#curseofbreadbear 3

[mute-call]

He had tried. He had really, really tried.

Jeremy had been right all along. There had been something deeply, disturbingly wrong with the animatronics, and Steven had done everything he could to get the poor kid switched to day shift as quickly as possible after witnessing it all first-hand. Bell had taken the night shift himself to cover the sudden guard rotation, unwilling to force Fitzgerald to finish even a single week in the position.

But it hadn't been enough. Day, night, it hadn't mattered; something about Jeremy specifically made the 'bots practically hateful. One second, Fitzgerald had been keeping an eye out to make sure none of the parents were targeted, the next--

Steven doesn't consider himself a very squeamish person, but he had barely made it to the restrooms before he had vomited, praying that anyone else still at the scene would have the presence of mind to call 911.

Someone must have, or else he wouldn't be here right now.

"H-Hey, wow, l-look at you!" Steven's face is pale, the bouquet in his hand swaying slightly from the tremors in his fingers. He hastily places it down on one of the hospital room's guest chairs, wiping off the water and sweat from his hands onto his slacks.

"What a trooper! Heh. You look great!" For a guy who had had his skull caved in.

"I just--I hope it's okay I'm here, the, uh... nurses let me in. I can leave. I'm just--" 'sorry' doesn't begin to cut it.

"...here. For you. I'm here for you. Yeah."

@curseofbreadbear.

[horrifichaunts]

@curseofbreadbear asked: you found my breaking point. congratulations. (i'll take one lavinia for henry, please-)

“If it m-matters, ….I didn’t want to c-c-come to you..... Spare you the knowledge, let you continue to hate m-me as a kindness. “

Her candle covered hat is held in her hands, unable to look at him in the eyes with any of her three. The grief had broken them both in different ways, she needed to be strong though. He needed to be strong. For the children, their children.

“Plans ch-change though.”

The veiled hat returns to the top of her head,resolve finally returns to her shadowy face.

“First…I'm sure you have questions.... I’ll answer what I c-can.” 

[giftgvr]

@curseofbreadbear fell down the rabbit hole:

"It's just like pictures in a book, Charlotte. It isn't real." -another circus baby from @/curseofbreadbear <3

˚｡⋆ 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓 ⟡ "THE SHINING" STARTERS ⋆｡˚

‧₊˚꒰ঌ  Real . . . The word hung in the air for Charlie like morning fog, the emphasis put on her full name a lingering bitter aftertaste in the back of her throat that just wouldn't go away.

    Although technically at odds; Charlie always had a special sympathy in her heart for the Funtime line, even if this remorse usually was met with bared fangs or the business end of a buzzsaw.

    But Circus Baby, well, she was different. Her venomous distain didn't need the assistance of sharp metal or malicious modules. Almost effortlessly, her best tool to sink into skin with was her words. It was by far her deadliest weapon, and they both knew that.

Furrowing her eyes & scrunching her nose, Charlie retorts;  ❝ Even if it's not real. It's all I have. ❞  all that's left, ❝ That alone makes it worth fighting for. ❞  ah; just as stubborn as the real deal, isn't she?  ໒꒱˚₊‧

[donewithyourschmidt]

@curseofbreadbear​ asked:

“I often find meself questioning how yer still alive.” -woe, pirate fox be upon ye!

From behind the closed door of the office, Mike could be heard clasping his hands together, as though pondering Foxy’s words. Cameras were lowered for the moment - the guard knew no one besides the pirate was near. Chica was occupied in the kitchens, banging around, Bonnie was nowhere close to him, and Freddy hadn’t even moved yet.

 “You know, that’s an excellent question. I, uh... wonder that myself.” He looked at the door as though he could see Foxy through the steel, tilting his head. “I’d say I’m lucky, but I know I’m not. If I was, I wouldn’t be here.” A touch of bitterness colored the soft words. He had been forced to grow up fast, and sometimes it hurt. People his age were supposed to worry about tests and the looming threat of college, not deciding between eating or paying rent. Or being killed by singing animals.

Still, there was no point thinking about what should be his reality. He only needed to focus on what it really was. “You’ll get me someday.” It was stated simply, the bitterness gone. Mike knew well what his end would eventually be, but as long as he could delay it, he would. “What about you, though? You’ve been out of order a long time, right? Don’t you, uh...ever...wonder why management hasn’t...well, fixed you, or...y’know? At least, I wonder why...why keep you around, in limbo? It seems...cruel to you.”

[animatronicabundance-archived]

@curseofbreadbear​ asked:  [Here comes the obligatory concerned Glam Fred, panicking over the fact that Bonnie's systems may or may not be failing-] "Bon? Are you okay??" -glam fred for glam bon FBSKHFJD hes trying-

01000010 01101111 01101110 01101110 01101001 01100101 00101110 01100101 01111000 01100101 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100010 01101111 01101111 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110000 01101100 01100101 01100001 01110011 01100101 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01100010 01100001 01100011 01101011 00101110 00100000 01010010 01100101 01100010 01101111 01101111 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 00110011 00101110 00101110 00110010 00101110 00101110 00110001

Bonnie lightly jumps, slowly looking around before just....blinking at Freddy. 

“Honeysuckle? When did you get here?”

[bolides]

@curseofbreadbear​ said: ‘ the fuck does it look like I’m doing? I’m leisuring. ’ -gingi bc it had the vibes akfjjsfnd | J E N N A  M A R B L E S  I N B O X  M E M E (x)

“it... looks like you’re doing something, alright, gigi.” because, of course, like everything else about gingi, they sure were... ‘leisuring’ oddly. flopped completely on their back, basking in the sunlight, body contorted in strange and seemingly uncomfortable ways.

she takes to laying beside them, except she was flat on her back, snow-angel type position, staring up at the sky. she stared directly into the sun, actually, longing to be back among the stars that orbited alongside it... until gingi’s presence brought her back to the present.

they were leisuring... together.

maybe she didn’t want to go back just yet.

[redgentleengie]

"The Flipside. Got it. How do I get there?"

Jonathan was here to figure out what was intended and what was not in this world. That was the best he could describe it, since certain "bugs" were proper game mechanics. Having some programming knowledge, he knew there was a story for adventurers to follow like with any game. But as with any game, there were... again, for lack of a better term, unintended parts that needed fixing.

"Agreed. That's why I'm here. The problem is, I don't even know where to begin. Can you help me?"

[jammedmuses]

@curseofbreadbear said: ❝ Happy Valentine's Day, Banshee! ❞ [Freddy offered the technician a warm smile, a stark contrast to his demeanor from most of her visits prior. In his paw is a small hand-made card that reads: "Your friendship is out of this world!" He's also carrying a star-shaped sticker that, of course, says "superstar." Banshee would always finish her check-ups by giving them some sort of treat, often a magnet that they could wear as a badge. A superstar sticker felt like the human equivalent of that!] - SOME BELATED VDAY LOVE FROM GLAMFRED <3

Routine troubleshooting.

But Banshee liked to call them "routine check-ups;" Ever since the sunny animatronic alikened her to a nurse (her actual job is listed as "tech assistant,") she was all on-board with it! Especially since her assigned procedures are in fact similar to a check-up appointment with a doctor or pediatrician.

It felt... more right, more humane that way.

She was looking down at the company-owned tablet, checking the Glamrocks' reports for anything specific that needed attention tonight, and so far all of them had only "routine troubleshooting" listed (meaning it was just to check if everything was indeed in order.) The only exception had been Monty, who had his jaw stuck open also listed on his report, and when she inspected it turned out he just had an aluminum splinter stuck between his jaw joints, which she took care of herself by plucking it out with tweezers. Silly gator most likely got taken over by the "cronch instinct" and cronched on a FizzyFaz can. It may have a "zero braincell" move from his part, but he still got a treat at the end anyways.

" Hello, Freddy. " Banshee says without looking up from the tablet (yet the gentleness of her tone still ever present,) as she entered the bear's green room, door automatically sliding open once it detected her employee badge, hanging by her lanyard. " Tonight is just a routine check-up, so we can take it easy. " She reassures.

She had to look up with a confused blink from her visible eye before Freddy's sudden energetic greeting, at the first moment not having fully registered what had him so happy. It's not that she didn't like seeing them in lifted spirits (on the contrary actually!) but Freddy at least usually goes through the troubleshootings with a bit of anxiety despite her best efforts to have them be as stress-free as possible.

" Huh-? " The "nurse" couldn't help the mild rose shade on her face upon realizing he was greeting her on behalf of Valentine's Day-- a day that just passes by her like a regular one, since she's forever alone a single pringle and she's not positive she'd achieve that sort of relationship anytime soon. " Oh, um- "

Gingerly taking the friendship appreciation card in her left hand (tablet now resting on Freddy's vanity,) and realizing he actually put effort into crafting it himself, it finally puts a smile on the young lady.

" Oh, Freddy. This is very sweet of you, thank you!! I'm certainly going to cherish this! " She carefully slips the card into the folder under her arm (where she keeps the paper-based "equipment" of her procedures,) to make sure it won't get folded, crumpled or damaged at all. " I'm sorry, you just caught me by surprise, is all! I wasn't really expecting anything to come from this holiday. " She explains.

Taking the sticker in her left with a beaming giggle, she sticks it to the back of her employee badge (the side scanners and detectors don't look over.) She doesn't attach it to her uniform simply because stickers in general don't last on fabric.

" It really makes me glad to know I help! This is how I like to see you, bright and smiling for real! Sorry Superstar, I don't have anything for Valentine's to gift you back, but I'll make sure your treat from tonight is extra special, okay? "

This alone? Has already made her entire day!

[mute-call]

Steven isn't actually very worried about tonight's shift, but something about the way Jeremy makes extra, extra sure that he'll have a spare mask gives him pause. Fitzgerald isn't backing down or giving up on this story of his. It's clearly not just some ruse to switch shifts, but a genuine, deep-seated fear that won't be easily shaken. It's like the animatronics have traumatized the poor guy.

"Okay, yeah. No problem." Bell speaks slowly, pointedly, as though he's dealing with a skittish child. Or someone who's a teensy bit off their rocker.

"We can do that together." What is there to set up, besides a few Freddy heads and an extra chair?

"The remote rig for the music box has been working out for you, right? Let's just, uh... double-check on that one first." Out of all the characters Steven expects to show up tonight, the Puppet is by far the creepiest, in his humble opinion. He wouldn't be surprised if that's the one that's scared Jeremy so badly if it's been wandering the halls.

"Not exactly," he responds as he begins to lead the other guard out to begin preparations. 'But how hard can it be?' is probably not the most diplomatic way to finish his sentence, so he pauses for a moment before settling on:

"But I've done pretty much everything else, haha! Except, you know, engineering work, but still. I've been around these animatronics a lot. I know how different they can look when they're not singing and dancing and playing with the kids."

Bell is still hopeful that Jeremy is just overreacting, and that he's gotten frightened by the uncanny nature of robots left to their own devices. On the off-chance that that's not the case, however...

"Let's grab some spare batteries from the back, too." There aren't enough to be a reliable boost every night, but hopefully a little extra flashlight power will help the two of them get through this shift if things are really as bad as Jeremy claims.

They'll prep, they'll eat, and then... they should be good to go. Fitzgerald still doesn't seem too confident about the night ahead, however, and Steven wracks his brain for something else to do or say to get the kid to relax.

"Y'know, this might be a good opportunity to get to know you better, Jeremy! We haven't gotten a chance to work a full shift together yet. Why don't you, uh, tell me more about yourself as we get everything set up?"

It's a ham-fisted attempt at getting Fitzgerald's mind off of everything that might go wrong tonight, but it's the best Steven can come up with; the alternative is an awkward silence, and he's pretty sure neither of them would appreciate that.

[To Jeremy's surprise, Bell actually acknowledged the possibility that the animatronics had recognized him and treated him with hostility; then again, that might have been the most plausible part of his worries. From what he could recall, their facial recognition software tapped into a criminal database, so maybe they thought he was somebody dangerous...? Maybe there was a huge glitch in all of their systems causing them to recognize any adult as a "threat." The idea was almost comforting, if only because there was some rationality behind it.]

[Maybe it was all in his head, after all.]

[Though...it felt unusual for the animatronics to react with killer instinct instead of just alerting staff, in either case. Jeremy hadn't really been filled in on the protocol for when the animatronics identified criminals ( that was presumably part of the day staff's job ), but it didn't seem plausible for them to be programmed to kill or express anger. As ridiculous as it was, Jeremy would stand his ground on the whole "they wanted to hurt me" angle...unless tonight's shift proved him wrong.]

[Just as quickly as Bell expressed his worry, he returned to his usual demeanor, forcing a smile and assuring Jeremy that everything was fine. Bell was a higher-up, but maybe he wasn't high enough to escape from the company's thumb...either that, or he also wanted to believe in a best-case scenario. Jeremy wasn't sure how to feel about either scenario.]

❝ S-Sure thing, Mr. Bell. I'm sure they'll act up again tonight. ❞ [Ugh. He'd have an extra hand on deck, one who would presumably offer some support, but a pit formed in his stomach anyway. This could always go horribly wrong, especially if the animatronics continued to get more and more aggressive.] ❝ You did say you had an extra Freddy head, right? Y-You're gonna need it. ❞

[Jeremy smiled weakly as Bell laughed; he might have been less high-strung if his shifts hadn't been as horrific and life-threatening as they were, but alas. He could at least try to enjoy what time he had left -- before his shift, that is.]

[Bell reassured him that everything would be okay, resting a hand on his shoulder; Jeremy relaxed ever so slightly, his smile becoming a bit less strained. When Bell said that, Jeremy really, really wanted it to be true.]

❝ Thank you, sir. ❞

[Jeremy awkwardly rubbed the back of his head as Bell tried to encourage some self-care -- that was definitely something Jeremy could benefit from, but he wasn't sure he could eat or relax until his shift was over. On top of being restless, he may or may not have been ignoring his appetite. Could he really help it when his stomach felt ready to expunge itself at any given moment?]

❝ Honestly? I-I think I need everything to be set up before I can even think about eating... ❞ [Only when he felt safe and/or prepared would his stomach ease up on him. Since another person would be tagging along ( a higher-up, at that ), he worried he might have to take on even more responsibility to make sure nothing went wrong. Bell was the one to leave all of those instructions, sure, but he probably hadn't done any of it himself. The animatronics had gotten worse and worse each night, so if either of them even hesitated to hide their face or flash that light...]

[Jeremy shuddered.] ❝ Um...have you ever been on the night shift, sir? ❞

[feralreason]

*    ★     ˎˊ˗    ❝ 𝗛𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗣𝗛𝗔𝗡 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸. 𝙃𝙀 𝘼𝙇𝙒𝘼𝙔𝙎 𝘿𝙄𝘿, 𝘼𝙁𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝘼𝙇𝙇. ❞

indie ˎ private ˎ﹠ highly selective 18+ only portrayal of DAVE MILLER  //  WILLIAM AFTON from the FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S fangame trilogy ˎ DAYSHIFT AT FREDDY'S.   Canon divergent  (  especially regarding FNAF  ) ﹠  headcanon based. Heavily DSAF 3﹠ lore focused . Hired for the dayshift by Willow ! (  est. Jan 25, 2022 .  ) Minors ˎ please don't interact. Non RP blogs welcome; you can stay for the memes and art and fandom things, just don't touch my rp stuff. Affiliated with: @1-800-scaryphone / @curseofbreadbear / their other blogs. @jackokinnies is my official government-certified old sport !                                  Other stuff under the cut !

Other blogs: @flaggedred, @voidedjoy, @ncrmality, @radiosent, @remnantcore, @gocdluck

[CARRD] [ ART COMMISSIONS ] [ PLAY DSAF | PLAY DIALTOWN ] [ PROMO ]

[feralreason]

𝟹-𝟻 𝚂𝙾𝙽𝙶𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝚁𝙴𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙳 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙾𝙵 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙼𝚄𝚂𝙴.

001. " So, with advice of the dead, And a halo over my head / At last, "Honey, I'm home!", Three voices come all alone / A vivisection of me, Done by God, for all to see / Say "Hello! Honey, I'm home!" / Three voices come all alone "

002. " I swear I will die trying / I'm still in the process, but I'm making progress / I promise I honestly wanna prove improvement's possible / I swear I'm so fucking sorry / I'm not a good person, I'm barely a person at all / But someday I'll be perfect, and I'll make up for it all "

003. " Each day's a lesson / My sanity has lessen / Today's His day / But I'm afraid... / A mess, a mess / I'm in distress / But I am not like the rest, since... / Father knows best "

004. “ It's not that complicated / No matter what they say / You'll never meet another me / It's not that difficult / To get your head around / You'll never meet another me / You'll never, never, ever, never, ever meet another me ”

005. “ Tell me that it is, 'cause I'm tired of being useless / I've been up for three days, everything is haunted / Everybody's evil and there's bugs inside the carpet / Do you think I'm frightening? / Organ chords and lightning / If I show my fangs, will you tell me that they're cool? ”

(there are way more, but these are my top picks atm)

tagged by : no one I found it <3 tagging : @curseofbreadbear, @last-loose-end, @animatronicabundance, @glambytes + you (say that I did if you're not listed and tag me!) wow look I tagged ppl this time

[feralreason]

@curseofbreadbear showed me the spin off game which I had zero idea about and...

(spoilers ahoy, obviously)

I cannot stop thinking about these quotes:

"You have no idea how much I've missed you. How much we've missed you. We're a family, Old Sport...I thought you had abandoned us...you have no idea how lonely these last few years have been, Old Sport."

"Old Sport! Oh how I've missed you! You came back! You always come back! Have you come back for me? Have you come back for old Davey? I knew it! I just knew that you really loved me!"

Why is he so (openly) frantic and (forwardly) obsessive? Why does he speak using "us" and "we"?

(My theory is the "us/we" is because he's talking about Henry. Why? IDK, man's obviously unwell).

Also the whole "I'm going to come find you" thing from this game + DSAF 3-- when we switch to Dave's POV in this game, one of the first things he tells himself is "I have to find him".

Considering that Henry ditched William and that we have zero idea how he took it, and what they did did about it.... plus you know...... the whole "Oh you came back that's proof that you love me!" thing

This all sure is......... interesting.

[in-its-code]

How sweet. How suffocatingly sentimental.

Blackrabbit lowers her head as she listens to him.

"This is your fault," Bun begins after a beat, because it was true, no two ways about it. Bun may have been foolish and cruel with the prank, but nothing could have warranted the death bun had at his hands. "but..."

"I believe a thanks is in order." She lifts her head up and smiles, taking his trembling hand into her own.

"For all my life, all I had ever wanted was to be like you. Intelligent. Successful. Kind." There's a genuine admiration behind her words, but her expression quickly sours.

"But now I realize, I could never be you," Bun continues. Bun's gaze becomes distant, and bun tilts bun's head to look out the window. "I could never be as smart, as successful, or ever half as kind."

"I only got your worst traits. I was too much of a coward to ever see my research to it's fruition, too scared to leap into the abyss." She says bitterly, but then her expression lights up with a horrible glee.

"But you've fulfilled it for me." She sounds almost giddy when she meets his eyes again. "You've tested the hypothesis, and now- I'm here. A ghost. More than mortal." A flash of the girl she once was, but twice as bright.

"And being dead... Well," Bun gives a little laugh, like bun remembered something funny. "It really isn't as bad as people have made it out to be."

"So thank you for killing your daughter, Fritz Glade." Her voice is almost gentle. Without him, she never would have discovered the wonders of being dead.

It seems only right to return the favor.

Her grip on his hand tightens and she lunges at him. Her free hand goes for his throat, trying to pin him to the desk.

[Although Fritz hadn't anticipated any positive reception from bun, he...hadn't accounted for this. Her tone was so callous that it stunned him. Still, as much as it stung to think about, bun had every right to be angry with him. He would be considerably worried if he entered this conversation with an apology alone, and every wound from her death healed over in an instant.]

[Right...okay. Taking a breath, he mulled over her question; what was he doing here? He figured that it would have been obvious, especially with what he'd recently programmed Popgoes and the gang to do...if anybody would understand, it would be bun. Before she'd died, she'd devoted herself to studies of the paranormal. Fritz might have perused some of her research and taken what he knew from Freddy's to figure out a way for them to communicate...]

[...And it had worked. That alone left him with a bundle of questions, but he had to focus here. This was about Bonnie -- a reunion he'd devised. A chance to make amends, somehow, even if that would require his death. Anything to apologize to her, to speak with her again, and for her spirit to be at peace.]

❝ ...I wanted to see you again. ❞ [Fritz spoke shakily; he wasn't blind to the danger of this situation, after all, and Bonnie already seemed aggravated.] ❝ I missed you, kid. I-I tried about everything I could think of -- in the end, your research is what helped me find you again. ❞

[Really, if Bonnie hadn't been as fascinated by the supernatural as she was -- and if Fritz hadn't already been digging into Freddy's past because of his brother -- then this might have been a lost cause, and Fritz might never have been able to contact his daughter again. He was relieved to find that the opposite was true, even if there was clearly venom behind the Blackrabbit's words and actions thus far.]

[Once more, bun spoke up; bun's accusatory, unforgiving tone didn't do much to reassure him, but he had to hold onto some sort of hope here. Bun was standing right in front of him. He was communicating with bun, successfully. Perhaps these weren't ideal circumstances, but he'd been working towards this for so long. Unlike everything else in his life, he couldn't give up here. He desperately wanted to fix things, but even he realized that might be a lost cause -- so the best he could do was be present for her and reassure her.]

❝ I know I can't...fix things. Not this time, not the way I'd like to. But -- you're here, and it's...it's my fault. It's all my fault. So if I can help -- if there's anything I can do -- I need you to tell me. Okay, kid? ❞

[Bun stepped closer, and fighting against every instinct in his body telling him to RUN, he held out a trembling hand -- a sign that he wanted to help. No matter how scared he was, he was here for his daughter.]

[feralreason]

Whoops! @curseofbreadbear inspired me to fully spoopyfy my blog..............

(the background is the FN.AF 3 office btw, if you were curious but couldn't tell).

watch me update my desktop theme's bg too Update. Yeah I did.

[mute-call]

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, that's fine. Thank you, Jeremy."

The corner of his mouth twitches up in a slight smile as the other guard corrects himself. Wherever they've settled in terms of professional distance, this is much better than before.

"No, it's okay! I want to be here. I don't really have anything better to do, heh. ...not--not that I wouldn't stay if I did have plans, I didn't mean it like that! I'm just saying that you're the priority right now."

There have to be records. Maybe that's how Bell can spend his forced vacation--researching the other Fitzgerald and his history with the company. Steven should have access to everything he needs, after all, unless this is some sort of cover-up that goes further up the chain of command than the location manager.

Oh? It seems that Steve's a little more excited about this potential avenue of investigation than Jeremy is. He doesn't entirely understand why. Wouldn't Fitzgerald want to know if someone is after his brother? He had been so interested in figuring all of this out just a moment ago.

Maybe it's just too much, too soon; it is a lot to take in, the thought that this terrible accident might not have been an accident after all.

"Okay, no, uh... no problem." Steven will figure this out on his own. ...that, or this will all turn out to be another dead end. Maybe it's best not to involve Jeremy too much anyway before he knows for sure.

"What do you want to talk about?"

Steven picks at his nails, his gaze drifting awkwardly away from the other man again. It's not that he can't make chit-chat and socialize--he has to do so every day when he works with patrons--but it certainly doesn't come easily to him, especially not in a situation like this one. If nothing else, at least coming today has reassured him that Jeremy doesn't seem to blame him too severely.

Maybe that will be enough to ward off any guilt-driven nightmares Steven might start to have now that the incident has burned itself into his mind.

[Steven seemed just as bewildered as Jeremy, even though he'd been the one to suggest using a different name…which really wasn't helpful. If it wasn't "sir," Jeremy's next choice would be "Mr. Bell," but that sounded just as formal ( if not moreso? ) as "sir." Steven himself insisted that he no longer wanted the respect that an employee would show to an employer, so...first names, then?? Maybe he should just ask; overthinking this would only hurt him.]

❝ ...Is "Steven" okay? ❞ [Ignoring the fact that Jeremy would have a rough time sticking to his former boss' first name, that was probably the more "comfortable" option.]

[Jeremy ( slowly ) nodded as Steven expressed his concern -- it felt silly that he'd been dazed by something as simple as shaking his head, but...maybe that was part of losing part of your brain. Would it always be so debilitating? Unfortunately, the answer was probably "yes" -- this impairment was probably permanent. What if he felt like this forever...? Maybe that was the real nightmare.]

[Even though the investigation clearly wasn't making much progress ( Steven had said so himself ), Jeremy was glad to hear that Steven would keep him in the loop. It worried him that there might never be an answer to why he'd nearly been killed, but...at least he'd know if there was one. He could try to hope for that much.]

❝ Thank you, sir -- um...S-Steven. ❞

[Steven offered some of his own encouragement, but it sounded almost...blank. Monotonous, like his mind was elsewhere. Still, the advice given felt more sound than anything else Steven had offered...Jeremy didn't think he'd ever find a way to look back on this positively, but some good might come out of it. Honestly, surviving something like this felt like a mixed bag. It was a miracle, but the impossibility of it made him feel vulnerable and uncertain. Simon had suddenly showed a modicum of care, but Jeremy really wasn't sure it'd last. He was kind of scared to think about the future while living with a disability like this.]

[At least Steven promised to stay -- though when he sneaked a glance at his watch, Jeremy felt a bit guilty. Maybe Steven had other things to do. Jeremy didn't really know much about his life outside of Freddy's, after all...]

❝ I, uh...I-I'm sorry. I sh-shouldn't have asked. You're probably busy...um...f-forget it. ❞

[Jeremy gulped at Steven's next line of questions, none of which were the ones he expected after a twin reveal. Worse yet, it seemed like his former boss might have connected the same dots as him -- his twin was working there, near-identical to Jeremy. Maybe, in reality, the robots were mad at Simon. Jeremy didn't know why, nor did he really want to, but the idea that it might have been Simon's fault made him uneasy. He didn't really want to explore the possibility.]

❝ H-He, um...h-he worked the day shift...I'm not entirely sure wh-what he did, or how he left. ❞ [Jeremy hadn't even known that Simon left his job. Maybe that was why they'd never seen each other during the day. Why would Simon have quit, though? Jeremy didn't really know how his twin felt about his job, but he'd thought it was a sign that they had at least one thing in common: Freddy's. Maybe he'd been wrong.]

[Steven confirmed that his suspicions were the same as Jeremy's -- they were twins, easily mistaken for one another, so Simon might have been the real target. That knowledge made Jeremy extremely uncomfortable; what could Simon have done to encourage the animatronics to do...that? Would a disgruntled technician really resort to something like that if Simon hadn't left on good terms? Jeremy couldn't personally see it, but...he also didn't want to.]

❝ I...I don't know. I-I'm sorry. ❞ [Jeremy really didn't want to pursue this line of questioning, but he couldn't quite figure out how to end it. He shut his eyes for a moment, hoping that taking a moment to process would help him regain some sort of coherence. After taking a moment to breathe, Jeremy spoke bluntly.] ❝ I don't want to talk about this anymore. ❞

[Steven had backed down for now, but Jeremy could tell that this conversation might come back to bite him in the ass. Would Simon be upset with him over it? If there was some sort of investigation and Simon got involved...]

[He didn't want to think about it.]

[mute-call]

"What do I--?" What kind of a question is that? Are they close enough to be on a first-name basis? Does Jeremy expect permission to use nicknames? This feels like a loaded question, even though Steven's the one who brought up the topic in the first place.

"Anything but 'sir' is fine, really. I just don't want you to feel like you have to show me any special respect, or like we're still at work. So whatever's, uh... most comfortable to you, that'd be fine."

Maybe it would be nice to be called "Steve" or "Steven," though. Maybe they could settle into something less official, something more like friends. Does he want that? Does Jeremy want that? Is there anything actually left to their relationship when one removes the common factor of Fazbear Entertainment?

"Hey, easy there," Steven says uselessly, but with genuine concern. He can see how disoriented Fitzgerald looks after that small shake of his head. "Try not to push yourself too hard, okay? You've got time. I'm not going anywhere."

The likelihood of them discovering anything further about the malfunctions is next to nothing. The current theory is that someone's been actively corrupting the poor robots' files--probably the same individual who's been sneaking around and making use of the spare suit in the back. It doesn't explain why the technicians haven't been able to isolate the problem, but Steven has his suspicions that whoever's behind the errors is just a little more skilled at manipulating coding and machinery than the engineers they have on staff right now. That's the only thing that makes any sense.

"Sure, Jeremy. Just don't get your hopes up; we've been hitting dead end after dead end."

Twins? Huh.

...huh.

The gears begin to turn in Bell's mind, slow but steady.

"Sometimes stuff like this can turn out for the best. I just mean that... there's nothing like a near-death experience to, um, remind you of what's important in life, right? Maybe your brother just needed a little nudge to reconnect."

There's an absentminded quality to Steven's voice as he speaks; he's still preoccupied with the new revelation that there was, at one point, a different employee at Fazbear's who presumably looked remarkably similar to Jeremy. This feels like a significant clue. Did the engineers know this when they were doing their investigation? Did the authorities? Have the potential implications of this newfound information crossed Jeremy's mind at all?

"I--of course I'll stay." He's surprised by how adamant Fitzgerald is. Bell sneaks a glance at his watch; he hadn't actually planned to stay for very long, but it's not like he has much else to do while Freddy's is closed down, and if this is what the kid wants, then Steven can't very well say no.

Besides, he has a few questions:

"What kind of work did your brother do? When he was with the company. Did he, uh, leave on good terms, do you know?"

It's obvious that Steven's leading up to something. He should probably just come out with it.

"I only ask because... you know, if you're twins, and the animatronics seemed to respond the worst when they were looking at you... this might sound crazy, but is it possible that someone thought you were your brother? Maybe one of our technicians, if the two of them had some sort of, uh, animosity?"

He hadn't considered before that maybe the reason none of the engineers have found anything is because they're covering up for one of their own.

"That's probably not--forget I said anything." Still... this would explain a lot.

Muted excitement bubbles in Steven's chest. He might not have been able to prevent this disaster, but surely he'll be alleviated of some of his guilt if he can help solve it. And who knows? Maybe whoever did this will go after Jeremy's brother again. Maybe, together, Bell and Fitzgerald can save someone else from suffering the same gruesome fate.

[Bell Steven was quick to reject Jeremy's formalities -- at this point, knowing that the pizzeria had closed, referring to Steven as "sir" or "Mr. Bell" was a force of habit. For as long as Jeremy had known him, Steven had been one of his bosses; it was a bit rough trying to adjust.]

❝ Right. G-Got it. ❞ [Jeremy swallowed, ignoring his instinct to scratch at the back of his head ( God forbid ).] ❝ This...might be a silly question, but what do you want me to call you? ❞ [Probably "Steven," but he didn't want to make assumptions.]

[According to Steven, showing up was the least he could do. It was more than that, though -- from day one, Steven had been trying to stick up for him in ways he'd never seen another Fazbear employee do. Sure, he was a manager, but managers didn't often take on an underling's job because their life was in danger they were scared. Not only that, Steven had bothered to show up...he'd even pulled up a chair and tried to make conversation, saving Jeremy ( again ) from his thoughts.]

[Jeremy didn't fully understand why his former boss would go to all of those lengths, moreso because he didn't blame the man for anything he'd gone through. Maybe Steven just...cared. In a corporate world, that was pretty rare.]

[Right -- it wasn't about him. If they wanted to reopen ( Jeremy shuddered at the thought ), they would need to make sure the animatronics were safe. Part of that was figuring out why they'd targeted Jeremy, but even after digging into their software, they were drawing a blank. Had he done something without even realizing? Or was it possible that...]

[He shook his head, willing away the idea -- he instantly regretted it, a newfound dizziness overwhelming him. It felt, unrealistically, like his brain was a puddle of mush slushing around in his skull. For a good minute, he could barely see through the distortion in his vision. Note to self: never do that again.]

❝ M...Makes sense. ❞ [Jeremy finally replied, wishing he could hold his spinning head in one of his hands without feeling queasy about it.] ❝ I-If...if you figure out what happened, would you tell me? ❞ [He knew for a fact that he'd never recover if he was left to imagine the possibilities.]

[Surprisingly, Steven hadn't seen his brother at Freddy's...but now that he thought about it, he'd also never heard a single comment from Steven about how they "looked so alike," nor a single question about why there were two Fitzgeralds on his roster. Weird.]

❝ S-Same as me. We're, uh, twins. ❞ [Jeremy shrugged, inviting himself to an inevitable barrage of questions about his brother. At least those were better than listening to his head right now.]

[Steven smiled at him ( AT him, not just in his general direction ), now inquiring about his bond with his brother. Jeremy gave a weak smile of his own, then stared down at his stiff, oppressive bed sheets. Spying a few stray specks of lint, he started to absentmindedly pick at them.]

[Simon had been his best friend when they were younger. At some point, though...his brother changed. Or maybe they'd both "grown up?" Whatever the case, Simon had started to distance himself from Jeremy, a pattern that had continued well into their days of working at Freddy's. Not once did Jeremy see Simon while he was at work, even when he was finally switched to the day shift, almost like Simon had intentionally been avoiding him. He'd honestly been worried that he'd done something to upset or hurt him somehow, but...]

[Seeing Simon today was...reassuring. It was a sign that his brother did care, in his own way. Maybe Jeremy had jumped to conclusions.]

❝ Kinda. We were close when we were kids, b-but now...uh... ❞ [Jeremy stumbled, trying to put his words together.] ❝ Now he likes to do h-his own thing. Before...this happened, we barely s-said two words to each other. It's...I was...I-I'm happy he does care. ❞

[Steven rambled ( again ) about potential future guests, but also how meaningful that family visit was, and a fretful batch of reasons to hint at why Jeremy wasn't "popular" today. Technically, Steven was right -- Jeremy was in pain, and he'd been encouraged to sleep as part of his recovery -- but he didn't think he could rest right now. He wanted to conk right out and have a peaceful nap for once in his life, but he knew how sleeping would pan out...more nightmares. Maybe even one that'd trap him all over again.]

❝ Please don't leave. ❞ [Jeremy quietly begged; he needed company right now. He couldn't be alone.] ❝ S-Sorry, I...I just...I don't want to be alone right now. ❞