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Notes and Observations on FNAF TFTP Vol 3: Somniphobia

So… Volume 3. It sure is a volume. Regrettably, I was bored through most of it. Like, I enjoyed it more than I did Volume 2, but that's an extremely low bar. I thought the Epilogue was the best part of the whole volume, tbh.

These are my notes and observations made while listening to the audiobook, which I borrowed from my local library. Fair warning: there will be spoilers. If you want the whole experience for yourself, you should skip this and go read/listen to the book yourself first.

I like the cover art, though. It's simple but fun. Just the way I like my silly children's horror books from Scholastic.

Note to any Moon fans who just happen to be here: he only shows up at the very end of the first story. He doesn't say anything. In fact he mainly just stands there and stares weirdly at the protagonist. However, he and the protag end up walking off together to "seek out adventures," so there's that. Do with that information what you will.

We also get a surprise appearance of Ballora in one of these stories! Which I found to be a very pleasant surprise and one of the highlights of this volume.

That's enough intro. Let's get into it.

"Somniphobia"

Somniphobia -- the fear of sleep. Generally caused by bad experiences with nightmares, sleep paralysis, or other bad experiences had while sleeping.

The story opens at a yard sale, where an older married couple are scoping out the yard sale that their neighbors are putting on. They discuss the reason behind the yard sale, and tell us that their neighbor's son has mysteriously fallen into a coma, and because of this the neighbors are selling off a lot of their possessions in order to pay medical bills. One of the items being sold by the family is a toy that belonged to their son -- a snowglobe-like toy with a Daycare Attendant Moon figure inside. The implication is that this Moon globe is the reason for why this boy has mysteriously fallen into a coma.

We then transfer our attention over to our actual main character, a high school boy named Sam Barker. Sam and his friends are eating lunch and talking about weird fears that they each have, from cliffs to clowns to amusement park rides. Sam apparently has a long, extensive list of fears, so much so that his friends roll their eyes and make fun of him. (And no, none of the fears listed at this point will be important later. Wasted foreshadow potential.)

Later that evening, Sam and his friends go to a party at a classmate's house. He's too socially awkward to really engage much with the other party goers, so he mostly just… hangs out.

He ends up talking with Lydia, a girl he's had study group with before, and she flirts with him before trying to get him to try an alcoholic drink with him. Sam refuses the drink, talking about how unsafe and unhealthy alcohol is. When Lydia tries talking about how she wants to try cliff diving, Sam starts telling her what the statistic likelihood is of her being injured or dying from that hobby. Obviously uncomfortable, the girl politely ends the conversation and leaves.

Sam's friends all harangue him about being such a wet blanket. One boy, Jules, tries to force Sam to drink the alcohol (to lighten up!), and Sam has a panic attack. Sam goes home alone, and his friends, feeling bad about sending him into a spiral, leave shortly thereafter. Jules argues that he was "just joking" and didn't do anything wrong, but the other three boys in the friend group tell him off. (Well, at least these kids don't universally suck.)

Some time later, one of the members of the friend group, Raad, decides to spend his birthday at the Pizzaplex. (Because it's soooo common for high school seniors to spend hours at a Chuck E. Cheese place, I guess????) The whole group goes with him.

(The audiobook narrator mispronounces "Fazer-blast." Not important to the story, just mildly annoying.)

At the Pizzaplex, Glamrock Freddy and Roxanne Wolf walk around the building, interacting with visiting children. Sam wonders if they're human employees in costume or if they're the real animatronics. (Pretty sure those are the animatronics, pal.)

Despite wanting to hang out and have a good time with his friends, Sam feels overstimulated. He thinks of the Pizzaplex as "constant sensory overload." He thinks everything is too loud, surrounded by the noises of the arcade games, animatronic performers, music being pumped over loud speakers, and the general chatter of the patrons around him, and he can't escape the smells of pizza, popcorn, and cotton candy.

Raad takes them to an arcade room of the Pizzaplex. He says he wants to win a "Moondrop Dream Sphere," which is apparently a top prize in the Pizzaplex arcade. He explains that the thing -- a little ball with a figure of the Moon Daycare Attendant in it -- lights up and is supposed to 'help you slip into a hypnotic state and focus better on things.' The toy "is supposed to take things from your subconscious and bring it more clearly into view." He says he thinks it could be helpful for studying, as he is desperately failing physics and is willing to take any help he can get. (That's… so weird.)

The DA character is called "Moondrop the Jester" in this story.

The boys apparently come here often, and already have 790 tickets saved up. Since the Moondrop Dream Sphere costs 1,000 tickets, the boys are determined to earn them all today. They manage it, earning 1,001 tickets and earning their new toy. Thrilled with their winnings, the boys return back to Raad's house to try the thing out.

When Raad pauses to greet his pet dog, Sam immediately launches into a story about a man who had his face eaten off by his own dog. Raad does not enjoy the anecdote, or the implication that his own dog might do that. (Oh my god, Sam! Ya gotta install a mouth filter, buddy. Some thoughts need to stay in your head.)

(Sam gives me autistic vibes. Don't know if that's intentional or important or neither. And given the fate of the *last* character to give me autistic vibes, I'm a little wary at this point.)

The instructions on the toy advise only using it for 10 minutes a day. Setting a timer, the boys take the snowglobe/jester toy out, along with their school notebooks, and prepare a "hypno-study session."

Once the Dream Sphere is turned on, the boys are sucked into some sort of shared, lucid dream experience, where they're all sharing knowledge and memories from their textbooks. They walk around the Egyptian pyramids out of Jules' history notes, while also reading and memorizing physics facts. When the ten minutes are up, the Dream Sphere powers itself down, and the boys return to themselves.

Raad lets Sam borrow the Dream Sphere, and he takes it home with him. Sam uses it to study the next day, and it leaves him feeling so good and happy and energetic afterward, that he cleans up the apartment he and his mother live in and even cooks dinner for his mother.

The following day, Sam decides to use the Dream Sphere again, this time deciding to use it for 15 minutes, blatantly ignoring the instructions that came with it. (A strange thing for the "everything is dangerous and you could die, actually" guy to do.)

"Sam heard rock music blaring from his mom's bedroom. Mom was painting again." Lol. Anyone walking in on me doing art.

"… like a human computer downloading a file." … Interesting way to phrase that.

After staying in the Dream Sphere for 15 minutes, Sam finds himself reliving a memory from his own childhood, a memory of playing in the park with his late father. Something "blue and gray" shifts in the corner of his vision. (Hello, Moon!)

Over the next few days, Sam uses the Dream Sphere more and more, using it to re-experience the time he spent with his dad. He uses the sphere for longer than the instructions suggested each time. Every once in awhile, he thinks he sees a hat with a bell or something blue out of the corner of his eye, but it's always gone when he turns to look.

Sam's mom grows concerned about the toy when Sam mentions that it's supposed to put him in a suggestive state. She jokes that he's going to come out of it "clucking like a chicken" one of these days, but she also genuinely expresses concern about it, commenting that something like that can't be terribly healthy. Sam discounts her concerns, but also doesn't tell her the truth about his usage of the toy - that he's reliving the memories of his dad.

One night, Sam struggles to sleep, feeling keyed up and anxious. He only calms down once he takes the Dream Sphere in his hands.

The next day, Sam has "a bad case of brain fog" and is irritable and unfocused. He spaces out so badly at one point that he doesn't even realize a class is over, and ends up snapping at Lydia, his not-girlfriend, and picks fights with his friends. (This story is extremely obviously a metaphor for drug addictions.)

After being unfocused and irritable all day at school, Sam goes home and uses the Dream Sphere again. He finally relaxes, and feels like he belongs in the "lucid, dreamlike" world of the Dream Sphere.

The Sphere no longer makes him feel happy and energetic, like it did the first few times. Now it makes him feel relaxed and tired. When he looks in the mirror, he almost doesn't recognize himself: he looks paler than usual, with deep bags under his eyes, and has his fists clenched as if in preparation for a fight.

"He tried to smile, but it didn't look natural. He gave up on trying to look happy, and went out to meet his mother." (Paraphrased, but roughly what the text says at one point.)

Sam forgets a commitment he made to help a friend with something, and then blows off his mother when she reminds him to do his chores. She points out that he hasn't done his chores or worn clean clothes in days, even though he's usually so good about those things. She zeroes in on the Dream Sphere, the only thing new in his life that she knows about and something that she knows he's weirdly defensive about, and she tells him to give it back to Raad. They get in a fight about it.

"Are you doing something that you are not supposed to be doing?" (It's okay, Mrs. Barker, you can ask if he's using drugs. These books are rated for middle schoolers and up, you're allowed to reference drug use in this manner.)

Mad at his mother for her "wild accusation," Sam retreats to his room, where he uses the Dream Sphere again.

He has strange dreams that night and doesn't sleep very well. He feels bad enough the next morning that he tells his mother he thinks he needs to stay home from school, and, after checking him over and thinking he seems genuinely sick, his mother agrees.

Sam and his mother have a talk, both apologizing for the fight last night. They talk about Sam's late father and how they both miss him. (Weird to see a healthy family relationship in these books.)

Sam spends a long time with the Dream Sphere that day, reliving memories of his dad. He has a realization that his dad would probably be disappointed in some of Sam's recent choices.

Sam and the Dream Sphere go through all of his memories of his father, finally reaching the day his father dies in a motorcycle accident while Sam is still a young child. Sam doesn't want to relive the memory, and he forces himself out of the lucid state and shuts off the Dream Sphere.

Even with the Sphere shut off, Sam is still trapped in the memory, reliving his dad's death. He tries shutting the Sphere off again, and this time it works. Terrified of this experience, Sam finally snaps out of love with the Dream Sphere, and decides that he needs to return it to Raad immediately.

Catching sight of his reflection in a mirror, Sam sees that blood vessels have burst in his eyes, and he's bleeding in them.

Sam goes to Raad's house, only to find no one home but the dog, Brutus. To his surprise, the front door is unlocked, allowing him to walk directly into the house. No one is home. He calls Raad's cell phone, and Raad answers, saying that he and the other guys just got out of school; when Sam tells him the door was unlocked, Raad gets frustrated with himself for leaving it unlocked. Raad says that he and the other guys are heading back to his place after school, so if Sam wants to just wait around for them they should be there in about 25 minutes. Sam agrees.

Back with the other boys, Raad tells the others that it's Jules' turn with the Dream Sphere next. Jules, fully knowing that Sam is waiting for them at Raad's house, decides they should make Sam wait, and cajoles the other guys into coming with him to the Pizzaplex to try out a new arcade game. (Because obviously we can't have them being good friends or showing up to help their friend in any way. That would be too inconvenient.)

While waiting for them, Sam considers the Dream Sphere one last time. Against his better judgement, he decides to use it again. He doesn't even bother setting a timer this time.

This time, Sam lucid dreams a perfect world. He asks Lydia to go to prom with him. She readily agrees, seeming pleased that he specifically asked her. During the dream, he gets a phone call from his dad, who is still alive and tells him that his mom just sold her first painting, and the family is going out to celebrate. Sam can't remember ever feeling this happy before, and is thankful that the Moondrop toy gave him such a good dream this time.

He comes across the Moondrop Dream Sphere. He finds this strange, since he's never seen it as part of the dream before.

He also starts to hear sounds trickle in from the real world, and he realizes how long he's been in this dream world. He also realizes that he never actually plugged the Dream Sphere in anywhere when he arrived at Raad's house (it's an electrical device, so it shouldn't work unless it's plugged in), and that it just magically turned on by itself when he willed it to.

(… Really? We're doing this? Ugh, fine.) While Sam is trapped in the dream world, he can feel his face being eaten off by Raad's dog.

Moondrop the Jester appears in this dream world (yes, the full-size Daycare Attendant) and watches Sam while Sam writhes in pain. Shortly, the pain subsides, presumably telling us that Sam's body has died. No longer in pain, Sam no longer cares about that sort of thing, and purposefully turns his back on reality, choosing to follow the Daycare Attendant deeper into the dream world, "eager to see what new adventures they could create together."

I don't understand the ending. The story was set up for Sam to fall into a coma due to overuse of the Dream Sphere, likely due to drowning in the dream world, but instead he gets his face eaten off by a dog and (presumably) dies on his friend's couch? Why? What was the point of the opening scene then, if not to foreshadow the ending? What the point of introducing Sam being having him talk at length about how he can't swim and how he's afraid of water? Does the art of foreshadow mean nothing anymore?

And this may come as a surprise to (-checks author credits on wikia-) Kelly Parra, but dogs don't just randomly eats people's faces off while they're asleep! DX That's a dumb ending to the story!

I do like the idea of Sam essentially walking off into the sunset with the Daycare Attendant, though. That part of the ending amuses me greatly. (And I can think of several people I've seen online who wish they could walk off into the sunset with the DA, lol.)

Sam in this story be like: "Friendship ended with reality. Now Moondrop is my new best friend."

"Pressure"

(-tries to restrain self from humming "Under Pressure"- -fails miserably-)

This story centers around a group of high schools by names of Luca, Nolan, Maddy, and Asher. Luca is our protagonist, and, like any good FNAF book protagonist, Luca isn't particularly fond of his friend group. Also like any good FNAF teen group (or really just teens in any horror media, actually) these kids are all incredibly annoying and unlikeable as characters.

The group originally formed a friend group because the three boys -- Luca, Nolan, and Asher -- play together on the school football team and enjoy the same horror movies, and Maddy, one of the school cheerleaders, is both Nolan's girlfriend and Luca's childhood friend and crush. (There's an unnecessary amount of drama regarding Luca's feelings about Maddy.)

The teens are visiting "Urban Legend Roleplayers Auditorium," a section of the Mega Pizzaplex where customers can dress in costumes provided by Fazbear's and participate in a LARP game with other costumed customers. The game is specifically to act out the "rumors and ghost stories that had become associated with the Fazbear Entertainment brand over the years."

While other kids fight over costumes of the animatronic characters, Luca wants to play the night guard, citing that he wants to "play the hero."

Even though the murders are brushed off as fictitious, Luca believes they really happened. This makes him a bit of a conspiracy theorist. His friends think his beliefs and interest in the whole thing is weird, and Luca hates having to defend himself against them.

(Wow. Assuming the child murder *actually* happened in the past, Fazbear's really just looooovvvves making light of it, don't they? And, if the murders never happened, if it's all just rumors and hearsay and ficticious stories, Fazbear's is still really invested to using these stories are part of their brand. Because nothing says family fun like ritualistic child murder and deadly haunting, amirite?)

The kids look at different play scripts for roleplay games they could choose from. They gravitate toward one called "Green-Eared Killer," a short rp script about three teenagers who break into the Fazbear Frights haunted house and get stalked by Springtrap, with the kids having to try escaping before getting killed by Springtrap. (… I just had a flashback to an rp thread I wrote with a friend ages ago, with a very similar plotline.)

Despite wanting to play the nightguard in a different scenerio (and despite believing that the murders really happened and people really died), Luca gets bullied into playing Springtrap for the game. He's not into it, but the other three really want to play the teen victims in this slasher set-up.

(…. Luca. My good dude. If a girl calls your eyes "platinum magic," you should *absolutely* ask her for a second date.)

The Springtrap costume is extremely ugly, realistic, and smells terrible. It also feels gross and crusty.

Luca doesn't want to play a killer, even if it's fake, because one of his childhood friends really was kidnapped and found dead weeks later. Luca had thought of his friend like a little brother, and it hurt and horrified him that something so awful could happen to someone he knew. He still had nightmares about it. His friends don't know about this, and just harass him until he agrees to play Springtrap for them.

(If these kids don't shut up soon, I'm going to start stabbing them myself.)

On the way to the game room, Luca (in full Springtrap costume) passes by some younger girls who are playing. One of the girls is dressed as Foxy and is mock-lunging at the others, and they all seem to be enjoying their game, which Luca finds cute. He then notices an adult male employee also watching the girls, the grown man watching them too closely and smiling to himself about it. The man is very clearly a creeper, and it disgusts Luca. Luca starts to go confront the man, only to get distracted by some little boys running past him. Looking back at the man, Luca sees that the man has turned his attention to the boys, the same creepy, too-interested-for-comfort smile on his face. Luca decides to go confront the creep, but gets distracted by one of his friends calling to him. When he turns back, the man is gone.

(This creeper's description makes me think of Pinkypill's design for William Afton, since he's described as pale and thin and gaunt and having blue-eyes.) (Yes, I'm aware that Afton literally has silver eyes in those books, but it's specified that his eyes used to be blue, so I'm counting him as 'blue-eyed.')

(Also this scene is very reminiscent of the "Go Go Go, Foxy" minigame from FNAF2, with the imagery of Foxy playing with a bunch of children while a creepy, smiling guy stands nearby.)

The kids enter the game room they'll be using. The room, or rather set of rooms, has been designed to resemble something like the Fazbear's Fright horror attraction. Wall decor includes both old Freddy's memorabilia, children's drawings, and sets of fake knives (for some reason). One section of the rp stage shows what looks like children's birthday party that was abandoned midway through, with paper plates and party hats strewn across the table and floor. There are also other animatronics in this set-up - a Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica on a central stage, and a Foxy in Pirate's Cove. These animatronics are more like statues than anything else, but have some mobility, as they can move their arms up and down.

As Springtrap, Luca starts the game in a "safe room." He also has a prop knife.

(I love how there are no knives ever in any of the games, brandished by any character for any reason, but in every single book featuring a killer in a rabbit suit they are *always* portrayed with knives. And of course, Lillard's iconic knife usage in the movie. But the games get a total of 0 (zero) knives, and at this point, I just find it comical.)

The kids start their game. As Luca starts to stalk his friends, he feels something inside his costume "gauge his arm." Other parts of the costume start to poke and prod him at various points. Irritated, Luca can't wait to get out of this costume.

At one point, he hears Balloon Boy voice lines play over an intercom, the same way it plays in FNAF3; Luca recognizes this game as a VR game.

SpringLuca and Maddy both get jumpscared by Foxy, who almost brings his hook down on both of them. Luca jumps, and something inside the Springtrap costume clamps shut around his leg, puncturing him. Luca cries out in pain, but his friends think he's just playing the character and trying to scare them, so they run away like they're supposed to. Luca can feel his leg bleeding, and he tries and fails to get his friends' attention.

As the game progresses, Luca gets stabbed by more and more parts of the costume. His friends all find places to hide and Luca feels like he's alone in the rooms. He tries to take the costume off, but can't figure out how to. He only gets punctured more for his efforts, and ends up bleeding and in a lot of pain.

Luca grabs Maddy, trying to alert her to his injuries. As he does, metal parts of the costume clamp around his head, pressing against his skull and into his scalp and even pressing into his mouth, and several small hooks attaching the costume head to his own flesh. He almost falls to the ground screaming in pain.

A series of snaps sounds throughout the costume, and Luca feels himself getting pierced in several places. He howls in pain, and, for the first time in awhile, his friends all pause, staring at him. Maddy, Nolan, and Asher, thinking Luca is just playing and getting into character, pretend to be scared and all scramble away in mock fright. They laugh gleefully and run away while Luca suffers.

Luca considers just sitting down somewhere near the exit door and waiting for his friends to get bored. But he's been bleeding pretty heavily inside the costume from his injuries, and feeling woozy from the pain and blood-loss, so he decides his best course of action is to continue trying to get his friends' attention. (Because that's been working so well for him. -rolls eyes- )

(Shouldn't there be employees nearby? Like, this roleplay set-up is essentially an escape room for kids, so shouldn't there be a Fazbear employee nearby, just for safety? Couldn't Luca try to get the attention of an employee?)

"A row of pizza ovens… dark and empty…" (Well I should *hope* they're empty! Last time I saw a pizza oven in Fazbear's Fright, there was a whole man in it!)

Okay, and now we have a brief convo about mob mentality. (Well, group think, but y'know. Same difference. And I recognize that this story is trying really hard to be a warning about the dangers of peer pressure, but it's not doing a good job about it, and this whole convo feels very hamfisted.)

Luca gets separated from his friends so much, he can't find them anymore. Feeling too weak and woozy to continue looking for them, he collapses, curling up in the corner of one of the fake storage rooms.

Asher, Nolan, and Maddy leave the game, deciding it's over. They barely even notice that Luca isn't with them. Literally leaving their friend behind, they decide to go get a pizza. (I'm only slightly exaggerating when I say that I think each of these kids should have gotten stabbed in the leg with a big knife. Ugh, they're the worst.)

After taking a rest, Luca manages to get back up. His shoes are now soaked in his own blood. While Luca is wondering if his friends are still around, he notices prop costumes moving nearby, as though someone had brushed past them. He hears a door open and slam shut somewhere nearby, following by many small footsteps and children's voices. Luca realizes that this group of kids are taking their own turn at the "Green-Eared Killer" game. He then realizes that that means his friends have abandoned him.

"He would [wait for the kids to leave] before approaching the exit door, pounding on it until someone opened it. Or until he died. Whichever came first."

While waiting for the kids to move on, Luca ducks into a dark corner where they won't see him. From this new vantage point, Luca is able to see that creepy man from earlier has entered the game room, and is putting on a Springtrap costume himself.

"… the pervert in the rabbit suit." Idk why, I just thought this line was funny.

Even in severe pain and believing that he's actually dying, Luca makes up his mind to tackle the creep before he hurts anyone.

When he hears one of the kids screaming, Luca begins to fear the worst. He follows the sounds to where the terrified little girl is trying to escape the grasp of the creepy man. Having enough of this guy, Luca tackles the man, putting him in a choke hold.

(And it's made very clear that this isn't a misunderstanding or anything -- this man definitely has bad intentions for these kids. We're not told what those intentions are exactly, but clearly it's nothing good. The kids don't even seem to know him, and the little girl he grabs actually bites him to get away, something children usually only do with people they don't like or strangers.)

Luca dies while strangling this man, ensuring that they both die together. Luca's last thoughts are about how this, his final act, is the first time in a long time that's done something for himself, of his own accord, because he felt it was the right thing to do.

I have a few observations about parts of this story:

First, I need to say that the vibes of that ending scene made me think of this scenario from skeletoninthemelonland. Just, Luca embodying his new rabbit form so completely, while also deciding that he's going to take control of his body back, and using his last bit of control to take down a man who is an obvious threat… Made me think of the fan concept of Spring Bonnie not being happy with Afton using it to harm children.

Second, I find it interesting that the general public knows the story of the Fazbear murders and hauntings, but the facts around them are so murky that anyone who believes they really happened is labeled "a conspiracy theorist." Outside of the Fazbear higher-ups, no one knows for sure if the murders happened or not, or how much truth is attached to the stories, if any. I just find that interesting.

And thirdly, let's talk about Fazbear's business tactics. Whether the murders really happened or not doesn't matter -- Fazbear's is capitalizing off of the stories. Which is just… so gross and weird. Because whether the stories are true or not, this company, which markets itself to children and families with children, is attaching stories of child abductions and murders to its brand, and attaching it so openly that children are encouraged to act out these stories on the building's premises. Can you imagine going to Disneyland and they openly talk about some of the shadier goings-on in their industry, and were encouraging small children to act it out? Wouldn't that be weird and make you feel gross?

So yeah, just further confirmation that Fazbear's is a godawful company and is nothing but harmful to its customers and employees alike. What else is new?

"Cleithrophobia"

Cleithrophobia -- the fear of being trapped, or locked in a small space.

There are stained glass windows in the Pizzaplex. We are again told that the Pizzaplex is shaped like a giant pizza - circular, with wedge-shaped sections for different activities.

We open on a group of teens who are visiting the Pizzaplex together for the first time, and are exploring all the different activities they can try out. They pass by the roleplay section (as seen in "Pressure"), the climbing tubes (as seen in "HAPPS"), a Chica-themed Tilt-a-whirl, a broken down AR booth (as seen in "Under Construction"), a dining room, a carousel (as depicted in the "Help Wanted 2" game), an arcade, the laser tag arena. They also spot the theater, and remark that there is a "little kids play area under [the theater]."

The kids have acquired a map of the building, and are pouring over it to see if they missed any attractions during their initial walk-around. Eric points that the index lists a "Ballora's Fitness and Flex" section, but that it's not depicted anywhere on the map images. Deciding to ignore it, the kids get in line to ride the indoor roller coaster.

The story then flashes back to "Five Months Earlier," refocusing on a man named Grady, a technician who works at the newly built Pizzaplex. Our protag Grady is doing rounds through the building, checking each of the individual attractions before opening. While everything is dark and turned off, he thinks the building feels a bit like an empty circus tent.

Grady is part of a team of three technicians. The team are working under orders to stay together at all times, but, when the other two knock off early, Grady chooses to stay behind to get some extra work in; they're behind schedule, and Grady would rather do the work now than come in to do on the weekend.

The computer system of the Pizzaplex has recently been installed, but something is wrong with it. It was storing data just fine at first, but the system glitched for some reason and lost all the data at once. Because of this, a lot of the technical aspects and programming around the Pizzaplex is having to be re-coded again.

A use of the word "phenom" that feels very forced. (I don't know, that word's just weird to me. I've literally never heard it before in my life until FNAF started using it.)

Grady goes to work on "Ballora's Fitness and Flex." This attraction in the basement of the Pizzaplex, and features vertical climbing tubes that run up and down the walls, allowing kids to climb up and slide down them. There are ladders to reach the openings of the tubes. The tubes are narrow and strangely shaped, with the shape of them meant to encourage the climbers to slightly contort their bodies -- not enough to hurt, but enough to encourage a level of flexibility. (This sounds like a dumb idea, but okay.)

(Also this is just real life Chutes and Ladders / Snakes and Ladders.)

Because of a traumatic experience with a babysitter (who locked him in a closet for several hours instead of actually babysitting, an experience that caused child!Grady to injure himself, become dehydrated, and eventually pass out from lack of air), Grady has a severe fear of tight spaces.

Unfortunately for him, he's the only one of the technicians who can fit into the climbing tubes in Ballora's Fitness, so it's his job to enter them and check to make sure they're safe. (Which I have to say, is extremely dumb. They're plastic, see-through tubes. They either work or they don't. It's not like they're connected to the computer system.) He's also going to check on Ballora and make sure she's functioning, as the animatronic ballerina is present in this section of the Pizzaplex; to get to her, he's still going to have to go through the tubes. (Why does he have to go through the tubes, though? I don't understand any part of this set up.)

Almost as soon as Grady starts climbing, Ballora pops up through the floor on a platform sticking out from the wall. She turns to look at him (wow! Open eyed Ballora!) and greets him cheerfully. This version of Ballora is just her upper body (so torso, arms, and head) and is attached to a mechanism that moves her throughout the attraction. Her hair is styled in a bun and comb like a flamenco dancer. She also usually sings in short verses in lieu of regular speech.

"'I encourage you to slide on in,' Ballora started singing again. 'That's the best way to begin.'"

Grady doesn't like Ballora's singing; he thinks she sounds sinister.

Ballora assures Grady that she's here to make sure he doesn't get stuck in a tube. Soon enough, Grady does get stuck, and Ballora, mounted on the mechanical arm, enters the tube to pull him out. She pulls him too hard though, and it nearly wrenches his arms from their sockets. She pulls him all the way through the tube, cheerfully unaware of the injury she's causing to Grady, and drops him off on one of the wall platforms.

"Please, can I help? I want to help." (Big fan of this take on Ballora's character.)

As much as Ballora wants to help, she either wasn't programmed properly or has some sort of glitch in her system (possibly from the system-wide computer crash). The next time Grady needs her help, she grabs him too hard and ends up crushing his hands and shattering his finger bones. Further "help" from her ends up breaking other bones in his body, including those in his arms and legs. Unable to hold his hands properly anymore, Ballora tries to grab another part of Grady's body, leading to her accidentally stabbing one of her fingers through his eye, and then breaking his nose.

Grady's coworkers Ronan and Tate return, as they carpool together and Ronan forgot his housekeys at the Pizzaplex. While they're here, they realize that Grady is doing the check-up on Ballora's tonight, so they decide to check in on him.

(Unrelated to the story, but I am madly, desperately in love with Ronan. I need this fictional side-character man carnally.)

Ronan and Tate check on Grady. They come face to face with the mangled remains of Grady, still in a tube. His body is broken in many places, and he's been stretched to "nearly twice" as tall as he normally is. Ronan nearly throws up, while Tate looks closer at Grady, eventually determining that Grady is blinking and therefore still alive.

I know Tate is just supposed to be an annoying self-centered loser prick, but I think it's weird that he knows just a little too much about the legal workings at Fazbear's and is a little too comfortable around a mangled body. His knowledge and behaviors are super suspicious, and for no reason.

After some inspection of what's left of Grady, the two men think their coworker has mere minutes left. Tate believes it's worthless to call for help, as he doesn't think Grady would survive the rescue. Unknown to either of them, Grady is still alive and slightly lucid, able to hear their voices but not understand most of their words.

In the end, the two men leave, abandoning their coworker to his fate. In his dying moments, Grady is still being pulled and tugged on by Ballora, who is trying very hard to help him get unstuck.

As Ballora continues to drag his near-lifeless body around, she keeps repeating "You are stuck. Let me help you. I want to help you. You are stuck. I want to help you." She seems to be glitched out, and is either unaware that her charge is injured or knowing that he's injured and being unable to do anything about it.

I didn't have many notes to take for this story. Not much happens in it -- just a game of IRL Chutes and Ladders gone terribly wrong. That doesn't mean I don't have a few thoughts about it, though.

I like the inclusion of Ballora, though. I'm intrigued by the idea of Ballora being in the Pizzaplex somewhere, but she's been locked away, closed off from everything else.

I also liked the segment of the unrelated teenagers checking out all the attractions that the Pizzaplex has to offer. The segment gives us a clearer idea of what the Pizzaplex looks like in these books, and revisits some areas we've already seen (like the AR booth and the climbing tubes) while also showing us a few areas we haven't seen yet. Makes me wonder if we're going to a get story later down the line that focuses on the theater area.

The story mentions there being a weird glitch in the computer system at the Pizzaplex, telling us that the whole system -- including security systems, the arcade machines, the lights, and even the animatronics, since everything is connected to a single system -- all crashed and now behaving strangely, and the technicians are basically having to go through everything piece by piece and reprogram everything. Makes you wonder if this crash was random, or if it was directly caused by something… Like, for example, someone hacking into the system that shouldn't have been there (like Patient 46) or an AI entering the system (like the Mimic) or a virus being uploaded to the system (like Glitchtrap). Food for thought.

This story focuses really hard on Grady's trauma and its origins, when it absolutely doesn't need to. The most it needs to say is that Grady was locked in a small closet for several hours by his babysitter. But instead, we spend quite awhile reliving Grady's memory with him, as his babysitter and her boyfriend trick him into the closet, and Grady screams and cries for over an hour, only for help to nearly arrive too late. The story spends more time on this, Grady's original childhood trauma, than it does on his slow death by Ballora's attempts to help. I don't know if that's important or anything (and I only say this because it's not the first time we've seen a terrified child locked in a closet by a cruel teenager in this franchise), or if the writer/s simply focused on the wrong section of the story.

And again, suspicious Tate is suspicious. I don't know he's meant to stand out as a suspicious character or not, but… there's a weird amount of attention put on him. Grady thinking Tate looks uncannily like his original abuser, with similar facial features, similar mannerisms, and the same cocky smirk. It's made clear that Tate isn't interesting in doing his job well, but that he also know entirely too many specifics about the Fazbear's employee rules -- the same rules that he pretends not to know or care about when Grady asks him directly about them. He's shown to be oddly calm about Grady's predicament, so much so that he's described as "gawking at [Grady's remains] like he was looking at an exhibit at a zoo," and he's even the one to decide to just leave Grady to his fate.

(I also think Tate gives off Michael Afton energy, but maybe that's just me.) (Or maybe I'm getting wires crossed and thinking of Michael Tait. Who can say?)

(If you don't know who Michael Tait is already, all you need to know about him is he's a Christian performer who would definitely be on Scott's radar. All I'm really saying here is, if the character Tate is meant to be some sort of parallel for Michael, the real person Michael Tait may have inspired Scott or one of his team members to choose the name "Tate.")

Epilogue:

Lucia and her friends listen in fear to the monster's footsteps. The teens have locked themselves in a small store room, and they can hear the thing (the Mimic) stalking around outside, searching for them.

The teens decide to split up to look for possible exits. Team 1 is Hope and Nick, Team 2 is Adrian and Jase, Team 3 is Lucia and Kelly, and Team 4 is Joel and Wade. The teams are chosen largely based on which kids are already friends and work well together, with the exception of Lucia and Kelly, who don't know each other that well yet but don't dislike each other.

Jase is an artist and has a good memory, and draws them a map of the Pizzaplex and basement based on their earlier exploration of it. They divvy up all the rooms and areas in the Pizzaplex, each team being given a list of areas to search. (Pretty standard "teens in a horror story" explanations.) Once their stalker vanishes, the kids make it back upstairs, where they begin searching.

(I don't understand what they're looking for. I thought they were looking for a way out, but now Lucia and Kelly are searching the bathrooms, so I no longer know what they're doing.)

Wade and Joel search the employee lounge. They get scared out by a scraping sound coming from inside the vents in the walls. (I wish they had gotten jumped by a Mini Music Man. That would at least be funny.)

Nick and Hope search the backstage area of the theater. Hope feels like she's being watched. Nick opens a costume wardrobe, only to get grabbed by something and pulled inside. He's returned a moment later, but is now missing an arm. Metal arms reach out of the wardrobe to grab Nick again, this time twisting his head clean off his body. The metal creature steps into full view, and we get a description of it from Hope's point of view, telling us that it's definitely the Mimic as seen in the "Ruin" DLC. Hope runs away from the Mimic, surviving this initial encounter.

Meanwhile, Kelly and Lucia are now best friends. (Or they're flirting. Unclear.) They're interrupted by Hope running past them, screaming in terror. The two girls follow her, and are soon joined by the two pairs of boys. The rest of the teens try to get words out of her, but Hope is sobbing and shaking too hard to answer them, only wailing when they ask where Nick is.

The kids duck into the Parts and Service room and lock themselves into it, hoping to find a safe location or impromptu weapons they could use to defend themself.

Lucia describes the Parts and Service room as "looking like a beauty parlor for robots." She says there are three metal chairs in it that have clamps on the armrests, somehow looking like both salon chairs and torture devices. (Oh, like the Shreddy Fazchair from the movie, perhaps? Or maybe something akin to Roxanne's salon?) There are also several empty exoskeletons of Fazbear characters littering the room, though done of them resembling characters we've ever seen before -- there are dogs, and a cat, and another, undescribed character wearing green overalls.

Hope is finally able to tell the others what happened to Nick. When she finishes her story, one of the exoskeletons moves behind her, apparently not as empty as previously thought.

Wearing the suit of a dog character, the Mimic grabs Hope by the arms, tearing both her arms off in seconds. While the other kids scream, the Mimic turns Hope around, tearing off her legs, and then her head.

All at once and in a panic, the kids run to the door, too freaked out to open it at first. They finally get it open and run for their lives, the Mimic following slowly after them.

(It's weird that the Mimic tears off her legs. It wasn't programmed to do that.)

(But good… The epilogues are really getting interesting now. Love that for us.)

[dukeofriven]

The Mandlorian decided that droids needed a bar, because every Star Wars writer has made the moral black pit of droid sentience and servitude ever more incoherent, absurd, and irreconcilable. (The short version is that droids in Star Wars can fundamentally not be sentient for the ironclad non-diegetic reason in that its moral framework cannot handle the weight that every organic character in Star Wars is at-best totally indifferent to slavery and has casually and comfortably bought slaves, sold slaves, murdered slaves, ripped bits out of some slaves to improve other slaves, left slaves to die, ordered slaves to their death to save their own skins, and watched other people murder slaves without any reaction either personally or within any kind of larger narrative awareness. Stupid writers keep dancing towards the issue because they think it adds 'depth' or some kind of 'edginess' but no, it just breaks Star Wars. Seriously, if droids are fully people Star Wars just... breaks. In a way that's really obnoxious, too, like that one asshole who corners you at a party to tell you that the Jedi are the REAL villains if you think about it. No, dipshit, they're not: even Andor understands that the moral line in Star Wars is really obvious and solid. Star Wars morality can encompass people doing bad things in pursuit of a noble goal, but it never goes 'fascists and anti-fascists are a mirror image' because that's authoritarian-friendly centrist bullshit.

[sidebar: Andor understands that's there's nuance to freedom fighting, that terror can be a tool to fight oppression but, equally, that an anti-fascist who turns to fascism to fight fascism is just a fascist. The tension in Andor is not that fighting fascism will turn you fascist, but that the choices you make might free others but leave you forever chained. You might bring your people to the promised land, but there's no guarantee you'll be able to join them because a moral person who holds themselves to their own moral standard values himself too much to live comfortably with what he's done. Luthen Rael doesn't think the things he are does are justified because of the greater good: he thinks that he couldn't see a better option and he will live every day until he dies questioning, re-litigating, and self-flagellating himself that he wasn't good enough to figure that better option out, and nothing or no-one will ever free him from that guilt and shame. A fascist and an anti-fascist can both do terrible things but its the fascist who can sleep well at night, and that's all the difference in the world. Andor's a pretty good show, y'all.] Thus, as the Empire is explicitly pro-slavery, you can't have the Good Guys also be pro-[droid] slavery as some kind of 'both sides' tu quoque rhetorical flourish. It doesn't work—not in Star Wars. Not even in mildly more amture, grown-up Star Wars/ Droids cannot be sentient in Star Wars because literally the entire moral underpinning that is the narrative raison d'etre of the entire series falls completely apart. (This is, incidentally, the non-mechanical reason I don't like droid PCs in my SW campaigns.) And yes, this is the short version of this argument. The long version involves me whacking you with a pool noodle while reading long passages of Uberto Eco and CLR James until you stop trying to make Star Wars 'edgy' like someone writing an 'evil Santa' movie.)

[shitty-stoner-scoops]

Cubes are deceptively volomptuous

[yowlthinks]

The Final 15: Aziraphale's decision matrix in a no-choice situation

I have been thinking and reading about what happened since season 2 came out, and I think I have finally been able to put it all down into a logical sequence. This meta is the result of both countless posts I have read on tumblr and my own thoughts.

But let us start from the beginning, which is essentially Metatron's offer:

Notice how Aziraphale consistently declines the honour, as Metatron keeps pressing. When he says that Aziraphale is the perfect choice he also mentions that Aziraphale "is a leader, is honest and doesn't just tell people what they want to hear", which is of course a lie and they both know it. Initially, Aziraphale can't deny it because he can't just go "well, actually, I have been doing exactly that, stretching the truth in my reports and on a few notable occasions outright lying to my superiors and even God Herself". So he deflects to "where will I get my coffee?", preferring to highlight his attachment to Earth. In response to that Metatron makes his final move: he knows about Aziraphale's partnership with Crowley, and that means he knows about the lies.

This threat to Crowley gets Aziraphale to the following decision matrix:

Telling Crowley about the threat is useless. Aziraphale knows he will suggest running away together, and that puts them both in danger. Similarly, running away alone / hiding Aziraphale will not be a good move either because Metatron will not hesitate to harm Crowley and use him as a bait for Aziraphale.

So this means that Aziraphale's best option is not telling Crowley about the threat and persuading him to come with Aziraphale, his second best being going alone. Both of these offer best safety guarantees for Crowley, and this is something Aziraphale would not compromise on.

So our angel launches into this entire speech about making a difference. These are the only arguments he can come up with on the fly regarding why he took the position (the position he does not want! At a place he does not want to go back to!). And he is terrified that Metatron will come back and he won't be able to finish this conversation, won't be able to persuade Crowley. Add to this the fact that Crowley is clearly trying to have an important conversation with him too. A conversation they would like to have in private, but which Aziraphale knows can be interrupted at any moment. That's why he tries to stop Crowley, that's why he is constantly glancing out of the window.

Aziraphale is angry and frustrated, but this is mostly anger at Metatron who put him into this position, at the unfairness of it all, at himself for not being able to get Crowley to agree. It is the despair that just when Crowley confesses his love, instead of being able to say "I love you" back, he has to swallow it down again. Aziraphale's "I forgive you" is "I forgive you for not trusting me to make the best choice for us both", "I forgive you for not agreeing to go with me, I understand why you declined". And this aligns neatly with the theory about the Nightingale song in the car being a message from Aziraphale: it is his way of saying "I love you, I chose you, I chose our side, and that’s why I had to go".

And you know what? Crowley is a clever noodle and he knows Aziraphale well, so he will figure it out, he will spot this out of character, under-duress-only style of decision-making and start untangling that mystery.

We all know how it ends, and I can't wait to see it!

UPD: to put the above in perspective, see this meta with graphs!

[ellielatinagf]

Ellie Williams in Covid head cannons

Sooooo this is just a small idea I had because I’ve never seen anyone else do this soooooooo. Our poor girly in yet another epidemic. Love you all!

Warnings: a tiny bit nsfw content, cursing, for the girls only pleaseee, lmk if there’s anything else

Was absolutely thrilled when everyone was advised to stay inside because she’s such an antisocial loser untilllllll she saw how everyone was rapidly spreading the disease. She’s low key a germaphobe.

Totally had a YouTube channel which consisted of her recording herself doing nothing but laying on the couch with you watching tv. Her only subscribers were Jesse, Joel, and Dina and some rando from Tennessee.

She found a new obsession every week and now the garage is filled with boxes of old paintings, crochet chickens, and diy art stuff.

Had ranked every Ramen noodle flavor from best to worst

Absolutely freaked OUT when you got Covid from your job and she ended up sleeping over at Joel’s. She actually refused to come back untill you showed her how you deep cleaned the whole house.

Ellie on FaceTime

Ellie: wait babe lemme see right there on the dresser

You: Ellie I literally wiped it down twice

Ellie: well I didn’t see it

Tried to make cookies one time and thought they were perfect and crispy around the edges. They really tasted like chips and she got mad when you laughed and claimed you never take her seriously.

Okay I’m sorry but she was a horny monster like cmon she was in the house all day with you like how can she not.

Had an obsession with the Big Bang theory and made you watch it with her and explained all the science stuff which she knew for the most part. On the ones she didn’t know she’d yap about it till you looked it up and she’d gaslight you into thinking she was right.

You: “Umm babe google says……”

Ellie: “that’s literally what I was saying”

She was at Joel’s house one time helping him make more guitars. She accidentally cut herself and when you demanded she go to the hospital which she was terrified of because of all the Covid patients getting her sick she went like this

“Hold on babe i watched greys anatomy”

Fell victim to the meme pages all in her camera roll that were like this

Hated zoom meetings but she’d be the type to hold her phone on the screen and watch those Roblox Tik toks.

I know i already said she was a fortnite god but that girl watched every single fortnite concert at the time and made sure you were right there with her and she made sure to clip the whole thing even though when watching the clip back her and Jesse were yelling their asses off. She loved season three of fortnite.

Ellie: “ HURRY UP BABE TRAVIS SCOTT IS GONNA PREFORM OH MY GOD JESSE WHERE ARE YOU!!!”

Ellie hated when people overstocked at the grocery store meanwhile she did the exact same thing because she was paranoid and it came in hand since you guys wouldn’t need to go grocery shopping for at least a week and a half

Ellie also discovered games with an emotional storyline like Detroit becomes human, red dead redemption, resident evil, ect. And had a phase where she’d be all poetic and shit thinking she was Shakespeare, she got tired of talking like she was from the 1800s.

Ellie: “my love, your eyes, they remind me of a thousand sunsets…”

You: “did you take out the trash?”

She had all her favorite YouTubers and would watch them on the tv and she’d make you play among us with her because that was “the game of century” as she proclaimed.

She actually had a small mini breakdown because our poor girl found out Joel had Covid and remember that in the news it said older people were more at risk. The poor girl though Joel was gonna die and you laid in bed with Ellie who was sniffling and crying in your shirt while you rubbed her back. Those always calm her down. Then when Joel was better again she made you pinky promise not to tell anyone anything. But she did end up calling Joel more frequently.

You guys actually had spent a lot of time together and most couples who spent so much time together broke up and got bored and such and such but you two actually enjoyed you time together. You and Ellie would would go to an open park where no one was around and watch the sunset and talk about what your plans were after everything was back to normal. Ellie asked if you two could get a puppy and who can ever say no to those eyes and freckles cheeks?

Another thing you guys liked to do was spent all day in bed and cuddling. Now a lot of people will assume Ellie would be the big spoon and that can be true sometimes but the girl is a hugeeeeeee softie. She loved being the little spoon because she felt safe by feeling your soft breath ok her back or shoulder. And she’s hold a dinosaur plushie. Like always.

She cried when she watched videos of family’s finally being able to reunite or grandparents watching their families through a class. Who didn’t cry?

She loved playing just dance with you and she’d purposely pick a song where you both had to dance together because she never has the balls to ask you to dance to with her.

She had a little camcorder where she recorded almost everything in your lives at that point. You brushing your teeth, both of you eating cereal, having tickle fights, ect. What Ellie doesn’t know is that now you sometimes go to the camcorder and watch the old videos and she’d a tear here and there because you loved the memories.

Some how she was actually a beast at the toilet paper kick up challenge and got a good 14 kick ups.

You cannot tell me she didn’t buy those apple juices that actually founded like apples when you bit into them.

I lowkey just had an idea of what Ellie would be like at this time sooooo lmk what other hcs you guys might want! Also be sure to let me know if you’d like to be in the Taglists! Don’t forget to talk about Palestine guys! Free Palestine 🇵🇸 🇵🇸🇵🇸

Taglists: @vqxen @bready101 @lilylynne11 @Lively-blues @Yurixxiii @vampyangel @gato-chino @a-little-bit-of-everybody @abbysbraids

[i2ycat]

— the ‘us’ theory

pairing sunoo x fem!reader synopsis after years of no contact, a sudden rekindling in your relationship with sunoo makes sparks soar higher than they’ve ever gone. it’s hard not to see just how much you missed being around your old best friend again genre slight angst, fluff, childhood best friends to lovers, college au word count 4.3k (was only supposed to be arnd 600, idk what happened LOL) warnings wrote this on 1% brain cells so please excuse if it seems like the plot is underdeveloped and pacing is weird, i know nothing ab mortal kombat, semi-proofread main masterlist

reblogs and comments are very much appreciated!

You’ve known Sunoo since forever. From the moment you took your first baby step to the moment you got absolutely hammered by another girl in your grade, Sunoo had been right by your side, from kindergarten all the way to primary school.

It was weird not to see your brooding self beside the beaming boy, seeing as you guys never separated from each other for even a second. It made your parents think the both of you had separation anxiety, always throwing tantrums whenever the other wasn’t around.

But that was only until primary school.

By the time secondary school rolled around, you naturally started to drift apart. Being in the year above him, he stuck to his own group of friends, while you had yours. You had easily accepted the course that your relationship with Sunoo was headed off to, wanting to fit in with the rest of your ‘ew juniors’-minded clique so badly, because who hung out with juniors anyways?

It didn’t help that, not soon after, your father was stationed to a different department of the company on the other side of the world. You felt sad leaving everything you knew behind, all the familiar places, but you were also 13 and ready to be anywhere but the place you had been confined to. It felt exhilarating to finally leave everything behind — not that you had much to begin with. It’s always been just your mother, your father, and you.

Sunoo was out of the conversation by the time you turned 16. He became just someone you’d remember in passing; your parents bringing him up every now and then, but you never dwelled on the thought of him for too long.

By the time you were 19, you could barely remember what he even looked like, given that you'd only seen up until his pre-puberty phase: toothy grins, chubby cheeks, and all.

So imagine your shock when a taller, more mature shell of a man presents himself in front of you, claiming to be the Kim Sunoo you’ve already forgotten all about.

“Don’t you remember me? I’m Kim Sunoo!”

You met him by complete chance.

The last time you heard of Sunoo was when your mom broke the news on a random Sunday night that the Kim family would be permanently moving to Japan, and that was three years ago.

“Cmon, I’ve known you for, like, 13 years.” He clicks his tongue.

“Yeah, I guessed. I’m just shocked to see you here.”

“What? Is seeing a young man shopping for groceries so hard to believe?” He jokes, taking a pack of ramen noodles from the shelf and placing it carefully into his cart.

“It’s not that.” You chuckle. “I thought you moved to Japan?”

“Well, I can’t really be leeching off my parents forever.”

He’s got more wit to him than you remember.

“Right,” You quickly reply, unconsciously walking the rest of the noodles and pasta aisle at the same pace that he is.

“Wow, even after all these years, you’re still the same old Y/n I used to know.” He smiles at you, the apples of his cheeks tinting a light pink under the blindingly white LED lights overhead. It suddenly brought you back to times of playing together in the playground after school, the summer rays rendering the both of you sweaty messes while your mothers talked about adult gossip somewhere in the distance. The simpler times, when fitting into social circles barely even mattered yet.

“Am I supposed to be offended?” As you arrive closer to the snack aisle, you start to grab at items not scribbled on your sad excuse of a grocery list. You should really stop doing that; you mentally chide yourself.

“Maybe. Depends on how you take it.” He shrugs. “Doritos?” You shake your head.

Silence starts to permeate the air between the both of you, save for some random Nirvana tune playing faintly in the background. It wasn’t awkward per se, but it wasn’t entirely comfortable either; rather, it sat right in the middle.

You’ve known Sunoo for 13 whole years of your younger adolescent days, but right now, it feels like you’ve just met him for the first time. Technically you are, after a few years that is, but maybe it was just you and your ineptitude for social interactions. Chae was right, you really should socialize with people more.

A beat or two passes by, “Are you free tomorrow by any chance?” Sunoo turns to you, bright eyes boring into yours.

“Why?”

“I just moved here like a week ago, and I have absolutely no friends.” He pouts, “Mind giving an old friend company on his own birthday?”

“It’s your birthday?” You stop in your tracks.

“Tomorrow, yeah.”

“Okay. Just send me the address.” You take out your phone to hand him, “You’re not just about to lure and kill me right?”

“Now why would I do that?” He lifts his eyebrows at you as he keys in his phone number, naming himself ‘no.1 childhood best friend’ in the process.

“You can never be too sure nowadays.”

“Yeah, as if I would kill my only friend in this entire city.” He retorts, fingers brushing yours ever-so-slightly as he hands you back your phone.

—

Seeing the bare-bones state that Sunoo’s box apartment was in made you feel for him. You’d already spent your early teens adjusting to the chaos that New York was, and you’ve acclimated to it by now, with the help of your parents, of course, but Sunoo, on the other hand? He came completely alone, with a singular suitcase in tow. It ignited a sense of protectiveness towards him. The same way it was when you were younger.

Sunoo was always one of the more smaller and younger children in the kindergarten, but that only made him more loved by the teachers and other caretakers. Memories resurfaced of how everyone would coo whenever Sunoo showed his signature smile, silently wishing they had a kid as endearing as Sunoo. They’d bring extra just for him, and Sunoo, being the sweet kid he was, basked in all of it blissfully.

The rest of the older kids didn’t like how Sunoo hogged all the adult’s attention, so they would constantly pick at him during play time, behind the knowledge of the teachers. Since you were a year older and much taller than Sunoo then, you always felt the instinctive need to step in and protect him from all of it, even getting sucker punched in the face for him one time. You chuckle at the distinct memory of Sunoo crying in the sidelines whilst you laid on the mat, a comically large bandage plastered on your cheek.

“What’s so funny?” Sunoo sticks his head out from the cupboard, eyeing your figure on the couch.

“I’m laughing at the fact that you at least have a couch.” You pat the space next to you.

“Hey, you can’t judge. I just moved here, and I don’t know where anything is anymore.” He says this as he pours room-temperature orange juice into plastic cups. “Happy birthday to me.” He sighs, handing you one.

“This is actually really sad.” You take a single sip out of the clear cup before setting it down on the arm of Sunoo’s sofa that was more like a loveseat if anything. “And I’m not just talking about the orange juice.”

“At least I’m not alone!”

“Why’d you move here anyway? I’m sure there’s better places than big ole overpriced New York.” You bring up a leg to get comfortable, and Sunoo does the same, his knee lightly grazing yours in the process.

“You wouldn’t wanna hear it.” He sighs.

“No, tell me!”

“It’s stupid.”

“I won’t judge. Pinky promise.” You bring your pinky rings towards his, locking them.

“I actually moved here for you.” He says it so softly that you thought you had misheard.

“Sorry, I think I misheard.”

“Nah, I think you heard correctly.” He bends down to grab a forkful of noodles, the one he bought yesterday, and moans gleefully at the bundles of flavour exploding in his mouth, “Woah. I think this might be my new favourite ramen.”

“Wait, you’re not being serious, are you?” Sunoo shakes his head at you, his cheeks blowing up as noodles enter his mouth, strand by strand. “Are you stupid?” You completely drop the smile you had been sporting just a minute ago, beyond baffled by Sunoo’s lack of critical thinking.

“Gosh, Sunoo! What would you have done if I hadn’t run into you last night? What if I already moved to a different state? A different country even?!”

“My mom is still in contact with yours, so I’m pretty sure I would’ve ended up at your front door anyway." He nonchalantly answers, shrugging his shoulders the way he always does.

You’ve completely forgotten how Sunoo was always the free spirit in your dynamic, doing anything and everything he wanted without ever thinking about the after. He always downplayed the severity of the consequences, only thinking about the moment and living in it blissfully.

Just a few days prior to your drift apart, Sunoo had dragged you out of your 6th grade classroom just before recess ended and towards the outdoor basketball court. A little mat had been planted on the grass, with what you could recognise as Sunoo’s lunch box set neatly on top.

He had asked you to skip class with him, a kind of celebration on the last day of school. Thanks to him, you were absolutely horrified to come home that day, while him, on the other hand, was not the slightest bit concerned.

“Why? Just why? We haven’t talked for, what, 6 years? And suddenly you move 13 hours away from home to be in the same city that I am?” You were fuming, and for a reason you weren’t too sure about yourself.

Maybe it was the knowledge that he had been thinking about you even after your drift apart, while you were not. Maybe it was the guilt of being the one to instigate the drift in the first place, but he still made his way towards you.

“I’m not too sure either.” He places the chopsticks on the makeshift coffee table. “But at least you’re here, and I’m not alone on my birthday.” He offers you a cheeky grin, one that reaches his eyes, and it almost instantly gives you whiplash.

“You’re driving me crazy here, Sunoo.”

“You said you wouldn’t judge and… it’s still my birthday, ya’know.” He pouts, cocking his head to the side in an attempt to soothe your bubbling anger with his biggest weapon — his face. “Can you stop being your practical self for just a second?” His tone was light, and his eyes were pleading.

He probably still remembered your weakness for pretty faces, and was taking advantage of that at the most convenient of times.

Damn Sunoo and damn pretty privilege.

—

After Sunoo’s semi-successful birthday party—his words, not yours—he’s been sticking to you like glue. He practically lives in your apartment with how much time he spends there. Even when you’re out for classes or errands, he'll take it upon himself to make himself feel at home. You practically spent every second of every day with him, just like it used to be when you were younger.

Your mother was overly ecstatic to find out that you had rekindled your friendship with Sunoo — almost so ecstatic in fact that it alarmed you just a tad bit, scared that she might try to set you up with her best friend’s only son.

She had even suggested that the both of you live together to save costs, she says. You weren’t entirely sold on that fact, seeing as you still wanted your semblance of privacy and freedom in your own home, but with the rising rent prices these days, it wasn’t really a choice now, was it?

“My mother says we should move in together.” You say this over a plate of scrambled eggs, one that Sunoo had so graciously offered to cook.

“I’m sorry?” Sunoo chokes on his cup of black tea.

“I mean, our dynamic is pretty good. You finish things that I don’t. I say it’s a pretty good match.”

Over the course of the last few months that you’ve been on-off living with Sunoo, you learned that he has a habit of picking up things that you’ve left aside to be forgotten. One instance of this was when you found your incomplete knitting project in Sunoo’s more nimble hands, working away while on his spot on your couch.

He explained that seeing things unfinished was a big pet peeve of his, and it usually works in your favour anyway.

“Yeah, but what about my apartment?”

“You say that as if you don’t basically already live here.” You pick up a piece of egg with your fork to bring it to your mouth.

“I guess, yeah, but..." His words trail off. “Never mind.”

“But what, Sun?”

“Nothing.” He shakes his head, taking a big gulp of his tea before setting the cup back down onto your wooden table, the one Sunoo had picked alongside some other furniture pieces that now scattered your flat.

“You better give up that act now because you know how stubborn I can get.” You peg the fork at him in a faux effort to assert intimidation. Not that you could be any more intimidating with your furrowed eyebrows and grim expression.

“It’s just...”

“Just?”

Sunoo ultimately sighs, picking up his plate to bring to the sink and turning his back towards you. “I would love to live together, really." He starts off. “But what if you bring other guys over? I don’t think I could handle that.”

“That’s it? You’re flattering me by even thinking I can pull guys.” You laugh as you make your way towards Sunoo with an empty plate in your hands. “Sun, there’s nothing to worry about, but I’ll make sure to let you know beforehand if I ever do.”

“That’s not what I was implying.” Sunoo keeps his voice low and whisper-like, almost like he doesn’t want you to hear, but you do anyway.

“Okay, then what do you mean?”

“I’m saying that I think I like you.” He takes a deep breath, finding it hard to formulate words from his thoughts. “I... I just... When we were 13, when we started drifting apart, I felt so lost and confused. I didn’t want to be like those movie cliches, losing my best friend because of high school or whatever.” He doesn’t look up from the dishes in front of him; instead, he focuses on mindlessly scrubbing the mug.

“I followed you here because, even after six long years, you were still my number one. I missed your presence. I always wondered when you would contact me again, but that never happened. I guess I was also too scared to talk to you first, so that’s that.” He continues. “I don’t want to burden you with my feelings any more than they already are, and if we officially, actually lived together, I don’t think my heart could handle all that.”

To say you were speechless was an understatement. You stared at him long enough to see dots, and yet you couldn’t think of anything to say.

Sunoo liked you. The little boy from kindergarten that you promised to protect liked you. Your best friend up until you were 13 liked you?

“Sun...” You start off but can never seem to find a proper end to your sentence.

“You don’t have to answer me right now. Or, as a matter of fact, you don’t even have to accept it. I just thought you should know since you proposed we live together.” He washes the foam away, setting the clean dishes on the drying rack. “I’ll take my leave now.” He smiles at you, and by the time the door closes behind him, you’re still standing frozen.

You don’t know what to do with this information. Yeah, Sunoo was cute, and you had a soft spot for him, but that doesn’t mean you like him. He grew up well, but that doesn’t mean you no longer saw him as the boy you needed to protect from the world. It was all a clash of thoughts, really.

—

A week had gone by since you texted Sunoo back, saying that you needed space to think. But you weren’t really using the time to think at all; you were actually doing quite well at doing the exact opposite.

“Chae, come on! That’s cheating!” You yell, aggressively pressing away at the console for your Omni-Man to dodge Kung Lao’s wrath.

“No, you just suck.” Chae sticks her tongue out at you. And after a few moments of tense silence, “Aaaand, K.O!” She cheers in your face while you pan at the bold K.O. letterings on the screen in admission of defeat.

“I’ll beat you next time.”

“Oh baby, there won’t be a next time until you sort out whatever it is you’re worrying about first.” She takes the console from your hands and sets it back in its original place under the divider of her TV set. “Now, talk to me.” She says this as she takes a seat beside you.

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Yeah, sure, as if you're coming here at 1 a.m. on a Wednesday night, even when you have classes tomorrow, is because of nothing.”

“I just couldn’t sleep. That’s all.”

“I’m going to go bald from all the stress you’re giving me.” She tugs harshly at her shoulder-length hair. “See this?!”

Your laugh echoes in Chaewon’s humble apartment, which overlooks the entirety of New York with the perfect view — one that her life as a social media influencer is able to afford. At times like these, you felt like you were her sugar baby, leeching off her big-time success like the broke college student you are.

“You’re being overly dramatic.”

"Yeah, and sometimes I wish you were more like me. Give me the damn drama!” She drapes herself all over you, head resting on your bare legs.

“Okay, fine!”

“Good.” She finally grins, taking a bag of popcorn from the table and tossing it into her mouth one by one, occasionally offering one to you.

“You remember Sunoo?”

“The one you cried about when you first met me?”

“I wasn’t crying!”

“Yeah, sure you weren’t.” She grimaces at you.

“Okay, but that was when I was 14, so it doesn’t count.”

“Whatever, whatever. Just continue!” Chaewon switches her position to comfortably sit face-to-face with you, her eyes wide and full of anticipation.

“A few months ago, I met him at the supermarket, the one you tell me to never go to.”

“What?! And you’re only telling me this now?!” Her voice was piercing, and it made your ears almost bleed onto her velvet-carpeted floor. Judging from her reaction, she was probably more concerned about the fact that you went to the only supermarket in the city she told you not to ever step foot into, rather than not having told her about your meeting with Sunoo there.

“Just let me finish, yeah?” Chaewon quips out a small apology before you continue, “And after that, we started hanging out here and there, ya'know, the whole old childhood friends shebang. It was great, honestly. He’s great company, and as you said, I was socialising with other people!”

“But?”

“How’d you know there’s a ‘but’?”

“There is always a ‘but’, my dear Y/n.”

You clear your throat. “He confessed to me just a week ago, after I had proposed to live together, ya'know, to save on costs.”

“You, what now?”

“Not everyone is as rich as you are, Chae; we grass-rooted people need to save money somehow.”

“You know that’s not what I meant!”

“Ugh, it’s stupid, I know! But my mother suggested it, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a good idea!’” At this point, the bag of popcorn lays haphazardly on the floor, forgotten as you contemplate all your decisions with Chaewon clinging onto your side, koala style.

“Do you like him back?”

“I haven’t really thought about it before then.” You honestly say, “He has always just been ‘the younger boy who needs protecting’ to me.”

“He’s his own grown person now, Y/n.” She reminds you.

“I know. I just think he’s cute, is all.”

“How about this? You give him a chance to try and swoon you over; if it doesn’t work out, then you guys can pretend as if nothing ever happened!” She claps her hands together, as if she had just won a Nobel Prize for solving global warming. “You’re killing two birds with one stone!”

“I don’t think that’s how the saying is supposed to work.”

"Oh, who gives a fuck? YOLO.”

—

Chaewon’s advice to just yolo the fuck out of everything sticks to you more than you’d like to admit. It echoes in your mind when you’re taking the subway all the way to Sunoo’s apartment, echoes even louder as you stand in front of his door, and echoes almost deafeningly as you knock twice on it.

In about half a heartbeat, Sunoo opens his door with an urgency you could barely register in your haze of emotions. You felt bad after having practically ghosted him for a week straight after his confession, and even worse now that you could tell he was losing sleep over it. His hair was tousled into a mess that made it seem as if he had just gotten out of bed, even if it was already 3 p.m.

“Hey.” You greet, your lips pursed into a tight smile.

“Hey.” He greets her back.

“Can I come in? Or, is it a bad time? I’m not really too sure why I came in the first place.”

“Yeah, yeah. Come in.” He steps aside to make space for you to enter his home.

The last time you’ve been here was the night after you first met him — the day of his birthday. It’s less barren than you remembered, with pops of colour in random corners that somehow represented his sporadic personality perfectly.

“I see you finally did some decorating.”

“I mean, it’s already been more than a few months since I’ve moved here; it’d be weird if I didn’t.” His voice is groggy and still laced with sleep, but you don’t comment on it, instead sucking in a deep breath.

“I wanted to, um, get back to you.” You play with your fingers, picking at the skin. “And, uh, give you an answer. Well, it’s not really an answer, but you get what I mean.”

“Yeah.”

The both of you still stood just beyond his doorway; the faint playing of the TV in the background didn’t help to ease your racing heart. In your two years of being a young adult, you hadn’t found the opportunity to really sit down and find love, given that school had always been your top priority. So when you find yourself in such situations—not that you ever do—you're rendered a blubbering mess.

You’ve practiced this many times before with Chaewon, but it feels even more nerve-wracking now that the man in all his drowsy glory is standing right in front of you.

“We can try.” You start off. “I mean it as in, you can try courting me or whatever, and if it doesn’t work out, we can pretend as if nothing ever happened.” His lack of reply gives you time to really take a good look at Sunoo, now that the weight has been lifted off your shoulders. You’ve said what you wanted to say.

At an arm's-length distance, Sunoo is the textbook definition of attractive. He’s a head taller than you, has broad shoulders, and has a pretty face. His lips were full, his nose was tall, and his eyes were a golden brown colour. What was not to like about him? You just had to accept that he was no longer the Kim Sunoo from kindergarten. He was no longer the same young Sunoo who constantly needed your help.

“Really? You’d let me court you?” His face is bright with hope, and you nod to it wordlessly. “As in, you’d let me take you out on dates and stuff?”

You can’t help the chuckle that lets out, especially endeared by his enthusiasm. “Yes, Sun.”

—

BONUS!

It has been exactly a year since Sunoo had courted and officially asked you out. It wasn’t hard to fall for him because you already had an inkling that you had unresolved feelings for him anyway. The moving in part went as smoothly as it could, save for the slight mishap with Sunoo’s landlord, but with the help of your mother, everything was resolved soon after.

Sunoo lays peacefully on the sofa, soaking in the sunshine that filters through the blinds. He was practically in heaven right now.

“Kim Sunoo!” Your voice reverberates throughout the entirety of your shared apartment.

“Uh-oh, not the government name.” Sunoo looks up from his phone to see you standing in the hallway, hand tucked under your arms, with an expression that reminded him slightly of the French bulldog he’d seen on his morning walk. “Yes, baby?”

“Don’t ‘baby’ me! You let Luna sleep on the bed after she had her walk?!”

“Oh.”

“Oh!” You mimic him.

“I’m sorry, baby. She looked so sad sleeping on the floor by herself, so I just invited her to the bed.”

“Yeah, now her paw prints are all over the white sheets! Couldn’t you have at least cleaned her before you decided to do that?” As if Luna had heard her parents arguing from inside the room, she waddles out, footsteps padding down on the wooden floor, making it her mission to soothe her parents with just her existence alone.

Luna barks, grabbing both of your attention. You immediately lean down to pick Luna up, cooing at her before glaring at Sunoo, “You better wash the sheets.”

Sunoo stares at the both of you, dumbfounded. He thought he saw Luna smirking at him, so he blinked once and then twice, only for you and your baby to disappear as you walked towards the bathroom, your voice echoing as you continued to baby-talk to Luna.

Even with your overbearing practicality and new spoiled baby to take care of, he’d never regret asking his mom about you that one fateful night.

© i2ycat 2024 idk why the first half got me thinking i was gonna write a murder mystery fic HELPP. i swear it’s just romance 😞 also this is straight dogwater, i’m so sorry idk what i was writing…

[anisespice]

“ the fuck-it list ” || hq! pt. 3

one || two || four

synopsis: there’s a list going around consisting of hot guys on campus that are deemed “fuckable” with theories as to what they’d be like in bed. it’s all fun and games until somehow your boyfriend ends up on this list. 

pairing: various x gn!reader [ osamu, sakusa ]

warnings: cursing, suggestive language, MDI. literally can’t be bothered to think of anything else, but feel free to let me know lol

notes: sooo i lied <333 i’ve decided to give suna his own chapter later on (srry suna lovers !!!!) i just wasn’t satisfied with how his was turning out, and it was the only roadblock delaying my progress soooo figured we’d just put a pin in his for now lol especially for those who were FROTHING for these two in particular (this for y'all ✨) hope you enjoy :)))

notes ii: nobody LOOK AT ME, this took me an embarrassingly long time lol. i’m not familiar with them, personality-wise, but i tried ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

notes iii: this one’s got atsumu written all over it LMAOOO

tagged: @daedaep69 , @ahahadumbo , @viktoryn , @mdsb , @ourgoddessathena , @ushygushybaby , @hyori2 , @lumpywolf , @fantasycantasy

“Aht-CHOO!”

The bowl of popcorn nearly flew out your lap when you shrieked bloody-murder, body in fight or flight from the abrupt sound happening moments before a jumpscare in the movie you were watching. Head on a swivel, you soon realized the culprit wasn’t a psycho-killer in a ghost mask, but your darling OSAMU with his lawnmower of a sneeze coming through your front door.

You exhaled, relieved, but scared shitless. After pausing the movie, you glared down the hall leading to the door. “Seriously? You had to do that with your entire chest?”

Osamu sniffled, then muttered. “…Y’supposed to say bless ya before scoldin’ at your sweet and thoughtful boyfriend, y’know…”

“Aw, bless you, my love. And, fuck you.”

The brunette snorted, no doubt rolling his eyes as he toed off his shoes. Coming down the hall to soon reveal his handsome face, illuminated only by the bright tv screen, Osamu held up a large plastic bag filled with something greasy and delicious as the smell traveled up your nose. He grinned smugly at you intently eyeing the bag. “Fuck me, huh?”

You immediately doubled down, waving your hands. “Waitwaitwait I didn’t mean it like that. I meant it as in…fuck you’RE so sweet and thoughtful, and I love you so much..?”

Osamu hummed, taking off his ball cap to place it on your head. Shaking it a little by the brim, he winked. “Nice save, darlin’.”

He made way for your inspace kitchen to get dinner assorted with you trailing not too far behind. Your eyes eagerly ate up the widespread of all your favorites displayed on the countertop, practically hanging off his back since there was barely any room for the both of you in the tiny space. Popcorn long forgotten, your stomach sang a symphony for some real food, Osamu saving you the trouble of eating instant noodles for dinner yet again.

And without you even having to ask him for any of it, too.

Your gaze eventually locked onto the former volleyball player, eyeing him up with a newfound hunger that he was quick to pick up on while he popped a piece of fried chicken in his mouth. Looking down at you with a raised brow he patiently waited for you to voice your thoughts, a boyish grin growing on his face as he chewed.

You blinked. He blinked back, then chuckled lightly. “We communicatin’ telepathically, or somethin’?”

“If we were, you’d know I wanna suck you dry right now.”

Osamu.exe—E R R O R.

Man straight up inhaled the little that was still in his mouth, hurling him into a fit of hacks as he turned away from the food to fight for his life at your sink. Coughing up what he could into the drain with you behind him hitting his back for support, you couldn’t stop the evil, little laugh from slipping out seeing this as a form of karma for the scare earlier. Osamu fixed you with a weak glare once he calmed down, reaching over to pinch your cheek. “A warnin’ next time, would’ya?…”

You winced, but mirth still swam in your eyes. “Your only warning would’ve been your pants around your ankles-”

“Oi, quit that.” He gently grabbed your jaw to squish up your mouth, though it didn’t repress the cheeky grin you wore. The brunette did his best to remain unfazed, but the flush across his face was evident, your words clearly effecting him. “…Jeez, at least ask me how m’day was before ya slut me out. Soundin’ like all them thirsty-ass comments floodin’ my socials all damn day.”

Osamu let go of your face to grab plates from your cabinet, leaving you standing there, dumbfounded. Pursing your lips, you crossed your arms with a raised brow. “‘m sorry…the what flooding your socials?”

He busied himself with fixing your plate, nonchalantly recalling the very incident that occurred the other day, “That dumb fuck-list or whatever, mixed up me ‘nd ‘tsumu in their little post. Had his ugly mug front ‘nd center, but had my name attached to this long-winded thread ‘bout me basically being better in the sack than him. Shit’s wild.”

“The fuck-what now?” Osamu handed over a healthy plate full of food, you absentmindedly took it but made no move to eat. He started fixing his own, acting as if he didn’t just delay your appetite with this information. “Y—…you’re joking right? There’s no way something like that exists.”

“Oh, t’s very much real. Read it with my own eyes,” he licked the spoon he used to spread sauce across his chicken. “What, ya sayin’ ya haven’t heard of it? Seriously?”

“You know I don’t care enough to keep up with the trends that go on around here. And with good reason, clearly. What’s even the purpose?”

He shrugged. “Beats me. But it’s got ‘tsumu givin’ me the silent treatment, so maybe it’s not that bad after all.”

“Pfft. He’s pissy because some random on the internet said you’re the better lay? How would they know?? You’re both happily taken, and I wish a bitch would.” You smugly declared, bringing your food to the living room.

Osamu grinned at your possessive tone, trailing behind you holding plate and soda cans in either hand. “Damn straight. But, wasn’t just some random, babe. We’re talkin’ millions.”

Had you not already gotten situated on the couch, you would’ve surely spilled food all over yourself. Jaw nearly to the floor, you blinked up at him, bewildered. “Nuh uh.”

“Yuh huh.”

“Holy shit.”

Osamu took his usual spot next to you, large frame nearly taking up most of the couch. With bellies empty, knee knocking against knee, and elbow nudging elbow, the brunette hummed contently as he soaked in his favorite atmosphere—Your voice, your warmth, you. Though too busy monologuing about the absurdity of such a thing going viral to notice his fond gaze, Osamu silently listened to every word as he began eating from his plate. Although, all that mushiness is soon pushed to the back of his mind when the next sentence fell from your lips. After you eventually found said post to see it for yourself, needless to say you had some…hot takes.

“How could someone write this and not cringe? I mean, I love you ‘samu, but a Dom? If only they knew how nervous you were our first time, it was so adorable.” You giggled, tossing some chicken into your mouth. “You are not that guy.”

Osamu’s chewing paused. Your laughter eventually died down.

You didn’t feel his stare earlier…but you were definitely feeling it now, Mr. Krabs. Suddenly, the same dread you got when anticipating a jumpscare resurfaced. A sinking pit in your stomach like a rabbit stumbling upon a fox—Cliché aside, you fucked up. And you knew it in your bones the second your eyes locked with his, void of fondness and full of hunger despite his plate being half-eaten.

He swallowed the bit in his mouth, then spoke. “Sure ‘bout that?”

You mouth moved, floundered even, but nothing would come out. And Osamu didn’t rush you either, if anything he gladly watched you struggle while he continued munching away. “I—..I-I mean..I was just saying. Because…y’know, you never…we never really-”

“Mm. Jus’ cause we usually take things slow doesn’t mean you can’t get a hole fucked into your mattress, sweetheart. Keep tryin’ ya luck, ‘nd ya just might. Finish eatin’ first, though. Ya gonna need your energy.”

SAKUSA couldn’t give a flying fuck about the list. He would literally walk away from someone mid-conversation if said topic got brought up. And don’t think that you’re the exception, either—Man parked and got out of his OWN CAR during the drive back to his place, refusing to get back in until you dropped the subject entirely.

“Omi-”

“No.”

“C’monnnn.”

“No.”

You giggled, “I won’t talk about it anymore, I promise.”

He had his back to you as you spoke through the rolled down, driver’s side window, trying to ‘pspspsps’ him back into the car like a stubborn cat. Sakusa knew he was being ridiculous, but he just couldn’t stomach anymore nonsense. Plus, there’s a bit of suspicion on his end whenever it came to talking about the accursed list—Sakusa saw it as a bad omen.

Anyone who talked about it within his circle, be it teammates or personal friends, miraculously found themselves posted up the following day like fresh meat on the market. Once he caught wind that not even taken people were spared from being thirsted over, his disdain merely amplified, as did his precaution.

“Baby, I’ll burn some sage back at your apartment to scare away the bad energy from my filthy words. Would that make you feel better?”

Sakusa huffed, looking over his shoulder to give you a good ole stank face—One you barely paid any mind to as you batted your lashes at him. He glitched. Had it not been for the mask he was wearing, you’d see the harsh flush that spread across his face. Too bad his neck was exposed, giving him away as you grinned knowingly. But, you weren’t about to distract him from the issue at hand, you temptress.

“Don’t patronize me. Besides, you didn’t say it at my apartment, you said it in the car. Would completely defeat the purpose.”

You blinked.

There was no stopping the laughing fit you fell into when his words eventually processed, borderline cackling. “I-I’ll sage the car then, how ‘bout that?”

The ravenette squinted, marching up to the car to stick his head in before pulling his mask down so you could see his heavy frown through your tearful hysterics.

“You’re laughing. You’ve doomed me to becoming targeted by perverts, and you’re laughing.”

“‘yoomi, PLEASE.” You wheezed, waving a hand at him for mercy. With a couple stuttered intakes of air, you did your best to pull it together. “Don’t you think…you’re being a little paranoid?”

Amusement colored your features when you made eye contact with the outside hitter. Sakusa rolled his, tugging his mask back on before re-entering the car. “We’ll see how funny you find it when we can’t be seen together in public anymore.”

“And why not?” You raised a brow, still giggly.

Sakusa buckled in, taking the car out of park. “Because. When I do get posted, I won’t be leaving the safety of my room until that shit gets banned.”

“Oh my god, honey, I promise. You’re worrying over nothing. If you were gonna be on the list, don’t you think you would’ve by now? I mean, c’mon, even Hinata got on it before you. Majority of your teammates did!”

“That’s exactly my point. I’m the only one left.”

The two of you continued a playful back and forth pretty much the whole drive, more so you teasing him than anything else. After a while, having had your fun, you gave it a rest much to Sakusa’s relief. “Can still burn some sage, if you want-” “You’re not funny.”

Your evening continued on as normal, him taking a shower while you busied yourself by looking for a show the two of you could binge. Although, even after the discussion from earlier had been dropped, your boyfriend’s words still echoed in the back of your mind like a mantra. ‘I’m the only one left.’

As much as you’d hate to admit, though never to his face, your over-suspicious companion had a point. Without the safety net of his more extroverted teammates being in the spotlight of rabid fans, what’s delaying the swarm of unsolicited desires now? Even with his sourtude, Sakusa was an attractive individual—The dark curls that frame his face perfectly, his piercing pools of obsidian that shred through you like paper, the beauty marks above his brow, his THIGHS. And those were just surface-level things.

Being one of the privileged few who’ve seen all layers of Sakusa, you couldn’t blame them for wanting to explore deeper into who he was beyond that cold exterior…in more ways than one. Who better to fill those burning questions than some horny randos with too much time on their hands?

But, he’s made it this far without issue, what’s there to worry about now?—*Bzzzzt*

You jolt slightly, the harsh vibration coming from the sofa table breaking you out of your thoughts. With a short glance at your phone, the lit screen revealed an incoming call from Sakusa’s cousin, Komori. You exhale a breath you didn’t even realize you were holding, reaching over to grab the device and answer it. However, as your thumb hovered over the green button, a small part of you couldn’t help but wonder…why would he be calling you?

You shook your head, answering the call before your mind could wander. He probably just wanted to catch up, make small talk. A smile graced your face as you happily greeted him, “Mori! Hi, what can I do ya for-?”

“Has he seen it?? Am I too late??”

You froze, blinking widely in stunned confusion. Your silence must have been loud enough for the man to grow more anxious, calling out your name to regain your attention. “Uh…has who seen what?”

Komori exhaled, in what you could only assume was relief. “Thank God…you sound blissfully unaware. That means there’s still time. You’re at his place, right?”

You blinked, eyes looking around as if he could see you.

“Kiyoomi’s? Yeah, I am. He’s in the shower at the moment if you were trying to reach him. Is everything okay?”

Now it was him who turned silent. You waited with bated breath, fidgeting with the hem of your shirt as you wracked your brain for every worst case scenario…but a small part of you already had an idea.

“It’s the complete opposite, I’m afraid.”

‘Kiyoomi Sakusa. 6’2ft of ?????. An enigma. We had to take our time this one. This tall, personification of a hand sanitizer bottle may appear to be disgusted and disinterested, but once you get past those disinfectant defenses of his…Lady in the streets, but a freak in the bed. Why else would he keep so clean all the time? It’s ‘cause he’s hiding an absolute FILTHY ANIMAL behind his mask (literally and figuratively) you cannot convince me otherwise. Definitely a Hard Dom, would degrade you for making a mess all over him even though he’s the one to blame; THRIVES when you get messy for him tho. Firm believer that he’d spit in your mouth, both as punishment and a reward. He won’t make much noise, you’ll think he’s doing taxes while deep in your guts, but just watch his face; homie is EXPRESSIVE. Aftercare could go either way, but he’d probably focus more on getting the sheets changed than cleaning you up. 7/10.’

You clenched the phone in disbelief, eyes watering due to the sexual word-vomit burning them the more you read on. It didn’t even take you long to find the dreaded post you were convinced would never manifest, refreshing the page multiple times just to confirm its existence. “Shit. I really did doom him to being targeted by perverts…”

“Huh??” Komori voiced. You merely brushed it off.

“Nothing,” you sighed. Taking the conversation out on the balcony in case Sakusa overheard, you had Komori on speaker as you attempted to do damage control. “Do the others know about this? Oh God, does Atsumu?? Knowing him, he’d surely jump at the chance to tease Omi with something like this.”

“Dunno. Just found out myself, and you were the first person I thought to call.”

You looked over your shoulder, peeking inside to see if the outside hitter was roaming around. There didn’t appear to be any movement, but there’s no doubt he finished showering by now.

Exhaling, you began sifting through your contacts. “We need to do whatever it takes to make sure he never finds out about the post. I’ll text everyone I know to help flag it down, but I’m not sure how long it’ll take before-”

“Who’re you talking to?”

Startled, phone nearly tossed off the balcony, you turned toward the sudden appearance of your freshly washed boyfriend, towel around his neck and adorned in lounge wear. Komori held his breath, as if he also were caught in the act even though he could easily escape with a mere press of a button. “Um…your cousin.”

“Okay, but…why’d you come out here? You wouldn’t have disturbed me if you took the call inside.” Sakusa raised a brow at your stiff posture, perplexed but concerned. “Something the matter?”

“No!” You winced at your own volume. His eyes widened slightly, making you nervously chuckle. Clearing your throat, you attempted to play it cool. “No, uh…just wanted to get some air while catching up with Komori, that’s all. W-why d’you ask?”

Sakusa squinted at you. “You’re jumpy.”

“J-Jumpy? Me? Uh.. that’s because…” Searching your brain for an excuse, luckily Komori had your back with his quick thinking.

“B-Because! We’re talking about the list! And t-they figured you wouldn’t wanna hear us, so-” SLAM!

Before he could even get the rest of the explanation out, Sakusa had already closed the sliding door. You and Komori shared a sigh of relief. You watched Sakusa’s back retreat into the living room as he sat on the couch, flickering around for something to put on to pass the time.

Just as suspected…still paranoid.

“That was close…”

“Super close. Think he bought it?”

You groaned, hesitant to take your eyes off him. “Won’t matter if he decides to check his phone at some point…”

It didn’t appear to be anywhere in sight, hopefully charging in another room. But, there was no point in wasting time worrying about that. You had some flagging to do. And as long as he had no reason to look at it, you’d be fine.

Sakusa, now bored with you occupied by something else, couldn’t help but to watch you longingly from the couch. You were speaking so animatedly, using your free hand to gesture, pacing back and forth. He frowned—How can that stupid list be more important than snuggling up with him? Yet another reason to hate it.

Exhaling through his nose he leaned back on the sofa, remote in hand as he looked for something to help pass the time. However, before he could get very far in his search, his phone rings.

Confused, he reached into his pocket. Instantly, his mood went from neutral to shriveled when he read the caller ID—Miya.

He had half a mind to ignore it, but knowing Atsumu he’d probably just keep calling until the inevitable happened with him turning up on his doorstep. Sakusa gave an annoyed huff, reluctantly answering the phone.

“Better have a good reason to be calling me this late, idiot.”

“Oh ho ho. Believe me, Omi-Omi. You’ll wanna see this.”

Back on the balcony, after the sixth time flagging the post for misinformation and harassment, you suddenly felt a shift in the atmosphere that wasn’t there moments before. Halting your frantic thumbs, you slowly looked up from the screen as a cold chill ran up your spine; something didn’t feel right in the force.

You weren’t sure what made you turn back to look inside the room, but the moment you did…it was like the world had gone into slow motion—Komori’s voice faded into the background as he called out your name, drowned out by the sound of your heart pounding through your ribs at the sight of Sakusa on his phone, face contorted into what could only be described as pure humiliation as he stared into the endless abyss while on his knees.

Probably should’ve burned that sage when you had the chance.

© 2023-2024 anisespice ッ all rights reserved. likes, comments & reblogs much appreciated!

[sleeplesssmoll]

More Stuff about Matilda Bouanich

Athletic

"SPDM kids are built different" theory confirmed. Just like Sonetto and Vertin, Matilda is also freakishly athletic. For Example, she jumps straight over a wall with no assistance. She's also very tough! She doesn't seem to be as resilient as Sonetto and Vertin (squishier and takes more damage) but even as she's bleeding, she will endure. Disclaimer: this ends up being an illusion but her taking on waves of enemies despite being bloodied says a lot about her character.

Stupidly Fearless

Falling asleep at a train station, walking down a dark tunnel on her own, Matilda really is wandering into dangerous situations like a lost duckling. I love how Shamane, Kaalaa, and Kanjira adopted the little duck and became her guides. Also, reminder she is a baby at only 14. She's younger than Sonetto and Vertin, but she is equally as brave. She's also vulnerable because of this. Her wallet was stolen multiple times and she puts herself in precarious situations.

Milky Blonde

They describe her hair as "milky blonde" which is just really cute to me.

Generous

Matilda always had a big heart. We saw it during the break-away event when she helped Vertin escape because she wanted to help her friend, even if she had no intention of following Vertin herself. She also gave Vertin the earrings the kids used to communicate with each other during their plan. She still has that generous side where she will willingly give away things and volunteer to help others. Not wanting to dirty Kanjira's skirt, giving Kaalaa her crytal, and overall helping the group in anyway she can. There are so many examples in the event!

Serious about Divination

Just like she did for Sonetto, Matilda guides people in a gentle voice we don't normally hear when she is divining. She is also extremely talented. She talks about being a genius all the time, but its true. Kaalaa and Kumar are both impressed by her.

Other Skills

Matilda knows first-aid and carries around an SPF 1 Portable Contact Device that allows her to call for back-up. She's also a quick thinker. Her thought process isn't as streamlined as Sonetto's (she mutters to herself and stumbles sometimes), but she recalls her guides and teachings and applies them to her situations.

Appreciation

I loved seeing Matilda shine in this event and the last one. We see her make friends, bring up ideas, and just being a fun character in general. For example, her interactions with the sly Kanjira and the oblivious Jessica are hilarious! Her admiration for Kaalaa also shows another side of her. She is confident, but she recognizes brilliance in others. Shamane is just a treat in this event too. We must thank this man for looking after the duckling and the danger noodle (Kanjira is a snake). For all her talk, Matilda doesn't try to impose herself as a leader. Instead, we've seen her in the main story and in the events take on supportive roles. She's a good friend. Normally I'm all for pining, but I think the story is much stronger because it excluded it. This allowed Matilda to show more sides of herself. While I'm partial to events with my beloved Vertin in them, if she and Sonetto were in this event I wouldn't be able to appreciate Matilduck!

[kradogsrats]

Been noodling idly on something about Aaravos's tiddies chest marking for a while, and since @raayllum just did a big update/summary of the "Aaravos's heart is in the Key" theory... I thought it might be time to put my little thinky-thoughts out there.

In short form: Aaravos's Star primal chest marking is not a natural feature of Startouch elves. It's a brand.

In long form: My initial question was "why, if we have the primordial Star symbol associated with the Celestial elves and with Aaravos himself, would he then have the primal Star symbol front-and-center on his literal body?"

None of the other primal elves have birthmarks or tattoos of the primal sources. (That we've seen. Runaan's might be on his butt or something.) "Actually, all elves are physically marked with the symbol of the primal they are connected to" would also be a very weird lore drop to have this late in the series. So why do Startouch elves have them?

Well, the answer is... they don't. This is a feature unique to Aaravos, and it's an important feature.

For give my heinous artbook page photos, they want thirty-five literal dollars for a digital copy:

What do nearly all of these designs have in common? They don't have their dang tiddies out. We only see what would become the chest mark in the far right and teeny bottom second from the right designs on the second page. Note that in these designs, its nature as a hole or source of corruption is much more obvious—in the far right design, it's even spreading cracks or veins across his body in the same way that dark magic affects humans. (Thank god they didn't go with that single horn, though. The fanfics would have been obscene.) Either way, Aaravos's chest being constantly, readily visible wasn't a design factor until some point where it was determined that it needed to be, because of what would be there.

Furthermore, I'm convinced that Aaravos's design and the use of the Star primal symbol on his chest informed the design of the symbol itself:

Look how much basically none of the unused ones resemble the final design. The one they chose is a total outlier from the direction all the other designs take, but it's also the one that works really well as part of Aaravos. It's the only symmetrical design, and it's simple and solid where the others are busy in a way that would interact poorly with Aaravos's already star-studded skin. (I did a broader analysis of the primal source symbol designs a while back, if you want more.

So Aaravos and the Star primal symbol were designed in a symbiotic way, knowing that it would be a prominent feature for him. Let's take a look at it, then.

In every official appearance of the Star primal symbol, from Rayla's drawing of them to Claudia's spellbook, from the cover of Tales of Xadia to the Mystery of Aaravos titling... the Star primal symbol is in the opposite orientation from the one on Aaravos's chest.

Except in two specific instances: the book page with the Midnight Star poem, and the Key as held by the Orphan Queen in the flashback sequence:

Both of which are referencing Aaravos specifically, and in a specific way—as the one who gifted dark magic to Elarion, and as a deceiving manipulator.

But it's pretty clear that Aaravos's chest star is upside-down. Falling, you might even say. It has also always been that way: we see both in the s1e1 intro shot of the elves preparing to cast the humans out of Xadia and in the much more recent s4e3 flashback sequences that it has the same orientation even before he's imprisoned. It's also there (and I'm 90% sure in the same orientation) in the s6e1 photo leaks (spoilers).

This key element of Aaravos's design is a) not a natural feature, b) very specifically oriented, and c) has been with him as far back as we have thus far seen, to what we are generally assuming for the moment was his "fall."

So, in combination with the "something (literal heart or no) was removed from Aaravos when he "fell" and may be connected with the Key" theory: either in conjunction with or as part of that process, Aaravos was branded, on his body for all to see, with the mark of a fallen star. Then he absolutely owns it with his tits-out outfit, presumably out of sheer fabulous spite, and no one around him actually knows what it means—that he's a punished exile, a piece of himself or his power stolen and/or corrupted.

[lowkeyrobin]

Hellooo, I was wondering if you could do MCYT with an S/O who has ADHD? (Mostly hyperfixates on horror games, etc.) I personally have a bad habit of walking around till my legs are sore (my leg has been sore for the past three days please help I can't get rid of this energy ahh-) and how MCYT would react to that/stop Y/N from. Doing that lol

HELP THIS IS SO REAL BAHAHHAHABA ; thank you for the request 🫶🫶 ; sorry if anything seems a little wrong, I'm kinda looking into if I have adhd but obv idk and I'm not diagnosing myself, but I obviously am not diagnosed so I don't know the full ins and outs and I know it's a spectrum, so uh yeah 👍 hopefully I did good lol

MCYT ; ADHD shenanigans

includes ; tommyinnit, tubbo, ranboo, badlinu, nihachu & quackity

warnings ; language

masterlist

TOMMYINNIT

he'll walk into your stream, sit down, look at your screen, then blankly stare at you when he realizes what you're playing

"Dude. are you streaming FNAF again?"

you nod with a smile "yupppp"

he spends the rest of your stream talking to chat and trying to scare you more

you're just talking about the lore and shit and he's loosely hanging onto it LMAO

if you're just like pacing around the house he'll look up at you like "bro you okay?"

will genuinely join in as well, he's always got the energy

he doesn't mean to enable like hurting yourself to a point, but once he realizes he is kind of enabling it he'll immediately stop

"sit down, here, skip leg day for once, focus on those noodle arms of yours"

"says you! the fuck?"

TUBBO

he'll walk into your bedroom for the first time in like a month and just see posters and little trinkets and merch of your new fixation and be like "christ, man"

"I'm a little hyperfixated"

"I see that. also considering the 150 hours worth of streams you've put into FNAF, yeah..."

he gets you a vr headset and buys you the fnaf vr games.

he doesn't understand how you have so much energy but it's whatever

"dude, sit down, your legs are gonna fall off, you've been pacing for like three hours! drink some water at least"

"tubbo, I can't! I have too much energy and I can't get rid of it"

that commences three hours of wrestling in the living room 💀🙏

RANBOO

let's you rant about your fixations and the lore and whatnot

I mean they won't deny that the Blair Witch Project video game is really good

they even buy you posters of the Blair Witch Project movie and video game (we don't talk about the movies after the first...)

even gets you merch off the official game site too (if that exists? I'm not sure istg there was merch tho)

they start to get a little fixated on it too considering they love hearing about the lore and theories from you and stuff

they even play it on stream and dedicate it to you

"thanks for the content y/n"

when you're running through the house, he'll race with you for a while before finding some other ways for you to release energy without making yourself sore

at one point he just gives you coffee that way you'll crash and burn after a few hours

I mean at least you don't feel like your legs are about to pop off your body

FREDDIE BADLINU

invested in the resident evil lore because of you

"I saw this and thought of you" AND ITS A LEON KENNEDY EDIT LMFAOOO

I mean yeah

loves hearing you rant about the games and everything, he could listen to you talk for hours

when you're all strung up on energy he also enables it without realizing at first

when he can tell it's more than just being energetic he'll help you find ways to calm down

if need be, he'll read to you, instant sleep I swear

or when he starts talking you'll be fully invested in his words

"yknow, Google listed among us as a horror game and I really cannot-"

NIKI NIHACHU

the amount of dead by daylight merch and the amount of money that you've spent on it is kinda concerning

but she loves listening to you rant about how the kill animations are so awesome and about new maps and characters and dlcs

I mean it's your current fixation, of course she'd listen to every single word you'd have to say

she even plays with you on stream a lot as well

when you're strung up on energy, she'll take you out for a run, you're like a dog on a leash though because she's not trying to lose you

"niki, come on! I wanna see the water snakes!"

"I'm coming, I can't sprint like you do, darling!"

QUACKITY

"of all the games, why is five nights at freddy's the one you're fixated on?"

he loves hearing you rant and explain lore and theories to him tho

genuine love language

he'll even play it on stream with you

"and the purple guy basically killed all the kids, and the kids basically scared him into the springlock suit and it literally killed him so he possesses that suit now-"

he'll just joke about the amount of energy you have

like Ranboo, will serve you coffee so you can crash and burn considering you end up begging him to help you

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

which turtle do you think can handle spice? lol i made some spicyx2 ramen for dinner and both my parents asked me if this was food or nuclear war fare, they got scared of how red the ramen broth was lol

Spicy Food (Headcanon)

A/N: The lucky wheel decided on the 03 boys for this one, so here we go💚 I myself am very bad with spicy food, like it's really bad. Like, if the food does as much as touches anything spicy, I can’t eat it. But I think the guys generally would have a way better time handling it💚

--------

Leonardo:

Leo does pretty well with spicy food. He’s used to Splinter’s spicy noodle soup, and was always the angel that ate everything his father made for him, without complaining. Not that he ever complained. According to his taste buds, all of Splinter’s cooking was amazing.

When Mikey started taking over in the kitchen, Leo could not help but find the food a little… What is the right word? Uhm… bland? But don't get him wrong, Leo loves his little brother’s cooking, but he did prefer his father’s addition of spice to the food. It just that feeling in his mouth that reminded him of childhood.

Although Leo is a terrible cook, and has been ordered by his whole family to never touch the stove or the oven, Leo did know how to use the kettle for tea, and the microwave for making leftovers. But he also knew how to make instant cup noodles as a snack, often finding himself gravitating towards the extra spicy once. But even then, he often finds that they aren’t spicy enough, and adds a little more himself.

Raphael:

Raph has a love hate relationship with spicy food. On one hand he loves spicy snacks, but on the other he isn’t a big fan of warm and spicy meals. As a child it had almost caused several meltdowns at the dinner table, back when Raph didn’t have the words to clearly explain to Splinter that the noodle soup was causing him middle discomfort.

Raph could not explain it. It was as if the heat from the food made the spice so much stronger, to a point where he just couldn’t eat it. Even as a teenager and as an adult, he would let the soup cool down for a bit, before finally feeling comfortable enough to eat it.

But funnily enough, Raph LOVES spicy snacks. Chili chips or at least some kind of spicy dip with his chips, and this guy would be happy.

Raph once shared some of his chips with Casey, not thinking they were so strong. But neither Raph or April had ever seen someone run so fast to the fridge for milk, giving Raph a hint that his snacks may be spicier than he first thought.

Donatello:

No one knew for sure, but there was this theory in the Hamato family, that Donnie’s taste buds were immune to pain. Donnie did not seem to care if his food was spicy or not. The important thing for him was that it tasted good, and that the texture didn’t make him run for the hills.

Leo had long speculated that it came from years of caffeine addiction, but that did not explain how seemed to have shown the same behavior, years before he even tried coffee for the first time. Spicy food just didn’t bother Donatello.

With that being said, it’s worth mentioning a time where Donnie’s spice tolerance really came to show. One day, an absolutely sleep deprived Donnie had made himself a cup of coffee, but in his sleepy state, he had added hot sauce to his drink, instead of the milk. The horror on his brothers’ faces when he took a sip, and went as far as to say that it even tasted better than usual, before he went back to work in his lab.

Michelangelo:

Mikey had never been a picky eater, but if there was one thing he couldn’t stand, it was spicy food. It had been like that since… pretty much forever. Sure, Mikey could eat mildly spicy things, but he just had a taste for more sweet things.

Mikey’s food making was therefore obviously less spicy than Splinter’s. But just because his food was less spicy, it didn’t make it any less good. Mikey’s cooking was amazing, even if Leo seemed to miss the good old days, where his mouth was about to burn off.

But Mikey’s mild intolerance for spicy food, gave Raph a great opportunity for a prank. One day while Mikey wasn’t looking, Raph added one of his spicy chips to Mikey’s already opened bag of salty chips. The scream that followed when Mikey then unexpectedly bit into that one chip, was so loud that people on the street above looked around in confusion. It was no surprise that all of Donnie’s milk suddenly disappeared after that, having been drunk by a hysteric Mikey that desperately tried to kill the fire in his mouth.

[cartoonus-maximus]

Notes and Observations on FNAF TFTP Vol 1: "Lally's Game"

I want to start by saying I really enjoyed this volume! And I hope the rest of the series is just as good (or at least in the ballpark) as I thought this one was. I loved the characters presented in the first and third stories (Jessica and Maya are my new favorite protags!), and I liked all the surprise twists and turns.

I also really dig the cover art, even though it mainly focuses on this little robot character who we never see in any of the stories. I think it's supposed to be Lally, but that's not quite how Lally is described when we're introduced to him.

(However, the figure behind him could be Jessica, the protagonist from "Frailty," since she's described as having pale skin and wearing dark clothes, like this feminine-looking figure appears to be wearing.)

These are my notes and observations made while listening to the audiobook, which I borrowed from my local library. Fair warning: there will be spoilers. If you want the whole experience for yourself, you should skip this and go read/listen to the book yourself first.

Another warning: two of these stories focus a lot on people with serious illnesses being hospitalized or even dying from said illness. This isn't the usual FNAF fare, so I feel like I should mention it, just in case anyone is particularly sensitive to the topic. The rest of the horrific occurances of this volume are pretty standard for FNAF.

With that said, let's get to it.

"Frailty"

This story starts with a teenage boy who's died in a car wreck during a rainstorm, with two EMTs trying and failing to revive him. They have to declare him dead, and both turn away for a moment to retrieve equipment. One of them turns back and sees a slim silhouette standing over the boy with a knife, and he's quick to scare the threat off. As he turns back to the bodybag, the teenager inside it suddenly comes back to life.

(I think it's funny that the EMTs were named Jack and Dave. Felt like a little nod to "Dayshift At Freddy's.")

We then meet the actual protagonist of the story, a 14-year-old girl named Jessica who works as a floor cleaner in the children's wing of a hospital. She doesn't speak unless spoken to, and avoids making eye contact with anyone, but is always hyper aware of her surroundings, and pays special attention to the patients.

"She was aware of each and every child in the hospital wing."

Jessica is a pale-skinned girl with dark hair, who is described as having "delicate facial features," being very thin and looking frail to others, and being basically pretty but hiding her features behind dark-colored clothing and her hair, which she keeps long and lets hang in front of her face. Some of her coworkers think kindly of her, viewing her as simply young and shy, while others are suspicious of her and think her creepy.

Several of the patients in the wing Jessica works at get better almost miraculously, but the nurses start noticing flecks of silver on these patients, stuck to their clothes and hair.

Jessica sneaks into the hospital chapel alone, where she pulls out a necklace pendant. It used to be bigger, and it used to be shaped like a heart, but she's been shaving pieces of it off over time. She prays to Whoever she believes is listening, praying that she continues "being good" and that she "completes her purpose" and "rights her wrongs." She's startled by the arrival of a priest, and they have a conversation about prayer and miracles.

The priest is named Father Jeremiah (and if I hear ONE MORE character named Jeremy/Jeremiah, I swear--!!).

(Also… There's a lot of conversations throughout this story between Jessica and Father Jeremiah, as they discuss religious questions, morality and ethics, and philosophical topics. It's not something I'd expect from a FNAF book, and it's not something that most of the readers for this kind of story would really care about.)

"… she wasn't there to enjoy life, but had to stay focused on her purpose."

During the evening hours, when the hospital is quiet and there aren't many people around, Jessica approaches a small boy who is a patient, coming up behind him while he sleeps. She pulls a knife out of her pocket and uses it to scrape shavings off of her pendant. As the silver shavings fall onto the child, Jessica feels weaker and weaker, her heart beat slowing and her breaths becoming more shallow; she knows he'll get better now, as she gives him some of her own life force.

(Green elephants, huh? The new "Dumbo" sounds great.)

Jessica goes to school the next day, even though she doesn't seem to need to, and she even asks herself why she keeps going. Her classmates openly bully her and say mean things about her strange appearance and behavior; one girl even refers to her as "a mannequin that barely moves."

Her class is broken into groups for a project, and Jessica is paired with a new kid named Robert, who is very attractive and has golden hair and wears pale blue. Robert immediately starts telling her about how his dad is an engineer, and how eager he is to work with machines like his dad does. (K… KELSEY???)

Robert feels bad for Jessica, having witnessed her being bullied by other girls. He expresses his disdain for bullies, complaining about the ones he encountered at his last school (I repeat: Kelsey? Is that you?), but Jessica tells him that she honestly doesn't care what any of her classmates think of her, which he thinks is cool.

Their project is to build a miniature robot that performs a single, simple task that they program themselves. They're told to use as many materials as they already own or can salvage for the project, instead of buying ready-made kits. Robert suggests they go to the junkyard to see what they can find, and Jessica is immediately uncomfortable with the idea. She tells him she can't go to the junkyard, and then promptly abandons him, running off in a panic.

Jessica goes to the cemetery to calm her nerves. While she's there, she wonders what her own headstone would look like, but then decides that she'll probably never have a proper grave. She closes herself up in an old family mausoleum to hide from the world of the living, and it becomes clear that she's been staying in this mausoleum during the nights, and isn't returning to whatever home she used to have.

Jessica has a good luck charm in the form of a rabbit's foot keychain, which is a perfectly normal thing irl but not in this franchise.

Returning to work at the hospital the next day, Jessica is interrupted from her normal mopping duties by the mysterious appearance of a rusty old fork on the floor behind her. She rolls her eyes, wondering why it's "a fork, this time?" and throws it away. (Girl, what you mean "this time??")

She befriends a new patient in the wing, who is a teenage girl with red hair and freckles. The girl introduces herself as April, and explains that she has cancer, and isn't handling the treatment very well. Over the course of the story, April and Jessica commiserate with each other over their (very different) ailments.

More industrial junk starts appearing in the hospital in Jessica's wake, including an old car muffler, nuts and bolts, a rusted tin can, and a rusty lock. The head nurse is determined to find the prankster that keeps leaving dangerous trash around the hospital wing, while Jessica just sighs heavily and throws everything away.

Back at school, Robert returns from the junkyard, and shows Jessica all the items he found for their robot project. Jessica considers the junk items and tries to keep from reflexively pushing them all off the table and getting as far away from them as possible. She later accompanies him to his home, where they work on assembling their robot.

"Robots aren't always original. Sometimes they're just made from boring old junkyard scraps." (… Do you have something you want to share with the class, Jessica?)

"You're not like other girls." "I know. … I'm weird." (I just thought this exchange was funny.)

Robert asks Jessica to go the prom with him as his date, and she's so startled and confused by the question that she doesn't answer him, instead running to the hospital chapel and having a panicked prayer moment.

She talks with Father Jeremiah, asking him if she's a bad person for wanting to be selfish and doing things for her own pleasure. (I told you - these conversations come up a lot.) She expresses shame about her past, but doesn't explain what specifically distresses her. Father Jeremiah tells her that he believes God wants what's best for his children, and tries to comfort the teen as best he can, trying to answer all her questions. Eventually, Jessica leaves the chapel, and Jeremiah notices a strange metal gear on the floor, left behind by Jessica.

"To her, Father Jeremiah represented life and death and forgiveness." (Let's not go putting our priests and pastors on pedestals here, girl. They're only human, after all.)

Jessica agrees to go to the prom with Robert, but then realizes she doesn't have a dress to wear and doesn't know how to shop for one. She gets help from an older nurse, Macy, who is happy to help her. Nurse Macy wonders to herself why no one in Jessica's family is helping her, but tactfully chooses not to ask questions, instead offering to help Jessica herself. She takes the girl shopping after work, helping her pick out a dress and matching shoes.

While they're shopping for the dress, a store employee mistakes Macy and Jessica for a mother and daughter pair. Macy doesn't correct them, and simply assumes the role of Jessica's mother for the trip. Jessica is touched that the older woman is willing to at least pretend to be her mom.

"It was better to just let others see what they wanted to see."

Nurse Macy has being watching her younger coworker very carefully, and has come to conclusion that Jessica is suffering from some sort of personal trauma, based on her behavior, but doesn't have enough information to know for sure. Throughout their interactions, Nurse Macy tries to ask Jessica about her family, trying to learn if the teenager has a safe home or not, but Jessica never tells her anything about her family or her home.

When Jessica isn't forthcoming with info, Macy gets so concerned she decides to go against work ethics and looks into Jessica's employment file to find Jessica's home address. Going to the address, Macy finds herself in a run-down part of town right near the cemetery, at an old house where an elderly woman lives. The old woman is ill and mean, and owns a small dog that barks incessantly. The woman doesn't know a Jessica, and Macy is turned away with more questions about her teenage coworker.

Back in the mausoleum she's been hiding out in, Jessica has a nightmare where she's alone in pitch blackness, being chased by a robotic monster of some sort. The robot catches up with her and rips her arms off one at a time, and Jessica feels herself bleeding out on the floor. The robot starts to steal her pendant, but stops. Jessica wakes up from the nightmare, safe in the mausoleum.

Jessica returns to school, and she and Robert present their robot to the class. When Robert gets nervous about giving their presentation, Jessica gifts him her rabbit's foot for luck, a gesture he appreciates. He returns the gesture by gifting her a braided leather bracelet. (These two are actually so sweet with each other.)

"Look! It's Ken and Zombie Barbie!" (Okay, that's mean, but I would also love to see that doll pack.)

That evening, Jessica is at the hospital, and eavesdrops on the nurses discussing April's situation, which is gradually getting worse and worse. Jessica can't help April if she's going to prom, needing her life force to herself, but also wants to help the other girl. She decides to go ask for advice from Father Jeremiah, and wants to know if there's an afterlife she'll be going to.

"Jessica felt so alone. It was like how she'd felt when she first knew she'd been changed forever."

Jessica goes to prom with Robert. They dance and have fun and both admit to being attracted to each other. But then Robert tries to kiss her, and jumps back, his face covered in old, dirty grease. Jessica panics and tries to leave, and as she passes them, the other kids all stare and point at her in various states of alarm and confusion. Distressed, Jessica runs away.

At the hospital, the nurses check in on April again, only find she's getting worse, and they can barely feel her pulse.

Jessica bursts into the hospital with a wild, crazed look on her face, grease leaking down her face from her eyes and forehead. She runs past the nurses, leaving a trail of grease and junk metal behind her. She runs straight to April's room, slamming and jamming the door behind her to keep the nurses from following her.

Through the window of the door, Nurse Macy sees Jessica take her pendant and a knife in her hands and stand over April. The nurses, hospital security, and even Father Jeremiah rush the door, getting it open again, but Jessica is completely gone by the time they get inside. April is still asleep in her bed, and there's a pile of metal junk on the floor next to her bed.

"Smelly grease dripped from the pile as if it were blood."

They search the room, but don't find Jessica. Father Jeremiah seems to know something they don't, as he looks sadly at the pile of junk and quietly prays over it, as though praying over a dying or recently deceased person.

Before Nurse Macy can ask any other questions, April suddenly has a miraculous recovery.

What a story to kick us off with!

Jessica's story is interesting, as we're pretty clearly told what most of it is: she made a selfish, uninformed choice at some point (we're not told what that choice was) which led to her encountering and being killed by a robot. She was rebuilt from a pile of trash in a junkyard, and brought back to "life" by a necklace made of remnant. Now, feeling bad about the choices she's made and the person she's been in the past, she tries to make up for her past actions by sacrificing her own life force to save others from a premature death.

Jessica died some time ago, and no longer lives with her family (who presumably have already held a funeral for her and grieved for their loss), but she still goes to the same school she always has, meaning that the school still has all the correct information about her and her family on file somewhere. Have her teachers ever tried calling her parents to talk to them about her, like "Jessica's not participating in class" or whatever, and her parents are just like… "She's dead, of course she's not participating in class!" But also, you'd think the school would have been informed about her death at some point, so it's a little strange that the teachers still address her and assign her homework.

Jessica was killed by a robot that threw her to the ground and tore off her arms, leaving her to bleed out and die in extreme pain and agony. File that information away for now, because I believe it's something we'll revisit later in the series.

The necklace is… interesting, to say the least. It's a heart-shaped silver pendant made of remnant, and it's possibly the same one that we saw in the "Fazbear Frights" series. In that series, we saw this necklace being worn by Eleanor, who uses it to assume the appearance of other characters, but seemingly also uses it as an energy source. At the end of the series, the necklace was taken from Eleanor and given to Det. Larson, who was under the impression that the remnant contained the spirit of a kind person. We were never told who that spirit could have belonged to.

I'm curious as to how that necklace came into Jessica's possession. Her nightmare implies that she was already wearing it before she was killed, and that her possession of it is what allowed her to assume a different form after her death. But how did she get it to start with? Did she acquire it from Larson somehow? Are there more than one remnant necklaces in this universe, and she just happened to have one? Is she related to Ranelle Talbert, who also had pretty features, dark hair, and was given a necklace made of remnant because she was so frail and weak as a child? What's the story?!?!

Also, I guess this story is telling us that remnant can be used to heal living people from various injuries and illnesses, can bring people back from recent deaths, and (possibly) it can cast illusions around its wearer, causing them to look like a normal person.

I think it's interesting that Father Jeremiah seemed to know the whole story of what was going on. It's so weird. It's like dude??? who are you and how to you know this??? What other Freddy's-universe weirdness have you seen?!?!?!

There is also the repeated names of Jessica, Robert, and Jeremy/Jeremiah. I don't know if they mean anything or not, but they're certainly names that pop up with an alarming frequency in this franchise.

"Lally's Game"

In this story, we meet Selena and Cade, two fiances who have bought a fixer-upper country farmhouse and are working on moving into it.

Selena has a long (and I mean loooong) inner monologue about how wonderful she and her fiance are. Literally, they're a power couple of perfect people, both incredibly smart, good looking, and extremely business savvy. (If you listen closely, you can hear me rolling my eyes and gagging. "Meh meh meh, look at how perfect we are!")

"Selena's life was sailing along perfectly." (Oh, I guarantee it won't be for long.)

The pair oversee the movers that are unloading their furniture into the house. One item that gets unloaded is a locked chest of Cade's, which Selena is surprised to see. The two of them have a fight about the chest and its contents and whether it should even be here or not. Whatever is inside the trunk, it's a mystery to Selena, and Cade gets very defensive about it, claiming it's just junk from his childhood and she doesn't need to see it.

The two of them pay a visit to Janice, Cade's mother, who lives nearby. While at her house, Selena finds photo albums depicting Cade's childhood, and decides to look through them with her future mother-in-law.

One photo shows a child Cade celebrating a birthday in a blacklight party room at a Freddy Fazbear's Pizzaplex. (Ah, we finally found a use for Funko's dumb blacklight line, I see.) The blacklight arena itself is called 'Lally's Game.' Selena shows the picture to Janice, who tells her that Lally's Game was Cade's favorite part of the Pizzaplex, and tells her a little about it.

Lally is a small, child-sized robot character that resembles Casper the Friendly Ghost. His purpose is to play and interact with the children who don't have friends to play with, playing hide-and-seek with one child at a time in his special arena. His space is the blacklight arena, which has prehistoric inspired caves and tunnels with brightly colored drawings on them.

(The words they're using to describe Lally remind me of how people tend to describe Funko Pops, which, given the relationship FNAF has with Funko, I find mildly amusing.)

Janice mentions that Lally's Game was shot down permanently at their local Pizzaplex when the Lally robot itself was stolen. When Selena asks if Cade was sad to lose his favorite game, Cade's mother says "Cade wasn't sad… Cade was scared." She doesn't explain what she means by that.

When Selena brings up the subject with Cade later, he tells her he doesn't want to talk about it, and says that "someone got hurt there" before shutting down the topic.

Their wedding day comes and goes. (We spend a long stretch of time on their wedding day and the event itself, which provides a lot of context for later parts of the story, but I'm going to spare you the details of this section.) After their wedding, they enjoy their honeymoon period while finishing up the refurbishing of their house.

After their honeymoon period passes, Selena decides to revisit Cade's mystery trunk. She feels that they don't have any secrets from each other, and the fact that Cade doesn't let her look in the trunk rubs her the wrong way. So, one day when he's at work and Selena is home alone, she decides to go look into it to see what it is he's hiding from her. She goes to where she knows he put the trunk in the attic, only to find it's not there. Realizing Cade has purposefully hidden it from her, Selena becomes very suspicious and angry, and she begins searching the house for the trunk.

"… [the farmhouse] had five closets…" (I'm trying to figure out how to make a 'Fifth Closet' joke but I'm not sure how yet.)

"Every box was empty."

Selena finds the trunk hidden in the back of the closet in a spare room of the house, hidden beneath blankets and behind a stack of empty boxes. However, she still can't get it open, since it's locked. She gets some tools and fiddles with the lock for awhile. She gets the lock open, but doesn't open the trunk itself, hearing Cade arrive home downstairs.

When Cade comes home, she confronts him about lying to her about the trunk. Realizing that she found it, Cade goes into some kind of angry panic, grabbing her and asking her in a rage if she's opened it. He runs past her to find the trunk, and, when he reaches it, he throws it open. It's empty. Cade is extremely upset.

Selena feels terrible, realizing that she violated her husband's privacy, and seemingly for no reason, since the trunk is empty. She apologizes vehemently, and tries to explain why she was so suspicious about the trunk. Cade still seems distressed, but mostly forgives her.

"Pressed against his wet shirt-covered chest, she could feel his racing heart, and she felt the tightness in the muscles of his arms and shoulders as she returned his embrace." (Is it just me, or have the FNAF books gotten a lot steamier than they were the last time I read one?)

"That's what she was smelling: it was the stench of fear."

Cade is obviously terrified of something, but Selena doesn't know what. Deciding she's done enough damage for now, she doesn't prod him about it, or ask him why the trunk was empty and why he was so upset about it.

That night, Cade tells Selena that he's going to go straight to sleep, and the couple skip over the sex or cuddling that they would usually engage in before sleep takes them. He pretends to fall asleep, but, when Selena is laying in the dark and he thinks she's asleep, he gets up again and sneaks around the room. He seems to looking for something, looking in nooks and crannies and sometimes pausing to listen for something. When he doesn't find it, he returns to bed.

An hour later, Selena is awoken by Cade's footsteps as he walks around, searching again. He seems to repeat this process almost every hour during the night, and seems to be becoming paranoid about whatever it is he's not finding. The next morning, he's exhausted, and barely manages a morning run before going to work. This goes on every night for a week.

After a week, Selena turns on the light during one of Cade's searches, and asks him what he's looking for.

"You've been jumping in and out of bed like a jack-in-the-box for the last week! … You act like you're checking for the boogeyman."

Cade tells Selena about the Lally's Game section at Freddy's. He explains that, one week, there were construction workers doing some renovations at Freddy's, and some scaffolding fell and tore a hole through the wall/ceiling of Lally's Game. After that, Lally went missing after that -- Lally wasn't stolen, according to Cade, but rather he thinks the little robot literally followed him home. He recounts seeing Lally appear and disappear from view around his and his mother's house in the weeks that followed, describing Lally's actions as "a game of hide-and-seek." He explains that he finally trapped Lally in an old trunk he took from his mother's sewing room, and that he's never opened the trunk since then, terrified to restart the hide-and-seek game.

During this story, Cade refers to Lally with human pronouns, saying "he/him/his" instead of "it/its" like Selena expected him to.

Selena doesn't believe Cade's story, but believes he suffered a childhood trauma that caused him to hallucinate Lally appearing in his home, and that he believes it to be true. Cade tells her she's wrong, and that Lally is somewhere in their house.

A few weeks pass uneventfully. Then, one evening while they have guests over for a dinner party, Selena goes to get extra sodas from the fridge in the garage, where she sees Lally the robot. Lally doesn't move while Selena looks at it, but she knows it's making eye contact with her. Selena runs back out of the garage. She pretends everything is okay in front of their guests, tells Cade what happened.

Cade is an expert at lying, apparently. (Foreshadowing.)

The next day, Cade leaves the house, making up some excuse. Selena, left alone, keeps hearing floorboards creak and thinks she hears footsteps. Unable to take it, she soon also leaves the house, driving into town.

For the following weeks, Selena feels like she's constantly being watched while she's in the house. (Presumably, Cade also feels that way, since he's literally avoiding his own house at this point.) She keeps searching the house, expecting to find Lally watching her, but she never sees him.

Not getting any more information about Lally out of her husband, Selena goes to visit her mother-in-law to learn more about the robot that's apparently haunting her… and the relationship her husband has with it.

Janice tells her that she always felt that Lally was "like a little brother" to Cade, giving the only child someone to play with. She also says that one of Cade's friends once snuck into the game with Cade, which was against the rules (only one child could play with Lally at a time), and that this same friend unfortunately died not long after in some sort of accident.

Janice also says that Lally had no moving parts, and that, to play hide-and-seek with him, the kids would have to pick him up and move him around. (I literally burst out laughing at this point, both because we now have a non-moving robot walking around when it literally does not have the appropriate body parts to do so, but also because that's just the dumbest premise for a children's arcade game I've ever heard.)

(Actually, I'm wondering if it's more like Lally simply can't or doesn't move while people are watching, like a "Doctor Who" Angel, but presumably does have all the right joints and motors to do so.)

Back at home, Selena hears strange sounds from various places around the house, and searches for the source, finding nothing. She becomes paranoid, and actually starts packing her belongings, preparing the leave both the house and her husband to get away from whatever has been released into the house.

During her searching, she finds Cade hiding behind the couch. He looks around the room, silently and frantically. Selena looks at his face and can barely recognize him. He ends up trapping her on the couch and threatening her. Selena becomes terrified of her own husband, and wonders how long he's been hiding this scary side of himself.

"If you upset Lally, you'll end up in the trunk next." (I'm sorry??? What the fricking hell, Cade???)

"She was coming to grips with the only logical conclusion presented by the facts: her husband was insane."

Selena asks if Cade killed his childhood friend to keep Lally to himself, but Cade tells her that Lally killed the other boy, reiterating that "the game is only for two."

In desperation, Selena knocks her husband out with a lamp. She starts to flee the house, but gets distracted by Lally, who appears out of the corner of her eye, and she panics, running up the stairs instead, unintentionally trapping herself on the second floor. She hides in a closet, hiding from her husband. While hiding in the dark in the back of her closet, Selena is startled to hear something approach her, and she hears a voice greet her with a whispy, spooky "Hi." She starts screaming.

From where he is on the floor downstairs, Cade can hear his wife screaming, but doesn't know why. He falls unconscious again for a time, and when he wakes up, he begins desperately searching for his wife.

(Ew, pulsing doors.)

"… he grasped [the doorknob]. His palms were sweating." (Knees weak? Arms are heavy? Mom's spaghetti?)

Cade runs to the trunk where he used to have Lally trapped, and opens it. He's met with a grisly sight inside the trunk, and nearly vomits, horrified and incredibly distressed by the trunk's new contents. Lally's voice floats down from a hidden upper shelf nearby, reminding him "The game is only for two."

(Side note: Cade's inner monologue says Lally's "five word sentence" is familiar to him, but apparently Cade can't count, because that's definitely six words in that sentence. Which, there was a joke earlier in the story about Selena not being able to count words, so I wonder if Cade's count is intentionally incorrect here, or if it's a legitimate editing mistake.)

"The words drifted down to Cade like the spray of a toxic mist. They engulfed him, and then they left him in silence."

Some unspecified amount of time later, we see Cade carrying boxes into his new house (a big Victorian fixer-upper), accompanied by his new fiance, Debbie.

Cade is the "head programmer for the biggest tech company in the state." We're never told specifically who he works for, but we are told that it's a new job, one that he had to move away from his mother for. Cade remembers having a conversation with his mother about having to move away for his new job, and neither of them remotely mention Selena's existence even once during the conversation. It's unclear if they're just choosing not to talk about her, or if they've genuinely forgotten about her entirely.

Debbie notices the trunk and asks about what's in it, and Cade tells her it's "Just some childhood baggage." They leave it in the dark in the attic, and, after they leave, two "pinpoints of light" appear above the closed trunk, watching them go.

Cade and Lally are a weird duo, seemingly with Lally as the instigator and Cade as the unwitting accomplice, and are just Bluebeard-ing their way through any woman Cade brings home. Which is… weird, but also standard FNAF fare, I guess.

It's pretty clear that Lally killed Selena, apparently tearing her apart in the dark and then stuffing her remains into his own trunk for Cade to find. When Cade finds her, he's suitably horrified, and it's pretty clear that he both knew it was going to happen and also didn't want it to happen. Lally then speaks to Cade, and Cade apparently forgets the whole incident, like the past few years of his life are mostly erased from his mind.

The description of Lally's words as being "like toxic mist spraying on Cade" is interesting, given the use of hallucinogenic gas that will be brought up later in the series. Especially given that it seems Cade completely forgets about Selena after this sequence.

I was talking about this story with my sister (who fields a lot of my less coherent ramblings, so you all should thank her for her services, lol), and I told her how Lally is described looking in the story: small and vaguely humanoid, completely white, with big buggy eyes and the hint of a smile. I said it sounded like a blank Funko Pop figure to me, and she said it sounded like how the Biddy-Babs look in the games. After she said that, I remembered that there's that one bit of "Sister Location" where the player character hides under the desk in Circus Gallery, almost like playing hide-and-seek with the Biddy-Babs. So now I wonder if Lally is meant to be a Biddy-Bab, or at least something similar.

Obvious reference to the FNAF4 box is obvious.

I can see where the theory of "FNAF4 Crying Child was rebuilt as a robot, and that's what's in the box" came from in connection to this story. When we see the box in FNAF4, it's the older brother's grey dialogue text that tells us "some things are better left forgotten," and is this story we see a similar box containing pieces of a dead person, and a child-like robot that the chest's owner thinks of as "a younger brother of sorts." It's not much to go off of, but there's definitely a connection there.

"Under Construction"

This story opens with three 16-year-olds: Maya, Jackson, and Noel. They're visiting the Mega Pizzaplex for Maya's birthday, since the Pizzaplex is recently built and has been advertising all of its new shows and rides. They specifically want to try out a special VR booth.

(The kids refer to this booth as both AR and VR alternatively throughout the story. It's made clear that the kids know the difference between AR and VR, and they spend a decent amount of time explaining the differences, but they simply don't care enough to differentiate between the two. I'm just going to call it a VR booth for the sake of these notes.)

"The idea of immortality is totally whack!" "Well, quantum immortality only applies to the observer…" (This entire exchange was so funny to me.)

(I don't really understand the concept of quantum immortality myself, but I understand it relates to the idea of there being a multiverse, and idea of different versions of a person surviving while some versions of themselves die. We'll revisit this idea later.)

(Just as a side note: I love how Jackson is the scientist of the group while also being Southern (USA) and being mixed black/white. It's just a specific combination that exists in real life, but isn't often used for fictional characters, and I just thought it was fun.)

As Maya takes in her surroundings, we also get a feel for the Pizzaplex she's in (and we're told that it's just one of many). There's a section meant for the really little kids, which includes a ballpit and blacklight cave structures (Lally?!). There are small stores inside the Pizzaplex, where customers can purchase Freddy's merch, and there are a multitude of rides. An indoors roller coaster flies overhead, and a maze of plastic climbing tubes twist around it.

"… similar to crime scene tape…" (And it probably is.)

The kids try to go to the VR booth, but it's closed, a sign stating that it's "under construction." (James A. Janisse voice: "Title card!") They decides to climb inside anyway, ignoring the sign's instructions.

The booth is shaped like a giant snowglobe, with a throne in the middle of it. A headband is sitting on the throne, and Jackson recognizes it as the headset for the system. Birthday Girl Maya puts on the headband and sits on the throne, and enjoys a simulated birthday party far more extravagant than anything her family could ever afford, including a beautiful cake delivered by Glamrock Chica. While they're in the booth, Jackson and Noel can also see and take part in the VR experience.

After they're done with the VR simulated birthday party, the kids leave the booth. The kids are exhausted from all the partying, and are surprised that none of the security guards came to pull them away from the closed attraction. Shrugging the lack of security off, they move on with their day, going to ride on the roller coaster.

The roller coaster features Foxy. The kids don't know Foxy's name.

After their day is done, the kids go home late in the evening. Maya's parents are waiting up for her, and she plays cards and drinks hot chocolate with them when she gets home. She then retires to the bedroom she shares with her sister Elena and goes to sleep, thinking about how wonderful the fake party was but also how much she loves her real life.

"I need my brain sleep."

The next day, Maya's family throws her a real birthday party, complete with a homemade cake and loud cousins and a pinata in the backyard. She has a mild headache during the day, but doesn't think much of it. Her headache gets worse later that night, but she once again decides to ignore it.

Among other things, one of her birthday presents is from one of her grandmothers, and is a necklace with a gold rose pendant. Maya loves flowers and cultivates a flower garden in her own backyard, with roses being her favorite. She's very close to her Gran, and the necklace gift is very meaningful to her.

We then get a short explanation of the following year of Maya's life, starting with the ominous "Looking back, Maya couldn't exactly pinpoint when she knew something was wrong. It all seemed so normal." (Paraphrasing, but you get the idea.) We're then told that Maya has more and more headaches over the next several months, but, at the same time, her grandmother is diagnosed with breast cancer, and Maya doesn't feel like bringing up her headaches to anyone when her family is so worried about Gran. (I understand that feeling; this part of the story made me remember a lot about what my own family was going through irl when my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer.)

Maya's Gran dies, and her family grieves. Maya herself is devastated, and clings to the necklace she was gifted from the matriarch. Just as she's dealing with that, both of Maya's grandfather's are diagnosed with cancer.

Maya's sister Elena remarks how unlikely it is for three separate people (who aren't directly related but are part of the same family) to develop cancer at the same time. When Maya turns, she sees her sister is looking at an article online, and she scrolls to a section that cuts off suddenly with a "page under construction" image.

Mere days after the deaths of both her grandfather's, Maya's other grandmother is diagnosed with cancer, and dies very quickly. After this, the neighbors all around Maya's neighborhood and various classmates and their relatives begin to fall sick with cancer, and many of them succumb and die quickly.

When Maya tries to talk about it with Jackson and Noel, Jackson tells her that his mother was also diagnosed. Neither of them seem very concerned about it, and instead ask her if she wants to go hang out with them at the Pizzaplex soon.

Maya's aunts, uncles, and cousins begin falling ill, and then so does her father. Maya runs herself ragged trying to take care of everyone. While Maya feels like her world is falling apart, her sister Elena seems very unconcerned about the whole thing.

Maya hasn't had time to take care of her flower garden, but her flowers seem to be mysteriously fine, growing perfectly.

One of Maya's schoolteachers has a baby, and Maya and Noel go to pay her a visit at her home. The teacher introduces them to her new daughter, Cecilia. Maya goes to hold the baby, but then almost drops the "baby," as she finds herself staring at a doll that has a flat head with no facial features, its "skin" made of thin, clear plastic, and its body filled with gel.

"Cecilia likes being the center of attention, don't you, little one?" said by a woman nuzzling her not-real daughter's head. (Oooh, that's a wonderfully bizarre mental image.)

Maya goes home, only to learn that her mother now has cancer, too. Her parents acknowledge their upcoming deaths at the dinner table, apparently unbothered about the whole thing, and Elena also doesn't express any concerns about the whole affair.

It's made clear that this isn't something that's limited to the town Maya lives in - people all across the planet are getting sick and dying from cancer in enormous swaths, like a worldwide plague.

Maya is so confused as the people around her drop like flies, and the remaining people are extremely unaffected by their losses. She also encounters more people with newborn children, with each of the babies looking the same as Cecilia did: like an unfinished doll, or placeholder mesh in a computer program. These newborns are also growing unnaturally quickly, taking on "goopy" and "unstructured" bloblike appearances. They don't speak, and don't move much.

Maya walks past an "under construction" sign on the street.

Elena gets diagnosed. Jackson and Noel are actively sick and dying, as are everyone else Maya knows. But, as more and more of the people in Maya's life disappear, more and more of the blobby, mannequin-esque children appear to fill the streets, maturing into adulthood within days and mostly just… taking up space around town.

"But what about those… things… out there? The jelly people?"

(… The jelly people can be baptized. Interesting.)

"He was seeing what he wanted. He was seeing what wasn't there. Or… maybe she was seeing what wasn't there."

Late one night, Maya goes out to her flower garden, which has completely died out. She realizes she doesn't remember what her flowers looked like, followed by the realization that she doesn't recognize color anymore, now only used to the ashen faces of sick and dying people. Her headaches have only gotten worse, and are now a constant thing that she feels throughout every day.

Every time Maya goes out, she's surrounded by the "jelly mannequin things," which sit or lie all over the town, filling up parking lots, sidewalks, and stores. They appear to move from place to place, but Maya has never actually seen one move, and doesn't think their clear, jelly-like limbs have the ability to move by themselves. They seem to multiply rapidly, and appear to reproduce via budding (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budding). Maya actually sees a "child" jelly suddenly drop out of an "adult" jelly out on the street, the image making her think of a baby simply falling out of their mother's birth canal.

"All experiences are valid." (Jackson is such a weird fount of knowledge, lol.)

Maya returns home to find it surrounded by the weird jelly people. She thinks they look like one "large organism instead of several smaller ones." Inside the house, she finds her mother and father both dead, and her sister and remaining cousins doing extremely poorly.

Maya heads out on the road to stock up on supplies for her remaining family, passing by many more of the jelly people. She passes by a "road under construction" sign. Seeing it makes her realize that, everywhere she goes, she's see signs and warnings referring to a location being "under construction." She wonders why that it, but then shrugs it off.

Maya is basically the only healthy person left in the town (and likely the world), and she's running herself ragged as she tries to take care of everyone that's left. (We're told that one of her neighbors, an old man she doesn't like, is still alive, hidden away in his house. This is never mentioned again, and I'm not sure why it was brought up in the first place.)

Something reminds her of her visit to the VR game. She thinks about how real it felt, and how unreal her current life feels. She realizes that she could still be in a simulation and not know it.

The jelly people fill the street around Maya's house, and she tries to weave her way around them to get home. They rapidly multiply in front of her, filling in whatever space is left on the ground and crowding the street and outside of the houses. Maya accidentally touches one, and she feels cold and nauseas from the experience.

Maya realizes she's the only one left, and wonders if she really is still inside the VR unit. Her headache comes back.

"Had she entered a parallel universe?" (Into the Jelly-verse!)

A pile of jelly people leans against the house. There are so many of them, all of the windows and doors shatter, and the jelly people start sliding into Maya's home. Now the only person alive in the house, Maya runs away from the onslaught. She finds no way of escape. She finds herself trapped inside a sticky, cold, slimy mass of bodies, which overtake her and smother her. She's trapped inside a mass of jelly, somehow still alive but wishing for death.

… Wait. That's it? That's where the story ends?

I don't know what I expected. It just feels like there should be… more? For some reason, this story feels unfinished to me (much like the title suggests it to be, ironically).

I guess I just expected it to end on a scene of Maya still sitting in the VR booth back at the beginning of the story, with Jackson and Noel waiting for her outside of it and assuming she's having fun and seeing a pleasant simulation. Or something similar to that, anyway.

I don't really have much else to say about this story. Most of it is just implying that VR and AR behave the same way in the FNAF world, and that they can both manipulate the user's experience on a level so complete that they truly believe it's real.

I find it strange that it's mentioned one of her neighbors is still alive and well toward the end of the story, and that he apparently never got sick and has just been watching her from inside his house. It's a very random feeling detail, and I'd like to know what his presence represents.

Back to the Quantum Immortality thing: by the end of the story, Maya questions her potential multiversal existence. She wonders if her consciousness is living out a sort of "second life," separate to her original reality, and it's in this second reality where everyone she loves dies and she's trapped in a nightmare. If this is the case, this implies that everyone she knows and loves is alive back in the real world, and that the original version of herself is safe. Again, leaning into the idea that this entire story was part of a VR simulation that she's been experiencing ever since she entered the game booth.

Epilogue:

Some construction workers find a pile of old endoskeletons and endoskeleton parts while sifting through the debris of a partially demolished old Freddy's. They're distinctly working in the Pizza Simulator space right beneath the Pizzaplex in "Security Breach." The place is being renovated by the company, potentially being turned into a museum to memorialize the franchise's past. And, since this Freddy's building is partially underground, the company is working on constructing the Mega Pizzaplex right on top of it.

(Gil, you're annoying and an asshole. I know you're probably going to die before this story is over, and I also know I'm not going to miss you.)

The construction workers who are on the payroll for building the Mega Pizzaplex find a lot of the instructions they're given strange, but they're paid too well to ask many questions.

A shipment of animatronics arrive to the location, long before the building is actually finished or ready for them. All of the animatronics are brand new and shiny, but one of them stands out of the bunch, a guitarist character that looks too mangled and beat up to function properly, and has no outer shell. (Kinda reminds me of Glamrock Bonnie, but in endoskeleton form.) One of the renovation crew (Gil) takes the damaged animatronic and repurposes it to help sort and take apart the pile of old endoskeletons from the old pizzeria.

"The rest [of the animatronic's body] was dark and discolored, like it had survived some kind of fire. The upper part of its skull contained bulging white eyes in steel sockets, and the lower part contained a hinged, metal-toothed mouth. Jutting from the top of the head, a pair of bent metal ears stuck out like antennae."

" … the [animatronic's] white eyes turned orange."

The animatronic endoskeleton is specifically given the job of removing limbs and heads. It's meant to only do this to the old, unusable endoskeletons that litter the floor, but this particular bit of instruction isn't clarified.

At first, the robot tears through the pile of robotic parts the way it's supposed to, and the construction workers cheer. But then the robot turns on them, tearing off the arms and heads of the human workers as well, starting with Gil, the man who initially programmed (badly!) the animatronic to do this job.

"… the bloody carnage that used to be Gil." (What'd I tell ya, huh? Maybe next time do your damn job right, and also don't be an asshole!)

One construction worker (a guy named Danny) escapes the carnage unscathed. He closes the door behind him, and makes sure to seal it up with cement, closing off the Pizzeria Simulator from the rest of the Pizzaplex.

I think it's interesting that this mysterious animatronic is described in ways that made me think of Glamrock Bonnie and Burntrap, when I know from spoilers online that it's supposed to be the Mimic.

Also, the whole ripping-arms-out thing tells us that this endoskeleton will later go on to kill Jessica, our protag from "Frailty," which is interesting given that it's sealed away in this section of the story. I guess either it becomes un-sealed later, or Jessica, much like Maya and her friends, ignores the rules and breaks into the basement herself.

[quitealotofsodapop]

This was in my notes for a long time

MK glanced up at the ringing of the bell. The food truck was bustling, full of people all over the city looking to enjoy Pigsy's Noodles during their New Years while they await the parade. At the sight of the partially glamoured face of a ginger haired person with a heart-shaped birthmark around his eyes wearing an orange hoodie and maroon pants, he felt his face pale considerably. Especially as the very obviously glamoured demon was accompanied by four seemingly human children, having apparently put more effort into their glamours than his own. A quick flash of Gold Vision confirmed MK's suspicions. His mom and siblings.

"Oh boy..." He groaned, glaring at the snickering of one of the twins. They pointed at their headphones and stuck their tongue out before bringing their attention back to their sibling. Right, lotus ears. There's no verbally spoken secret within a mile that can be kept from the twins simply because one of then was born with their father's ears. Before MK could return the rude gesture he felt a hand shaking his shoulder, startling him.

"What's up, monkey man?" Mei was grinning, "You look like your mom jsut walked in on you or something!"

"That's because he did." MK groaned, pointing to the group, "He brought my siblings too."

"Oooh, tough. I'm totally gonna record the entire thing, it's bound to be good blackmail."

MK rolled his eyes as he pushed himself to the front where his mom was watching the whole interaction with amused golden eyes.

"Mom! What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Can't a fella come to his son's workplace on the holiday?" Wukong joked, instinctively reaching out to stop Luzhen from grabbing at Yuebei's hidden tail, "With the New Years I thought it'd be a good idea to bring your siblings down to the parade for a better view. We're jsut stopping by fir seem food before we go down to the festival."

"Well you came to the right place! What can I do ya for?" Pigsy grunted as not too gently pushed MK aside for some room. For a moment the glamoured monkey demon was frozen at the unexpected resemblance before shaking himself a bit,

"Oh, uh... something vegetarian please. Make sure mine is cooled."

"Cooled?" Pigsy raised a brow as he glanced at MK, a cooled bown the noodles is rarely something people want.

"Mom had an accident when he was younger that makes it difficult for him to eat hot foods." MK explained, writing the order down for his boss. The pig shrugged, muttering something about ice as he began the order. MK returned his focus to his family as they chatted, Wukong quite forcefully demanding a hug from him.

What MK didn't realize was the conversation going on behind him.

"So that's very obviously a glamoured demon." Tang was pointing out as they watched the family interact, "So our theory is looking more and more true."

"Yeah, kid's a demon. Or the least his mom is. Poor guy." Pigsy said in return, "Still that isn't a good glamour."

"I've seen glamours before." Sandy chimed in, "I don't think it's because he's bad at it, just look at his kids! He's probably jsut putting all his energy into keeping his kids' glamours up."

Ref.

Oh gosh poor MK getting mega-embarrassed by his mom and siblings XD

I love the detail of the Eclipse Twin with the lotus ears teasing MK before they even get there. No secret is safe from the twins; one hears all and they both share everything.

I love Wukong being so focused on his kids glamours that he barely has enough magic left over for his own. And ofc Luzhen trying to grab Yuebei's invisible tail - cus where did it go? XD

I love hcs of Wukong not enjoying hot food cus of his lore. Him like his noodles lukewarm at best.

And the noodle gang cofirming their suspicions that MK is def a glamoured demon (or at least half-demon). Imagine the shock they'll get when they learn exactly who MK's mom is! XD

[matttheratkingart]

what are some of your favorite crocodile headcanons?

- I know Oda said he’s Egyptian and Italian, but my Croc is inspired by Cajun and southern culture and he grew up on a swamp island similar to New Orleans bayous

- He’s the middle child of a large family (7 children altogether) raised in a small house he found stifling and left as soon as he could

-I have names and bios of all his siblings and his mother lmao

-he will say he lost his hand in some mysterious pirate way, but in reality it got bit off by a catfish when he went noodling at 11-12

- His bio dad is Whitebeard but he doesn’t actually know it, only remembering seeing the pirate with his mom once in a while when he was very young

-His mother was his introduction to cigars and he would frequently try to steal them from her as a kid

- Before he transitioned he thought he was a lesbian and only slept with women until he met Doflamingo in his 20’s

-God I could do a whole fuckin post about my hcs on Dof and Croc and their fucking. Lana Del Rey Born To Die romance

- He needs reading glasses when doing paperwork for long periods of time

- When content/sleepy/cuddling w his husband (Mihawk) he makes a happy grumbling noise like purring which crocodiles are known to make

-Full believer/supporter of Crocodad theory, did not know he was pregnant at all up until the moment he was holding baby Luffy in his arms. He did not stick around too much after that, never learning the boys name or what had happened to him

[absolutebl]

Be My Favorite - Flaming Hot Trash Watch Action

Ready for this?

Adapted from the y-novel You Are My Favorite by JittiRain this is one of those “rewrite the past to change the future.” Starring Krist (SOTUS) + Fluke Gawin (DBK, Not Me). I expect this to be low heat, full of LIES and manipulation.

12 eps of approx 45 min fresh content each, and I guess I am drinking on frigay for the next 3 damn months 

Main tropes: time travel/slip/loop, paranormal, university setting, soft romance, low heat, sunshine/tsundere with GMMTV’s heavy hand on classic Thai BL tropes, product placement, and high production values.

Trailer | MDL

I’m getting some shizz outta my system before I start putting the alcohol into it...

Story issues 

Let’s get this on the table. I have a mixed relationship with Jittirain’s stuff because unlike Mame who is trash to her characters with plot, Jittirain is trash to plot with characters. All characters (what limited characterization there is) will be obedient to the plot and act against personality the moment it is necessary for whatever insanity is required for audience manipulation. We The Watchers WILL feel jerked around by these jerks (but as this is GMMTV there will be no actual jerking). We WILL be lied to, and the characters will lie to each other FOR NO GOOD REASON. 

In addition to Be My Favorite JittiRain is behind: Vice Versa, 2gether, Fish Upon the Sky, and Theory of Love. Mmm humm. Yeah. Drinks are defiantly required. 

Actor issues: 

Krist: Who knew Krist would do a BL again? Like seriously? His career has been riddled with controversy and his skills as an actor widely challenged. Regarding the first, this is not that blog, take that discourse/cancel culture elsewhere. For the second? I will judged his acting based on the usual criteria: this BL, this role, this pairing, this script, and the fact that this is Thai style acting. Okay?

Gawin/Fluke: I will likely slip and call him Gawin because that’s what he used when he first crossed my radar. I have said this before but he looks like an ex of mine. So my baggage with him is all personal. Said ex and I are amicable, but it wigs me out sometimes. They even have a similar voice. I will try to get over this. 

Also the both SCREAM straight. I mean I don’t wanna judge insult or anything but these boys got breeder smeared all over them. 

Okay, so what are we doing here?

Well, as previously established: DRINKING.

AND

A new trash watch! 

Although there is always the (however faint) possibility it will become a praise watch. Sometimes that happens. But this is Jittirain so... I doubt it. 

Ready?

Here we go! 

Episode 1: Sake & Fear 

I have heartburn already. Or maybe that’s the extra chili I put on my noodles + booze + EXISTENTIAL DREAD. 

Kawi = loser, poor, stupid, shy, and friendless (AKA Japan’s ordinary bottom uke archetype) - he’s a downer, this is an issue with this kind of character, not likable. 

Pearmai = the sunshine faen fatale Kawi has a crush on 

Piseang = the tall handsome cute popular perfect seme, plays basketball perfectly (waves at Love O2O), is also a DJ (nash)

Most of this ep was spent establishing this dynamic and some kind of secret santa for college kids, a magic time travel snow globe, and the fact that the wrong couple got together. 

Why is there a dandelion in the snow globe? 

Is it a wishes thing? Do they have that superstition in Thailand?

A 12 year time jump is v Japanese. Which life-point is closer to Krist’s actual age? Ooo, half a bottle of sake and I’m salty af. 

Apparently Kawi still has same problems and the same haircut as he did as a fresher.

Could we please talk about this? It’s in ALL BL. Why does NO ONE change their hair as they age? My hair changes by the week. 

Meanwhile our ordinary bottom has turned into a wild imbecilic tsundere and our seme clearly likes that and I am too drunk for this. So is Kawi. 

You know what, it’s not as terrible as I thought it would be. I don’t like it but I can see the characters becoming appealing. Maybe? Hopefully? Why do I do this to myself?

I’m not a monster, I will give it a chance. 

At least no one has yet picked up a guitar.

See you next week, same Jittirain time, same Jittiran place, new bottle of sake.  

Episode 2: Nigori & Serenity 

The sake I’m drinking tonight is described on the bottle “silky & mild” which is also a legit review of Gawin’s acting. 

WAIT A MINUTE.

What is going on? 

What am I feeling? 

They’re lying on the grass talking to each other in a meaningful way. It’s cute. I am enjoying it. How appropriately collegiate. 

Is this... enjoyment?

Am I enjoying this show?

OMG I AM. 

help 

I ate booze-filled chocolates AS WELL AS SAKE. 

Maybe it’s the double dose? 

Am I becoming silky & mild?

I got a slow down. I can’t do this every week for 12 weeks in a row. I’m not in uni anymore. I might end up being a nice person if I continue down this road. Can’t have that.  

Honestly, I do like the fantasy of getting to re-live your college years as a cooler version of yourself. 

Although, frankly, I did fine with mine. 

(Oh thank fuck, asshole me is back.) 

I don’t know where Max came from but he is officially the most interesting character in this show. 

Also... does he look a bit like a bad boy bunny to anyone else? 

It isn’t actually like it, but I am getting a distinct 2gether vibes from this show. It makes it feel kinda dated for BL. What a fucking crazy thing to say. Ignore me, I’m drunk. 

OOOOO.... Nong teasing. Very nice.  

The over dramatic drunken kiss made me giggle. First time Krist has been properly kissed in a BL.

Sigh. 

What do I do? 

I’m enjoying it! 

Damn it. 

Episode 3: Tipsy Waffling 

I was out at the club, came home faintly tipsy. Frankly I feel a little unwell, so I’m not gonna drink anymore. So this is an unprecedented semi-sober trash watch. I’m not sure if I’m ready but so far this show been beating expectations, and I don’t expect a derailment until next ep so I’m feel okay about my life choices. 

Okay Gawin is good. I’ll give you that . His little moment if realization (and giving up). The “oh shit” look. 

Wait.

That’s Title! 

When did he leave Wabi Sabi and join GMMTV’s stable? 

Look I kinda enjoyed this bit, because it was a joke.

BUT I AM NOT HAPPY WITH THE ENDING.

Is this the beginning of the JittiRain of Doom? Or it this just good angsty story telling?

No way to know until next week.

(JittiRain of Doom - see what I did there? Aren’t I a clever little lush dragon?) 

I should go to bed now. 

I think we can safely say clouds are on the horizon and whether this is good storytelling or bad, only episode 4 will tell. 

Episode 4: It’s Happened! The Suck! 

not in a good way @heretherebedork​ said ep 4, can they call it or WHAT?! 

I’m officially calling Kwai’s pink haired Maximum hotness bestie “my café fae” and YOU can’t stop me. I love him. Or I want to be him? Or I AM him?

Difficult to know.

Checks own hair.

Not pick at at the moment. Mostly blue actually.

(I weirdly adore that blue open weave draw-string vest thing he’s rocking. Checks own closet. Wonders idly about turning a mesh laundry bag into a shirt.) 

Anygay... Café fae and I are running away together and not putting up with any of this Jittirain nonsense.

Right? 

Because this beach frolic...?  

Too cringe. Too awkward. I really don’t like all of embarrassment factor for everyone, not to mention humiliation and hazing and older kids picking on younger kids.

I’ve been done with this plot divice since SOTUS. And I’ll take it in small doses from Korea but no more Thailand. Stop it. And...

is that...

A GUITAR 

!!!

NO SINGING.

Oh, I hate this show.

Everyone listening in on the phone while he’s humiliating himself with a girl? This is fully terrible. 

I’m so uncomfortable with this whole episode. 

And yet. Secure. Because finally we are in the territory I was expecting. But ALSO I can’t bear it. 

Please make it stop.

At least Piseng is a decent human being.

And Pair. 

Screw all y’all. I’m eloping with Pair.

Wait.

What about my cafe fae? Hummmm. 

Ah! Got it. Thrupple! 

I’m not gonna lie. That was rough going. 

And I am not OK.

Although I’m digging this thrupple scheme of mine. 

Episode 5: I Am V Drunk

For those of you following the soga of ABL is a lush... 

I got my cocktail! 

Then got distracted by meeting colleagues at the bar. 

Then went for dinner and wine.

Then got another cocktail and finally made it back to the room. 

So by the time I started watching this week’s installment I was... quite drunk. 

Take this recap with a grain of salt margarita salt rim... no... not that kind of rimming, that’s just in KP, sadly... wait... what am I doing? I got distracted. This is GMMTV. Def no rimming. 

So! 

Kawi deserves his new asshole friends (stop it ABL no rimming). 

I just don’t like him. He’s too straight and whiney and homophobic. 

Could we have a romance between Pisang and Max? 

Asking for a friend me. 

Bet there would be rimming. They both seem very game. Just saying.

Different show ABL. Different show. 

Where was I? Apparently I went to the land of Bed Friends for a moment there. 

Why does anyone like Kawi? 

Max deserves better.  

Pear deserves better. 

Pisang deserves better. 

OMG!!! His utter wistful yearning over the happy gay bar. Poor baby. 

Awe don’t run away from Max. We love Max. Max is the best. You NEED a Max in your life. We all do! 

Someone described Max as “tired gay,” and I feel this keenly. 

NO SINGING. 

I DON’T LIKE WHERE THIS THREAD IS GOING. 

NO NO NO NO NO 

SKIP! Skipskipskip. 

Next week look like a classic ep 6 kiss then angst. Whatever. 

It was fine. 

This was a fine installment. 

I’m very drunk. 

Hotel all spinny. 

Hi, bed! Make me a sammitch. 

Episode 6: I Am Less Drunk Than I Should Be

I just wish this were Pisaeng’s story instead of Kawi’s. It would be a lot better. In fact, it is a lot better. Any time we get PS alone or with any other character it’s a better narrative. Any time with him and Max talking it’s the best of everything, That’s all I want on my screen.

In fact, Max is all I want. 

I love his “care bear kpop” clothes. 

This is definitely one of those shows where I don’t understand why anyone likes the central character - his friends, his love interests, his father, his audience, tumblr. 

No one should like him. He started out a loser and he’s only getting worse, and nasty to boot. 

Yes, it’s good we see him apologize, but there’s no logic behind the choices that led him to needing to make the apology in the first place! 

(No one does, honey.) 

We are heading into classic Jitiirain where are the characters are going to betray us and themselves in order to serve the narrative. 

And I’m not drunk enough for this. 

Honestly? I think Krist what is miss-cast as well. 

I’m not in the anti-Krist faction but just imagine... what if Kawi had been played by Khaotung? He has a much softer more dynamic screen presence. I think he could’ve carried even Jittirain’s patented nonsense. KT is... in fact... CUTE. 

Gawin is not an issue. (Which surprises me, since I came into this with a bias against him.) 

Because we can see PS thinks that K is cute even before the script felt the need to tell us this. 

Even when he’s being an arsehole, PS’s eyes are all soft for him. I guess some guys just are attracted to arseholes. 

Heh. 

See what I did there?

Meanwhile I hate PS’s mother! 

She = evil. 

I RECOGNIZE that balcony!

PS’s house/apartment thingy is the same as MaxNat celebrity pad in Y-Destiny. Another one for the location trackers.

That’s it, that’s all I got. 

Only one gay pun for you this evening. 

I have one job to do and I’m blowing it.

snerk

Nighty night. Don’t let the mosquitos bite leave hickeys. 

Episode 7: NO SINGING

I guess Kawi is one of those “straights” who just gets gayer the drunker he is. I know the type. 

Boozing the Kinsey Scale. 

Beer goggle queers. 

Cockeyed. 

Three sheets to the flame. 

Dick wasted. 

What else do we call them?

Oh yeah... cock tease. 

Episode 8: STOP SINGING 

Pisaeng for these last two episodes...

(singing cat never gets old, bite me) 

Good for you Pisaeng for standing up for yourself. Stop letting the straight boy jerk you around. 

(I see you in your matched couple shirts.) 

Omg I HATE Kawi just WHY IS ANYONE FRIENDS WIH HIM? 

Stop. Just this show would be so much better if he weren’t in it. 

I’m glad he lost Pisaeng and I enjoyed watching him cry. 

Even if he still made everything about himself. 

We return yet again to the fact that I love Max. Max and I are running away together. 

Pisaeng is just never Kawi’s priority, whereas the opposite is always the case. Talk about one sided love friendship relationship everything.  

Kawi the coward. 

To little too late. 

I do keep thinking about Big Eden with this series, Kawi just seems so straight no matter what he says or does or kisses.  

Poor Pisaeng he gets what he wants but it’s all out of pity, fear, and desperation. 

And all he wants is a chance to flirt? 

Is he an actual saint?

Fuck this damn show. 

(source)

As always with these trash watches, I update the original post until Tumblr has a brain fry and won’t let me anymore. Then it becomes an updated repost. Life in the dumpster fire is never dull. 

[rickfucker]

can u please just infodump about ricks autism?like his stims,his “icky sensations” etc?thank you! <3

Please forgive the informal nature of this; I obviously have not been writing a lot lately, but I'm back on my Adderall and thinking about Rick as much as I think about Astarion from Baldur’s Gate.

First of all, Rick’s love of Birdperson is because he’s so unlike anyone Rick’s ever met. He’s totally straight forward, no guessing games on his intentions. Given a theory that I just reblogged a day ago, he’s probably got familial trauma similar enough to Rick, in their distrust of love, and possibly marriage. Birdperson is serious and goal-oriented, but lets loose around Rick’s influence BECAUSE they’re both autistic as fuck LMAO.

Rick is hella stimmy. He’s big on echolalia. Always whistling, humming or singing, repeating brand new alien phrases (wubba lubba dub dub, duhh) that have a good mouth feel. Writing songs with his favorite words. Also totally makes fun of people who can’t whistle.

I’ve talked before about his food & texture sensitivities. He’s totally fine eating spaghetti made out of people, but lo mein noodles? Absolutely not; too slimy. He can rip the head off a snake with his bare teeth, yes. He's just so specific with the things he dislikes. Take a chicken breast for example - that's fine. Breaded? Fine. Gravy on chicken breast? Fine. Gravy on breaded chicken breast? Bin it. Anything attached to a bone? No, thank you. Anything that still looks like the animal (whole fish filet, for example), no, thank you. Soup? Better be vegetable and no solids except croutons only. That way, nothing gets too soggy.

He inspects every chip/crisp/french fry before eating for black or green parts. If they have any blemishes like that, they’re getting chucked. He tried once to eat one once, just to challenge himself, and nearly got sick. The texture was simply ungodly.

Some one-off thoughts:

He hates a lot of different clothing textures, which is why he’s always wearing the same outfits. He cut off those clothing tags and cloned the result so he doesn’t have to deal anymore. 

Usually wears shoes around the house. Doesn’t like walking around the house without socks on.

Clumsy when he’s not on high-alert, like on adventures. Got hella bruises on his legs from running into the living room furniture & his work areas in the garage.

Definitely particular about temperature. He keeps his room a toasty 71 degrees, but never 72.

that's all I got for now. Hope you enjoy, anon.