James only smirks. “Steady hands are in the job description.” 

Eggs telling the giant where exactly he can shove the fact he’s got steady hands becomes a breathless gasp as the hand suddenly lifts up, gravity trying to flatten him against the palm. That’s when Fritz quickly sits down, the teenager’s grip on his hands becoming tight and face going pale. But when he catches Eggs’ look of concern because that can not be a good sign from someone who’s been held dozens of times, he only flashes a smile. 

“Might want to hold onto something.” 

“Hold onto-?” 

Eggs’ words are stolen by James standing. If he thought going up a single story was bad, going up ten has his stomach twisting from vertigo. He doesn’t dare look over the side of the hand, only reaches out to grab Caleb’s arm before pulling both borrower’s close. 

There, now no one can fall off! 

James’ raised eyebrow says the giant doesn’t understand he is the equivalent to a roller-coaster without seatbelts. “Everyone alright?” 

“Dude,” Eggs berates. “You’re giant.” 

The doctor stares at him for a moment before letting out a quiet ‘ah’ that ruffles their hair. “I promise to be careful.” 

“You better be!” 

As if trying to prove he is careful, the hand’s suddenly moving closer to the giant until his palm is held right next to his chest. And honestly, that does make Eggs feel a hundred times better having a giant wall next to them instead of a mile long drop on both sides. 

Then the doctor starts walking, and Eggs swears his teeth chatter with each one. 

“How do you guys sit on our shoulders?” he breathes. 

“I blame Caleb,” Fritz halfheartedly grumbles, looking like he’s rather enjoying the impromptu pile. 

“It’s fun seeing things the way humans do,” the youngest confides. “Everything looks so small.” 

“You know what Caleb, if you ever want to stand on my head, you just say the word.” 

Fritz goes so pale it almost seems like his freckles will jump off his face at any moment, a perfect contrast to Caleb looking so excited he just might explode. “Really?” 

“As long as someone else is around to spot you,” James rumbles before the kid’s poor brother has a heart attack. 

It seems to work, Fritz breathing out a sigh of relief as Caleb beams. “Okay!” 

“Spotting for what?” 

Eggs goes very still at the sound of Scott’s voice as it rumbles just as much as James’ does. Looking toward his left, he sees their supervisor sitting at a table as he reads over something and definitely a giant. And a certain shrunken mechanic just promised to let Caleb do something extremely dangerous. 

It’s not too late to run, is it? 

“Something to do with climbing,” James responds as he continues walking toward the imminent danger instead of running far, far away. “But there’s something else you should know about.” 

Well great going, James. He just managed to set off every one of Scott’s alarm bells, the man’s attention turning away from whatever he’s working on to focus on James and his handful of borrowers. 

Even though Eggs knows Scott can’t really see who exactly James holds from their current distance, but he swears the oldest is staring right at him. 

“What happened?” Scott asks, more confused than angry. Which is good, very good, they’d like to keep it that way. 

Instead of taking one for the team and just telling their supervisor Eggs is tiny before immediately taking those who have a house tour scheduled directly to said house, James walks straight to the table Scott’s sitting at before setting his hand down. 

It only takes a moment for Scott’s eyes to widen. "Eggs?” 

You know what he likes most about Scott? The fact the man isn’t grabby. Unlike certain doctors. But there is no way in hell he is getting off this hand. So he gives a winning smile as he holds his emotional support borrowers closer. “Heeeey, Scott. So, funny thing, I somehow got shrunk down to borrower size and now they’re going to show me their place, okay bye!” 

“I’m sorry, you just shrunk?” Scott murmurs, shaking his head in disbelief. 

Eggs nods his own head. “Yep! Just poof, tiny town.” 

The man glances up at James, then between Fritz and Caleb before staring at Eggs again. “Are you hurt?” 

You know what, this is going a lot better than he expected. “Nope! Fritz and Caleb immediately found me, then we hailed James down together.” 

Scott then gives a look. “Has James looked you over yet?” 

Fuck! “He doesn’t need to, I’m fine.” 

“There hasn’t been any noticeable concerns,” James begins. And then the hand they’re sitting on is suddenly tilting, earning a laugh from Caleb, a gasp from Fritz, and a scream from Eggs as they’re all slid onto the table. “You can assume what his response was when I first brought up checking him over for potential side effects.” 

Before Eggs can shove Fritz and Caleb away to scramble back onto the hand and demand a ride to anywhere but here, his only chance for escape is taken away at the same time Scott leans down to get a proper look at him. 

Again, it’d be fascinating watching someone’s face twist into different expressions if he wasn’t the center of attention. But at least there’s still no hand reaching out to grab him. 

They have a staring contest for a good minute. Up until Scott forfeits by looking between the two borrowers Eggs is still hugging close for security reasons. “Has he been good for you two?” 

“Hey!” 

“He has,” Caleb grins, Fritz wearing a giant smile of his own. 

“Good,” sounds rather foreboding as Scott focuses on him again. “You let me know if he gets into any trouble.” 

“I’m a great borrower, thank you,” Eggs pouts. “And I don’t need some “doctor” to tell me if I’m not allowed to do a house tour or not.” 

“Did you just air quote my title?” James rumbles from somewhere behind him. 

“Well I’ve never seen a certificate!” 

“You didn’t ask for one when I bandaged your finger last week.” 

“So you’re admitting to medical malpractice!” 

“Humor me,” Scott cuts in, earning a suspicious look as Eggs tries to use Caleb as a shield. “Let James check you over, and then I will personally take you wherever it is you want to go.” 

Ooh, a personal escort from Scott. Not even Mike would be able to intercept them. 

Actually, speaking of Mike. “Where’s Mike and Jer?” 

“Mike’s teaching Jeremy how to repair an arcade machine.” The giant then hesitates. “I’ll make sure he asks to pick you up.” 

“Deal!” Eggs exclaims, not wanting to pass up the deal of a lifetime. 

Scott breathes a sigh of relief that ruffles their hair before sitting up, rubbing a tired hand over his face. “You’re lucky I don’t put you inside a jar and call it a night.” 

Both Fritz and Caleb suddenly tense, the two not even breathing as Eggs is left to try and figure out why he also instinctively tensed up. 

Because Scott won’t actually put him inside a jar. David definitely would, he even put Fritz in one for a bit, but no one else would do that. Scott’s teasing, he always threatens to sic Mike and Vincent on someone, this is just a topical threat! 

Yet Eggs can’t help imagining sitting in the bottom of a jar, pounding on the glass as the others just watch him. Maybe even flick it once or twice just for the fuck of it. 

Physically shaking away the thought from his head, Eggs elbows Fritz, smirking at the fearful look. “Even if Scott did put me in a jar, it wouldn’t be able to contain me for long.” 

“No it wouldn’t,” the giant begrudgingly agrees. 

The borrower’s fear doesn’t immediately disappear, but he does become a little less tense. Caleb for his part let’s his curiosity show past the terror as he looks up at Eggs. “How would you get out of it?” 

“When in doubt, ask Jeremy for help,” the mechanic smirks as he reaches behind him. “But, if he’s not around, a bet ten bucks the glass wouldn’t be able to hold up against a wrench banging on it for very long.” 

With a flourish, he reveals the wrench he never goes anywhere without. Because mechanic secrets 101, if it’s broken, 99.9% of the time it’ll work once it’s given a good whack. It also works surprisingly well for keeping murderous animatronics in line! 

While he was expecting a round of applause, he didn’t anticipate Caleb and Fritz staring at his wrench with wonder. 

“It’s our size,” Fritz breathes and right, right. He kind of forgot about the fact that even though he’s shrunk, they’ve always been tiny. 

Caleb reaches a hand out before hesitating. “Can I hold it?” 

“Of course,” Eggs agrees, passing the wrench over to the kid before gently pushing the two borrowers away so he can stand up and brush his hands off. He then turns to them with a smile, grabbing his screwdriver as well to offer to Fritz. Because that’s the only tool Funtime Freddy’s wary of, the rest give the wrench the proper respect. “Tell you what, you guys chase each other around with these while James does “doctor” things.” 

The teenager copies his brother, reaching out to accept the offered screwdriver before hesitating. He ends up grabbing it, though, staring at it with wonder. If Eggs knew he was going to mysteriously shrink with everything on his person getting downsized as well, he would’ve had cooler things on him! Or at the very least kept a few screws and bolts so they can properly cause property damage. Imagine trying to unscrew something you can’t even see. 

It would’ve been the perfect prank! They’ll just have to plan for next time. 

“Now go forth and cause chaos!” 

“Scott, can you tell us what these do?” Caleb asks, effectively cutting off what was guaranteed going to be a long lecture about not running around with tools and causing chaos. 

The giant looks absolutely torn between the want to answer and the need to discourage everything fun. But it’s impossible to say no a borrower, the man nodding his massive head with a pained look. “I can. Just no running with them.” 

“Wait a min-!” 

Eggs’ words are stolen away when he’s suddenly plucked from the table, his shirt going taunt around his neck as his feet are lifted several inches off the ground. “You can let them run with scissors later.” 

At James’ voice, he realizes who had the audacity to pull him away, literally, from making Scott’s life a living hell. But no amount of kicking and squirming stops the fingers that managed to snag his shirt from carrying him over the table to set him down right by the edge where the doctor stands. 

Eggs crosses his arms as he’s let go once his feet touch the ground. “That was rude.” 

“You agreed to a check up,” the giant shrugs as he kneels down, putting them fairly close to eye-level. “How do you feel physically? Any soreness or fatigue?” 

Other than the crick in his neck from having to constantly look up to talk to giants? “No, I’m not sore or anything. Definitely not tired. More like I chugged a monster.” 

He didn’t think such a feeling was a weird one, but James’ eyebrows raise. “Did you have a monster earlier, or is it just adrenaline?” 

“Oh it’s definitely adrenaline.” 

“Anything else I should know about?” 

Eggs thinks it over for a moment. “I’m actually really hungry. Like more than I usually am. We’re making pizza tonight, right?” 

“We are,” James says, his eyes looking his patient over for a moment. “Mind if I check your pulse?” 

The mechanic shrugs. “Sure.” 

He expected a stethoscope. What he didn’t expect was for a hand to appear, fingers looking like they’re going to pinch his shirt again. As it gets closer, he starts to get worried James will try to do it to normal way by grabbing his wrist. But then the fingers twist, and Eggs stumbles away from the thumb suddenly held against his chest, only to be stopped by the finger against his back. 

He can’t help a shiver go up his spine at how trapped he is. Getting his shirt snagged is one thing, but James can just pinch him in order to lift him off the table. Maybe even drop into a pocket or hand over to Scott. Maybe even use just a little too much pressure and then his ribs are broken. 

That would definitely get James’ medical license revoked, right? 

Eggs takes a deep breath. Reminds himself this is a professional borrower handler. James knows how to hold someone, his ribs will be fine. Besides, they’re not even pinching him. More like just keeping him in one spot. 

Despite the internal psyching himself up, he knows for a fact his heart is beating way too fast, though. Especially as James gives a knowing look before focusing back on his watch to time the pulse. Finally after an entire minute, the fingers move away from his chest, the relief short lived as they then lift his arms up. 

“Woah, I didn’t give permission for a full physical!” 

“I’m checking for any signs of discoloration, as well as any limitations to your movements,” the giant rumbles. “Mind telling me what exactly happened when you shrunk?” 

Eggs decides to try and be as difficult as possible, going completely limp and flopping over James’ thumb as a small huff ruffles his clothes. “So I’m laying on my stomach in the office, watching the mouse hole for when Fritz and Caleb arrives. And then I blink and bam, the desk is towering over me.” 

James’ brow furrows. “‘Bam’ as in you felt it happening?” 

“No, I didn’t feel anything. Not nauseous, not like I was getting squeezed. One second I’m a little under six feet, the next I’m a little under three inches.” 

“And you absolutely didn’t eat, drink, or touch anything that you were unfamiliar with.” 

Eggs shrugs. “I mean I don’t think I did, but who knows what kind of sentient mold has been growing in that office.” 

James tilts his head. “Point taken.” 

“So am I good to go, doc?” the mechanic asks, ducking under the fingers to take a few steps backwards. He would like to do more important things, thank you. 

Their resident doctor almost seems to pout. “You should at least let me document your current weight and height-” 

“I’m hearing things that aren’t necessary,” Eggs interrupts. “I’ve got a clean bill of health, and I intend to use it!” 

He then turns on his heels, intending to race back over to where Scott is clearly enjoying himself and therefore it needs to be stopped. The moment he lifts a foot is the moment his other one is grabbed, ending with him yelling as he falls onto his stomach. And then he’s getting dragged back towards James. 

Eggs immediately attempts to claw at the table. “We still don’t even know how you broke every law of matter conversation known to man.” 

“Oh and you think you can solve it?” Eggs demands, twisting around so he can kick at the fingers pinching his ankle. 

“We also don’t have a timeline for how long you might be-” 

“La, la, la, I can’t hear you!” Eggs sings, complete with plugging his ears. When the giant only gives him a flat look, he turns toward Scott. “Scott! James is trying to use me in the scientific method!” 

Immediately his ankle is freed, letting him stumble to his feet to book it. “I am not. I just pointed out that while he seems to be fine, we have no information regarding what caused this, and how long it might last for.” 

Scott glances between the doctor and the would be unwilling participant to anything concerning using him for figuring out the how and why of him shrinking. Would it be nice to know this isn’t permanent? Of course it would be! But he’s, possibly, only going to be a borrower once, and he is going to use this time how he wants to. 

That means the poking and prodding are going to be kept to a minimum. He is also being taken on a house tour as promised. And then he will experience the wonders of a pizza a thousand times his size. 

“Is he okay?” Scott settles on, doing nothing to stop Eggs skids to a halt next to a concerned Fritz and an excited Caleb. 

“Are you okay?” is asked at the same time as “Look what we made!” 

Man, he really missed hanging out with someone his own size. Giants suck. “No side effects! Now show me what Scott got wrong.” 

As Fritz turns his attention to the giants, Caleb shows him an honest to God bolt. It’s a bit bigger than what Eggs is used to, and definitely a lot shinier, but it’s an actual bolt. 

“That’s cool as hell,” the mechanic praises. “How did you make a bolt?” 

“With the extra foil we had!” Caleb beams. The kid digs his hand into the bag sitting by his feet before offering a thin piece of shiny material. “Fredbear helped me get the shape correct.” 

Eggs takes the material to flip over and see the duller side. Feels like he’s been slapped in the face when he realizes it’s aluminum foil. And yet it’s not flopping around or crinkling from his fingers. No, if he tried to fold this, it’d take a good amount of strength to try and manipulate it. 

“I forgot you guys carried this around with you.” His eyes wonder over to the bag he has never seen Fritz go anywhere without, always slung over the teenager’s shoulder just like Fredbear is always in Caleb’s arms. And suddenly he wants to do nothing more than rifle through it like a raccoon. But he holds himself back, instead clearing his throat before casually suggesting “Can I see the hook you guys use?” 

The one he’s watched Fritz throw high above his head to latch it onto a table or counter before both climb up the string tied to it like it’s nothing. The one he’s asked to look at previously but was nervously declined, including looking at the bag itself. Both of which he respected, because the borrower’s will never be forced to do anything they don’t want to. 

Caleb immediately turns to his brother. “Can he look at our hook, Fritz?” 

Even though the older is still listening to whatever’s being rumbled above their heads, he immediately looks over to answer. And this time, instead of trying to hold the mentioned item as closely as possible, Fritz nods his head in assent. “Sure, just don’t throw it or swing it at anyone.” 

Eggs blinks when he realizes he definitely would’ve challenged Scott with it, and yet Fritz managed to beat him to the idea first. Maybe he can find something else to defend against giants, but that’s for later! For now he’s quickly nodding his head to promise it will not be going off to climb down the table or to fight giants. Watches in awe as Caleb digs through the bag again before revealing- 

“Holy shit it’s a paper clip?” Eggs can’t help blurting out. 

Both borrowers look over what had been declared as a climbing hook since day one with newfound interest. “That’s what it’s called?” 

It definitely can’t be used to hold papers together now with how bent out of shape it is, but now that he finally looks at it instead of watching Fritz and Caleb climb up whatever the cliff of the day is, it’s clear that’s a paperclip. A mangled one that was either extra small or got cut in half, but one none the less. And yet it’s a little longer than his forearm. With a long thread that looks a lot closer to rope then something to sew clothes together with. 

After he stands a good minute with his jaw on the floor, Caleb offers it over to him. The moment Eggs takes it is the moment it really hits home how small he is. Having James hold and pinch him is one thing, but holding a paperclip that could easily hold his weight is another. 

Because the paperclip is hefty. He can’t imagine throwing this thing more than a few feet, not to mention an entire football field and directly above him on top of that. 

Never mind tiny ninjas, borrowers are super humans. 

“You’ve got to show me how you throw this thing around,” Eggs says. “Ooh, can we climb something!” 

“I would prefer if you didn’t,” Scott interrupts, making Eggs jump as he turns to see the giant scowling down at him. “Just because I agreed to take you wherever you wanted to go doesn’t mean I agreed to letting you potentially break your neck.” 

A shiver of fear races up Eggs’ spine. “I can still go on a house tour, right?” 

Scott seems to think it over for a moment, his expression slowly turning into one of reseolve. “You don’t need to climb to get there, do you?” 

“No,” Caleb answers. “It’s just behind the cabinets in the kitchen.” 

“On the floor,” Fritz clarifies as his hands clench and unclench nervously. “There’s nothing in our house that’s dangerous.” 

Scott raises an eyebrow as he turns back to the mechanic. “Is that where I’m taking you?” 

Well shit. Eggs forgot about the part where, you know, the giant needs to carry them. “I mean, you did agree to take us wherever I wanted.” 

The giant silently relents, placing both hands palm up onto the table. As Caleb immediately climbs on, Fritz picks up his bag off the ground before holding a hand out to Eggs. Right as he starts to offer the hook back, the teenager gives a smirk. “Want a hand so you don’t go tumbling this time?” 

“Oh ha, ha.” He whacks the hand away to confidentially walk up to the one big enough to hold all of them. “I won’t go-!” 

His first step onto the fingers, and Scott twitches, sending him falling forward with a yell. And this time the hand turns against him, a thumb almost immediately pinning him down. Which is good, because he’s holding a paperclip that could impale him. But it’s also bad because it’s Scott. 

Case and point, the hook is taken away with a rumbling “Are you okay?” 

“No,” Eggs wheezes, trying to keep his panic down about the fact he’s currently trapped for an undetermined amount of time. “My pride has been shot.” 

Fritz appears at his side, his mere presence making the finger disappear so the borrower can help him sit up. “Are you hurt?” 

“No,” Eggs grumbles as he brushes himself off. “I’m fine.” 

“Good,” and he hears the smile in the teenager’s voice. “Guess you still can’t balance on hands.” 

“Hey it wasn’t my fault this time! Scott twitched!” 

The giant nudges him in retaliation. Or is it to check to see if he’s actually fine? Or is it just because the need to poke your shrunken coworker is a natural phenomenon? 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you trip,” Scott murmurs, meaning it’s a combination of guesses two and three. “You’d think I’d be used to the feeling of someone walking on my hands by now.” 

“No need to beat yourself up, Scott,” James says. “We all know it’s hard to keep your hands steady at such an old age.” 

That makes Eggs grin as Scott aims a flat look toward the doctor. Pats the nearest finger for attention. “No one blames you for it. By the way, have you gotten more grey hairs recently?” 

“You’re pushing it,” the giant warns, and Eggs is quick to become a model hand traveler, sitting crisscross as Fritz and Caleb copy him. 

“Ready when you are!” earns a sigh, but the hand lifts away from the table as Scott stands. 

And then they’re off to the kitchen! He’ll have to say, having two hands cupped together is definitely better in terms of not making them feel like they’ll fall to their deaths at any second. There’s also no Mike’s that appear to try and delay their journey. No Jeremy’s spawning in or James’ attempting to snag one of them. Except for the one nudge, the hands offer nothing but warmth and comfort. 

10/10, would take Scott’s offer to act as borrower chauffeur again. 

“James, would you mind-?” 

“Of course not,” the doctor smiles, opening the door to the kitchen. 

“Where am I putting everyone down?” Scott asks. 

Fritz twists himself to look around the kitchen. Lifts an arm up to hesitate for only a second before pointing beyond the hand. “By the sink, please.” 

Scott’s footsteps jostle Eggs to the core, his stomach getting left behind as the man kneels. This time when the hands are set down, he doesn’t hesitate to accept Fritz’s offer for help, leaning heavily on the teenager as he carefully walks off the palm. 

Once he’s safely on the ground with no tripping this time, he turns around to see Scott towering over them, the perspective once again slapping him in the face. It doesn’t help that James stands a few feet away, a living skyscraper that could walk closer at any moment. 

Eggs waves at them. “Okay see you later bye!” 

“Just a moment,” Scott says, placing a hand between Eggs and the cabinet. Which manages to startle him because again, giants should not be able to move that quickly, but it’s better than having his shirt snagged. “You three are just doing a house tour?” 

“Scoooot,” Eggs whines. His shove at the hand to try and get it to move only receives a twitch back. “You don’t need to worry about us. We’re literally just going into the walls." 

His words do nothing to ease the giant’s concern. Should he have put clingy giants higher on his list of worries? 

“It’s…i-it’s a straight walk there,” Fritz begins, his hands tightly clenched around the strap of his bag. “No turns or inclines. We’ll just show him our room and then bring him right back.” 

“That sounds like it’ll give us plenty of time to make pizza,” James chimes in. 

Scott still looks like he wants to give into the temptation of sticking Eggs in a jar, but hand slowly lifts away. “I’m less worried about him getting lost or hurt, and more-so him causing trouble.” 

“I mean that is my specialty,” the mechanic grins. “But I know being tiny is their specialty, so I’ll listen to the experts!” 

Finally a smile pulls at Scott’s mouth. “I mean it, if they report back saying you caused any trouble, I’m handing you to Mike.” 

Eggs tries to swallow the lump in his throat. “Heard. And I want pepperoni on my pizza.” 

“Heard,” James calls back as the giant walks out of sight, though it’s impossible to not know where the doctor went with the ground jumping with every step. 

“We good to go, then?” 

A finger appears to nudge him into Fritz, both of them nearly toppling over as Scott fights to keep a grin off his face. “Don’t make them regret taking you anywhere.” 

He’ll take that as a yes. “Hurry, before he changes his mind!” 

Caleb is more than happy to take Eggs’ hand to lead him through a small crack in the wood. Good news, Scott doesn’t attempt to stop them. More good news, it feels like a literal weight comes off his shoulders as he starts walking through pure darkness, unable to help feel anything except relief to be somewhere impossible for a giant to watch or grab him. 

“Now I know why you guys hate leaving the walls,” Eggs shivers. “Giants are terrifying.” 

“Humans can be a lot sometimes,” Fritz admits softly behind him. “But we trust you.” 

“And it’s fun being carried,” Caleb quietly gushes. “It would’ve taken us forever to get here, but a human does it in seconds.“ 

Eggs stares into the darkness thoughtfully. “Who do you like carrying you the most?” 

“Jeremy,” they say in unison. 

“…yeah that tracks.” 

Caleb giggles as something elbows him in the stomach. This time he doesn’t jump a mile high. “So how have you liked being a borrower so far?” 

“It has its ups and downs,” Eggs muses. “I can do without the giants, but I’m excited about food big enough to last me for a year.” 

“That’s one of the best parts being friends with humans,” Caleb agrees. 

“Especially because it’s always warm food,” Fritz adds, the teenager sounding a little farther ahead of them, as well as longingly. 

Before Eggs can ask about why specifically warm food, there’s a sound of a match being struck as a ball of light appears. The closer they get, the more it grows until it reveals Fritz kneeling in front of a small fire. 

Caleb lets go of his hand to grab something off of what looks like a table, giving it to his brother who lights it before giving it back. It’s then taken around to room to light birthday candles standing in four different corners. 

Once everything is lit, Eggs finds himself standing in the middle of a space about the size of his apartment’s living room, with something he can confidentially say is a table on one side with some kind of chest, the other sits a nest of fabrics all piled together. 

This is by far the coziest room Eggs will ever have the pleasure of seeing. 

“So, uh, welcome to our home,” Fritz introduces as he stands up, brushing his pants off. “It’s not much but...we don’t need a lot.” 

“Dude this place is awesome,” Eggs replies. “Show me everything.” 

Caleb immediately pulls him over to the table he now realizes is cardboard, offering him a genuine thimble seat in order to sit down so he can be laden with several items. 

“This is our water jug, and our crumb basket, and the candle we use to light the lamps, and our match for the fire, and-” 

The kid keeps going, naming things that are passed to Eggs who doesn’t dare put anything down, though Fritz starts taking a few items once the pile gets too tall at the same time he starts passing his brother things from the bag. Like the button claimed as a tray for ‘breakfast in bed’, and a needle so small he can only imagine how it would be microscopic if they took it to James and Scott to show, and don’t let him forget just how useful aluminum foil is when it comes to holding both water and food. 

He never realized how resourceful the two are. But then again, they can’t exactly just go to the nearest store to buy a few items. Anything they want needs to be made by hand. Or found underneath a cabinet after someone accidentally kicked it. 

“And here’s your wrench back.” 

Eggs is admittedly confused when he’s handed something made for him get passed over among everything else. Once it registers what was said, he’s immediately passing it back to Caleb. “Oh I can’t take this back. You’re an honorary mechanic now! And every mechanic needs a wrench.” 

The kid’s eyes grow wide. “I can keep it?” 

“Are you sure?” Fritz asks, already in motion to pass Caleb the screwdriver to give back to Eggs as well. 

“Very sure,” the mechanic smiles. “Who knows! Maybe you’ll come across a screw your size one day.” 

The teenager winces. “W-We won’t be able to use them-” 

“They also make great impromptu hammers,” Eggs adds. “Or maybe they can help twist the foil you guys use. You’re creative, I bet they’ll help you with something around here.” 

Despite Caleb absolutely beaming, Fritz turns the screwdriver in his hands nervously. “You don’t need these?” 

“Trust me, I’ve got dozens of tools back at Afton Robotics. Those were just my backup tools for my backup tools. I won’t be wrenchless anytime soon.” 

Finally the teenager relents, holding the screwdriver close with a look of pure awe. “Thank you, Eggs.” 

“Can we watch you use them properly when your human sized again?” Caleb asks. 

“Of course,” Eggs promises. “You can even be on my head while I show you how to properly destroy an animatronic beyond recognition.” 

That earns him a wrinkled nose from Fritz and a silent gasp of excitement from Caleb. Which means his work is done here! It only gets better when the younger begins to put everything away, starting with tucking the wrench into the nest of fabrics like it’s a stuffed animal. See this is why he’s an honorary mechanic. 

Too bad Fritz immediately protests. “It’s not allowed in the bed!” 

“Why not!” 

“Because you’re going to flop around in your sleep and whack me with it!” 

“Uh skill issue,” Eggs coughs. 

Fritz sputters. “You get woken up by a button hitting your face!” 

“See, I don’t need to worry about such a thing,” the mechanic tuts as he gestures to the buttons on his uniform. “As you can see, they are usually too small. Therefore, skill issue.” 

The teenager narrows his eyes. Shares a look with his brother. Turns back to Eggs as a button the size of his head is passed over. 

Oh shit.

Eggs jumps out of his seat before booking it into the darkness. “Let’s talk about this!” 

“You’re small enough to get hit with one now!” Fritz taunts, not needing to raise his voice above a whisper as it echoes through the passage.

And because a. humans can’t see in the dark like borrowers can, and b. have silent footsteps, Eggs has no idea if Fritz is gaining up on him. All he knows is he is running straight and not stopping until he can bribe a giant into saving him. 

Either Fritz is going easy on him, or Eggs is just that good, because he manages to make it to the crack before his pursuer catches up, letting him stumble blindly into the light. 

It only takes a moment for his eyes to adjust and see Mike towering over him and looking thoroughly amused. 

Fuck. “Heeeey-” 

Eggs’ greeting is interrupted by the sight of Fritz quietly bursting out of the cabinet, button in hand with Caleb standing behind him with a giant smile. 

Never mind, he’ll take Mike. “Help-!” 

His call turns into a yelp as Fritz tackles him. Which is normally works out pretty well for Eggs because he’s a professional at wrestling. Not to brag or anything, but he is the wrestling champion on the entire Benedict family when it comes to winning against his siblings. 

He forgot about the fact borrowers are apparently super human. Within seconds, Fritz has already pinned him. And even though the teenager frees his arm to grab the button that landed next to them, no amount of shoving from Eggs will ever be enough to make the younger lose his balance. 

And then, without any warning, Fritz is suddenly two inches tall and crouched next to the button of Eggs’ uniform identical to the one being held that was meant to whack him on the head. 

Glancing down to see Caleb looking absolutely minuscule standing on the floor to his right and completely unharmed from the sudden giant, Eggs focuses back on the borrower sitting on his chest looking thoroughly pale now that the person previously threatened can now put him inside a jar as retaliation. 

Eggs smirks. “Guess I’ll never know what it’s like to get whacked on the head by a button.” 

In response, Fritz throws it at his head, hitting him right between the eyes. “Now you do!” 

[tanoraqui]

I watched the new Percy Jackson show and then I reread The Lightning Thief, and my takeaway is…Rick Riordan did some sort of bizarre reversal of the usual adaptation devil’s deal on this one, wherein the key themes of the book are maintained—hell, key themes of the book are amped up and forefronted! The books slowly escalate, not just in the original PJO books but from series to series through Heroes of Olympus and the Apollo books, the idea that this mythological family is fucked up, the parents are doing badly and they need to fix their shit instead of just putting it on the kids. Whereas the show is saying this from day 1! The show also captures the true friendship, the uncomfortable justification of Luke’s choices, the heroes’ sense of otherness from humanity…

But at the cost of so much of the zing of the books? The humor, the absurdist snaps between fantasy and reality like the Minotaur wearing Fruit-of-the-Looms, or the unending quips from Percy that aren’t just rebellious snark, they’re funny. (“…I am the Mother of Monsters, Echidna!” “You mean the thing from Australia??”) And the drama, the fantasy, the mythological stakes—in addition to the total lack of nighttime lighting, I spent half the show thinking everything should be 20% more color-saturated, at least when they’re in Camp Half-Blood or actively fighting monsters, and rereading the book tells me that I was right. Throughout the books, there’s a mounting thunderstorm all across the country, as warning and ambiance of the coming war! Percy only has 1 dream that’s just darkness and a voice; the others include him watching a golden eagle and a giant white horse fighting viciously on a beach! And every god stands out vividly, whereas in the show they mostly come off as Some Guy. In the book, Hades, Zeus and Poseidon are all 10 feet tall (until Poseidon shrinks to tall to Percy), and even Ares is,

vs this? This was the best they could do??

He’s not even throwing fireballs at cops and innocent bystanders in order to make them back the fuck off from his fight with this 12yo. SMH. This is bargain-brand. It’s like they didn’t have the budget for special effects and they didn’t even try.

I guess, as devil’s deals go, I would rather have the themes intact. But damn I wish they’d at least upped the color saturation, and maybe the speed of dialogue. These kids SHOULD spend half their conversations snarking like it’s Avengers (2012) actually. The perfect adaptation remains elusive, until we get both the crushing weight of familial trauma AND epic heroes and villains being fun.

[xyywrites]

What to Do When the Middle Sags

Ah, the dreaded sagging middle—the place where your story feels like it’s running in circles, or worse, standing still. Many writers hit this wall, but don’t worry—it’s fixable. The middle of your story is the heart of the journey, the place where characters face challenges that set the stage for the climax. If your middle is losing momentum, here are some practical tips (with examples) to reignite the spark.

1. Introduce a Midpoint Twist

Give your plot a jolt by throwing in an unexpected twist that shakes up the status quo.

Example: In The Hunger Games, the announcement that two tributes from the same district can win together completely shifts Katniss's strategy and amps up the stakes.

Tip: The twist doesn’t have to be massive—just something that complicates your characters’ goals and forces them to adapt.

2. Add a Subplot That Intertwines with the Main Plot

Introduce a secondary conflict that deepens the stakes or explores a new side of your characters.

Example: In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet's subplot involving Wickham creates tension and provides insight into Darcy’s character.

Tip: Make sure the subplot supports the main narrative. It should enhance the story, not distract from it.

3. Escalate the Stakes

If your middle feels slow, it might be because the stakes aren’t high enough. Raise the pressure on your characters.

Example: In The Martian, Mark Watney’s potato crop fails, leaving him with limited food supplies and no margin for error.

Tip: Ask yourself: “What’s the worst thing that could happen to my character right now?” Then let it happen.

4. Deepen Character Relationships

The middle is the perfect time to develop your characters’ dynamics—friendships, rivalries, alliances, or betrayals.

Example: In Stranger Things (Season 1), the kids’ bond with Eleven deepens in the middle episodes, revealing her vulnerabilities and cementing their loyalty to her.

Tip: Focus on moments of vulnerability or conflict that reveal something new about your characters.

5. Introduce a Ticking Clock

Deadlines and time limits add urgency to your story.

Example: In Inception, the middle accelerates when the characters face layers of time running out in the dreamscape.

Tip: The ticking clock doesn’t have to be literal. It can be a metaphorical deadline, like a relationship on the brink of collapse.

6. Force Your Protagonist to Make a Hard Choice

A moral dilemma or a tough decision can reignite tension.

Example: In The Dark Knight, Batman must choose between saving Rachel or Harvey Dent, pushing him into emotional and ethical turmoil.

Tip: Hard choices show growth—or cracks—in your protagonist’s resolve.

7. Change the Setting

A fresh environment can provide new challenges and visual interest for the reader.

Example: In The Fellowship of the Ring, the group moves from Rivendell to the treacherous Mines of Moria, increasing tension and danger.

Tip: Make the new setting more dangerous or unpredictable than the last.

8. Reveal New Information

Introduce a secret, revelation, or piece of backstory that changes the reader’s understanding of the plot or characters.

Example: In The Sixth Sense, the middle is packed with hints and reveals that slowly unravel the truth about Malcolm and Cole.

Tip: This new information should connect to the story’s core themes and drive the plot forward.

9. Focus on Internal Conflict

If the external action slows, delve deeper into your protagonist’s internal struggles.

Example: In The Catcher in the Rye, much of the middle is Holden’s internal conflict about growing up and his isolation.

Tip: Use internal conflict to build empathy for your character or highlight their flaws.

10. Foreshadow the Climax

Use the middle to set up elements that will pay off later in the story.

Example: In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry’s discovery of the Pensieve and his interactions with Barty Crouch Sr. foreshadow the climax involving Voldemort’s return.

Tip: Plant seeds that will leave readers saying, “Oh, so that’s why that happened!”

Checklist for Avoiding a Sagging Middle:

Does every scene push the story forward or develop a character?

Are there unanswered questions keeping the reader hooked?

Have you raised the stakes since the beginning?

[tojisun]

…toji x reader x ghost

!! silly silly silly; did i emphasize that this is silly? well it is; suggestive - minors dni; casual sex to lovers; mentioned D/s (subspace)

“c’mon baby,” toji murmurs, his voice so soft as he pulls you on top of him. you follow his beckoning with wobbly legs, trembling at the attention.

toji hums when you have fixed yourself on top of him, his callused palm cupping your cheek softly. he swipes his thumb underneath your eye, and coos, “ready to show mr. american what we’ve promised him?”

“i’m not american,” simon speaks up for the first time, sounding closer than you realized. you startle, twisting from toji’s hold to see that the other man has finally stalked towards the bed where you and toji lay.

toji hums, his chest reverberating from where it’s pressed against yours. “see, i really don’t give a shit.” you squeak when his other hand falls to the swell of your ass, squeezing the fat of it. “so unless yer here to give us a good time, you can just leave.”

simon huffs, rolling his eyes, and for some reason that eases the tension in you. you fall on toji’s lap with a giggle, your puffs of laughter tickling the column of his neck.

“aww,” toji says playfully, snaking his remaining arm around your waist. “see? ain’t my baby adorable?”

“yeah,” simon replies, sounding a tad breathless and choked up. “gorgeous, actually.”

“damn right,” toji murmurs, hands now mapping the plane of your spine.

the way they’re talking about you like you aren’t there shouldn’t be hot, it shouldn’t be addicting, but it makes you let out a dreamy sigh as something akin to a fog clouds over your senses.

you’re slipping, suspended in the gravity of their affection, and you have never felt this intense feeling of being desired until this moment.

simon slots himself behind you, pressing his front directly against your ass, rubbing his chub against your cheeks. you burn at the switch in the atmosphere, the passion that sparked this arrangement amping up now that their hands are on you.

they tug and squeeze and hold and caress, leaving you a crying mess on top of toji. toji is so outward with his praises, calls you his pretty love, his perfect darling. he tells you how amazing you are to be taking the two of them; how you drive him crazy with your moans. simon is less vocal but the confidence in his touches, in the way he stakes his claim, isn’t any less gratifying.

they devour every inch of your flesh, razing pleasure coursing through you like a storm. you scream their names, hold their hands, all the while they lavish you with their love and their hunger, making you feel floaty.

filled. stuffed.

later, simon lights toji’s cig and the two share a brief kiss above you before they turn their attention to you again. they teach you how to shotgun, the warm coil of smoke entering your body slowly. sensually.

“y’did so good, lovie,” simon says, pushing your hair away from your sweaty face.

you give him a dopey smile, one that makes simon’s eye crinkle in delight. toji watches from your side, calculating, thinking.

simon meets his eyes above your head and, with a mind made up, they’ve decided: this will be a permanent thing now.

i’ve teeheed too close to the sun

[galactickohipot]

Hmm so I've seen a lot of ppl say there's no stakes in FFXIV anymore because the WoL is too strong anyway. Like sure, making the WoL a godslayer isn't making things easy, but that's not truly where the issue is imo. Spoilers for DT's msq!!!

The main problem to me, is that the writers now consider that a victory through fighiting is a victory in the story. It kinda boggles my mind that there aren't negative repercutions for using violence anymore... It's especially true in DT: when you fight it's always the right thing to do and all fights have a positive influence on the story. It's pretty much "right is might and might is right" all around. The characters never doubts their fight is a righteous one for a second, and we are never given an ambiguous win either. Wuk Lamat is only able to influence the story because she becomes strong and she becomes strong because she is right and good. It is ironic for a character that is so focused on peace and love. Yet the story will still consistantly reward the characters for crushing their opponents. Storywise it doesn't make sense. It only cheapens your victories, so of course you would need to amp up the stakes. (also please note: these issues were already present when Ishikawa was at the helm, but there were other things to balance it out in ShB though.)

In contrast, in ARR and HW, there usually was a downside to the WoL's victory. It wasn't the entire story!

For example, a part I particularly like in 3.0 is the first time you slay Nidhogg. Not only is this done by Estinien after you've weakened the dragon; but it actually feels like a defeat. The entire game up to this point had your group try to mend the relationship between ishgardians and dragons. Estinien warms up to your group and Ysayle, and you can feel he is slowly begining to hope for lasting peace. However, with Hraesvelgr's revelations, Ysayle's dellusions are exposed and all the progress made towards reconcilliation is reduced to nothing. Worse, Estinien's violent and vengeful ways are proven to be the only solution. Truly, a terrible setback for the characters, and it results in an empty victory over Nidhogg. Sure you beat the baddie, but it's devastating for Alphinaud and Ysayle. It even comes back to bite Estinien in the butt when he gets possessed. There was more to the story than just finally beating a very strong foe, and it is made apparent at that moment. Even though the wol won every fight, it didn't mean that the main characters would be victorious. It could either be a diplomatic defeat, your beliefs could be challenged, or one of your allies could die. Unforeseen consequences were right around the corner. Plus, your character is only one person. Things could still happen outside of their reach, like at the end of ARR. Regardless of your WoL's strength, there are many ways you can create tension for a story!

In earlier expacs, there used to be a feeling that your battles wouldn't necessarily win the war. No need for a world ending threat then, to have stakes.

[pink-strawberry-kissess]

clown anon, I hate when games hold your hand through everything but, like you said, a lot of people don’t bother with Ada’s campaign so they’re missing out on some big information, but if we could make it clearish in Leon’s campaign that Carla is not Ada, I think that would help.

Maybe instead of the ending having him confused “What are you” we can get a more confident scene where Leon knows what’s up. Maybe give Ada and Leon a conversation in the game (Capcom let Ada and Leon talk to each other for more than five seconds challenge) where it gets cleared up?

Actually I think it would be a cool moment to have a scene where Leon is chasing Carla, not necessarily the Chris and Leon fight because I don’t want to give that up, where Leon gets Carla to stop. Maybe he grabs her arm so we get a parallel to 2's remake, but instead of Carla jerking her arm away like Ada does she just stops and that confrontation would be where Leon would understand that something is wrong here. Maybe he asks her something and Carla gives the wrong answer. I don’t think he’d immediately jump to “you’re not Ada” but he would definitely see that “Ada” is not acting like Ada and, for some reason, doesn’t know things Ada should know.

Oh, another idea. Ada sees Leon chasing/interacting with Carla. That’d probably be a big “oh shit” moment for her. Not because of jealousy, but because Carla is unstable and dangerous and Leon doesn’t quite know what’s up so he doesn’t know how careful he really needs to be around her.

hello my dear clown anon heheh <3

i think entire point of it not being clearer in Leon's campaign was to entice you to play Ada's. but yeah, it's really frustrating that people don't bother playing Ada's. like you need to????? if anything i think it should be implied in leon's and be clearer that you NEED to play Ada's or SOMETHING. like something else should be cut from Leon's campaign and be placed in Ada's or something since iirc she has the shortest campaign.

i think people decided to treat ada's as a side or unnecessary campaign when it was absolutely not. it was integral to understanding leon's and re6 in general. but people just didn't play it. the people that still are like ada war crime ada this ada that, i'm just like STFU YOU DIDN'T EVEN PLAY HER CAMPAIGN

capcom treat ada well challenge: impossible that would be an amazing scene, anything to amp up the stakes. something where he questions her on something only ada would know.

and also even then, the carla scenes imply that she doesn't even know who leon is. so it wouldn't be hard if they were able to actually speak to each other for leon to realize something was wrong. and i think it's also weird for him to assume that the birthing thing for carla was ada. it should've been more implied that there are clones or SOMETHING so that he could make the assumption that a person that looks like Ada could not be Ada. i know that in the original adverts they REFUSED to talk about clones etc. for the shock factor but since it's a remake, i think they could touch on the concept more so it's not so hush hush about it. there should be more so that leon can piece it together that carla is not ada. something to tie to re2r would be amazing. even something to re4r.

i would have loved to have seen something where Ada confronts Leon to warn him but he's unsure if it's her or not and she has to reveal something that only she knows. Like his gsw scar from re2r, like where she would know exactly where it is since she was the one who had to fix him up.

it would be a very hot and sexy scene if she could approach him and slowly point out to him his scar and then talk about their first kiss or something

[rickrakontoys]

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse - 9/10

One of the best superhero films yet made, and a new benchmark in animation.

It takes everything that worked about "Into the Spiderverse" and amps it up to an awe-inspiring degree.

The characters new and old are terrific and memorable, and feel more real than some live-action superhero portrayals. Gwen Stacy especially is given much more attention here, facing a conflict with her father that reads as a "coming out" allegory (the film also starts out with her, making her feel like the protagonist at times). Miles Morales is faced with his own intruiging personal and heroic dilemmas, including an interesting meta-defiance of the hero's journey that defines all Spider-men. Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099 proves to be an intimidating, feral presence, leading the multiversal Spider-people and strictly upholding the "canon" with a clawed fist. The Spot serves as the primary antagonist, and although quite goofy in terms of power and demeanor, he quickly becomes a very real threat with a cool visual design.

The story starts rather slowly, but works at its own pace to gradually build the emotional stakes, develop themes, provide character-building moments, and introduce the concepts at the heart of the conflict. It is not afraid to take its time, and retains the heart and sincerity that made "Into the Spiderverse" a cut above its peers.

The art design is a beautifully chaotic marriage of different aesthetics clashing and combining together into something almost post-modern in its madness. So much can be said of this film's visuals that it will be picked apart and analyzed by film and animation buffs for years. The art direction is bolstered by some truly gorgeous and effective cinematography. At times it can feel over-stimulating, but it knows when to dial back down to give us brief respite. Fans will be treated to so many easter eggs and visual gags to pore over in rewatches.

The soundtrack and score are also impeccable, with so many different musical styles and leitmotifs, complementing the emotional beats and tonal shifts throughout the film.

If the movie has a flaw that prevents it from reaching the heights of its predecessor, its that the story abruptly ends right when it feels like it is building to a climax, leaving us with no resolution (cinematic "blue balls"? Reminded me of Dune: Part 1). Many plot threads are left unfinished, and we are treated to a frustrating "To Be Continued..." graphic. But this only serves to tantilize us, as "Beyond the Spiderverse" will undoubtedly bring a satisfying conclusion. This filmmaking team can be trusted.

[sleeper354]

Children’s Movies based on Children’s shows

So there are shows specifically for kids that get movies made about them, and I think it’s fascinating to see how the movies adapt the children’s shows.  Now, I’m not talking about just shows for kids, but actual kid’s educational shows.  In particular here, I wanna talk about Dora the Explorer, Paw Patrol, and Blue’s Clues (or more specifically, Blue’s Clues and You, the reboot with Josh as Blue’s friend).  And I want to point these 3 out because the movies are so wildly different in how they present the material.  I’m going to start from Dora the Explorer because that was the one that had a movie of the three first.

So the Dora show is about Dora and Boots going around and solving the usual little kid show type problems of stuff like, “Get the baby duck home” or “We need to get stuff to make a pie” and will then focus around the usual rule of 3 type things where the show will have Dora ask the audience things like “Which way do we go” and have the answer be based on the skill that particular episode wants to highlight.  Then we have the movie.  The movie is such a wild departure from the show, in that the stakes are amped up to 11 in that it’s no longer just “Here’s a fairly friendly romp” into “The fucking CARTEL has KIDNAPPED YOUR FAMILY”.  It has little nods to the original show, but I cannot understand how the movie relates back to the show other than I guess when the show first came out to the end of the run, any kids who grew up watching it would have become teenagers and possibly even actual adults.

Next we have Paw Patrol.  The usual structure of an episode is something akin to “Establish the situation” where we see what issue is about to or currently unfolding to “Plan a solution” where Ryder (and his team of pups) work out which members will solve the problem and how to the twist where something mildly goes wrong during the resolution where there needs to be an improvisation to the resolution where things get solved and possibly comeuppance served to any bad actors through some funny happenstance.  The episodes tend to have stakes that can vary wildly.  Some episodes are things like “Someone is stealing all the pies” to “Turbot and his Cousin are stuck in an actively erupting volcano with actual real lava in it threatening to KILL THEM”.  Then we look at the movie and we have a semi similar structure where there are issues being caused by a bad actor (Mayor Humdinger) and need to be resolved with the pups various areas of expertise.  Unlike in the show, there is no planning phase, they always just activate all pups and go, but do always find a reason to use most of them in each scene.  Also, the movie does something that only happens in a few episodes where there is pup character development, in this case with Chase having difficulties being back in the city he was found orphaned in.  The stakes in each issue that gets solved slowly get higher, starting with fireworks endangering widespread fires, to a loop-de-loop (which is a jab at the idea of the hyperloop when Mayor Humdinger calls it his own hyperloop) which strands a subway train full of people at the top of one of the loops, to a renegade storm that starts demolishing a tower Mayor Humdinger built.  Obviously, the pups solve each one while Chase finally gets his confidence back in the 3rd act and then Humdinger gets his comeuppance and is humiliated/defanged.  Overall the movie acts as a seemingly natural escalation from the tone and themes of the show to the movie.  The structure stays the same but we have more characterization of characters and more plot threads at once.  So we can see that the idea is as the kids age up, the movie can appeal to them because the danger is more apparent and even more real, the characters have obvious motivations, and some of the things that would normally be spelled out are more implied instead.

Finally we have Blue’s Clues.  The show itself has the usual rule of threes with three clues, interspersed with small diversions where Josh and “You” help various friends around the house.  There’s a skiddoo into a book or other location, and then a thinking chair solution followed by the enacting of that solution (making the treat, playing the game, learning the dance, etc).  Generally, the stakes here are very low, the games are almost always about finding out a favorite thing of Blue’s or some piece of fun information.  One of the highest “stakes” one that I’ve seen in Blue’s Clues and You is probably the emotions episode where Blue is sad (and props to the writers for carrying that emotion through the ‘How to play’ song) where there is sort of an antagonist.  Now the movie, again follows the same sort of structure, in that Josh, Blue, and “You” are in NYC but Josh forgot his notebook at home and they don’t know where to go for his Big Broadway Audition.  So we play Blue’s clues to figure it out.  We have the same beats as the show, where “You” will see a clue and the disembodied child voice will say “Clue, RIGHT THERE!” but after Josh does his “Wait, a clue?” bit, an actual human person or two will clarify the clue’s location to him.  But there are two very big divergences from the show.  First, Mr. Salt and crew try to bring the notebook to Josh, but they don’t know where he is.  They find Steve (and later Joe) for help who notices that “You” are with them.  This however, is not the same “You” that’s with Josh (otherwise, they’d just tell Steve et. al. where Josh is) but rather, based on what Steve says (”Oh my gosh, look at you, you got so big!”) we are to believe that there are two different “You”s, the one with Josh is the actual child, and the “You” with Mr. Salt, Steve, and Joe are the parent who may have watched the original Blue’s Clues.  The second departure comes from the fact that after solving Blue’s clues, they don’t actually know where to go still, where they get into the cab and the cabbie (played by Alex Winters of Bill and Ted fame) is like, “that sounds like a cool theater but I need like, the name or an address or something”.  They do eventually meet up with Mr. Salt and gang, get to the theater, but oh no! Auditions are over!  Josh shows genuine sadness and does a good job of showing being shook up over it, no happy ending here.  Of course, through a device shown at the top of the movie Josh performs anyway and Mr. Salt broadcasts it to Time Square and the producer sees it and they give Josh the part.  In this case, we can see that the movie stays fairly true to the source material, but does two things differently, first it acknowledges that this movie is being watched both by a parent and child both of whom may have watched Blue’s Clues.  The second is it let’s bad happenstance happen.  Even with solving Blue’s Clues, they don’t make it in time and it is only through some extraordinary means that they still win the day, breaking away from the usual “The game ties up the episode neatly”.

In all, the different movies each seem to target differently based on who the producers think would be watching it, kids who watched it in their youth but are now grown way beyond the original target age, kids who watched it and have grown a little, and kids who watched it and are now watching it with their own kids.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Warlock (1991)

Warlock isn’t really a good movie. I say this because the writing is wobbly in the first act and there are a couple of clumsy plot points during the middle that someone should’ve ironed out before shooting began. That said, it’s so much fun you don’t even have to call it a guilty pleasure. The picture’s nasty sense of humor, some subtle touches here and there, and a half-dozen great scenes make it the kind of movie that’s a joy despite its flaws.

In 1691, witch-hunter Giles Redferne (Richard E. Grant) has captured a warlock (Julian Sands). The spellcaster is sentenced to death but is saved by Satan, who propels him into the 20th century. In Los Angeles, California, The Warlock prepares to fulfill his devilish mission: reassemble The Grand Grimoire and unmake Creation. Only the time-displaced Redferne (how he time-travels isn't that important) and an ordinary waitress named Kassandra (Lori Singer) can stop him.

I started this review by telling you Warlock isn’t really a good movie and you’ll be able to tell why as soon as The Warlock arrives in Kassandra’s home. She and her roommate, Chas (Kevin O'Brien), are just doing their thing when suddenly, this strange man bursts through their window. The fact that The Warlock is still there in the morning raises an eyebrow. Even if it’s because the police are too busy with the big storm raging outside to come pick him up, it just doesn’t feel right. Don’t worry, it gets a lot better from there. It isn’t long before The Warlock murders Chas and curses Kassandra. Now, she ages 20 years every night. In a couple of days, she’ll crumble to dust, which means the stakes are layered. Redferne needs to stop the evil sorcerer. Like a good Sarah Connor-wannabe, Kassandra is willing to tag along with the time-displaced hero so she can save the world and undo the spell threatening her. There’s a particular scene that showcases this film at its best. The Warlock has been knocked out. It's Kassandra's chance to grab the bracelet he uses to maintain the curse on her. Unfortunately, the villain is in a train wagon that’s slowly picking up speed and the bracelet is just out of reach. Kassandra desperately needs to not only keep up, but move a little bit faster so she can grab it, but she’s not young anymore. She can’t run! You'll be white-knuckled watching her grow increasingly desperate.

Some of the other scenes you can look forward to showcase just how evil the Warlock is. At one point, he encounters a boy playing outside on a Sunday morning. He’s surprised. “Shouldn’t you be in church?” The boy tells him he never goes and that he isn’t baptized either. When you see the gleam of delight in Julian Sands’ eyes, you’re filled with giddy excitement. What follows may be sick but come on. That brat deserved it. In a world where Satan is very real and he grants his followers magical abilities, not bringing your kid to church is bad parenting and the family deserves everything that’s coming to them! There are nice bits of humor here and there, including one in a taxi. The conclusion is what clenches it. That finale so effortlessly amps up the stakes it makes you wonder how the clumsy scenes ever managed to get in there.

While the special effects are dodgy, they’re acceptable for a low-budget film made in 1991. The makeup used to make Lori Singer old less so but even if they were great, they wouldn’t have been the reason to see Warlock. I’m not saying this is a great film. In fact, it’s pretty easy to make an argument for it being lousy but the entertainment factor is high. I suspect the two sequels will essentially be remakes and are unlikely to improve upon it but who knows? The second (or third) time might be the charm! (June 17, 2022)

[mooglestiltzkin]

i think the difference between feeling cynical about mcu’s infinity war part 1 and feeling positive about fast x’s cliffhanger is that. 

somehow fast and furious earned this? like it’s slowly been amping up the insanity and escalation, from small town crooks to essentially gods. people die, no they don’t, they get restaged, and so i’m left at the end of fast x positive that LOL SURE JAKOB AND ROMAN AND TEJ AND RAMSEY AND HAN ARE DEAD. SURE. SURE. bc no body, no death, and sometimes some body, still no death. it’s long since forgone common sense, so i’m like left grinning bc i know they’ll come back come the next movie.

but infinity war part 1. idk. i just. i remember feeling so disappointed with the snap, bc it was like. they’re just going to come back? and i felt resigned, about it, i couldn’t really feel the stakes, bc it was only temporary.

like make no mistake, fast and furious franchise is so mindless and ridiculous. but you know what? i fucking care about these ridiculous characters! you watch them get into all sorts of improbable situations, and they’re still! having! that! bbq!!!!! at the end of the day!!!! and i’m like yeah yeah yeah!!!! that’s what i like to see!!!! that’s what they deserve!!!

somehow, fast and furious earned my emotions????? it doesn’t make sense! but i love them???

[babydaddyleorio]

Could o request a headcanon of Mikey and Draken with an s/o who loves to gamble? Kind like Yumeko Jabami from Kakegurui?

sure, I included timeskip characters because it was easier to write for (:

Draken

-At first, Draken wouldn’t want to meddle in your personal affairs because he trusted you enough to have control over your actions, but once he finally saw how impulsive you could be when gambling, he quickly threw away his old revelation and grew concerned for your well being.

-He would have to steer you away from slot machines in stores because he knew you’d blow all your cash as soon as you touched one, and he would get up late in the night to drag you away from shady matches you had somehow found yourself in.

-If he realizes that you’re gambling in exchange for something too risky, he would try to interfere and call the bet off. Draken is the type to attempt to talk some sense into you and try to make you realize how dangerous the situation is, but when you whisper under your breath for him to just trust you, Draken begrudgingly listens and lets you go through with the gamble.

-He’s nervous the entire time, but his anxiousness slowly washes away once he realizes how good you actually are. So good that you actually managed to win the match, in fact.

-And even though Draken still thinks it's weird how blood thirsty you react when it comes to gambling, he now sees that you’re smart enough to actually win so he leaves you alone for the most part. His only request is that you promise him you won’t do anything that could get yourself hurt and you agree to his terms.

-Well, with your fingers crossed behind your back, of course.

Mikey

-Mikey is intrigued, to say the least.

-Going based off of timeskip Mikey, Mikey would actually see you as an asset to his business and would recruit you into his crew immediately.

-Not only because you were vivacious and unpredictable, but also because you had an impressive lucky streak. And Mikey could use someone that always had a good hand in his circle.

-You would be in charge of finances and negotiations, amping the stakes for certain situations because you knew you could back it up and how to call people’s bluff. You would love the thrill of the gamble, teasing and licking your lips as the game picked up the pace as well as having a perfect poker face that no one could ever see past.

-Mikey would always be lingering in the back or somewhere discreet, watching you like a hawk so he could protect you if anything went south. But for some odd reason, Mikey wouldn’t be able to contain how his lips would quirk up into a smile at how much fun you were having.

-To anyone else, you were beyond crazy and someone that people tended to steer clear from. But to Mikey, you were his wild card and he loved that you always managed to keep him on his toes.

[amostimprobabledream]

The Golden Touch (Claude von Riegan x Reader)

"Claude- "Ssh." "Claude!" A grin curved his cheek and his green eyes glittered like jewels. He had no right to look so damn pretty, especially when he was pissing you off. But with that being said, you couldn't help melting under his touch. He’d get you like this, starting out with just the barest flirting and innuendo, before he’d amp it up over the course of the day, like turning the heat up in a teakettle until even the smallest touch was like a brand from how geared up you were. The way his fingers tangled in your hair, his thigh teasingly brushing between your legs, just that naughty little hint of pressure that he never fully gave. Your mouth already felt swollen to from kissing him and you knew Claude well enough to know that he's nowhere near being through with you. Still, this was risky even for him - you knew he was a man fond of taking chances, of outfoxing others, but pouncing on you in the Audience Chamber when you both knew Seteth or anyone else could walk in at any moment? Well. That was certainly upping the stakes. "You're such a little shit," you growled as Claude moved closer with that teasing smirk on his face. "Tsk, tsk. Such a filthy mouth you have on you." he murmured in chiding tones that didn't match the wicked glint in his eyes. "Just what am I going to do with you?" He closed the distance in moments and his mouth was on yours, all heat and tingling and just the faintest scrape of teeth on your bottom lip, his hands pinning your wrists in place above your head. The bastard - he knew you were aching to touch him, to drag your fingers through his hair and grab at those fine thighs of his, but Claude being Claude he read your intentions easily and he just wouldn't give it to you just like that. He liked to play far too much for that. "Nnh...you don't fool me," you mumbled against his lips, whining as his mouth met your neck and sucked on the sensitive skin there. "You act like you just wanted me so much that you just couldn't wait, but really, I think you're just getting off on desecrating Rhea and Seteth's meeting place where they spill all the secrets you don't get to hear." "Ah! Such a sharp tongue!" Claude mock-gasped, pressing a hand to his heart in a show of being wounded, practically pouting at you. "I'm hurt, truly. Do you really believe I'd simply use you for a cheap thrill like that?" "Claude von Riegan, I know you're capable of just about anything," you snarked, the use of his full name a subtle poke over the differences in your respective statuses. Not that he’d ever cared for such things, but you liked to remind him every now and then of how very un-noble-like he could be at times. Claude actually laughed at that, the noise loud in the echoey chamber of the room, especially in the little alcove you'd tucked yourselves into. Claude seemed to have a worrying knowledge on convenient hiding places just like this, all around Garrag Mach. You wouldn’t expect anything less from someone as in love with schemes and secrets as he was. "Oh, just for that, I'll show you just what I'm capable of, princess." His knee shifted higher, rubbing at the apex of your thighs, and this time it was no mere teasing brush. No, now he was truly exerting pressure, and you couldn't stop yourself from grinding against his taut, muscular thigh. It was always a mistake with Claude to show your hand so early, but it felt so good, the slowly-building friction that you craved, and you reacted on instinct. He took a lot of joy in teasing you, building and building on it until you could barely stand it anymore. He’d always argue it made the moment you got what you’d been seeking for all that much more pleasurable. "Hmm...you like that, don't you?" Claude said huskily, into your ear. "I thought you might. But the question is, do you think you get to come so quickly after being so cheeky?" And with that he removed his knee, setting his foot firmly back on the floor with a soft click of his boot, smirking when you let out a huff of frustration and glared at him despite your obvious pleasure.

You were so close! "Tch. I suppose you want me to beg, is that it?" you asked, snidely. Claude hummed in thought, cocking his head to one side, and his tongue darted out of his mouth to flick across his bottom lip, eyes roving over your face like he's trying to divine a deep secret from you with a mere glance. Despite your compromising position and the fact anybody could walk in and catch you at any moment, it was this searching look on Claude's fact that made you blush, heat searing your cheeks and pooling in your belly. If you'd told yourself five years ago that you'd be like this with Claude von Riegan himself, heir apparent to the Leicester Alliance, you'd have laughed yourself sick. You’d nursed your crush like you were growing a flower, yet you’d never quite expected for him to take notice of you, friends though you were. Now it had become something else entirely. "You? Beg?" Claude asked, amusement threading his tone, but you could see he was intrigued - you might have been the one pinned against the wall like a butterfly, but you knew Claude's major weakness. Curiosity. "Is that what you want?" you asked, wriggling a little in his hold and he gave your wrists a gentle squeeze. "I won't lie to you - any man's ego would be stoked hearing that from a pretty girl like you, but I know you better than that. When an offer seems too good to be true, that's usually because it is." "You're the one holding me up against the wall, Claude," you replied, managing to sound deadpan, even as a giggle threatened to bubble up your throat. It wouldn’t do to stop playing your part just yet. "Seems like we're in a stalemate unless you name your price, doesn't it? Or...maybe you want to get caught? Is that it? You want to get a scolding from Seteth?" "Oh, that's it," Claude said, huskily. "I think someone needs to learn to watch that mouth." Your eyes glittered in the torchlight as you tilted your head back to look at him, meeting his gaze. "Make me." The next moment, your wrists were free, but Claude had other things he needed to do with his hands. Namely by grabbing your thighs and hoisting you up, back pressed against the stone and one very handsome future ruler wedged inbetween your legs. You took the chance to wrap them around his hips, moaning as he tugged away the knot holding your shirt closed - with his teeth, no less - and burying his face in the synapse of your breasts. His facial hair tickled the sensitive skin there and you giggled softly at the sensation, even with Claude grinding his erection into you, his warm, wicked mouth lavishing attention on your breasts. A moan left your mouth as his tongue circled your nipples in a slow, tantalising circle, sending tingling bolts of pleasure shooting through you. "Mmh...Claude..." you hissed, raking your hands through his rich, dark hair. "Fuck!" He always gave attention to your breasts during sex, but there was something extra elicit about this, having them exposed to the cool air like this, knowing this was most definitely not allowed and Claude enjoying them so thoroughly, his tongue dragging across your skin and leaving a hot trail in its wake. And just then - just as you were starting to feel really fucking good, he pulled back. Smirked at you. "Now, what do we say when we want some more of something, hmm?" The little bastard! Your mouth fell open and no doubt you looked a sight, chest exposed and covered in lovebites, face flushed and your hair in absolute disarray. You squirmed indignantly, but his grip on you was firm and his expression grew even more slyly amused with how your body gave you away so easily. "What?" you spluttered out. "Don't stop!" "What do we say, princess?" Claude responded, undaunted, but you could see mirth in his eyes, a little grin showing just a hint of fang that would have made your knees weak, if you were currently using them. Damn you, von Riegan. "Please, Claude..." you said, hating and loving it at the same time. "Mm... please keep going." "Ah, the look of defeated pride," Claude hummed,

moving his face closer. "I guess I ought to savour it, but I'm not that cruel. So, let me just..." And then his mouth covered your breasts and whatever he was going to say was lost in a lusty groan. Your thighs squeezed Claude's hips, a yelp escaping you as he playfully nipped your skin. Between his mouth and the tauntingly slow grinding of his hips, you knew you weren't going to keep up the haughty veneer anymore - your body was trembling with the effort of keeping clamped around him, and you could feel your damp underwear sticking to you, the fabric dragging over your clit with each small shift. It was driving you crazy with anticipation. "Claude, Claude-!" you gasped out. His mouth covered yours as you came, muffling your cries that would no doubt echo in this chamber at the volume you were reaching. I guess he really doesn't want to get caught, then. Your feet met the ground and Claude inched back a step, wiping his mouth with the back of his wrist, a flirty smile on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, when suddenly a voice made both of you freeze. A voice you both knew very well. "Hmm...most troubling..." In a blink of an eye, Claude closed the distance between you (scant as it had been before), squashing you against the wall and clamping a gloved hand over your mouth. Not that you were planning on extending a greeting at the moment, in your present condition. Especially not to Seteth, of all the people to walk in. Stakes high enough for you now, Claude? But, despite the spike of panic that sent your heart hammering in your chest, something occurred to you. That this untimely arrived had provided you with an interesting opportunity. You eyed Claude slyly as he glanced over his shoulder - Seteth had walked into the little alcove opposite the one you two were currently hiding in, but who knew how long he might stay there for? What if he started doing paperwork right there? With your bodies pressed together like this, all you could think about was what Claude looked like under those clothes, how good he looked when he let down his walls and really let go and enjoyed yourself. And how much you wanted him to fuck you. So, to get back at him for before, and to see just what he’d do, you slid your hand down the front of his breeches. Green eyes darted to meet yours, flared wide with surprise, before your hand gripped the base of his shaft, giving a gentle squeeze. "You. little. minx." he breathed against your neck. In lieu of a verbal response, you began moving your hand up and down the length of his dick, with slow, even strokes you knew would drive him crazy, the way he always managed to do to you. Claude wasn't the only one who knew how to catch someone off guard and you weren’t going to throw a chance to see him in a position like this away, Seteth or no Seteth. His eyelids fluttered as you moved just a little faster, a grunt of pleasure leaving him and he had to bite his lip to muffle his moan, the sight of which made you ache between your legs - there was just something so savage about it and he was usually so easygoing. Or at least, that was how he usually chose to present himself to other people. You could both hear Seteth shuffling papers in the background, pacing with an agitation so obvious that you could even hear it in his footsteps. Claude moaned - not loudly, but enough to make you both tense up, locking eyes with simultaneous alarm. Seteth's footsteps paused - a single moment of agonising suspense. Then, he was leaving, footsteps retreating, grumbling softly to himself as he walked. Ever a worrier, that Seteth. It was a good thing Claude still had a hand over your mouth, because the urge to erupt into giggles was abruptly positively overwhelming, anticipation and dread bursting into relief so strong that laughter was the automatic, simplest response to it. You couldn’t stop yourself from snickering into his gloved palm. "Think that's funny, do you?" Claude asked dryly, even though he was smiling too, lowering his hand. "I don't know about you, but

I think my heart just about stopped." "The-the look on your face!" you wheezed, trying to laugh quietly, tears of mirth threatening to overspill. "Wow, I never would have thought you were actually scared of Seteth!" "Oh really? That panic-stricken look in your eyes didn't exactly scream, 'devil may care' to me," Claude replied, smirking, not even bothering to rise to the cheap bait. "But now that little interruption is over…well, I'm not the type not to see things through. So, with that being said..." And then he was scrambling to unfasten your pants, jerking them down your hips and it was gratifying to know that he was aching for you just as much as you were for him. Seteth's arrival had, unintentionally, been something of an aphrodisiac, your body confusing the pulse of fear with a further boost of lust that neither of you were inclined to ignore anymore. "Claude-" you began, but whatever it was you’d been about to say died in your throat as he kissed you and entered you at the same time, sinking into your wet heat with ease. Claude picked you up, kissing you fiercely as he moved his hips, hitching you higher up and hooking one of your legs around his waist, so he could reach even deeper inside you. Your leg trembled a little and you squeaked in the back of your throat as he fucked you, your exposed skin breaking out in goosepimples against the cold stone, but you were far too preoccupied to care. "Nn...just look at you," Claude purred into your ear, only slightly short of breath. "You love this just as much I do, don't you? The thrill of sneaking around, almost getting caught? It excites you so much. You're so wet for me...mm... feels so fucking good..." His voice was like molten honey. You had no idea how he could even string together a sentence, much less say things like that to you - all that was going through your head was demands for more, for him not to stop, and his name repeating itself over and over in your brain, like a tongue returning to the gap where a missing tooth should be. You littered his neck with frantic kisses, giving his shoulder a bite as his shirt drooped off his torso, exposing tantalising parts of skin that made you long to leave a mark there. Anyway, Claude liked a little pain with his pleasure - the way he arched his back like a cat was proof of that. "Ah-! You naughty, naughty girl~" he growled quietly, giving your earlobe a punishing tug with his teeth in retaliation, smirking as you squeaked. "Careful now - you're so bad at keeping quiet, aren't you? I suppose that's my fault, since you end up screaming my name so often~" "Fuck-!" you hissed, clutching Clade like a drowning man will clung to debris, your breasts squished against the firm planes of his muscular chest. The pressure was making you feel almost light-headed, your core clenching around his dick as he kept going, hitting somewhere inside you that made your body practically sing with pleasure. "Yes, yes...!" "Say it, princess. Say it and I'll make you come." Shit. There was no holding out on him now - not when you were so, so close. Your eyes slid shut, the words falling easily from your lips. "Claude...please!" you choked out against his neck. "Ah-!" A husky, strained laugh met your ears and he kissed your neck tenderly, the contrast between his taunting and the gentleness of the gesture somehow complementing one another perfectly. "That's my girl." Your teeth sank into his shoulder as you came, Claude giving a few last, firm thrusts that finally unravelled you, gave you what you wanted after dangling in front of you for so long, only to whisk it away at the last second, like a cat swiping for a piece of string. Claude's pace grew sloppy as it was his turn, a few more erratic jerks of his hips before he too finally reached his peak, a throaty sigh escaping him. His skin glistened faintly with sweat and his hair looked appealingly dishevelled as he took a moment to gather himself, leaning his head on your shoulder. You could tell he was grinning even with his face hidden. You couldn't linger for

long, though, and soon pulled apart and began redressing, you wobbling a bit as you got used to being on your feet again. It would be obvious to anybody who spoke to either of you what had just happened, but if you hurried back your rooms, you might just be able to get cleaned up and changed with nobody being any the wiser. Claude gave a soft laugh as you both stepped out from the alcove as if nothing had happened. You were happy to get out of there, yourself – and you knew you wouldn’t be able to look Seteth in the eye for a couple of days, even if you hadn’t been caught. "So, what do you think, princess?" Claude hummed as you walked side-by-side, for all intents and purposes looking for a couple of friends having a stroll together, but Claude's smile was pure sin as he looked at you. "Desecrating the Audience Chamber well worth pissing off Rhea?" You smirked - you had the perfect suggestion for upping the ante for next time. "Let's do it in the Cathedral next time."

[tiktaalic]

Just if you feel like talking about it, what is the appeal of Barry (the show, not the character) to you?

I keep hearing stuff about it and can't figure out the appeal—to be clear I don't mean that in a judgy way, regardless of whether it fits my tastes I'm sure there *is* one. My brain just has this weird tick where if I see a lot of people enjoying a thing, I'm not at all bothered by not necessarily enjoying it myself, but it nags at me until I can figure out what the appeal is to the people who do enjoy it.

It’s funny. It’s a pretty absurd premise on paper that a hitman has a midlife crisis and decides to become an actor. He’s a charisma void with no social skills and he’s like. I wanna. I wanna be a star. It’s fun to watch! The secondary characters are also 30 somethings who wanna Make It Big and I think making fun of people living in LA is funny. Noho hank is character of all time. And it’s been really cool to watch it shift from like, Barry doing a shoddy impression of the Munch scream meaning for it to come off as sincere when someone is like oh my god our friend (who Barry murdered and is 100% aware is dead) got killed last night! to um. Hank crying and clawing at his handcuffs while listening to all of his friends be brutally murdered. As a viewer it’s really rewarding to see that tonal departure be executed well. I personally am historically a sucker for shows that are like come here I am a normal show I am a comedy I am low stakes that slowly amp things up till you’re 🚬-_- oh god the fucking themes. And by god does Barry have themes in it.

[constellaj]

16

Please talk more about your reboot!

16: If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

okay so how i would re-do CANON is completely different from how i would talk abt a reboot so im gonna touch on a couple things in both contexts! the reason for the difference is canon rewrites imply i can go back in time and introduce dp fresh and new, before anyone knows what it is; but for a reboot, id be working with an audience that has a better understanding of the source material, so i dont need to spend as much time explaining, but i also need to keep everything recognizable

Valerie

REWRITE: i would def make it more danny's fault that her dad lost his job, like danny was intentionally being reckless and shattered some security stuff, and he has a whole mini lesson about learning to not just run in guns blazing. i would probably remove the dating stuff with her and danny (and tuckers crush) too, I think them wanting to be good friends is good enough for freshman year

REBOOT: the fandom already knows valerie exists, so i would actually skip the whole shades-of-gray introductory episode and have her be present as the huntress from day 1-- probably even before danny got his powers. cujo is also HER dog, and her backstory-- we'd find out in like, season 1, that a natural ghost portal (maybe one wulf opened) ripped open on her dog and killed him, and since then shes had a vendetta against ghosts cause of how reckless they are and their disregard for life-- of course, cujo isnt actually dead. cujo is a halfa. a puby halfa. anyway instead of a hoverboard she actually rides cujo around cause he can fly and its big and epic. valerie has BEEN amity parks ghost-eradicating superhero for at least a year (tho shes been in the shadows abt it) and her hatred towards danny actually just becomes really petty, like them flying next to each other chasing skulker just going "I got this. no I got this. no I got this" and they just get in each others' way and its a mutual grudge.

BOTH: i am NOT keeping in vlad giving her the suit to watch danny under any circumstances. it was only utilized half assedly in canon (when vlad couldve just had an invisible duplicate watching him instead) anyway, and I dont have any reason to keep it in a reboot either. instead i want her tech to be a combination of half-stolen and half-gerryrigged stuff and she slowly slowly learns how to build her own.

I also dont want anyone knowing her secret identity, except maybe her dad, and sam or tucker. i think it works better if danny isnt privy to this magic info

Freakshow

REWRITE: i would honestly just remove him. the episodes hes in arent particularly interesting, theyre just generic "we need a plot about x" filler and he's not compelling enough a character (at least in writing) to carry a better plot that another antagonist couldnt. i'm serious

REBOOT: unfortunately in a reboot he's gonna have to pop up somewhere or else ppl will be like "where IS HE" so I'm going to stick with running some kind of ghost circus, maybe a few occult things, but cut out a lot of the spooky magical knowledge and mcguffin stuff. maybe i could make him like, someone from vlad/jack/maddies college who always felt pushed around by them and so he has a vendetta? and theyd be the only reason he even learned abt ghosts in the first place. idk in either way I want to force him into being irredeemable but also include LYDIA (the tattoo girl ghost) way more-- I want to give her an arc that ends in her tossing freakshow aside and running off to be a ghost vigilante.

BOTH: dear god the infinity gauntlet is stupid that needs to GO AWAY. especially for the reboot cause it would exist in a post-mcu world and way too many people would complain about it

Vlad

REWRITE: amp him up to a far more sinister and villainous character. the crushing on maddie isnt enough, I want to show him on-screen performing experiments on ghosts and himself, dismissing everyone else cause he thinks hes smarter than them. i want him to be actively sabotaging the fentons at every turn. i would also clarify that he doesnt actually want danny as a son, but as a trophy-- a line where danny says something along the lines of "you don't want a son. you want a slave". i want to make him a character who wants to destroy the entire planet and put it in the ghost zone so he can be the true ghost king and i want to make this all evident from day one. if i'm writing a series villain you can bet i'm going to write a GOOD one. less petty drama here and more actual stakes.

REBOOT: it seems silly but sense with reboot we have the benefit of hindsight and recognizing that vlad wasn't a big series villain, theres no way i'd actually go back and write him to be such. for starters, of course, theres the fact that anything he does would really be an exaggerated part of the original, and it would bore an audience to see the same story again-- theres also the fact that it doesnt seem right to take a character who was treated as a joke half the time and suddenly make them big and important. no, instead for my reboot i want to lean into the petty gay uncle vibe. he had a crush on jack and now just casually insults him. he moves mansions every now and again by just haunting the family who lives in the one he wants, and taking over-- i mean, who is gonna believe that an actual ghost haunted you. he dislikes danny not because he has some concept of 'evil' and 'good' but bc danny is just too damn active. of course he actually does care about danny and his safety deep down, it's just on the surface they have very conflicting motivations-- not to mention that danny has been raised on legends from his parents of the villainous Wisconsin Ghost, who has to be stopped at all costs.

BOTH: i want jack and maddie to KNOW he's a half ghost and to actively be hunting him down for it, maybe bc they think hes possessed, or been a ghost tricking them this whole time, or the victim of a tragic lab accident who needs to be put to rest, etc. whatever the case it will give vlad actual tangible reason to despise them and genuinely suspect they dont have dannys best interests at heart. i think it would be neat if vlad was cynical and every time danny hit him with the "I'll expose us both. at least theyll still love ME" vlad could be like in the back of his head "oh god theyre going to kill this child"

Dani

REWRITE: cut her out. we don't need her character at all. maybe replace her with a more ominous shadow duplicate / clone that actually looks like danny himself and doesnt really have a name? you could probably combine her and dark dans characters for their arcs

REBOOT: instead of a clone from vlad, she's a guys in white creation using some of dannys dna after he was captured (and vlad broke him out bc he was like "ugh i guess i have to save this child")

BOTH: vlad actually cares abt her (duh), shes nonbinary (double duh), she gets the funny dissolve into goo powers

i had more i thought i was gonna write but this post is already very long and also im running out of coherency for this LUL

[echoingkarma]

Hello! I just finished reading what's up of CS and I just wanted to personally commend you on how good the writing is!! The way you were able to very slowly amp up the feeling of unease and add stakes to the story, stakes that the reader doesn't even fully know about but they can feel them lurking, it's just so good. The last chapter ending where it did was a great example of this, things have been off in the pizzaplex but having the reader go in on a day they aren't supposed to be working and being in the middle of something they know nothing about, yet is obviously important and probably part of a bigger, more important issue. It's great!! Very excited for when the next chapter is released, whenever that may be. Take your time and take care of yourself

Thank you so much, this means the world to me! I keep meaning to write more honestly, I feel bad to have left it at such a big kind of dramatic moment, but I have so little time to exist never mind write these days dhdhdh

Still, everyone’s comments are fuelling me and pushing me to continue going. I’ll look for the time where I can find it! I really and truly want to finish this story we’ve all experienced together 💙 thank you for inspiring me further with your kindness

[jakesuit0]

Guardians of Sunshine Review

“Guardians of Sunshine” has one of the only title cards to forego the usual torn painting style and go with a video game start screen. It’s also the only animated title card. Not counting the red tinted version of the usual opening credits in “Stakes”, these credits are the only to be stylized differently. It helps to make this feel like a special adventure. 

Finn and Jake’s conversation while playing Guardians of Sunshine on BMO captures what kids say to each other while gaming. Finn and Jake are very overconfident with their skills at first, despite only being on the first level. They mistake random elements of the level as glitches.  

Like Finn and Jake, people often disagree which collectibles they should care about getting, like useless coins. Finn reaches Sleepy Sam in the game. It’s funny how such a simple looking enemy gives him so much trouble. It looks like Finn can easily just jump over him, but he instead makes himself vulnerable by trying to perform a long combo move. Sleepy Sam is able to eat Finn’s character and poop out a pixel.

Finn blames the game for his loss. He claims it would be easy if he were in it for real, which is definitely something I’ve said while frustrated. Cope harder Finn. BMO lets it slip that he has the ability to send Finn and Jake into the game. Moe is a genius and I can buy that he could give BMO this ability. But, why would he give it to him? Did he think it would be another way to make BMO’s new family happy? I wish this had been brought up! It’s also weird that there’s an extra compartment with the button that’s suddenly in this episode and never seen again. BMO is almost egging Finn on when he says it’s “too dangerous” for him and an “incredible adventure”. Finn and Jake act real sus and decide it’s “time for bed”. BMO, for some reason, doesn’t take any actions to stop what he knows is coming. When BMO falls asleep, Finn and Jake get him to push the button, sending them inside the video game. Adventure Time gets to do its take on the characters going inside a video game trope!

This marks the first use of guest animation in an episode! Finn, Jake, and the video game world are computer-generated. It’s a great decision that makes it feel like Finn and Jake have really entered the virtual space, especially with the green and black background. Due to their new pixelated circumstances, Jake gets to join in on the autotune singing with Finn for once in a cute song.

They reach the first pit that Finn and Jake thought was so easy. Jake idiotically jumps right into the lava, which is now much bigger. Turns out the game is actually much harder now that it’s real! Jake still has two more lives so he purposefully kills himself again for fun. It’s funny how much amusement Jake gets out of killing himself. Also Jake death foreshadowing or whatever. Finn is worried that maybe iF yOu DiE iN tHe GaMe YoU dIe In ThE rEaL wOrLd. Jake’s stretchy powers should make the game much easier and they use it to cross the pit. 

They run into Bouncy Bee. I love the cut from Finn and Jake ready and amped up to face the enemy to Bouncy Bee brutally murdering Finn as he screams in agony. Jake just stands there, when he could easily defeat it using his powers. I guess he was frozen in fear. After Finn returns because of his extra lives, Jake declares that they should never die again. Yikes, that hits differently now. Jake insists on taking some gold coins with them, so they’ll be rich in real life. Jake forgets that they are already loaded with gold and are super rich. His old thieving ways still have its influence, I suppose.

Finn and Jake have to run away from Honey Bunny. It’s cool that the episode acknowledges that being transported into the game means you can’t do certain things you can do with a controller, like summoning the bomba. Finn and Jake reach Sleepy Sam. He’s still very tiny. They could easily get around him. Instead, Finn slowly sneaks up to him. The suspense and ominous music works very effectively. Sleepy Sam’s scream definitely got me as a kid. Finn gets eaten, making them both down to their last lives.

They run away from all the monsters in fear and get cornered. Jake tries to rip off the bomba icon from the edge of the screen. It’s interesting that the UI part of the game is still accessible from within. Jake pulling out the bomba creates a portal back into the real world. Not sure if the logic lines up there but it works!

Finn and Jake rip a hole through BMO and are back home. Jake’s coin being a penny in the real world is a hilarious twist. The enemies from the game follow, ripping through poor BMO. They seem like they are going to be chill after they finally get what they want, sunshine. However, they turn their attention to BMO for imprisoning them. After Jake gets eaten, it’s up to Finn to save his pals. He uses the combo move in real life to defeat them. Sleepy Sam really should have eaten Finn instead of just watching Finn and slowly opening his mouth. BMO is rightfully pissed at Finn and Jake, especially after they say they want to give it another go. He starts using the combo move on Finn and Jake. The episode ends on a game over screen, implying BMO murdered the boys. A great ending!

Finn, Jake, and BMO are able to use the combo in real life. At first I assumed it would only work on creatures from the game. But then, BMO uses it on Finn and Jake. Maybe them being in the game makes them forever vulnerable to that combo. Don’t let The Lich find out! Perhaps only people who have been in the game, and BMO who hosts the game, can perform it.  I wonder if the monsters actually originated from the real world and were transported the way Finn and Jake were. It’s also possible they were created for and born in the game.

It’s nice for BMO to finally have a more active role in an episode and be a major plot point. We get to see his bossy and sassy side of him for the first time. Usually BMO is depicted as Finn and Jake’s child. But, sometimes we get to see him as the voice of reason and scolding Finn and Jake which can also be funny. Finn and Jake are finally shown to care about BMO as a friend with them showing concern when he is damaged and trying to save him from the game’s enemies. He’s not just a video game console anymore!

My only problem with this episode is the glaring oversight that Finn could have just spammed backpack to win the game like he always does.

Grade: A-