#But the *second* evan has his back turned plush mike and william are glaring and making nonverbal death

[and-stir-the-stars]

hello i am reading dire consequence on ao3 and i have a silly little question

does mike come back as a ghost and does he get to have more evan bonding moments <3 i love their relationship

oh my gob if that happened imagine peepaw comin in the resturant too and then he finds! both he kids! and is like "hell yeah easy peasy" but uh :D so its like willy consequences but mike is there too and he is sad :D

ooo, cool! Really glad that you and others enjoy the ao3 series; I was a bit nervous about posting it onto ao3 because it's such a hyperspecific au, yk?

In my and @dire-kumori's tumblr posts about the au, Mike does come back as a ghost. His little brother is still traumatized, hurt, and alone, meaning Mike still has a lot of unfinished business attaching his soul to the earthly realm. However, Michael is also extremely traumatized and terrified of Evan after what Evan (unknowingly) did, so he keeps his presence a secret from Evan.

In an attempt to be there for Evan but have Mike also trying to keep himself safe, Dire came up with the idea of Mike possessing a plushie inside the Freddy's location because he thinks Evan doesn't really need a "brother" so much as he wants a "toy" to play with. (link to my rb of that post). This is a really fun plotline and I don't see myself changing it for the ao3 stories of the au, so you can safely assume that that's how I'll write Mike's ghost if I ever write a Dire Consequences post-death scene.

Evan doesn't actually realize that the talking plush is Michael, but to Mike's horror, Evan likes to *pretend* that the plush is Michael because he misses his big brother so much. Evan's having a hard time coping with the belief that Michael's ghost didn't come back, meaning his big brother chose to abandon him. Plush Mike tries getting Evan to just play games and forget that the big brother who abandoned him even exists because "your brother was awful and mean and isn't worth missing," but Evan is overcome with a little bit of guilt (he doesn't understand *how* he is responsible for Mike's death since he doesn't understand things like hunger or blood loss, but feels like he is responsible for hurting mike somehow and for making Mike choose to leave) and is overcome by a whole lot of grief.

I'm not sure you can consider any of that "brotherly bonding" though, lmao. But Mike tries his best to make Evan feel safe and cared for, and maybe through conversation, Mike starts seeing WHY Evan cares for his big brother so much beyond just "he's my brother" as the reason why. Maybe Mike gets a glimpse at himself through Evan's eyes, and the person he sees there isn't all that bad. Evan must have looked up to and loved Mike for a reason while Ev was still alive, even if Mike eventually turned from "grumpy and rough-around the edges but still kind older brother" to "blatantly cruel."

And to address your last paragraph: I hadn't put any thought to where William would be in this version of Dire Consequences, but the idea of William entering the location after Michael's death is so friggin cool??

Dire sent me an ask once and I responded by saying that maybe Plush Mike tries giving Evan "human lessons" and teaching Ev things what will and won't hurt humans, so that what happened to Mike will never happen to anyone else who should happen to stumble into the building (or to himself, should Mike ever choose to leave the plushie). Now I'm thinking about Plush Mike putting all this time and effort into teaching Evan what things will and won't hurt people and why he shouldn't want to hurt people, then William enters the location and Mike is like. "Hey Ev. Remember everything we've been talking about? yeah I'm gonna need you to forget all that just this once while we go play a game with Father, okay?"

Tho, I imagine Mike would be horrified and would want to keep Evan as far away from William as possible. Unfortunately for him, maybe Evan doesn't know about William's murders/isn't terrified of William from how William abused his kids, and Evan leaps at the chance to have his father back just like he wanted Mike back.

I'm also thinking about the absolute drama that would occur from William exposing Plush Mike's identity to Evan.

Evan didn't put the pieces together about this random plushie coming to life after Mike died, but William absolutely would. William might use the confusion, hurt, and betrayal Evan feels upon realizing Mike lied to him for so long to try manipulating Evan into doing what he wants.

Or, he could threaten Mike; Mike has some level of control over Evan now, so William could easily tell Mike "I will tell Evan what you are if you don't get him to comply with my wishes." That way he would have both Mike AND Evan under his control.

Gosh, how would William even respond when he walks into this location and finds Evan's ghost and Mike's corpse? If Evan told William what happened or if William put the pieces together himself, would Will immediately decide Evan can't be controlled and try getting himself out rather than risk his life? Although, Evan might not let him go. it depends on how scared of William Ev is from William's abuse when he was alive.

Would Michael try killing William before he can hurt Evan, or anyone else? Or would Mike be too afraid that William's soul wouldn't move on; would Mike be afraid of trapping William's ghost with them forever? Or would he not think about that until it's too late?

You have given me so much to think about, bestie; this is lovely