#similar how I do for game Vanessa

[chloesimaginationthings]

Omgomgomg MIKE IS HEALING!! is he finally comfortable taking off the bandages on his face?? Also HES IN DIFFERENT CLOTHES idk if that just for pizzeria simulator or WHAT but LOOK AT THE BABY GOOO

I’m still working on Michael’s pizza sim look, but he is healing!

[lisianthoma]

i miss a hat in time

[scribbles-ink]

im just thinking what if mike schmidt is the son of the movie's equivalent of henry emily. i had this thought on the way home from the movie at like. 10 pm so at the time it was incoherrent, but im going to expand on it here.

point 1- garrett played a similar role to charlie emily, in that despite being watched over they were both killed by william afton.

p2- in the flashbacks, its very obvious that the entire family is in a place away from society. they're literally in a forest. it wouldn't make sense for william of all people to be there if he wasn't close to the family.

p3- the books and the game mirror eachother, so there is a chance that schmidt could be another fake name, one william recognized because, again, he was a family friend.

p4-what happens when your kid goes missing? idk probaly witness protection or an urge to seperate yourself from the incident, both reasons for the name change.

p5-(kinds joke reason) abby rhymes with charlie and looks similar to her (brown hair, brown eyes)

p6-i argue that abby also took on the role of the puppet/charlie at the end of the movie. she didn't necessarily give them life, not like what was done in the game, she shoeed them how they died. she reminded the children of the life they had before, and of who really took it. by doing that, in a way, she gave them that life back. she gave them their real personality back, one not influenced by william. she cut them from his influence, she gave them the gift (the picture) and it gave them life (their memories)

p7- in the movie, mike says his father 'couldnt deal with it' and left after his mother died. yk what that sounds similar to? book henry emily killing himself in despair. maybe mike's dad is alive maybe he's dead, we dont know. but it is similar enough, an act of completely removing himself from the equation.

p8-book henry has a sister named jen, yk what name that sounds like? jane. who was mike and abby's aunt, and we dont know which parent she was related to.

p9-'but wouldn't mike know about the pizzaria if william was a family friend?' honestly, probably. but theres also a high chance that he wouldnt. if the family lived in nebraska, (which im pretty sure they did) they wouldn't have a need to go to utah, not even for a friend's restaurant. sure, he might know that his dad's friend had a restaurant, but not that it had animatronics or anything. the family probaly moved to utah after garrett's disappearance and after freddy's closed down.

p10-'wouldn't mike know vanessa? theyre similar in age' if they didnt live in the same state, probaly not. william in the movie was a, suprise suprise, shitty father, even foregoing the stabbing of his kid. i doubt hed care enough to take her with him on like. a short out of state trip.

p11(edit)- in the books aunt jane was killed by evil charlie to get to charlie, yk what that sounds like? the animatronics killing aunt jen to get to charlie

p12(edit)-the words at the end of the movie say 'come find me' and the music playong at the end is the puppets song so i think garrett is the puppet which is. again. an emily thing

p13(edit)- mikes dad looks like a mechanic shown in the training videos [cough henry emily cough]

if i think of anything else ill add it but anywys this is why i think the schmidts in the movie are the emilys equivalent. also check out the notes on this post because theres a lot of replies n reblogs that support my theory

[bamsara]

question regarding solar lunacy, more near future situations without spoiling too much.

regarding specific scenes, very heavily leaning on the cut scenes shown in the game. how would sun/moon be brought into these scenes with y/n?

sticking out to me, where moon has knocked freddy out cold, and dragging him into parts and service for interrogation.

will we be experiencing moons after math from some kind of "black out" after dragging freddy into the "protective cylinder" and y/n conducting the repair instead of greg?

or will we simply not be cool enough to share cannon events with freddy and greg?

additionally, moon is hunting greg through the game after very hour. will this be incorporated as well? (if able to answer without spoilers) how?

Oooh, some of this would require spoilers and/or some info that would need to be taken with light grain of salt as my current drafts aren't set in stone, and I'd be revising and changing things before the chapters release.

So I can't talk about the scene with Moon dragging Freddy away, or give you in-deph detail about the lights-off routine at the end of every hour and how that relates from game to fic (considering some things have changed in the fic compared to the game, like how Y/N inadvertently prevented Vanessa from being hired as a security guard, but that doesn't mean she's not in the pizzaplex still. Wink wink.) Somethings will be similar but not the same.

Most canon events will need to happen to some extent. I cannot tell you which ones or how true they will stay to the source material, but there will be destruction. As for the hunting procedure the animatronics have, this will still in place, but altered for the fic universe. I cannot talk about how this will work out without giving direct spoilers. But yes, Gregory (and the Reader) will be hunted by some animatronics.

For now, I put a lot of background details into SL that come back later, including: - The Daycare Attendant, (and Monty to an extent) have been working on their resistance to the virus for over a year now in fic timeline. The other animatronics, and staffbots, have not had this, even if their virus manifestations are able to be more hidden from the public (and the reader/narration.) - The reader (Y/N) is an employee and has shown to have the knowledge and clearance to work the breaker/manual power to turn On/Off the scheduled pizza plex's lights in the past before (see: chapter 6) as long as they can get to the controls to do so. - Thanks to Eclipse in chapter 13, there is currently a crack in the protective cylinder in Parts n Service.

There's others as well. There's foreshadowing of something in every chapter, even the early ones. I hope you're okay with me not spoiling stuff until then!

[rhoorl]

Delta Landscaping | Chapter 16: The Countdown

Series Masterlist | Chapter 16 A03 Link

Word Count: 8.8k

Previously on As the Mule Falls: Benny and Vanessa went on a date. We learned a bit about a woman from Santiago’s past. Frankie got things prepared for a little weekend trip up to Atlanta to celebrate a big milestone.

In this Episode: Another Benny-heavy episode as the guys get him ready for fight night. Similar to the last episode, we’ll jump through time and will end the Saturday before Benny’s fight. We also have another neighborhood party!

Chapter Warnings: This one is pretty fluffy, just some swearing. Special thot warning - Cousin Joel, Marcus being a sweet brother-in-law, the boys spending time at the gym. Frankie in his menace era. Benny is a flustered, adorable mess. David comes with his own warnings. 

*Cue the theme music and roll opening credits*

11 Days to Fight Night 

David: Ok since when has Will had a motorcycle?! Katie you have to keep us updated on stuff like this.

Megan: If we had a neighborhood newsletter it'd be the lead story this week 😂

Ty: Don’t give him any ideas…

Katie: Sorry…he just got it

Olivia: Have you taken a ride yet?

Melissa: 💀

Olivia: On the motorcycle

Oliva: Shit! 🫣

Ty: I thought for a second D took your phone 

Megan: 😆 aw Liv, we love you never change.

Oliva: Quick someone please change the subject. I am so sorry Katie!

Katie: 😘

David: Anyone up for another party? We haven’t welcomed the new neighbors yet.

Megan: Lulu and I were actually talking about that!

Lucille: Yes! I am happy to host! Maybe this weekend? 

David: Theme?

Megan: Do we need one? 

David: ….

Megan: The theme is Lucille is going to cook us a bunch of food and play great music. And dancing!

Ty: Ay dios mio. He’s already getting a mood board together.

Lucille: Megan - can you talk with Victoria? See what night works for them. 

Megan: Great idea! Katie you’re in charge of the boys!

David: I’m not jealous at all 🙄

Frankie propped his elbow up on the armrest and looked out the window as the plane made its descent. The early morning flight meant there were actually a few open seats, including the one next to him in the exit row, for which he was grateful.

His weekend trip reinvigorated him. It went as perfectly as he could have imagined it, save for the constant rain but even that wasn't a problem since it meant they got to stay in. All the anxiety he felt leading up to the trip about revealing parts of his past to Jo evaporated the second she took his hand, rubbing her thumbs across his knuckles. She appreciated Frankie's openness and willingness to share some of the deepest, darkest parts of his past. But what meant the most was when she said how proud she was of him for reaching his milestone. 

The distance was not ideal. All they wanted to do was spend every day, every moment with each other. He wanted to wake up to legs tangled and sheets rumpled. She wanted to surprise him at his job one day with lunch. They wanted to cook dinner together at night and settle in and watch a movie or play a game.

But for now, their physical time together would be relegated to a more sporadic schedule. She was gearing up for a busy time at work, but they made plans for the following weekend for Benny's fight. Frankie was already counting down the days when he could see her and introduce her to everyone. That thought brought a smile across his face; the pride he'd feel about showing off his girl.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even realize they were landing until the wheels hit the tarmac. He quickly pulled out his phone, knowing exactly who his first text would be to. 

Frankie: Just landed. Miss you.

Jo: Good! I miss you too. Got to the office a little bit ago.

Frankie: You weren't late right?

Jo: Nope, all good! Gotta go to this meeting but tell Benny I said hi!

Frankie: Have a good day mi cielo. Talk later

Jo: xoxo

10 Days to Fight Night

“Fish, can you help me with something real quick?” Benny panted as he racked up the bar onto the squat rack.

“With what?”

“Can you…uh…take a picture?” He turned around, offering Frankie his phone.

Frankie furrowed his eyebrows. “A picture? Of what?” 

Benny’s eyes looked left and right. “Um…me?” 

“Can’t you just do like a selfie or somethin’?” Frankie leaned against the weights.  

“No…it’s more of an…action shot. C’mon Fish, it’ll take two seconds.” Benny walked over to an open space, peeling off his shirt so he was left in just his black basketball shorts. He flipped his baseball cap around and got into a plank. “Just take a couple of me doing pushups.”

“Por amor a díos, Benjamin. What the hell?” Frankie shook his head laughing.

“C’mon, Fish,” he grunted through another rep, the pendant of his chain hitting the floor each time. 

Frankie tried his best, even bending down on one knee to get a better angle. “Ok…see what you think.” 

Benny chewed on the inside of his cheek as he scrolled through the mostly blurry photos. He was about ready to prop up the phone against a dumbbell and try it again but managed to find a clear one that showed off the definition in his shoulders. “Good, thanks, man.”

“Hey…um…think you could… never mind, it’s dumb.” Frankie rubbed the back of his neck, walking back towards his water bottle. “Who’re you taking that for anyway?”

“It’s for uh…my Instagram…damn that sounds really fuckin stupid to say out loud. I'm a grown-ass man,” Benny chuckled. 

“Hoping that someone in particular sees it?” Frankie raised an eyebrow, lightly punching Benny in the arm.

“Yeah…kinda,” Benny blushed, eager to change the subject. “What? Like you don't send any pictures to your lady.”

“Uh…that’s actually what I,” Frankie sighed, shaking his head as Benny’s face lit up with the realization of what Frankie was trying to ask about earlier.

“Oh hell yeah, Fish! Tryna show off all that hard work aren't ya,” he winked, slapping Frankie in the stomach. 

Despite the focus on Benny and getting him in ring shape, Frankie reaped some benefits from their daily gym trips too. Recently he noticed his shirts fit a bit tighter across his chest and arms, a fact Jo was all too pleased about during his little weekend getaway. 

They'd exchanged photos over the past couple of weeks, but they had been pretty tame. Mostly silly selfies as they went about their day. This morning, however, Frankie did manage to send one of himself shirtless, brushing his teeth which seemed to get quite the reaction. He was having fun and feeling playful.

“Can you help me?” He looked over at Benny who sported a lopsided grin.

“Hell yeah!” He led Frankie back to the locker room. They stood in front of the mirror as Benny gave him tips on how to pose and hold the camera, taking a couple of his own to show as an example.  

“I dunno man, this feels kinda dumb,” Frankie winced, looking at himself in the mirror. 

“Stop it…she’s gonna love it. You’re lookin’ good these days, Fish, show it off!” Benny shook him by the shoulders, making Frankie’s shy smile grow more confident. “I’m tellin’ ya, send her one of those and you’re in for a good night later,” he winked.

Nine Days to Fight Night 

Will and Santiago finished the work on Melissa's backyard earlier than expected thanks to some extra help from Connor. It was perfect timing, with a little over a week before Benny’s fight. All the guys rallied around Benny, helping him prepare however they could.

Today started with an early morning jog around the neighborhood. Benny, Will, and Connor ran together, the younger boy pushing the older two to keep a faster pace. Frankie followed on a bike, barking out encouragement. Meanwhile, Santiago sat on the Millers’ front porch drinking a coffee and reading the paper, giving the guys a little wave each time they came around the block.

“Nice, that was your fastest yet,” Frankie stopped the bike and clicked off the stopwatch.

Benny stood bent over trying to catch his breath while Will took off his shirt to wipe the sweat off his brow, tucking it into the waistband of his red gym shorts. Santiago strolled down the driveway with some water bottles as David drove by, giving a polite wave. 

“It was all this guy,” Benny panted, patting Connor on the chest. “Your coach is gonna make you run the drills this season man,” he chuckled.

“Happy to help. You feeling good?” Connor asked as he took the cold bottle from Santiago. 

“Yeah. Cardio wise I feel great.”

“You testing out that cardio in your free time?” Santiago smirked as Frankie smacked him on the back of the head, cutting his eyes over to Connor.

“He hasn't even kissed her yet,” Will added before dodging out of the way and hiding behind Frankie to avoid a slap from Benny. The guys broke out in a fit of laughter as Benny blushed. 

“She’s excited about the fight,” Connor said as he took a long drink of water, eliciting confused looks from the guys. “What? She cut my hair earlier this week so it came up. Thanks for noticing by the way,” he teased as he removed his baseball cap and ruffled the top of his hair.

Santiago assessed Connor’s haircut with a sharp nod, approving Vanessa’s handiwork. “Looks good, kid. Maybe I’ll go and see what those hands can do.” He winked at Benny, getting a sense of glee at seeing his fist ball up and his nostrils flare.

Oblivious, Connor continued, “She gave an awesome scalp massage, she has long nails so it helps to…” He stopped when he saw all the guys looking at him with blank stares. Benny’s mouth twisted while the others tried to hold in their laughter. Finally, Will’s snort made them all bust out laughing. 

“Better be careful there C,” Will smirked. 

“Oh…ah…sorry Benny, I swear I didn’t mean it like that,” he winced, fearing he’d offended Benny.

Benny clenched his jaw, before taking a deep breath. “All good lil dude,” he patted Connor on the back. “I’m used to these guys being assholes…so…what did you guys talk about?” He raised his eyebrows.

More relaxed now knowing Benny wasn’t mad, Connor told them about how she seemed excited to watch Benny but a bit nervous too. “She mentioned something about how Victoria is going to be there to help too?”

Benny shifted from one foot to another, feeling butterflies in his stomach at the thought of her excited to see him in action. “She…uh…yeah, Vic’s gonna help tape me up before the fight, you’re off the hook, Fish.”

“Ha, I see what you did there!” Connor laughed as they all groaned.

“You've been over there every night this week,” Will observed, taking a long drink of water. 

“Vic has been doing some treatments…to help me with recovery. Now that I’m getting older, I'm feeling it a lot more than I used to…now I know how you all must feel,” Benny smirked.

“Vanessa hasn't been helping you with some extra um…treatmen-” Santiago could barely get it out before bursting into another fit of laughter.

“Hey, you boys are having too much fun,” Lucille joked as she wheeled her trash bin to the curb. 

“Lulu, qué estás haciendo? Trash comes tomorrow not today,” Frankie knitted his brows taking the bin from her and walking it back up her driveway. 

“I thought so, but David told us it was a special day and to take it out to the curb right away and…well never mind,” she shook her head. “You boys are coming over on Saturday, right?”

“Wouldn't miss it for the world, Lulu,” Will regarded her with a soft smile. 

“Are you cooking Lulu?” Benny's hopeful look made her laugh.

“Sí mi amor, I am starting today. And I'm making some extra empanadas just for you…although I hear I have some competition,” she winked.

“What? Someone else is making empanadas?” Benny scoffed. “Doesn't matter, I know where the best ones are made darlin’.”

“Ah well, vamos a ver, I think you may like these more…you boys going to the gym?”

“Yeah, one last hard workout today and tomorrow, and then it's all maintenance, right Benjamin?” Frankie clapped a hand on Benny's shoulder.

“You're coming next week to watch right, Lulu?” Benny's puppy dog eyes made the biggest smile come across Lucille's face. 

“Por supresto mi vida, I’m looking forward to it.”

Eight Days to Fight Night 

Today’s gym session was especially fun because everyone got into it. Connor and Benny started off alternating between jumping rope and running sprints on the treadmill. Of course, they had to make it competitive and see who could jump rope the longest without messing up or who could run for the fastest speed on the treadmill. 

Santiago and Frankie spent time lifting, getting a chance to catch up on each other's week. Will went off to a corner to do an ab circuit. When Benny finished his cardio, he and Will faced each other on the ground to do one of their patented Miller Push-Up Contests. They'd started doing this as kids and it became something Benny would do to lift everyone's spirits during missions. 

Each time they came up for a pushup, they extended one arm out to slap hands before going down for another push-up. Will rolled his eyes because Benny wanted to push the pace rather than go at the slow and methodical one Will set. Like always, they ended up play fighting, with Benny putting Will in some kind of WWE-style hold.

“Ok, ok you two break it up,” Frankie chuckled. “C'mon Ben, let's get some sparring in so we can all go eat.”

Seven Days to Fight Night

"Bean what the fuck is a 'thirst trap' and why did Sarah say she saw it on your Instagram? Jesus I don't even know what half of that shit even means," Joel muttered to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sat in his truck outside of Steph's house. 

“Oh…ah…I dunno man, you know the kids and how they talk, can't keep up,” Benny tried to laugh it off but Joel pressed on until he finally revealed what that phrase meant.

“What kind of picture you posting Ben? My daughter, your niece, is on that app!”

“No, no, it's just a selfie in the mirror at the gym. I had my shirt off, it's what she'd see at the beach, man, nothing worse than that.”

“Hmm…” Joel rolled his eyes, “It's not you I'm worried about…why'd you post that anyway? Not enough havin’ all those stay-at-home moms at the gym goin' crazy for you.”

Benny could practically see the smirk on Joel's face. He knew he could try and bullshit his way around this, but Joel would get the truth out one way or another. “I…shit this sounds so fucking silly, I'm almost 40 for fuck’s sake, but…I was kinda doing it hoping someone would see it.”

“Someone in general or some specific? Is it for Nox?”

“Who the fuck is Nox?”

“Your girl…you said she drove an Equinox, so I’ve been calling her that in my head,” Joel chuckled.

“Nox…” Benny tilted his head. “You never gave Amy a nickname...”

“You didn't answer the question, Bean.” Joel countered.

Benny leaned back in his dining room chair, pausing from the drawing he was absentmindedly shading as he talked with Joel. “Yeah,” he said softly.

“Ha, I knew it. Trying to remind her what she's missing when you're not around?”

“Ahh…well…”

“Y'all’ve done stuff right? Will said you've been at her place like every night this week.”

“No man…I…we almost kissed last weekend but her sister and brother-in-law got home from their date night,” Benny scratched his scalp as he continued, “I dunno…I haven't felt nervous like this around a girl like…ever.”

“Well, she sounds special Bean…I'm looking forward to meeting her.”

Benny sat up straighter in his chair, “when's that gonna be?” He eagerly anticipated Joel's response.

“Well, that's kinda why I called. Dropped Sarah off at Steph's for her two weeks and we got to talkin’…the county is draggin’ its feet on these permits and some of the materials we need for this job are back ordered so I'll have some downtime while Sarah is with Steph…looks like it's going to line up with your fight.”

“Holy shit! You're coming? Fuck yeah!” Benny pumped his fist in the air.

Joel chuckled, “knew that would get you excited. You actually have Steph to thank for this one, she made the decision for me…says I need to take a vacation.”

“I can't remember the last one you went on.” 

Joel shook his head, “Hey Tommy, Sarah, and I went tubing last summer…or was that two summers ago…”

“My point exactly J, plus that wasn't a vacation. So is Tommy coming with you too?”

“That's the plan, as long as he doesn't do anything stupid.” Joel rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand. 

“Oh shit, it's gonna be a hell of a week with you two down here.”

Joel smiled as he drove, listening to Benny go on and on about the different things he wanted to do while his cousins were in town. 

“...and Pope mentioned this cigar shop, we were thinking of getting some to celebrate but I dunno I don't wanna jinx anything and -”

“Ohhhkay Bean, gonna stop you there. I'm about to head in to grab some food. We'll chat later…try and I dunno dance with Nox at the party tomorrow night, put on that Miller charm.”

Six Days to Fight Night

“Mmm, it smells so good in here hermanita,” Victoria walked through the door with Nico and Mariella in tow. 

“Thanks, got the last batch going,” Vanessa said over her shoulder, careful not to take her eyes off the hot oil. 

“Oooo Tia you made empanadas?” Nico bounded over, getting his hand slapped by his mom for reaching for the tray Vanessa had already neatly assembled.

“It's ok Vic, he can take one. Here mi amor take from this plate, those are the guava y queso ones.”

“My favorite! Gracias, Tia!” He managed to say between bites. 

“Cooking up quite the storm huh?” Victoria regarded the counter which included a glass dish full of boiled yucca, a container of citrus-garlic mojo, two types of empanadas, and a tres leches cake.

“We can't show up empty-handed,” Vanessa fished out the last empanada and placed it on the paper towel-lined plate.

“Well you know what they say…fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach,” Victoria giggled as Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Speaking of his stomach, d’you see his Instagram? Ay Papi! She wiggled her eyebrows. 

Vanessa blushed as she started packing up the empanadas into containers. “Um…yeah…I mean, I think I saw it when I was scrolling.” In reality, Vanessa set up notifications for Benny’s posts, so she immediately saw yesterday’s gym selfie. Not wanting to seem too eager, she waited about an hour or so after he posted before she actually liked it. 

“Hmm…sure. Anyways, what are you wearing tonight?”

Vanessa sighed, “I don’t know…it’s a casual backyard party so nothing too fancy.”

“C’mon,” Victoria grabbed her sister’s hand and pulled her up the stairs holding Mariella on her hip. “Vamos, Nico…let’s help Tia figure out what to wear tonight.”

Frankie took a deep breath as he looked at himself in the mirror. Benny's words from the other day were in his head encouraging him to show off all of the hard work he'd been putting into the gym. As he contemplated which of his colorful, silky buttoned-downs to wear, a thought popped into his head. Earlier, Jo sent him a picture of her outfit before she headed out for the night with a friend. She looked gorgeous, but of course, she did. That photo would be in his head all evening, so he thought it would be fun to return the favor. 

He pushed back from the mirror and pulled the bill of his baseball cap down low so that just his mouth was visible. He checked the angle of his phone making sure he was in the frame before looking down and snapping a couple of photos. He sighed as he scrolled through them. This was so unlike him, but he had to admit, it was kind of fun. He got a little rush of doing this for her, curious what her reaction would be. Having fun like this, being silly and carefree and just being in…love? Is that what he was feeling? It had been so long.

“Alright, let’s see what you think baby…” he muttered to himself as he hit send, immediately putting the phone down on the counter and walking back to his closet to figure out which shirt to wear. 

Bucky enthusiastically greeted Katie as she walked into Megan's house. He was excited to see her, sure, but he was more excited about the tray of little Cuban sandwich sliders in her hands.

“Bucky, no no this isn't for you…maybe your mom can give me one of your t-r-e-a-t-s instead,” she winked as Bucky jumped up on her legs. “Ohhh ok, note to self, he knows how to spell,” she laughed, rounding the corner into the kitchen where Megan and Connor were getting their stuff packed up.

“He acts like we never feed him,” Megan laughed. “You've got it good my man,” she looked down at Bucky who gave her big puppy dog eyes. “Don't…ugh dammit it works every time,” she laughed as she grabbed a Milkbone. “Damn you Benny Miller. He got Bucky addicted to these damn things so I had to go to Costco to get more,” Megan gestured to the new treat container as Connor snorted.

“Speaking of Benny, how’s it going with the training, C? Katie leaned against the counter.

Connor sat at the kitchen table, “Oh pretty good. I feel like this week it's all really clicked for Benny. He seems to be having fun. Plus he got some good news, so that put him in an even better mood.”

“News? What news? Ooo something about Vanessa?” Megan asked.

Connor absentmindedly scrolled his phone, “Nah, no it's about his cousins from Texas they're coming to town.”

Megan and Katie looked at each other, a smirk forming across Megan's face. “Cousins from Texas huh?”

“Yeah, Benny was excited about it,” Connor added.

“I guess we'll see if all of Melissa's detective work paid off huh?” Katie tried to sound neutral but she knew Megan was onto her.

“You gonna give David that bit of news or am I?” Megan raised an eyebrow.

“I mean, your kid was the one who had that little tidbit, so it's all yours Meg,” she winked.

With Frankie headed to a party at Lucille's tonight, Jo finally took her neighbor Bea up on her invitation to join her and some friends for a trivia night at a local brewery. They finished the first round and awaited the results, so she had time for a quick trip to the restroom. She checked her phone out of habit, not expecting to see any messages from Frankie. Her stomach did a little flip when she saw she had a message from him – and a photo at that. Intrigued, she leaned against a wall and looked over her shoulder to make sure no one could see her phone. 

Frankie. Without a shirt. Wow, he looked good. And the part that made the slick start to pool between her legs was the little smirk she could see from under his baseball cap. It reminded her of a week ago, looking up at him as he was buried inside her, one of her legs wrapped around his waist. She pushed her thighs together for some relief before responding.

Jo: 🫦

Jo: Benny is teaching you well there Morales

Frankie: Thought you might like that

Jo: Call me later 

Jo: Actually, we should FaceTime 😈

Giving herself one last look in the mirror, Vanessa fussed with her hair before heading downstairs. She could hear Victoria going over the kid’s nighttime routine with their cousin Maria, who agreed to come over and watch them for the evening. She smiled when she saw Nico lying on the couch playing a game on his tablet, watching him as she turned the corner into the kitchen, she nearly ran into Marcus. 

“Vandy!” He narrowly avoided crashing into her and took a step back to take her in. “Wow…you look beautiful,” he leaned down to kiss her cheek. “He’s going to love it.” He whispered in her ear.

She shyly smiled, “It’s not too much?” 

“No, you look perfect.” He winked as he walked over to the kitchen island to help pack up the food they were taking to Lucille’s.

“You don’t look too bad yourself Buck, is that the guayabera Tio Gerardo got you?”

Marcus looked down at his black linen dress shirt, “Yeah this is the one. Some of the guys wear these to the office and now I see why, they’re comfortable as hell,” he chuckled.

Lucille hadn’t thrown a party like this in ages. It felt nice to have the house full of people, the music playing, and the aroma of food wafting throughout. She was thankful to the boys for helping her get the backyard in order. Frankie and Benny set up a beautiful display of twinkling string lights among her trees while Will and Santiago and Connor constructed a dance floor and moved furniture out of the way.

A group congregated in the kitchen, David holding court as he took stock of all of the delicious food Lucille had on the menu. He let out a loud whoop as the Delta Force guys arrived. All of the neighbors showered them with hugs and warmth. In their own ways, each of the guys relished this. It was nice to have people genuinely excited to see them. 

Everyone decided to take the party outside, helping to carry out various dishes and containers. Once everything was set, Benny reached into a cooler to grab a beer. He heard Lucille excitedly announce that the guests of honor were there. Turning around, he immediately locked eyes with Vanessa, like a magnet that found its other half. He let out a breath as he saw her. Fuck, she looks beautiful, no idiot, she looks gorgeous, he thought to himself. Will patted him on the back, but Benny couldn’t hear what he said. It was like everything was in slow motion. 

Vanessa wore a simple forest green wrap dress with a floral pattern that hugged her curves in all of the right places. The straps of the garment were delicate and the neckline formed a modest v, showing just enough cleavage to leave something to the imagination but also enough to make his mouth water. His eyes honed in on her collarbone, wondering what it would be like to pepper kisses along it as he moved his way up her neck to behind her ear and…

“Ben? Earth to Ben?” Santiago chuckled next to him.

Benny shook his head to bring himself back to the present. “Hmm?”

“You’re staring, Bean. Put your tongue back in your mouth and go over there and say hi.” Will added as Frankie smirked. 

“Shit. Yeah, ok.” Benny smoothed the front of his short sleeve blue button down, undoing another button because it suddenly felt like it was a thousand degrees outside despite it being a very pleasant evening. 

A crowd formed around the new arrivals with everyone eager to welcome them to the party. Benny made a beeline to Vanessa waiting impatiently but respectfully as David chatted with her. 

“Girl! Stunning. Tens across the board on this. I didn’t know you had this little figure on you mama!” David winked. 

“Aw thanks, you look great too!” Vanessa blushed as she caught Benny’s eyes from over David’s shoulder. 

David followed her gaze. “Ah, Benny! Hey, d’you hear we have more empanadas? Vanessa made some too, so now we don’t have to fight over all the ones Lulu made. Although if we did actually fight you’d kick my ass so…” David chuckled.

Benny snorted as David excused himself, taking the opportunity to ask Will about his new motorcycle. “Hi,” Benny looked at her with a soft smile, pushing the hair out of his eyes.

“Hi,” Vanessa replied, a bit shaky. 

For as much as he was in awe of her, she was equally as mesmerized by him. He’d been almost exclusively wearing a baseball cap since they met, so she hadn’t noticed that his hair was getting a little bit longer. His shirt fit him perfectly, showing off all of the hard work he’d put in at the gym. She looked down at his chest, appreciating the fact that he had a few buttons undone. His chain glimmered as it sat nestled into some sparse hair on his chest. He looked like a model and Vanessa couldn’t believe he was standing there talking to her.

“Y-you look absolutely beautiful,” he gave her a quick but appreciative up and down, trying his hardest not to let his eyes linger for too long.

“You clean up pretty good yourself Bun,” she smiled back, brushing some lint off his shoulder. Her stomach did a little flip when he chuckled at the mention of his nickname. 

Benny looked over his shoulder as Marcus and Will moved dishes and plates to make room for the newest additions to the buffet. “D’you make all of that?”

Vanessa nodded, looking down feeling her face getting hot as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah…spent most of the day doing it.”

“Well, I’m excited to taste you…I mean your um…whatever you brought. What ah, what did you make?” Benny rubbed the back of his neck, thankful it was dark outside and she couldn’t fully see how red he was turning. 

“Want me to show you?”

“Absolutely, lead the way boss lady,” Benny winked, letting her walk in front of him so he could check her out, noticing that she put a little extra swish and sway to her hips.

Lucille stopped for a moment as she walked outside with another plate of empanadas and croquettas to refill the trays. She took in the sight of her backyard so full of people, of laughter, of music, it brought a tear to her eyes. She wished her Julio could be there to see how their little neighborhood had grown. With a deep breath, she set down the plate and turned to see everyone starting to hit the makeshift dance floor thanks to David who has commandeered the speakers.

“Vamos bailar Lulu?” Marcus winked, extending his arm out to her which she happily took. 

“Habalas español muy bien Marcus,” she complimented as he led her onto the dance floor.

“Well, I had to learn quickly. Had to know what my mother-in-law and her family were saying about me,” he chuckled.

On the other side of the backyard, David dragged Olivia onto the dance floor, to the cheers of everyone including her husband Chris. They didn’t get out much and were so thankful to Aria for coming over to babysit so they could have a night with their neighbors. Santiago twirled Victoria around, the two keeping up with the quick beat of the song.

In a move that surprised most of the neighbors, Will was eager to get out on the dance floor, bringing Katie along. Although she was a bit unsure of how to keep to the beat, she was pleasantly surprised to see Will take the lead.

“Where'd you learn to dance like this?” Katie giggled as she held one of his hands and lightly rested the other on his shoulder.

“Learned a few things from my exes,” he winked as she rolled her eyes.

“Didn't pass along those tricks to your brother?” She nodded towards Benny who was sulking in the corner nursing a beer as he watched everyone.

Will shook his head as he twirled her, “Tried…we finally found something he's actually not good at,” he chuckled before cutting his eyes over to check in on Benny. With a sigh, he added that Benny's ex used to make fun of him when he tried to dance, one of the countless ways she found to tear him down.

“Aww poor Bean,” Katie pouted, sneaking a look at Benny as Will spun her around again. She noticed Benny's eyes were glued to Vanessa who sat twirling her Solo cup and politely chatting with Ty at a table.

“He'll get his big boy pants on soon,” Will smirked.

“So…your motorcycle is the talk of the neighborhood,” she teased.

“Ha yea,” he twirled her before bringing her back in close. “I have to admit, it's been kinda fun, you should go with me sometime.”

“No way,” Katie shook her head. “Couldn't pay me enough money to do that…but I know someone who would,” she arched her eyebrow. 

“And who is that?” Will looked skeptical.

“Miranda, my coworker. She's been watching this show about a motorcycle gang and it's kind of a thing for her now,” she chuckled, noticing Will's ears getting red. 

Despite the fact that the two of them had moved on from anything romantic, Katie still had love for Will and wanted him to be happy.

“Oh c'mon, I think you'll like her. She's really sweet and super smart.”

“She been helping you with that big presentation for work?’

“Yeah! Poor thing, she's been juggling a lot because of…well, she has a lot of responsibilities at home. But yeah, we both are looking forward to Monday being over with,” she chuckled.

“You gonna dance with her or what?” Frankie leaned against the wall, turning his head to look at Benny who stood chewing on the inside of his cheek and looking down at his feet. He kept missing the occasional hopeful glances Vanessa tossed over her shoulder. Frankie sighed, shaking his head, “Well if you won’t, I will.” He pushed off the wall and strode over to Vanessa.

Vanessa heard someone clear their throat behind her and she felt a lump form in her throat. 

“¿Quieres bailar?”

She tried to hide her disappointment that the voice behind her wasn’t the one she was hoping for. Turning around she saw Frankie looking down at her with a soft smile. He looked so much like her ex she had to do a bit of a double take. “You’re sweet. It's ok, Frankie, I don't really like this song anyway,” she forced a tight smile. 

“C'mon,” he leaned down and lowered his voice, “show him what he's missing.” He offered her his hand with a wink.

Vanessa chuckled to herself and with Ty’s encouragement took Frankie up on his offer. She stood up from the table, smoothed her dress and placed her hand in Frankie's as he led her to the dance floor. Victoria cheered and Lucille clapped as she welcomed the newest couple to the dance floor.

Benny scratched the back of his head and took a long swig of his beer, wishing he could get past his insecurities. He watched everyone carrying on and having fun, but really he was only watching one person. He couldn't take his eyes off Vanessa. The way her nose scrunched as she giggled at something Frankie said, the way she tossed her hair, the way her hips swayed.

Frankie kept a respectful hand at her mid-to-upper back, but still brushed against some of her exposed skin making Benny’s fingers twitch. As she twirled around again he saw her smile, a smile he swore could light up a pitch-black room. He was so caught up in this trance it didn't even register that Megan had walked up next to him.

“You know, you strike me as the kinda guy who is the first one out on the dance floor no matter what the music. Didn’t peg you as the wallflower.”

“I…ah…I’m not a good dancer,” he pulled his lips into a tight line. 

“I don't think she'd care,” she nodded towards the dance floor.

As the song ended and another started, a musical chairs of sorts ensued as everyone switched partners. Marcus kissed Lucille's hand and passed her off to Frankie just as Victoria crashed into her husband's arms in a fit of giggles. Santiago danced with Olivia after Melissa walked away from him, while David whisked Katie around, leaving Will and Vanessa. Even though Will had been nothing but sweet to her, she was still intimidated by him, like she wanted to make a good impression.

“Wanna dance darlin'? I’m not as good as Fish but I can hold my own,” he chuckled, looking down with a shy smile that reminded her of Benny. 

“That's ok, as long as you're having fun that's all that matters,” she smiled, taking his hand.

Somewhere between the second verse and the bridge, Will’s eyes clocked Vanessa stealing a glance over at Benny.

“Dancing isn't really his thing, at least not fast songs like these. For as good as his footwork is in the ring, he's not the most coordinated on the dance floor...’specially when there's a pretty girl in his arms distracting him,” he winked, which made Vanessa's cheeks feel hot. “He just doesn't wanna look dumb, it's nothing on you sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Will. Hey, you know for a gringo you dance really well. Took Marcus forever to learn,” she giggled, making Will break out into a huge grin.

As the song neared its end, Will tried to subtly get Benny's attention while also making sure Vanessa was having fun. Finally, he caught his brother's eyes and gave him a stern look that said get your ass over here now and dance with her. 

Benny finished his beer and took a deep breath, willing his legs to move even though it felt like he had cement blocks tied to his boots. Thankfully, the tempo slowed down considerably for the next song, easing some of Benny's anxiety. 

Vanessa's back was to him as approached, which gave him another chance to admire her even though he could feel Marcus and Victoria's eyes on him. He cleared his throat and tried to muster some of that Miller charm, “S’cuse me miss, this guy bothering you?”

Will smirked, looking down to see Vanessa's face light up at the sound of Benny's voice. He let her go putting up his arms in surrender, “just keepin’ her company waiting for you,” he snorted. “Thanks for the dance darlin’,” Will kissed her hand and made his way over to Olivia since Santiago had bounced to Katie.

“Hi,” Benny smiled, suddenly feeling like a middle schooler who finally worked up the courage to ask the pretty girl to dance. 

“Hi,” Vanessa tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 

“I…um…” Benny's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, his mind went blank.

“Here, give me your hand, Bun,” Vanessa reached her hand out. She guided his hand to her waist, placing it lower than Frankie or Will's hands had ventured. She rested one hand on his shoulder and with her other she threaded her fingers with his. “There, now rock side to side. See? All good.”

Benny shook his head before a mischievous smile danced across his lips. “Not yet.” His fingers dug firmly into her back as he brought her closer, their bodies flush against each other. She let out a surprised giggle which was music to his ears. “There. Now we're good.”

Vanessa dropped his hand, seeing his brows slightly furrow before relaxing again as she wrapped both of her arms around his neck. They swayed side to side, completely off the beat but it didn't matter, they couldn't hear the music anyway. 

Benny willed himself to keep it together but his eyes fluttered closed when Vanessa started lightly scratching the back of his neck with her fingernails. He wanted so badly to feel her fingers through his hair, to feel her tug on it while he….he took a deep breath and tried to think about puppies or baseball, anything that would distract from the fact that his body was pressed up against hers. An abrupt inhale made Vanessa's eyebrow twitch.

“Are you ok?” She recoiled a bit.

Vanessa's words pulled Benny back to the present. “Hmm?”

“Did you just fall asleep on me?” She chuckled.

“No, no…I'm just really relaxed…the way you're scratching the back of my head, it's um…” He trailed off laughing to himself as he shook his head to rid his mind of the dirty thought that flashed through it. 

“Sorry, I…didn't mean to…” She moved her hands back to his shoulders.

He shook his head and with a smile gently placed her hands back around his neck as his hands then traced down her sides, before finally resting on her hips. “No, it's ok, I like it,” he licked his bottom lip, deciding to test things just a little bit. “You’re just distractin’ me a bit is all…” he looked down at his feet.

“Oh…well, I think you're doing a good job.” 

“You're a sweetheart, but you and I both know I'm shit at dancing,” he said with a lopsided grin.

Vanessa's eyes narrowed as she stopped, bringing her hands down to Benny's biceps. “Don't say that about yourself. I'm having fun. Aren't you?”

The corner of Benny's mouth curled up as he nodded. “Course I'm having fun. I somehow convinced the prettiest girl here to dance with me and my two left feet.” 

Vanessa tried to stay calm and coy, but inside she was exploding at not only what he said, but the way he was looking at her.

“Well, you can't get any better unless you practice right?” 

Benny smirked, feeling bolder seeing her reaction to his flirting, “You tryna help me then? Help me…practice.”

“Maybe,” she bit her bottom lip, their eyes locked on one another.

Benny took a deep breath through his nose as one of his hands snaked its way to the small of her back, resting at the top of her ass. Hearing her breath hitch gave him an extra boost of confidence to affirm he wasn't misreading this entire exchange. “Well, darlin' I wonder if I may bother you for some um…private lessons…you know, so I can get better,” he winked.

Vanessa could feel her heart pounding in her ear drums and the wet spot in her underwear growing. She gave him an up and down and leaned in, nodding so he'd lower his head toward her, “I tell you what, you win your match and,” she leaned in further and whispered in his ear, “let’s skip the lesson and I’ll give you a little private dance instead.”

“Fuuuuck,” Benny let out a shaky breath and Vanessa swore she felt him instantly get hard. His grip tightened on her. She smiled to herself seeing the effect she had on him. I've still got it. 

She giggled and leaned into Benny, resting her head on his chest and they continued to rock back and forth. Her mouth was dangerously close to his chest, thanks to the undone buttons. It took everything in her to remember where she was and who was around because all she wanted to do was grab his chain with her teeth and drag him to the nearest bathroom. She hadn't felt like this about anyone since the early days of dating Luce.

Benny cleared his throat and she looked up to see his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed, sensing he was a bit flustered. “Y’know, it's gonna be a hell of a long week till Friday knowing that’s what’s waiting for me darlin’, but I'm patient. I can wait,” he winked. “Do I get to pick the song?” He raised his eyebrow which made her giggle.

“Nope.”

They continued to giggle and talk in whispers, as one song bleed into the next and the next. They didn't even realize they were the last two on the dance floor. Looking around Vanessa felt a bit embarrassed, but she saw that everyone else was off talking or eating leaving the two of them in their own little bubble. A yawn escaped, the excitement of the day finally starting to catch up with her. 

“Tired?” Benny looked at her with some concern.

“Yeah a little…woke up early so I could start making the food.”

“You um…going to head home?” Benny asked, a little sad that their evening would come to an end. 

“I should…we're talking the kids to the aquarium, so I could use the sleep,” she smiled. 

Benny cleared his throat before locking eyes on her again, “Mind if I walk you home?”

Her first inclination was to say no, that she could handle walking a few houses down the street by herself. But seeing how earnest Benny looked, she thought she'd take him up on the offer. Plus, she knew Victoria would rip her a new one if she left this hanging. “Yeah, I'd like that.”

Victoria saw Vanessa give her the signal that said she wanted to leave. After 10 years of being in the family too, Marcus picked up and saw it too. 

“Should we start packing up since Vandy is leaving?” He asked.

“Not yet mi amor, I think she has an escort home. I still feel bad that we cock blocked them last week. C'mon let's get another drink,” she winked, squealing a bit when Marcus lightly swatted her ass. 

Normally a fast walker, Vanessa deliberately slowed down her steps to prolong the walk back to the house. She and Benny walked closely side by side, their hands occasionally brushing against each other until one time where Benny reached for her hand and she took it. They both struggled trying to mask the massive grins on their faces.

“I had fun tonight,” Benny looked over. 

“Me too. I really like it here, everyone’s so nice. Feels like it was the right decision to move here.” She whispered to herself.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, just enjoying each other’s company. Occasionally Benny’s thumb would rub up and down her hand.

When they finally reached the Pike residence, Vanessa turned around, still holding Benny’s hand. “Well … this is my stop.”

Benny looked up at the ceiling of the porch with a smile before returning his gaze to her, “Yes this is.” He stepped a little bit closer, hearing her breath hitch. All he wanted to do was cup her cheek and kiss her, but he didn't know if it was too soon…or if he'd be able to control himself because he wanted to do a lot more than just kiss her.

“Y'know I didn't have dancin' on my bingo card for tonight, but I'm glad I was able to check that off.”

“What else did you check off?”

Benny gave a mischievous smile, a playful glimmer in his eye. “Hmm, let's see. David made a comment about Frankie's hair. Check. Delicious food. Check. You played a big role in that last one by the way.”

She blushed at the comment, giddy that he enjoyed the food she made for the party. “I'm happy to cook for you whenever you want.” Her eyes darted back and forth between his as he stepped a little closer. “What…um…what else did you check off tonight?”

Benny snorted, “Melissa avoiding Pope, that counts for two.”

“Sounds like a pretty packed evening.”

“It was…pretty awesome night I'd say. But I am missing one thing I was kinda hoping for.”

“Oh yeah? What's that?”

It was now or never. Benny could hear Joel’s voice in his head telling him to go for it, so he took a deep breath. “A kiss.”

“Well, I'm sure the ladies would line the block if you’re offering,” she smirked.

He shook his head. “No, not just any lady. I had a…uh…very specific one in mind.”

She stepped a little closer as he sucked in a breath. “Tell me about her.”

“Well, she's smokin’ hot,” he said with a lopsided grin which made her giggle. “She's got the most beautiful smile, her laugh instantly makes me feel better, and her eyes…” he trailed off. “Yeah, I can get lost in them. But as beautiful as she is on the outside she's even more stunning on the inside,” he ran his hands down her arms and stopped to take both of her hands in his. “She’s smart and kind. Plus she's an amazing cook. She's kind of a catch.”

Vanessa steadied her breath and smiled, feeling like her heart was going to explode out of her chest. “Well, I didn't think Lucille was your type but I can see it,” she teased.

Benny threw his head back in laughter. She loved seeing the way his entire face lit up when he laughed. 

“No way I'm taking Frankie's girl from him,” he chuckled, licking his bottom lip and returning his gaze to Vanessa.

“Well, this…great catch…seems pretty special. I hope you're able to kiss her.”

“Yeah me too.” He looked down, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed and mustered up the courage. “Vanessa, I…” he let out a little chuckle, trying to suppress that nervous feeling he felt in his stomach before doing something that scared him.

Ever since he suggested walking her home he thought about kissing her. But seeing her now, the way the soft light of the porch glowed around her, she looked like an angel. And she was looking at him in a way that made him feel like the most important person in the world – a fact that made him feel both unworthy but also like he could conquer any obstacle.

He brought his hand to cup her cheek, his calloused thumb caressing her soft skin. He willed his mind to not wander to how soft she must feel in other places.

“Vanessa…I really like you. And I…” he closed his eyes, shaking his head with a chuckle. Composing himself, he decided to just take the plunge. “Can I kiss you?”

She enthusiastically nodded, knowing she couldn't trust herself to form a sentence. All she wanted to do was kick her feet and squeal with excitement.

“Yeah?” 

“Yes, please,” she whispered.

He slowly lowered his head, wetting his bottom lip with his tongue as he moved his hand from her cheek to her neck. Their lips softly touched, both of them stunned but utterly giddy that they'd gotten to this point. 

Benny pulled away, resting his forehead on hers and nuzzling her nose as they both smiled. “That was…wow…can I do that again?”

Vanessa tugged on his shirt, their lips crashing together. Benny walked her backward, his hand extending out behind her so he could catch the wall, guiding her to rest against it. With one hand still cradling her neck, his other trailed down her body. 

She opened her mouth a bit wider, giving him permission to test the waters further. He softly licked along her bottom lip as started to explore. A soft moan from her was all he needed to push himself right up against her groaning as her hands found his hair and tugged slightly.

From a distance, they could hear some whooping and cheering from Lucille's house, instantly transporting them back to reality and the fact that they were making out on a porch. Benny pulled away, his thumb caressing her kiss-swollen lips. 

“Can't believe we were able to do that without getting interrupted.”

Vanessa let out a soft giggle. “I know…Benny that was…”

“Perfect.”

“Yeah.” She brought her hands down his chest, stopping to play with the pendant at the end of his chain as his hands lightly rested on her waist.

He let out a shaky breath, “I want to kiss you again darlin' but I won't be able to stop,” he smiled as she giggled. “I…um…I want to do this right.” He pulled back, both hands moving to rest on her waist. 

“Me too. I don't want to rush this.”

“And what is…this?” He arched an eyebrow.

“Well, I'd like to explore that, if you're up for it.”

“Yeah, I'd like that.” He kissed her again and he'd never felt more invincible like he could take on anything as long as she was by his side. He trailed kisses down her neck, lightly tracing her collarbone with his tongue, in a move that made goosebumps appear on her skin as she mewled. He kissed up the other side of her neck. “I really can't fuckin wait until I win that fight now,” he whispered in her ear as he grabbed a handful of her ass and grinding his hardened length against her.

It was a miracle she was able to remain standing and not dissolve into an instant puddle. Feeling his warm breath against her ear and hearing the need in his voice, it was intoxicating. They made out a little bit longer, neither one wanting it to end but knowing if they continued things would escalate to a place they both wanted to go, but weren't ready for yet. 

Benny kept trying to say goodbye but ended up kissing her, both of them giggling as they continued to explore with their hands and mouths.

Vanessa pulled back, cupping his face between her hands. “We are definitely going to get interrupted soon, I'm surprised we haven't yet.”

“You're right. Can I see you tomorrow?”

“I'd like that. You get home safely Bun.”

“Yes ma'am.”

Next Time on As the Mule Falls: Friends. The long-awaited arrival of Cousin Joel is here. He arrives in the next chapter oh my am I excited. We’ll also gear up for fight night. 

A/N: Hi! Woof that was a long chapter but we had a lot to get through, didn’t we? I mentioned this after the last chapter, but I’m experimenting with doing a few little side stories/extras for this main series. I’ve written two stories - Strike a Pose (Benny x Vanessa) and Weathered In (Frankie x Jo). You don’t have to read them to keep up with the main story, but they add a little extra to the whole experience. We’re gearing up for a storyline I’ve been tinkering with since the fall and am so excited about it and hope you all love it as much as I do. 

On a personal note, I’m headed out for a work trip and then vacation, so I’m hoping to get some writing done but we’ll see. Until next time! Thank you as always for reading, sharing, or sending me a message about this story!

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[completelyandtotalyuneventful]

Ok so here’s my SB thoughts after ruin. Spoilers ahead be warned.

The first thought is one that I haven’t actually seen people bring up but I think Cassie is dead. I’d hate for it to be true but I think when Roxy finds her at the end she possesses her and becomes the new “Charlie” if that makes sense, thus kickstarting the cycle again

Greg is absolutely a bot, but (and this is just a little thought I had based on my vague fnaf knowledge I am not a lore keeper) maybe he was made by fazent for kids like Cassie, lonely kids who have no one to play with. Then he gains sentience and starts fucking shit up. Anyways the reason I think he’s a bot is actually because of how Cassie behaved this game. She just acted a lot more human (screaming, crying, fighting back) in this game and it’s weird how different she behaved from Gregory, a kid around her age who is in a similar situation to her.

I don’t think it was grimic at the end who cut Cassie down, I actually do think it was Gregory. Mans is very morally grey, and is shown before to sacrifice lives (yeah I’m calling them lives because the bots are pretty sentient and Gregory knows that) for his goals/the greater good. I don’t think he’s evil or bad, he’s just more of an “ends justify the means” kinda person. He sacrificed Cassie in order to save the lives of the people outside of the pizzaplex, and to save himself, Freddy, and Vanessa. While it’s pretty fucked up what he did it’s not out of character, at least not to me.

If Cassie does live (which I REALLY HOPE SHE DOES I LOVE HER) then I think it would be cool to have two opposing teams of “good guys” working to defeat the mimic, they both have the same goals but have some serious beef with each other (and by the teams I mean Greg, Freddy, and Vanessa vs Cassie and Roxy (and maybe eclipse please please please or chica if her getting repaired becomes canon).

I’m still team “Monty didn’t kill Bonnie or at least he wasn’t in control of his actions when he did” btw. Idgaf what people say or how ominous the story in those cardboard cutouts looked I’m a Monty defender until I die.

Anyways I just really really really loved ruin 10/10 worth the wait I’m gonna cosplay Cassie when I go see the fnaf movie.

[callmedylan]

Susie and Ness siblings AU info/fact dump cause I’m obsessed and need to tell everyone about it. (Warning: referenced child death, kidnapping, mourning, Some Mike x ness, and lots of angst and fluff.)

info before hand: ness is the waiter at sparkys in the fnaf movie and Susie is the girl who possesses chica. This will have some SecurityWaiter sprinkled in.

Ness is 3 years older than susie, being 10 when she disappeared at 7.

Ness was 100% a sisters brother, and always preferred to play Susie’s games like dress up and tea party instead of playing stuff that “boys his age should of been playing”

Ness learned how to style hair since he’d always style Susie’s hair for her, he even put her hair in the pigtails she’s rocking in the movie. He gets a little emotional whenever Abby asks him to style her hair in pigtails.

Ness went to Freddy’s with Susie and his parents and left susie alone to grab them some pizza but when he came back she was gone, and he never truly forgave himself and thinks it’s his fault William took her.

the two were so close they even shared a bedroom, and ness didn’t mind her putting or setting up her toys on “his side of the room” since he enjoyed playing those type of games with her.

Ness wasn’t a stereotypical brother and never picked on her, nor bully her. He actually adored her and the two never fought.

(this one’s rough, buckle up.) when susie went missing, Ness didn’t touch or move anything in their bedroom. He kept all her cluttered toys + clothing on the floor, kept her tea set on their play table set up, and didn’t touch any of the stuffed animals or blankets on her bed. Eventually after a couple months their parents wanted to clean out their bedroom of Susie’s stuff since it was too much of a reminder for them. Ness kicked, cried, screamed, and begged them to not get rid or move any of it because as he put it “she’ll need it when she comes home.”

ness often sees himself and Susie in Abby and Mike and on the anniversary of her disappearance he can’t be around the two at the same time since it’s too hard for him so he usually stays in another room in the house or just doesn’t visit them.

ness and susie loved to bake together.

ness’s relationship with his parents became strained over the years due to Susie’s disappearance and now the two don’t keep in contact much anymore (except for a call every once in a while).

ness, similar to Mike, has a constant reoccurring dream of the day susie went missing; but unlike Mike, he doesn’t try to constantly relive the dream and instead does his best to avoid it and doesn’t do anything before bed that could trigger him to dream about it (like eat any pizza, play music before or during sleep, watch any media that involves partying, or any neon based lights.)

Ness is unaware of Vanessa’s involvement in Susie’s disappearance, nor that she possesses the animatronics. Mike spares him those details for his well being.

Susie disappeared a week before his own birthday.

And that’s all I have so far, hopefully y’all enjoyed this. If you wanna use this AU or anything do credit me! I might post some art about it in the future! Hopefully this angst made you cry! (Not actually) and I hope I don’t sound utterly insane for making an AU like this.

[anticomedygarden]

drop the champagne

5 times annabeth taught percy something new + a million times he taught her the same thing

-

title is from the In the Heights song 'champagne' by lin manuel-miranda. mostly a nod to how similar usnavi and vanessa's dynamic is to percabeth. also another excuse to scream about them after watching the trailer a million times

also on ao3

-

1.

Dozens of kids were wandering around the grounds of Camp Half Blood as they waited for capture the flag to start, and Percy could not for the life of him figure out what was wrong with his armor. He'd been fiddling with it for five minutes now, somehow not drawing the attention of any counselors or even the Athena cabin who he was allied with. After the last capture the flag (still his only capture the flag), he was really starting to get worried. If he successfully completed a quest and died because he couldn't get his armor right for a 'friendly war game', he was gonna be seriously ticked.

Just to see what it would do, he pulled on a strap near his shoulder. For a few seconds, it stayed in place, and he really thought he'd finally gotten it. Then it unraveled completely, and he barely managed to grab it before it hit the ground.

He might as well face it. He was dead, and Chiron was gonna have to tell his mom that he, Poseidon's first child in decades, quester, retriever of Zeus' master bolt, died in a capture the flag accident.

Feeling particularly frustrated, he didn't notice when someone finally saw his dilemma and walked over, not until her blond curls were right in his face.

"You haven't figured out how to do this yet?" she asked. It was hard not to feel a little insulted by her tone, but he had come to realize that she didn't mean anything by it. She just hadn't learned tact yet. (And she'd never admit it, but Annabeth still hadn't quite recovered from the quest and Luke's subsequent betrayal. He could let this one slide for her sake.)

"I've only done it once," he said, "and you did it for me!"

So maybe he wasn't too great at tact either.

She grabbed a strap and started redoing his armor while he watched. "If I keep doing it for you, you'll never learn," she pointed out. "Here." She grabbed his hand and guided it to the other strap. "You try."

He sighed but did as he was told. It didn't look as good as the one she did, but he had to admit it looked and felt much better than before.

"Told you."

He stuck his tongue out at her. Then, since his mom raised a gentleman, he said, "Thanks."

She patted his shoulder. "Thank me when we win."

2.

Percy watched, transfixed, as Annabeth slashed and stabbed, nothing but a vaguely blond whirl, beating some brown haired guy back to the mats until she pinned him down, 90 pounds of pure fury on top of at least 150 pounds of startled teenage boy.

The guy - Percy wasn't sure of his name - tapped out, and Annabeth quickly jumped up, eyes already scanning for her next victim. "Who's next?" she said.

The majority of the people in the training room scurried out after that.

"Cowards," Annabeth muttered and turned to a training dummy.

Percy watched her slash at it for a few minutes, and then, in a courageous move he thought would make his mom proud, he tentatively stepped forward. "Maybe you should take a break," he said with false calm.

She ignored him.

"Annabeth, you're scaring people," he tried, gulping when she tore a large chunk of fake flesh from the dummy. "You're already the best here, why don't you just-"

"Take a break?" she said, finally turning to meet his gaze. Her eyes were blazing, and he had to duck to avoid the dagger still in her hand.

"You've been here for hours-"

"How else will I beat Luke?" she asked. "He's the best swordsman for generations. I have to train as much as I can."

The situation was far worse than he thought. "And you're the best strategist, and you've beat everyone at camp already." Hopefully, appealing to her hubris would help.

It didn't. Her face closed off completely. "But I've never beat Luke."

He didn't ask if she was sure that she even wanted to beat him. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

Fine. Time to pull out the big guns. "I'll spar with you."

He held his breath as she gave him a disbelieving look. "Alright, but you're using a dagger."

"Oh. Uh-"

But she was already walking over to the weapons rack. "You need to learn how to use more than one weapon. You won't be able to use a sword in every situation."

"Isn't the whole point of having a sword that reappears in my pocket no matter what is so that I can use it in every situation?"

She gave him a look that clearly said, You're being an idiot. "What if you're in super close quarters and can't maneuver Riptide? What if you can't get to your pocket? What if someone manages to take it from you? What if you don't have pockets? What if-"

He held up a hand, because, holy crap. "Okay, okay, I get it." She smirked. "Teach me how to use a dagger."

With a certain gleam in her eyes he didn't really like, she grabbed one off the rack and handed it to him.

He gripped it on instinct, balancing it out and dropping into a fighting stance. "Is there anything - oh my gods!"

She didn't wait to give him any instruction before slashing at him with her own dagger, and he barely jumped out of its path. (Thank the gods for his ingrained battle instincts.)

He backed up as she continued her assault and narrowly avoided tripping over his own feet. Then, she delivered a particularly nasty jab, distracting him, and kicked his feet out from under him. His breath whooshed out as his back hit the ground.

"I win," she announced, her ponytail falling and hitting him in the face. Her dagger was pressed against his neck. "You're not guarding yourself enough. Remember, the dagger is shorter than your sword. And you need to actually defend yourself, not just back up."

He made a face at her. "A little warning would have helped."

"There's no warning in battle." She stood and offered him a hand. "Again."

So he got up, and they went again. And again. And again. She beat him every time, but when he came back the next day, he beat the trainer on duty, and Annabeth slept until 9.

That was a win in his book.

3.

"That's so unstable," Annabeth commented, looking at Percy's gingerbread house which, admittedly, looked about 10 seconds from collapsing.

"It doesn't have to be stable," he said. "It's supposed to be fun!"

She snorted. "Fun is for losers and quitters."

Her gingerbread house didn't look like it was about to fall over. Hers was two stories tall with multiple rooms like a doll house and emblazoned with various candy designs: gumdrops on the roof, M&Ms dotting the grounds like gravel, a licorice moat. His was basically five graham crackers in a vague house shape sitting on chocolate icing.

He didn't mind though. They got to eat it in the end no matter what their houses looked like.

Pointedly ignoring her, he stuck a Kit-Kat straight up on the top graham cracker. It stayed for a second, then toppled into the brown icing like a stick in a mud pit.

"Oh, for the gods' sake," Annabeth muttered. She pulled his plate toward her and started rebuilding his little shack.

"Hey, I'm doing just fine," he protested, but one look from Annabeth had him cracking up. "Fine, so it sucks."

"Really sucks." He rolled his eyes, but she kept working until he had a quality graham cracker cabin with standing walls and everything. "See, you don't actually need that much icing to get it to stay. You just need better support."

He made an offended noise. "But that's the best part!"

He knew what she was going to say the second she opened her mouth. "The best part is winning first place."

Before he could retort, he happened to glance up at Grover sitting across from them and couldn't help but notice the look in his eyes. It was somewhere between exasperated and fond.

"What?" Percy asked.

He never heard the answer, however, as the Stolls chose that moment to start a food fight.

And Annabeth's house won first place, because of course it did.

4.

They were lucky, very lucky, to have been walking past the park at the exact time they did. They were also very lucky (or unlucky; jury was still out) to have drawn the attention of the monster to them and away from the large group of children it had apparently been hunting.

"I smell children," the monster whispered, evidently still trying to hide herself. She was semi-transparent, ghostly, actually, with dark hair flowing down her back like a mane. "Such delicious demigods." She continued to amble after Percy and Annabeth as they led her away from the various crowds of people in the park.

Percy turned to Annabeth with a false sense of calm and asked, "What the hell is this thing?"

She glanced behind her surreptitiously. "I think she's Mormo."

"What - like in Utah?"

"Not Mormon, Seaweed Brain, Mormo."

Percy fiddled with Riptide in his pocket. "What's her deal?"

"Sources are sparse and a little conflicted, but basically, she eats kids."

"Oh, shit."

"Yeah, she also might be able to shape shift into a wolf or a horse."

"That's..."

"Wild, I know."

They made it to a relatively empty part of the park, and Percy decided he didn't want to wait to find out if she could shape shift or not. He caught Annabeth's eye and she nodded, already knowing the plan. He would distract while she snuck up from behind. Nothing they hadn't done a million times before.

He turned around. "Hey, lady! Eat this!" Without preamble, he uncapped Riptide and swung out at Mormo, hoping for the element of surprise.

Unfortunately, she ducked.

"So delicious," she muttered. Her form rippled. "The ichor in your blood will taste so good."

Behind her, Annabeth crept up slowly but surely.

"Nah, I don't think ichor would taste that good," Percy said. "Probably too spicy." Now, he was actually wondering if that was true.

Mormo laughed, a sharp, loud sound. "You have no idea child." She sniffed. "You are 16. What a delicious age."

He wanted to protest and say that so far, 16 hadn't been all that great barring him and Annabeth finally starting to date, but his girlfriend was less than two feet away from jumping the monster, so instead he said, "That's so creepy," and watched gleefully as Annabeth leapt forward with her dagger out and sent Mormo back to Tartarus.

Even covered in monster dust, she was still stunning. He held out his hand. "Let's go finish our date."

5.

When Percy got to the New Rome library, his girlfriend was, predictably, surrounded by books.

"Hey, babe," he murmured.

He knew she had been aware of him coming, spatial awareness having become its own sixth sense over the years, so it was no surprise when she responded with nothing but an unintelligible chain of vowel sounds.

He laughed. "You ready to go home?"

A couple years, there would have been no point at all in trying to break through whatever cloud of work was occupying her mind at the moment, but she'd been really trying since the Giant War to not push herself past the point of no return.

"Um..." She put a bookmark in her textbook and started gathering books into her arms. "Yeah, let's go."

"What all are you checking out?" he asked even though he already knew the answer.

"All of them."

He grabbed the remaining books while she picked up her backpack, and they made their way to the front desk.

"What were you reading about?" he asked. He may have just come out of a day full of lectures, but her eyes lighting up like that made the long-ass rant he was about to get so worth it.

"The father of chemistry, Antoine Lavoisier," she answered. "He was alive during the French Revolution and did all kinds of stuff that paved the way for modern science."

They reached the circulation desk, and Annabeth continued telling him all about phlogiston theory and how Lavoisier refuted it, and about oxygen and hydrogen and carbon, and about his experiment to see what two weeks of drinking nothing but milk would do to his body.

At some point, the librarian gave them a funny look. Percy wasn't sure if it was because of the topic of their conversation or because they were checking out so many books.

Whatever. They earned the right to be weird in public.

"...and then he was guillotined for being a tax collector!" she finished with immense outrage.

He frowned and pushed the door open into the lamp-lit road. "Really?" That was not where he was expecting that story to go.

"Yeah, the Reign of Terror chopped his head off, which was a real shame because he was actually involved in a lot of government reform and other kinds of activism, especially in education."

"Cool."

"Yeah, I thought so." She bit her lip. "I guess the good guys don't always win."

He thought that was a little black and white since Lavoisier was a member of the upper class during a time when the lower class was still called peasants, but it really did sound like this guy was pretty chill.

And she had a good point.

He put a hand on her arm. "But we did."

+1 million

Annabeth shifts in the uncomfortable wooden library chair and turns her page, mind lost in thought. Antoine Lavoisier was an upper class French scientist who revolutionized the field of chemistry; he fought for class reform and education equality, and he brought humans' understanding of the world forward from phlogiston theory, the idea that a fire like element called phlogiston was partially responsible for combustion and present in all combustion reactions, to the discovery of hydrogen, oxygen, and a host of other elements, all unique and important.

And he got his chopped off. So much for scientific advancement.

Sensing Percy walking up behind her, she hurries to read the last few sentences of the page.

"You ready to go home?" he asks.

She closes the book. "Yeah, let's go."

They gather her stuff, Percy not once complaining about having to carry five textbook sized volumes, and make their way to the circulation desk.

"What were you reading about?" he asks. She loves him for that. No one else ever asks what she's reading for fear of getting caught in a long-winded explanation of some complex topic. Percy's eyes may glaze over while she talks, but he never tells her stop.

So she tells him about Lavoisier and all his triumphs and woes up until his decapitation, they end up on the street outside the library. It's nighttime already, their path lit with street lamps and porch lights. There's a chill in the air, so she pulls the sleeves of Percy's borrowed hoodie over her fingers while trying not to drop her books.

After she finishes her spiel, she bites her lip and says, "I guess the good guys don't always win."

Immediately, Percy turns to her, probably thinking the same thing she is, about all their dead friends and all their failures. He puts a hand on her arm, stopping them underneath a light. "But we did."

She looks at him and sees her wonderful boyfriend who loves her no matter what she does, who stayed with her after all this time, who fell into hell for her. The one who would choose her over the world. The one who taught her heart how to trust again. She's not quite sure she believes it, but she knows it's the truth. "I guess we did."

They smile at each other and walk home in comfortable silence.

[masquayla-the-splendid]

How Splatoon makes a controversial Fnaf theory work better in their universe, and other parallels. (Really.)

[Side Order spoilers]

I beat Side Order in 3 hours on my 3rd try at 3am. No I am not joking. I used a slosher. I currently have 9 lockers yet to open, so if anything important comes up, I will update.

I couldn't help but notice the parallels right at the beginning, freeing Marina from Order's control. I went neuron activation, VANESSA.

But then they started talking more about Octo Expansion lore, which made me get all giddy, because 14 y/o me had the biggest fascination with the Sanitized Octolings, and how Commander Tartar built up his scheme to the point we encounter him.

They referred something or other about the color chips/pallettes as "souls" which caught my attention. They're like broken soul pieces? Alright. We already know a comically large kitchen utensil blends octopuses into life goop. What exactly happens to the ones that look like this?

Why are you green?

Marina's logs read:

So okay. I, personally, despise Molten MCI. I think it takes away of a ton of character's individuality, and makes more things confusing, all to explain some old man's rambling in a non-canon ending.

It works for Splatoon's case, because we already had no information about any of the octolings before Sanitization. (Aside from Acht.) We didn’t have time to make that up for ourselves, because we never knew about any of this beforehand, like how we filled in the gaps with underwritten characters for fnaf.

However I'll keep reading and see what else can line up here.

This is leaning into TFC territory. So for less Splatoon knowledgeable readers, Marina is trying to take, essentially what is the Freddy amalgam in TFC, and trying to deconstruct it with each animatronic having everything from their respective endoskeletons. That's best way I can explain it. (For a reader more knowledgeable with Steven Universe, she's trying to fix the forced fusions like Yellow.)

Except the difference here is that the products of Kamabo are, well, orderly, and not animalistic.

The logs that sold it for me:

So in fnaf speak: From a Molten MCI perspective, (blech,) melting down the infused metal, transferring it into data, and putting that data gloop into playable avatars in an arcade game where they can choose the bits of remnant that belong to them, putting themselves back together.

However, with my neuron activation Order=Mimic, that would mean Mimic MCI, but WAIT COME BACK. IT DOESNT HAVE TO BE.

I have yet to get the rest of the lore bits, but as far as I know, Order, (I'm not calling him Smollusk,) is an AI with the generalized ideals Kamabo has programming into the Sanitized Octolings. (I swear he's just leftovers of Tartar. I know it in my heart.) Mimic copies everything it sees, and learns incredibly fast. It learned the tragedies and rumors of Fazbear Ent, and according to Tiger Rock, he's running most of the Pizza Plex, which makes profits of said tragedies he's learned. Did Mimic orchestrate everything? No. He probably has no understanding of anything he's doing, he just does it because that's all he knows. The company started it.

Basically,

Kamabo Co.= Sleazy NewGen Fazbear Ent.

Order=Mimic.

How ever this ends, I'm using as evidence for how I predict the SteelWool plot to resolve/hj

Conc1usion: Marina and Henry should meet up. Well maybe not, if Marina wants permanent results.

I find it telling that with a plot so similar to a Fnaf theory that I hate, I actually really like this idea. And I think it's because it's not Fnaf. It's almost the exact same concept, but it makes much more sense and flows better in Splatoon's world. Probably because it was intentionally written that way, and is supposed to be shamelessly absurd and scifi. I like that I'm able to enjoy a concept I hate.

Analogy: Chocolate is good. I like when a pre existing food item I enjoy has an added chocolate exterior. Like strawberries. Sometimes, there are instances where that is not the case, like bacon. It exsists, and you either love it or hate it. I like both base consumables, and I like the additive, but it works better for one than the other.

Literal speak: I like the scifi horror concept of brainwashing with the actual person person being trapped or lost in a specific state, while their body is just another puppet for the main antagonist, and it takes some Cyber Chase shenanigans to free everyone. That's a rad concept. I just like it better when it's applied to a world that is planned for that kind of take, rather than to a world I already enjoyed, but scrambled to cut itself to fit that shape because it almost fit. It works better for a wacky scifi dystopia, not a campy paranormal horror.

Conclu2ion: Some things are best left for other stories.

Oh and both franchises have a known history of bangin soundtrack.

[f444keitflowers]

Yellowjackets characters as Boygenius songs !!

Taissa Turner - Souviner

Always managed to move in / right next to the cemeteries / and never far from hospitals / I don't know what that tells you about me / pulling thorns out of my palm / working midnight surgery / when I cut a hole into my skull / do you hate what you see? / like I do.

Vanessa Plamer - Emily i’m sorry

Headed straight for the concrete / in a nightmare / screaming / now i’m wide awake /spiralling / and you dont wanna talk / just take me back to montreal / i’ll get a real job / you’ll go back to school / we can burn out / in the freezing cold / and just get lost / Emily i’m sorry baby / you know how I get / when i’m wrong / and I can feel myself becoming somebody i’m not / I’m not sorry

Jackie taylor - Cool about it

I came prepared for absolution / if you’d only ask / so I take some offense when you say “no regrets” / […] / once I took your medication / to know what it’s like / and now I have to act like/ I cant read your mind / I ask you how you’re doing / and I let you lie / but we dont have to talk about it / I can walk you home / and practice method acting / i’ll pretend being with you doesn’t feel like drowning / telling you it’s nice to see / how good you’re doing / even though we know / it isn’t true.

Shauna Shipman - Letter to an old poet

I said "I think that you're special" / you told me once that I'm selfish / and I kissed you hard / in the dark / in the closet / […] / you don't know me / I wanna be happy / I'm ready / to walk into my room / without looking for you / I'll go up to the top of our building / and remember my dog / when I see the full moon / I can't feel it yet / but I am waiting

Lottie Matthews - Not strong enough

Always an angel / never a god / always an angel / never a god / I don't know why I am / the way I am / There's something in the static / I think I've been having / revelations / Coming to / in the front seat / nearly empty / Skip the exit / to our old street and go home / Go home alone

Laura Lee - Without you without them

give me everything you’ve got / i’ll take what I can get / I want to hear your story / and be a part of it / thank your father before you / his mother before him / who would I be without you without them? / speak to me / until your histories / no mystery to me.

Natalie Scatorccio - Revolution 0

If it isn't love / then what the fuck is it? / I guess just let me pretend / I don't want to die / That's a lie / But I'm afraid to get sick / I don't know what that is / You wanted a song / So it's gonna be a short one / Wish I wasn't so tired / But I'm tired / If you're not enough / Then I give up/ and then nothing is / I used to think if I just closed my eyes / I would disappear.

Misty Quigley - Stay Down

I wasn’t a fighter til somebody told me i’d better learn / to lean into the punch / so it don’t hurt as bad / when they leave / there you were / turning my cheek / i look at you / and you look at a screen / i’m in the backseat of my body / i’m just steering my life / in a video game / similar accent / a different name / it’s a slow down / so would you teach me im the villain / aren’t I / aren’t I the one / constantly repenting for a difficult mind

[pixlokita]

Who do you think tape girl of the vr game was? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you talk about her. I kind of thought she was Vanessa’s friend, and maybe Jeremy was too, but then they both got glitched and since Jeremy went over the edge, maybe something similar happened to her too, and that’s why Vanessa was so insistent of figuring out all of the games secrets, so she could figure out what happened to her two friends

Oh? That’s actually a good question :0 never thought about her tbh >> or even them knowing Vanessa but that makes it so tragic (・´ω`・) honestly love hearing about smaller characters and how they might be connected >>💖 this is a good one ✨

[puhpandas]

Honestly you've probably gotten this ask or something similar before, but I offer you my Beckory crumbs anyway. Don't feel the need to post this or anything, I just wanted to rattle this off somewhere lol.

Lately I've been bouncing a concept around in my brain where Tony and Gregory are both controlled by Afton, which leaves Ellis and Monty as the heroes of the adjacent Security Breach.

Maybe instead of Tony presumably dying or at the very least getting attacked at the ending of GGY by Gregory, he's instead pulled into the same mind control and the two end up as partners in crime. Both boys subsequently go missing instead of continuing their daily lives, prompting Ellis to go searching for his best friends in the last place anyone had seen them at. There, he meets a decommissioned Monty Gator who, due to not being on because of Glamrock Bonnie's very abrupt (and painful) return to the spotlight, is the only one not controlled by the virus. They navigate through the Pizzaplex together similarly to how Gregory and Glamrock Freddy do in the game, which according to Monty has pretty much been flipped upside-down.

I wanna say Tony reappears pretty quickly, like a stand-in for Vanessa, but leaning more into the "deceptively kind" aspect, as he tries to trick Ellis into walking right into his death. Likewise Gregory, or GGY/Dr. Rabbit is the replacement for Vanny, and actively pursues Ellis with clear intentions. From there it's up to Ellis to either try and find a way to free his friends from their curse, or to end them, or even escape altogether without looking back. There's presumably a whole confrontation between Monty and Bonnie, Dr. Rabbit takes Freddy's head after they manage to decommission his body, Ellis does lots of reflecting through the course of the events on how he kinda acted shitty towards Tony and regrets letting him dig so deeply into things on his own to where he ended up like this.

Also had the thought on the topic of Tony and Gregory working as a sort of double "Vanessa/Vanny" unit respectively, Tony's costume would be a bear to play into the parallels between Fronnie and Beckory. Maybe Vanessa replaces Cassie, or hell, maybe even Crystal, Luis or Cassie's dad. Not sure, it's just my excuse to have an AU where Beckory are evil boyfriends and are shadowed by their equally as evil gay robotic parental figures. Is it cliché? Yeah, absolutely, but them both being mentally brainwashed and still simultaneously being able to finally navigate their feelings for one another is a really tasty concept to me.

AGH YES I've thought about a glitchtrapped tony au where he and Gregory are under the virus at the same time and have to deal with that and have little moments where they're free together and are able to be miserable and scared as themselves. of course Tony's name would be Tarbell. I've never done much with that au but man... this is making me think more about glitchtrapped tony

ellis protag with a monty plot with bonnie is so interesting and it gives screentime to everyone and everything. in my au I had Gregory accidentally free himself and then in sb he would want to free both tony and vanny who are working together against him but seeing glitchtrapped beckory in action next to eachother is a great idea

[send-me-a-puffalope]

I. listened to a video called: "Overthinking Micheal Afton 's Monologue".

And fuck, he's also kicked dog. But it just made me think of Vanessa even more.

Like, ouugghhh. If you have time and want to listen to it, go ahead!! I just. Wanted to say that n other stuff

_________

(I took some screenshots of the video),

These all. I think they could all work for Vanessa so well in the movie.

She's known about the kids, but she has a closer attachment to them. So I don't think it would be that "uncaring", but she is certainly used to it all. She doesn't question, and she's basically casual with the information. She's used to knowing what her Father has done.

That also,, kinda leads me to another thing.

She still calls him "daddy", like a young child would. A child looking for love, care, approval, and just tender domestic family life. But she just can't get that.

Micheal calls William; "Father", as a proper way to address someone. Or it can show his hatred. I think it's both

But it's all connected by the fact, that they are his puppets.

This one, was pointed out as if the music is like. Micheal remembering, and having it be painful for him to remember.

If they were to ever have Vanessa say Micheal's monologue, in the movie. They better add some more emotions to some words. But still keep the whole "creepy tired" voice, that they had for Micheal in the games(I kinda just wanna point out again, much more of a fun fact bout the video: they guy in the video says that Will is more "up to no good" in terms of voice, while Micheal is broken. I can get how they get mistaken for each other, but that's just by looks and slightly their voice. It's the way they are that is different). "Tired" in a sense that she's, like. She's really tired emotionally/etc. and "creepy" because she's just a rotting corpse with like. Stitches to her, that she caused herself (your scooped!Vanessa idea is running all over my head)

But I think the one that she would be sent to free is, the Golden Freddy kid or.. maybe oddly enough the two young Schmidt kids(Garrett & Abby). I dunno tho. I just, like to think that it would work with the themes of Vanessa trying to be kind and a kid again. But, who knows, who she'll be "putting back together" (I'll get back to this one too. It just points so much to many aspects of FNAF I swear to fucking God)

KICKED DOG. SOSO MANY KICKED DOGS IN THIS FUCKING FAMILY—

But yeah. The "I ..." And "asked me to...", just. Ough. Because she was asked, was told, to follow his rules. To clean up "her" mess, and help fix what "she" caused.

"I put her back together." — Abby is connected to Elizabeth due to the Ella suit, and how she generally acts(Sassy, etc. Elizabeth is somewhat characterized in many AUs/Canons, to be sassy). But Vanessa is also connected to Elizabeth as a fact, that she's the daughter of William Afton, one to fall to his lies, get emotionally manipulated (I don't think that most of his kids were normal in a sense that they did things their own way. Circus Baby being made for Elizabeth? Manipulation. Fredbear plush telling CC almost everything, and maybe the one who is talking thru Fredbear is William? Manipulation. Micheal going to SL? Manipulation). Garrett also being connected to Elizabeth due to him needing to be found - being the Puppet(who in some AUs/Canons, is very clown/jester/mime themed. Even Security Puppet is mime like!) - clothing colors(pink and red are similar. Blue pants/skirts) - generally being the reason why some guy named "Mike" is doing Security jobs(maybe even stretching to Vanessa being a police officer)

"I put her back together." — the whole "together", and your idea of Scooped Vanessa, stitching herself back together. → “i.... I put myself together... Just like you would wanted me to do... (small sob/needle pulling + small whimper) ...”

Color symbolism, Blue: serenity, stability, inspiration, or wisdom. / open spaces, freedom, intuition, imagination, inspiration, and sensitivity. / Honesty & Loyalty (personality symbol of blue)

Just wanted to share the color symbolism. Which is kinda funny- to me. Because, well.

Vanessa is not anything but wisdom and a trained dog. She has wisdom, but will say fully if ever told to do so. That could be stability, but it is not serenity.

She is connected to open spaces, but they all feel so so closed and cluttered. Not open to her. Freedom? As if she has freedom(Vanessa became a Police officer, and it's highly hinted that she did not choose that for herself. Or maybe she did, and William decided to use that in his ways).

She is honest. She is loyal(but very kicked dog loyal)

I also kinda wanna point the "They thought I was you (sigh/etc" that Micheal did. And add that to Vanessa.

Maybe the whole "they thought I was you", could be when the kids saw how Vanessa shot William. If she can shot, what can she do to them? Even if they are robots, their souls are that of her friends, of kids. And anyone can turn out to be bad(e.i: William is seemingly a kind normal guy, but then he's revealed to be a child-murderer). Vanessa is related to William, the Yellow Rabbit. So what can she do, if she can shoot?

And if the Cassidy Afton theory is true in the movie verse. Then, what can happen? His Father killed him, so what can his sister do? She shot their Father. She let their Father kill him.

So, "they thought I was you" could just be how the kids rumored how Vanessa would act towards them. Might just be their fear, but Golden Freddy has reasons to fear her. He might be big, might be a predator that finally killed his killer, his own Father. But - his sister is still here.

He cares, he hates, he fears Vanessa.

“They thought I would act like you... (scoff/sob) ..."

Reason why I added the "(scoff/sob)" is because, it just fits. Her own brother fears her, hates her. Her friends fear her. She lets out more of a cry, but she scoffs because why would she ever act like Him?

Getting this one, because I just like it. But it also fits. Vanessa is also supposed to be dead, but she's not. And that's wrong.

It hurts her to remember about her brother, or like. Her closest confidant. So she goes ahead to talk about herself. How she seemingly survived what was supposed to be her last time breathing.

And it is her last time breathing, but she's still here.

And that's just ... Wrong. It's impossible, scientifically impossible, and just wrong. But she's still here and she's proving it wrong

Your brainrot of her is highly infecting me. It's crazy man

(now I'm thinking of how she and the Schmidt family acted like in the past, <- very heavy on Schmidts = Emily's theory)

Me jumping up and down excitedly reading through this cause I have. So Much. to say about my Vanessa and Elizabeth AU fic but I also don’t wanna spoil anything 👁️👁️ But the Michael SL monologue (Vanessa version) has me in a CHOKEHOLD OH MY LORD. I want them to do Sister Location so bad but idk if the movies are gonna go in that direction (i mean SL is pretty dang important to the FNAF lore unless they end at like ~FNAF 4 ig??? or just skip all the weird/suspension of disbelief parts of SL)

I love love love the idea of “I…I put her back together… just like you wanted me to” changing to “I…I put myself back together…just like you would’ve wanted me to”. IT JUST HITS ALL THE ANGST SPOTS. I’m obsessed with my own scooped!Vanessa idea with her sewing patches of fabric into her own skin but I flip flop between why she does it. It’s between injuries/rot from Ennard that won’t heal because yknow. She’s dead. Or her living after a FNAF 6-esque fire that leaves her with burn scars and she sews patches to cover up the worst of the burn scars. I just. The idea of Vanessa, newly unEnnarded, sobbing alone while sewing herself shut again and talking to her dead dad for comfort because he was all she ever knew…. wondering why she was still alive…………..

(the irony that the one willing/wanting to die being the one to survive despite the fact that she very much Shouldn’t Be Alive)

and the spirits in SL being afraid of Vanessa because she’s an Afton??? Me when I Break Down 😭😭😭💥💥💥💥 Cause Vanessa’s biggest fear is becoming her father and not being able to escape her bloodline/destiny for tragedy.

I do think it’s interesting to consider that if they do SL, Vanessa thinks that William is dead so lines like ‘I’m going to come find you…” doesn’t make sense. I do hope they still give her a variation of the monologue tho cause I think the SL Michael monologue, the Bite of 83, and the FNAF 6 Henry monologue are THE most iconic parts of FNAF.

The main hitting point of SL is the fact that Michael finds his sister down there. If the FNAF movies have Vanessa going down there… well it simply wouldn’t hit as hard if she didn’t have some form of a dead sibling down in that bunker right??? Though ig it would be kind of weird to have Abby almost get Ella dolled in a Baby parallel/reference and then also have an Elizabeth in Baby. Who knows (<- desperately wants to know)

[kalolasfantasyworld]

Okay, ask game for you ☘️ Nozel x Vanessa, because I love them 💜 Nozel x Helena, because your OC ship is amazing ❤️ Nozel x Fuegoleon, because Nozel ship 😅 Yes, a bunch of Nozel ships 🥰🦅

Hi Vilandel!

Hah obviously I have some more specific thoughts for Nozel ships. I really hope I won't make anyone upset with these. They're just my opinions.

Nozel x Vanessa -> doesn’t make sense, compels me

Let’s start with saying this is my favourite canon x canon ship for Nozel. I’ve drawn them and read them, but let me explain why it doesn’t canonically make sense to me. 

Before I set up tumblr I didn’t even think to ship them together, because they never really interacted (correct me if I’m wrong). I only got to like them once I saw them here and read a bit about them. However it’s hard for me to picture the start of their interaction without some outside force to literally make them. Also long term relationship… but let me get to that later.

Firstly their types based on the assorted questions brigade:

Nozel: “Someone with dignified strength who can give their all for the prosperity of the House of Silva” 

I don’t think he’s saying this “just to be proper”. Nozel really cares about his house and I think that a quality of being able to take care of and represent it can make a person attractive in his eyes. 

I’m not saying that Vanessa couldn’t just that it would not really be her style. She got out of her cage and pushing her onto Royal customs would be cruel in my opinion. She could definitely not walk around in her underwear, or casually get drunk. She likes this part of herself and is happy being a Black Bull.

Vanessa: “Wild men with muscles <3” 

Yeah… That’s not Nozel (I admit I have drawn him with way more muscles than he has… It’s a hot art I’m not going to change it and yes a future Paper Hearts illustration, normally I draw him skinnier)

Why does it compel me? (Because it does a lot)

They are both one of my favourites BC characters.

Nozel is not a good boy (closeted perv let’s face it) and Vanessa is definitely up for some heated adventure. Both are very hot. She’s flirty, she’ll pull him out of his shell. They could support one another and emotionally I think they would work well. I enjoy them in fics and the stories are amazing. I love how she would flirt with him and he would get more and more bold as they grew closer. Also there is that spicy forbidden romance part.

There are actually quite a few similarities between Vanessa and Helena as they’re best friends and I enjoy how those qualities shine through her interactions with Nozel. 

I see Nozessa so much in a heated, passionate romance. It’s just long term that doesn’t sit right with me… I feel like they would need to sacrifice a part of themselves to be with the other and I wouldn’t want that. She needs to be free and Nozel is a Royal who takes pride in it, it’s not just his burden. 

Nozel x Helena -> makes sense, compels me (you said it yourself, how could own OC ship not)

Overall I talked a bit about them in my fic explanation post.

I created Helena to explore Nozel more. This is actually my first ever OC x canon ship that I've invested in, because I'm more of a canon x canon shipper. Just that I only knew of Dorothy x Nozel and Fuego x Nozel back then and they didn't really appeal to me as something to write for and have a fun story for.

Why do they make sense? 

Despite them being so different there are actually quite a few parallels between them. For example both had a situation in their youth, which somehow set them on a path. They’re both the eldest siblings. And there are few more.

Similar backgrounds for sure. Both of them are Royals and take pride in their houses. Helena will be a great lady of the house. She was prepared for this and knows how to perfectly manoeuvre in high society. She can be a great support and simply a partner to him in his duties. 

She’s his type from the assorted questions brigade. (yeah the pervy part as well xd)

Helena brings in the warmth and will provide a family atmosphere. Being the eldest of seven siblings taught her that. She “fits” in the Silva family with Noelle, Nebra and Solid. Over time she develops relationships with all of them, so it’s not just Nozel she makes sense with.

Why does it compel me?

Enemies to friends to lovers, Sunshine x grumpy, Blue x red relationship

They have so many imperfections and they mess up, but they get up and try to fix them. There's also quite a lot of plot ahead of us and I don't want to spoil anything, but what happens later is actually more determining in my opinion to how they are fit for and grow with one another.

There are also some parallels with how Nozel treated Noelle and how he treats Helena, so that’s interesting. 

Helena is a virgin, but very much not opposed to sexuality, so they have some spicy, heated moments.

I feel like they can really connect on a deeper level and I like how their story begins right with the beginning of BC. We see the whole development of Nozel and how they interact through it. For example how their relationship changed after Fuego fell in a coma. So it's not just Nozel after he went through a change and apologised to Noelle.

They compliment each other. Helena “makes Nozel have fun” and he can tone her down (this is needed at times).

The birdies… I love my next gen trio so much. I like how they have traits inherited after both Nozel and Helena. I love picturing them as parents.

I feel like there’s more, but I’ve talked about them enough here. 

Nozel x Fuegoleon -> makes sense, doesn’t greatly compel me

As you probably noticed I focus a lot on the “Royal aspects” in the makes sense part and Fuego fits this part. They are close, clearly trust each other and they have amazing dynamics. They’re childhood friends. I’ve seen some cute arts for them and I know they’re pretty popular.

However why it doesn’t greatly compel me? (Besides the fact that I ship both of them with some OCs)

I just think of them as good friends, more than lovers. And somehow I’m not the biggest fan of how Nozel is portrayed in this relationship. He somehow seems “weak” and “needs to be taken care off”. Maybe that’s just me, but it was the vibe I got from few works (not all of them, some were cute and amazing). Maybe I somehow don’t see him have “bottom” energy, but Fuego doesn’t have it either. 

However they would support and care for one another. I also love the hot and cold dynamics and childhood friends romance.

So I like some aspects of this ship and some don’t. 

I would still put it as my second canon x canon Nozel ship.

[meowbomb]

Moon was always Vanny’s puppet.

dramatic title aside. The hw2 endings adds some context to things that were confusing in security breach and ruin. Specifically the daycare attendant.

(Fair warning: this might be a whole lot of stretches and really scuffed but hear me out and help wanted 2 spoilers. This was made for fun. Long post ahead)

In ruin, Cassie’s description of the sun and moon plush state things like “I never slept better than I did in the daycare” and “I used to have so much fun in the daycare” which are a bit different than what we’re initially presented with in the night terrors message in security breach.

Both of these differing statements are true. But it’s just when they take place. I think Cassie’s time in the daycare was before the glitchtrap virus stuff started going on. If it wasn’t happening at the time, Moon wouldn’t be acting up. The night terrors message was written during the time where Moon was infected with the virus, that’s why he’s scaring children to the point of making them afraid of the dark.

His default code wasn’t a problem. He wasn’t created to be evil. Moon was good until the virus took a hold and he starts following Vanny’s orders.

While yes, the glamrocks probably follow what Vanny asks. Moon specifically is the helper.

Handunit in hw 2 talks about the endos like they are children. They are built with mimicking technology and are taught by behaviour cards so they understand what’s expected from them in situations.

In Security breach the warehouse has doors with lessons for the endos. But looking around the place, it’s clear that all of these lessons were failed.

Why do they keep failing them? Because they believe the incorrect lesson is right.

The endo warehouse has so many things with Moon or relating to daycare. If endos are influenced by cards and lessons, what’s to say they aren’t influenced by Moon? If Vanny placed everything relating to him there, it’s because the endos should follow his lead, not exactly like the glamrocks. The glamrocks have behaviours and personalities that makes them well..them. Example Roxy will follow Vanny’s orders but she still takes the time to cry alone or how Chica will still binge on food.

With Moon, it’s not like that. Yes, glimpses of personality makes itself known like the cackling and clear annoyance with cleaning up. He has fun along the way but will still try to get the job done. He’s always tracked down Gregory’s location despite the kid being far from daycare.

In ruin, there’s endos in daycare because to them, it’s similar to the warehouse. They recognise Moon and if Vanny isn’t there to control things anymore, her head puppet is next best thing.

In the “final” endo warehouse lesson, there’s painted rabbit ears and an outline that can be glitchtrap.

Besides I think it’s very interesting the two notable characters who have beckoning animations at the player are glitchtrap and moon. They obviously aren’t the same person at all but it can be the virus in his code.

In hw2’s PQ4 ending Moon is the claw of the machine Vanny is playing. Vanny doesn’t get it herself, Moon is the one who gets it for her.

It’s almost like how Moon targets Freddy instead of Gregory. He has the perfect opportunity as Gregory is basically backed to a corner with Freddy being low on battery before this. He takes out Freddy for Vanessa to leave him immobile and without his head attached. Why go for Freddy? Because Freddy is Gregory’s only ally. Sure, Gregory could sneak but he’s alone and more vulnerable to the animatronics and Vanny getting him.

What does sun have to do with this?

Sun and Moon’s relationship early in the timeline is unknown. So we’ll have to go off on what the games give us.

I think Sun knows there’s something going on with Moon. It’s why he’s very insistent of lights being on. He doesn’t know if Moon will do something that will hurt someone or place them under risk of being decommissioned.

He can’t do anything to help himself or Moon because he’s stuck to daycare unlike Moon who has free access to leave. Thus their situation was always bound to get worse.

In arts and crafts: loft, Sun sits closely by a light under a fort. He insists you leave immediately after you’re done because he considers himself and Moon a threat to you and others. If the power in daycare is dwindling, he has no control over Moon coming out. Sun would rather stay abandoned and alone than risk it.

Ruin is where their situation reaches its peak. There’s no lights and Sun is a prisoner in his body. He’s stuck in ar world. Both he and Moon have lost it due to prolonged isolation. He pleads to be rebooted because it’s his and Moon’s only way to be at peace again. If they’re rebooted into safe mode, it cuts off Vanny’s control of them.

Sun and Moon’s situation parallels the Vanessa and Vanny thing. Moon is Sun’s Vanny. Moon and Vanny play with their prey and have red glowing eyes. Vanessa doesn’t like dark basements and wanted to follow instructions like how Sun doesn’t want the lights off and strictly follows rules.

I’m not saying they’re a one by one comparison. Both things are different here and there but still there is small things there.

Jack o moon and Balloon world

Notably, balloon world and Jack o moon are kinda similar. In balloon world, you have to follow the purple glitched path to get the goodnight from the eclipse in that game. In the Foxy log ride, you have to go through the alternate ar world path of the ride where you find Jack o moon.

It’s also interesting that in hw2 we play princess quest 4 but in security breach there’s messages of another person playing the games too. This person gets more and more fixated to where they’re begging to save the princess. Eventually their last message is in the loft next to balloon world.

It also should be noted that other arcade machine with balloon world in security breach is in Vanny’s other hideout in the Burntrap ending.

Look, who knows I might be entirely wrong but there’s so many questions left. Why is the warehouse linked to Sun and Moon? Who is the person trying to save the princess? Who are we playing as? What’s even going on anymore?

I know using stuff from hw2 is debatable considering the first game but I do think some aspects of the ruined sections of hw2 happened in the timeline. I can’t wait to be proven so wrong.

[is-the-milk-fresh]

Ngl i actually fucking loved the FNAF movie. Like maybe its because a month before it came out i watched markiplier and activated a hyper fixation of it, but it was LIT

So many bits felt directly out of the Silver Eyes book trilogy. Like the scene in the arcade with foxy or honestly the whole ending was v similar to fourth closet's ending. Fuckin loved it.

Also the fact that it was all super faithful EXCEPT for the big differences which felt very intentional. Like i think its implied Mike is Henry's son here? And tbh if they do sequels that'll be far less complicated plot than actual fnaf lore.

Vanessa being ole Willie's daughter make so much sense!! Like obviously its completely different from the games. But in terms of characterisation / place in the story she was already Willie's 'protégé'. Here she's just literally his daughter. I also liked how she was essentially what people assumed Mike in the games was? Someone who was abused but complicit in hiding the 5 kids death.

If they do get a sequel i hope we get some explanation on the Schmit and Afton family backstories. Like Aunt Jan?? Such a similar name to Aunt Jen. Also whether a CC character exists? Or whether Elizabeth exists.

Because if Mike is Henry's son then that would put Garret as Charlie's counterpart rather than CC's. Especially since willie wasn't wearing the suit when he killed him and Garret isn't possessing any of the current animatronics (unless ofc 'Its Me' on the glass was Garret and they are a CC counterpart but idk ive only just seen the movie)

My favourite bit was Cassidy tho. Idk if this has lore implications for their gender in the actual games but god they were spot on. The kid playing them was great, you could tell they were having fun it, unsettling little angry ghost boy my beloved

So yeah the movie was super camp but so fun and the puppet design was FANTASTIC