#is the day that Roxy accidentally calls him 'dad'.

[smittenbyvillains]

Hi! Could you do the Wizards of the black circle meeting and falling in love whit someone who has a really strong magic ability, and learned magic at hogwarts? They use a wand for spells and stuff. Their also kind of silly and unhinged, like they use the unforgivable curses, like avada kadabra(I think thats what its called) on a regular basics. They killed a lot of people, mostly on accident. They tend to accidentally use spells when explaining things as they move their hands a lot accidentally pointing at things and people. If you seen "Its a me, Silvia"s "If I was at hogwarts" videos on tictok, then their basically like that.

They dont really care for the winx they just kinda hangs around them. Nor do they really care that the wizards are villains or dangerous, they talk to them like if they were regular people. Unlike the winx who gets ready to fight them they just continue doing what they were doing unless they're attacked or dissrupted.

Sorry If its a bit long, and you absolutly dont have to do it if you dont want to.

I love this request <:

You were glad to be out of Hogwarts. You didn't like your classmates much besides Draco. You were sad to leave him but you had to against your will. You had done a few questionable things that were close to going to Azazban. After completing your schooling you were on the platform and grinned at Draco.

"Have fun without me but not too much my ferret Boy!" You exclaimed with a laugh kissing his cheek. He rolled his eyes.

"I'll miss your crazy ass for sure." He said sighing. You skipped away accidentally throwing a few spells since your emotions were high. You giggled to yourself. You ended up going to Gardenia.

You were laughing to yourself. You were wearing a black skirt and green tank top and high boots with your wand safely hidden in them. You were just walking when a car almost hit you. You had wide eyes.

"Watch it muggles!" you snarled rolling your eyes. The wizards turned to you. You weren't fazed? You skipped away again walking to yourself. You ended up working at the fruity music bar. Not many liked you. Only a few. You noticed the group of girls always coming by talking with the owner's daughter. Surprisingly you got along with Roxy. She was different from anyone else here. Your ears perked up hearing Roxy upset. You went over.

"Are they bothering you Rox?" You asked tilting your head and looking at them with a glare. Roxy didn't get time to speak. A girl with blonde hair spoke.

"Roxy is friends with you? You don't even have good fashion sense." She said. You raised an eyebrow.

"You don't have the space to judge me." You said smirking. The girl looked shocked. The girls were quite shocked by how you were acting. "Rox, come help me with getting a few things down your dad forgot how short I am." You scoffed. Roxy nodded and smiled.

"Of course Yu." She said. You just grinned and laughed skipping away to that side again. You had no idea that the wizards were watching you from afar. They could tell you were something. You weren't from around here.

You muttered to yourself about the perky girls. You accidentally caused Stella's chair to pull out and you heard a whine.

"Who did that!?" Stella said. "My skirt is dirty!" She said. It reminded you of a few nasty purebloods. You looked at them and snickered. Stella looked at you. "It was you!" she said pointing at you. You laughed.

"Me? How could I? I am over here!" You said. "Maybe you are just clumsy." You said. That girl huffed.

A few days later Rox convinced you to apologize against your will. You walked with her and were talking about the ferret boy without mentioning the magic parts. No one knew about magic here. Figures as they were muggles. You reached the group of girls.

"Why is she here?" The blonde said. You rolled your eyes.

"Because I can't go against Roxy asking me to say sorry. So I'm sorry for being a bitch to you." You said crossing your arms. You watched Stella's hair turn green. You tried to keep a straight face and just giggled. The other girls were confused but Roxy who watched as well shocked.

"Stella your hair!" Roxy said.

"WHAT!!" Stella exclaimed as her hair was green now. You just giggled. "you witch!" She said straight at your face.

"I already know I am one." You grinned. They were shocked. "I wouldn't mess with me. I can do much worse." You said casually.

"You have magic?!" They all exclaimed. You looked bored. You had accidentally done a few of the unforgivable in front of them after this and different spells.

"Duh," You said. You laughed a bit before skipping off. What you didn't see was the wizards in hiding watching you. You decided to be nice and fix Stella's hair. From that day forward Roxy had to hang around them. You didn't want to but you knew something was up with them and wanted to see what it was. Soon you found out they were fairies. You just laughed and held your stomach.

Over the next few days, you started to talk to the wizards as they blended in. You enjoyed the attention. One day the Winx figured out who they were as you talked to them as they were blending in. You were confused when Bloom started to yell at the boys talking to you.

"Why are you yelling at them?" You said annoyed.

"There they are girls. Step away from them Y/N." Musa said. You frowned.

"Who are they exactly." You said.

"the wizards we are after," Stella said and the girls transformed. You just rolled your eyes and walked away. After that, you still talked to them as their normal selves. The girls were not pleased but you clearly were unstoppable. You were close to the wizards and they started to really like you. They wondered why you avoided anything violent even though it seemed to always be around you.

"Hello, little witch," Ogron said smirking. "Would you like to go somewhere with us today?" He asked you. You were about to say yes when you saw your best friend enter. You gasped and ran to him and hugged him. You missed Ogrons jealous face watching you embrace the young boy.

"Ferret!" You said grinning and laughing. He hugged you back.

"I wanted to stop by and see if you caused any trouble," Draco said.

"Of course I have!" You laughed and dragged Draco's hand to meet Ogron and his gang. "Meet the wizards of the black circle." They introduced themselves to Draco and Draco introduced himself as your best friend. You chatted with Draco for a while as the Wizards watched and muttered to each other. They did not like how close you were to that boy.

Draco left a little later to go to his work in the ministry. You ended up saying yes to Ogron. You were an insane mess the whole time. They felt like it was a date but you hadn't realized. Over time you realized you really liked them.

"Will you be our girlfriend," Gantlos said and you grinned giggling nodding.

"Of course, I will!" You said each gave them a kiss. They had fallen for you first then you fell for them.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Moon Rocks

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: Jason accidentally reunites his mother with an old friend after being caught shoplifting.

Chapters: 10/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Catherine Todd, Natalia Knight

Relationship(s): Natalia Knight/Catherine Todd

Additional Tags: No Capes AU, No Powers AU, Angst and Fluff, Old Flames, Romance

Chapter Ten: Mathematics

Catherine wrung her hands. "I know he means well, but I haven't seen my brother in sixteen years," said Catherine as she paced back and forth. Roxie took Catherine by her shoulders. "I know, I'm spiraling... Sorry." Catherine took a few deep breaths with Roxie, and Roxie smiled.

"Don't you want to see your brother? I mean, I get you wouldn't want him to see you here, but at least you're not high," Roxie joked as she playfully punched Catherine in the shoulder. "I'd give anything to see my sister now... What's your brother like anyway?"

"Eddie's a goof... In a good way, or at least he was... It's been so long," Catherine whispered, "Do you think I should see him?"

"At the end of the day, it's up to you. I'd see him if I were you," Roxie replied as she did her makeup in the mirror. "But I'm just a sucker for a dramatic family reunion... And maybe you'll set me up on a date with him once this is all over."

Catherine shook her head. "He's way too old for you. Trust me. He was like fourteen when I was born," Catherine laughed. Roxie turned around and widened her eyes. "Yeah, I know. People used to think he was my dad."

Roxie let her hair down and turned around to look at Catherine. "Now that the crisis is over, you should probably call your girlfriend and tell her you'd like to see your brother," Roxie replied.

"Why does everyone think that we're dating?" Catherine asked.

"Starting with the obvious sexual tension? Hm, I dunno," Sarah teased as she entered the room.

"We do not have—." Catherine pushed a hand through her hair. "I'm working on one thing at a time. Besides, I should work on being the best mom I can be for a while." Catherine plopped down on her bed.

"Are you excited to get out of here for the weekend?" Roxie asked. Catherine shrugged.

Silence fell over the room while Catherine contemplated her answer. "It'll be nice to make Jason's breakfast and help him with his homework. I want to show him that I can do the little thing... I want to show him that he doesn't have to make things easy anymore," Catherine sighed, "But I feel like I'll ruin his weekend somehow."

Roxie lay on her stomach next to Catherine and kicked her feet in the air. "Positive thoughts, Catherine," Roxie tapped her nose. "But you should call Nat and tell her it's okay to bring your brother... Besides, I wanna see him."

"Roxie, you're a mess," Catherine laughed as she got up and went to the phones. She dialed Natalia's number and waited for an answer.

"Hi, Kitty. What's the matter?" Natalia asked. Catherine could hear Jason laughing in the background, setting her at ease.

"Is my brother still in town? 'Cause if he is, tell him I'd like to see him when you guys pick me up," Catherine replied.

"I'll tell him. What—?"

"What're they doing?" Catherine asked. Her voice was soft and distant.

"Eddie's bench-pressing Jason," Natalia described. Catherine covered her smile. She knew that Natalia wanted to laugh too. "I don't think Jason's gonna want him to go."

"Ed's got that effect on people," Catherine whispered, "Well, I've gotta go get ready." She lingered a moment until she heard her brother's voice.

She hung up the phone, returned to her room, and changed into the sweater Jason got for her. She packed her bag and lay on the bed, working on her journal. Roxie still lay on Catherine's bed, reading a book. "I'm gonna miss you when you leave, Mamas," Roxie whispered. Catherine turned to her and smiled sadly.

"Roxie, I'm not leaving for sure yet. I'm just going this weekend to see if I might be ready," Catherine whispered, "But if I do leave, I want you to know you're like the daughter I always wanted."

"Minus the underaged alcoholism?" Roxie joked. Catherine chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Stay out of trouble this weekend, okay?" Catherine brushed her knuckle against Roxie's chin.

For the next few hours, Catherine sat with Roxie, journaling and talking. Catherine dozed off. She woke up to Jason tapping her nose. "Mom? Mom, are you ready to go?" Jason asked. Catherine sat up and embraced him. "You're not mad at me?"

"No, Sweet Pea. I'm not mad at you," Catherine whispered as she got up and grabbed her bag. She took Jason's hand and walked toward the door. Eddie stood just outside the door, and she barely had time to breathe before he picked her up off the ground.

"Kit," Eddie grinned as he swung her around and put her back down. "I'm so proud of you."

"I'm in rehab, Eddie," Catherine replied, trying not to smile.

Eddie reached into his pocket and pulled a coin out of his wallet. He took her hand and placed it in her palm. "Ten years last December," Eddie smiled. "I've got so much to tell you, Kit."

Catherine stood still, and Eddie took her bag and scooped Jason up under his other arm. Jason laughed, and Natalia stuck with Catherine, holding her hand. "How's Jason?" Catherine asked.

"He's been distant with me the past two days. I think it's because he called me mom on accident—."

"Jason called you mom?" Catherine asked. She wanted to be upset, but she found herself smiling. "Sorry, I'd be upset if it was anyone else, but he told me he'd like to have you as a stepmom or a second mom."

"You're not mad?" Natalia questioned.

"No, and I'll talk to him so that it doesn't have to be weird anymore," Catherine whispered, "And Eddie?"

"He's perfect," Natalia replied, "Jason adores him." They got in the front seat and Jason and Eddie in the back.

Eddie buckled Jason's seatbelt. "You know what, Jay? How's about we barbecue for your mom and Miss Nat this weekend?" Eddie suggested.

"Sure, but I don't know how—."

"I'll show you. You're about the right age to learn," Eddie smiled, "Kit, do you still like ribs?"

"Eddie, you don't have to go through all this trouble," Catherine whispered.

"I just found out my baby sister's still alive, and I've got a nephew. I'd be crazy not to celebrate," Eddie grinned, "Besides, I wanna teach Jason something while I'm here."

"Okay... Yeah, that'd be fine," Catherine smiled before she turned to look at Jason. "Jason, do you have any homework this weekend?" Jason nodded.

"I'm almost done... But I need help with my math homework," Jason replied. Catherine covered her smile.

[madcatdaderpydrawer-blog]

I have just suddenly remembered my Kidclipse and Toddlunar AU, where Eclipse was a small child the entire time, and he designed Lunar and Bloodmoon to be toddlers so he would be the big brother. Kidclipse is basically 5, Toddlunar and Babyblood are basically 3.

Nobody realized he was a kid until the first time Sun went into the mindscape to talk face to face. And was confronted with a small child whose voice is so much squeakier without Sun’s voicebox filtering it. He came out of that spell panicking because that was not a scary villain, that was a traumatized child lashing out.

The months after that feature Kidclipse working through his fear of Sun and Moon, and his guilt about Babyblood (and July 16th) and Lunar (who’s birth went pretty similar to canon in that it freaked Sun out and messed up Moon’s head for a bit, causing Glamrock Freddy to be called in)

Kidclipse had a panic attack when Golden cast the suppression spell for the first time. He cried the whole time. And his voice was hoarser than usual when it finally wore off. Nobody really noticed, since that’s when they thought he was an evil adult.

He had another panic attack when Sun saw him in their mind, because he was freaking out about them knowing how small and weak he really is and scared they’d lock him away again. He got cuddles and affection out of it instead.

Priorities immediately shift from getting rid of Eclipse to getting this child his own body so they can actually raise him. Moon does most of the parenting until Kidclipse’s body is done.

Instead of the maternity chip, Kidclipse sabotaged Sun and Roxy’s relationship the old-fashioned way, with threats and bullying. He tied Roxy’s hair to pole once. He did it solely because he was sharing Sun’s body at the time and didn’t want her cooties.

Besides Roxy, he otherwise mostly acted like canon SaMS Eclipse until Sun saw him in their mind. He almost blew his cover several times though.

He still has Moon’s brains in his tiny child brain, so he still turns the barrels into deadly weapons. And doesn’t tell anyone. They fins out when Sun almost accidentally shoots a kid. Kidclipse and Gregory are great friends.

Kidclipse was grounded once for giving Gregory a disintegration gun. He’s also been grounded for installing swords in Babyblood.

Golden gives Kidclipse therapy when he babysits, because the entire family is too allergic to therapy tp actually book an appointment.

Toddlunar is the only one who acts like a normal child. Kidclipse is a snarky brat who likes to turn barrels into lasers and bombs, and Babyblood are the most violent and bloodthirsty toddlers anyone��s ever seen.

Glamrock Freddy was the second person to find out about Toddlunar. His sheer dad energy had Kidclipse confessing pretty quick, and apologizing for building a baby brother inside Moon’s head without permission.

Toddlunar just strolled up to Monty one day and declared them best friends, and Monty, under threat of Moon cutting them off from his bank account, had to go along with it instead of punting the toddler. Which quickly became “if anything happens to this child I’m destroying the world and then myself”.

July 16th still happened, but the twins are pint-sized, and mad about it once they realize they are not Sun-sized in the real world. Mass murder was so easy in Sun’s huge body, but the body they.manifested was tiny and can only kill rats. The new body was only a bit bigger, but much better for homicide purposes.

Monty get to babysit Babyblood during Daycare hours, because nobody trusts them near soft, fragile, tiny, blood-filled human children. Especially after Kidclipse gave them swords.

Kidclipse didn’t tell anyone about the Babyblood until October, because he was worried Sun and Moon would be mad at him. He made the mistake of telling Toddlunar, who spilled the beans by the end of the day.

KC, Moon, and Monty try to rediract Babyblood’s homicidal urges towards specifically assholes. It takes time because they are very small and need to learn how to take down adults for that.

When Killcode gains sentience, he immediately claims the four as his own, and has to coparent with Sun and Moon, his brothers.🦇

Oh right! I remember that. Reminds me of the one where they found out about lunar because eclipse panicked realizing his baby brother was alone in moons head and told moon so he wouldn’t mix him up with a virus or hurt him and because lunar was a baby and he needed to get in there to comfort the scared baby

[angelofrainfrogs]

Going Back: Ch. 14

~Coauthored by @zeitghest~

Fandom(s): Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: Things are looking up for Gregory. After putting the soul of a formerly-immortal killer to rest, he and his new family can finally begin their lives anew. Sure, Gregory might have been cursed with mysterious Remnant in exchange for being involved in this mess—not to mention his caretakers consist of sentient robots and ghosts… But there’s no doubt that the bond they share is unbreakable. They love him, and he in turn. 

All in all, life is finally starting to go right for once. 

…Unfortunately, true peace is a hard-won battle. There are other things to contend with besides William’s decrepit soul, and Gregory will learn that his role in the lives of the Aftons and Emilys is far greater than anyone could’ve imagined. 

Rating: T

Read on Ao3

Amazingly, Michael slept until the crack of 3 pm. He left the land of sleep in a daze, barely registering he was awake at first. Rolling onto his back, he stretched his arms out and accidentally smacked Charlie’s face with the back of his hand in the process. It was her retaliating punch to his ribs that fully brought Michael to reality and with a mumbled apology he got out of bed, rubbing his side like it was now a bruised as he meandered to the shower. Clean and refreshed a short while later, Mike headed off to the Pizzaplex. Thankfully he didn’t need to eat and was therefore able to head straight to Sam for an update on the day and to see what was on the docket for tonight’s tasks.

Meanwhile, Gregory stirred a few minutes after Michael left the hotel room. Freddy had been dozing, getting more used to the concept of sleep as time went on, although he immediately perked up when the boy next to him began shifting.

“Good morning, Gregory,” Freddy said, pressing a quick kiss to his son’s forehead. Amazingly, the hoodie was mostly still on, having shifted only slightly during Gregory’s deep slumber. Bleary silver eyes peered up at Freddy from underneath the set of bear ears, making the ursine man’s heart absolutely melt. 

Charlie was lucky Sam didn’t want her in “officially” to work until Monday. That’s when she was supposed to be settled to help Sam out; invoices and directing his calls sounded fairly easy when it came to her more logic oriented brain. For today, Charlie was content to sleep with her now-bruised cheek facing the ceiling.

Gregory had been mindful of Charlie’s slumber in the bed next to them as he quietly greeted Freddy. “Morning, Dad…”

A fast smile returned to his face. He was the luckiest kid—not just statistically. Today he felt good. With no hide nor hair of his foster parents around, Gregory was relaxed and happy to wake up with people who actually cared about him. He rolled over, throwing his arms around his dad as he thought of how close he was to never having a life like this.

***

Sam looked a lot better. The bags under his eyes were beginning to clear up nicely thanks to those strange melatonin candies Moon carried around, the natural sleep aids doing wonders for Samuel’s complexion. Outside the Daycare, Sam met with Michael and instructed him on what this shift was going to look like this afternoon.

“I was going ask you to help me get started on Roxy’s restoration, but Sophie’s going to meet you in the main security hub first,” Sam said, refilling a coffee thermos in a break room behind a Staff Only door. “She’ll show you the security route and protocol stuff. You know, newbie training and everything. It would be kind of unfair if everyone but you had to do orientation and all." Grimacing, Sammy leaned in close and cupped a hand over his mouth. "Plus, between you and me, she's the most suspicious about you guys—best not to give her any reason to make it worse.”

“I understand,” Michael replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. He raised an eyebrow as Sam inhaled the coffee, recalling the days when he too survived mostly on pitchers of the stuff. “I’ll meet her now then, I suppose?” When Sam hummed in confirmation, the guard nodded and headed off to the security hub. He wondered what Sophie thought of all this…

Would she still be mildly terrified of him as the Afton heir, like she’d been during past interactions? Thankfully Mike could now do away with that stuffy persona modeled after his cold-hearted father, although he knew the personality change would probably throw poor Sophie for a loop.

And speak of the devil—she was waiting for Michael right where Sam indicated, staring off into space.

“Hey!” Mike greeted as he approached, giving Sophie a little wave. He lowered this hand and offered it for her to shake with an apologetic smile. “Sammy said you wanted to show me a few things? I, uh… I’m sorry if we got off on the wrong foot earlier this week. I promise I’m not a complete asshole.”

Inside the room, Sophie had paused the video feed she was reviewing. Michael didn’t ask why, so she didn’t explain her reasoning for looking over the tapes. She tried hiding her jump when Mike began to speak, and his suddenly friendly demeanor had her very confused.

This was the same Michael Afton with the shitty attitude and muscle shirts, right? Sophie decided for the sake of their jobs, it was best to throw that mess under the bridge.

“Oh, it was a stressful week for everyone, Mr. Afton. No worries!” she replied with an easy going shrug before reaching out and taking his hand. She shook it firmly, and felt more at ease when she could feel him respond and match the strength of her grip. “But hey! Now that you’re here, I can start your tour!”

“Sounds good,” Michael responded, although he grimaced slightly at the name. “Oh, and no need for all that formal stuff anymore—Mr. Afton was my father. Just call me Michael or Mike; whichever you prefer.”

“You got it.” An easygoing smile returned to Sophie’s face. Perhaps the off-putting behavior had all been caused by stress. Intrigued, Sophie stood and began explaining the typical duties of a Fazbear night guard. “So—if you're doing nightshift, the first stop is making sure the auto locks go off at twelve at night. Starting from there, I'll show you the route we normally take! I personally just like taking a walk down the atrium from the front doors. Then it's just checking the backrooms in the fastest way possible before making it back to the security room.”

Gathering her flashlight and walkie, Sophie was sure to log out of the computer before hitting the door button on their way out of the room. No one needed to know she was snooping through video surveillance...

Michael instinctively patted down his work belt as he watched Sophie get her supplies. Everything was intact and accounted for, as usual. The day Michael Afton forgot or misplaced a piece of security guard gear would mark the failing of his mental capacities—after everything he’d been through, he’d never lose a potential weapon unless it was from throwing it at an animatronic that was after his blood. Hopefully they’d never have to worry about that again, though.

As Sophie continued speaking, Mike managed to pull his thoughts back to the present and follow her out the door. “Auto locks go off at twelve, then case the back rooms and return to the security office—got it.”

His gaze swiveled around as they walked, really trying to take in the building he’d be working and half-living in for god knows how long. “I know there’s multiple offices, though the one by the stage is the central hub. Does the night guard switch between them, or are the others more so there for back up or extra dayshift security?” 

“Daytime security mostly. We used to have... More night guards. And day guards.” Sophie subconsciously reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Yeah, Vanessa had scared off a few newbies trying to learn the ropes. Honestly she was glad that Ness decided to take a wellness trip. Someone that high-strung sorely needed it, especially if she was keeping other people from doing their jobs.

When they hit the atrium, Sophie explained it a bit more thoroughly. “Usually if we had more staff, they’d be helping you out by watching their own sectors while you do rounds. Not many people want to work here these days... Go figure.”

Sophie spoke honestly, maybe even against her better judgement as she knew Mike and Sam must be friends of some kind. Still... Everyone knew this place had a weird history. Sophie was aware before even taking the job, and yet—probably against her better judgement—she still signed the employee contract.

“Speaking of which...,” she began, slowly drawling her words as she carefully meandered around the subject. “Why did you want to work security anyway? It doesn't exactly have the best reputation as a fun job...”

A wistful smile crossed Mike’s face.

“No, it certainly doesn’t,” he agreed, pale eyes flickering to Sophie’s briefly before looking away. “I’ve got personal stake in this place, for one thing.”

He might as well flaunt the Afton name even though he hated it. Maybe he could even reclaim it in time. While he’d never be rid of the dark blot of terror William created that forever loomed over Fazbear Entertainment, Michael could at least do his best to convince his coworkers that not every Afton was evil… or dead.

Kind of.

“Also, like we told you before we came to check in on this place per Sam’s request,” Michael went on as he and Sophie meandered casually through the Pizzaplex. “When I saw the state of things and the clearly overwhelmed night guard, I had to stick around to help. I might not look like it, but I’ve got a fair amount of security detail experience under my belt.”

He stopped himself from rambling more, not wanting to say too much. Michael got the strangest sensation that Sophie might actually understand some of his sordid past if he told her—or at the very least accept it. But that wasn’t a fair burden to put on anyone, let alone someone so young just trying to do their job. For now, Michael would remain the enigmatic Afton willing to help his family friend Samuel anyway he could.

The pair meandered through the Pizzaplex, chattering idly as Sophie explained the standard duties of what security here entailed. Eventually, their trip took them to the Daycare. The closer they got, the more Mike realized that this might not be the best idea. So far, Ennard had done a great job of avoiding dayshift staff, although they’d never been so close to Michael as they would be in the Daycare…

Of course, it was entirely possible that the amalgamation was chilling in the basement with Henry, though with technically two new friends if counting Sun and Moon separate, Ennard was spending most of their time in the rainbow room of fun. It would be too suspicious if Michael asked Sophie to wait outside while he scouted the area. Instead, he opted for loudly announcing their presence, hoping the knowledge that he was with someone else would be enough to send Ennard running for cover if they were around.

“Sophie, have you gotten the chance to visit Sun since he got all fixed up?” Michael asked, speaking a bit louder than might be necessary as they ducked under the garage door leading to the drop-off area.

“Oh yeah! I visited him this morning,” she answered in a perky way, figuring he was just making conversation. She approached the slide, which was honestly one of her favorite ways to enter any of the attractions. “Dude, I felt so bad. I tried asking Sun what was wrong but he just sort of covered his mouth and screamed? I think Sam said he was stuck between personality matrixes. And because he's sort of scared of the dark, it left him freaked out for like the whole weekend!”

Standing aside, Sophie waited for Mike to go down first. “Have you ever taken the slide into the Daycare? It's so much more fun than it looks.” 

Inside, Mari was currently having the time of her life. Running around and chasing after both Sun and Ennard in one of the more enriching games of tags she's ever played, mostly her and Sun were the ones shouting over any attempts at signaling those robots inside the Daycare. 

Well, shit. Michael caught a flash of movement—three shapes, and that’s all he needed to know. Sun and his new friends were playing and clearly didn’t hear his warning. Mari he could explain away: Charlie’s little sister, come to visit the Pizzaplex and Sam. The CEO needed to get some work done, and therefore dropped her off in the Daycare for Sun to watch over. Ennard though… now that would be a tough one.

Michael ran a stressed hand through his hair. As usual, that thing was the bane of his existence. Thinking quickly, he flashed Sophie a grin and took her offer of going first down the slide. Wasting no time, he practically threw himself down feet first, landing in a crash of plastic that instantly caught the yelling robots’ attention. They had about ten seconds max before Sophie made it into the ball pit, and as Michael scrambled out of the way he hissed frantically: “Dayshift guard right behind me! Ennard, GET OUT!”

Ennard briefly caught that flash of muted white and black of the security guard uniform. They were excited to see the human man and shouted a greeting to him.

“MIKEY! I AM WINNING TAG!” They stopped right by the ball pit, leaning over to loom over Michael, excited to finally talk to his friend after some silence for the past few days. But when they felt Mari's strong little hands shove them hard into the ball pit, they knew they were out of the game for now.

“TAG!” Mari shouted at the big old mess of wires and gears. “Now stay hidden you big goober!” She said, clapping the dust from the grody carpeting she had to touch.

Behind Michael there was a shout of joy from Sophie as she slid face first down and crashed into the ball pit, unaware what was lurking just out of sight in the plastic pool.

“Wooo... Man, that never gets old!” she laughed, shaking her hair out as she resurfaced. Though confusion quickly over took her as she saw Mari standing before Michael at the edge of the pit. “Oh—hey? What's your name? Are you lost...?”

Mari was quick to answer, her only downside being that she was a very truthful person by nature.

“No ma'am! I'm not lost; I'm Mari!” she protested, a cheeky grin on her face. Very cute, but Sophie did not quite like being called ma'am. It made her feel far too old. Standing up and wiping invisible dust off her pants, Sophie slowly made her way over to the young girl.

“Well, sweetheart, we've been closed for the past week. Do your parents know you're here?” she said, taking a very gentle approach to helping her. Although Mari looked kind of old to want to hang out in the Daycare area...

“This little angel is Charlie’s sister!” Michael quickly chimed in, scrambling out of the ball pit before a wiry tendril under the surface could fully wrap around his ankle and lock him in place. Once on the padded floor of the play area, he snaked an arm around Mari’s shoulders and pulled her into a side hug. “She came to visit Sam, but he must’ve needed to get some work done and dropped her off in the Daycare. Right, Sun?”

Michael shot a glance over his shoulder to where Sun was stooped, gazing at the interaction with rapt interest. It was a good thing his static face was stuck in a permanent smile, for the way he wrung his hands together indicated his nervousness at the situation. However, he immediately latched onto Michael’s direction, shifting his hands to clap them together.

“Oh yes!” the lanky animatronic exclaimed, bells on his wrists jingling as he swayed from foot to foot. “I’m watching over her until Sam or Charlie comes to pick her up! Ooh, but isn’t she just the cutest little ray of sunshine?!”

In a fit of what could only be described as cute aggression, Sun bent at the waist and reached forward to pinch both of Mari’s smiling cheeks at once, much to the girl’s chagrin.

“Sun?! How could you!” she said, feeling betrayed that her friend played along a bit too well as to treat her like a small child. She reached up, grasping his wrists and silencing the golden bells there. “You’re it now…” Mari said, reminding them that they were still playing a game. Sophie cracked a smile, believing them right off the bat due to the sheer resemblance she saw between all the Emily’s.

“Yes—” Sophie laughed, watching the maliciously compliant little girl interact with Sun. “—she’s cute. Looks just like the boss and Charlie. Are you having fun, Mari?” 

“This is my second favorite place to be. But Sun’s one of my best friends…,” Mari admitted, now rubbing her face into the soft fabric of Sun’s stripped pants in a way that made Sophie's heart melt. 

It took literally all of Sun’s willpower not to scoop Mari up and squeeze her until she was out of breath from the affection. To be called one of her best friends was the highest praise in Sun’s book. He patted the top of her head, slightly mussing up her shaggy waves in a way that framed the cherubic face even more adorably.

“Like Mari said, we’re playing tag!” the Daycare attendant exclaimed, looking to the guards expectantly. “Do you want to play with us?! It’s always more fun with more people!”

“Uh, well we're kind of on a schedule,” Mike explained. It’s not that he didn’t want to play tag—he was more worried about Ennard’s weird obsession that might entice them to stick an eyeball out of the ball pit to watch the fun. If Sophie caught sight of the creature lurking in the depths below, she’d probably freak out. With an apologetic smile, Michael shrugged up at Sun. “Next time, for sure; I’m technically in a tour right now for my new job, but we wanted to check in on you.”

“How sweet!” Sun gasped, completely unfazed by Michael’s denial of playtime. “I’m doing just great! And so is Moon! I’m sure he’d say hi to you both if he could!”

Under the pit, Ennard's wires shuttered and stalled with having almost gotten their prize. It was like Mike had developed a sixth sense when it came to their attempts at grasping for him. Despite his wishes not to play, Ennard knew he would be back later. Then they could chase each other down like old times once more…

As Sophie rose herself out and carefully over the lip of the rainbow river, she told the Daycare Attendant: “I’ll be back before my shifts up, Sun! I’ll bring some Fizzy-Faz to make up for it. We still have to get back to the security office for midday clearance.”

It was a rule from the start that all personnel that clocked in had to be accounted for by midday. A safety precaution that Mr. Emily took very serious. She was hardly worried about the boss’s daughter. The girl was in the safest part of the Pizzaplex. With its own lockdown features and 7 foot tall animatronic, people were hesitant to break rules under their charge.

“WAIT!” Mari shouted, jumping and grasping onto Sophie’s arm which had nearly been enough to make her panic right then and there. “I need your walkie talkie, please!” Before Sophie could answer, the communication device was slipped off her belt loop.

“Dad? It’s Mari! Do you copy?” she asked over the thick static.

A short pause followed by some feedback static was the only barrier between Sam's confused-sounding answer. “Uh—Mari? Yes, what’s wrong?”

“DRINK SOME WATER! You’ve been drinking too much coffee,” she shouted knowingly into the receiver. There was a long pause then after, followed by a heavy sigh on the radio.

“I’ve got water. Thank you, sweetheart,” Sam replied, probably relieved there wasn’t a real issue.

Mari then clipped the walkie back onto Sophie’s belt, leaving the security guard slightly dazed at the young girl’s responsible demeanor. Hell, she might make a good security guard when she’s older…

Michael had to stifle his laugh by turning it into a rather furious coughing fit. It was sweet to see Mari still fully invested in her role as the security bot of her earlier days, but imagining the look on Sam’s exhausted face when she called him “dad” so casually was enough to set off a fit of poorly-disguised giggles. Sophie would never know how absolutely bizarre their whole twisted “family” situation was…

“Thanks for helping keep your dad in check, Mari,” Michael eventually managed to say with a roll of his eyes. “God knows he needs it…”

“She’s so thoughtful!” Sun praised, jumping on the opportunity to shower his new friend in even more affection. This time he did pick her up, gently rubbing his face against hers while being careful of the bright spokes signaling his sunny disposition.

“Best mini-security guard around, that’s for sure,” Michael agreed, flashing a grin up at the pair. He then stretched his arms out, miming the action of cracking his joints as he looked to his coworker. “I guess we should head for that check-in?”

“Yes, yes, you don’t want Sammy to worry!” Sun encouraged, setting Mari back on the floor so she could say her goodbyes. Before she got the chance to though, the Daycare attendant crossed his arms overtop each other and grasped one of Michael and Sophie’s hands in his own, shaking them vigorously. “It was soooo good to see you! We have to play a game next time you both come around!”

Mari looked over the moon. She seemed to love the attention from others, and especially from one of the animatronics she chose to spend a lot of her time with. Until very recently, she couldn't express herself much. A living doll limited to its mask. Thanks to her creator, she could experience the world as the others did and finally share all that she knew. 

Sophie, none the wiser to the twisted monster in the pit could eagerly shake Sun's hand carefree. There was nothing amiss at all in the Pizzaplex today. Sam would be happy to hear that after so many nights of constant stress... which might give her some the opportunity to do some snooping without anyone watching too closely. Though Michael knew his stuff—she would have to be careful around him when maneuvering the security cameras and other employees later.

“I'll bring a board game next time I come on by, Sun,” Sophie promised, knowing soon it would be her turn to watch the Daycare. Turning to Michael, she nodded her way to the door with a casual smile. “We're making pretty good time today—how are you liking the Pizzaplex so far?”

“It's growing on me,” Michael replied with a little smile that was hard to read. With a final wave, he followed Sophie to the exit. As he crossed the threshold of the doorway, he swore his slightly advanced hearing picked up on plastic shuffling from the ball pit, as well as a near-imperceptible “Wait, silly!” from Sun. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes with all his might, Michael picked up the pace until they reached the entrance lobby, upon which he slowed again for Sophie to take the lead.

It wasn't yet time to come out, Sun and Mari had to practically wrestle him back below the plastic balls. Sophie would look over her shoulder at this display with the expectations of seeing them messing around playfully. As Ennard sucked Mari into the pit below, making her break into a giggling fit, Sophie smiled at how much Mari was enjoying herself. Completely clueless as to the happenings of the Pizzaplex, she was quick to guide Mike back out and into the main atrium where people remained busy in order to have the place opened on schedule.

“It sure is eventful around here though,” Michael commented as he saw some staff members bustling around. He knew it was nowhere near what it'd be like when the place was actually open for business, and admittedly he was glad he worked mostly night shift. Over the years he'd gotten used to the relative quiet of darkness.

...Well, when he wasn't cursing in terror from bloodthirsty animatronics at the office window, that is. Soon enough they'd made it to the check-in location, where a few other staff members were milling about. Michael looked around for Sam, wondering if he'd make an appearance—clearly he was awake from Mari's recent short, chiding call.

Currently, something huge was being taken on a dolly and into the freight elevator by a few workers and Mr. Emily himself. Whatever it was had been covered by a large canvas sheet, wrapped in hooking bungee cords to keep the canvas from slipping off the odd shape. Samuel was currently holding the elevator, allowing the people helping it upstairs to fit inside the lift without it shutting on them. When Sam spotted the pair walking in tandem, he waved to them.

“How's the tour going, guys?” he asked, seeming in a better mood than the last week as a whole.

“Good!” Michael replied, staring at the elevator curiously as the large object was finagled inside. Another animatronic, perhaps? There were still a few more to get up and running, after all… 

“Sophie’s been taking me on her daily route,” Michael elaborated, sticking his hands on his pockets and slouching casually to the side. “We stopped by all the animatronics to check in, too—DJ, the Glamrocks and Sun. They seem to be doing great!” A corner of his mouth twitched up in a knowing smirk.

“Also, Sophie got to meet your daughter—Mari’s certainly keeping Sun entertained.” Mike tilted his head. “How’s the coffee to water consumption ratio by the way, boss?”

Sam should’ve known that was the reason he received such a strange call coming from Mari; it’d really thrown the employees he had asked to help him for a loop. One remarked how they didn't know he had a daughter, while the other had spoken up to say they thought he had two. It made answering Mari just the slightest bit difficult. Then again, he was so tired, he could deadpan a lie fairly easily.

Sam chuckled, finding it weird how he had to pretend he had two kids—one being his sister, and the other a robot designed to protect both himself and said girl...

“Was she being good? And I'm drinking more water than I was before, if that's helpful,” Sam replied in a cheeky way.

“Oh, she was just fine. The Daycare attendant loves her, predictably,” Sophie said with a shrug. Sun loved all the kids, of course, but she reckoned he probably had a soft spot for his creator's daughter.

“I think she’d live in the Daycare if she could, to be honest,” Michael chuckled. If Mari could have a permanent slumber party on that padded floor surrounded by all her friends new and old, he just knew she’d be the happiest little robot in the world. While he couldn’t offer her that, Michael could give her a chance to experience something potentially just as exciting… He’d have to stop by on his way out to see if she’d be up for an adventure.

“Anyway, am I allowed to ask what you’re up to, or is it top secret?” Michael inquired, tilting his head towards the elevator as Sam let the doors close after staff finally got the mysterious object inside.

Sam looked around him and as the handy men loaded his project into the lift, he would let the door shut before saying anything—leaving quite the suspenseful beat for Sophie and Michael to endure. Then, he waved them closer and whispered just for their ears only. “It was a project I’d been working on for a while before this whole fiasco started. You guys remember Foxy the Pirate, right?”

Sophie’s eyes couldn’t get any bigger. Another employee passed them by to make use of the lift and Sam gently herded them both away while Sophie asked in awe: “Wait—was that why we couldn’t go to Parts & Service?”

“Mhm; partly,” Sam said, dodging her eye contact by pretending to look at his watch. “We are switching the department, however. I don’t know what we’re going to use that room for next. Maybe a break room—we just need more space for the newest animatronic line.”

The explanation eased Sophie’s conscience a little. The more she learned, the more most of this sounded like it was in the works for a very long time, and not just a spin on last ditch cover up.

“I’ll be powering him on shortly, but he needs to charge. I think someone accidentally left his roaming mode on sometime last week… You guys think Roxy’s ready to meet her brother?” he asked, hoping Roxy wouldn’t take it harshly to have a family member performing in the band with her.

“Holy shit,” Michael murmured under his breath, followed by a whispery chuckle. He knew it was coming, yet somehow the announcement of Foxy the Pirate Fox in the official lineup was still surprising. A bright smile lit up his face as the initial shock wore off. 

“Sammy, this is awesome! And I think Roxy’s going to be just fine.” He snickered, lips twitching into more of a smirk. “She’ll have someone else to get into trouble with."

As way of explanation for his reaction to a refurbished children’s character, Michael told Sophie: “Foxy used to be my favorite as a kid.”

Sophie could see the way Michael brightened when speaking about the character and his hardwired personality. It gave away exactly who Mike’s favorite was. Sophie was interested in seeing how the animatronic was going to stack up against the already established cast.

“Foxy was so cool—” Sophie agreed, seeming to be a big of a fangirl herself of the rowdy cartoon pirate. “—did you tell any of the Glamrocks yet?”

With a finger pressed over his lips, Sam made a soft shushing sound.

“No, keep it a surprise until tonight. I’m going to get the band all together then introduce the old Fox. Mike, come up to my office after you’re done with check-ins.” Sam flashed him a self-satisfied smirk, taking pride in the thing he had created for the brand new line up. “I want you to be the first to see his design. I think you’ll appreciate the work I put into it.”

“Will do, boss-man,” Michael replied with an overzealous salute. He was desperately trying not to laugh, his movements seeming a bit manic for no apparent reason. It was simultaneously so ironic and entertaining that Mike already knew about the Glamrock Foxy model in a more intimate way than anyone but its AI would ever get to. He'd have to explain—and apologize on everyone's behalf—to Sam later this evening why the fox had disappeared from its hidden storage and “free roamed” over the weekend...

But even though they'd been bonded for the better part of twenty-four hours, Michael still hadn't gotten to meet Foxy's programmed personality like he'd done when hitching a ride with Freddy. A flush of childlike excitement filled his eyes as he thought of meeting what was sure to be the friendliest iteration of the fox to date. He had a few more things to do first, though.

“So it's back to the security office after this, right?” Michael asked Sophie, not intending to rush her but simply to indicate he'd like to get a move-on now that they'd confirmed they were still alive and well (to Sam's satisfaction, at least).

Sam may have given him a cockeyed glance. Michael's sudden bursts of mania usually meant there was something strange afoot. Though with nothing else to go by, he departed with an equally ironic salute to his two guards. With Sophie's attention back fully to Mike and her job, she grinned.

“You want to go see the Fox, huh?” she asked almost teasingly. Before he could answer her, seriously or otherwise, she raised her phone from her pocket and checked the time. “Yep—so looking around everywhere, if you're not distracted, should take about an hour.”

It was time to head on back to the main office. Sophie made conversation as she led them back to home base. “I don't blame you, though. You're lucky to be helping Sam work on those things. And I mean you... made it so far; so to speak. He must want your opinion on it as a mechanic.”

Clearly Sophie had paid attention to their introductions during the meeting and was fairly aware of the vast number of safety protocols they normally need for doing work on an animatronic.

Michael's enthusiastic smile slipped into one that was a little more subdued as he followed after his new coworker.

“Well, unlike most franchises, the owners of Fazbear Entertainment have always been rather hands-on,” he said. Contrary to his chipper personality moments before, Michael's tone was relatively flat. Not wanting her to perceive this as him being haughty, he was quick to add: “I learned a lot from my predecessors; probably more than ever wanted to know, honestly.”

He gave a short laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “But it's definitely useful when animatronics go on the fritz like they did this weekend. I really don't mind helping out with that sort of stuff if anyone ever needs it. To be honest, it can get kind of boring sitting in that security office all night...”

Not that I want any action—PLEASE let things stay calm for the foreseeable future... Michael silently prayed to whoever was listening.

Sophie nodded, taking in what he said. It would probably be useful to listen to him about the history of this place given how vested he was in the company from what she assumed was a young age. He was related to the original owners, too.

“Tell me about it. For the most part, the band and everyone else reminds people to behave. The day shift is here pretty much for making sure dads don't get into fights at Monty Golf and throw a putter through the set props...,” Sophie remarked so specifically, one would probably think she was speaking for a real experience. “But usually people behave. Unless they want to get shaken down by a bunch of giant robotic animals dressed like the Twisted Sister front-man...”

“Mm, yeah, I'd hate to be on any of those robots' bad sides,” Michael responded with a little hum. His eyes shifted around, unable to stay on Sophie for a moment as the previous weekend flashed through his mind in rapid succession. Oh how far those animatronics had come from their dirty, broken shambles as they chased down an innocent child with the intent of ripping him apart limb by limb...

A small shiver ran through his body, though Michael ignored this as they stepped into the safety of the central hub yet again. He stretched out his arms with a sigh, then plopped down in one of the swivel chairs and used the momentum to do a 360-degree spin, braking with his foot to grin up at Sophie.

“Thanks for showing me around,” he told her, already stealing a glance at the security feeds as was habit. When there was a set of monitors and live camera feeds in front of him, Michael had to watch them. Managing to reign in his gaze, he leaned casually back in the chair and looked to his coworker again. “I'll be sure to reach out if I need while I adjust to things around here.”

“No problem! I look forward working with you, Mike,” Sophie replied with a thumbs-up, before grabbing her coat from one of the storage lockers. Her footsteps disappeared down the hallway while Michael's phone buzzed in his back pocket. Charlie had been trying to reach him through text. There were several photo attachments.

Mike it's Charlie. How do you use clippers?

Like the electric ones for hair

OK I figured it out never mind.

OK maybe not. duck

I meant Duck not duck

The texts became decreasingly verbose as Charlie panicked. Then, there was an album, a photographic progression of a haircut Charlie was apparently giving to Gregory. There was hair everywhere as a shaggy mullet was now cut into the kid’s head. He stood on the bathroom sink, glaring into the camera as Charlie took pictures of him. She eventually figured out how to take a selfie in the ending photo, managing to get the boy to smile after styling the old school cut.

“No fucking way,” Michael chuckled to himself as he scrolled through the pictures. They were ridiculous, the lot of them...

Out of all potential hairstyles, she'd gone with a mullet? Well, it'd certainly be hard for the Smiths to recognize Gregory at first glance, that's for sure. Plus, Michael couldn't deny his soft spot for the style... Pulling up the virtual keypad, he typed a response as quick as his fingers would go.

Sorry, was getting a tour from Sophie; all done now. Gregory looks adorable... don't tell him I said that

I'm hanging out for a bit then coming back w/a surprise... be there in 1-2 hours, & we can go to the Pizzaplex together for night shift later

With that Michael slipped his phone back in his pocket, though he'd barely gotten to roll his chair into the prime camera-watching position before it buzzed again.

***

Previous Chapter ~~ Next Chapter

Looking for more? Check out the Chapter Masterlist on Tumblr!

Or check out the entire Wires that Bind Us Series on ao3!

[makerofmadness]

@umbrarkzoo felt like you'd wanna be tagged in this so you can see dndnndndnd ('cus I know you like these)

Anyway I felt like posting incorrect FNAF quotes again here ya go (under the cut)

may accidentally repeat a quote from a past post 'cus I've made too many to keep track of and it's been a while ok-

quotes taken from the Perchance generator, I just insert the characters in manually if I find something I can work with

One quote features my hc version of the FNAF 3 guard (maybe I'll post more about that someday I just wanted to use her for one quote).

Toy Freddy: I need a long word.  Toy Bonnie: T-rex but the long one.

-

Jeremy Fitzgerald: How do you do that?  Michael Afton: I'm fearless.  Fritz Smith: I saw you run from bees yesterday. You flailed around and tripped over a chair. It was both hysterical and sad.  Michael Afton: I'm mostly fearless. 

-

Golden Freddy: Slash gamemode creative.  Freddy: Dude, this isn't Min-  Golden Freddy: *starts levitating* 

-

Funtime Freddy: Okay, two person huddle.  Bon-Bon: You can't huddle with two people. This is just a hug.  -

Toy Chica: You're pathetic!  Toy Bonnie: You're pathetic-er!  The Puppet: You're both losers.

-

Michael Afton: Can you name a single city in Oklahoma?  Ennard: Oklahoma City, bitch! 

-

Jeremy Fitzgerald: Let’s watch Sharkboy and Lavagirl.  Fritz Smith: Okay.  Jeremy Fitzgerald: And make out during the scary parts.  Fritz Smith: Th-  Fritz Smith: The scary parts.  Fritz Smith: Of Sharkboy and Lavagirl. 

-

Monty, tearing up the room: Where are they?  Monty looking under a pillow: Who moved them? Who moved my children?  Monty: Somebody moved my M&M's, and now I am going to start killing.

-

Michael Afton: We've got to find a way to cut down our expenses. What can we live without?  Helpy: Lefty, probably.  (insert lawsuit joke here)

-

Roxy: If I'm extra sarcastic with you it probably means I'm flirting with you or you really annoy me and I can't handle your crap... have fun figuring out which one. 

-

Funtime Freddy in a horrible German accent: Bill Nye is on break, I'm Bill Nein.  Michael Afton: Can I go to the bathroom?  Funtime Freddy, in the same horrible German accent: Nein! 

-

Roxy: Now, if I may speak for good-looking people everywhere...  Gregory: Only as their rodeo clown. 

-

Michael Afton: WHO THE FUCK-  Helpy: Whoa, language!  Michael Afton: I speak fucking English!  Henry Emily: ... 

-

Crying Child: I wanna sleep for 40 hours.  Michael Afton: You know that's called a coma, right?  Crying Child:  Crying Child: That sounds so refreshing, I could totally go for a light coma right now. 

-

Michael Afton: I only have 6 weeks left to live.  Jeremy Fitzgerald: Oh my god, really?!  Michael Afton: It's just a guesstimate based on the choices I've made.

-

Circus Baby: You use humor to deflect your trauma.  Michael Afton: Awww, thanks-  Circus Baby: That’s not a good thing.  Michael Afton: All I’m hearing is that you think I’m funny.

-

Michael Afton: Susie, you're my best friend.  FNAF 3 Guard: Best friend? BEST friend?! Bitch, I'm your only friend.  FNAF 3 Guard: I'M THE ONLY ONE CAPABLE OF TOLERATING YOUR DUMB ASS!

-

Michael Afton: Hey guys, today my brother pushed me, so I'm starting a kickstarter to put him down.  Michael Afton: The benefits of killing him are that I would get pushed way less. 

-

Michael Afton, making coffee: This is going to fix everything. 

-

Daycare Attendant: Do you guys ever have a civilized conversation that doesn't require insulting each other every time you get a chance?  Roxy: No.  Gregory: No.  Daycare Attendant: Didn't think so. 

-

Jeremy Fitzgerald, talking about Ennard: Is this a friend of yours, Mike?  Michael Afton: Kind of? Not really. They're in my life and there's nothing I can do about it. 

-

Michael Afton: *trying to buy a Father's Day card at Hallmark*  Michael Afton: Excuse me, do you have any that just say "You are my dad?"  Associate: Well, I-  Michael Afton: How about "You banged my mom?"  Associate: No...  Michael Afton: You know what, I'll just get a blank one.  Michael Afton: *writes* You are a father. This is a day. Here is a card. 

-

Sun: Hopefully Roxanne has learned a lesson about respecting other people's feelings.  Roxy: Oh, shut up and die Sun.

-

Fritz Smith: My future partner must be brave, strong, intelligent, successful and organized.  Jeremy Fitzgerald: *steps on a caterpillar and proceeds to drop to his knees and sob while apologizing profusely*  Fritz Smith: That one. I want that one.

-

Glamrock Freddy: Vanessa, is that legal?  Vanessa: When there's no cops around, anything's legal!

-

Toy Chica: I sort of did something and I need some advice, but I don't want a lot of judgment and criticism.  The Puppet: And you came to me? 

-

William Afton: What goes up but never comes down?  Michael Afton: The amount of stress you're bringing this family. 

-

Gregory: I wish I could control wasps and bees to sting my enemies.  Glamrock Freddy: You’re too young to have enemies.  Gregory: You don’t even know. 

-

Vanessa: Here are two pictures. one of them is your room, and the other is the garbage dump.  Monty: *points at a picture* That one is the dump.  Vanessa: tHEY'RE BOTH YOUR ROOM!  -

Funtime Freddy: The time to act is now.  Funtime Freddy: Wink, wink.  Circus Baby: Don't say "wink wink". Just wink.  Funtime Freddy: Oh, sorry.  Funtime Freddy: Wink. 

-

Vanessa: Where are my fucking keys?  Glamrock Freddy: Officer Vanessa, Gregory is around, can you say it a little nicer?  Vanessa: May I ascertain the whereabouts of my FUCKING KEYS?! 

-

Gregory: Good morning. As you begin your day, remember that violence is always an option and often the answer.  Glamrock Freddy:  Gregory:  Glamrock Freddy: ...Please, go back to bed. 

-

Michael Afton: Hey Mr. Emily, do you have any hobbies?  Henry Emily: Swimming..  Michael Afton: Really? That’s cool. I never expected you to-  Henry Emily: In a pool of self hatred and regret. 

-

Michael Afton: So I have made the decision to trust you.  Circus Baby: A horrible decision, really. 

-

Ennard: You should have realised, Eggs Benedict, if the scooper didn't kill you, we would.

[mondayxmorning]

𝙰𝙹𝙰𝚇 𝙲𝙾𝙿𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙵𝙸𝙴𝙻𝙳 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙱𝙴𝚃𝚃𝚈 𝙹𝙴𝙽𝚂𝙴𝙽; @endlessfebrvary ; x

Ajax's landline rarely rung as very few people had his personal number. He liked his privacy. And when someone was desperate to reach him for a job, his separate line was only available during the daytime. But this? This was a different scenario altogether.

The ringing had startled Ajax, all because he accidentally fell asleep on his couch while rewatching old reruns of his favourite shows and had no energy to go to bed. It had been a long day. The phone sat on the table besides him, so how could he not hear it? He roughly rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and took a glance towards the vintage clock on the wall, before proceeding to answer it. Who was calling so late? The first person he had thought of was his dearest friend Athena. Could she not sleep? Had Roxy finally returned? Were the kids okay? He cared about the Jensen family too much to put into words and would immediately run to their aid. And he was doing just that, as the voice on the other end was a different, yet equally familiar voice, reaching out. Betty spaghetty, Betty. Part of him panicked immediately with the uncertainty as to why HE was being called instead of her Mom. But the other part was relieved, knowing she was doing it for her own good and trusted someone she knew too well, to pick her up instead. It was hard not to see her as a child of his own when they were spending more and more time together, as of late. He knew Athena didn't mind and Ajax didn't mind.

The bar she'd been at had been far out of their town, which puzzled him, but he didn't question it-- as long as she was safe, and he made sure before hanging up, grabbing his things and arriving within the hour, he stated he'd take. Thank god the roads are dead at this time of night, he thought. When he temporarily parked and saw Betty out in the cold, he jumped out and lead her to his truck.

"Don't worry about it, kiddo." Once inside, he shut her door and walked back to the driver's seat. Cautiously, he got in and made sure not to make it bouncier incase there was a sense that she'd feel sick. He didn't start the drive, until he knew she was okay to go. Ajax looked over and sighed softly. Wait--- did she just call him DAD? It had caught him off guard, but he had heard her loud and clear enough to put a grin on his lips. He reached over to give her a water bottle and brushed a lock of hair away from her forehead. It was a simple gesture, but he didn't want to overstep. "I brought you some water, a granola bar and aspirin. There are also bags in the glove compartment if you get sick on the way home. Let me know if I need to pull over." It wasn't the best remedy but it was better to heal the possible hungover before it hit. She just needed to relax. "Would you rather stay at my place for tonight? I can call your mom later." It was just a suggestion, but he knew Athena far too well that she would panic over another empty bed.

[libraryofloveletters]

Golden Boxes

Luke Alvez x Reader 

Warnings: None I think 

Category: Fluff 

Word Count: 1.8k

Author’s Note: this is dedicated to the Luke to my Matt @luke-alvez 🥰 not sure if it's still your birthday where you are but this is my gift to you :) <3

----

The house was filled with boxes and bubble wrap. The plan was to be unpacked for your birthday but it seems things didn't go as planned. Luke had returned form case later than expected and there was the huge storm that seemed to last for days. A week later and all the boxes had arrived and were being unpacked. 

Luke’s footsteps echoed through the house as he jogged down the stairs, “baby, have you seen the hammer anywhere ? I need it but I can’t find it” he leaned against the doorway of the kitchen, your back was turned to him as you unpacked the dishes. 

“Check the living room” you mumble, turning your attention to the cupboard. Luke shouted from the other room that he found it and ran back up the stairs. The door slammed upstairs, making you shake your head. 

“Yeah! Break it before we unpack!” you yell, you can hear Luke’s boisterous laugh from upstairs, he shouted back a sorry. 

Your morning was spent in the kitchen because if you couldn’t unpack everything, at least you could have clean dishes to eat from and you know what they say, the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach. It was around lunch that Roxy brushed up against your leg, “hey girl, where’s dad?” your fingers run through her fur as you put some pots in the bottom cupboard. On cue, Luke comes down, “hey, I'm gonna run to the store. We’re out of screws” 

“What do you need screws for ?”

“Uh, the bed, I might have cross threaded the other ones” he gave you a tight lipped smile, you chuckled. “Okay, pick up some of the tacks to hang the frames too” Luke comes over and kisses the top of your head before leaving the house. 

-- 

A few hours later, he returned to the house with more bags than screws could be in. “Uh, did you buy out the store? And what took so long?” Luke was already halfway up the stairs when you got to the bottom of the staircase. “No. No,” he laughs and totally ignores your question, returning with the tacks to hang the frames in hand. “Do you need help hanging the frames?” he asks and you shake your head. 

“I’ll be upstairs then” and once again, Luke headed up the stairs and back into the room. Half of you wanted to go up and see what he was doing but the other half was much too lazy to walk up the stairs just to check on the man you saw less than 10 seconds ago. You made your way to the living room, Roxy trailing behind you as you sat on the floor and started opening the boxes. The amount of pictures, framed or in albums that you two had was unnecessary. For two people and a dog, it didn’t make sense that at least 4 large boxes had photo albums and pictures frames. Nonetheless, you begin hanging up the frames, rearranging and changing positions until you were pleased with the order. The fireplace was bare, the mantle covered in dust, you couldn't have it. Wiping the dust away, you tumbled through the boxes for pictures that deserved to be front and centre 

The first one on the mantle was from your 4th date and the first picture the two of you had together. Luke had invited you to a party that the BAU was having at Rossi’s place and Penelope had taken a picture of the two of you cuddled up next to each other outside. The second one was from your wedding, a picture of your first dance. It felt like only yesterday that you met Luke. It was hard to believe that you were married and had bought a house together. The third one was on you, Luke and Roxy. It was just some random picture that you had taken one morning. The two of you were in bed and you had your phone in your hand when Roxy jumped up onto the bed and amid the confusion, you accidentally took the picture. Neither of you are looking at the camera but you're both laughing. 

The sound of something falling pulled your attention away from the photos. “Luke?! You okay ?!” you shout from downstairs, he doesn’t answer so you head up, making your way to the bedroom. 

“Love, are you alright?” as soon as your hand reaches for the knob, Luke sticks his head out. “yeah, I'm okay” he smiles, “do you need some help ? I've had enough of downstairs” chuckling, you go to push the door open. 

“Oh it’s fine, there’s something propped against the door. I’ll finish up there and come down and help you” Luke shuts the door before you could protest. 

“Oh uh okay” mumbling, you head back down the stairs. The banging and thudding did not stop for the next 3 hours. Surely, it couldn't take that long to put together a bed. When it finally stops, he comes down as you had moved on from the living room to the pantry. “Y/n? where are you?!” he called, his footsteps sounding closer with each step. You had headphones in because of all of the noise he was making upstairs and when Luke’s hand rested on your waist, his touch startled you. Your hand coming up and gripping to your chest, Luke held back a laugh. The stupid smile on his face was enough to earn him a small whack to the side. 

“Don’t do that!” you shout,

“Sorry,” he chuckled, “I thought you heard me calling” 

“Well did I answer ?” you ask him, he shook his head as he watched you from the doorway. 

“Anyways, I'm running out to pick up a pizza. Unless you want something else?” 

“I’m fine, pizza is good” you smile, Luke leans in and gives you a kiss before walking towards the door. He stops halfway and looks back at you. “The room is still in a mess so don’t go up” he tells you, you nod and mumble okay. 

You didn't think anything of it. 

It’s not like you were in a rush for the bedroom to be done but it would be nice. The more you thought about it, the more you realized something seemed off. Luke had been upstairs all day and the bed still wasn’t put together? 

Walking up the stairs, the sound of your steps echoed through the almost empty house. You stopped in front of the door, half of you wanted to go in and see what was happening and the other half was shouting no in big red flashing lights. There had to be a reason as to why Luke asked you not to go in, he wouldn’t say that for no reason. Which only made you wonder even more. Stepping towards the door, your hand was just about to touch the knob when Luke shouts for you, once again, starling you. 

“What were you doing upstairs ?” he was at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at you as you made your way down. 

“Looking for the box with the kitchen towels” 

“Did you find it ?” 

“Must be in the kitchen, I think I saw it earlier” you give him a small smile, feeling kind of bad for lying to him. The half eaten box of pizza was discarded on the floor beside you and Luke, his arm around your shoulder as your head rests on his. 

“I have something for you. Let me go get it” untangling himself from you, Luke gets up. Your brows furrow, watching your husband jog up the stairs. “Babe?! Can you come up here?” you follow the sound of his voice up the stairs and into the room. You stop in your tracks when you step into the room. Not only had put the room together but he had also fixed your vanity. The movers didn't wrap it properly and it got damaged, it was the first time you had bought yourself when you moved out on your own so you had wanted to keep it. 

“You fixed it” you smiled at him, your hand running around the top of it. “Is that what you were doing all day ?” 

“Mhm hm, you looked so sad when it arrived. I couldn't leave it like that” Luke pulls you into his side, his arm around your shoulder once again. He kisses the top of your head, “I take it that you’re happy ?” he asks, turning towards you. “Of course” flashing him a smile which turns into a loud squeal when Luke picks you up, he drops you on the bed and then lays beside you. 

“You know I love you right ?” rolling onto your side, your hand cupping his cheek. Luke kisses the palm of your hand, “I know. you know I love you right ?” he smiles which makes you smile too. “That’s not the real gift though” Luke sits up, he pulls out a little box from the bedside table. 

“This is for you” he hands it to you. Unwrapping the ribbon, you pull the lid off the box. A gold charm bracelet sat in the box, there were a few charms evenly spaced from each other. The first charm was a little paw print which was for Roxy of course. The second being the palm tree because the two of you went to the tropics for your honeymoon. The third was a tiny hockey stick, seeing that you loved hockey. There were a few more that reminded you of your trips and your time together. 

“Oh Luke,” you breathed, he gently picked up the bracelet and placed it on your wrist, attaching the hook and turning it the right way. “Do you like it?” he asks, his hand still holding yours. “It’s gorgeous Luke, thank you” you smile. His phone buzzes, he picks it up. 

“Do you have to go ?” you ask him, hoping that it wasn't Emily telling him that they had a case. Luke shook his head and showed you his phone instead. the clock had just changed to 12, the beginning of a new day, your birthday.

Luke’s hands cupped your face as he leaned in, his lips inched away from yours, “happy birthday mi amor” he pressed his lips to yours. You know he could feel your smile through the kiss, “thank you” you mumbled, as your arms wrapped around him and pulled him back into bed with you. 

---- 

Taglist: @mac99martin @aaron-hotchner187 @fanofalltheficsx @luke-alvez @lieberhers @pumpkin-reads @ssa-volturi @katexrichardson @sluttytears @thelukealvez @scandinavian-punk @pagetsimp @morcias @shotarosleftpinky @mrs-dr-reid @hqtchner @averyhotchner @willlemonheadsupremacy​ @mggsprettygirl​ @simxican​ @venusrosepetal​

[adenei]

Ok so idea! I haven’t thought about it that much though!

James and Alice have been friends since childhood, and they both have feelings for each other but don’t know it (I know it’s classic and probably boring) . During a game of quidditch, James accidentally confessed his feelings. Idk what next though! Thank you for responding!

Hi there! So this is my first James Sirius x Alice Longbottom II fic, and I think they’re absolutely adorable! I don’t write a ton of next gen, but I hope you like it! (I had to throw in a Hinny flashback, too!)

************

Deja vu

Summer days like today were James Sirius’ favorite. Everyone was gathered at the Burrow for a surprise fortieth birthday party for his dad. There were enough cousins and then some to play a full seven on seven quidditch match. The Longbottoms and Scamanders were there, too. Not that Lorcan and Lysander contributed much. They were more interested in searching the garden for nargles or something than playing quidditch.

But Nev and Hannah’s daughter Alice was there, and was currently playing beater alongside him. It was all James could do to keep his head in the game because Alice was proving to be extremely distracting. She had no idea he'd fancied her for the better part of a year, and he had no idea how to broach the subject with her. Not that he was going to do it today. No, certainly not. It’d be much safer when they got back to school. Well, maybe not much safer, considering her dad was the Herbology professor. 

James was pulled out of his daydream as Alice was shouting his name. Bloody hell, a bludger was headed right for him. He really needed to focus on the match.

“Quick, at Roxie!” she shouted.

Roxanne was on Dominique’s heel and it was a dead race for the snitch. James’ swung his bat and it collided full force with the bludger. He watched as it soared close enough to whiz by Rox’s head and distract her for the split second Dominique needed to catch the snitch.

Everyone on his team and all the parents who were spectating erupted into cheers and laughter as they flew back down to the ground. It was an amazing catch that Dominique would have never made if James hadn’t distracted Roxanne with the bludger. If only it was a true quidditch match at school! 

James could barely focus with all the commotion happening until he saw Alice running toward him to congratulate him.

“We won! We won!” she cried as she threw her arms around him. 

Before James had any clue what he was doing he reciprocated her hug, but instead of keeping it friendly like his brain told him to do, his lips had somehow found hers and he was kissing her full on the mouth. That was not the way he ever planned to tell her he fancied her.

When he pulled away, his face was giving off a ‘deer in the headlights’ look and he didn’t know what to say. He thought it was just the rush of blood to his head that made all sound disappear, but he quickly realized the entire field was completely silent. Everyone was no doubt gaping at them.

“I—uh…” he sputtered.

“I fancy you, too, if that’s what you’re trying to say,” Alice said quietly enough so only James could hear.

“You do? Really?” James was completely dumbfounded.

“Well, yeah, but I don’t think I would have chosen this moment to tell—er, I mean, show—you how I felt,” she blushed.

“Brilliant! So do you wanna—”

“OI!” his Uncle Ron called. “If you’re going to kiss her, that’s fine and all, but did you have to steal your dad and mum’s first kiss?”

All the adults broke out into laughter and James was suddenly mortified. He should have known! How many times had the Weasley clan reminisced about that particular story?

Even Alice was laughing. “It’s okay,” she said. “It was perfect. And the answer to your question is yes.”

“Bloody brilliant!” James said as the rest of their team descended on them and the celebration reignited full force.

[trashcankitty12]

Layla Headcanons:

Everyone, meet Princess Layla Poole of Andros. 

She’s the best surfer this side of the Magical Dimension and an excellent escape artist. (Do you have any idea how hard it is to escape from a castle to go out and just breathe without someone watching over you? It’s pretty freaking hard.)

Layla’s probably one of the few voices of reason within the Winx group, and one of the more mature ones. 

(All headcanons relate to my main “Balance/Company of Light” verse and my “Left” verse.)

-Believe it or not, Layla can breathe for a set amount of time underwater/hold her breath for long periods of time. She is sort of half-merperson after all. (Her father, Teredor, is what they call a ‘land-walker’ merperson. He mastered the spell that the merpeople can use to turn their tails into feet. He was actually next in line for the MerKingdom’s throne, but he fell in love with Niobe and managed to leave his own throne for his younger brother Neptune and take to the ‘land throne’ with Niobe.)

-Layla’s body can actually form scales if she’s in the water for a long enough period of time. (Like how most people start getting pruney-like when in the water? Layla starts to scale. Hers are a lovely seafoam color and shine brighter than Stella’s favorite necklace.)

-Growing up, she was close to her cousins. Nereus and Tritannus acted like her older brothers and taught her so much about the underwater world as well as life in general. And she and Tressa were practically sisters. (This changed after they all became teenagers, especially when it started becoming apparent that Tritannus and his father were falling out.)

-Layla wasn’t always so sheltered. She used to be able to go on trips with her parents to other realms and used to be allowed to explore around the MerKingdom with her cousins without any repercussions.

-That changed after Layla turned 7. Rumors of remaining Coven members being spotted around Andros made her parents wary and then there was an attempted kidnapping of Layla by a group of sirens who had been known to work closely with Tharma happened… After that, Layla became a bit of a prisoner in her own home because her parents were so afraid of something happening to her.

-Layla was early to get her powers (5), and early to gain her first fairy form (12). Niobe and her most trusted court members took to training her in her fairy magic, wanting her to be able to believe in her own abilities as a fairy. (And hope it would translate into her abilities as a princess and a queen.)

-When she was younger, Layla used to ask for a younger sibling. Her parents had to explain that it was hard enough for them to have her, that they were afraid of risking trying to have another. (Even land-walkers and ‘humans’ have issues with fertility. Layla had been such a blessing to them, their last attempt to have a “natural” child.)

-Layla has already had her Princess Ball, but it was vastly different from Stella’s. She had little-to-no say in what happened as her parents were going for a strictly traditional Androsian Ball. The only upside was her cake and that Tressa was there with her.

-Anne was her first friend after she’d been put into ‘lockdown’ by her parents. (And was sort of her first crush. But it’s nice knowing they’ll be close again after Anne married Nabu’s older sister.)

-Layla’s favorite activity/sport may be dancing, but she has many others she’s in love with. Swimming. Water polo. Surfing. Tide Bombing. Androsian Wave Skiing. Water Races. Synchronized Swimming. (Basically, she loves all the water sports. And is pretty decent at them, if she does say so herself.)

-She’s currently really into a few Earth sports right now too. Tennis, volleyball, and MMA.

-She’s also working on her leaf surfing skills and her abilities as a swordswoman. (She’s great at the agility part and keeping on her toes, but she still needs to work on her timing when attacking and trying to defend herself.)

-Layla discovered the pixies and befriended them before her lockdown happened. She’d been with her parents in Magix. They had been on an important meeting with the Council and she was supposed to be with her nanny/Fairy Godmother. But Layla wanted adventure and snuck off into the forest. She ended up running into Queen Ninfea and finding Pixie Village. (And meeting Piff.) Needless to say, she made friends for life.

-And Layla knew when the pixies went missing. She could feel something deep inside of her was wrong when she couldn’t connect to Piff and hadn’t heard from Chatta or Tune in a few days. (The pixies had been allowed to visit with her and write to her after her mother’s own pixie, Ariella, vouched that they were real pixies from Pixie Village and not some sort of imposters.)

-Anyway, Layla did what she usually did to escape from the Androsian Palace, leaving when the guards changed shifts and while her parents were busy holding court. From there she managed to get to Pixie Village and talk Ninfea into helping her create a teleportation spell into ShadowHaunt. (We all know what happened after.)

-Layla and her parents had a very long and awkward conversation after Layla woke up in good condition at Alfea. They had been so worried and had been so relieved that Faragonda had been the one to find and house their daughter… But after hearing what she’d gone through and how she managed to do so much and still survive… It made them realize that Layla is growing up and that she is a powerful and capable fairy. (Which is how she managed to convince them to let her stay at Alfea, though it didn’t hurt that she mentioned who her new friends were and who her friends’ parents were/are.)

-(Layla still has nightmares regarding ShadowHaunt and the pixies, but after the realm was returned to its true nature, the nightmares started dying down… Until Nabu almost died that is.)

-She used to be so against marriage because she knew about the whole ‘arranged marriage’ ideas her realm had. And when her parents tried to force her into one, it really struck a nerve because of the hypocrisy. After all, they chose their own partners, why couldn’t she?! (Which prompted another conversation with her parents. One that required both parties to open their minds and hearts.)

-(Thankfully, she and Nabu did end up choosing each other… Though she wishes her dad didn’t get along so well with Nabu and that her mother didn’t try to show him baby pictures of her. Honestly, the audacity of her parents.)

-Layla may like seafood (because seafood is a staple of Androsian society), but after being with the other Winx girls, she’s found she really loves the varieties of veggie meals from Linphea. Especially the wraps. (She threatened to marry Flora when the other girl introduced them to her. She was so in love.)

-She and Musa love to jam out together (especially since Layla got her drum set). They actually sound really lovely together and it gets even better when they can talk Tecna into joining in with her keyboard.

-Layla absolutely loves to ride the Sea Hodeaas her uncle Neptune and aunt Ligea have stabled up. It’s the best way to travel underwater and the animals are so majestic. (And yes, they are a breed of seahorse, but a seahorse mixed with those sea dragon things on earth. Just imagine that merger and imagine them to be the equivalent size of a normal horse. Just underwater.)

-No. Layla cannot talk to sea creatures. Not without a spell in place. Please stop asking. (Dammit if you want to talk to animals, Roxy is right fucking there.)

-Layla isn’t thin either. She’s muscular. And she looks fabulous in ballgowns. Eat shit haters.

-If Stella is the snacker of the group, Layla is the one always reminding people to stay hydrated and has like ten water bottles on her at any given time.

-Layla is the friend that if you wanna go do something potentially stupid just to see if you can do it, she’d be down for it. (Granted, she’ll tell you all the ways this could probably go wrong and you all end up dead, but she’s all for seeing what her body can handle. No, she’s not a masochist. She’s just curious.)

-She can sing. But she doesn’t do it often because if she hits a certain pitch, it could be almost… Hypnotic… (Which isn’t fun to explain.)

-Layla may wear heels to formal events, but she’d rather wear her sneakers or flip-flops any day of the week. Seriously, please just let her wear her comfy shit.

-We all know Layla is competitive in sports… She’s also competitive in video games and in board games. (The other girls have a constantly updating list of games Layla and Tecna are no longer allowed to play together.)

-Layla was the most excited about their Earth adventure to find Roxy. It gave her an excuse to be away from Andros for a bit and just be her. (That summer had been a bit, intense. As the Crown Princess and an adult, her parents had been bringing her in more and more on the business aspect of being a Princess.)

-(She loves her crown and her title, and she loves her people and her world… But sometimes it seems like an overwhelming job to be queen and she’s so terrified of doing something wrong that will endanger everyone she cares about or that she’ll end up accidentally offending an important socialite/delegate/ambassador.)

-Stella is good at the people-aspect of being a princess, so she’s been great at helping Layla get over her nerves on the subject and how to be herself while still being princess. And Layla has helped Stella better understand the more political/tactical portions of being a princess. (And together they’ve helped Bloom become more okay with being a princess.)

-Layla has her major fear of being alone and of failure (which we’ve seen when she gained her Charmix), but she has a few minor things… Like she’s a bit claustrophobic thanks to her time in ‘lockdown’ and she has a thing about being late to important events. She’s also working on her public speaking issues… It’s a work in progress.

-Her favorite classes in Alfea involved flying and physical education. Flying always made her feel free and graceful, and almost as powerful as if she were underwater. And the physical classes helped her get rid of her nearly endless energy.

-Layla is a bit hot-headed for an Androsian (who are known for being cool and go-with-the-flow), but she just feels things so deeply and it rocks her to core. (Part of it may be due to the pressures of being a princess and having to try and always do and say the right thing, part of it may be due to being watched so carefully as a child, but she just can’t let things go sometimes and rather than nurse a grudge, she’d rather just have it out and be done.)

-Her goal is to be a great queen when her time to rule comes. But she doesn’t want to necessarily be queen like her mother who tended to rule out of fear. (Layla gets why, she does. She’s met members of the Coven and knows why her mother and father were terrified, but she refuses to be someone who lets it make all of her decisions.) She’ll listen to her fears, sure, and try to rule accordingly, but she doesn’t ever want it to hinder her from making great decisions about Andros or her future children. (If she has any. She and Nabu are still trying to figure out if they want them or if they’d rather wait awhile and adopt.)

[autumnblogs]

Day 46: Failure to Launch

https://homestuck.com/story/5512

Eridan is the Other Hero of Hope. Since we’re opening on a new leg of the story, and Jake is directly being confronted by Eridan in this way, we should expect to draw some parallels between Jake and Eridan, just like we have between Equius and Dave for examples.

Sollux is there too, but I’m not entirely clear how he relates to Jake. Maybe I’ll have an idea. More after the break.

https://homestuck.com/story/5514

Immediately struck by the similarity between the way that Dirk and Vriska have the same sort of desperate, rambling, conciliatory style in their attempts to remediate perceived division between themselves and people who they want to court; whether it’s Vriska attempting to repair her “friendship” with Aradia, or Dirk trying to navigate his floundering relationship with Jake.

Maybe I’m just projecting.

https://homestuck.com/story/5516

Jake’s perverse enjoyment of Erisolsprite’s suffering, if it can be called perverse and not just empty-headed, recalls John’s similar attitude toward’s Karkat’s trolling, so I wonder if they can’t be compared? Maybe Erisol here is acting as a foil for Jake by externalizing his own thought processes.

Jake in particular seems to attract these kinds of mirrors, a magnet for prophetic insight and knowledge he shouldn’t have access to, so his reaction is probably more of his pageish willful ignorance - trying not to internalize information that he doesn’t want to acknowledge just yet.

If anybody is qualified to recognize emotional theatrics, it’s probably Eridan.

Sollux really helps to mediate Eridan’s unmitigated narcissism with his resigned apathy, so if nothing else, that’s probably why he’s in the mix.

https://homestuck.com/story/5523

We can compare Jane to two different characters here in terms of her weariness with Jake. Just as we can compare Jake to Rufioh AND to Eridan, we can compare Jane to Damara AND Feferi.

Comparing these kids’ long session of Sburb both to the long session of the Dancestors, and to their exhausting echo chamber of afterlife, we should expect that they have already had basically all the conversations they are capable of having; without introducing any new information to this session, all the combinations have more or less been tried - like exhausting all of the dialogue options in a video game.

They’ve already tried every compatible configuration they can at this time. The atoms no longer come together to form them.

The way Jane listens to Jake is like a gamer who accidentally initiated unskippable tutorial dialogue and is mashing the A button to skip to the end of the conversation.

Her exhaustion with Jake is the same as Feferi’s exhaustion with Eridan; trying to moderate the emotional theatrics of a desperate self-destructive romantic. Her exhaustion with Jake is the same as Damara’s exhaustion with Damara; affection ultimately colored by ennui and exasperation with a friend whose betrayal has permanently harmed their ability to trust each other.

Again, Jane is not entitled to Jake; but he is also plainly willfully ignorant about her feelings if we are to believe his encounter with Brain Ghost Dirk to be representative of his general ability to intuit but not acknowledge the truth.

https://homestuck.com/story/5533

The presence of Fefeta ties the comparison between Jane -> Jake and Eridan -> Feferi together nicely.

https://homestuck.com/story/5535

The unbearable Ennui of just waiting and waiting around for the conditions of life to be right so that you can move on from a place that is depressing and unbearable are very Aradia-esque, too, and generally feel like the set the tone for this whole half of the adventure actually. Or at least this quarter.

Everyone is forced by the narrative to wait, and reflect, and gazing into your reflection can be an intensely uncomfortable experience for those with unresolved suffering.

https://homestuck.com/story/5553

Caliborn opens his attempts at Friendship with Jane by mixing praise and insult in a way that makes me think of a really shitty pickup artist.

He still only really views other people as vehicles for his personal gratification, and for women in particular.

https://homestuck.com/story/5554

Caliborn’s language associates Reason and Logic with masculinity, drawing a parallel between him and Dirk.

https://homestuck.com/story/5568

Ready for an extraordinarily weird take? According to the context clues you can pick up from the epistles, while he was a prisoner in Rome awaiting trial, the Apostle Paul (the main guy after Jesus responsible for the spread of Christianity) became extraordinarily popular, and convinced a lot of the courtiers of the Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity, including his own jailors.

I recalled this at this moment for serendipitous reasons. Dad’s civil manner endears him to the Dersites. His fatherly charm is irresisitible to them. Could this guy kick all their asses? Absolutely he could. But he is just too civil.

Although the Draconian Dignitary still only really performs Dad’s particularly brand of Fatherly Amicability in his particular... Draconian Way.

https://homestuck.com/story/5571

Some of the rare insight we get into the inner life of the Condesce.

She is just as much of a child as her pre-scratch self, even in adulthood - emotionally stunted in a manner not unlike her boss.

https://homestuck.com/story/5579

Roxy’s fanfiction, aside from being a delightful bit of commonality connection between her and her mutual mother/daughter, seems to foreshadow Caliborn’s eventual shitty parody of Homestuck, Homosuck, with the Horse Accident in particular being the obvious point, but the nature of it as a story about wizards trapped in a story about more fictional wizards alludes to the layered narrative world of Homestuck.

Characters who are fictional from one frame of reference are quite real from another frame of reference. Wizardy Herbert is mostly a sign-post, like a lot of the metafictional stuff, to help allude to the idea that the narrative has an author, the author has an agenda, and we should be suspicious of it.

https://homestuck.com/story/5616

Surprisingly, I don’t have a lot to say about Calliope! I have a bit more to say about her brother, but I hardly need to say it in response to any one thing that he does.

Calliope is really the polar opposite of her brother, but I think she is still suspect, particularly the alternate version of her, but even this version of her. Cherubs are more different from humans and trolls than they are from each other by far, and while Calliope sounds wise because of the way she speaks, her apparent wisdom often hides more than a little foolishness.

Cherubs are born to power. It is their literal Birthright to travel the stars and govern civilizations. Calliope’s interests may be aligned with the kids’ interests, but I am not sure they can ever be the same.

https://homestuck.com/story/5626

We’ll begin here tomorrow.

For now, Cam signing off, Alive, but somewhat dried up. This winter low humidity is really fuckin’ me up.

[doof-doofblog]

"Will You Do That For Me?"

Monday 9th November 2020

Hello everyone!  Hope you've had a brilliant weekend! Seeing as we've been put into a second lockdown, I have recently been watching EastEnders episodes from 2008 on BBC iPlayer! I have to say there are so many characters I miss, to name a few:- Bradley, Tanya, Roxy, Ronnie, Peggy, Bianca, Ricky, Pat, Christian, Masood, Zainab, Jane ... A lot of these characters I do wish would come back, its a crying shame that some of them have passed away. What do you think guys? What characters from years back would you like to see return? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Anyway, let's get back to the episodes of this week, what a cliff-hanger Friday's episode was left on. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens next this week, let's delve right into it. This episodes basically starts where Friday's finished, Mick coming face-to-face with his abuser, Katy. Mick is as white as a sheet, he looks like he's seen a ghost as she approaches him. It's interesting how innocent she is acting, but of course how else would she act after seeing him for the first time in so long. She informs him that Shirley had rang her informing that Frankie had been around, the first question out of Mick's mouth is why did she never tell him that Frankie was his daughter, Katy seems a bit shocked to hear this, she the tells Mick that Frankie is 100% NOT his daughter. Now, is she telling the truth? Has Frankie accidentally made a mistake? Depending how long Katy is going to be on the Square for, I can see this storyline be a really hard hitting one for Christmas! Katy suggests to Mick that they sit down have a talk and she makes her way towards the Vic.

As Mick slowly follows Katy into the Vic, the scene changes to Lola alone in her flat. She's just confessed everything to Jay about sleeping with Peter, months back! Honey walks in to find her almost in tears, at first she doesn't realise that anything is wrong as she asks her about her flat deposit, but when she turns to see Lola looking all teary, she asks the poor girl what's wrong. Lola comes clean and confesses that she slept with Peter months ago, she informs Honey that she's told Jay the truth before they moved into their new apartment, but she fears she has ruined everything between them. Honey sits down as she takes in the recent news, she then tries her absolute best to console her, she suggests that maybe Jay has gone to speak to Peter, considering they were best friends, Jay must feel some kind of betrayal from his friend, so perhaps he's gone and spoken to him about it. And she's not wrong - Jay is next scene in Beale household, he's sat with a cup of tea waiting for Peter to appear, poor Bobby has no idea what's happened and he's been left alone with a seething Jay. Jay informs the young lad that he's willing to wait for Peter to show up.

Meanwhile at the Vic, Mick is trying to understand the situation with Frankie. Katy informs him that Franke's father is just a random bloke that she can't even remember the name of. But Mick can't seem to quite understand, as in his mind, regarding Frankie's age and the fact the Katy simply just disappeared all those years back, it would make sense and would fit they she would be his daughter. Katy appears to be shocked at what she's hearing, she then happens to say something very interesting "You have to have sex to have a baby!" - she's implying that they never had sex?! Hmmm ... something really doesn't sit right with me, even Mick recalls of their relationship all those years ago and Katy can't even begin to believe what he's saying. She believes that he's told Frankie about her and that is why she is no longer speaking to her. Is Katy simply lying about their relationship? Is Mick perhaps mistaken? Or is this going to turn into something much darker and Katy is going to deny everything until Mick reveals everything to everyone and she'll be seen as his groomer/abuser.

Out on the Square, Lola finds Peter and admits that she's told Jay about them. Peter is shocked to hear about Lola's confession and informs her that Jay is waiting inside his house for him. Instead of walking into his house and facing the music, he decides to walk the other way, much to Lola's surprise. It's then he informs her that he has a job interview the next day and doesn't want to show up to it with a black eye. Hmm, I think that's a bit of a coward's excuse to not face his best mate and basically admit to his mistake. He can't keep hiding, he'll have to face Jay sooner or later.

Meanwhile, Rainie and Stuart are in the same position as we saw them in the previous episode. Bless them, they had both fallen asleep on the sofa together. Suddenly a bell rings (I instantly thought it was their doorbell) Stuart wakes and he looks at his phone to which then his wife wakes up and asks whether it's anything important. Stuart reassures his wife that it's nothing and he gets himself up to make themselves a cup of tea. As he looks in the fridge, Rainie takes a look at her husbands phone, as he turns round he sees her looking at his phone and she points out that the notification on his phone was a reminder for a visit to the fertility clinic, for the following day. Rainie admits to her husband that because they had booked it so long ago she had forgotten all about it, but Stuart didn't want to remind his wife as he didn't want to upset her. Will they still go this appointment? They both admit to each other that they still want a family, even if it means just being a family of two, but I'm sure deep deep down, both of them would love have a child if there was a way.

In the Vic, Ian is surprised to see his son, considering they haven't been speaking since the family found out about him re-mortgaging the Café and forging Kathy's signature. Peter informs his Dad that he needs to lie-low for a while, yep- he's simply avoiding Peter. Peter makes his way to the upstairs of the Queen Vic with his Dad's acceptance. Meanwhile, over at the Beale household, Lola has found Jay waiting for Peter. She's trying her absolute best to plead to her boyfriend and apologise, but Jay isn't having any of it. He's wanting to know where Peter is, but Lola admits she has no idea but Jay doesn't believe her, ask they're arguing Bobby can seen counting on his fingers again in an attempt to calm himself in this heated situation. Jay suddenly storms off in search for Peter.

Returning to the Vic with Mick and Katy, Mick is informing Katy about everything he remembers from their time together, going the cinema and she telling him she loved him. But Katy seems to have an explanation for everything he mentions. She recalls calling it their "little secret" because she took him to a rated 15 movie while he was just 12 and she didn't want to get into trouble. Plus she also admits telling him she loved him, but only in a motherly way. She appears to be really twisting it and telling him that he's not remembering things properly. (I'm sure that's a common factor of being an abuser, persuading the victim that they've got their facts wrong!) But suddenly Mick seems to remember everything so vividly, he starts to describe the night in question when he first slept at Katy's. Remembering the memory of being told to go upstairs and use a towel, her undressing him and then being asked to join her in her bed, to which he recalls that's when everything between them started. Katy doesn't seem to recall what Mick's saying is true, when they leave the Vic, Mick attempts to escape, informing her that he hopes she manages to find Frankie, but Katy isn't going to let him escape that easily, she informs him that what he has pretty much just accused her of, she could go to prison for. She tells him that their discussion isn't over and Mick takes her someone else more private.

Meanwhile in Cafe, Rainie watches as Denise enters with young Raymond. Rainie smiles at the small boy and asks Denise a pretty forward question, "How old were you when you had him?!" - understandably, that catches Denise off guard. It is quite a forward question which, to be fair, no one she be asked, but poor Rainie, in such desire of being a Mum, I guess she's probably thinking if Denise can, then why can't she? Regardless of their age! As far as I can make out, Denise seems to reveal to Rainie that she had Raymond at the age of 45? Which to be honest is absolutely incredible! Maybe this might give Rainie some hope? Maybe it's not too late for her to have children?

Returning to Mick and Katy, they eventually find themselves in the park. Katy seems to recall Mick's memories a bit differently, she recalls cleaning him up and putting him to pet, tucking him in and then she suggests that actually she slept on the sofa downstairs and not in the same bed. She remembers him crying and wanting to help him. While Katy is giving her version of events, a voice is heard from the other side of the park and Tina appears, she is incredibly excited to see Katy after such a long time. But as the camera looks to Mick as Tina and Katy are reminiscing, he looks like he's close to bursting into tears. Katy informs Tina that she's come looking for Frankie, it's then Tina mentions that she used to work at her bar and she instantly invites Katy to go round and have a look. As they walk on ahead they call out for Mick to come and join them, but he looks as if he'd much rather be 1000 miles away from Katy.

Meanwhile, in the Vic, Jay is still searching for Peter. He asks Ian whether he has seen him to which Ian denies ever seeing his son. As Jay orders a pint, Honey watches from a distance as Jay sneaks into the back of the Vic and up the stairs. Suddenly he becomes face-to-face with the Beale offspring and he scarpers into the bathroom. Jay chases after him as bangs against the bathroom door, calling Peter a coward for not facing him like a man! Peter makes a really pathetic excuse claiming he had no idea that he and Lola were even serious, to which Jay flips just that little bit harder and bangs against the door violently. Suddenly, Honey appears from the stairs and calls out to Jay to calm himself down ... I do believe that Jay would like to get his hands on Peter, but in all seriousness, what good what it do? It really wouldn't make the situation any better.

Back at the undertakers, Rainie brings her husband a cup of coffee. Stuart is looking crushed after the recent events, but something tells me that after Rainie bumping into Denise, perhaps it's given her some form of hope that perhaps there still could be a chance that they could become parents. Rainie admits to her husband that she thinks they should still go ahead with their appointment to the fertility clinic. She states that they've already paid and they wont be able to get their money back, and if there is just the smallest chance that it could work and they could become parents, they should grab the opportunity whilst they can. Stuart seems absolutely thrilled with the idea, but of course he's bound to have some concerns, he begins to tell his wife "What if -!" but she stops him in his tracks and reassures him, "If it doesn't work, then we've still got each other!" ... I have to say, I really do love this couple. They're the couple I never thought I would've loved and would've wanted them to have so much happiness. I feel so happy that EastEnders have brought these two together, they fit so perfectly and I know it sounds mushy, but I do hope they get their happily ever after, they are the ones who seem to deserve it more than any one else. Don't you think?

Back at the Vic, Honey is trying to console Jay, telling him how much she came to hate Adam by the end of their relationship. She tries to reassure Jay that things wont be like that for him, as Lola is deeply sorry for what she's done, and plus considering the fact that Jay loves her. Jay admits he wants to smash Peter's face in, which is understandable. But when Honey in speaking about Adam and how after everything he had put her through, it was the final straw for her, after a long line of straws, Jay is staring at her. Not talking, not even blinking - but Honey can see that he's looking at something, he's looking  straight at her. Has he come to realise he has feelings for her? He quickly thanks her and leaves the Vic, leaving Honey completely speechless.

At the Prince Albert, Tina and Katy are reminiscing after Tina informs Katy that she's attempted to get hold of Frankie. As they continue their conversation, Tina asks Katy why she left the care home so suddenly all those years ago, she explains that she fell out with the manager after he made a pass at her. She recalls being chucked out the next day without being able to say goodbye to anyone. It's then Tina mentions how devastated they all were that she had left, and described Mick as a love-sick puppy. Mick is sat on his own as his sister chats to his unknown abuser. Mick then speaks and recalls writing letter's to Katy but never receiving a reply from her, to which she admits is her biggest regret. She reveals she got pregnant with Frankie soon after leaving the home and that her head was all over the place during the time. Suddenly, Katy's phone pings and she reveals that finally Frankie has been in touch and she's wanting to talk to her Mum. As she gets herself ready to leave, she asks whether Mick will show her the way to the train station, Mick looks ever so uncomfortable as he follows her exit from the bar.

Back at home, it looks as if Jay has returned to talk with Lola. She is deeply apologetic for her mistake. Jay has calmed himself down and listening to everything she's saying. She must've apologised numerous about of times as Jay tells her that she doesn't have to repeat herself. She make a promise to him that she will never make the same mistake again. She asks for his forgiveness and he admits that he forgives her, but there will no way back for them after this, he tells her that things are over between them. He makes the interesting point that he's not as upset about it as he thought he was going to be. Lola is clearly devastated by what he's saying, but what he says makes sense - when she fell pregnant, Jay wanted to keep it but she didn't, when Jay wanted to get married - he wanted it, she didn't and it's probably the same with the flat. Jay reveals that he's not even sure whether she wants it, however Lola confirms that she does want all those things but just not yet, they don't need to rush into things. It's then that Jay drops the bombshell that he's come to realise that he doesn't love her in the way he used to anymore. Lola is absolutely devastated and pleads to him, she tells him that she can't be with anyone else except him, as no one else knows her as well as he does. But Jay is very gentle with her informs her that she will find someone else eventually as she's a very strong woman and someone will love her for who she is. With a mutual understanding between them both, they decide to end things. Which I find very sad, I've always loved Lola and Jay together and utterly believed that they belong together, I certainly can't see them being with anyone else on the Square, especially Lola. Something does tell me however, that Jay has developed feelings for Honey over recent weeks, what do you guys think? Do you think Jay will take his chance with Honey?! Are to sad to see Jay and Lola call it a day on their relationship? Who do think will be their next love interest?

The final scene of this episode is also quite an interesting one. Mick leads Katy to the train station and it appears he's still coming to terms with the information that his memory isn't quite what he thought it was. He seems baffled that his mind "invented" the memory. However something is shouting at me that his memory is true, and Katy has just completely twisted it to make him think it's not. Mick thanks her for everything she did for him back in the day and mentions that he hopes that she and Frankie will be able to sort things out. He also asks her to tell Frankie that he's sorry, it's then Katy tells him to tell her himself, but Mick feels like it's best for him step away for a while and let things settle. But Katy then drops the bombshell that Frankie will only meet with her Mum if Mick comes to. I feel like once again, Mick is being thrown into situation he really doesn't want to be in.

For me, I found this episode very fascinating, mainly regarding the character of Katy. I think there is something deeply dark about her, she comes across as this brilliant woman who helped children younger than her whilst in care, but I think it's all a cover up, what if she abused other children as well as Mick? I do feel there will be a huge storyline with her now she's arrived, will it kick off until or around Christmas? What do you guys think?! Either way I'm really looking forward to seeing how this storyline develops. I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your day. I'll be back very soon another blog. Thank you again for taking the time the read. Love you all xXx

[dukeofriven]

I feel you on criticisms on John. Dude certainly has his flaws and his relationship with other people, particularly Roxy, have clearly been unhealthy. But the guy have apparently been depressed for years, and he haven't actually ever had much experience with real life on person relationships. He got issues he needs to work on, but he is not a bad person.

It’s the rampant hypocrisy that’s eating at me. “Let they who are without sin cast the first stone” y’know? Roxy and John are the only survivors of Game Over - even given the trauma that everyone went through those two went through more. Even Rose, with her vague sense of her alt-self in a doomed timeline, experienced what it was like to fail on such a profound scale: and to know that your failure is the one which the alpha timeline was aiming for all along. Your utter failure was not only pre-ordained, it was requirement for existence to go as planned.Both Roxy and John experienced this, but Roxy got to move to a universe where her friends were still alive, and their formative experiences were identical: Roxy lived through, what, 24 hours that Dirk and Jake and John’s Hot Mom didn’t? Less? Dirk is still hurtling through space when John and Roxy arrive in Post-Retcon world, just as he was before Game Over broke bad. Roxy has to live with the horror of seeing her friends die - but her ‘replacement’ friends are functionally indistinguishable from the old ones. Which I’m not saying to be callous, but to contrast her with John. John moves to a universe where his sister shares almost none of his memories of years spent together on a golden ship, growing up together, bonding as closer friends, as siblings.We don’t talk about that enough, I think. Jade gets shafted in several ways in the final hours of Homestuck: she gets no chance to speak to John and say “you were dead” - to come to some kind of understanding, some beginning of healing. What must that be like, to meet someone - your own brother - who mostly knows a you you never were? John has all these memories of Jade and Jade has only a fraction of the memories of John.And for John there are those issues that he would have encountered anyway in the OG timeline had things gone well. His other close friends (heck, I’d argue he was closer to Dave and Rose pre-Sburb than he was to Jade; he calls Dave, at least, his best friend) had all spent years forming closer bonds with one-another and new people. In the OG timeline, had Game Over not happened and they’d won, John would still have had to bridge that gap of space and time: but he would have had his sister there for support, and companionship, and close bonds. The Jade he instead ends-up with is practically a stranger who spent three years mourning him (AND HER BOYFRIEND BIRDFRIEND WHO IS PART BOY (thanks @technicallynotanon for the reminder that retcon Jade didn’t date)) alone save for a bunch of none-too-bright animals and her ghost clown grandmother.It’s tragic - and to make it so much worse things seem to have been easy for everyone other than John. They all fell in to new things. Relationships, mostly: Dave and Karkat made room for Jade, Rose got married. Relationships tend to tax friendships: the singular I struggles to compete with the plural we. Only Terezi - with her endless capacity to understand the paths of mind - might have understood him: but she left, taking the blackrom crush with her as she did so.John was isolated. John was more isolated, more alone than any other person: even Callie, who had an intermission of eternity being dead, returned to a world full of friends who remembered her well, and she snagged a don’t-yet-have-the-label-for-it-partner in the process. She too had someone to turn to, and that someone was the only other person John shared his trauma with.Sometimes its hard to talk to people. Sometimes it is harder still when the shadow of a life-partner looms over everything.So John didn’t talk to Roxy. Why does that shock us? Why are we the least surprised? Why are we acting like his actions are so unconscionable? For all that they were so darn cute together that cuteness comprised a relation of several hours over which one of the top two greatest traumas of John Egbert’s life occurred.The other was the death of his father, who was murdered, and whose brutalized corpse John had to witness. A murder - as far as we know - that never had any closure. A murder - as he may have come to realize with some reflection - that occurred largely through the manipulations of the same troll girl his only other crush fucked-off to go find and be with.We keep minimizing John’s trauma. We keep not putting it into perspective. We do him such a disservice.We say, instead, that his not talking to Roxy - that brief surge of anger and shame that threatened to break through his crushing anhedonia, his envy of one person who found another when he did not - we say it is some appalling moral failure. I’m a depression sufferer with a life of regrets and an embarrassing number of long years full of singledom and opportunities that were missed accidentally, but just as often avoided on purpose because self-sabotage is a way of life for people like me.Self harm can be as simple a matter as seeing something you want and letting it slip away, watch it slip away, watch yourself watch it slip away knowing you could do something and then… just… not. And afterwards struggling to explain your actions to other people, and even to yourself: if only I’d… if I had just…why didn’t…?You let it happen because, deep-down, you know you don’t deserve it. The paths not taken, the paths heavy with bitterness, shame, self castigation - paths such as these I have in spades, and hearts, and clubs, and even diamonds.But I, of course, could NEVER see myself acting like John does, and I am sure that no one on Tumblr calling John a creeper has ever done something like it either. I am sure their reaction is born of pure and moral rectitude, and not fear and revulsion at seeing themselves reflected so completely in so unflattering a manner.Surely not they. Surely not I.John Egbert doesn’t need a reason to be depressed. Nobody does. But his depression is not solely an accident of brain chemistry: it is rooted in his sense of self, and his sense of self is a failure. He couldn’t save his dad. he couldn’t save his friends. He couldn’t win Sburb and he couldn’t build the universe he was allegedly destined to build. All of that happened only because Terezi knew how to use him: left to his own devices, nothing would ever have gone right. John couldn’t save anyone.Or so it must seem in the haunting privacy of his thoughts.John has lived with that failure circling around and around in his head since… oh, I’d say about thirty minutes after everything settled down on Earth-C, about an hour after the party ended and his friends went to their new homes and their new lives and he was alone for the first time with the things he had done and the things he failed to do. It probably started the moment he first noticed the silence of his house, the house that was essentially an exact replica of the house he had lived in on the very day his father was murdered and his litany of failures began. It probably began when he sat on the couch in that big empty house and stared at the door that his father was never, ever going to walk through and listened to deafening roar of being the only person there.That was when it started: with a hollow emptiness in the stomach. With a skull that every-so-slightly seemed to be pressing in on his brain, a feeling he’d never felt before. The sudden, sharp, jarring flashes of memory: his father’s body ripped eight ways to Sunday, Rose breathing her last in the dust of LOPAN, that awesome expanse of Skaia local alight with burning worlds and desecration. It began when the Heir of Breath found himself short of his own element for no reason at all, save that he simply found it hard to breathe, hard to make his body continue to breathe.He didn’t say anything at first.He made excuses.He didn’t want to bother people - told himself he was actually enjoying the alone time, enjoying having nothing to do after what felt like a lifetime of doing: although, really, the events of his life comprised little more than two sets of 24 hours spaced three years apart. And that bothered him too - “all things considered it’s not like you went off to war, John, and spent years away” he told himself. Retirement after two days of solid work? Most would kill for that. These and other good reasons not to say anything came and went: there was always a good reason not to say anything, and even those times when some semblance of human feeling  burned hot enough to produce genuine emotion he quickly suppressed it. It’s amazing how quickly depression is something you normalize, how quickly you find reason not to disturb it, to upset the status quo.By the time he realized even dimly that he should have said something to someone, anyone - about Roxy, or about that hollow feeling that now comprised his insides, about how nothing caused him joy or distress, that he could feel his youth rushing away from him in a torrent of time that he could do nothing to stop - it was too late. Perhaps it was always too late. This too, perhaps, was something that always had to happen.Perhaps.There is a moment at the end of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead where Guildenstern, standing on the gallows, faced with his impending doom and the absurdity of his existence muses “There must have been a moment, at the beginning, where we could have said ‘no.’ But somehow we missed it.”Then he dies.That line echos with me. I suspect it echos with many people like me. That’s the worst part of depression: the sense that no matter how much your condition explains your past you are never free of the feeling that there was a moment you could have done something about it all - but you missed it. The moment was lost, and everything since has been one long, unending chain of payment for that mistake.John Egbert doesn’t need our pity, and nor do I mean to say that he is free of criticism. Our depression contextualizes our actions, but it does not excuse our frailties. John Egbert, however, deserves better than the disapprobation of sinners throwing stones.

[drops-of-moonlights]

WINX AU SCREAMING (Part XIV)

In which I talk miscellaneous stuff about each Winx.

Bloom

- Her reptilian eyes don’t become actually apparent until she regains her magic near the end of S1. Her eyes looked like a normal human’s until then, thanks to Daphne’s spell when she sent her to Earth. The surge of energy removed the glamour, and her true eyes were finally seen - She did archery for about 2 years before leaving Gardenia - Her power over fire and her drakian blood means she can eat everything spicy and not feel pain at all, which is good because she loves her spicy food - After releasing Daphne at the end of S2.5 she moves in with her during the summer, and it sticks even after Domino’s restored - they love their parents, but they’re too overbearing - In the AU, she, Selina and Mitzi were best friends - and Bloom’s sudden dissappearance affected them a lot, Selina more than Mitzi

Flora

- She and Miele did not get along when they were younger at ALL, it wasn’t until Flora turned 13 that they became close - Her power when she was younger was kinda out of control, to the point the house got covered in plants top to bottom and they extended to the neighbors’ - She actually kind of sucks at keeping some of her plants in check, if it wasn’t for her magic a bunch of them would have died a long time ago - She LOVES cooking, and loves trying out new dishes a lot; she’s the default cook of the team alongside Bloom and Musa - She’s the world’s lightest sleeper, much to her annoyance

Musa

- Her hair was INCREDIBLY long when she was a kid, almost to her knees; she cutted out most of it when her mother died and it wasn’t until a few years before starting at Alfea that she started letting it get long again - She stays at her brothers’ place during spring and summer breaks, but for winter ones she and Tian go back to Melody to spend time with their dad - She can’t stand food gone cold, at all, and will chew out the other girls if they let their food get cold; it’s a residual feeling from when her family struggled to make ends meet - She actually keeps a bunch of her more negative thoughts in a little notebook rather than voicing them; she’s prone to starting fights sometimes and it’s a good way to keep herself in check - She also eats a lot more than the other girls, and eats more in general

Stella

- She has myopia, and needs glasses to see more than 3 feet in front of her; she usually uses contacts but when inside it’s glasses all day - While she does spend a lot of time with her dad (since he got the castle in the divorce), she’s actually closer to her mom; she doesn’t feel like she can open up to her dad much - The results of her Fairy/Witch test said she was more fitted to be a Witch than a Fairy, but she went with Fairy anyway to not focus so much on the low points of her life - She’s so accustomed to heat that anything below 15°C is deathly cold, which is a fact Tecna likes to mess with her about - She has an actually decent control over water and fire magic, but it takes too much of a toll on her so she focuses on her natural light

Tecna

- the squishiest of the entire team; she will randomly hug you and you will not see it coming - She loves reading romance novels, she hates reading romance novels - Much like Stella, anything over 15°C is Death Heat. They bug each other about it a lot. - She really loves tinkering machines with her parents, it was their way of bonding when she was a kid and it’s what gave her her title of Fairy of Technology - She has known she was adopted since she was 5, and doesn’t really want to see who her biological parents are; if they had a reason for abandoning her, she doesn’t really care.

Aisha

- She uses her magic for almost everything to the point of over-reliance; the magic limiter in Alfea’s dorms did a number on her - She’s the heaviest sleeper on the universe, much to her annoyance - She has an incredible amount of stamina, which means she outdoes everyone but Musa, Roxy and Flora in any sports they play - She tries to keep in contact with her little brother as much as she can, but trying to stay out of her parent’s radar kinda makes it difficult; it’s not until they come to an agreement in S3 that she can catch up with him - She has secretely practicing to make water-based Morphix (as Morphix in the AU is a completely artificial construct more related to light and earth, not water), but her attempts have been unsuccessful so far

Roxy

- She does not trust the girls fully until she earns Enchantix; she resents them a bit given they’re partially the reason her life got upside-down - She’s the laziest hardworker you’ll ever see; unless properly motivated she’d rather stay in bed - Does Not Understand Pixie Animals; she has zero issue with magic animals, but Pixie Animals are an enigma to her - She has a particular magic deficiency called Disparate Energy Seeping (DES), meaning it takes her longer to recharge after spending too much magic - She ends up befriending all the critters that go around Alfea, to the point she ends up with an accidental army of hamster cats who do her bidding

Diaspro

 - Her sense of money is incredibly off due to being sheltered for so long, so it comes with issues once her family partially disowns her for not getting married to Sky - This causes her to heavily resent her mother specifically, as she was the one that wanted her married at all (her father, now dead, heavily opposed it) - Her hair is naturally wavy, but the curls she usually dons take a bit to make even with magical help - Aside from Bloom and Stella, she ends up the closest to Tecna of all people, which not even they fully understand how it happened - She had a heavy fear of all animals, but with Roxy and Musa’s help she can at least coexist with most of them (reptiles and rodents are still a no-no, which causes issues with Roxy’s hamster cat army)

[whiteoutgotu]

My Brother’s ABSOLUTELY INSANE Canadian Fishing Trip (Ontario, May, 2015)

I totally forgot about this. Gotta be the craziest (true) story I ever heard:

“Canada was a crazy experience. We worked on getting water running into the cabin for 6 days and had no luck. I didn’t take a shower until we got back to grandma and grandpa’s house in Victoria. During that time period, I went fishing on Thursday with Uncle Bob (who had a stroke a couple years ago and isn’t doing so well anymore) and his brother-in-law, Jake. We had motor problems and didn’t know our way around Flood Waters (unofficial name, by the way), so we were stranded there. Jake and I paddled about a mile to a dock that he remembered seeing in hopes of finding somebody who could help. I walked around to the only two cabins I saw and nobody was there. They hadn’t yet opened for the summer. I found some firewood just in case we didn’t see another boat (which we didn’t for over 6 hours) and had to sleep outside. It was 26º that morning, so hypothermia was definitely a risk. Then I realized that breaking in was definitely an option. Bob wanted to try to pick the lock with a pocket knife, but I found a way in through a window without breaking anything. We got inside and found a bunch of food that we could eat if we needed it. I wrote a note in their journal letting them know that we had to force our way in and left my contact info. I went searching around more and found a motor under an overturned boat that had been set aside for the winter. I hooked up the motor to the boat, we got it running, and Jake drove us right over a big rock and sheered a pin on the motor so the propeller wouldn’t spin anymore. We had to paddled back to the dock again. I had one bar of service when we were out on the water, but not on land. I tied the boat with a lot of slack in the line so I could push myself out to call 911. I couldn’t give them hardly any details other than that we were in Atikokan and the directions getting to the landing we entered Flood Waters at – again, not the official name for the lake, so there wasn’t anybody who wasn’t a local who knew where we were. I got connected to the Ontario Provincial Police and got disconnected almost immediately. I gave up with that approach and walked around land. Found a high place and got 3 bars, called 911 again and was able to take a screenshot of the location on Apple Maps and texted it to the Conservation Officer’s (Joe Burroughs) cell phone along with a couple pictures of the cabins. He knew how to get there and they showed up by boat about an hour later at 8:20pm. They towed us back and we pulled up to the landing and got the boat loaded just as we lost light. Grandpa pays for Verizon’s Canadian service, but this is the first year the service didn’t work at the cabin, so we weren’t able to get a hold of him. He was worried until Wayne Miller (from the Braun’s house) drove up from downtown Atikokan at about 8:30 to tell him that we were okay so he didn’t have a heart attack. I had texted mom and dad earlier to let them know that we were all in good health, just stranded. When we pulled up, he was already a couple Manhattan’s deep and feeling much more relaxed. I asked Bob and Jake what they would’ve done if I hadn’t been there and Jake said, “probably killed each other.” Definitely not the trip to Canada that I was expecting, but it was amazing and I love Canada even more now. Had a great time with you, too. I hope to do it again soon.”

I’ve got some crazy stories myself - most of which I can’t remember. So many “impossible” events have happened in my life that I don’t really believe in the impossible. But, this gotta be the absolute craziest story I ever heard. My lil’ bro should be dead, but, dude is a survivor. I don’t know if I woulda made it in this scenario. I’ve had a loaded .380 aimed at my chest, the trigger pulled and the only reason it didn’t fire is ‘cause my boy didn’t know the safety was on. I’ve been SURROUNDED by gangstas with guns, completely blocked in at a red light on the South Side of Chicago - I’m talking like twenty dudes. Only reason we survived that is ‘cause Jose drove into oncoming traffic and the wrong way on a one-way road. I crashed a car into someone’s house, missing palm trees by six inches on each side - hitting either would have surely killed me. I’ve overdosed on heroin, Klonopin and alcohol and woke up in the hospital after paramedics injected me with naloxone, “probably saving my life.” I tore my stomach lining to shreds (creating “several” duodenal ulcers) accidentally overdosing on Aleve. Shit, I was sniffing 240mg-300mg oxycodone (three OC 80s or ten 30mg roxis), along with taking 2-4mg Xanax AND drinking at least a six-pack of beer on an everyday basis. My doctor couldn’t continue to refill my Xanax (8mg/day) and Klonopin (4mg/day) prescriptions, because I moved out of state, causing me to go into withdrawal, remain sleepless for TEN DAYS and have a seizure that caused my jaw to lock up, breaking five of my teeth. There’s a lotta reasons I shouldn’t be here any more. Like I’ve told so many people, I gotta believe the only reason I’m still here is ‘cause GOD still needs me to do something. This shit, though...Wow. I gotta remember to bring this up next time we chill. I gotta hear this story face-to-face.

He was 26 when this happened, by the way.

[altuniver]

Homestuck Bandcamp (humanstuck)

Karkat: Color Gaurd spinning a rifle. Would have done drum major but he didn't want to take band anyway. Constantly giving a big "fuck you" to the fine art credit requirements.

Kankri: Clarinet, a simple instrument designed to efficiently produce a delightful sound. Banned from owning a whistle in the band room. Has a group for destressing after trying to herd everyone around him.

Aradia: She can play all the instruments but prefers mellophone. Tries to inspire others to pay more attention.

Damara: Sneaks out of her cabin at night to smoke, some of the guys follow her. Can kind of play flute but skips practice anyway.

Tavros: Trombone, is stuck in a wheelchair, and has to play from the sides thanks to Vriska.

Rufioh: Busy talking to all the girls, shows off with his oboe but he's pretty mediocre. Plays trumpet in marching band, ALWAYS off step. Complains about the heat.

Sollux: Drum Line. Hates it. Constantly switches to Tuba for God only knows why.

Mituna: Drum Line. Loves it.

Nepeta: Virtually the ONLY person excited to march. Plays trombone. Is she even a real person?!?!

Meulin: Plays the saxaphone. Plays the same song over and over. Vapes with Kurloz on the daily.

Kanaya: Clarinet, sits by Rose and spends too much time cleaning her instrument.

Porrim: Saxophone. Everyone thinks she's hot. Also part of that popular group. Knows all the dirt. All of it.

Terezi: The newest Color Guard Member. Better than Karkat even though she can't see.

Latula: Trumpet. She's cool in band but always leaves the door opened in the winter causing everyone to freeze their ass off.

Vriska: Flute, going for first chair. Even if it means not playing by the rules. "YOU'RE ON THE WRONG FOOT!!"

Aranea: Flute, though she's constantly talking about literally anything and everything. Supports Kankri's cause. Maybe a small crush.(Seriously why don't they just date) Bullies Cronus and Eridan.

Equius: French Horn in winter and tuba when marching. Accidentally breaking his instrument every other day. "Can we have a water break?"

Horuss: Tuba. Has made so many customizations to his instrument that one wonders if it truly even can be called a tuba anymore.

Gamzee: Always forgets his music, is in the drum line, and has the tendency to run into people with his drum.

Kurloz: Also drum line, which helps being his mouth is sore from stitching it, rendering him unable to play anything. Likes the cymbols. Freaks everyone out but Meulin.

Eridan: A mellophone, bitches about being bullied without realizing his unfortunate place in the Band Food Chain. Mellophones are always bullied, but he will never understand. "I can't see the Drum Major!!!"

Cronus: Color Guard, thinks he's the best but he's not. At all. Flaunts his original music to everyone.

Feferi: Flag. Part of that popular group everyone knows about.

Meenah: Bullies everyone. First chair for Trumpet. The one that tells everyone's secrets and makes everyone hate each other.

John: Lowbrass. Always joking around and not taking the class seriously because it's band class. Wishing the food at camp wasn't terrible and missing his Dad's baking. Always accidently leaves his instrument on the ground.

Jane: Amazing with the trombone but never recognized for first chair. Has meltdowns in the bathroom.

Rose: Clarinet. Writing all her steps down accordingly. Never misses practice.

Roxy: Laughs when Jake is trying to talk. Can play a bunch of instruments but usually plays in the drum line. Calls the clarinets "lame"

Dave: Rifle Core, weilding his shitty katanas like a total boss. Has Only hit four band members by accident. Otherwise part of the lowbrass with John, or lingering around the drum line.

Dirk: Was once in Color Guard but has since graduated, and is here to help as a volunteer. His UNBREAKABLE katanas were the shit years prior.

Jade: Electric Guitar for the bass. And she rocks at it.

Jake: Drum Major! He gets incredibly antsy when performing and forgets just about everything. The first mellophone in HISTORY to make Drum Major.

Calliope: Bullied out by her brother, still cheers everyone on though. Was once a trombone.

Claiborne: Does he even go here? Lowbrass. He has to endure John's pranks. The guy no one likes because he's really fucking loud and obnoxious.

Hussie: Runs the joint and has given up on the "No Vaping" policy. Water Breaks are for the WEAK. Just wants to get the competitions over with.

[momestuck]

Epilogues: Candy, chapters 14-15 [Epilogue 3]

On to Epilogue 3.

The last Epilogue ended with a cliffhanger: prior to his disappearance, Dirk was constructing a ‘feminine’ robot, which Dave discovers is holding a note in its hand.

CW suicide for chapter 14. A successful suicide by hanging is described in some detail.

Also this Epilogue is really short and I actually read an entire nother epilogue before I realised that, so the next post will be very soon after this one!

Chapter 14

We get a POV chapter of Dirk, which might answer our question. This chapter is in second person, and brings back the “> Ascend” prompt, used so much throughout Homestuck. All that we know is “the world has been set on a path you cannot tread”. There are apparently no stakes or consequences - so Dirk has decided to kill himself. He succeeds, decapitating himself by hanging himself from a tower in a rather grim recapitulation of all the Dirk’s head jokes.

The narration is extremely self-aggrandising and condescending towards everyone else, as befits Dirk. Although exactly why he felt John’s decision to stay rendered anything he might do in the new world devoid of meaning or consequence, or prevented him from popping out into the Farthest Realm to get involved in some plots out there, is not immediately clear.

Although he’s god tier, the death ‘takes’:

Your body doesn’t get up, and your head doesn’t open its eyes. When you think so little of yourself as a moral character, any act of self-termination will result in a death that is Just. 

Friggin’ Dirk.

Chapter 15

Funeral time. It begins about as awkward and ridiculously as Dirk himself.

Most of it is given to a speech by Dave. It’s well-written, in-voice, and makes me feel stuff about Dirk Strider. He specifically addresses intrusive thoughts about suicide, the shit that Bro did, the way that Dirk mattered to them even as weird and self-absorbed as he was. Which does kinda mean something, because I guess I feel like, like Dirk, I live a lot in my head, follow trains of thought that mean very little to other people, but I’ve managed to make myself matter to others anyway.

Not gonna kill myself though. Not anymore.

Gamzee, for some reason, has Dirk’s note, and accidentally destroys it. The narration continues to emphasise how disgusting Gamzee is: how much he smells, how he’s clumsy, openly scratches his crotch, etc. His attempt to recap Dirk’s final message is mostly skimmed over in narration. Jake’s also gonna give a speech but the camera mercifully spares us that.

John, at this point, offers to retcon the suicide. Because... he can actually do that. There’s a brief discussion of the difference between time travel and retcon (if Dave went back, it would allegedly just create a separate timeline where Dirk does not die). Dave is like, no, don’t do that John... but John attempts to do it anyway, only to find his powers no longer work!

At that point Roxy shows up and proposes. What’s that thing they have in America, where the studios are doing a donation drive so they write loads of really dramatic moments into shows? ‘Sweeps’? ...oh it’s actually to do with the ratings system, trying to court advertiser money, but same difference. It feels like that right now.

Something about this doesn’t feel... right? Just a few weeks ago, Roxy was happy with Calliope, and now she wants to have his babies? John feels like he’s missing something important here, like he went for a bathroom break during the part of the movie where the plot twist happens. He should give Roxy some time, get himself some space. It’s all happened so fast that it’s suffocating.

Yeah. Calliope hasn’t shown up onscreen for quite a lot of chapters. What are we missing? What profound effect has John’s decision to stay had, that’s caused everyone to suddenly be obsessed with pinning down ‘endgame’ relationships, having children etc.?

Roxy once again prophesises that they will be ‘so freakin happy!’. I’m getting more and more uneasy every time those words are uttered.

(Apparently ‘prophesise’ is nonstandard, but I like the sound of it more than ‘to prophesy’, so I’m keeping that, nyeh.)

Epilogue 3 as a whole

Suicide’s a heavy subject, and describing in second-person and in detail is intense reading, but also a pretty harsh thing to do without (localised) warning. I would personally have put a content note at the top of this chapter, and invited the reader to skip to the aftermath if they felt the need.

The funeral was well-written, even if we’re like, skating from dramatic moment to dramatic moment - deaths! funerals! proposals!

I imagine if I was more invested in Dirk I’d be a bit frustrated to see him so abruptly killed off, but I suspect he’ll have a much more substantial role in Meat.

Will be interesting to see just what is up with Calliope...